#'ah i see mother is lying on the floor crying. anyway--'

[a-kind-of-merry-war]

In Which My Darling Child Sees Me Lying On The Floor In Distress And Walks Away

[bean-bean2000]

The Maid - Part 10

Pairing: Loki x reader

Warnings: Angst, mentions of violence, depression, mentions of suicide, despair, feeling trapped. Mentions of abuse and rape.

Please read at your own risk. Your own media consumption is not my responsibility. Please read and review the warnings before proceeding.

Thank you and enjoy!

Part 9

Series masterlist Main Masterlist

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You stand there, staring at each other until Loki breaks the silence.

"Why do you keep lying to me? What are you hiding from me?" he questions you, eyeing you up and down.

"I - I'm not hiding anything, I just -" you're cut-off by Loki slamming his hand against the reading desk next to him.

You shriek in fear and jump away.

"Damn it, woman! I will give you one last chance." staring into your eyes, you can see the anger swirling behind them.

You're breathing heavy, staring at him like a deer caught in headlights. Unable to form an answer, your eyes are frantically searching around the room for a way out.

"I've enchanted the room. You can't leave and nobody can come in." he says, stalking closer to you like a predator ready to pounce on his prey.

"Are you a witch? A spy? A traitor? A clever ploy, how could anyone suspect a mere maid of anything?" He's circling you now. Your hairs stand on the back of your neck.

"No, I'm not a witch." you choke out.

"Ah so a spy or a traitor then?" he hisses.

"No - I'm... not I swear to you." He closes the distance between you again, towering over you in rage.

Boldly, you look up at him "Having trouble finding a lie? Because there isn't one." you bite back.

A smirk pulls at his lips as he studies you.

"So, not a witch, nor a traitor nor a spy... then what could you be hiding from me, the king and why?" he questions aloud.

You swallow thickly and stare at the floor.

"I don't know" you whisper as you look up.

"You don't what you're hiding or why you're lying?" he retorts.

You let out a shaky sigh as you pull out a chair and sit down. Loki follows suit, sitting in front of you.

He looks at you expectantly, waiting for your answer.

"No. I'm not a witch, or spy or traitor." you say to him, staring directly into his eyes. You see him searching for your lies but sits back when he can't find one.

"I don't know who I am. I'm nobody." your voice is shaking from containing your emotions.

"How do you mean? That is impossible" Loki replies dryly.

"And before you even think about it, there's no way out of this until I'm satisfied with your answer."

You pull at your fingers in your lap.

Nothing left to lose now anyway

"My parents found me one night while they were travelling between realms. They used to work as intermediaries for the royals between the realms, carrying to a fro items to be traded. My father told me that he found me between the nine realms."

Loki interrupts you "that is impossible."

"My father was told the same by the others when he returned with me, an infant, hungry, cold and crying. He went to every realm and searched for my parents but nobody claimed me. Soon, word spread of how I was found and the realms forbade my father from bringing me to any of them, out of fear that I was cursed. My parents always wanted a child but were never able to have so they considered me a blessing rather than a curse, and they adopted me.

"As I grew up, I was isolated, feared amongst everyone as I was an 'unknown'. I didn't belong anywhere. My parents home schooled me, until I was 18, since nobody would let me within a few feet from any of the villages. Then, my mother fell very ill. Healers refused to come to her aid in fear of crossing my path and being cursed as well. They warned my father that I was the reason for her illness and that she would never heal.'"

"A few years later, it was apparent that she was dying, quickly. My father could not bear it and turned to alcohol."

**flashback**

"Father, please stop! I can't do this alone!" you screamed at him desperately.

He stumbled across the room in rage in his drunken state.

"This would have never happened had I left you there to die. Everyone warned me but I could not believe that an infant could ever cause such suffering. Yet, here I am, watching my wife die as everybody watches and nobody helps. BECAUSE OF YOU!" his voice booms against the walls of your home.

"You're the reason we will both die. You were a curse disguised in an infants form. You will forever plague everyone and everything you touch." he spits at you. Chugging the last bit of the bottle he throws it across the room, shattering on the floor.

"I never wanted you. I should have left you but she insisted you were only an infant, innocent... bah, FOOLS! You were never my daughter and never will be. You have caused the demise of this home and will suffer the rest of your life because of it." he growled at you as he slapped you across your face, sending you spiralling over the kitchen table.

Your mind was buzzing from the hit, unable to focus, until you feel your body being lifted and thrown to the wet ground.

"GET OUT! Stay out with the animals where you belong. Never return." he screamed at you and hurled another object in your direction.

"I said GET OUT! GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!" he yelled as you scrambled to your feet in fear and ran as far as you could for as long as possible before collapsing on the ground in the middle of a field. You sobbed until you could no longer produce tears or feel anything. You felt hollow. The worst loneliness you have ever felt. You truly had nobody.

The next morning you awoke on the floor. Willing yourself to get up and find food and water, you stumbled upon a crowd, murmurring to themselves.

"Have you heard they both died last night? He threw her out and they shortly died after. They were found next to each other on the bed. They should have listened to the warnings. She is a curse." a stranger said to another as they worked through their items on the selling kiosk.

You felt like you couldn't breathe. You turned around and felt your feet pounding against the earth, running in any direction away from them. Tears flowed down your face freely as you ran and ran.

When you stopped, you collapsed once more onto the ground.

You were thrown away like an animal. Left to your devices, in the wild, with nothing.

They were right. I am cursed.

**end of flashback**

You shook your head from the terrible memories that replayed in your mind but when you looked back into Loki's eyes you knew he had seen your flashback. He stared at you with such pity and understanding.

Embarrassed you stood up quickly from your seat. Blinking away the tears.

"To answer your question, again. I am nobody. As you said, I am simply a maid." you looked at him with your lips placed in a tight smile.

Before he could say anything you grabbed your supplies "I must finish cleaning, my king. I have fallen behind schedule." you say to him mechanically.

He watches you as you climb the stairs and resume your cleaning.

Tapping his fingers on the table he releases the enchantment and walks out.

You let out a breath you didn't realize you were holding in and lean against a wall.

How much of that did he see, if anything at all? Why did he look at me like that? Now that he knows some of my truth, he will surely cast me out like everyone else has. He is no different. Nobody wants to deal with a cursed woman. Especially not a king.

You sigh heavily as you continue sweeping, keeping your mind busy with the task at hand.

At the end of the day you retire to your room and sit on the floor, back leaning on the bed.

"I can do this. Just like we practiced. Focus on pushing those feelings down, locked away. Make sure you feel nothing before waking." you say to yourself.

You close your eyes and begin imagining locking your heart, and all emotions with it in a box, sealed tight and tucked away in the deepest parts of your mind. Once you felt hollow, felt nothing, you opened your eyes.

You walk to to the bathroom and stare at your reflection.

"Good. It worked."

Your eyes are blank and dull and now shining bright blue. Nothing is seen behind them. You feel empty, and finally at peace.

You've dissociated.

You had found out you could do this, years ago to survive through the trauma. You don't know how or why, but never cared to look into it as it has kept you alive far longer than without it.

"Now, hold on to this as long as you can and just keep going." you say aloud, comforting yourself in the dire room.

You lay down on the bed and close your eyes.

With your emotions and memories locked away in the deepest parts of your mind, you fall asleep easily.

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[xo-cuteplosion-xo-2]

A Light In The Dark | Telemachus x reader|

Link to Warnings/Both sfw and nsfw masterlists Click here Heads up they apply to this chapter

Chapter Four ~Why Not~

Small hands cover your head as you sob, staring up at the woman who stands above your small body casting her shadow. Her foot shoves you back, eyes full of fire. You drop the porcelain shards you had been cleaning up.

“I’m sorry…”

“I’m sorry…”

“It was an accident…”

You curl up on the floor crying.

“What did she do this time?”

“Your whore’s child broke my vase! I try to make the bitch useful and she tosses a fit!”

“How much did you make?”

“Not fucking enough, because she bit the damn man. Fucking useless bitch. Why do we keep her around? I should just marry her off the second somebody offers to take her illegitimate, whore birthed disaster!”

You shoot up panting, eyes dilated. You tuck your head into your knees trying to reel in your breath. This is normal to… This…

The uncomfortable feeling of old memories…

The feeling it leaves on your skin… You sob, shaking your head. It’s normal. You’ve never known anything better, anything besides this. So why does it leave you shaking? Why does it leave you wishing you could just curl up and disappear? You’re exhausted, tired, and mentally drained. 

You drop from your bed, feet sluggish and body still shaking. You lean against the wall, sneaking off to the kitchen. You do this here and there. You think about going to see your brother. But… Your body can’t handle anything more. You know that’s not necessarily what has to happen. 

Still… Uou have nothing to offer him but that right now. You’ve gotten no closer to what he needs from you. You’ve done nothing… There’s no reason you would deserve comfort right now. You decide the corner of the mess hall is good enough.

If somebody comes along, it will be a distraction from your head, anyway. Maybe you could even pull something out of them. You swirl the wine in your chalice and take a sip. 

You can’t shut your eyes without seeing her. Eury’s mother was cruel, far crueler than your brother has ever been when he’s upset. You’re no longer a child. You haven’t seen her in years, but you can’t escape her chilling gaze.

You tangle your hand in your hair as you drink. You pick your head up at the sound of footsteps. Your eyes meet blue and you stare… Ah… Shit. “You’re up late?”

You shrug silently. “Am I?” You try to force a smile.

“You… Don’t look okay.” He steps closer and you shake your head. 

“You’re weird. ‘M perfectly normal and fine, Telemachus.” The prince frowns as he lights a torch on a wall. He carefully closes the distance and takes the chalice from you.

“You… Keep lying to me.” He mutters, taking the seat next to you.

You stare at him half-lucid. “I don’t lie…” Your heart hammers in your chest.

This is bad. This isn’t good. You’ll upset your brother. If the prince knows if things go south right now, it will be a complete failure. You try to come up with something… “You… Why do you keep acting like you’re fine? I’ve known you for years Y/n! I’m used to your off days but… It just seems that those are getting worse and worse…” His voice cracks.

You stare at him, trying to figure out what he’s trying to gain from this, what he’ll want from you. Nothing comes for free . “It’s normal stuff…” 

“Normal wouldn’t have you looking for something at the bottom of a chalice.” The prince mumbles, watching you reach for the cup he’d taken from you. 

You huff, dropping your head to the table. “I just need a little help sleeping.” You puff out your cheeks.

“They have herbs for that.” he reaches out but watches the recoil and pauses. 

“Why are you doing this? You’re confusing me.. Making me… Making things seem complicated. What do you want?” You aren’t sure where the aggression comes from, but you narrow your eyes at him. 

He stares at you. “Because I care about you? We’re… Friends.” You pause and grab the canteen, swallowing a sip. He sighs, reaching over and grabbing it. “I don’t know if it’s because you’re stupid or because you’re confident your brother won’t let anything happen, but drinking like this… Alone is a really bad idea.” 

“Why?” Telemachus stares at you. 

“I… Ask your brother,” he grumbles, pinching the brim of his nose. 

You tilt your head before you get where he was going with that. “That’s… Why would that be an issue?” Your words slur and you hiccup.

He drops his hand, staring at you. “Why wouldn’t it… Cause that’s… It’s rape?”

You shrug, kicking your feet in the chair. “So? It’s normal… It’s simply how t-things are. Is how they are, is jus’ what happens. It’s un-a-voida-ble and I can get-s-stuff out of it. Eury would s-step in if he t-thought I was in any real danger.” You can’t get yourself to look at him.

“By the gods… Is that why you were so off today?” You cringe at the sound of his voice.

“Dunno what you mean. I’m fine. As I said, it’s… It’s… normal.” It’s normal. It’s completely fine. If it wasn’t, your brother would protect you. He’d be there for you. 

“Y/n… Does he know?” You nod, staring at the floor. Suddenly you’re not sure if Telemachus is just naive in the ways of the world or if…

If it’s not normal… But then… What about when Eury… You shake your head. No… No Telemachus is wrong. He’s just a stupid prince. He’s spoiled. He’s wrong, he’s wrong. “It’s… normal… It’s… Fine. Jus’ business. It’s like da order of t-things.”

“But that’s… It’s not. You’re… Come on, let’s just walk you back to your room.” He won’t push you, won’t get into anything you don’t want to. You’re drunk, and he’s not about to use that as a way to get beneath the wall you keep putting between him.

~

The prince stares at her and his heart squeezes. He’s liked her since they were young. From the moment her smile lit up his day when they were only fourteen. She taught him how to make a flower crown, but he wasn’t watching or listening to her. He was lost in her eyes.

At first they’d looked like holes that could swallow him, but the more time he spent with her, the longer he looked at her, the more he started to see the light in them. There are stars in the void that he’s not sure anybody else notices.

He couldn’t find those today. Her smile was flat, her eyes half-lidded, and she didn’t jump in to join his conversations. He felt like he was talking to her rather than with her. He wants her to trust him. He knows she doesn’t, and he understands why. They are supposed to be enemies. He shouldn’t be close to her.

She’s better at keeping the distance and yet sometimes she seems like she’s going to step over the gap she dug between them. There are times where he feels he could reach out and grab her, but then she disappears behind her wall. 

Like today, she asked him again about if he’s in love. She asked if he was interested in anybody. It’s like she wants to get close but when he tries to make it obvious, tries to tell her she can take a step closer to him, she pulls away as if he burned her.

He supports her weight as she drags herself. She’s not resisting, but he has a feeling she’s stalling, avoiding her room. Why? She’s tired… Exhausted. He can see the circles under her eyes, how much she struggles to keep them open. Is whatever keeps her up at night that horrible?

He sighs as he approaches her room. He pauses when he sees the suitor leaning on the wall beside it. The man’s eyes narrow before he smiles. Two-faced bastard. He might have everybody fooled that he’s harmless, but he doesn’t buy it for a second. “I don’t mean to jump to conclusions, prince… But why are you holding onto my drunk sister?” 

He rolls his eyes. “I! Th-that is not… I would never… I just found her drinking, and she looked like she needed a hand…” 

“Ever the kind prince.” The suitor steps away from the wall. “I’ve got her from here… Unless you have an issue with that?”

The prince pauses… He doesn’t have a reason to say he does. Eurymachus is her brother and despite what he thinks of the suitors… And what was talked about tonight he has no reason to think ill of how he’d treat her. He’s clearly worried about his sister… He has to respect the way Eurymachus seems protective of her. Maybe he doesn’t know? Or maybe he does, and he’s been trying to fix it… She trusts him and he doesn’t look dangerous or seem like he’d ever hurt her.

When she pushes away from him and wraps her arms around her brother with a drunken huff and a sniffle, Eurymachus holds her. Telemachus can’t see anything wrong or even slightly unsettling about it. He holds onto his younger sister to comfort her. “I… Don’t.” He mumbles, turning his back to the siblings and walking away.

~

When the prince disappears, Eurymachus shoves you off him, grabbing your wrist to pull your stumbling form into the room. “That was mean…” you whine, but Eurymachus shoots you a frustrated glare. “Hey, I got-somethin outta today! He said he cares -bout me, so I must be-”

“Shut up.” You frown, snapping your mouth shut. “What are you doing getting drunk around the prince? That tactic won’t work on him.”

“Was an acc-ih-dent, Eury.” You mumble and he rolls his eyes.

“You were supposed to come see me. Did I not ask that of you this morning?” He runs a hand over his head.

You nod like a child being scolded. Your eyes fall to the floor and your eyes water. “I was tired, Eury… I was just-… Ant-in-nous was really rough an… an-den… an-den we got up early, and I spent all day with the prince. I just- fell asleep… and I had a nigh-mare and couldn’t- sleep. I’m jus- tired…” You ramble in an attempt to explain yourself to him.

He snaps his fingers sitting on your bed. You look and he points to a spot on the floor between his legs. You hesitate… something he takes notice of. “Oh? What’s wrong?”

“I…” You shake your head and get on your knees. “Jus-… tired.”

He lifts your chin, running his thumb over your lips. “I know… You can sleep in tomorrow, okay?” He drops his voice to a whisper. “Think about it like this… Tire yourself out the rest of the way until you fall asleep. I’ll even let you curl up to me until you fall asleep. So, won’t you be a good sister?” 

You nod, and his gaze softens. He rides his tunic up. And you look up at his tender eyes, his caring smile. He wraps his hand in your hair and gently guides your head down. He sighs, tilting his head back. 

“There we go… isn’t this nice?” He’s gentle, or well, your definition of gentle. He’s not slamming your head down or holding so tight it feels like you’ll lose your hair. No… He only slightly tugged you up and down… Only rutting against the back of your throat here and there. Your eyelids feel heavy and he yanks your head down and then up. “Shhh, stay awake. Just a little more. That’s a good thing … There we go… You’re so good at this, way better than the maids.” He huffs, sucking in air. 

You hum at the praise… His approval… He’s kind and caring… He might push you, but it’s never past the point you’ll end up sobbing. He hushes you with soft words. He’s not spitting out insults either. He says every word you need to hear from him and you take it. His words are the fix you need to feed your addiction to attention.

He bucks his hips, taking in a shaky breath and you follow his movement until the familiar bitter taste hits your tongue sliding down your throat. “Fuck… Once more… Be good and keep going…” You stare at him… You want to sleep… You’re tired…

He sighs, pulling your head off him. You tilt your head, going to speak, but he puts a finger on your lips and motions for you to get on the bed. You question what he’s thinking, but not out loud. You settle onto the bed and are almost immediately consumed by your exhaustion.

You nod off, then jolt awake, not wanting him to think you’re being rude. “You can go to sleep. I’m right here for you. I’ve got you.” He reaches around your waist, pulling you close.

Your eyes flutter, the intoxication stilling your mind to a buzz as your skirts are shifted out of the way. You suck in a breath, but you fade off. He makes sure you’re off in a drunk sleep just as he promised. You get rest, attention, his attention… And he gets off. It’s not his fault you’re always so open and ready when he can’t find a maid to take care of things.

Chapter 3 Click here

Chapter 5 Click here

[xo-cuteplosion-xo]

A Light In The Dark | Telemachus x reader|

Link to Warnings/Both sfw and nsfw masterlists Click here Heads up they apply to this chapter, it's the toned down version of three but it's still a massive TW.

Chapter Four ~Why Not~

Small hands cover your head as you sob, staring up at the woman who stands above your small body casting her shadow. Her foot shoves you back, eyes full of fire. You drop the porcelain shards you had been cleaning up.

“I’m sorry…”

“I’m sorry…”

“It was an accident…”

You curl up on the floor crying.

“What did she do this time?”

“Your whore’s child broke my vase! I try to make the bitch useful and she tosses a fit!”

“How much did you make?”

“Not fucking enough, because she bit the damn man. Fucking useless bitch. Why do we keep her around? I should just marry her off the second somebody offers to take her illegitimate, whore birthed disaster!”

You shoot up panting, eyes dilated. You tuck your head into your knees trying to reel in your breath. This is normal to… This…

The uncomfortable feeling of old memories…

The feeling it leaves on your skin… You sob, shaking your head. It’s normal. You’ve never known anything better, anything besides this. So why does it leave you shaking? Why does it leave you wishing you could just curl up and disappear? You’re exhausted, tired, and mentally drained. 

You drop from your bed, feet sluggish and body still shaking. You lean against the wall, sneaking off to the kitchen. You do this here and there. You think about going to see your brother. But… Your body can’t handle anything more. You know that’s not necessarily what has to happen. 

Still… Uou have nothing to offer him but that right now. You’ve gotten no closer to what he needs from you. You’ve done nothing… There’s no reason you would deserve comfort right now. You decide the corner of the mess hall is good enough.

If somebody comes along, it will be a distraction from your head, anyway. Maybe you could even pull something out of them. You swirl the wine in your chalice and take a sip. 

You can’t shut your eyes without seeing her. Eury’s mother was cruel, far crueler than your brother has ever been when he’s upset. You’re no longer a child. You haven’t seen her in years, but you can’t escape her chilling gaze.

You tangle your hand in your hair as you drink. You pick your head up at the sound of footsteps. Your eyes meet blue and you stare… Ah… Shit. “You’re up late?”

You shrug silently. “Am I?” You try to force a smile.

“You… Don’t look okay.” He steps closer and you shake your head. 

“You’re weird. ‘M perfectly normal and fine, Telemachus.” The prince frowns as he lights a torch on a wall. He carefully closes the distance and takes the chalice from you.

“You… Keep lying to me.” He mutters, taking the seat next to you.

You stare at him half-lucid. “I don’t lie…” Your heart hammers in your chest.

This is bad. This isn’t good. You’ll upset your brother. If the prince knows if things go south right now, it will be a complete failure. You try to come up with something… “You… Why do you keep acting like you’re fine? I’ve known you for years Y/n! I’m used to your off days but… It just seems that those are getting worse and worse…” His voice cracks.

You stare at him, trying to figure out what he’s trying to gain from this, what he’ll want from you. Nothing comes for free . “It’s normal stuff…” 

“Normal wouldn’t have you looking for something at the bottom of a chalice.” The prince mumbles, watching you reach for the cup he’d taken from you. 

You huff, dropping your head to the table. “I just need a little help sleeping.” You puff out your cheeks.

“They have herbs for that.” he reaches out but watches the recoil and pauses. 

“Why are you doing this? You’re confusing me.. Making me… Making things seem complicated. What do you want?” You aren’t sure where the aggression comes from, but you narrow your eyes at him. 

He stares at you. “Because I care about you? We’re… Friends.” You pause and grab the canteen, swallowing a sip. He sighs, reaching over and grabbing it. “I don’t know if it’s because you’re stupid or because you’re confident your brother won’t let anything happen, but drinking like this… Alone is a really bad idea.” 

“Why?” Telemachus stares at you. 

“I… Ask your brother,” he grumbles, pinching the brim of his nose. 

You tilt your head before you get where he was going with that. “That’s… Why would that be an issue?” Your words slur and you hiccup.

He drops his hand, staring at you. “Why wouldn’t it… Cause that’s… It’s rape?”

You shrug, kicking your feet in the chair. “So? It’s normal… It’s simply how t-things are. Is how they are, is jus’ what happens. It’s un-a-voida-ble and I can get-s-stuff out of it. Eury would s-step in if he t-thought I was in any real danger.” You can’t get yourself to look at him.

“By the gods… Is that why you were so off today?” You cringe at the sound of his voice.

“Dunno what you mean. I’m fine. As I said, it’s… It’s… normal.” It’s normal. It’s completely fine. If it wasn’t, your brother would protect you. He’d be there for you. 

“Y/n… Does he know?” You nod, staring at the floor. Suddenly you’re not sure if Telemachus is just naive in the ways of the world or if…

If it’s not normal… But then… What about when Eury… You shake your head. No… No Telemachus is wrong. He’s just a stupid prince. He’s spoiled. He’s wrong, he’s wrong. “It’s… normal… It’s… Fine. Jus’ business. It’s like da order of t-things.”

“But that’s… It’s not. You’re… Come on, let’s just walk you back to your room.” He won’t push you, won’t get into anything you don’t want to. You’re drunk, and he’s not about to use that as a way to get beneath the wall you keep putting between him.

~

The prince stares at her and his heart squeezes. He’s liked her since they were young. From the moment her smile lit up his day when they were only fourteen. She taught him how to make a flower crown, but he wasn’t watching or listening to her. He was lost in her eyes.

At first they’d looked like holes that could swallow him, but the more time he spent with her, the longer he looked at her, the more he started to see the light in them. There are stars in the void that he’s not sure anybody else notices.

He couldn’t find those today. Her smile was flat, her eyes half-lidded, and she didn’t jump in to join his conversations. He felt like he was talking to her rather than with her. He wants her to trust him. He knows she doesn’t, and he understands why. They are supposed to be enemies. He shouldn’t be close to her.

She’s better at keeping the distance and yet sometimes she seems like she’s going to step over the gap she dug between them. There are times where he feels he could reach out and grab her, but then she disappears behind her wall. 

Like today, she asked him again about if he’s in love. She asked if he was interested in anybody. It’s like she wants to get close but when he tries to make it obvious, tries to tell her she can take a step closer to him, she pulls away as if he burned her.

He supports her weight as she drags herself. She’s not resisting, but he has a feeling she’s stalling, avoiding her room. Why? She’s tired… Exhausted. He can see the circles under her eyes, how much she struggles to keep them open. Is whatever keeps her up at night that horrible?

He sighs as he approaches her room. He pauses when he sees the suitor leaning on the wall beside it. The man’s eyes narrow before he smiles. Two-faced bastard. He might have everybody fooled that he’s harmless, but he doesn’t buy it for a second. “I don’t mean to jump to conclusions, prince… But why are you holding onto my drunk sister?” 

He rolls his eyes. “I! Th-that is not… I would never… I just found her drinking, and she looked like she needed a hand…” 

“Ever the kind prince.” The suitor steps away from the wall. “I’ve got her from here… Unless you have an issue with that?”

The prince pauses… He doesn’t have a reason to say he does. Eurymachus is her brother and despite what he thinks of the suitors… And what was talked about tonight he has no reason to think ill of how he’d treat her. He’s clearly worried about his sister… He has to respect the way Eurymachus seems protective of her. Maybe he doesn’t know? Or maybe he does, and he’s been trying to fix it… She trusts him and he doesn’t look dangerous or seem like he’d ever hurt her.

When she pushes away from him and wraps her arms around her brother with a drunken huff and a sniffle, Eurymachus holds her. Telemachus can’t see anything wrong or even slightly unsettling about it. He holds onto his younger sister to comfort her. “I… Don’t.” He mumbles, turning his back to the siblings and walking away.

~

When the prince disappears, Eurymachus shoves you off him, grabbing your wrist to pull your stumbling form into the room. “That was mean…” you whine, but Eurymachus shoots you a frustrated glare. “Hey, I got-somethin outta today! He said he cares -bout me, so I must be-”

“Shut up.” You frown, snapping your mouth shut. “What are you doing getting drunk around the prince? That tactic won’t work on him.”

“Was an acc-ih-dent, Eury.” You mumble and he rolls his eyes.

“You were supposed to come see me. Did I not ask that of you this morning?” He runs a hand over his head.

You nod like a child being scolded. Your eyes fall to the floor and your eyes water. “I was tired, Eury… I was just-… Ant-in-nous was really rough an… an-den… an-den we got up early, and I spent all day with the prince. I just- fell asleep… and I had a nigh-mare and couldn’t- sleep. I’m jus- tired…” You ramble in an attempt to explain yourself to him.

He snaps his fingers sitting on your bed. You look and he points to a spot on the. You hesitate… something he takes notice of. “Oh? What’s wrong?��

“I…” You shake your head. “Jus-… tired.”

He lifts your chin. “I know… You can sleep in tomorrow, okay?” He drops his voice to a whisper. “Think about it like this… Tire yourself out the rest of the way until you fall asleep. I’ll even let you curl up to me until you fall asleep. So, won’t you be a good sister?” 

You nod, and his gaze softens. Yes it cuts here bc I could nor soften the scene or sensor to implied so it's not being posted on this account

Chapter 3 Click here

Chapter 5 Click here

[robertphilip]

i’m sleepy…. can i get some uhh… sleepy cozy comfy philip family headcanons? sleeby… CoZee….

gosh, okay, forgive me, father, for this post is a mess of jumbled thoughts, but I did my best to organize them.

The first thing that came to mind was not really family related, but, when Robert and Giselle first started dating, they'd spend hours, and hours just talking about any and everything. They'd sit on the couch for so long, and Giselle would always notice his eyelids starting to droop, and she'd smile, and tell him he should go to sleep, but no !!!! because that means he can't talk to her anymore, and, your honor.... he loves talking to her 😔 Because he was so sleepy, the nights would usually end with them passed out awkwardly on the couch. The most common position, though, was Robert sitting on the floor, his head resting on the cushion, while Giselle was lying down, sprawled out on the couch. His arm would be bent in an awkward way because they had to be holding hands, of course, and he'd always wake up with the worst neck pain ever. But, gosh, it was worth it every time.

With his daughters, ough, they love sleeping on his chest so much, it's their favorite thing ever. Baby Morgan and Sofia would always curl up on him, and fall asleep right away.... hold on, I'm...

Sorry. Had a moment. needed to look at that image. ANYWAY.

On the topic of sleepy, ough, Robert is so, so affectionate when he's sleepy. Like, over time, he became a very affectionate man because of Giselle, but, when he was still coming out of his shell, him initiating stuff like cuddling was rare. The first time he awkwardly bonked Giselle's shoulder with his head, and then wrapped his arms around her, she was like "...??????????? are you okay???" and he was just, "yes? I'm just... hugging you 🙄🥱😴" because, of course, he couldn't admit he wanted to cuddle,,,

and man, oh man, this ask reminded me of a snippet I wrote ages ago, it was shortly after Sofia was born, and Robert was so exhausted because she's just So Loud. When he heard her starting to cry, he quickly took her into the living room, because he didn't want her to wake Giselle, and they cuddled on the couch for a bit. Eventually, Morgan woke up, and sat with them, and that led to her falling asleep on his shoulder. And about an hour later, Giselle woke up and was like ">:0 ?? you're having a cuddle party without me... how rude" and she, of course, immediately joined them.

AND AH, okay, so Robert, he works late fairly often, and Giselle refuses to sleep until he's home. One, because she literally cannot sleep without him, but two, because she needs to know he's made it home safe. Knowing he's out in the world just makes her far too anxious to sleep. This results in her staying awake until he's home, and, despite it being past her bedtime, she would often let Morgan stay up with her. Morgan was rarely able to stay awake the whole time, though, so she'd usually just end up falling asleep curled up in Giselle's arms.

And Robert,,, ough,,, coming home to that makes his heart burst with love. Seeing how safe, and loved Morgan is, and hearing Giselle's tired, "Welcome home", while they're curled up on the couch,,,,,,,,,,,,,, dare I say, he almost cried the first time he saw it??? It's literally all he's ever wanted for Morgan, and now, she has it, and he has it, and OUGH,,,,, !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And (I keep saying 'and', forgive me), this is part of a fic I'm slowly working on for mother's day, but during a bad thunder storm, Morgan goes into their room, and cuddles with Giselle because she's terrified. The next morning, she wakes up to both Morgan and Robert basically on top of her, and she's just !!!!! like, she feels so Happy and Loved !!!!!!!!!!!!! And then Robert wakes up, and realizes they're in a big ol' pile, and he feels so Happy and Loved, and AH..,,,,,,,,,,,,

I just,, love this family,, so much

[wallflowerimagines]

*TW PERIOD MENTION*

If you're comfortable with this, could you do some hcs for the lords (but mainly moreau) with an s/o who gets HORRIBLE period cramps? Like they're literally writhing in pain and even after they take pain meds it's still miserable. Only do this if you feel comfortable of course, I totally understand if you dont want to do it❤

Hi, sorry folks, I bumped this to the top of the list, cuz I don't know if it's time sensitive for you, hope it brings comfort❤️ (Moreau's will have some extra)

TW: Period Mention, Reader is still Gender Neutral

Alcina Dimitrescu

Ah, she remembers those. She hasn't had to deal with one in a long while, due to her mutation, but even for her the experience was not pleasant.

This, however, looks very different.

Alcina cannot imagine the pain you must be in. You are curled into yourself on the couch, humming in an attempt to distract yourself from the pain, and you might try to hide them but she can see the tear tracks on your face.

Alcina takes care of you. Any of her day to day tasks can and will wait-- you are far more important. She doesn't leave the room unless you ask her to, and the Maids aren't let into the room unless it is to bring HER the things she needs to take care of you.

She will do whatever you need from her, no question. Cuddles, heated blankets, she will even read aloud to you as a distraction. Pro tip--her hands can get pretty chilly, and if you're someone who does well with ice packs, her hands work 100% better to cool off your skin.

Don't worry about her loosing control at the smell of blood--you are obviously in pain and she has far too much self control to let a little bit of blood bother her. (But depending on how hungry her daughters are, they might not be let in the room unless they have fed recently)

She will also use her contact with the Duke to find you a proper doctor. It's not normal for you to be in this much pain. Dearest, it doesn't matter if someone else has said there's nothing more to be done-- she's getting you a competent Doctor to get a second opinion.

Donna Beneviento

Donna is panicking.

Lady Beneviento is stressed the hell out by seeing you in pain--she hates it. You're lying in a pile of blankets on the floor, unable to be even the slightest bit comfortable because of the pain, and in such obvious agony that your hands are shaking.

Still, she's more than ready to make you feel better. Other than pain pills and more traditional treatment, Donna firmly believes in the power of distraction.

She will use books, movies, heck with your permission she might even use the pollen to craft a hallucination for you to help take the pain away.

(Ethan's encounter with the demon fetus was able to cause him enough harm that he felt it, Donna would definitely try to see if she could use her powers to trick your brain into not feeling as much pain)

She will also be attached to you at the hip, if you need space or can't be touched during your period, you need to tell her up front. She'll be very clingy when you are this miserable.

A little self indulgence here: while Donna does like her tea, she makes a KILLER hot chocolate. If chocolate brings you joy during your period, she has a constant, steady supply of it sent up to your room.

Salvatore Moreau

Salvatore engages Doctor mode immediately. For you to be in this much pain is both not normal and completely unacceptable. He's going to do his best to help.

This man absolutely used to be the Village doctor before his mutation, and as a result does Know His Shit. His siblings and mother may infantilize him to a certain degree, but that is mainly because Moreau's main issues are short term memory problems and his obsessive devotion to Mother Miranda that can make him regress. He's still competent as a doctor, and if he needs to reference anything, he still has some copies of medical textbooks.

He was also a Small Town Doctor, meaning he knows how to treat pain without access to traditional medicine, since often times he didn't have access to it.

It doesn't matter if you're not a tea person, you're still getting tea, made with herbs you don't know the name of and couldn't pronounce even if you did.

He doubles this up with more traditional pain relief methods like extra strength ibuprofen and heated compresses on the area. He might even talk you into doing a few exercises--it can help a lot with pain relief.

Still, when he's caring for you, sometimes he has to leave the room. He uses getting you a glass of water or another blanket as an excuse, but it's really so he can take a deep breath and center himself. Moreau is an empathetic man who loves you to pieces, and watching you cry silently into a pillow just...hurts.

Salvatore also does his best to distract you with anything he has on hand, mostly movies. While you two might normally playfully argue about which ones to watch, he will absolutely defer to you. I would recommend taking this time to watch a scary movie if you're a horror fan, there's literally no other time where Moreau would let you get away with it.

He is at your side constantly, and will only give you space if you ask for it. Even then, he will pop back in every few hours to check in.

Now for Fluff stuff: If you're not careful and watch him like he watches you, Moreau will run himself ragged trying to keep you comfortable.

The best solution to preventing this is coaxing him into bed with you. He might let out a couple of token protests, but one look at your pleading face takes all the fight right out of him.

He will cuddle up to you as close as possible and rub little circles into your back or stomach, whatever feels best. If you two are face to face, you can start to feel yourself relax in time with his breathing, and both of you slowly drift off to sleep together.

It's the best you've felt in days ❤️

Karl Heisenberg

Magnet Man is just... So lost...

You are writhing in agony in your bed, sobbing into a pillow, and so obviously suffering. He HATES to see you like this, because you're hurting and he doesn't know how to fix it.

Karl wants to hurt the things that hurt you, but when it's your own body rebelling against you and causing you pain...He wants to make it better for you but he can't.

He swallowed his pride IMMEDIATELY and called Moreau to the factory. Heisenberg might consider The Lord of the Reservoir to be a little slow in the head, but he used to be a doctor, and Karl is taking zero chances with your health.

He also pops by the Duke to pick up any kind of pain relief possible--Karl literally brings back 8 different brands of acetaminophen, hot water bottles, cocaine, opium, and enough alcohol to give an elephant a blackout. (Maybe he can get you to pass out long enough that you'll sleep through the worst of it?)

You will have to ask directly for cuddles if you want them--as handsy and clingy as Heisenberg is, he is so Bad At Feelings that he will just hover in the corner and work on projects to keep his hands busy. He doesn't know if you want to be touched, and is afraid to ask...but he really wants to keep an eye on you anyway.

[arty-shadow-morningstar]

Graveyard Siblings (4)

I am sorry for not posting in a while. School is a total bitch. Here is part 4 of a fic that is not a fic.

[Masterlist]

(Part 1)(Part 2)(Part 3)

-------

Tall Marinette.(I admit I might be projecting a little here.)

One day, she took out something from someplace high and the whole family realized that ‘holy shit when did you get so tall?’

Bonus if Jason comes back from a long mission and had a wtf moment because she was wearing 6-inch-heels and met his eyes with them on.

“Pixie?!”

------

You know how Bruce has the identity of Matches Malone to infiltrate the Gotham Underground.

While Jason does the drug deals more street crime stuff, Maria uses an excuse of being the representative for Red Hood excuse to mingle with the rich people who does crime on the side (Penguin), she uses it to go to black market auctions and buy some of the lost miraculouses which got into the hands of black market dealers.

Jason knows about it and acts as her ‘bodyguard’ anytime he can or sends one of his henchmen to be one with a death threat if she gets a single scratch on her.

Bruce is unaware of this. Or is he?

------

Mari helps with running WE since she is a little less busy with the vigilante side of things.

It started with Tim panicking about deadlines and Mari offering to help, to Bruce and Tim bullying the board to have her as co-CEO.

She has to be that and head of Afterlife. So she is very busy. Doesn’t know about what comes next….

------

Somehow the class comes to Gotham for a trip. It has been 3 years since her death.

Mari has changed her appearance since the day she left Paris. She has highlights in her hair after a ‘sibling bonding day’ with Jason. Her hair is kept short for convenience and not in pigtails. Along with her tall height and more confident aura, she is almost unrecognizable.

She rides a motorcycle too.

The class waits in the lobby for the tour and in walks this badass woman with aviator sunglasses, leather jacket and designer clothes which was all MT brand, making a lot of people swoon.

She takes off her glasses and walks past the class. Checking stuff on her phone and sipping coffee in her other hand.

She seems familiar but they couldn’t figure out why. (All except Chloe, Alix and Felix who are snickering in the background.)

Lila sees her and comments on how she must be a criminal with the way she dresses. (Lila internally freaks out because were her eyes messing with her? Because she looked a little like Marinette. Also jealous of the new arrival for stealing all the attention.) Alya takes the bait and calls security to ‘arrest’ her.

They just laugh. The class doesn’t understand, speaking in confused French.

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

“I am Maria Todd-Wayne, also known as designer MT. CEO of Afterlife and co-CEO of the very company you are in. I am allowed in here. Don’t judge a book by its cover.” she said in perfect French.

“But Lila told us you can’t speak French.”

“Who?”

“Lila Rossi, your friend. She told us that you and MT were dating.”

“Me dating myself. Okay I love myself because self-love is a thing but that is a whole other level. MT are my initials. Anyone who has a brain could have figured that out or at the very least do a Google search. I am not sure where your friend got that notion.”

“Hey, Bean, come on. We have a long day ahead of us.” Tim reminded her.

“Goodbye but cease the rumours or you would be escorted off the premises.”

As they rode up the elevator, “Tim, why are they here?”

“They are the lucky winners of the Wayne Enterprise Young Prodigies Contest. Why, Maria?”

“Lucky, huh.” She muttered under her breath. She might as well tell him. They are the Bats and they will find out anyway. “They are from my old class, the one you know…”

“Oh. Want me to send them back? I can do that if they are making you uncomfortable.”

“Nah. Too much to deal with. And it is unfair to send them back over a petty grudge. Besides, I could have some fun.”

“Anything that Bruce and I should be worried about?”

“I swear no killing. Just because Jason came back from the dead, hell-bent on killing. Doesn’t mean I am too.”

“Cool, just don’t do any property damage or traumatize our employees.”

“I might need you to erase some footage later and tell Bruce about this.”

“Some brownies, my favourite coffee cake, the ‘special’ brew and you have yourself a deal.”

-----

So basically she just showed up around where the class was ‘by coincidence’.

Talk to a few people and take them out of earshot of the rest of the class.

End the conversation by saying a few things only they and her would know. Insides jokes and secrets. (I pick her old childhood friends like, Nino, Kim and maybe Sabrina)

Uses Trixx to turn into a walking dead version of her 15-year old self and disappears as they freak out about how she knew that secret/story.

Freaks them out further by appearing again in front of the whole class and pretending not to know their previous conversation.

Mari manages to get Lila alone.

I should also say that Lila thought that her curse was making her see MT as Marinette.

It terrifies Lila when she finds out that MT is actually Marinette, not dead but alive after all this time and apparently living the high life she wanted. This fact made the Italian swell up with jealousy.

“I hope you are not lying about me again, Lila Rossi. Like you always do.”

“What do you want with me? I swear I didn’t say anything else about you.”

“Aw, Lila. Don’t recognize me?”

Maria flickers and Ladybug is in her place and later, the Marinette that appeared in her bedroom and back to normal.

“You! How? Why are you here? Why can’t you leave me alone?”

“Why not? I mean you did take away nearly all my friends, my parents and made my life a living hell. If you think about it, I am just repaying you the same favor. How are the others? Treating you well?”

“What did you do to me, you bitch?”

“I just put a curse on you. The ghosts of your past will haunt you until you stop.”

“Stop what?”

“Stop Lying, Liar. They all feed and grow in power from your lies. I wonder what would happen in a few years if you kept this up.”

“You think you can get away with this. This is war and I have already beaten you once.”

“Oh Rossi. This isn’t a war. It’s a death sentence.” With that she disappears.

Lila tries to tell her class that MT is actually Marinette. She is met with crazy looks. Some of them look like they want to believe her but don't because they don’t want to look crazy too.

Oh. Adrien wasn’t on the trip because his mother didn’t want him to go to the crime capital of America although the crime rate has gone down a little due to Hellbat curing some of the city’s bad energy..

Right after Lila told the class about MT, Scarecrow came to steal some Wayne tech and the class got caught in the crossfire. So later, it was brushed off as Lila seeing things due to the fear toxins.

-----

Joker made the mistake of kidnapping her. Once was enough to never try that again.

(It involved the use of nearly all of the Miraculouses, old and new. He was thoroughly humiliated at the end of it and his picture by the time Hellbat was done with him was on the Batfam’s Christmas Card. Like I said she doesn’t kill but making them beg for death was okay.)

It coincided with Jason’s Birthday and the video of the incident was ‘the best birthday present ever.’ The uncensored version was watched at the next undead siblings bonding day. Damian included.

After hearing a few rumours about what happened, most criminals were glad for Hellbat’s rare appearances. (which happens once a month and during really busy time of the year)

There was a time where Penguin was carrying out one of their plans and when Hellbat showed up, all of their thugs surrendered instantly. (No Batman did not pout at the fact that this French girl was more imitating than him.)

Scarecrow used his newest batch of fear toxin on her during the first year after she died.

He was astounded to see her still standing and she later proceeded to beat the crap out of him while being under the toxin’s influences.

He has tried to stay out of her way since then.

She saw Scarecrow as Hawkmoth and said a lot of things in French which scared everyone because she said it with so much hate, anger and in a very menacing tone that everyone is like ‘I am not touching this.’

It took Red Hood and Nightwing to restrain her from further beating Scarecrow up.

He was one of the people who sympathised with the Joker after the Incident.

The next was Riddler being so arrogant in his plans and managed to get Hellbat and Spoiler into a death trap.

“You know I have a few regrets in life. And my final one is that I got captured and am now going to get killed by a walking fashion disaster.”

“Hey! I made this myself. I will have, you know.”

“You have a brilliant mind but no sense of fashion at all. When I get out of here, I am going to burn that thing with you in it, for your crimes against fashion.”

“What is wrong with it?”

Cue a lot of roasting of Riddler’s costume and Spoiler adding more fuel to the fire.

They manage to escape while Riddler is crying on the floor, having an existential crisis.

The thing was no one knows why Riddler was silent the entire week after encountering Hellbat and crying when anyone mentions it.

They now think Hellbat is the scariest one in the Batfamily, second to Batman and tied with Black Bat/Orphan.

The few who find out what really happened in the warehouse that night. Blackmail material on the Riddler.

Three ( four if you count Penguin) of Gotham’s biggest villains of the Rogues Gallery scared of Bats’ newest addition. Hellbat was not someone they wanted to mess with.

---------

Magic crisis stuff. Like a world ending event thing. Dr. Fate says they need the Miraculous jewels but the last mention of them had been in Paris a few years ago and had vanished since then.

Costantine looked at Batman. “You know who you have to call.”

Batman calls Hellbat. Who hasn’t been introduced yet to the JL.

“Ah. Bats. Not that I question your authority or anything but how can your newest ‘ward’ help us?”

She takes off her helmet and reveals her face and more importantly, her earrings.

Tikki comes out of her hiding place.

“I am the current Guardian of the Miracle Box and wielder of the Ladybug miraculous during Hawkmoth’s reign in Paris a few years ago. Any other Questions?”

“Oh great Guardian. Tikki. It is an honour to meet you.”-Wonder Woman, who else.

“You too, Princess Diana. Pass on my regards to your mother.”-Tikki

A huge face-off and the big evil is defeated.

WW asks abt HM and gives a horrified face at the end of her story. Nearly everyone who eavesdropped on the conversation was.

"Forgive me, Guardian for not aiding you in your hour of need.”

“It’s okay. I understand that there are other crises, world-ending ones that JL have to take care of. I am better now. Mostly.”

“I doubt it with those revenge schemes I found lying around. But she is getting there with her therapist.”-Batman

“I hate you, Dad.”

“Did you just call him Dad?”

“No….”

“Do you see me as a father figure?”

“I see you as a nuisance with how nosy you are with my personal business. So you are more of a bother figure.”

“I see you as part of the family too, Daughter.” (Got that reference anyone?)

“Jason was the one who adopted me.”

“Legally you are adopted by me.”

Maria with Pikachu surprised face because nobody told her that. “My life is a lie.”

-------

(Part 5)

[sylverstorms]

Miranda x Mia---- Eternal

A Ko-Fi commission I wrote for the wonderful @saltwatereulogies. Thank you so very much for the support and I hope you enjoy the fic!

Drip. Splatter.

The first sound you’re aware of is that of the occasional waterdrop crashing onto the same humid, uneven floor you’re lying on.

The second is the sound of her voice.

“Rise and shine.” she says, somewhere off to the side. You are still too disoriented to pinpoint exactly where.

You’re not dizzy enough, though, to not immediately realize you’re trapped. The way the light behind your captor shines makes it all the more obvious, casting large shadows in the shape of your prison bars across your small, moldy cell.

“Y-you…” you struggle to talk. Your throat is too dry and your temples pound like a war drum. It feels like you’ve collided with a truck. And yet her voice commanding you to sleep is the last thing you remember.

“I haven’t formally introduced myself. Though I’m sure your friend has told you about me.”

You blink to make your vision focus yet it’s hopeless. She is but a dark blur to you –am I hallucinating or are those wings?

“My name is Miranda.”

Suddenly, that name snaps everything into focus so sharply you could get whiplash. You’re on your knees the next second, just about ready to leap at her. She’s the one. The one Chris warned you about. She may look like an angel but she is a devil.

“I don’t care who the hell you are! What do you want from me?!” you demand.

“Your cooperation in my experiments, for starters.” she says it calmly, but she is no fool to believe you’ll just agree to that, you can see it in her crystal-blue eyes.

“Ha! As if!” you retort.

“Well. That answer will change when I have Rose.” The name of your daughter makes every nerve ending in your body kick at once.

“What. Like Ethan will just hand her over to the likes of you?”

“Actually.”

A slow smirk crosses her full lips. Then their shape changes to match yours. All of her does, until you are left looking at a perfect mirror of yourself. Only, there’s no way you look quite that good inside of this shitty cell.

“He’ll hand her over to you.”

When she laughs, it is your own voice haunting your ears.

-

-

She has your daughter. She has your everything in her hands. So, she has your cooperation, as well.

Miranda doesn’t really talk when she comes to collect blood samples for whatever experiments she needs them. Your initial cries and questions were muted the second she told you the more helpful and less annoying you are, the more inclined she’ll feel to bring Rose to you for a while.

In the end, you do let yourself be her docile little lab rat.

Until you literally can’t take the silence anymore.

“Was it really… that easy?” ‘To enter my home and take my daughter’ you want to add but you can’t even get the words past your throat.

She seems to understand, though. “Effortless.” she isn’t being cocky as she says it. In fact, she seems almost surprised herself. At least, from the angle you get of her face, while she’s studying a strange rock-like substance under a microscope.

“How the hell did Ethan not figure out you aren’t me?!” That moron. He just gave your daughter to her. That clueless moron!

For a split second, you see her lip twitch in what could, perhaps, be a withheld smile. “I was there for a day, so. Seems like your husband doesn’t know you quite that well.”

Is it really fair to blame him for not knowing you, though? With the secrets you’ve kept from him? The distance? The trauma from the shared nightmare you experienced coming back to you every time you even looked at him?

God, Rose really is the only thing that kept you together, isn’t she…

It’s easy to hate the accursedly beautiful bitch outside your cell. It’s easy to blame Ethan for not even suspecting something was amiss with you for a whole damn day.

It is not so easy to blame yourself as much as you do them.

-

-

Miranda replies when you ask her things, so you ask her about herself. To your surprise, she does not shroud her motives from you.

She has lost her daughter, she tells you, and the only way to get her back is through yours. For the first time since you met her, you see emotion clearly expressed in her eyes and voice. You recognize how she longs to be with her child again.

You can understand the never-ending grief of a mother losing her offspring. You know if anything happened to Rose you would rather fling yourself off a cliff than live a life without her.

And apparently, that is what she tried to do, too. She tried to die –and discovered life instead. That is what she calls it, anyway. All you can hear as she explains is that she found –and founded— the Mold. The same one that ruined your husband and you.

One more reason to hate the psycho witch.

And yet.

When you try to reach for the rage you previously held for her, you find that it’s gone. You’re bitter, you’re exhausted, you want to cry and above everything you want to see Rose again. But you don’t loathe her as you should.

“What do you mean… the only way to get Eva back is through Rose?” you dare ask after several minutes of silence.

She turns to look at you, eyes as piercing as they are blue. “Technically, the trade is simple.” Maybe you’re losing it from the stress and lack of sleep, but you think she almost hesitates for a second. “…a life for a life.”

As soon as she speaks and the meaning of her words registers in your mind, you’re gripping at the rusty iron bars with all your might, rattling them, shouting profanities at her. You are back to hating her all over again. It’s much simpler this way.

Until… she walks over and grabs your hand over the metal. Her touch is oddly warm for such a glacial heart. You cannot tell what she does to you, but it feels like an aura flowing through your system that silences you. Calms you. You do not want to be calm.

“I wasn’t finished.” she speaks. “That is where the experiments with you come in. By running tests on your blood and Rose’s and using my DNA as a medium, during the ritual I can trick the Megamycete into giving me what I want through a form of mitosis. Essentially, cell duplication that will not override the existing vessel.”

To be honest… you lost her midway through the very first sentence. You were quite good with biology back in the day but right now, in the state you’re in, science is going right over your head.

“...Is there an English version of that.” you ask.

Her mouth curves into that almost-smile again. It would be quite gorgeous, actually, if she hadn’t kidnapped you, infiltrated your home as you and abducted your daughter.

“If the tests succeed, you get your daughter back, I get mine from cloned DNA and Mold cells.” There’s a hint of pride in her voice as she says it.

And now, assuming she’s telling the truth, you want those tests to succeed more than you want to get out of here. Her hand leaves yours and the weird calm she blasted into you dissipates with it.

“Wait. So…” Realization strikes you like a thunderclap. “So these tests are for me?”

“You’re welcome.”

“I didn’t say thank you, you crazy b—blonde.” You rattle the iron bars again, a tad weaker than before. She does smirk over the microscope, this time. “How likely are the tests to succeed?” you ask impatiently.

“Quite.” she replies, flat once again.

“…And if they don’t?” you hate how your voice shakes there, at the end.

She looks at you, dead in the eyes, as she answers: “I am getting my daughter back either way, Mia.”

You can’t believe it. You cannot believe you’re thinking this, but you hope the crazy bitch knows what she’s doing.

-

-

Miranda is… despicable, but she is a woman of her word.

She brings you Rose for hours at a time and in exchange you help her outside of your cell. You thought your daughter would be in a worse condition, considering who keeps her, yet she’s healthy as ever, well-fed and clean. The worst part is, she laughs every time Miranda comes close and she even reaches out for her.

“No, my darling, don’t do that.” you tell her, tucking her tighter in your arms, before the woman behind you notices what’s happening.

Except it’s too late. “Ah, I see.” Miranda speaks, coming up to you from behind. She’s tall enough to lean over your shoulder and wave at Rose, who moves both hands towards her. “A lady of taste.” the woman praises and the lightness to her voice almost makes her sound like someone else. Someone normal.

“Stop it.” You turn your child away from her. “She’s just confused because you’re lit up like a Christmas tree.” You motion with your chin at her getup.

Miranda chuckles. “What. She senses our bond. Rose feels safe with me.”

Safe with the monster who wants to sacrifice her to get her own child back. You cannot swallow that thought down. “But she’s not, is she?!” you snap.

“She is.” Miranda reverts to her cool facade, glancing down at your daughter. “I will never let anything hurt her. And when she gives me Eva back, I will make sure she grows up bathed in luxury.”

It’s the Mold, you’re sure of it.

It’s the Mold’s fault that you believe her.

-

-

You were supposed to see Rose today. Instead, Miranda comes into the cave alone, looking irritated. You start to worry. Nothing phases her without a good reason. What if—

“Where’s my daughter?!” you demand, eyes wide.

“We have a problem.” she tells you. Your blood goes cold in your veins. “A problem named Ethan Winters.”

“Ethan?” you gasp.

“He is trying to get Rose back and according to reports from the Lords under me, he cannot be killed. His hand got cut off and he just reattached it. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?” she’s certain that you know. You can see it in her steely eyes.

“I— why would I—”

“Before you think to lie to me, hear something else. I bear good news, as well.” Miranda says. “I have succeeded in my experiments. During the ritual, I can guarantee Rose will remain unharmed and unchanged.” the edge of her lip curls up as she delivers the news. You almost cry from the sheer relief.

You almost leap forward and hug her, yet you remember who she is and that she caused this mess in the first place.

“But my conditions have changed.” her voice is a sword that cuts off your happiness just like that. You knew it was too good to be true. “For me to save Rose, you will tell me how to permanently get rid of Ethan Winters.”

…What?

She wants you to… trade your daughter for your husband? How the hell can I do that?!

“He has ruined too much for me to let him walk away happily now.” Her jaw is tight enough to sprout new lines on her flawless face. She wants him dead and she always gets what she wants. “He has killed colleagues of mine. Spat in the face of a damn-near god. I will have his head.”

The corners of your eyes sting with welling tears. Your body is far more honest than you in making a decision. Nobody is too important to sacrifice when it comes to your daughter. Not yourself. Not Ethan. And Miranda knows this better than anybody else. You loathe how she knows.

“Give him to me, Mia. And in a few days this whole thing will be over.” she continues in a significantly softer tone, getting closer to you. Her wings shift, the very edge of black feathers brushing your arms.

“You want me to aid in killing the father of my child?!” you sob, grabbing at her clothes. You’d expect her to shove you away, but she doesn’t move. She doesn’t even blink.

“You have been so cooperative and so brave.” she soothes, gold-taloned fingers coming underneath your chin. “Make one last sacrifice for me. Help me murder Ethan so Rose can live. Help me and I vow to be her eternal guardian angel. Hers and yours.”

She could just force the answer out of you. She’s touching you and you know she has that power. But she doesn’t do it and it’s far worse this way. She wants it to be your choice.

You look away from Miranda’s icy eyes and her promises of everything.

And you tell her.

-

-

You do not ask about Ethan. All that’s in your mind is the ceremony.

For the entire morning, you cannot breathe. You trace notes in her lab and pace around until you literally feel like you’ll explode—

And then Miranda comes in. She is radiant, smiling from ear to ear, glowing with pure joy. She looks every part the goddess she pretends to be. The golden circle usually adorning her back is gone, her long blonde hair is left free to flow like fine strands of silk past her square shoulders.

“It is done!” she tells you, a hand extended for you to take. “Come. I’ll take you to Rose and you will be the first to meet Eva.”

Her hand is warm when it closes around yours. Black wings shroud you both. There is a gravitational pull around you that’s so intense you shut your eyes and grab onto her biceps for dear life.

“You can look, now.” she speaks once the world is stable again. Your gut is churning, yet every bit of exhaustion and discomfort vanish the second you see Rose. She is safe within the first of the two golden cribs in front of you, bathed by the soft sunlight that disperses across the luxurious, dark-tiled chamber you’re in.

You run towards her, lifting your daughter in your arms and kissing her forehead over and over. She laughs at you, blue eyes crinkled. My love. My everything, you think. Everything was worth it for this moment. And you would do it all again, to ensure her safety.

Miranda’s steps, regal and authoritative, come to a stop near the other crib. You lean closer, take a look… to see another little angel there, sleeping peacefully. She resembles Rose, yet she resembles Miranda, too.

“Oh my God.” you breathe. “You really did it.”

“I did it and you and Rose made it possible, Mia.” she says. Your child extends a tiny hand towards her. She removes one of her claws and lets her finger be taken in your baby’s grip. “You don’t have to leave. She loves me already.” A proud smile curves her lips.

You hate how it looks like a sunrise.

You hate it even more that you understand why Rose is so charmed.

“Her mom can grow to love me, too.” Crystal eyes look into your own. “There is no place safer than by my side. Stay and we will raise them together. You won’t have to fear disease or death with me. You and Rose will have every little thing you could ever want. Forever.”

You don’t want your child to be co-patented by this selfish megalomaniac, who is the killer of her father. But. Then you stop to consider what you have been through until now. Nightmare after nightmare; this vicious cycle does not look like it will be broken. One thing or another will haunt you and hunt you wherever you go. You don’t want that life for Rose.

You won’t accept that life for Rose.

“…we will stay. But you can forget that part about me growing any fonder of you than I am now.”

Miranda nods, but something in her expression is so damn cocky you want to smack her. “Oh, what’s that, Rose? You can tell your mother is lying, too? My genius girl.”

Your jaw drops. She is my genius girl!

Miranda then touches your chin and tilts it up. You don’t want to be any closer to the gorgeous fucking witch, but when she stops there, hovering just over your mouth for a skipped heartbeat, looking down at you with those crystalline eyes of hers, you’re paralyzed.

Her lips slide over your own for just one slick, hot second. When she pulls back, she caresses Rose’s cheek and winks at you.

“I hate you.” you say, yet it holds no real bite. God, you’re exhausted.

“That’s alright. We have all the time in the world to change that.”

[realcube]

comforting you during a thunderstorm ⛈

summary: you’re not much of a scaredy-cat but you do have an immense fear of thunder storms which you didn’t tell him about. so this is how he comforts you

characters: saiki k, bokuto, suna

tw// thunderstorms, hurt/comfort

thanks to anon for the wholesome request 🥺 this reminds me of ohshc & i love it so much 💞

Kusuo Saiki

he just popped downstairs to bid farewell to his mother before she headed out to buy groceries, leaving you and him home alone

he didn’t even notice the thunderstorm, until his mom mentioned it

‘oh, i have to walk to the bus-stop in this horrible weather. is there anyway you could make it stop, ku?’

as much as he wanted to say ‘yes, but i cba. cope.’  he just blurted out a ‘no.’ before heading back up to his room

he didn’t think you were scared of anything tbh

i mean you killed a cockroach for him one time so you were basically a fearless god, in his eyes

so imagine his surprise when he walked into his room and..you were gone

he was confused for a moment until he heard faint sobs and whimpers from inside his closet

he slid the door open to reveal you cowering in the corner with your knees pulled up to your chest and your face buried between them, sniffing and only moving when you had to use your hand to wipe away the tears that poured from your eyes and threatened to stain your leggings

‘i go for a minute and this is what happens-- are you crying?’ 

that was when you realised that saiki had entered the room once again and when you looked up, you saw his tall, daunting figure looking down at you - the glow from the lightening behind him not doing any favours as it just made him look even more unnerving

‘i don’t cry. i’m just.. excreting my eye juices. it clears your skin-- ah!’ you tried to explain but you were cut of by another boom of thunder rattle through the house

‘you’re lying.’ 

yeah, you knew he was a psychic so you weren’t really sure why you thought you’d be able to get the lie passed him

also, due to his psychic abilities and common sense, he figured that the thunder/lightening was the reason for your distress

saiki sighed, not really sure if he should do what he was about to but upon seeing how frightened you were and the nervous series of continuous thoughts rushing through your head...he just had to

you heard another noise which sounded rather different from thunder but it startled you none the less

you looked up at your boyfriend for comfort, only to notice that he was gone

then, you caught a glimpse of something unusual from the window 

you approached it hesitantly and peered outside to see the cluster of storm clouds being swept aside like dust by some unknown force, to reveal the bright blue sky that was hiding behind it 

you were in awe and although the masses probably thought this was the work of god or the wind, it didn’t take long for you to figure out that it was your psychic boyfriend who was behind it all

‘it’s gone now.’ his voice tickled your ears from behind and to say it gave you the fright of your life was an understatement

you jumped, alarmed at first but once you turned around for your eyes to meet his, you couldn’t help but feel a wave of relief wash over you 

‘oh, yes. thank you, saiki!’  you chirped, throwing your arms around him and pulling him into a tight embrace

he was a bit taken back at first but it didn’t take long for him to melt into your touch and hug back, cradling your head and patting it bc i hc that is how he hugs/cuddles

(he just wants you to feel safe with him 🥺 even though he is an OP psychic who could probably kill you if he’s not careful)

anyway, saiki will ensure that you never experience another thunderstorm for as long as you live

Kōtarō Bokuto

you already know that the first thing bokuto is going to do when he sees you cry and cuddle up next to you and cry too so you don’t feel embarrassed

but like when he comes back from the kitchen and heating the pizza he was about to eat, then he noticed you curled up under a blanket on the couch, shivering and whimpering..he drops the pizza

like he is so shocked 

he didn’t want to believe that you were crying tbh

but as your bf it was his duty to comfort you 

bc you always comfort him so well when he feels down and he wants to do the same for you!!

anyway, the first thing he does is join you under the blanket and cry with you for a bit

but his fake wails are so bad that you can’t help but laugh FVHIDBFA

once he notices that he’d cheered you up slightly, he’ll inquire, ‘are you scared of thunder?’

you nodded slightly, gently leaning your head on his strong shoulder, ‘a bit.’

bokuto bent his arm to pat and rub your head reassuringly, ‘but you’re so fearless, (y/n)! remember that time you went bungee jumping and even I was too afraid to do it?!’

you simply shrugged, tensing as you heard the thunder rumble through the living room

‘but anyway,’ bokuto hummed, placing a gentle kiss on your temple, ‘is there anything i can do to make you feel better?’

you shrugged once again, ‘maybe just stay with me for a bit longer, please.’ 

your wish was his command ✨

now there is no way he’s leaving your side until the storm passes

whether that takes a few minutes or the whole night

he’s not going to leave you even to eat the pizza he had dropped on the living room floor

and he hold you close against his chest so you know that he’s not going going anywhere

also, he started talking not only instinctively but also to drown out the sound of the thunder and redirect your attention onto him

‘and then kuroo was all like SUPRISE!! and i was all like THANKS, MAN BUT IT’S NOT EVEN MY BIRTHDAY and then kuroo was like I KNOW!! god, he knows me so well.’

‘hey, (y/n) - we should dress up for halloween his year! kuroo and his girlfriend are doing a couples costume so i think we should do one too and out-shine them! i was thinkin’ fred and daphne except you can be fred.’

‘i was looking on five minute crafts of food the other day - don’t ask why - and some of the desserts were lookin’ kinda tasty tbh. i’ll send you the link so we can make ‘em sometime.’

‘why did you comment ‘i’ll give you my first born child in exchange for you to crush my skull with your thicc, juicy, scrumptious thighs 🤤😳’ under my instagram pic? and why does it have 1k likes?’

needless to say, you can’t be sad for too when you’re around bokuto lmao

Rintarō Suna

RAIEVABTG DON’T EVEN LIE HE’D JUST BE LIKE ‘cover your ears den lmao’

ok ok so you’re on facetime with him and thunder blares through your room - it’s so loud that even he can hear it through the phone - and you jump, immediately pulling your blankets over yourself 

he was hitting his vape then he pulled away to look at his phone again and you were gone (bc you had brought your phone under the covers with you and obvs it was dark)

he could also hear your little whimpers even though you tried you best to hide them by slapping your hand over your mouth

‘doll, where’d ya go?’ he inquired, concern laced in his voice. he opened his drawer to toss his vape away but he did not avert his eyes from the screen just in case something happened

‘i’m still here. just under the covers.’ you spoke, doing your best to hide how shaky your voice was

‘why?�� he puffed, allowing the vapor to leak from his mouth and escape out to his surrounding - which was his bedroom 

‘oh, no reason.’

suna knew you were lying, it wasn’t hard to tell, ‘well, if that’s the case, can you come out from the cover, doll? i wanna see your face.’

‘-no.’ you immediately replied, letting out a feeble sigh as you realised that lying wasn’t going to get you anywhere. ‘i’m just a bit afraid of the thunder, that’s all.’

suna cocked his head to the side, ‘thunder? never heard that one before.’ he said, mentally cursing himself out just as he said that since it came out a lot harsher than he intended, ‘erm, why don’t you try putting your headphones on?’ he suggested in a soft voice, trying to make up for the uncalled-for comment he made

you hummed in agreement, wondering why you didn’t think of that

momentarily tossing your duvet aside, you rushed to your desk where you black headphones were laying, you picked them up and dashed back towards your bed as if someone was chasing you, diving onto it, pulling the cover back over your head and plugging the headphones into your phone before pulling them over your ears

‘this helps a bit. thanks, suna.’

suna’s eyes widened as he slumped back against his headboard, ‘suna? what happened to babe?’ 

‘thanks, babe.’ you corrected yourself with a giggle

now that suna’s voice was the most prominent sound in your ears, the thunder seemed to fade into satisfying background noise

you couldn’t get over the random flashes of lightening though, those always made you yelp - and he noticed this 

‘i really wish you were here right now.’ you mused, hugging your pillow to your chest to imitate what you’d to if he was here with you, ‘i’d give you all my kisses.’

‘bet.’ was the last thing you heard before he hung up on you 

you were quite bummed at first but then you registered that he was probably on his way over :))

and he was!

you heard a few loud knocks on your door followed by a monotone mutter ‘let me in, i’m freezing my tits off out here.’

ofc you let him in and after you led him to your bedroom, he immediately pinned you to your bed, ‘you know what i’m here for.’

‘huh?’

he was confused for a moment but then he noticed that you still had the headphones on

he snickered, momentarily pulling one of the earpads away from your ear to say, ‘kisses.’

[novelist-becca]

Mama's here

Fandom: The Owl House

Rating: Teen

Relationships: Eda Clawthorne & Luz Noceda

Summary: Luz and Eda have a rough night after Lilith and Gwendolyn leave.

AO3

After Lilith and her mother left, things were…uneventful to say the least. Almost.

Eda was tired. Luz was tired. Everyone was tired. To put it simply, the events of that day were finally catching up.

True to her word, Eda flopped onto the couch immediately.

Luz had come back inside, noticed her, and approached cautiously. After...everything, the girl wasn’t sure if Eda wanted to talk. But Luz wanted to say something nonetheless. The guilt was practically gnawing at her chest. For the time being, she settled on sitting on the floor against the couch, next to Eda’s head.

“Eda?” Luz started. The witch turned her head to her in response, her eyes tired. It hurt all the more for Luz to look at her mentor like this. “I know you’re tired, but...can I say something?”

“Hm?” Eda hummed in response. Luz took this as a signal to continue.

“I’m sorry. About everything tonight.” Luz said.

“Kid, it's fine.”

“No, it's not. I shouldn't have gotten involved. I only wanted to help you, but- I think I made things worse by listening to your mom.” Luz explained. Eda was looking at her. That meant that she was at least listening. “I thought that if I helped her cure you, the rift between you and her would be mended.” Luz almost mentioned that it felt like fixing the rift between her and her own mother, but holds her tongue. This isn’t about her.

Eda sits up in her spot on the couch, facing Luz. “Luz, it’s- it’s okay.”

But Luz continued, needing to get this across to her mentor. “But I’m the one who set up the apple blood signs. If I didn’t, you wouldn’t have fallen into Gwen’s traps, which almost got you killed! I swear, I tried to stop her, Eda. I had no idea she would do all that stuff! Heck, I-I had an elixir ready for you- I was ready to bail! But...it was the last second. You turned into the beast again, and it’s my fault.” She finished with a sigh. “I’m so sorry. I should’ve trusted your judgement. You have every right to be mad at me.”

Eda glanced to the side, choosing her words carefully. It was clear that what happened weighed heavily on the kid, as would anything else. Luz, the selfless soul she was, was only trying to help her.

“Luz, I'm not mad. It’s okay. I get it.” The witch says, touching Luz’s shoulder. “You had no idea my mom would hide the elixirs. You didn’t know she would get that extreme. If anything, I should’ve told you more about her sooner. I could already tell her ‘cures’ were bullshit anyway after a few years. It’s not on you.”

Luz looked at her with unsure eyes. “But I still played a part in what happened. You turned into the owl beast because I was too desperate to know a way back to the human realm. And...now I know that Gwen fell for a stupid scam because she was desperate to help her daughter.” Memories come back to Luz of people in the human world just like Gwen, except they were less willing to change when presented with facts.

Eda squeezed the girl’s shoulder, smiling softly. “Hey. Did you forget what happened tonight? Mom finally got it into her head that I don’t want a cure. She’s willing to give the elixirs a chance, and-” The witch’s smile faltered and she looked down as she remembered. “She’s going to make things right with Lily. I-I know it.”

Seeing the sadness in Eda’s eyes, Luz takes her mentor’s hand in her own. “I’m sorry about Lilith too, Eda. I can’t imagine how much it hurt for her to leave. She’s your sister, and she was only here for a few weeks.” Luz knows Eda and her sister were close, and despite everything that happened between them all, Luz has to admit she is starting to miss her too.

“And now she’s gone.” Added Eda, who squeezed the girl’s hand.

“Don't worry, I'm sure she misses you too. And King and I are still here for you, Eda.” Luz reminds her. “Remember?”

Eda smiles again. Why did the kid have to be so good? “I know, kid.” she wants to make sure to remember that and also return the favor moving forward. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For being so sweet.” Eda says fondly with a yawn. She places a hand on Luz’s head, stroking her hair gently. “Honestly, what did I do to deserve you...?”

A light blush spread over Luz’s cheeks as she leaned into the touch. “Dunno, just got lucky I guess…”

About a minute passed before Luz was close to dozing off on her mentor’s lap. Seeing this, Eda finally decided it was time to settle in for the night. Titan knows both of them need it.

“Well-” Eda clicked her tongue, gently shaking the kid’s shoulder. “I think it’s time we both get to bed, dontcha think?”

Luz slowly stood up from her spot on the floor, rubbing her eyes. “You’re right…” she yawned.

Eda stood up as well, stretching out her back. Remind me to not fall asleep sitting up again.

“Sooo, if you need me, Luz, I’ll be in my nest-”

Suddenly, Luz had grabbed Eda’s arm. “A-Actually, umm…” The girl tried to choose the right words, because she didn’t know if she could sleep alone tonight, not after today. She couldn’t shake the feeling.

“Can...may I sleep with you in the nest tonight? I don’t wanna be alone.” Luz asks sheepishly, closing her eyes, not wanting to see Eda’s reaction. To her surprise, Eda has a small smile on her face.

“‘Course you can, kiddo.” Eda says, patting the kid’s shoulder in reassurance. She almost asks why, but a part of her feels that she already knows the answer, and that the kid would rather not say. Besides, the witch could use some company other than King tonight.

The girl sighs in relief, her body relaxing. “Thanks Eda.”

“Aight then, you go change, and uh, I’ll be up in my room.”

And if Eda noticed how Luz held her hand as they both went upstairs, she didn’t say.

~

By the time Luz had changed in her room, Eda was already lying down in her nest, still in her dress since she was too tired to get into her own pajamas. She was on the verge of falling asleep, until Luz had appeared in the doorway in her pajamas holding a large pillow and her sleeping bag. She looked unsure of herself until Eda sat up and nodded her head, gesturing for Luz to come in.

The kid eagerly walked over to the nest, already trying to scramble inside, albeit very clumsily. Eda snorted at the adorableness of it all, but reached out.

“Hey hey, slow down there, kid. Let me help you with that.” Eda tried, keeping her voice soft so she doesn't wake King.

Luz shook her head. “Nooo, I'm fine. I can do it. The walls of the nest aren't that high…” Her words were slurred. She obviously was already getting tired, the grip on her stuff weakening. But the witch wouldn't give up.

“Luz, really. You're tired and you're carrying a huge pillow plus a sleeping bag. You could easily trip.” Eda insisted, reaching a hand out. “And trust me, you don't wanna pass out on the floor.”

“I'm fiiiine.” Luz yawned.

The witch rolled her eyes at the stubbornness and took the pillow, placing it in the nest along with the sleeping bag, surprising Luz, but she didn't protest.

Said human girl was about to climb in when two bony hands grabbed her arms and yanked her up and inside with a surprised ‘oh!’

“C’mon kiddo, get in here.” Eda said, releasing her and allowing the kid to get comfortable while adjusting her position herself. Now they were both laying on their sides, facing each other.

“Hey…” Luz yawned again.

“Hey.” Eda whispered tiredly. Next to her, Luz was all tucked inside her sleeping bag, one hand hesitantly sticking out, as if reaching out to her. Eda didn’t know why, but she stuck her hand out, close enough to Luz’s.

The events of the day were, to say the least, exhausting. From Gwendolyn visiting, to the old woman making things worse, to Lilith getting more and more stressed by her presence leading to the curse affecting her, to both sisters transforming, to Lilith leaving after weeks of living there.

But as usual, it all worked out okay in the end.

“Well...sleep well, Eda.” Luz murmured, and within a minute, she was asleep.

“You too, kiddo.”

~

“AH!”

Eda bolted up in her nest, shaking and breathing heavily. She looked around frantically, making sure she was truly safe.

So it was one of those nights tonight.

Eda had that dream again. The one where things had gone...differently during the bridge duel. The witch suppressed a sob and hid her face in her hands as the horrible images replayed in her head.

Luz was thrown over the side of the bridge, like usual, except...Eda couldn’t catch her. Luz had, to her mentor’s horror, been impaled by the spikes, screaming out in pain as she bled out while Eda was helpless to watch the poor girl die while she herself had succumbed to the curse.

There was nothing she could do.

The witch took some deep breaths, trying to remind herself that it wasn’t real, that her kid - Luz was fine, she was safe, they were all safe and -

Next to her, Eda heard the sounds of rustling of fabric and soft crying. It was Luz. And she was tangled up inside her sleeping bag, tossing and turning. Her face was scrunched up in discomfort, and she seemed to be fighting something only she could see.

“Luz?” Eda called out softly, taking Luz’s shoulder and shaking it. The writhing girl had tears coming down her cheeks, and started kicking out. “Luz?!” she said, alarm creeping into her voice. “Hey, wake u-”

Suddenly, Luz stirred awake, eyes wide with fear. She tried to sit up, but was trapped by her zipped up sleep cocoon, making her begin to panic and breathe heavily. The girl didn’t know what was going on, but whatever was binding her down, she wanted out.

The sight of it made Eda’s heart crack. So she quickly unzipped the damn thing, freeing the panicking kid. She helped Luz into a comfortable sitting position, curling an arm around her shaking body.

“Luz, hey, it’s okay, it’s okay. You're safe. I’m here,” Eda says, pulling Luz close as the girl snuggled closer in return, burying her face in her chest. “Easy there.”

“I-” Luz choked out as she clung tight to the back of the witch’s dress. “I-I can’t- Mamí -”

Eda held her tighter and tried to ignore the feeling that came with what Luz just said. “Shh, shhh, mama’s here, you’re safe, kid,” She repeated, combing a hand through the girl’s hair over and over. “Jus-just breathe, okay? I got you.” She could feel her own throat tightening, and the tears began to form at the corner of her eyes. Whether she was comforting herself or Luz, she didn’t know. Luz needed her.

“I got you…”

As Eda cradled and rocked Luz in her arms, she felt the way her human shook with sobs, and it broke her heart. She knew what it was like to wake up scared and alone, and she;ll be damned if her kid went through the same. All she could do was hold Luz close and tight like her own child and try to help her.

At the same time, Eda was just glad Luz was alive. She wouldn’t forgive herself if anything had happened to her. The child -- her child at this point --, although scared and crying, was enough to reassure her that she was safe. That they were both safe.

Shit, kid, I wish I knew how to make this all go away.

“Eda…?” A small, scratchy voice squeaked.

Eda looks down at the girl, pulling away only a little bit, keeping her arms wrapped protectively around her. “Hey, kiddo.” she says softly. Luz looks back up at her with tired, glossy eyes. “You okay?” She asks, even though it is a stupid question. Of course she isn’t okay.

“Mmh.” Luz responds. “I don’t know…”

“That’s okay,” Eda says, adjusting Luz so that her head is resting on the witch’s shoulder.

A small smile forms on Luz’s face. “You’re alive.”

Eda nods. “That’s right.” So are you.

“I’m glad…” Luz murmurs. Then her eyes widen. “The dream - it was the bridge again, I-I was on the…a-and you were…” She squeezes her eyes shut and burrows close to the witch, going in for another hug. “I’m sorry.”

Eda’s breath hitches and she returns the embrace easily, because for Titan's sake, she needs one too.

“Oh, Luz, it’s okay…” Eda rests her cheek on top of Luz’s head, holding her tight once more as she tries to hold back tears. “I'm here.”

“I know it’s just a dream, but I was so scared. It could've been real.”

“I know, but it's over. We’re all okay, thanks to you.” Eda reassures, continuing to stroke her hair.

“Thank you…” Luz clings tighter. “'m sorry for waking you up.”

Eda pulls back to look her in the eyes. “Don't apologize, Luz. In fact…I had the same nightmare.”

“Really?” Luz gasps softly.

Eda nods. “Mm-hm. When I woke up, I really thought you were…” she stops there, not needing to elaborate further. “But I know you're still alive and well.”

Because I really don't know what I’d do if I lost you.

The witch cups Luz’s cheek, and Luz leans into the touch.

“I don't know what I'd do if I lost you.” Luz says, resting her head on the witch’s chest.

“You won't, you won't. I’m not going anywhere.” Eda promises.

After a while, Eda looked down to see Luz starting to drift off.

“You ready to try to go back to sleep, kiddo?” She asks. But Luz opens her eyes and shakes her head.

“I dunno, Eda…”

Eda grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around Luz, draping the top part over her head. “Don’t worry. I’ll be right here, and I won’t let ‘em get to you. Okay?”

As Luz was laid down in the nest, a warm feeling sprouted in her chest. The way Eda’s been treating her lately has been soft, kind, and… god, Eda was just being so good to her.

And it reminded her of her mother.

She didn’t know how to feel about that. But it was nice.

“You’re a lot like her, Eda.” Luz says to the witch.

“Who?”

“My mom. You take care of me...”

Eda looks away at that, not sure of what to say. She still wasn’t used to the idea of being a mother, especially after the fiasco that was her own mom’s visit, and yet taking care of Luz and King came naturally to her. She won’t admit it, but she likes the warm, fuzzy feeling it gives her.

“Well, I’m glad I get to take care of you,” She says simply. And it’s true.

Eda settles down next to Luz. “Now, let’s get some shut-eye, yeah?” She says, kissing Luz’s forehead.

Luz snuggles closer to Eda tucking her head under her chin, letting the older witch wrap an arm around her swaddled body.

“Good night, mamá…” Luz mutters.

The last thing she remembers before drifting off was a warm feeling of safety.

[your-denki-kun]

Things Said

Kirishima Eijirou x Sibling!Reader

A/N: This was inspired by a youtube video, but I changed it up. I’ll put the link at the end of this A/N. Anyway, requests are welcome, no smut, but I do write one-shots/fanfics and headcanons. You can also send in questions if you want to, I’m bored. Sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes, I have dyslexia and Englisch is not my mother language. The video is an ASMR video btw in an age regression setting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UIhcHeAupU&t=670s

What: Angst, Fluff, Screaming, Being wrongly accused, Crying.

Word count: 2668

~3rd person pov.~

A few days ago Eijirou lashed out on you, saying some nasty things. Of course he apologized, especially when he found out it was a misunderstanding on his part, but you've been acting off ever since.

You're less cheery and the sparkles in your eyes have dulled significantly. It worries him, but he doesn't know what to do to fix it since he isn't entirely sure what caused your odd behavior, he has a hunch, but he isn't sure.

Right now you're up in your room and Eijirou's is on his way to his own room. As he walks past your room he hears you faintly talking, which is confusing cause the conversation sounds one sided.

He walks over to your door and slightly opens it. Peeking around the corner and into your room he sees you sitting in the middle of your room. It seems you're talking to something or someone, but it's hard for him to see because your back is facing the door.

''Do you think I’ve been behaving good enough, Mister Fluff?'' He hears you ask softly and the name you used informs him you're talking to the stuffed animal he got you a few years ago.

He had bought it for your fourth birthday and it's been your favorite since. It's a bright red, fluffy dog that is about a meter from head to butt.

''Nii-san seems happier with me, but I don't know if I've been good enough. I should probably try harder, be better. Maybe I should start saying yes or sure instead of okay.'' Your voice sounds sad as you speak and it breaks the redhead’s heart. ''I think I should do that. Maybe it'll make nii-san like me again.''

Eijirou's eyes tear up at that last statement as his heart shatters inside his chest. unconsciously he walks into the room carefully and over to you, he crouches down and wraps his arms around you from behind, holding your small figure close to him as he buries his face in your hair.

A startled yelp leaves you as soon as you feel his arms around you, but once you notice it's your older brother you relax and let him hug you, staring down at the red dog plush you have in your lap, petting the fabric gently like it's a real dog. You can slightly feel Eijirou shake, but the movement is so small you aren't sure he actually is.

''I never stopped liking you, Little Shark.'' He mumbles causing you to freeze up once again.

''....Don't lie. Mommy says it's bad to lie. Ever since the fight you've been acting different around me, I know you don't like me anymore, you said so yourself.''

~Flashback~

''Little Shark! Did you touch my laptop?!'' Eijirou calls as he walks over to the living room where you're watching TV.

''No nii-san. You said I can't touch it unless you give me permission, so of course I didn't. Why?'' You ask, looking away from the TV and at your angry looking older brother.

''Because it's broken and you and me are the only ones home. Now be honest and tell me, did you break my laptop?''

''No, I didn't nii-san.''

''Liar!''

''I'm not lying! I didn't come into your room, I swear!'' You exclaim shocked as you get up and walk closer to him.

''Stop lying! You know you can't lie!''

''I’m not lying!''

''Than how did it break!''

''I don't know!''

''So you did break it!''

''I didn't!''

''Ugh! You can be so annoying and bothersome!'' He exclaims in annoyance as he stares at the ceiling and runs his hands down his face.

''But I didn't even touch it.'' You whisper with wide eyes.

''Just stop lying! Just admit you broke it!''

''I didn't, I swear to god!''

''Don't swear to shit when you're lying! God I hate you so much sometimes!''

''....What?'' You whisper so softly he barely hears.

''I said I hate you, that you're annoying and bothersome! You're the worst sibling someone could ever have! What did I do to deserve having you as my sibling?! Why can't you just ever tell the truth and do as told?! Why do you always have to cross the fucking lines?!''

''Nii-san yo-''

''SHUT UP!! Go to your room and don't you dare come out ‘till you can tell me the truth!''

''I am! I didn't break it!'' You exclaim as a single tear falls.

''GO TO YOUR FUCKING ROOM!!!''

You shrink back at how loud he yells and scramble up to your room, tears blurring your vision as they stream down your face like waterfalls. Reaching your room you run inside, slam your door shut and sit in the corner as you hug Mister Fluff close and sob into his fabric.

Downstairs Eijirou releases a loud, frustrated sigh before he heads up to his room, stress organizing it to try and calm himself down. As he's cleaning he finds a note with the handwriting of the female who cleans the house, asking him to call her when he finds the note. Frowning Eijirou grabs his phone and dials her number.

''Ah, Eijirou, you found the note. Thank god.'' Yumi's familiar voice sighs in relieve as soon as she picks up.

''Hey, I did find the note. Is something wrong? Did something happen?'' Eijirou asks, confused as to why he has to call her.

''Do you remember my grandchild?''

''You mean Takumi? I remember him, did something happen to him?''

''No, but I took him to work today because his parents were at work and I had to babysit him because no one else could.''

''That's fine, sometimes that happens. I thought mom and dad said you could?''

''I know, but you know how boys can be curious and touch things they aren't supposed to.''

''I do, I myself used to do that a lot.'' Eijirou frowns, not really knowing what Yumi is getting at.

''Well, he went into your room and broke your laptop. He wanted to ask if he could use it and picked it up, but he dropped it when he tripped over his laces. I'm so sorry. I'll of course cover the cost and everything.'' She cries over the phone.

''I'm sure you will.'' Eijirou says as his eyes widen in shock.

''I'm sorry. He's just so clumsy sometimes.''

''It's fine. Things like that happen.''

''I'll pay for everything and I'll make sure he's punished.''

''Hey, it's okay. We can go over what we'll do with costs later, but accidents happen. Just, tell him to be careful with other peoples stuff and that he shouldn't pick up things that aren't his unless he has permission.''

''Of course, I will do that!''

''Now, I have to go. We'll talk later.''

''Is something wrong? Are you mad at him?! I can punish him! You don't have to spare him because he's my grandchild!''

''It's fine, Yumi, I'm not mad at him, I swear. I just have a little situation over here which I need to fix. We'll talk later, okay?''

''Okay.''

''Bye Yumi.''

''Bye Eijirou.''

''Shit!''

Eijirou throws his phone onto his bed and speed walks over to your room, hearing sobs which grow louder the closer he gets. Reaching your room he opens the door and his heart breaks at the sight of you sobbing your eyes out as you shake uncontrollably.

''Little Shark....''

He feels his gut twist and heart break even more at the way you flinch and try making yourself smaller, trying to muffle your uncontrollable sobs. Carefully he walks closer and crouches down in front of your small figure.

''Hey, hey, it's okay. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Yumi told me what happened, I should have believed you. I’m so sorry Sharky.'' He whispers, reaching out to but halting his movement when you move away from his touch. ''Sharky....''

Eijirou feels his own eyes tear up at the sight of you sobbing and moving away from him, as if you're scared off him. He sits down on the floor, staring at you helplessly as he tries figuring out what to do to make it up to you.

''I didn't mean the things I said, I swear. I..... I should have believed you. You're always good and never really lie about things like this. I was just so mad my laptop broke, seeing I use it a lot for school and really need it. I'm not mad anymore though, not at you at least.'' He rambles as he tries locking eyes with you, but failing.

''Can you please look at me, Little Shark?'' You weakly glance at him and he wobbly smiles at you. ''There those beautiful eyes are. I'm really sorry, I should have never yelled at you or said the things I said. I've just been so stressed. I have a lot of tests soon and I can barely sleep. That's no excuse, I know that.

I just wanted you to know. God I fucked up so bad. I really hurt you, didn't I, Sharky? Oh who am I kidding, of course I did. I'm so sorry, I'll never yell at you like that again, okay? I-I'll buy you something you really want to make it up to you. We can go get ice cream or watch a movie or anything. Just stop crying please.'' He rambles in a pleading tone as he flails his arms around.

''Do you really hate me?'' You sniffle softly after a bit.

''No! No, I love you with my whole heart. I could never hate you, Little Shark. You're the best sibling I could ever wish for and I hate that I just told you all those awful things I didn't even mean.''

You stare at him, searching his eyes as you slightly uncurl yourself. The action causes a smile to appear on Eijirou's face as he moves closer, opening his arms hesitantly, silently asking for a hug. Slowly you move closer and hug him tightly, burying your face in his chest. He's quick to wrap his arms around you and hold you close.

''I'm so sorry, Little Shark. I didn't mean anything I said when I was mad. I love you.''

You don't reply and silently sit in his lap, letting him cradle you as you feel your eyes getting heavy and closing against your will.

~flashback over~

''I didn't mean that, Little Shark. I was just mad because I thought you broke my laptop and were lying to me, saying you didn't.''

''But you said you hate me and that I am the worst sibling ever and that I'm only a bother and annoying.'' You whisper as your eyes tear up, remembering how he had yelled at you with so much hate in his eyes.

''And I'm sorry, I didn't mean those things. I thought we cleared this?'' Eijirou whispers as he lets go of you and goes to sit in front of you, seeing the tears about to spill from your eyes.

''We did, but I know that deep down you meant what you said, that you thinking I broke your laptop was just an excuse to say what you really think.'' You say, looking him in the eyes as the tears fall from your eyes.

''That's not true, Little Shark, not at all. You're the best sibling ever and I love you.'' A gentle smile adorns his face as he reaches out to wipe away your tears as your figure shakes. ''I explained why I said what I said, didn't I?''

''You did.'' You mumble as you look down at your lap.

''And you forgave me, right?''

''I did.''

''So why are you saying you need to be better and that I did mean the things I said? You are perfect the way you are and all the mean things I said weren't true.''

''Because your eyes looked so angry and... And like you meant it and....... It hurt me. It made me think you hate me and don't want me as your sibling and then you keep acting so off, like you just apologized to make me feel better and that you didn't mean it and that....... That you do hate me.'' You softly sniffle as you wipe at your eyes.

''Little Shark........''

''Is it true? Did you only apo-ologize to make me feel bette-er?'' You softly sob as you look at him with broken eyes.

''No! I apologized because I meant it. I..... I just feel so guilty for what I did that I don't really know what to do to make it up to you. The way you acted and looked at me that day made me realize just how much my words affected you and I knew it would leave marks. I want to make it up to you so the marks are as small as possible.'' He explains as he pulls you onto his lap.

''Maybe I should have communicated that, that I want to make it up and that I love you. I.... I just feel so bad, I don't..... God..... I really screwed up, huh?'' He asks as the tears fall from his eyes and his hold tightens.

''I always thought I..... I always believed that I was a good guy, that I would never hurt people like so many hurt me, but... I just hurt you just the way others hurt me. I said the worst things I could ever say to you and..... I just know they'll hunt you for ever, that the words will never leave. That a part of you will always believe those words are the truth.

I regret every single word, but.... Just saying sorry won't fix the damage I made. I.... I said I hated you, my favorite person in the world. I...... I said you were the worst and that you can't do anything right. I don't know why I said that, I wish I never said those things. I wish I could go back in time and stop myself from saying any of the things I said.

I am the worst sibling. I hate myself for what I did to you. You're only eight and now I'll be the reason you'll doubt your own self worth. I'll be the reason you will hate yourself in the future. Why can't I do anything right?'' He sobs as he holds you close and shakes violently.

''Nii-san?'' You whisper softly, both in shock and confusion.

''Hmm?''

''You're a good nii-san. You always think of me first, you're super strong and manly and you're always here for me. I'm not mad about the things you said to me, they just hurt. Cause I know nii-san can be really stressed from school, so I try to not be that much of a bother and to make sure you can relax when at home.

When you said those things I..... I thought I failed at that part and I still kinda do, but I guess deep down I know you didn't mean what you said, but the words have been said and they hurt. I know you're sorry however and regret what you said. So I forgive you. I just need to heal in my own way. I love you nii-san.''

''I love you too, Little Shark, so much. And you always do such a good job and making me relax, it just spilled that day.''

''I know.'' You whisper as you cuddle up to him.

The two of you sit there for a while, Eijirou holding you close as you just let him. Loosening his hold he leans back slightly and smiles at you before kissing your forehead, making it linger.

''Can we do something together nii-san?'' You ask as he pulls back.

''Of course, what do you want to do?''

''Uhm.... Can we play together?''

''Sure, what do you want to play?''

''Heroes! And I'll be the strong and manly Red Riot who saves the hostage which is you!''

[yourdeepestfathoms]

song of storms

Texas decided to flash flood, so my school went into its severe weather drill yesterday. we sat in the hallways in darkness while some kid played his guitar and sang for us. it got me inspired, so here’s some hurt/comfort!

—————————

In Romania, it sure did rain.

A storm so powerful it seemed to have some kind of vendetta against Castle Dimitrescu had blown in around the early afternoon, and by the time dinner was almost ready to be served, the brisk rainfall had warped into a mini hurricane. Raindrops fell like silver bullets and thunder cracked repeatedly, lightning tearing through the sky with white fangs, splitting the horizon in two. Water splattered across the windows like sprays of blood, and Alcina went around making sure they were all secure against the howling wind, seeing as the maids were too useless to do so.

While checking the glass and locks in the western wing, a massive boom shook the entire castle, making even Alcina feel small in comparison. Pulling the drapes shut firmly, there was a second crash of thunder, but this time, she heard something inside of it.

A whimper.

Alcina turned. The room closest to her was the library. It had to have come from in there.

Creeping inside, Alcina first checked the windows, making sure there were no leaks, then looked for the culprit of the cry. It wasn’t very hard when the sky roared like a vicious beast and caused its victim to sob from behind a bookshelf. Peeking around the polished wood, she found the sufferer.

It was her eldest daughter, curled into the fetal position, her knees to her chest, hands clamped over her ears, shaking all over. She flinched when a burst of thunder seemed to shake the entire castle, threatening to bring the ceiling down on top of them, and then let out a choked whimper, digging her claws into her scalp in a vain effort to block out the noise.

“Bela?”

Bela’s head snapped up, and Alcina watched as shame crept into her expression.

“M-Mother--” she stammered. “I-- I--”

Alcina walked over and crouched down next to her. She set a hand on Bela’s shoulder, feeling her shudder beneath her touch. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, Mother,” Bela said, despite her obvious panic attack. “Of course.”

Alcina narrowed her eyes. “Bela, what have I told you about lying to be about your health?”

Bela lowered her head. “I shouldn’t do it…”

“Right. Now, I will ask you again: are you alright?”

Bela shifted, sniffling. “I’m-- I’m just a little freaked out, that’s all. But-- but I’m okay. It isn’t that bad.”

And then, like it was trying to be helpful, thunder crashed, and Bela jolted right into Alcina’s arms with a yelp, practically vibrating with fear. She clung to Alcina’s gown with her claws, her eyes wide and bulging.

“Isn’t that bad, huh?” Alcina said.

“It-- it just startled me!” Bela blustered. She was adamant about saving face, it seemed.

“Uh-huh,” Alcina set a hand on her back, rubbing up and down her spine slowly. “Bela, I thought you said you weren’t scared of storms anymore? Were you lying just to look strong for your younger sisters?” She squinted. “Or did they shame you again? I’ve told those girls that all fears are valid, no matter how irrational--”

“N-no!” Bela cried, clenching fabric between desperate claws. “No! Don’t get mad at them, please! It-- it wasn’t them!”

Alcina looked at her curiously, one eyebrow raised.

Bela lowered her head. “I-- I’m not afraid of storms. Rainstorms, I mean. But the thunder…” She cast a dismayed look at the nearby window and jumped when lightning torched the sky. She huddled closer. “It’s just so loud. And dangerous! What if-- what if there’s a tornado?!”

Alcina bit back a laugh. Her eldest child had the wildest imagination.

“Don’t be silly,” she said. “Romania doesn’t get tornadoes.”

“It has before!” Bela said, steadfast on her opinion. “And FLOODS! Oh, Mother, what if it floods? What if the castle floods?! Where will we live?! What if-- what if--”

Sensing Bela’s growing panic, Alcina cupped her cheeks and made her look at her. “Breathe, darling. Breathe. You’re starting to spiral.”

“But-- but--”

“Breathe. Here, follow me,” she then inhaled deeply. “Come on, my love. Just like me. In…” She demonstrated again.

Bela shakily inhaled.

“And out…” She exemplified.

Bela shakily exhaled.

They repeated this process three more times before Bela was calmer, though she wouldn’t stop glancing out the window. The rain had gotten so bad that the trees outside weren’t even visible through the pelting sheets of rain. The lightning, however, still made itself known, slashing right through the water walls like the talons of a monster.

“It’s so bad out there,” Bela murmured, her eyes becoming distant as she started wrapping herself up in her own fear again.

“Ah, ah,” Alcina redirected her gaze over to her. “Don’t look at that, darling. Look at me.”

Bela swallowed thickly and obeyed. Her claws dug into Alcina’s arms. “Mother,” she whispered hoarsely. “I’m-- I’m scared.”

Alcina frowned, though she was proud of Bela for openly admitting such a thing. She pulled her in close.

“It’s alright, my darling,” Alcina murmured. “It’s alright. Nothing is going to get you. It’s just a noise.”

“I-I know, but--”

Thunder cracked, and Bela buried her face against Alcina’s chest. Her shaking worsened.

“I hate it, I hate it,” Bela wept.

Alcina moved her hands over Bela’s ears, holding them firmly, hoping to block out the sound for her precious daughter. How could she forget that Bela didn’t like loud noises? Of course this would be like hell for her.

“Shh, shh,” Alcina rocked Bela back and forth in her lap. A faint rumble rippled through the house and she glared at the window, cursing the storm for causing her baby so much distress. “It’s going to be okay. It’s going to be okay…”

She spent five more minutes on the floor before Bela finally pulled her head back. She didn’t look any less terrified, nor had the storm lessened its brutality, but there was a new light in her eyes. Alcina already knew what she was doing.

“Bela, don’t--”

“I’m sorry, Mother,” Bela said anyway, dipping her head for a moment. “I don’t know what came over me.”

“Don’t even pretend, child,” Alcina scolded. “You’re still as white as a ghost. And these shivers… You’re shaking like a newborn goat!”

Bela shook her head. “I’ll be fine. You said it yourself, didn’t you?”

Alcina wrinkled her nose, then sighed. “Alright then. Shall we both go down to the parlor, then? I should check on your sisters.”

Guilt flitted through Bela’s eyes. “Yes. Of course. We must make sure that they aren’t scared.”

That got a small chuckle out of Alcina. “Sure.”

They both stood up, with Alcina helping Bela on her unsteady legs. While walking down the hallway to get to the main parlor, both mother and daughter couldn’t help but gaze out the windows.

The sky was the color of the ocean- dark, wild, and swallowing everything in its wake. The only thing that could possibly rival its impenetrable wall of thick black-blue were the constant cracks of blazing lightning that split the roiling clouds like a hot knife. The storm would be cut in half at the flash of its searing glory, then sewed itself back together like a monstrous, watery wound. The wind was so fierce that it seemed to be sent by an enraged being to punish the castle for some unruly sin. Water rushed down the pathways that Alcina could just barely make out in the garden like baby rivers, threatening to drag anything and anyone in its way down the dirt with it. Raindrops battered the glass and walls and doors, knocking so viciously like an unwanted guest.

An unwanted guest. That was what this damn storm was. And Alcina was at her wit’s end with this elemental stranger.

Especially when one particular crash of thunder knocked the power right out.

Now, a good portion of Castle Dimitrescu used natural lighting to ward away the darkness, sunlight and torches and whatnot, but there were also light fixtures and lamps, which were cut into complete blackness by the outage.

Shadows swept around the corridor like curtains, chased off only by a few flickering torches. At Alcina’s side, there was a sharp cry of terror that pulled at her heart with talons, and she turned to see Bela pressed against the wall, trembling and breathing heavily, her eyes practically bulging right out of her skull.

“Oh, honey,” Alcina said sadly. She reached out, tenderly cupping her daughter’s cheeks. Bela was aware enough to press into her touch like she usually did, which was good. She was too far gone in her panic just yet. “Shh, shh… It’s okay.”

“Th-the lights--” Bela gasped. Her hands were pressed flat against the wall behind her, claws dug against the plaster. She wouldn’t look at Alcina, instead peering around her figure to the storm outside. “It’s-- it’s--”

“Breathe, Bela,” Alcina instructed, seeing her spiral again. It was worrying just how quickly it could happen, coming out of nowhere and consuming her like a colony of angry fire ants. “Breathe. In and out. Just like I taught you.”

“M-Mother--”

“Shh, shh,” Alcina stroked Bela’s cheeks with her thumbs. She moved closer, trying to block out the view of the windows with her form. “Don’t look at that. Look at me. I’m right here and I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

Bela whimpered and looked up at her. Hot tears slid against Alcina’s fingers and she brushed them away. She smiled when she heard the shallow sound of her daughter’s rhythmic breathing.

“Good girl,” Alcina cooed. “Good, good girl. Just like that.”

Bela closed her eyes and focused on her breathing. Alcina’s smile grew a little wider.

“You’re doing so well,” Alcina praised her, knowing it would help her work harder to calm down. Bela was always the easiest to manage out of all of her children, as all it took was a few words of approval for her to do just about anything she wanted. “Such a good job, even when you’re--”

“I’m not--”

“I know, baby,” Alcina said, humoring her. She moved one hand to stroke Bela’s hair. “You’re not scared. Of course you aren’t. I was going to say when you’re in the middle of a blackout.”

Bela opened one eye to stare at her incredulously. Alcina grinned at her. Bela huffed, closed her eye, and then nuzzled into her hand with a faint purr.

They stayed like that for a little longer before Bela finally extracted herself from the wall. The color had yet to return to her face, nor had she stopped shaking, but at least her breathing was back under control.

“Ready?” Alcina asked.

Bela nodded quietly.

With one hand on her daughter’s back, Alcina continued down the hallway with Bela.

Upon entering her favorite parlor, Alcina found her other two daughters already inside. Cassandra was stretched out in front of the fireplace like a lounging cat, her head pillowed by her arms and a look of bliss on her face, while Daniela was bouncing by the window, watching the storm eagerly. The youngest had always been fascinated by the sheer destruction of weather.

“Thirty-four!” Daniela shouted when lightning flashed across the sky.

“That’s great, Dani,” Cassandra said dreamily without lifting her head or even opening her eyes.

“What are you two doing?” Alcina asked in amusement while ducking inside.

“Counting lightning bolts,” Daniela answered.

“Relaxing,” Cassandra said a moment later. “Isn’t this weather amazing?”

Bela winced.

“It certainly is something,” Alcina said, glancing out the window. She gave Bela’s back a gentle rub before walking over to her chair and sitting down. Daniela instantly skittered over to her and pressed her head right into the space between her neck and shoulder with a bright smile. Alcina chuckled, stroking her cheek, earning her blissful purrs.

“Where were you, Bel?” Cassandra asked, rolling over to look at Bela, but not quite getting up. She seemed much too relaxed.

“I-I, umm--”

“She was helping me close the windows,” Alcina answered for her eldest. “After I had to berate her for reading in the dark again.” She gave Bela a playful glare, making Bela smile faintly.

“Ooooh,” Daniela giggled. “You got in troubleeeee!”

Bela rolled her eyes. She finally moved from her rigid position by the door to sit on the floor next to Alcina’s chair. Alcina reached down to set a comforting hand on her head.

It was then that thunder ripped through the castle, causing all of the walls to shudder, and each of Alcina’s girls jolted. Daniela and Cassandra’s heads popped up, while Bela sank her claws in the cracks between the floorboards, trying to keep her breathing under control.

“Goddamn,” Cassandra muttered, sitting up straight. She stretched out the sore spots in her back. “We’re going to drown at this rate.”

Bela’s shoulders lurched. Alcina gave Cassandra a stern glare.

“Oooh, you know what we should do?” Daniela said. She didn’t wait for an answer. “Beli should sing to us!”

“What?” Bela snapped her head to her younger sister faster than the lightning could strike outside.

“Ohh, yeah,” Cassandra nodded.

“What are you talking about?”

Daniela gave her a look. “Don’t be dumb! We all know you like to sing!”

“No, I don’t,” Bela stammered, the tips of her ears turning red.

“Yes, you do,” Cassandra said. “We hear you sing when you fill up the bathtub.”

“You can hear me?!” Bela shrieked.

“Yeah!” Daniela said. “When you hit that vibrato last night… Incredible! Amazing! Showstopping!”

“You did sound very nice,” Alcina nodded.

“MOTHER!!”

Bela buried her face in her hands, which had gone completely red with embarrassment. Alcina chuckled and scratched her scalp.

“You have a wonderful voice, darling,” Alcina said.

“Yeah!” Daniela agreed. “Much better than Cassie. She sounds like a crow with a chicken bone stuck in its throat!”

“At least I don’t belt at the same octave as the torture victims,” Cassandra struck back, and she and Daniela both burst into laughter.

“Now, now, girls,” Alcina said.

“Oh, come on, Mother,” Cassandra said. “Daniela knows I’m just kidding. The victims sound better than she does, and they’re not even trying to sing!”

Daniela shrieked with more laughter. She didn’t seem offended at all. “Oh, I sound bad? You know the noises a donkey makes?”

Cassandra slapped the ground while snorting into her hand.

Alcina rolled her eyes in a good-natured way, then smiled down at Bela. “You would be a step above whatever they can do. But only if you want to.”

Bela looked up at her, her amber-gold eyes glinting in the firelight, then nodded. After a moment of silently encouraging herself, she took a deep breath and began to sing.

It was a beautiful melody in the howling of the storm.

[apexqueenie]

The Blood King (Bakugou x Reader, Medieval AU) Ch1

Synopsis: In fairytales, princesses like you got to marry handsome princes like your best friend Shoto, but you’re not living a fairytale. You find the harsh realities a punch to the face as you and Sho run away outside palace grounds and into the real world. But the harsh brings out the beautiful, and in your case, it took the form of the scarlet covered barbarian king, whose territory you disturbed.

A/N: This is the first long series that I’m writing, I hope you all enjoy!

Warnings: Swearing, a bit of violence (This is Bakugou lol), eventual smut (I’ll put a warning dw, totally skippable)

[Ch1]->[Ch2]->[Ch3]->[Ch4]->[Ch5]->[Ch6]

You didn’t know how much more badly a plan could go, but here you were, lost, wounded, and scared in the middle of the freaking forest, the sound of a very angry beast trailing after you. You tugged at the unconscious man on the floor, his head bleeding severely. He was losing too much blood and you couldn’t keep pulling him along without stopping the bleeding first. Your only option was to fight. How did this all start exactly? Well, it started when you decided to ditch your wedding.

***

In a daze, you pulled yourself from your slumber, rising to the sound of gentle knocks at your door. “Who’s there?” you mumbled, rubbing your eyes. 

You shivered slightly and crossed your arms, realizing that you had kicked off your blankets in your sleep. Your best handmaiden, Ochako, barged in, not even bothering to answer the question. 

“Good morning princess” she sang delightfully as she opened your large curtains, allowing the morning light to spill into the huge room. Ochako, although not being of royal blood, was a close friend of yours throughout the years. It was her job to serve you, but you loved her and treated her as your sister. 

“Chako, I told you (y/n) is fine when we’re alone” you said with a yawn.

Ochako hummed as she walked to your wardrobe, sifting through it for the perfect dress. “Ah, but you see your highness, we aren’t alone.”

Before you could question her, a familiar face peeked around the door, heterochromic eyes glancing around the room. “Hi” he says before entering the room and closing the doors behind him.

“SHO!!!” You yelled, launching yourself out of your bed to give your childhood friend a big hug. You haven’t seen him since last summer.

The both of your fathers were Kings of kingdoms who traded with one another, meeting in person once a year to discuss the details. While they both enjoyed a bit of drinking and chess, you and Shoto ran around the gardens barefooted with sticks in hand for fake swordplay. They were always about knights and dragons, and since there were only two of you, you took turns being the dragon or the knight. Princesses weren’t taught to practice swordplay, so Shoto took it upon himself to be your mentor. He taught you what he remembered from his private lessons, insisting that if you were to meet a real dragon like in your games, you would be able to fight it off. 

“But won’t you be here to protect me?” you asked, lowering your stick.

“Yeah,” he said, “but when we meet a real dragon, we’ll be protecting each other.”

Every year, you two would meet to run around the gardens, hiding from your handmaidens and butlers until meal time. Every year, you would shy a bit away from the games and start sparring for real, Sho providing the wooden swords to teach you what he’s learned from the top sword fighters across the continent. Every year your blades danced with his until the both of you could read each other’s movements with a single glance. And every year, you felt a growing affection for the boy that you were too afraid to bring up. 

The two of you talked about your home lives often, sharing stories and complaints about being “perfect” and a “role model” to your citizens. Shoto’s father constantly pushes everyone in their family to their limits, causing the Queen to go insane and burn Shoto, leaving a signature red scar on his left eye. While she was locked in the medical housing part of the castle, Shoto started to understand why his mother lost her mind and silently started to rebel against his father. Your father was similar, always correcting you and forcing you to practice perfect mannerisms. You were his first born, you were supposed to be the perfect example of what a future Queen was to be, especially for your younger siblings; the second born son barely of age to train by sword. If you were anything less, you were to be locked in your room until you had time to “reflect”, your maids unable to speak to you in fear that the King would hear and throw them in the dungeon. Your mother, being too vain to involve herself with any of her children, never saw any of you until your birthdays. She opted to drown herself in self-pampering every other day. Both of your lives were royal hell until “The Meeting”, where the both of you could forget about being perfect for a day.  

You wrapped your arms around Shoto’s neck and buried your face in the crook of his neck, the both of you clutching each other close. His body radiated its own heat, warming you more than the thin fabric of your nightdress could. You pulled away, realising he got even taller this year. 

“I missed you Sho!” you smiled.

“Likewise” he replied, slinging his sword from his back, only there was another object wrapped in silk next to it. “Did...anything interesting happen this year?” 

“Hmmm,” you pondered, walking to your vanity and grabbing a brush. “Well, Jinko is pregnant again.”

“Your mother?”

“Heh, she was never around enough to be a ‘mother’, she’s merely my birth-giver.” you snorted, combing your soft locks. 

“So, is that the fourth…?”

“Fifth.”

“Well then.”

“Yep, and as soon as she’s done pushing it out, she’ll ignore it 364 days of the year. Hell, Ocha was there more for me than my mother ever could be” you say, earning a small blush from the girl.

Shoto sighed, taking a seat on the edge of your bed and placing his sword next to him. 

“Anyways, what’s the meeting about this time?” you asked now moving onto cleaning your face.

“That’s… uh...well, I have to talk to you about something soon, but first, I brought you a gift” Sho said a bit awkwardly. He turned and handed you the silk wrapped object. You took it gently, afraid of breaking it, that was, until you unwrapped it. Your mouth dropped as you felt the silk fall off and onto the floor, completely forgotten as you held up the object in awe. In your hand was a long silver blade engraved with delicately curved patterns surrounding a single mother pearl at the center and down the blade itself. The hilt fit perfectly in your hands, the weight completely balanced. 

You were damn near about to cry. “Sho...its-”

“Get dressed so we can try it out” he smiles and hands you the sheath.

Giddily, you sheath your sword and headed to the dressing curtain where Ochako waited for you with a big smile. She seemed to have known about this whole visit because she held up a bit more of a casual dress, one that wasn’t as long as it normally would be. You never understood why you had to wear dresses as a princess, but it couldn’t be helped, you had no control over your clothing choices. Ochako however, had the power to hem the dresses for you so you could run with a bit more freedom. 

***

“Sho! I can’t believe you did this! How’d you manage to sneak this by your dad?” you ask once you are dressed. You moved to take the direct route to the gardens, but Shoto pulled you to a different route around. “Sho?”

“That’s the thing I have to talk to you about,” he said, peeking into all the rooms and hallways before entering, “I don’t want to run into anyone else right now.” He pulls you along swiftly until you reach the gardens, taking one last look around you before relaxing a bit.

“Hey, Sho, what the heck is going on?” you ask, lowering your voice.

The boy in front of you couldn’t look you in the eyes. He was worried about something, which was totally uncharacteristic of him. Trying to ease his nerves, you reach out and gently squeeze his hand, but he doesn’t respond back. Instead, he just sighs, finally about to say something.

“So...you know how we...always meet up every year?” he asks.

You nod, slightly confused at where this was going.

“Well, our fathers have been discussing…”

“Discussing what?”

“Something very.. special for next week-”

“My birthday isn’t for a couple of months”

“It’s not that-”

“Then?”

He turned his head and sighed. 

“...Discussing our marriage…” he trails off.

“Sho! Oh wow, This-this is great!” you beamed. You always thought about the day you’ll have to marry someone. Your role as a princess was to marry a prince, and become a beloved Queen to your kingdom. You dreaded that it would be for trading purposes, that you’d have to marry some pudgy old man so that your father could share more land, but you had the option to marry your best friend! Anyone would be delighted at the thought...anyone but Shoto.

Your smile quickly faded as you studied his face. He expressed a mix of guilt, awkwardness, worry, and something you haven’t seen before…was that fear?

“What’s wrong?”

He shook his head, still unable to look at you, “I can’t do this-”

“Is it too early still? Because it’s ok, we don’t have to-” The words stung, but you couldn’t let that get to you.

“No! No, that’s not it, it’s just that I can’t”

“You can’t what? Tell me what so I can help you.”

“I… I love you (y/n), just...not like that” he says, furrowing his eyebrows.

“What? Wait, what do you mean?” you asked, stomach dropping.

“I just mean that I, I don’t see you like that.” he said.

“So, I’m not good enough?” you shook your head.

“-No-”

You could feel the tears stinging in your eyes, “so...there’s someone else?”

He lets go of your hand to rub his arm in a nervous manner, “No, that’s not it either, I just don’t know how to explain it-”

But he was lying. You knew Shoto was a bad liar around you. It was bad enough that he couldn’t look at you, but even worse that he was taking steps away from you, slowly inching backwards in the opposite direction. He wasn’t trusting you with something and you didn’t know why, but your anger took over, and suddenly, you didn’t want to know why either.

“Well then, I’ll leave it to you to inform our fathers that this wedding won’t be happening, Todoroki.” you huffed. You saw the hurt in his face when you called him by his last name, but you could care less right now. You turned around and headed back to the castle, back to your room, and back to Ochako so you could cry in comfort. You kept your eyes trained at the ground, a silent message to all your servants to leave you alone. However, the message was left unknown to someone who didn’t live in the palace, someone like King Enji. 

You were cut off from the path to your room by the tall and heavily built man, his eyes cold and harsh staring at you from above. You stopped and immediately curtsied in respect, as you were representing your father every time you met with a leader of another kingdom. 

“Good morning, King Enji.” you said, giving him a well practiced ‘princess smile’.

He only grunted in response, nodding his head to the sword strapped to your back. “I see you received my son’s wedding gift, do you find it satisfactory?”

“Oh-the sword, right! It’s beautiful, your greatness. I am so humbly honored to receive such a gift.” you bow. You had completely forgotten it was there after what happened with Shoto. It was supposed to be a wedding gift, a sign of his love for you, but he didn’t love you like you loved him. You should be throwing this thing away, you should feel disgusted...so why did those words come out so naturally? Why did the sword feel so familiar? Hopefully Ochako could help you answer those. 

King Enji nodded in approval, motioning to some servants he had waiting out of your sight. “You have good manners, young one. Perhaps my son could learn a thing or two from you when it comes to respecting his elders.”

Two female servants took place besides you, awaiting further instructions from their King. 

“Your father has agreed to allow me to provide the dress, courtesy of the profits he helped me make last year. My servants will be taking your measurements, as well as note your likes and dislikes for the preparations.” he says before walking off.

All you could do was smile now. You couldn’t make your father look bad, even in front of servants. You continued to hold back tears as the handmaidens escorted you to your chambers.

So much for spilling your heart out to Ochako. 

***

The maidens were merciless, insisting that every measurement be as precise as possible. You tried to delay them, but your efforts were futile. They brought every bit of conversation back to the dress, and to the wedding plans you know you won’t have. Guards were installed in front to ensure no one came in or out until every inch of your body was measured to perfection. They measured your breasts and behind about five times over to ensure that “your best qualities were perfectly framed” for the wedding. Best qualities? Were you just boobs and ass for the future King? You sighed, still letting them continue their measuring. Shoto wouldn’t have cared…

No, he was Todoroki to you now, until he can give you an explanation. 

But...do you even deserve one?

As King Enji’s servants gave you a break to bring out supplies for your fitting, you walked over to the sword your “fiance” gave you, unsheathed for its glory to shine on your bed. He knew how you liked it, designing it to perfectly mirror you. He took note of everything you loved, remembering your style interests from whenever you two would talk for hours on end. You traced the flawless engravings on the blade itself, almost tearing up again. Turning the sword over, you saw the engraving on the bottom of the hilt, small, yet beautiful nonetheless. 

“Let’s protect each other from now on”

All the anger you felt before was gone, replaced by pure guilt.

He really did love you.

Just not in the way that you had hoped. 

You were being selfish, and you needed to make it right. 

Before you knew it, you were yanked back to the full length mirrors for more measurements. 

Both the measuring and interrogations lasted nearly the entire day with the servants drawing several designs and re-measuring you for each one. Of course, they didn’t accept a “that looks fine” or “this one is good'', so they continued to create new ones, each more extravagant and beautiful than the last. Evening came, and the maidens packed their materials to head back to their own kingdom. You thanked them sincerely for all their hard work and rushed off to say goodbye to Shoto until he disappeared over the hill and into the forest, like you’ve always done...except you weren’t.

You arrived to meet your father, King Enji, and Shoto in the main hall a little out of breath while they said their last goodbyes. King Enji broke his attention away from your father to give you a polite nod, acknowledging your presence. Your father noticed this and turned to give you a big hug, laughing heartily. 

“Can you believe it? You’re getting married in a week! I need to tell your mother straight away! She would be so proud.” he says, pulling strands of your hair behind your ear. 

“Yes, I believe she would” you smile. You weren’t in the mood to explain that she’d only use this as an excuse to out-fashion you on your own special day. 

Shoto hung his head in silence right next to his dad, still not making eye contact with you. You tried to pay him no mind and instead focused on building up your courage to ask something of King Enji in the politest way possible. 

When you got the chance, you squeezed out every bit of bravery left in your system to say “Erm, King Enji, is it alright if Prince Shoto stays?”, twiddling your fingers innocently.

The red headed man looked a bit taken back by the question, but he didn’t seem opposed to the idea. He snorted, waving his hand to Shoto, who stared at you with an open mouth.

“Ah, young love,” your father chuckled, and went to see his comrade out the door.

Without a second to spare, you grabbed Shoto’’s hand and led him to your room, closing the door behind you quickly. 

“(y/n), what are you doing?” he asked, watching you shove a chair underneath the handles of your doors. You had enough palace servants for today. 

You turned around and immediately threw your arms around his waist. He stood rigid with surprise before hesitantly hugging you back with a light grip. He was still confused from the fiasco earlier, but didn’t blame you.

“Sho....I’m so sorry, I should have understood.” you whispered. “I hope you could forgive me..”

He gave you a slight squeeze, “Of-course, (y/n). I’m sorry too, I-”

“Stop. You don’t need to explain anything to me. All we need to do is get this wedding cancelled.” you interrupt, looking up at him. “Also, I’m glad you didn’t say anything.” 

He looked relieved, giving you a soft smile. “Thanks, (y/n).” He pulls away from you and takes a seat on your bed next to where your blade still sat, unbothered. “But, I realized that if I were to tell my father, he’d assume it to be an insult no matter what I say, and end the friendship. with your people. Then he’d have me married off to someone else and make my life more hell than it already was. I’d rather be married to my best friend than a stranger.” he smiled.

You opened your mouth to say something, but the words escaped you. You were stumped. After all of this, it turned in your favor, but you didn’t want this anymore. 

You huffed and stood up abruptly, heading to your drawers and searching through them. 

“What are you-?” Sho trailed off, standing up with you. 

Finally, you found an assorted set of bags you use to collect things on your trips to the forest. With most of your years being devoted to molding you into a perfect queen, you haven’t used these for anything more than bringing home a pretty set of rocks in hopes that your mother would pay attention to you. Now, you were finding the biggest ones, planning to fill them with essentials to help you survive the woods. 

“We’re not going to do anything we’re forced to be into,” you said, “No matter what, our fathers won’t allow us to cancel this, but they can’t do anything if we’re not here.”

“(y/n), you’re not thinking of leaving are you?” he asked, worry apparent all over his face. 

You handed Sho a bag, staring him straight in the eye. “I’m absolutely thinking of that.” You grabbed a bag for yourself and shoved the rest back into your drawers. “We both have siblings who can inherit the throne, right? And if we disappear together and write a note saying something like “oh this is going too fast and we decided to take a break together in the mountains”- neither of our fathers could blame each other, so-”

“Hey,” Sho laid a hand on your shoulder, “we don’t have to do this. I told you, I really thought about this, and as long as it’s you, I’ll be happy-”

“No, Sho,” you said, shrugging off the hand and looking through your closet for extra clothes, “you can tell yourself that, but that’s not going to be true. I want you to be just as happy, and that’s not gonna happen if we go through with this marriage. Look, I know Ocha’s grandmother lives in a small town East of here, past the forest. If we can get there, we can rest and figure out what to do, ok?”

You looked at him for confirmation, his brows furrowed and his lips spread into a thin line. For a few seconds, he contemplated the terrible outcomes of your plan, but he knew you would just do this yourself if he didn’t come with you. 

Finally, he nodded before he could change his mind.

This probably wasn’t the smartest idea, but at least you were together.

[strong-as-a-tree]

LEVI X HANDMAID!READER (THE HANDMAID’S TALE X SNK - CROSSOVER) // PART. 7

Pairing: Levi Ackerman x Reader (also Erwin but not romantically)

Disclaimers: Considering what the Handmaid’s Tale is talking about, expect to have some shocking scenes in this. If you are not sure, please look out for a summary of the show on the internet before reading. This story will contain sensible topics if you are not comfortable with the followings, please don’t read this story ♡

Also, yeah the characters will be slightly OOC, because of the nature of the story I couldn’t do it differently, I know Canon Erwin would never endorse Gilead, it literally hurts me to write him as this disgusting Commander… Sorry in advance for any Erwin’s simps !

TW: Emotional Abuse, Sexual Abuse, Female Oppression, mention of executional death, childbirth

Minors DNI

Word count: 1,852 words MASTERLIST

PART 1 // PART 2 // PART 3 // PART 4 // PART 5 // PART 6

"Ofdaniel is in labour!"

Ruth had woken you up with this amazing news, the older woman immediately helped you get dressed, as the minivan was on its way to pick you up. You had never witnessed a birth yet, of course you knew what you would have to do, they prepared every handmaids for those kind of events back at the Red Center. Despite knowing what was to come, you couldn't help but feel a little nervous at the prospect of witnessing the birth of a child.

The red mini van picked you up, it was raining outside, you could hear the rain hitting the van from inside. As usual, the handmaids weren't allowed to talk in the vehicle, but you could all feel the excitement filling the air.

You were the last handmaids to arrive at the house, and Aunt Olga greeted you with a large grin on her face. She made you all walk in single file along the long corridor leading you to Ofdaniel. You spotted the wives on your way there, all dressed in their regular blue dresses, crowded around Ofdaniel's Commander's wife, who was on the floor, acting as though she was having contractions. Childbirth, like the Ceremony, had a strict protocol to follow, one of which was that the wife must act as if she is in labor herself, allegedly to strengthen the bond between the future mother and the baby.

When you entered the master bedroom, Ofdaniel was panting and her contractions were getting harder and stronger, and the image of the wives soon faded from your mind. The majority of the handmaids had already gathered around her, doing the breathing exercise with her, you joined them. When it was time to push, all the handmaids assisted Ofdaniel to sit in the wooden birthing chair, 'breath in, breath out'. 'Breath in, breath out', the wives entered and helped the Commander's wife to sit on the chair too, right behind Ofdaniel, you didn't even laid an eyes on them, you were sorely focused on Ofdaniel. She was amazing, breathing at the right times, pushing like they taught you at the Red Center.

There were so many people in the room, but still, you thought Ofdaniel was the epitome of dignity, you were awestruck by her strength. Meanwhile, the Commander's wife was also letting out small whimpers, acting as she was pushing along with Ofdaniel. As Aunt Olga announced that the baby's head was out, you patted Ofdaniel's back, 'breath in, breath out,' and the baby was eventually out after a few pushes. Silence fell in the room, when a cry finally escaped the infant's mouth, everyone let out a cry of relief. "There is no greater miracle than the miracle of life." said Aunt Olga with a smile on her face. Ofdaniel was glowing, already putting her arms towards the baby, but Aunt Olga ignored her and gave the baby to the Commander's wife.

One of the handmaid took Ofdaniel's hands so the wives wouldn't notice her previous gesture, you could see that Ofdaniel eyes were glued to her baby, the wives were already leaving the room. You noticed Ofdaniel's face contort in a desperate state, tears streaming down her cheeks, and you knew she was about to explode; you weren't the only one who realised it, and all the handmaids gathered around her and hugged her, preventing the woman from doing anything that would result in her punishment. Her muffled cries could be heard, and silent tears welled up in your eyes as well.

Most of the other handmaids had left, the other that stayed were helping the Martha of the house with the buffet for the Commanders and the wives. You were still in the master bedroom, Aunt Olga had asked you to stay with Ofdaniel, the older woman was surely with the Commander's wife, examining the baby, it was also part of an Aunt's job after all. You were sitting on the bed, next to you was Ofdaniel, she was laying under the covers, you had helped her get cleaned with Ofgrisha earlier. She was silent, her eyes were wide open, looking at the ceiling above you. You were holding her hand that was resting on her still swollen stomach, "It's funny, y'know", Ofdaniel's voice was so faint that at first you thought you had imagined it. The woman didn't wait for you to ask her what was funny as she continued, "Every month they desperately tried to put a child in me here, in this bedroom, and today they placed me in this bedroom again, but this time, I had to give them back this child..."

You pinched your lips, unsure what to say; although Gilead taught you that your whole life should revolve around having a baby, you had a nagging feeling that if life had been different for you, if Gilead hadn't existed, if they hadn't taken you away from your parents when you were still a teenager, you wouldn't have wanted children. Maybe Gilead simply ruined the idea of motherhood for you, and you were lying to yourself, 'there is no use to think about that, it's not like you would ever be a mother anyway', you thought as you tried to push the mental image of a baby in your arms out of your mind.

Having a baby would entail, like Ofdaniel, having to give it up and immediately go to another 'family' to give them another child. You knew it was your fate, Gilead frequently tested their handmaids, and you knew for a fact that you were very much able to get pregnant. As Aunt Olga would say, that meant you'd never be transferred to the colonies; you'd been blessed. Still, after every Ceremonies, you couldn't help but pray that your Commander was sterile, every month without getting pregnant, were days of semblance of 'freedom'. Not being pregnant, not being under a man's body, not having to take care of another person's child, was the maximum freedom a woman could get in Gilead.

"Ah, my girls!", your thoughts got interrupted as Aunt Olga entered the room, she was beaming! Ofdaniel looked at her with an absent look on her face, you recognized that look, you had worn it before, she had given up. You immediately thought of Levi's words; 'If you continue to shield your mind like this, [...] you'll lose yourself'. You tried to catch her attention by shaking her hand a little, but it was in vain, she didn't acknowledge your gesture. "Oh! Ofdaniel, you did such a good job!" exclaimed the older woman as she sat on the opposite side of the bed, taking Ofdaniel's other hand, "Your Commander is so happy! And his wife too!", Olga was overjoyed, you couldn't help but think she must be even more happy that the parents, you had seen the look on her face when she handed the infant to the wife, there was a tinge of envy, if not outright jealously, beneath her plastered smile. It was not the first time you had seen that look on her face, on your way to the your Commander's house, you also had that thought about the older woman.

"The baby is an healthy little boy, five fingers and five toes on each hand and foot!", said the woman with a laugh, at that statement Ofdaniel's eyes shot up, "C-can I see him?", Aunt Olga sighed, her palm resting on Ofdaniel's cheek, "Oh my dear..." she whispered, "I wish I could say yes for the sake of the baby's health! But the Commander's wife doesn't want you to breastfeed the baby", she said with a disappointed voice. Ofdaniel looked at the ceiling again, a single tear streaming down her cheek, as Olga continued blabbering about how it was a shame that the baby will be fed with formula instead of breast milk. The older woman was known for always saying how much she cared and loved her 'girls', what a lie you thought, right now her only worry was on the infant, not on Ofdaniel.

"I think Ofdaniel needs some rest, Aunt Olga," you finally murmured, interrupting the woman's outpouring, "Oh, you are right Oferwin, how lucky you are Ofdaniel to have such a caring friend beside you!" You cringed at her words; 'lucky' was not the word you had in mind right now. Suddenly Ofdaniel sat up and grabbed Olga's hand, stopping the older woman as she was about to get up, "What's his name?". Olga hesitated a second, studying Ofdaniel's face, "They named him Armin."

You spent the entire day with Ofdaniel, Ofgrisha had come at some point to keep you company, but it was very silent. As the day progressed, Ofdaniel's sadness worsened, and she was forced to return to her chamber. The new parents no longer needed her, therefore she will return to the Red Center tomorrow to rest before being assigned to a new family.

It was late at night and all the other handmaids had left, Aunt Olga had called for Levi to bring you back home, you kissed Ofdaniel's forehead, "I'm sorry" you whispered. You weren't quite sure why you were apologizing, maybe you said sorry because you knew no one would apologize to her; her Commander would never apologize for the Ceremonies, his wife would never apologize for taking her baby away, Aunt Olga would never apologize for not defending her right to see little Armin, Gilead would never apologize.

As you were leaving, you passed by the living room, you caught a glimpse of the baby, he was in a little bassinet, his eyes were closed, but you saw some light almost white hair sticking out of his bonnet. Levi was waiting for you in front of the black Range Rover, he opened the door for you, after making sure you were comfortable, the driver took a seat behind the wheel. You were in the back, you felt tired, all of the emotions of the day took a toll on you. "It's a boy" you suddenly said, you didn't know why you said it, you were sure Levi couldn't care less about the child, but you felt the need to talk. The man didn't react at your words, his eyes were focused on the road, "I think he'll have blond hair, like Ofdaniel", you said, smiling at that thought, neither the Commander nor his wife had blond hair, so the child would at least get something from his mother.

Levi looked at you in the rearview mirror, "Hopefully he won't inherit the Commander's nose", you snorted, he said it with such a nonchalant voice. You continued to tell him how the day went, not forgetting to mention every little detail that you thought were important, like how amazed you were at Ofdaniel's strength or how ridiculous the wife looked when she faked having contractions. Levi didn't speak much, only nodding or giving a witty remark here and there. It was relaxing, it was strangely normal. Normality was such a foreign feeling since you arrived at Gilead, so you embraced the moment.

lovely people: @rapsgoddess​ @a--nonymousse​ @gothiccii @omlbarnes​ @hybrid-huntress​

PART 8

[sweeethinny]

Bad news

I mentioned that event in a one shot about Mira x James, where James said that Teddy thought Victoire was pregnant, and how Ginny looked furious during the conversation.

Well, I decided to write this moment, but my headache didn't let me finish in a better way, but I hope you like it anyway - btw, the result was negative

'Gin!' Teddy's loud voice interrupted James' talk with his mom, the two of them cleaning the dishes they used, still sweaty from the race they did. James was getting almost faster than Ginny, but he was still losing when they got to the third lap. For two seconds, he didn't let himself be forgotten. 'Where are you?'

‘Here… James, get that cup in the living room, I don’t know if your brother knows the functionality of the sink.’ He laughed, nodding and going over there, finding a nervous and red Teddy, looking desperate.

'What happened?' James asked.

'The worst.' Teddy really looked desperate, which made James run after him into the kitchen again, curious to know what had happened. 'Gin-Gin, I'm dead.' It was the first thing he said when he finally found the woman.

'What are you saying, Teddy? And hello to you too, I missed you.' Ginny said, still with her back to the door, putting the clean dishes in places.

'Vic is pregnant,' Teddy said, and James was sure that nothing more he said from then on would help his situation. His mother dropped the cup James had reached for her, turning to face Teddy with what James called the eyes of death, which fortunately, he received a few times. But in the times that he had the displeasure of having been the reason for that, he would never forget the fear that froze his blood.

'What?'

‘It was an accident, I don’t even know-’

'Ah, you know how it happened. Or was she alone in bed?' Teddy flushed and James took a step back, thinking that if he laughed now his mother would remember he was there and send him upstairs. And James liked gossip too much to miss that show firsthand. 'Accident? You were walking on the street and she tripped, fell on top of you, and got pregnant? How the hell, Teddy! She just turned 20!’

'I know, Gin, I know, I... My God, I'm terrified.' Teddy started pacing, his hair changing color constantly; green, red, black, gray, blue, black… He stopped, away from Ginny, near the cellar door, finally seeming to notice how irritated the woman looked, her brown eyes hard on him. 'You need to help me.'

'Me? Help you?' She crossed her arms, and James took another step back, just in case. Teddy was lucky that his father wasn't there too, or he would be dead by now. 'With what exactly?'

'To tell Bill.' Teddy spoke as if it were obvious.

'Uncle Bill is going to kill you.' James blurted out, biting his lip to keep from laughing when the two turned to him.

'No, I'm going to do this first.' His mother walked over to Teddy, who looked more frightened than before now, although James understood his dread, he thought he would rather raise a dozen children than face his angry mother. 'How the hell are you going to raise a child? Tell me. Victoire can't even drink at a bar yet, and is she pregnant?! What do you two know about raising, caring, educating another human being?' Teddy looked like he was about to cry, which was funny, because he was so much taller than Ginny, and even so, James thought he looked smaller than Lily now.

'Gin, I don't know. She was going to take the test this afternoon and- ’

'Didn't you go with her?' Oh, James knew that Teddy was screwed as soon as his mother's cheeks turned red, her eyes even bigger. This time it was Teddy who took a step back.

'She said-'

'Whatever the result, should she share it with the walls?!' Her voice didn't sound as loud as Daddy's did when he was angry, Mom spoke more and more softly when things got ugly. Poor Teddy, James thought, it was great to meet him. 'Was she alone when she made her son? Did she collect your sperm and shove it inside, alone?' The two made a disgusted face, but Mom didn't seem to care, because she continued; 'What kind of man are you, to make the child and then run here without even being there to see the result with her? What will you do if the result is positive? Run for the hills like a coward? Why didn't you have all that fear when you decided to get into the girl's legs without any protection? Harry taught you so many protections, that I know, all the wizard and muggle protections, and even taught you how to make the potion for Vic to take. What a shame, Teddy.'

Teddy looked like a boy, very small compared to Ginny, and if James looked closely he might see tears in his eyes. He thought that conversation was the best contraceptive ever.

'Call her through Floo, and send her over here, to do the test here. And if she doesn't want to, go after her.' Ginny didn't wait for an answer, casting a spell on the broken cup on the floor and leaving the kitchen, still looking furious.

'You better do this before she comes back, if she finds you standing here when she gets back, this will probably be our last talk,' James warned, but Teddy seemed to know, because he snorted and walked into the living room, kneeling down in front of the fireplace. Albus and Lily would envy that he was the only one who saw this whole fight.

Vic looked scared when she answered Floo, but promised to be there in less than ten minutes, which, James thought, was enough time for Teddy to start thinking of great excuses for when their mom started talking about unwanted pregnancies again.

'Did you tell her?' Teddy turned to James, who was sitting on the couch, waiting to remain almost invisible in the middle of the fight.

'About what?' He made a fool of himself, not just because he thought his mother wouldn't handle the news well if she overheard Teddy talking, but that James would get involved in the middle of the fight with his mother giving him a lecture about have safe sex.

'You know what.' Teddy raised an eyebrow, looking very much like Harry all of a sudden. ‘She won’t like to know that you’re lying about it.’

'I am not lying, I am omitting, and I would tell her today, but someone thought it was a good day to get my cousin pregnant.' James shrugged. ‘Mira didn’t tell her parents either, anyway.’

‘I hope you learned from my mistake.’

‘Who learned from whose mistake?’ Ginny entered the room again, the eagle eyes shifting from Teddy to James. 'What did you do?'

'Nothing!' James defended himself, glaring at Teddy who seemed to want to laugh, but stopped as soon as his mother shot him with her eyes again.

‘Where’s Vic?’

'Coming in ten minutes.' Teddy became serious again, sitting on the couch next to James, as if the boy was protecting him.

'I tried to call Harry, but he's in a meeting, which I think is great, because he would be a lot more out of control than me.' No doubt, James thought, thinking about how Teddy needed to thank the heavens, that his father was called to the meeting.

The three were silent until the fireplace burst into green flames and Victoire leaped out of the fire, her hair tied up and her clothes a little wrinkled, looking startled by the not-so-warm welcome. 'Sit down, Vic.' Ginny said.

The girl didn't even wait for another order, sitting in the chair opposite Ginny's, away from Teddy, as if she was afraid that at any interaction between the two, the woman would explode in fury. James didn't judge her, he thought they were both lucky that Grandma wasn't there, or worse, Uncle Bill.

'Have you taken the test yet?' Vic denied, looking scared. 'Are you with the? I still have a potion in my bathroom, I just need to warm it up and add some herbs. It's always good to test both ways.' The girl nodded, and James wanted to laugh at the thought of how strange it was that his mother had managed to shut Victoire's mouth. 'We are going to the bathroom to do this soon, then I want to talk to both of them. James, go pick up your brothers at Grandma's, Teddy, come with us.’

It was the end of the line unfortunately, he knew there was no way to follow the three and his mother would probably protect the room, besides, if she opened the door, just to check it out, and caught him at home, James didn't even want to imagine what could happen, given how angry the mother looked.

'Okay.' He gave up, getting up from the couch. 'Good luck, I have my fingers crossed for you.' James smiled at a Teddy who looked like he was about to throw up, watching him follow Vic and his mother up the stairs.

[itsthestutterforme]

Friendzoned (Supernatural)

Characters: Dean x demon!reader, Crowley x reader, Sam x reader

Summary: Y/N admits her feelings for Dean and Dean lies about not feeling the same way as a way to save her friendship. She goes off the deep end and convinces a demon to possess her so she can escape her harsh reality.

--

I've had enough of this. Enough of hiding away my emotions from Dean. He can already tell that something is up. Dean and I met on a vampire hunt in Ohio and we've been friends ever since. He mentioned that I was the youngest hunter he's met and that I shouldn't be hunting alone. I told him to shove it and that was the deal breaker.

He's been there for me when my depressive episodes would spike and I was there for him through Lilith, Abaddon, Megatron and the Leviathans. I used to think that our friendship was just that, friendship. But one night when me, Sam and Dean went to a hunter barbeque, a light bulb went off.

I was talking amongst some old friends when my eyes went looking for Dean. I saw him laughing hard about something. The type of laugh where his face turns red as a tomato and his eyes were screwed shut. Butterflies built up in my stomach and a soft smile tugged at my lips.

"Ooo, I see you eyein' up Dean Winchester." One of my friends teases whilst nudging me with her elbow. "Believe me girl, everyone has at one point. He's fine as hell." I silently curse myself when my cheeks redden with embarrassment. "Girl, stop, you're making her blush," my other friend teases.

"Can you guys just stop? I don't have feelings for him, okay. We're just friends," "Oh yeah? Then why is he looking at you right now?" I look over my shoulder to lock eyes with Dean as he takes a swig of his beer.

He sends me a wink and I roll my eyes. "Just friends my ass," "Stop it," you beg, wanting then to change the subject.

"Girl! They're coming over here!" Sure enough, Dean and Sam walk over to us. "Ready to head out?" Dean asks. "You sure? You seem to be having fun with your pals," "Ah, I'm missing my bed right about now." Dean says as he wraps an arm around my neck. He tightens his grip and pulls my head down as rubs the top of my head with his knuckles.

"Ouch, Dean! Let me go," I exclaim as I hold onto his large forearm. I apply slight pressure to his ribs and he grunts, momentarily letting go of my neck. I push him and jump up to slap the back of his neck. Instead, he grabs me and throws me over his shoulder.

"Dean, put me down!" "See you around ladies," Dean states before advancing towards the Impala. What was that about? When did he become so touchy?

Later that night after a long bath and an even longer time thinking about it, I decided to go for it. I walked up to his room and knocked on the door. "It's open," he calls, and suddenly my nerves started to take over. "D-dean, I need to talk to you about something,"

"You okay?" "Yeah, I'm fine.. physically." "If this is about you not fully believing that I'm okay after the Mark, I told y-" "I love you, Dean." "I love you too, Y/N," "Not like that," Dean's face falls and my hands ball up at my sides.

"Y/N, I don't. We can't," "Why not?" "Because after everything that happened, we were there for each. We were able to do that because there was no romance involved. Just commitment to each other."

Words were trapped in my throat and you look away from him. "You're right, I'm sorry." I say softly. He stands from the bed and slowly made his way towards me. "Y/N, you're more than just family to me. You're so beautiful and pure. And I don't want to taint you," he says, trying to touch my face.

I push his hand away and say, "What is this talk of pure? I'm not a virgin, Dean." "That's not what I meant. I.. You're like my daughter, Y/N. There are things that me and Sam went through to keep you safe. To make sure that you don't never feel what we felt." "Daughter?" I say in disbelief.

I take some steps backwards and Dean tried to reach for me. Daggers stab my chest and tear prick my eyes. "I need some air," I rush out of his room and ran into mine. I close the door and lock in case Dean tried to follow me.

I collapse on my bed and rest my back against the headboard. My elbows come into contact with knees as I hold my face in my hands. Why didn't I keep my mouth shut? Did I ruin things between us? I think as I gently cry into my hands.

**

Third Person POV

Things have been quiet and tense between you and Dean. Dean had enough of it. You guys just got back from a hunt and the first place you went was your room. Dean followed you and bursted into your room without warning. Your heart nearly launched outside of your chest. "What the hell, Dean?!"

"We need to- where are you going?" He asks when he sees a duffel bag on the bed. "Home, my Mom wanted me to visit. And I need a change in scenery," you lie. You just wanted to leave the bunker and find something or someone that makes you feel like someone. Hunters very existence is to be invisible, go into towns undetected. They have to be nobodies to thrive as a hunter.

And you're tired of being a nobody. You want to be a somebody. "You can't leave when we are on bad terms," "That's what I'm doing," Dean puts his hand over yours to stop you from packing. "Y/N, look at me." You slowly comply and he adds, "I care for you deeply, and I'll do anything to bring things back to the way they were."

"I just need time," you say. Dean takes a moment to look into your eyes in search for a lie. And he found one. He knew you like the back of his hand, of course he knew when you were lying. "You're lying. Just tell me what you want, Y/N. And I'll do it." "You want to know what I want? I want out! I want to make something of myself," you snap.

You pull away from him and he stands up straight. "That's not what you want," "How the hell are you going to tell me what I do or don't want?" "Because I know you better than you know yourself. You just want to belong," "Fine, you're right. But I don't belong here." "You don't mean that." He crosses his arms and narrow his eyes at me.

"And what if I do," you say, mimicking his actions. "You're not leaving," he says before advancing towards the door. He closes it and you heard multiple locks clicking. You never understood why the doors locked on the outside. "Wh-- are you serious?" You bang on the door and yell, "Let me out of here!"

"I would cancel your plans with your mother if I were you," "God, you are such an asshole, Dean!" You collapse to the floor and lean your back on the cold, rusted door. You wanted out of here, which means that you had two options. Both you would regret, but what the hell. You only live once right?

You find yourself talking to Crowley until he appeared. He looked around the room with his hands stuffed into the pocket of his black trench coat. "Well this is unexpected," he says amusingly. "I was about to say the same thing," "Any particular reason why you called? Or are you just lonely?"

"If you even think about it, I will kill you," you threatened, brushing off your hands as you stand up from the ground. "You a most definitely a Winchester," he says with a chuckle. You roll your eyes and say, "I need to ask you a favor,"

"Let me guess, get you out of here? If I may ask, how did you get grounded anyway?" "None of your business and that's not what I was going to ask." "Well spill it out then. I don't have all day," "I want you to find a demon to possess me," you say all in one blurb.

"Damn, you're full of surprises, aren't you?" "Are you going to do it or not?" "That depends if you're completely aware of what you're asking." You lift your shirt where your devil's seal resided. Taking out your pocket knife, you cut through and broke the seal.

"I guess you are." He snaps his fingers and black smoke comes from the vent and aim straight towards you. "Good luck, darling," Crowley says before leaving. You fall to the ground and fell unconscious momentarily.

The demon was in charge and looked around the room. They stood from the ground and looked in the mirror. "Finally, a hottie." The demon finished packing their belongings and blinked into the garage to hijack a car.

"Is that the garage?" Sam asks while he was in the middle of arguing with Dean. "Y/N," Dean says before sprinting towards the room. Sam ran into the garage but Y/N was already long gone. Dean's eyebrows furrow when he sees the door was still locked and shut. It wasn't until he smelled sulfur that he knew what it was.

"Sam, she's possessed," Dean says. "What? How? She has the devil's seal, right?" "She must of broken it. I can't believe she would do this," "I can't believe you locked her in the room like some kid," Sam snaps.

"So you're saying that this is my fault?" "I'm saying that you could've handled it better." "I don't have time for this, I have to find her." "Where would you even start?" They both look at each other for a few seconds before saying in unison, "Crowley,"

Weeks went by and you were in the wind. But truth be told, you were having the time of your life. Crowley made sure to give you the soul of an gay, extroverted fuck boy. The exact opposite of who you were. The demon has been bouncing between bars and clubs, bring home new guys every other night.

They made sure to stay under the radar so the Winchester couldn't track them. But one night, they decided to twerk on the bar with a bottle of Hennessy in their hand. Sam found it through an algorithm he created and showed it to Dean.

"What the hell is sh- is she twerking?" Dean says both in disbelief and disappointment. "It seems like she's-" "Like she's what, Sam?" Dean snap, unable to pull his eyes away from the computer screen. "She's having fun."

"Come on, that's just the demon possessing her," he says, his eyes still glue to the computer. Sam closes the computer and Dean's eyes were starting to glaze over. "What if she doesn't want to be found?" Dean says softly.

"She'll miss home, eventually. She just needs time." "How much time, Sam! She's being selfish! She's acting like our relationship is one sided. I love her just as much as she loves me." "As friends, Dean. She needs to accept the fact that you see her as a daughter,"

"I don't actually see her as a daughter. I don't even know why I said that." Dean sits down and placed a hand over his face. "You have to tell her how you really feel, dude. Time's running out." "Listen, she's in Detroit. That's almost a half day's drive. If we leave now, we can get there at 8 in the morning." Sam adds.

In ten minutes, the made their go bags and took the Impala out of the garage. When they get there, Dean got straight to business after he downed three coffees. Time is of the essence when it comes to this demon. They never stay in the same town for longer than two days.

Sam and Dean ask around for Y/N and a man overhears her name. He knows the name because she slept with him last night after they met each other at a club. "Hey, is she in trouble or anything?" He asks.

"No, she's not. She's our family and we just want to make sure she's okay," Sam states. "The last I saw her, she was in Victory Hotel. You guys are some lucky bucks," "And why is that?" Dean asks.

He knows where this was going, but didn't care. He was looking for something to punch anyway. "She does this little twisting trick when she's on top that I--" Dean's fist collides with the man's face. He catches him before he hits the ground to slam his face against the bar counter.

"So she is your girlfriend," the bar tender says to Dean. Dean storms out of the bar and everyone looks to Sam in deafening silence. A nervous smile tugs at his lips and he awkwardly walks out of the bar.

Dean waits for Sam before driving to Victory Hotel. Without another thought, Dean walks in and slams $200 on the counter where the clerk resided. "Y/N, what room is she in?" Dean asks. "R-room 30," the clerk stumbled.

"Dean, wait," Sam calls out as he follows Dean up the stairs to Room 30. "You have to calm down," Dean ignores him and kicks the door in. The demon yelps out in shock before a playful smirk fell on their lips. "Hey there, Deany boy. I'm assuming you're here for you little lady back." They ask.

"Put her on," Dean commands. "What if I don't, huh? What exactly would you do to me? To her. Absolutely nothing," they taunt. "Why did she do it?" Dean asks, getting closer. "She said that she wanted to feel like someone instead of a nobody lurking in the shadows. And I don't blame her, you called her your daughter. Ouch."

"I would want to leave you too," "She really wanted to leave?" "You know what? How about you talk to her," the demon says. Y/N came to the surface and you nearly lost balance. "Y/N?" Sam asked. You looked over to him first before cowering under Dean's angry gaze.

"You had us worried sick about you, Y/N. What the hell were you thinking!" "For once, I was thinking about me and my life, Dean! Is that so hard for you to comprehend!" "You hate being called a child, yet here you are, acting like one!"

"Screw you!" "You mean like you did the grocery list of guys." Your hand comes up and slaps him. Your hand print instantly made a mark on his cheek. "My sex life is none of business," "You me to kiss you? You want me to be with you, fine."

Dean rushes over to you. "No, it has to be your choice. Not an ultimatum. And you made it clear that you didn't--". Dean's hand finds your stomach and pushes you into the nearest wall.

Before you could object, he slams his lips on yours. Your body instantly tenses and every time you try to pull away, he follows your lips. "I'll just be outside then," Sam says. Your legs became jello and you no longer felt the need to fight him.

He steps closer to you until your body melted into his. He softly pecks your lips every time you try to speak. When he finally pulls away, you are completely speechless and tired. "I lied about before," he whispers.

You look into his eyes and a small part of you believed him, but not enough of you did. "Let's go," You say to the demon. "No," Dean says but the demon already took over. "Whew, you really know how to make a girl wet. I'll have to take care of that later. Those lips certainly works wonders and you almost won her over.. almost."

Dean tries to tackle the demon but with the flick of wrist, they send Dean crashing into the wall. "Dean!" Sam says as he rushes into the room. "Oh, and Y/N says to stop looking for her. Tootles!" They said before blinking elsewhere. "Damn it!" Dean yells before flipping the table. "Get Crowley on the phone, now!"

**

With Crowley and Cas' help, they summoned Y/N within minutes. They trapped her in a devil's trap and the demon crossed their arms. "You really don't know how to take a.. hint." The demon says when they see Crowley standing in the corner. "My apologies, my liege," the demon says.

Crowley walks up to them and says, "Get out." "I didn't hurt her, like you made me promise, my liege," "Either you get out or I kill you. Your choice," Dean says, taking out his inscribed knife. "Oh please, you would rather stab yourself than stab her,"

Crowley snapped his fingers and the demon left Y/N's body. "I'll deal with you later," Crowley says to the demon as it goes back to Hell. You collapse to the ground and slowly lift your head to see everyone. Embarrassment warms your cheeks and your gaze falls to the ground.

"Guys, we should give them some privacy," Sam says. Dean kneels down next to you but you refuse to meet his gaze. "Y/N, you gotta talk to me, please." "I don't even know what to say, Dean."

"Let's start at the night after the barbeque," "Let's not, Dean. I don't want to relive that pain," "What about my pain, huh? What about my suffering?"

"Y/N, I'm sorry for hurting you and I'm sorry for lying to you." You stand up from the ground and look down at Dean. He stands up and brushes the dirt from his hands. "But I understand if you want to leave," he adds.

You turn to walk towards the door but stop yourself when your hand touches the cold door knob. You turn back around and run into Dean's arms. You squeeze him as hard you could and he tightened his grip on you.

"I'm so sorry for everything, Dean," you whimper and he says, "There's nothing to be sorry about. You found a way to cope and I should have judge you on that."

"Dean, about that kiss," you say and Dean pulls away from you slightly. He looks down at you but didn't move his hands. It was like he was waiting for the signal to kiss you.

"You were right, about leaving things as friends. You are more committed that way. As ass backwards as that sounds, it finally makes sense now."

"But kiss me like that again, and that won't be the case anymore." You joke but Dean still looked quite serious. "Dean?" He grabbed the back of your neck and captures your lips in a burningly slow kiss.

He brings you closer by the hips and slides his tongue against yours. You moan softly and try to pull away before you coupf make anymore noise. But of course, he follows your lips and bite down on your bottom lip.

You finally managed to pull away from him and put your fingers against his lips so he wouldn't kiss you again. "My God," you say softly. "We'll continue this later, but I'm hungry and I have to kiss and make up with the rest of the team," you add, earning an eyebrow raise from Dean. "Not actually kiss, Dean. It's an expression,"

"I know, and I never liked it," he says, squeezing your hips. Now you start to wonder what exactly you got yourself into?