#( && listen with curiosity. speak with honesty. / / chat. )

[estapa-edwards]

SUNSHINE - Q. HUGHES

paring: Quinn hughes x reader

word count: 1.8k

requested? yes - quinn dating an absolute ball of sunshine and just such a sweetheart and him being so grumpy but melting for her, his family falling in love with her when they meet her and seeing how much she loves quinn but how much wuinn needs her too

warnings: use of y/n.

*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·..·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·..·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·..·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·..·:*¨¨*

In the bustling city of Vancouver, amidst the frenetic energy of professional hockey, lived Quinn Hughes, a young defenseman for the Vancouver Canucks. Known for his exceptional skill on the ice, Quinn was equally notorious for his serious demeanor off the rink. Yet, in the midst of his stoic world, there came a burst of sunshine named Y/N.

Y/N was a ball of positivity that seemed to radiate light wherever she went. Her infectious laughter and perpetual smile were like a beacon in Quinn's sometimes dimly lit world. They met by chance at a charity event organized by the Canucks, where Y/N's volunteer work caught Quinn's attention.

At first, Quinn was skeptical. He was used to the rough and tumble world of hockey, where toughness and resilience were prized above all else. Y/N, on the other hand, seemed like a delicate flower, too fragile for the harsh realities of his life. But as they spent more time together, Quinn discovered layers to Y/N that he never expected.

Y/N was not just sunshine and smiles; she had a strength of character and an unwavering spirit that Quinn found both intriguing and deeply comforting. She saw past his gruff exterior, understanding the pressures he faced as a professional athlete, and yet never once treated him like anything less than a human being.

--

The charity event buzzed with excitement as Quinn Hughes, clad in his sharp suit, navigated through the crowd with practiced ease. He exchanged obligatory pleasantries with fellow teammates and sponsors, his expression stoic and his demeanor guarded. Amidst the sea of faces, one stood out—a figure wrapped in an aura of warmth and kindness, her smile a beacon in the dimly lit room.

Y/N was busy at a booth, arranging pamphlets and chatting animatedly with volunteers. Quinn observed her from afar, intrigued by the genuine enthusiasm she exuded. She seemed out of place amidst the glitz and glamour of the event, like a wildflower blooming in a field of roses.

Quinn's curiosity got the better of him, and he found himself making his way toward her booth, his steps deliberate and measured. Y/N looked up as he approached, her eyes sparkling with warmth as she greeted him with a bright smile.

"Hi there! Can I interest you in learning more about our cause?" Y/N's voice was like a melody, soft yet confident, drawing Quinn in despite his initial reservations.

Quinn hesitated for a moment, unused to such genuine warmth from strangers. "What cause?" he asked, his tone gruff but tinged with curiosity.

Y/N's smile widened, undeterred by his demeanor. "We're raising funds for underprivileged children in the community, providing them with educational resources and opportunities they wouldn't otherwise have. It's a cause close to my heart," she explained, her eyes alight with passion.

Quinn studied her for a moment, his gaze searching for any hint of insincerity. But all he found was honesty and sincerity, a stark contrast to the superficiality of the world he was accustomed to. Despite himself, he felt a flicker of something—a warmth he hadn't felt in a long time.

"Tell me more," Quinn finally conceded, surprising even himself with his genuine interest.

And so, Y/N launched into an impassioned spiel about the charity's mission, her words painting a vivid picture of hope and possibility. As Quinn listened, he found himself captivated by her spirit, her unwavering belief in the power of kindness and compassion.

By the time Y/N had finished speaking, Quinn was thoroughly intrigued. He found himself drawn to her light, her optimism a stark contrast to his own cynicism. And as he looked into her eyes, he saw something he hadn't expected—a reflection of his own humanity, mirrored back to him in all its rawness and vulnerability.

--

Their relationship blossomed slowly, like a delicate flower unfurling its petals in the warmth of the sun. Quinn found himself opening up to Y/N in ways he never had with anyone else, sharing his fears and insecurities, as well as his hopes and dreams. And Y/N, in turn, showered him with love and affection, her unwavering support a balm to his weary soul.

Quinn sat in his dimly lit apartment, his hockey gear strewn across the floor like discarded remnants of a battle won or lost. He stared blankly at the wall, the weight of the day's game still heavy on his shoulders. It was a tough loss, one that left him questioning his abilities and his worth as a player.

Y/N sat beside him, her presence a comforting warmth in the otherwise cold room. She reached out and gently took his hand in hers, her touch soft and reassuring.

"It's okay, Quinn," she murmured, her voice a soothing melody in the silence. "You gave it your all out there. That's all anyone can ask for."

Quinn sighed, leaning into her touch ever so slightly. "I know, but sometimes it feels like it's not enough," he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper.

Y/N squeezed his hand gently, her eyes full of understanding. "You're more than just a hockey player, Quinn. You're a person with hopes and dreams and fears, just like everyone else. And no matter what happens on the ice, I'll always be here for you."

Quinn looked at her then, really looked at her, and for the first time, he saw past the facade of sunshine and smiles to the strength and resilience that lay beneath. He saw in her eyes a reflection of his own struggles, his own fears, and he felt a connection—a bond—that went beyond the surface.

"I appreciate you saying that," Quinn murmured, his voice raw with emotion. "Sometimes it's hard to remember that there's more to life than just hockey."

Y/N nodded, her gaze unwavering as she met his eyes. "It's okay to feel that way, Quinn. But you're not defined by what happens on the ice. You're so much more than that."

In that moment, Quinn felt a weight lifted off his shoulders, a burden shared and halved. He realized that he didn't have to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders alone, that it was okay to lean on someone else for support.

Leaning in closer, Quinn found himself drawn to Y/N in a way he hadn't anticipated. He could feel the warmth of her presence enveloping him like a blanket, comforting and reassuring. And as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close, he felt a sense of peace wash over him, a feeling of home that he had never experienced before.

-- 

​​But it wasn't just Quinn who fell for Y/N's charms. His family, initially skeptical of anyone who dared to enter their son's guarded heart, quickly warmed to her. They saw how she brought out the best in Quinn, softening his rough edges and encouraging him to embrace life with a newfound enthusiasm.

Quinn's parents, Jim and Ellen, welcomed Y/N into their home with open arms, treating her like one of their own from the moment they met her. His siblings, Jack and Luke, adored her playful nature and boundless energy, finding in her a kindred spirit who shared their love for life and all its joys. 

The first time Y/N met Quinn's family was a nerve-wracking experience. She stood outside their doorstep, her heart pounding in her chest as she nervously smoothed down her dress. Quinn had assured her that his family would love her, but that didn't stop the butterflies in her stomach from fluttering anxiously.

As Quinn opened the door, Y/N was greeted by the warm smiles of his parents, Jim and Ellen. They enveloped her in a tight embrace, welcoming her into their home with open arms. From the moment they met, Y/N could see where Quinn got his kindness and warmth from; Jim's easygoing nature and Ellen's gentle demeanor instantly put her at ease.

"Welcome, Y/N! It's so wonderful to finally meet you," Ellen exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with genuine warmth.

Y/N smiled nervously, feeling a sense of relief wash over her. "Thank you for having me," she replied, her voice tinged with gratitude.

Quinn's siblings, Jack and Luke, bounded down the stairs, their excitement palpable as they caught sight of Y/N. They wasted no time in bombarding her with questions, eager to get to know the girl who had captured their brother's heart.

"Hi, I'm Jack!" one of them exclaimed, thrusting out his hand for Y/N to shake.

"And I'm Luke!" the other chimed in, grinning from ear to ear.

Y/N laughed, charmed by their infectious energy. "It's nice to meet you both," she said, shaking their hands warmly.

The evening was filled with warmth and laughter as Quinn's family gathered around the dinner table, enjoying each other's company. Y/N sat among them, her smile radiant as she shared stories and jokes, seamlessly fitting into the dynamic of the Hughes household.

Jim and Ellen exchanged a knowing glance as they observed their son and his girlfriend. They had watched Quinn grow from a young boy with dreams of playing in the NHL to the accomplished athlete he was today. But what they hadn't anticipated was the transformative effect Y/N would have on him.

"She's really something special, isn't she?" Ellen whispered to Jim, her eyes twinkling with affection as she glanced at Y/N.

Jim nodded in agreement, a proud smile gracing his lips. "She certainly is. I've never seen Quinn light up the way he does when she's around."

Across the table, Jack and Luke were engaged in a lively conversation with Y/N, their laughter filling the room. They had taken to her immediately, drawn to her playful nature and genuine warmth.

"You're the best, Y/N!" Jack exclaimed, his eyes shining with admiration.

Luke nodded enthusiastically, echoing his brother's sentiment. "Yeah, we love having you around!"

Y/N laughed, feeling a swell of affection for Quinn's siblings. "I love being here with all of you," she replied, her voice filled with sincerity.

As the evening wore on, Quinn's family couldn't help but marvel at the bond he shared with Y/N. They saw how she brought out the best in him, softening his rough edges and encouraging him to embrace life with a newfound enthusiasm.

But more than that, they saw how much Quinn needed her. They saw the way his eyes lit up whenever she entered the room, the way he leaned on her for support in times of doubt and uncertainty. They saw the depth of their love for each other, a love that transcended words and barriers.

And in that moment, as they sat together as a family, surrounded by love and laughter, Jim and Ellen knew that Y/N was more than just Quinn's girlfriend. She was his rock, his anchor in a sea of uncertainty, his guiding light in the darkness.

And as they looked at their son, his hand intertwined with Y/N's, they knew that he was truly blessed to have her by his side

[minamclaggen]

WHERE: Wherever outside of Hogwarts. WHEN: Whenever between Feburary 25th, 2024, and March 6th, 2024.  WHO: Open to all characters who aren’t currently attending Hogwarts!

“I’ve just realized that I’m allergic to beer. Can you believe that? Beer. What kind of nerd is allergic to beer? Well, me, I guess, but... Shit. It’s so cheap. And good. This is my worst nightmare; please take me away from this forsaken world. I need to find joy again.”

[rein4r1]

Portrait

Wc: 1.9k

Warning/s: Homophobia, Signs of Mental Illness, Mentions of Mental and Physical Abuse, Mentions of sexual activity, Dark Content

Pairing: [Modern AU] Mikasa x F!Reader (They/Them)

Genre: Fluff if you squint, Angst

Synopsis: On which Mikasa offers them a solution to their problems

or

They couldn't help but create a different reality

MINORS READ WITH DISCRETION

“So tell us Y/n L/n”

“Tell you what? I have nothing to tell you!”

“Tell us why you killed your parents.”

They pulled her knees to their chests, tightening their hold. The air from the AC doing nothing but worsen the already dreadful atmosphere. With shaking hands, they touched the side of their face, feeling the sting from where their father slapped them from hours ago. It wasn’t his aggressiveness that hurt them nor was it the shattered frame of a portrait that stood proudly on top of the island table, but it was their mother’s words; “I can’t believe we have a homosexual under our roof!”

Their parents were always conservative, believing that people who like the same sex are nothing but sinful. In all honesty, they believed every word they fed growing up. At least until they met her. Maybe deep down, they were already different from what their parents fear, just hiding in the closet. The first time they saw her was in the middle of the hallway, junior year in high school. To be honest, they didn’t have friends, them having friends is far-fetched anyway.

Not only did they hate their situation at home, but they also hate their situation at school. It’s not like they’re physically troubled by other kids, but they can always hear their murmurings, clearly them being the subject of their gossip.

“For someone with a pretty appearance, they sure are crazy.”

“Shut up! They might hear.”

School was already hell for them; just in the middle of the hallway stood a girl with short black hair, there she stood in the sea of despondence. They always had a downcast look, when was the last time they stared at anything but their feet. They can’t help but be drawn to her dark orbs, something about her enigmatic look draws them to her. The felt their body move automatically towards her, but in the heap of the crowd, she was gone. Their eyes searched any nook and cranny for her, hoping that there’s something she left by. And they felt it, the erratic beating of their hearts, as if nothing will help to calm it.

The next time they saw her was at the school’s courtyard, sitting at one of the benches looking like she’s lost in her own thoughts. They slowly approached her, sitting just at the other end of the bench. As if sensing their presence, her head turns towards them. Her face shows aloofness, but their eyes bore in theirs with curiosity. She turned her head back to the horizon, clearly not minding their presence.

“You look sad.” ‘What?’

“You look like… you’ve been failed by the people around you…” she continues as they look at her with sadness in their eyes.

“Wha- What are you talking about?...” And out of the blue, she pulled them towards her, letting their head rest on her shoulder. She brought her hand to caress their hair, and all they could do is cry. It’s been so long since they became vulnerable, looking no different than a walking corpse. “Don’t worry Y/n, I’m here now.” ‘Huh but how does she know my name?’

“Wait how did you-“

“I’ve always been watching you Y/n, I’m sorry it took me a long time.” They look at her face and saw genuine repentance. “But I haven’t- I don’t know who you are.” As if sensing their growing confusion, she smiled; “Mikasa, my name’s Mikasa.”

Mikasa is their first friend and the first person they talked outside of their family. They didn’t feel alone anymore with the girl beside them. The once suffocating halls didn’t feel smothering anymore. Their eyes didn’t look downcast, it slowly began to look less dull and look more with vigor. But that didn’t do anything to lessen the outlandish look their schoolmates gave them, their mumblings only continue to worsen. It didn’t matter anymore, since Mikasa is by their side, and she didn’t feel alone anymore.

Mikasa slept over at their house, this was something they’ve been looking forward the whole weekends. Lying together in their bed as they faced each other, Mikasa brought her nimble finger to draw in their features as she reached stay strand of their hair and placed it behind their eye. As if there was an unknown force that compels them to each other, they felt her lips brush against theirs in a gently manner. Feeling the way their lips moved in sync with each other, Mikasa’s kisses were steady, gentle, and slow

She looks at them as if she revers them with her whole entirety. They felt her hands drag across their skin like an adagio. Mikasa looked at their eyes for any signs of discomfort, but they only brought themselves closer as an answer. And that night, they made love under the light emanating from the moon.

A few days later, Y/n sat at the dining area with their parents for dinner. Their mother was babbling about how charming their neighbor’s son is. It fell into deaf ears of course, only having Mikasa in their thoughts.

“Y/n you should meet Mr. Grice’s son, I heard he’s about your age.” They snapped their head towards their father, they could not believe the words that came out of his mouth. Never in her life did he appreciate them having any malefriends. “You ought to have friends at your age, create a network with people.”

“I already have a friend ‘pa” he could only dismiss their reply. Their mother clearly being insistent on bringing the Grice boy and them together. “I know both of you are taking your exams for university, it doesn’t hurt having room for more people in your life.”

“I thought you never wanted me to have any guy friends.”

“But it’s the Grices we’re talking about.” They came to understand their mother’s intentions. The Grice family were considered wealthy and influential, who doesn’t want to marry into a rich family anyway? Obviously, Y/n L/n who only has Mikasa in their heart. Plus, the Grice boy already had an army of girls (and boys) willing to be his significant other. It was supposed to be a normal dinner, with them minding their business, leaving their parents to whatever chit chat they’re engrossed in. That is until, their father said something that triggered more on her already displeased mood.

“God, those sinners, parading around for some rights when they clearly don’t deserve any.” Her father muttered in disgust. The television was on, displaying news about a protest done by the LGBTQ+ community in accordance with the rights of their transgender brothers and sisters, considering that there is a rise of crimes towards the group. “If only they weren’t that then people wouldn’t-“

“I’m gay.” Their parents snapped their heads towards her, their expressions full of vexation.

“Y/n come again? What did you-“

“I’m fucking gay ‘ma, and I appreciate that the both of you stop asking those people for liability for something they clearly didn’t do, especially that they- we, are discriminated by people like –“ SLAP

They looked at their horrific faces, hand on their cheek. They expected this, they knew they were like this, but they couldn’t stand them any longer. They couldn’t help but think of Mikasa, the fact that they have this kind of mindset already means that after learning Mikasa’s existence, they’ll get in between them.

“I can’t believe we have a homosexual under our roof!” Their mother cried and their father’s face full of furry. “Go inside your room! We’ll deal with you later. FuckI can’t look at you right now without having the urge to murder you! And I don’t want to commit a sin like you!” Their father’s voice echoes around the room, as they quickly left her unfinished dinner, seeking solace inside their room. Sitting at the innermost corner of their bed, they leaned against the wall and brought their knees towards their chest. They expected them to be like this, but deep down they were hoping that they’d understand, that they’d accept them for who they are.

They felt their phone ring as they moved towards the bedside table and saw a text from Mikasa.

They immediately dashed towards their mini balcony, and there she is, Mikasa in all her glory. Seeing her made them break down, they found solace with this woman. To them, Mikasa is their sanctuary. Mikasa held them tight under the dark sky and the cold wind of the early hours of morning. She listened to them as they bawl their eyes out, pressing kisses on their face in hopes that this will make them feel better.

“I have something for you.” Mikasa reached something in her pocket to reveal a necklace with a vial as its pendant. They looked at the necklace with an astonished look, Mikasa then proceeds to wear the necklace on their neck. “You know you can do this Y/n” Mikasa smiled at them as she pressed another kiss on her shoulder, wrapping her arms around them. “I know you can”

Their parents woke up at the delightful smell of breakfast. They were bemused at the food that is already prepared on the table.

“Oh, both of you are awake, I prepared breakfast.” Their father looked at them suspiciously, but she only smiled cheerfully.

“What is this? Didn’t we tell you to-“

“I would like to apologize for yesterday, I was clearly stressed because of my exams. I was probably just confused… Yeah just stressed” they chuckled, they felt a bit unsure of their words, but they only brushed it off, content that their child finally came into their senses. They took a sip of their tea, as they began to converse with their parents. “You know about Grice, maybe I’ll approach him later at school.”

“Really? That’s great Y/n!” Her mother chimes.

“Yes ‘ma” They continue to look at their parents. Minutes pass as something went eerie that they could not explain. ‘Something’s weird’ their father glanced at their grinning face. They suddenly lack the ability to speak. As they slowly grow limp from their chairs. They could only stare at their child’s retreating form as the light in their gets swallowed by darkness.

“Tell us why you killed your parents.” Are they out of their mind? Kill? Why would Y/n kill their parents? They may have hurt them too many times, but they could never hurt their parents.

“Kill? I did not kill them!”

“The autopsy showed signs of poisoning, and the investigating team found its connection with the tea they drank. In addition, you were the last person they were last seen with.” They were confused, the tea?... The tea!

“It wasn’t me… It was… It was Mikasa!” Their eyes widen in confusion. “She gave me a vial. It was her!” They wrote their claim down on a piece of paper.

“Mikasa?... I need her last name.” He probes. ‘Wait, she never did give me her last name.’ The officer slid a small envelope. The opened it to reveal a portrait that looks oh so familiar. It’s one of the portraits her father flounced in the heat of anger. A portrait of a young woman with a baby in her hands. ‘No this can’t be… this is just a coincidence. This woman-‘

“-is Mikasa Ackerman, the one who gave birth to your mother.”

That night, they never received a text from her. It was only their alarm setting off.

An: I feel like this is badly written so bsoibhaoibh

I apologize for any grammatical errors and improper use of punctuation marks.

[kissinginkitchens]

You Bring Me Home—Chapter Three: Chasing Waterfalls

a/n: Welcome back!! Another huge thank you for the sweet words and love you have shown to part 2! I'm so glad to hear from those of you who are enjoying the story so far :') Things are starting to get interesting, so I hope you'll stay tuned! As always, my inbox is open, so feel free to come chat with me after you have finished reading! Much love, Mel <3

Pairing: Hawai'i!Harry x Original Character

Warnings: swearing, drug/alcohol mention

Word Count: 5.3k

catch up on parts one and two

Alani watches the stream of salt descend gracefully into the salt-shaker like a mini waterfall, her mind still replaying the events of the past couple of weeks. It has been fourteen days, 336 hours, and 20,160 minutes since the last time she saw Harry, not that she was counting. The image of him getting smaller in her rearview mirror as she drove away from the recording studio is still fresh in her mind. Two weeks and all she has to show for it is three sentences in her notebook, most of which is material she had already known prior to the interview. Alani supposes that this fact should trouble her more than it does, with her future at Rolling Stone depending on much more than the smoothie preferences of Harry Styles; but all she can dwell on at the moment is the serene image of them standing side by side, pinkies nearly touching, making a wish on the most vibrant rainbow she had ever seen. What does concern her, however, are the events that immediately followed their arrival back at Napua.

“Maybe next time we should do this in a neutral location,” Harry had offered, stepping out of the Range Rover. “Less distractions,”

Alani’s brows shot up at the words, not quite believing that she had heard him right. “Next time?”

“You can’t possibly have gotten everything you needed from that,” he scoffed, leaning against the passenger door. Alani had fully prepared to butter him up in order to extend their time beyond the initial one interview agreement, but she hadn’t expected it to be this easy, especially after his dismissal of her attempted humor and begrudging lunch invitation.

“Well, no, but I thought-”

“Okay, so we’ll do this again,” he shrugged, “No biggie,”

Alani felt a wave of relief, and a twinge of excitement, rush over her at the prospect of securing another interview with Harry. Offering him a grateful smile, she nodded and agreed.

“Yeah, okay. Thank you, again, for agreeing to this,”

Harry’s furrowed brow didn’t budge, nor did his set jaw and pouted lips. He simply offered a small bow of his head and a ringed finger through his dark locks.

“Sure. Wouldn’t wanna be the reason you fail,”

“Thanks,” she replied through a forced laugh.

Alani had almost forgotten about the cover she devised to get Harry to agree to the exclusive. A part of her wondered how willing he would have been to participate had he known her true intentions of submitting the final piece to Rolling Stone, but the better part of her judgement knew there was too much at stake to fold her cards now. Besides, Harry had to have known that any work linked to his name would get some sort of public attention, regardless of the original intentions. At least, that was what Alani planned to say if things went south.

“So you can just... text me, I guess,” she proposed cautiously. “When you’re free?”

“Will do,” Harry nodded. “But I think that requires us to exchange phone numbers first,”

“Right,”

Alani pulled her phone from the back pocket of her shorts and opened the contacts app before holding it out to Harry. Carefully, he punched his digits and handed it back, smirking when he was greeted by the image of irresistible watery eyes and floppy ears beneath the time.

“Cute dog,” he remarked while Alani finished typing her own number into his phone.

A soft smile spread across her lips as the image of her furry companion drifted into her mind.

“Oh, thanks. His name’s Freddie,”

“D’you name all your belongings after 70s rock stars?” Harry teased, flashing a dimpled grin.

“As a matter of fact,” Alani played along. “I’m about to go take a sip from Mick Jagger in my car,”

Immediately, Alani regretted her choice of words, though the bright ringing of Harry’s laughter soothed some of the embarrassment.

She winced, nose scrunched. “I guess there’s no taking that one back, huh?”

“Not a chance,”

Clutching her bag closer and sliding her sunglasses back onto the bridge of her nose, Alani took a step back and sighed.

“And with that, I bid you adieu.”

“Au revoir.”

Two weeks and still radio silence from Harry. Alani had begun to wonder whether she had input her phone number correctly in the first place, or if her penchant for embarrassing herself had ruined all chances of Harry making good on his promises.

“I’m sorry, sir, but if you want salted fries you’re gonna have to wait for your turn at the salt mound, just like everyone else,” the voice of Alani’s sister breaks through her thoughts. Somewhere between reliving her last interaction with Harry and anticipating their impending reunion, Alani’s hand had drifted slightly off course of the salt shaker, resulting in a rather impressive mountain of salt forming on the countertop.

“Why didn’t you stop me?” Alani retorts, annoyed at the mess she’ll have to clean up.

“Seemed like you were in the zone, or possibly sleepwalking—and you know what they say about disturbing sleepwalkers,” Pua says simply, unaffected by her sister’s irritation. “Plus, I thought it would be funny, and I was right,”

Alani sweeps the salt into a garbage can below, her mind already drifting back to her afternoon with Harry, when her sister speaks up again.

“He hasn’t called yet?”

This catches Alani’s attention, but she only shakes her head dejectedly in response.

“I thought your date went well,” Pua muses, thinking back to the way her sister had practically floated through the house upon her return.

“It wasn’t a date,” Alani corrects firmly, perhaps trying to convince herself, as well.

Pua scoffs, lifting herself to sit on the countertop. “So you made me cover a four hour shift for nothing?”

“It’s strictly professional and he’s busy,” Alani sighs. “That’s just how these things go,”

“Did he let you listen to his new music?” the younger sister asks, eyes widening.

Alani rolls her eyes and resumes twisting the caps back onto the filled salt shakers. “No,”

“Did you ask him why he left One Direction?”

“No,”

“Is he single?”

“I don’t know,” Alani huffs, turning to face her smug little sister. “Why don’t you ask him?”

“Ask him what?” a familiar accented voice cuts in behind her.

Alani whips around to face Harry, a familiar dent between his brows and dark sunglasses shielding her from the intensity of his stare.

“Ask my dad if I can go to the..movies—tonight,” Pua chimes in. “With my friends. I have those,”

Harry smirks, lifting his sunglasses up to address her. “S’that so?”

“Yup,” she confirms, popping the “p” and crossing her arms. “Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Curiosity runs in the family, I see,” he remarks with amusement. “Shoot,”

“Is your phone working?”

“Why don’t you go call dad and ask him about the movies? I’ll cover the register,” Alani interrupts, shooting a glare over her shoulder as her sister saunters into the kitchen with a satisfied grin on her round face.

“Ignore her, she’s fifteen,”

“The most honest age in my experience,” Harry observes with a twinge of guilt settling in the pit of his stomach.

Alani pushes any thoughts about Harry, beyond the fact that he’s standing in front of her, to the side and puts on her best customer service voice. “What can I get started for you today?”

“A green smoothie, please,” he says, searching for her eyes that are occupied with the register buttons. “And the rest of your afternoon, if you’re free,”

Alani pauses and allows her gaze to meet his. She senses a hint of apology behind his emerald eyes, a welcome change to the storminess that often clouds them.

“I don’t know,” she starts slowly, despite the fact that every bone in her body is screaming at her to go. “I gotta finish up here,”

“What time are you off?”

Alani mulls his question over, silently deciding whether to tell the truth or not. Ultimately, retribution for her bruised ego is the only reason she can come up with for lying. She knows that it isn’t logical to be upset with him due to the fact that their relationship is strictly professional. Harry owes her nothing; in fact, him agreeing to meet with her the first time was, as she pointed out on several occasions, entirely a favor on his end. Despite this fact, Alani couldn’t help the disappointment she had felt the very next day when he hadn’t even texted his name to make sure that he had the right number. And she can’t help how she feels now, two weeks later, looking into his big, dumb eyes that are begging for her forgiveness. She missed him. Against her better judgment, and for reasons she can’t explain, Alani misses Harry, so she chooses honesty.

“Four,”

“Great,” he perks up, victoriously. “Then I’ll have the green smoothie, and keep ‘em coming,”

“You’re gonna stay here that long?” Alani asks, eyes darting to the 1:11 displayed on her watch.

Harry holds up a teal paperback with cassette tapes stacked on the cover. “Got some reading material to keep me company,”

“Love is a Mix Tape,” she reads the yellow cursive looped at the bottom of the cover aloud with a nod.

“Ever read it?” he questions, flipping through the pages.

“Can’t say that I have,”

“Well then you can borrow it sometime.” Harry says finally, turning on his heel in the direction of a table near the window.

Alani half expects him to leave and come back closer to their allotted time, but he simply sits near the window with the book in front of him and the straw of his drink resting against his pouted bottom lip. Customers come and go, tables are cleared, and the sunlight spills into different corners of the room, but Harry remains perfectly unchanged as if he were a fixture of the room itself. His presence is both comforting and unnerving to Alani, who glides around the room taking orders and serving food. Meanwhile, Harry does his very best to focus on the words in front of him, but the letters jumble together like alphabet soup amidst his wandering thoughts. Out of the corner of his eye, he follows Alani as she gracefully moves from one table to the next, flashing a warm smile at each guest who enters. He notices the tapping of her pen to whatever Beach Boys song plays over the stereo and the way she bites the inside of her cheek when making change at the register. The more details he stores in his mind, the deeper the sinking feeling burrows into his stomach. It had taken every ounce of willpower and over twenty unsent text messages to stay away, but Harry needed to put space between them for both of their sakes. He didn’t dare flatter himself with the thought of her having feelings for him, but he didn’t mind her company and that hadn’t done him much good these days. Harry knew that eventually he would have to bite the bullet and keep his word, and he decided that a temporary writer’s block was as good a time as any to do so.

“What ever happened to that girl?” Jeff had asked the evening prior, responding to an email from the recording label.

Harry feigned ignorance and continued to doodle something in his notebook, though he knew exactly who his manager was referring to. “What girl?”

“Dark hair, pretty, made you blush like a 12 year old,”

“I did not,'' Harry defended, scribbling a little more harshly. “‘S nothing. Was just helpin’ her out,”

Jeff snorted with an accusational brow raised.

“How romantic,”

“Jesus, not like that!”

“All I’m saying,” Jeff conceded. “Is that you seem a little uptight these days, and the music shows,”

Harry pondered this for a minute, his pen stilling to look over the lyrics, or lack thereof, on the page.

“You should be having a little fun, that’s literally what we came here for,” Jeff continued. “Get out of this fuckin’ studio and be a normal 22 year-old. You deserve it.”

So Harry had decided to go out, telling himself that he was merely listening to a friend’s advice for the sake of his music and sanity. But a part of him also desperately wanted to see Alani, even if he didn’t really know why.

As the clock strikes four, Alani sucks in a deep breath and turns to her sister slicing bananas in the kitchen.

“I’m going out,”

“Figured,” Pua responds, unphased. “I’ll cover for you,”

“I owe you.”

“Get me tickets to his next concert and we’ll call it even.”

Alani rolls her eyes, amused, and presses a chaste kiss to her sister’s temple before grabbing her bag off the hook and heading out. When she emerges in the dining area, Harry is already waiting at the counter with his broad shoulders turned away from her. She taps him gently and feels dizzy when he turns to her with a faint dimpled smile.

“Ready to roll?” he asks.

“Ready.”

When the two are comfortably situated in the Range Rover, Harry scans the parking lot and pulls away onto Mamalahoa Highway.

“Where’s Stevie?” he questions, his lower lip pinched between his index finger and thumb in concentration.

“Oh I walk to the restaurant,” Alani explains. “Don’t live too far,”

“Explains why you ditched your sister,”

“I did not ditch her!” Alani defends with a light laugh.

“Kinda did,”

She shakes her head in mock offense as the corners of Harry’s lips turn up. “My dad will pick her up after work, she’ll be fine,”

“Not to accuse you of nepotism,” he hesitates. “But I thought maybe your dad worked at the café. Family business?”

“He owns it, yeah, but he also works as the head chef at Honu. It’s a resort,” Alani continues. “But I’ll have you know that my waitressing skills are highly qualified, regardless of the nepotism,”

“And your mum?”

“She’s a doctor—pediatric surgeon,”

“That’s amazing,” Harry comments, glancing down at the GPS.

“Yeah, she is,” Alani agrees, her own eyes darting to the screen before attempting to analyze her surroundings. “Hey, where are we going?”

The rings on Harry’s right hand tap gently on the steering wheel as he responds carefully, withholding any hints.

“To the best interview spot I could think of. Go there sometimes to work on the album,”

“So there is an album,” Alani wiggles her brows.

“Off the record,” he clarifies. “But.. potentially,”

She scoffs at his insistence to maintain secrecy.

“Really?”

“We’re almost there.” Harry consoles, referring primarily to their destination, but perhaps speaking personally, as well. Alani doesn’t miss the double meaning and chooses to nod silently in acceptance.

The next few minutes of their drive are filled by humming along to whatever song drifts through the stereo, most notably Paul McCartney and George Harrison, which inspires a lively back and forth about the ranking of ex-Beatles members.

“It goes Paul, George, Ringo, and John,” Alani states matter-of-factly. “There’s no other answer,”

Harry shoots her an incredulous look before responding. “Are you seriously putting Ringo Starr before John Lennon?”

“John Lennon was an abusive asshole,” Alani defends. “Plus he wrote, like, one good song-”

“More than one song—”

“I said a good song. ‘Good’ being the keyword,”

Harry can’t hold back his endearment at her reasoning, so he shakes his head with a wide grin plastered on his face and decides to take one last swing at the hornet’s nest.“He’s still a legend,”

“Isn’t it weird,” Alani muses with a far-away look in her eyes. “That someday, someone’s gonna have this conversation about you?”

Harry doesn’t respond right away, weighing her words and how they settle in his bones. It doesn’t offend him in the slightest, he’s heard far worse, but there is still something strange about comparing himself to musicians he considers to be his icons. Despite all the hard work and sacrifices he’s made over the past five years, he still sees himself as the lucky little kid from Holmes Chapel underneath it all.

“I’m sorry,” Alani speaks up when Harry doesn’t respond. “I didn’t mean—”

“Oh, no it’s okay,” He reassures her. “I was just thinking... ‘bout what you said. I guess I don’t really think about it like that,”

“Oh,” is all she says, still waiting for him to elaborate. After a beat, Harry begins again in his characteristically slow way of speaking that Alani finds charming.

“It’s just that,” he begins, tugging on his lower lip. “Obviously I can’t ignore, you know, the impact that all of it had. But to me it was just… I don’t know. In my head it’s not really on the same level,”

Alani nods, though she can’t say it’s with complete understanding. In this moment, she truly feels the weight of their completely different worlds and how she may never be able to fully sympathize with that part of Harry’s life. She certainly hadn’t been under any impression that she would, but she still feels a bit embarrassed for the closeness she had begun to feel to him in their moments spent together. A sinking feeling settles into Alani’s stomach at the thought that maybe she was making a mistake, despite the constant self-reminders that everything they were doing was completely professional. Don’t get too close, she writes on a mental post-it note, sticking it to the forefront of her mind.

“We’re here,” Harry pipes up.

Too wrapped up in her own thoughts, Alani hadn’t noticed when they pulled into the parking lot at ‘Akaka Falls and it took her a moment to adjust.

“This is the place?” she questions hesitantly.

“Yeah,”

“This is where you come to write?”

“I didn’t realize I was supposed to stay chained to the studio,” Harry teases with his hands raised in mock surrender.

“No,” Alani breathes out a light laugh, rolling her eyes. “I just mean… I don’t know what I expected.”

“That was the point.” he explains with a devious smile that makes her let out a proper laugh.

************

“Did you know,” Alani starts, the tips of her fingers reaching out to stroke the petal of an especially vibrant red flower. “That Georgia O'Keeffe had a show in New York City during the 40s with twenty paintings of different flowers that she observed right in this very park?”

“I didn’t,” Harry admits. “Who needs a tour guide when we’ve got you?”

“I have a copy of the waterfall one she did in my room,” Alani continues. “But I’d love to see the real thing some day,”

Harry scans the landscape, eyes settling over the winding stairs that lead them further to the falls and the rest area where he frequently hides away. “Is it still on display?”

“Last I checked, yes,” she nods. “At the New York Botanical Garden,”

“How are you not even a bit winded?” he chuckles, hands on his hips as he pauses and takes a moment to breathe.

Alani stops in her tracks and turns back to face Harry with a teasing glint already present in her deep brown eyes.

“I thought you came here all the time to write,” she says with a raised brow.

“And I thought it was against the journalist code to berate your subjects,” he shoots back. “But here we are,”

“Touché,” Alani concedes. “But I’m not a journalist yet so I guess the rules don’t apply to me,”

Harry thanks his lucky stars that she turns on her heel back down the steps before she can witness the fond grin tugging at the corners of his lips. He savors the image of the greenery that complements her olive skin and how the gentle breeze dances through her curls before following behind.

Alani takes a deep breath once they reach the lookout and soaks in the familiar view. No matter how many times she visits the national park, the first sight of the 442 feet of cascading water always leaves her eyes a little misty.

“What brings you here?” she asks, turning to Harry whose sunglasses are perched at the crown of his head to leave the view unobstructed.

His jaw clenches and his Adam’s apple bobs, but he doesn’t respond right away. Instead, he turns his head to Alani and searches her face with a crease between his brows.

“That,” he responds, pointing to the glossy sheen over her eyes. “That feeling. Felt it the first time I came here, still do,”

He turns back to face the roaring water before them and Alani takes this moment to study the sharp angles of his profile. She takes note of the sunlight peering through his sea glass irises and waits patiently for him to continue.

“Makes you feel lucky to be alive,” Harry says finally. “And a little small, but in a good way. Like everything bad that ever happened to you doesn’t matter because none of it’s real, is it? But this… this is real,”

Alani feels like the air has been sucked from her chest and her eyes burn a hole straight through Harry’s temple. He doesn’t budge, despite the overwhelming urge to face her again, because he knows that if he does, he’ll lose his nerve.

“Damn,” is all Alani croaks out when she finally catches her breath.

Harry’s stony expression falters as he cracks a small, relenting smile. “D’reckon that’s what TLC were on about when they wrote that song?”

“I think you’re on the right track, yeah,” Alani agrees with a light laugh. “Though I think they were talking a little bit more about drugs, but I like your thing too,”

“Thanks,” Harry smirks. “Now you see why I come here to write,”

“Yeah, I’ll give you that one,” she concedes.

“Speaking of writing,” he starts, walking away from the lookout and over to a rest area with a few tables and benches. “I think we were here to help you write,”

Alani follows and takes a seat on the bench across from him, the setting sun beating against her back and outlining her in golden light that Harry feels couldn’t be more poetic.

She retrieves a notebook, her phone, and a pen from her bag and sprawls them out across the table top. Harry notices that each item is colored a varying shade of pink, but he decides to keep that detail filed at the back of his mind instead of investigating further.

“Same deal as last time, voice notes for quotational accuracy,” Alani reminds him. She looks over her list of questions to pick a starting point, but suddenly none of them seem relevant, so she takes a moment to collect her thoughts and says the first thing that comes to mind.

“Earlier when I said this wasn’t what I was expecting,” she begins. “You said ‘that was the point’. Why?”

Harry turns this question over in his mind, caught off guard by the seemingly trivial detail. “I dunno. I guess.. Maybe I just like the surprise,”

“To be surprised, or to surprise others?”

“Both,”

“Why do you like to surprise others?”

He ponders this for a second and takes a deep breath. “I think it’s because it doesn’t happen that often,”

“What do you mean?” Alani prys.

“Well,” Harry begins carefully, sifting through his brain for the right words. “Ever since the whole band thing blew up, I’ve had this strange feeling that everyone knows everything about me, like there’s nothing left to discover,”

Alani watches as he twirls the ring around his wedding finger, a silver rose that has always caught her eye.

“Maybe that sounds self absorbed,” he simpers.

“It’s not,” Alani reassures him.

Harry meets her eyes appreciatively before resuming. “I still remember the first time someone recognized me,”

“What was that like?”

“Bizarre,” he chuckles to himself. “She was very nice, but the entire time I couldn’t stop thinking about how strange it all was. It’s like, you know when someone you met once or twice comes up to you and you don’t remember their name at all? S’bit awkward ‘cos you feel like you should know something about them, too— level the playing field. ‘Cept no matter how hard you wrack your brain, the information’s never gonna come, even though they know everything about you,”

“But they don’t,” Alani cuts in. “Not really,”

“Yeah,” Harry agrees, his eyes narrowed. “But sometimes they feel like they do, which might be worse,”

Alani taps her pen against her bottom lip and nods, a gentle hum leaving her throat as she registers his words.

“Didn’t think about it like that,”

“S’not so much about the fans,” Harry continues. “Because I feel like there’s lots of things I wanna share with them through the music. It’s… everyone else, I guess,”

“I don’t think it’s abnormal to want your privacy,” Alani comments. “To want to share things on your own terms. It’s human,”

“But isn’t that what it means to be loved?” he asks, chin resting in his palm. “To be known?”

Alani picks up on a glimmer of challenge behind Harry’s eyes, as if he is the one conducting the interview and trying to extract information from her.

“There’s a difference between knowing something about someone,” she argues. “And knowing someone,”

“It’s like Prince,” Harry says suddenly, an excited fire behind his emerald eyes. “Who knows anything about Prince besides the fact that he’s a fuckin’ great musician? I sure as hell don’t, but all you wanna do is know more, and that’s what makes him so magical. It’s mysterious… I like that,”

Alani snorts and looks up from her notes scrawled on the page. “Did you just describe Prince like your manic-pixie dream girl?”

“No,” Harry defends with an amused laugh. “Well, not intentionally anyway,”

“I’m sorry,” she apologizes with a wave of her hand. “No, I know what you mean. It’s like keeping the rock-star persona separate from your real life, makes it all more alluring,”

Harry nods, running a hand through his hair and shaking it out before securing his sunglasses back at the top of his head. “Yeah,”

“But earlier you also said you wanted to share some things with the fans,” Alani begins again, going back to her chicken scratch notes. “What kinds of things were you referring to?”

“Real life stuff,” he offers. “Mostly the not-so-great things. ‘Cos I mean no one wants to hear me sing about going to bars and how great everything is. The champagne popping,”

Harry trails off as his fingers smooth over the cross pendant hanging around his neck.

“I mean, I don’t wanna hear my favorite musicians talk about that, at least. I wanna know ‘how did you feel when you were alone in that hotel room, because you chose to be alone?’”

The wind begins to pick up more noticeably and the pages of Alani’s notebook flutter wildly, threatening to escape. Too wrapped up in their conversation, the pair hadn’t noticed the dwindling tourists or the cumulonimbus clouds hovering above. Harry squints up at the darkening sky and it peers back at him with equal contempt . He springs to his feet, quickly gathering some of Alani’s things for her.

“We gotta go,”

They quickly scurry and the sound of thunder rumbling in the distance quickens their pace up the steps. The adrenaline coursing through Alani’s veins masks the burning in her quads and calves, but Harry’s steady panting gives away his exertion. They’re almost halfway up the long trail of steps when another thunderclap pierces through the sky above them and sends a jolt through their bodies. One speckle of rain hits the pavement in front of Alani’s quick feet, and then another, and another, until the sky opens up and they are caught in the downpour. Alani shrieks and the sound makes Harry belly laugh, a hand instinctively reaching out to the middle of her back to brace her.

“Careful,” He calls out above the deafening rain. “Watch your step!”

Somehow over the sound of the rain and her own heavy breathing, Alani still manages to come up with a witty remark.

“Imagine the headlines!” she shouts over her shoulder. “‘Popstar Lures Innocent Civilian to Her Untimely Demise’,”

Alani doesn’t say anything about his palm still pressed securely against the small of her back, but the warmth of it spreads through her fingers and toes. They continue up the steps, each breathing a sigh of relief when the top is in sight. Harry reaches out for her hand when they make it to the landing, and she accepts it gladly, before they bolt to the parking lot where the lone Range Rover is parked. Once inside, a fit of laughter erupts from the both of them.

“What a cliché,” Harry comments. “Getting caught in the rain,”

Alani sighs. “Too bad we don’t have piña coladas,”

“We could maybe do something about that,” he shrugs.

Alani reaches for her phone and queues up the next song, which brings a cheshire grin to Harry’s face when he hears the familiar drums.

“Wasn’t what I meant, but okay,” he rolls his eyes, turning up the car’s heater before heading back out onto the highway.

“This song’s kinda fucked up when you think about it,” Alani muses, swaying in her seat. “But the chorus is fun,”

“S’all that matters when you’re sloshed,”

“Sorry about your seats, they’re gonna be soaked,” Alani apologizes as her wet socks squelch around in her shoes.

“Don’t worry about it,” he waves the concern away. “Occupational hazard.”

The drive to Alani’s house from ‘Akaka Falls is only 25 minutes and the two of them spend most of the time lost in their own thoughts, letting the car heater soothe their chilly bones. Alani watches the rain droplets race down the window pane and turns over some of Harry’s words in her mind. His comment about the waterfalls sticks out like a shell emerging from the sand. She begins to think that it perfectly captures this time in his life as he searches for something real amidst the chaos of fame. It’s an angle she’s keen to run with once she has the time to sort through her notes and write, but her thoughts also drift towards the waterfalls in her own life that she’s been chasing. Naturally, she thinks about Rolling Stone and what she hopes New York City will bring her. Adventure, she thinks at first, digging deeper when that doesn’t quite suffice. Success, getting warmer. Purpose, bingo. Alani sinks into her seat with a contented sigh.

“Piña coladas,” Harry hums once they’ve pulled up to Alani’s driveway. “Next time, we’re definitely getting piña coladas,”

Alani isn’t as surprised by his suggestion of meeting up for a third time, though it still sends her heartbeat through the roof. She tries not to think too hard about the implications.

“On you,” she teases.

“Of course,”

“Thanks again,” Alani says, turning to face him. “We covered a lot of material today,”

Harry flashes a shy smile in response. “Sorry ‘bout...your clothes. I should’ve checked the weather,”

“Occupational hazard,” she shrugs, mirroring his words from earlier. “So I guess I’ll just see you around then?”

“Yeah,” he swallows, suddenly aware of her proximity. “I mean are we still doing this—the interviews?”

Alani stops smoothing out her damp waves, feeling as if she had overstepped. “If that’s okay. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed—”

“No, it’s okay,” Harry reassures her. “I’m available—I mean for your writing I’m—”

He stumbles over his words and Alani eases the slightest bit knowing that he’s nervous, too.

“Just let me know, whenever.” he says finally, regaining his composure.

“Will do.” she nods slowly.

Alani’s eyes dart to Harry’s lips briefly, lingering just long enough that Harry notices, but too quick for him to justify closing the gap. Before he knows it, he’s missed his chance and she’s slipping out of the car, closing the door with a sense of finality that makes his stomach drop.

Alani makes her way up to the house, gravel crunching under her feet and head pounding.

Don’t get too close, she reminds herself. Don’t go chasing waterfalls.

Next Chapter

[p1nkwitch]

@lonelyeyesweek

Day 1 - First Meeting

Peter was very reluctant to go to the Magnus institute funding party; uncle Nathaniel informed him that one of his new duties would be to make business with James Wright and he really didn't want to do that. A beholder… What a nightmare.

I would've stayed at home

'Cause I was doin' better alone

Peter was very reluctant to go to the Magnus institute funding party; uncle Nathaniel informed him that one of his new duties would be to make business with James Wright and he really didn't want to do that. A beholder… What a nightmare.

The party was unfortunately the most informal way to meet the man, otherwise he would be forced to enter a small room with the watcher to make sure he didn't dry up his family money for an indefinite amount of time.

So he was really dreading the moment he would be meeting this man, Simon kept telling him that James was an old friend and that it would be fine, that he was actually funny beneath all the politeness, however he wasn't so sure about that.

Due to Simon’s and his uncle’s influence he has a very loose idea of some boring old man, a type of academic with a nondescript look that he will forget as soon as he leaves.

With any luck he would just make his acquaintance today and then he may go from the party, Peter preferred to be at home instead of dilly dallying with the masses. As much as he likes to observe people, he likes it better when it's on his own terms and when he is not forced to be part of an event.

So he goes with very little hope for the night, the only positive is that he may get some free food and some alcohol, albeit champagne will not do much for him.

The moment Simon sees him, he zeroes on him and stays nearby talking about his trips to Europe. He also tells him about a few sacrifices he made that actually seemed rather interesting. Still Peter preferred the ones he committed at the ocean, but he knew the man was always more partial to the sky so its not surprising they are all on that vein.

“What about you Captain? You have a few voyages under your belt now lad, how did those go? Were they to your liking?” And the answer to that is a bit complicated, Peter is still getting used to handling a ship, his crew hasn't been properly trained yet to keep themselves in check so he has to… ugh make a few rules.

The other problem is that most of his crew is formed of older, more experienced sailors. Peter is 26 and unfortunately has a rather… soft looking face, he has been trying to grow a beard to at least make himself look a bit more rugged or older looking, but that will take time and he just has a five o’clock shadow for now. It will take him months to have anything resembling what he wants. The graying hair does work a bit better, that he can count for at least.

He is considering hiring someone to relay his messages to, so that way he can stay away most of the time and he can practice his solitude in peace. He really would love to not be perceived until he looks like he wants.

“Its ok, I still need to figure out a few things to be honest, I would love it if the crew was a bit less…”

“Talkative?”

“Friendly” Simon nods at him and pats his shoulder before going back to another story of a trip he made like 250 years ago. It is quite interesting, albeit Peter gets struck with how old the man is. Most of the time he can forget it, easy to do when Simon is so lively, but when he tells him these stories…. hard to ignore in all honesty.

Picking up an offered champagne glass he listens distractedly wondering when he will meet the man organizing this whole charade.

The older man talks to him but at some point his sentence drifts off and he looks behind him with a grin. A bit lost and now concerned, those grins never end up well for him, Peter turns back to check what exactly was his companion watching.

The answer comes to him like a hit to the face.

An older man talking and entertaining several people at the same time, Peter doesn't realize that he was gripping his glass very tightly until Simon waves and calls for the man over.

He wasn't boring looking like his uncle or very, very old like Simon. He must be in his fifties, he was dressed up impeccably with a black shirt that had his sleeves rolled out to his elbows, a deep green vest with golden details and dark green pants.

The man also has a pencil moustache and a few moles near his jaw, which made him stand out. He was also a bit shorter than him, but most people are so that doesn't surprise him.

The air of surety, of knowing he had made him feel bigger than he was however.

Peter swallows and feels his face warm up for reasons he can't comprehend.

When the man turns around towards Simon, he can see his eyes-

Grey.

Peter never looks anyone to their eyes and yet, and yet-

For a second it feels as if the man also froze looking at him, he had a look of….surprise almost?

But it was only for a second, the next thing Peter knows is that the man starts to approach them while he is struggling to not disappear in a puff of smoke. Oh, Forsaken protect him.

“Hello Simon” His voice is very low and amused, oh fuck.

“Hello James!! It's been a while hasn't it?” Ja-

James?

“You are James Wright?” Peter cuts off the man before he answers back to Simon and he realizes that he is an idiot, shit-

No wonder he was so eye-catching then.

…

For some reason James' lips twitch upwards as if he was trying not to smile at something. Peter has no way to know what is so funny.

“You must be Peter Lukas then? Nathaniel… told me about you, its a pleasure to meet you” Peter smiles his usual vapid smile to keep him from prying, he already feels exposed and kind of confused about the man. Better to make this quick and go.

“Yes, uncle mentioned you too, albeit he did not do you justice” ???? What the fuck is he doing, what is wrong with him??? Why did he say that??

Peter feels his hands sweat and his face warm up, he is praying he is not red in the face.

James looks perplexed and he feels Simon staring at him with the biggest grin ever as if he was having the time of his life which knowing him, he probably did, he loves drama after all.

“Is that so?” The man crosses his arms and Peter has to keep himself from staring at the flex of it he has to.

What the hell is wrong with him?

“Yes! He made you sound like a boring old man to be honest, but you are quite the opposite, you look very-” Peter spends a lot of time alone, meaning he doesn't properly talk with people. His usual mechanism of defense is to talk so much that everyone just lets him be.

That translates into him not having a filter, because of that he just says what is on his mind, even if he knows he shouldn't. In this case it is a shot in the foot and he has no idea why, why is he reacting like this? The man is-

Is just a bit good looking thats all!! No need to be so nervous.

“...Good” His face is burning, Peter knows he must be red all over.

He is an embarrassment to the family name, he has to go, he has to go now. How is he going to face him to do business oh shit-

James for his part seems to look at him with something akin to wonder an a bit of curiosity, while Simon-

Simon for his part is sighing mentally about his nephew’s taste in man. Very on brand for a Lukas, albeit Jonah seems to be quite taken aback.

Peter might look like Mordechai but they are not alike at all.

“Well thank you Mister Lukas”

“Peter is alright” Why won't he shut uppppp, what is wrong with him? This has never happened before, a little bit more and he will spontaneously combust.

James smiles at him and something in his chest squeezes. Is he dying? Is his heart giving out on him so soon?

“Well Peter, it was lovely meeting you. I can't wait to make business with you. I'm sure we will get along… very well”

“I can't wait” !!!!!! He wants to die.

Peter is going out to sea for the next 4 months just to get rid of whatever this is.

James grins at him and is about to leave, making him let out a breath of relief when he turns slightly.

“Say… I was going to ask Simon to drink with me after the party, in my office. Would you like to join us?” No!

“Sure” The man gives him a smug look and goes.

Simon pats his back.

“You need to get better at flirting, albeit i do believe you impressed him quite a bit, he usually ignores all the Lukas that come to make business with him”

“Im going to kill myself” He hates his life so much.

“Ah lad don't be like that, its just a few drinks, it doesn't have to go anywhere else”

Several years and flings with the man later. Peter is left with only grief at James sudden passing. They had something of a thing going on, not really labeled, since neither liked that. But the man suddenly broke things up and Peter in his anger left for months on end.

By the time he came back he found out James died and he had a new replacement.

Elias Bouchard.

He hates him on principle.

Peter is cold with him at every little meeting, speaks just as necessary and goes before the man even attempts to chat him up. At least he has his own loneliness, the only thing that truly lasts for him.

It sings out to him, like a siren song, it's easier to get lost on it, to just… become colder and harsher. What else should he do? It's not like Peter could ever love someone like that again.

Or want to.

“-ter, Peter!!”

“What do you want Mr Bouchard?” The younger man was glaring at him and it feels unfair, he should be the one glaring.

“I was asking you if you intend to stop being difficult and listen to me for once! I swear i get you lonely ones love playing at the grief stricken partner, but its been months already im getting tired of trying to talk to you like pulling teeth. Listen- i know i was kind of an ass, but really i needed to do the switch and i was worried a bit about people talking about some favouritism-” What the hell is he on about now??? Also how dare he!

“What- are you talking about? I'm not faking- what are you-!? Listen, I'm not up for games, let alone your games. I have better things to do than be your little entertainment, give me the papers to sign and I will be on my way, off of your life-” Elias gets up and slams his hands on the desk making him flinch.

“That attitude!! I don't want you out of my way!!! I said what I said as James because I was going to change bodies and people were talking about our relationship too much, it would look odd when I became Elias and we hooked up again!!”

Peter freezes.

“What- what do you mean became Elias?” The man who is not Elias??? Narrows his eyes and then suddenly looks surprised and confused.

“You don't know-”

“What do you-”

“How can you not know I told you- i-” Elias? Drifts off and looks to the empty room with a blank expression.

“I forgot to tell you”

“Um-”

“I thought i told you after- oh, oh fuck we ended up sleeping together after sacrificing that woman at the restaurant, i got distracted and-”

Peter starts to piece together a few things.

“James…?” Elias flops on his chair covering his face and doing a muffled scream into his hands.

“I can believe i forgot i got so excited that you let me tie you up that i completely forgot” Peter’s face burns.

“I-”

“Yes, yes it's me, I thought you were being difficult not that you- oh my god you actually were grieving me weren't you? You sap” His face turns smug, and it's so familiar-

The eyes-!

“Yes, those are really mine”

“You-!” Peter wants to punch him.

“Me?” Elias already closes his eyes expecting a punch. Yet he side steps the desk, comes closer and pulls him up to his feet by his tie.

“If you- you want to choke me-” He shuts him with a kiss. It takes a bit to register on the other’s mind because once he does he grips his hair and pulls them closer practically melting against him. Peter doesn't stop kissing him, cnat.

“You twat-” In between kisses he curses him out, he was making the rounds across his neck, decided that he was going to leave pretty little marks for everyone to see. Elias? James? Doesn't seem to mind much.

“Sorry-”

“You- fucking- bloody- ass!!” A bite close to the jugular has him moan a bit, Peter’s hands go to grip his thighs and the other catches his meaning because he lets him lift him up. He carries him to the small couch and drops him there with an ompf-

“Hey-” That he interrupts when he climbs on top of him and starts to kiss him again with a very clear intention in mind.

“Oh…” Yes, Peter is glad he can use forsaken to soundproof the room, he had no intentions to let the other be quiet.

Now that he is not upset, angry or… turned on, Peter lays his head on top of Elias' chest, while he explains the whole being Jonah Magnus, and thinks that he is very handsome.

Not in the same way as James was, no, but he was still very handsome.

“I was leaning more into pretty but unassuming, but thank you for the vote of confidence for the new body” What a smug prick.

“He is not…?”

“God no, only fragments or echos, the real Elias is very dead, its just me”

“Jonah?” Elias nods at his question.

“Basically”

“Huh” The shorter man’s hands play with his hair making him nuzzle his neck. He thinks about it for a bit, but decides to go for it, after all he has gotten this far anyways “Pleasure to meet you Jonah”

The other stays quiet for a bit.

“Pleasure to meet you Peter”

Their relationship is not conventional or normal by anyone's standards, but…

It works.

Somewhat.

“So… I got you so distracted you forgot to tell me huh?” Elias sighs.

“I can show you exactly how enticing you looked to me to make me forget, do not tempt me” Feeling his face heat up he tries to play it off.

“Maybe when we are in an actual bed and want to experiment a bit” Elias chuckles and then turns into a full blown laugh that makes him feel the rumble of it against his ear.

“I can't believe this, but i missed you” He hears Elias heart speed up while admitting that to him, it makes his face warm up.

Peter knows he missed him too, but he wont admit that, too out of character. So instead...

“Will take that with me, feels delicious”

“Oh hush, you already cannibalized yourself, don't be a prick”

Yes, he definetly missed this bastard and he will have so much fun re-aquitaining to him properly. They are closer in age now, Peter’s body is a bit older than Elias now, just 6 years, but it feels good.

This time people will give Elias looks instead of him, Peter’s gray hair and beard made him look older.

“You are impossible Peter”

“Stop reading my mind then” Elias sighs and kisses the top of his head hesitantly.

“Don't make it so easy then” Peter lets out a breath.

Prick.

"Never"

"Rude, what a rude person you are" Peter nuzzles him and that shuts him up.

Better.

[zuffer-weird-girl]

"No. Absolutely not. Cancel it." He growled while you made a hurt and desperate sound at the immediate answer of your boyfriend.

"Kai please! My sister don't have anyone else to take care of her kids, and she is desperate!" You pleaded while he only arched one eyebrow at you.

"Then she should had hired a babysitter. Not give trouble for their sibling." He scoffed and returned his attention to the papers in front of him.

You sighed out loud and burried your face a bit in your hands.

"Then I guess I'm sending her a message to take them to my old apartment instead..."

He stopped abruptly on his reading to look at you.

"That won't be possible either." He said nonchantly while you arched a eyebrow.

"W-why not?"

"I sold your apartment." He said normally whil eyou widen your eyes in horror at your boyfriend's words.

"wHAT?!" you almost shouted while he sighed for you to lower your tone of voice "K-k-Kai! Why?!"

"First, you are living in here long enough, so that place won't be useful for you anymore. Second, we were in need of money and I talked to you about it."

"I don't remember you saying ANYTHING about selling my apartment!" He lifted one finger for you to wait before showing you in his cellphone a chat that you two exchanged.

Damn your distracted brain...

"Why do we again need that much money?" You sighed in hopeless.

He... wouldn't talk much about that issue right now... he was first going to talk with Pops. Later you.

"Is just a project from the yakusa angel, nothing to fuss over with."

You sighed again before frowning at your cellphone nuzzling on the pocket of your jeans.

"Anyway. The kids and I are staying in here aparently."

You merely deadpanned at his glare before you heard a muffled honk from the outside.

"You know, I can talk with that sister of yours and then-"

"Kai, no. Thanks a lot, but no. I know how my boyfriend is." You giggled while he frowned and debated with himself if he should lock the door or not...

He never met those one, but... he wasn't a fan of children... in the slightest.

It didn't take much for you to enter house with one girl and one boy holding each hand of yours, the girl had a wary look on her face while clinging to you while the boy looked around with nothing but interest.

"Its such a big place in here auntie (Y/n)!" The boy exclaimed while you laughed at his energy.

"Alright guys, remembering that this house has extremely importance; and quite honestly I have no idea how your parents let me take care of you two in here; so please be careful alrighty?" You crouched down to be eye level with the children, teh girl nodded while the boy smiled and high fived your hand.

Kai watched with a wary look on his face your interactions, sighing in defeat and choosing to place his hands on his pockets and come to you.

"Ah! Kai!" You smiled at him while the boy chosed to tilt his head at him while the girl stared blankly at him back "Those two little precious thing are my nephews! (B/n) and (G/n)!" You looked at them back with a smile that made both ease a bit their nerves.

"I see. Just instruct them to not cause any messes. You know how much I despise it." He said nonchalantly while making his way out... only deadpanning when he heard the boy asking why he said that and you simply answered that he was a cleaning maniac.

He is going to have a long talk with you.

~

Your laughter along with the kids made him lose focus more than once...

What it was so fun about those little pests? Children are loud, annoying, never follow your orders correctly and dirty... he couldn't get why and even how you could be genuinely happy around one of those.

After two screams of the kids he made his way out, thinking about the worst and his heart almost jumped at seing you layed on the grass with eyes completely closed and the kids shocking you a bit.

"I told you it was a bad idea you idiot!" The girl said in irritation while she shook you and begged you to wake up.

"It was just to be a little scare! Not to make aunt faint!" The boy exclaimed while doing the same thing as his sister.

His jaw clenched as his hands turned into fists, already preparing to demand answers from those brats on what they had done with his angel before you suddenly opened your eyes and screamed to scare them.

"Ha! Think only you two can do pranks?! Take that then!" You grabbed both of the children and gave each one of them raspberries on their necks, the boy succumbed into laughter as the girl squirmed and begged for you to stop, trying her hardest to not laugh.

... huh. So he didn't needed to worry. The sign in front of him seemed almost... cozy even.

Wait... what?

~

He walked through the halls, screeching a bit his wrist from all of his writing before he heard your voice from the kitchen.

"So you kiddos want what for eating? Already warning that junk food is not a option..." he heard nothing for a bit seconds before you whined "I'm sorry! Please dont do the pouts! I can make something else though!"

"Oh!" He heard the boy's voice "I know something then!"

Curiosity spoked louder than his knowledge so he peaked a bit on the kitchen, enough to look but the necessary for not being caught.

"Peanut sandwich!" The boy exclaimed while the girl arched a eyebrow at him.

"Mommy doesn't let you eat those things." The boy pouted at her before making a 'shh' sound to her while she rolled her eyes at him.

"Thanks for the honesty (G/n). Mommy also told me this due to your allergy mister!" You poked teh boy's nose as he poked his tongue out with a smile.

"Hum..." you brought your hand and poked your chin a couple of times with your index finger a bit before snapping your fingers "How about some sandwiches that are not all boring healthy neither much junky then?"

The kids looked at eachother before nodding while you giggled at their actions and quickly made their specific ones.

He noticed that the girl was by one or two even years older than the boy, and was definitely more reserved than her brother while the boy was simply the energy itself. But even the two being so different, both widened their eyes in awe after they took their bites when you handed their lunches.

"Amazing auntie!" The boy exclaimed before unpolitely digging his food while the girl simply stared in awe.

"Aunt, please cook instead of my mommy. Please."

"God no." You said in exasperation "She might kill me for that sweetie, dont do that."

He smirked a bit at that as he made his way out with hands on his pockets.

"I can see that when we have children she is the one spoiling the brats..." he muttered to himself before abruptly stopping on his tracks and widening his eyes in horror of what he just said.

Him? You? Children? You guys weren't even marriage! Why the hell was he even speaking about damn brats?!

No way that you and him were going to have a kid. Those gave much work, planning and pacience-

"You kiddos want me to what?" His attention got back to you as he listened your voice this time coming from the living room... aparently you just got there since minutes ago you were in teh kitchen.

"Tell is a story!" The boy exclaimed while the girl hummed in agreement.

"You always comes with the best stories aunt, please?" Teh girl asked while he followed your voices, catching the you had sitted down and the kids on both of your sides.

"Alright then..."

You chosed a fairly tale, a not much know of but it was slightly impressive how calm and... gentle you were with your words, the way you carresed the kids hair was similiar with how you carresed his own hair on a bad day..

He never noticed neither catched that you looked like the best example of a... real mother. Caring and loving... his own mother he couldn't point neither convince himself of only one time that she acted like this way with him.

He had so many troubles with his biological... that he never thought that true love with a child was even possible. He owned his life to Pops, but the yakusa was almost deprived of womans, and even some of them were generally like their atmosphere. Rigg, cold, reserved...

Yourself acted like that as well when the necessary time came... but never with him. And aparently you loved your nephews to treat them like he did.

He immediately got out and walked through the houses with a frown on his forehead... thoughts of you holding a baby on your arms and being just as or even more gentle and lovingly with a child that was also... his. A child thhat he had no shame neither disgust to have with you...

Dear lord what was happening?! When his heart started to beat so fast? When he started to care for children in the first place?! God you two weren't even marriage why on hell he was-

"Chisaki?" He snapped from hsi thoughts to see Pops looking at him with a concerned face "My boy, I called you at least five times and you didn't even listened?"

"I'm sick." He said nonchalantly to the elder "I need to find a cure or a treatment."

The old man only got more concerned as he looked at his sucessor.

"What do you mean? You seem perfectly fine at least physically. What is the issue?"

"Ever since (Y/n)'s nephews got here it started." He brought his hand to hold his chin in thought "Maybe it was because of them... I'm not sure, they are too young to have a quirk so it's not that either."

"You're feeling like you have a fever then young man?"

"No. Is not that. Ever since they came I can't stop thinking of (Y/n) with a child on her arms, a toddler or even a infant. That looks like me and her, a mix or whatever."

The elder let out a disbelieving laugh which only triggered Chisaki even more.

"So you're telling me that you're having baby fever?" Thhe way Chisaki's eyes widen in horror were quite concerning for Pops and he almost went to speak if it wasn't-

"You're joking that is a actual illness... Fuck, I need to find a cure, buy it or something-"

"Kai. I raised you better than this... please." The elder interrupted while Chisaki only glared at the man, whose face was just as unimpressed as his.

[rouiyan]

𝘚𝘏𝘖𝘞 𝘔𝘌 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘓𝘖𝘝𝘌 [ 𝘭.𝘫𝘯 ]

⧏ part of the before i met you collective ⧐

synopsis: after an accidental leak, the news of you and jeno’s relationship becomes the talk of the world. to satiate the incredible curiosity of fans and news outlets alike, the two of you take on a variety show, knowing brother. will this bold move prove to everyone that your relationship is more than just a publicity stunt?

✧ lee jeno x (fem.) reader ✧ idolverse au, knowing brother au, established relationship au

✧ genre : fluff ✧ word count : 1.9k ✧ disclaimers : minor swearing, i talk about eyes a lot lol

✧ author’s note — was supposed to be a short drabble but i got carried away and ended up going into so much unnecessary detail. super fun to write; this idea expertly fought my incoming writer’s block.

you let out a suppressed laugh as jeno profusely denies the apologies that come his way from the girl that just recently joined the makeup team. she had used a much thicker brush than needed on his lips and in turn, they’ve grown almost twice the size, the natural mauve color spilling over the edges. he gives you a pointed look but it’s taken with less seriousness than he’d like, his lips clearly making the expression funnier than intended.

“stop, y/n,” he mumbles, though his face is more of a pout as you crane your neck to watch him, the same girl now fussing with makeup remover blocking your view of him. as she leaves to grab a thinner brush, jeno turns to look at his reflection in the mirror and you make your way across the room to stand next to where he is seated. the both of you stare at each other’s reflections in the mirror, smiles filled with soft adoration. “you nervous?” he speaks, eyebrows shifting up ever so slightly. you swear the way the lights of the vanity reflect off his pupils make it look like he holds the stars in his eyes (and you're sure he does). nodding, you express to him the pressures you’ve been facing, “i hope we do well.”

he hums and removes his stare from the mirror to the actual you, looping his arms around your waist loosely. “we will, babe. we’re unstoppable when we’re together, you know?” he feels more than hears the soft chuckle that you let out and he raises his head to look you in the eyes. “i guess you’re right.” 

it’s been a little over a year since jeno asked you out, right outside the convenience store a few blocks down from the nct dream dorm. a chilly two a.m. snack run where jeno had spontaneously been gifted with the confidence to tilt your head up with his index finger and swoop in for a kiss after his heartfelt words were received with tired enthusiasm. he thinks about that night a lot more than he’d ever admit. 

he also thinks about a similar night, only three weeks ago from now, outside the same convenience store, this time at three a.m., when his hands intertwined themselves with yours on instinct and when you looked up at him with that pretty little smile of yours. he can still hear the shuffling of feet behind him, the click and flash of a camera following. he can still feel the way his heart stopped as he drew his and your hats lower, turning over his shoulder to be face to face with a camera peeking through the shadows. he can still remember the way his hand unwinded from yours, instead wrapping around your whole frame, bringing you closer to his chest and further away from view. he could still hear your heartbeat against his, erratic, and he still remembers praying to dear god that they didn’t catch your face. he stills feels the guilt gnawing at his gut when he found out that it was too late. what was supposed to be a simple first anniversary was turned into a day of phone calls, pr meetings, frustrated managers, and even worse, angry sasaengs camping outside both of your dorms.

he knows it’s not exactly his fault, though he did admit that to the higher ups much to your dislikes, but he can’t help but feel responsible for all his desperate fans going after your reputation, your job, group, family and friends, and most importantly, you. in all honesty, he also received plenty of backlash from your fans as well but it aggravated him much more than it should’ve that people would dare talk shit about his girlfriend. 

making headlines, your relationship with jeno was widely labeled as sm’s bid for attention and monetary gain, however untrue that was. most fans were in denial because of countless other situations where a rumored couple would be later revealed as a publicity stunt, especially since you and jeno were of a big company and from popular groups. of the many game plans that were presented to the two of you, he found this one the most effective. to go on a variety show together and show the compatibility and chemistry between the two of you, to verify your relationship as real and deserving of humanly respect.

jeno is brought back to reality as a colored brush is applied to his lips once again. he looks up to gauge what had happened whilst he was spaced out and sees that you are talking animatedly to the manager that had accompanied you here today, a bright look on your face as your fingers fiddle with a water bottle lid. after getting his makeup done, properly this time, he stands and stalks over beside you, half listening to the conversation about mic settings. with a pout, you hand the water bottle to jeno and he immediately unscrews it, neither of you looking at each other, the act seemingly a casual exchange. 

jeno corners you before going on set, hands on your shoulders, to tell you that, “we’re going to do great, princess.” the nickname rolls off his tongue with ease and leaves a pink dust across your cheeks, blooming under the blush that’s applied on top. he gives your shoulders a reassuring squeeze and slips in a few more encouraging compliments (“so pretty,” tucks strand of hair behind your ear, “i got quite lucky didn’t i?”) before the two of you are called on set to start filming.

the cameras start rolling and as the hosts go about their usual introduction banter, you slip a finger into the indent in the door and on cue, slide it open, revealing your smiling face, jeno’s secure hand on your back, reminding you that he is there with every step into unfamiliar territory. the hosts turn and gape at the pair, having not met backstage to save the guests as a surprise. hodong, is the first to talk coherently among all the commotion, “wah, the power couple of the century is here today!” chuckling at his comment, you and jeno take your places behind the podium at the front, wary of their stares on you. for a second, you feel as if you are in an actual classroom, introducing yourself on the first day of your transfer with an uneasy feeling settling in your stomach. 

“hi, it’s nice to meet you, i’m y/l/n y/n, from sm high! please take care of me!” your nose scrunches at how cringy the school name sounded in comparison to when you and jeno were making it up back in the dressing room. jeno follows with his introduction after you politely bow, “hi, i’m lee jeno, also from sm high! please take good care of us!” a chorus of applause echoes around the three-walled setup and you feel jeno’s hand move from the small of your back to rest upon your shoulders; unconsciously you lean into his frame, his warmth inviting you in ways you don’t even process.

“so the rumors are true, huh?” you look over at soogeun, one of the hosts that you had chosen to sit next to. he’s kind from what you can tell, and almost exactly like the person you see on tv. the other hosts are busy chatting with jeno and you look over at them before settling on the man speaking to you. “yeah,” your voice is soft, “they’re true.” a smile adorns your face as you say this and the little moment that’s caught on camera is enough to melt the audience, (or so the editors think as they go through the tape after filming). 

the hosts inform you that instead of the ‘ask about me’ segment they’re going to, instead, ask the two of you questions, more or less about your relationship. you figure that this has a lot to do with the whole reason you're here and you feel comfortable knowing that you get a chance to explain, to clear the air of assumed rumors. 

the first to ask is janghoon, a simple question to start the segment off, “how did you guys first meet?” jeno and you take turns answering the questions, jeno taking the lead on this one. “it was… january of 2015, i think. like, one year before i debuted and y/n was new to the company. i remember that she was chosen to be in a debut group almost instantly after she joined and some of the other boys in my group were talking about how talented she was.” he takes a second to look over at you, seeing the way your eyes light up when they meet his, “i first talked to her at a showcase, i think. she was already pretty close with mark and haechan, from my group, because they trained together for a bit. even then, i remember her being probably one of the prettiest girls i had ever met. and it wasn’t just the looks though, she- y/n’s always been a kind girl and i guess that i always thought she was too good for me… i still do, for the most part.” 

your eyes are slightly wide when he finishes and he gives you a questioning look. “wow, i don’t remember talking to you until that one halloween party…” the room falls to silence before everyone laughs at jeno’s bewildered expression, clearly baffled at how you didn’t even remember when the two of you first met.

the show moves on good-naturedly before heechul pops the big question, “do you guys love each other?” he says it rather sarcastically, in case you are uncomfortable in answering, but you take it upon yourself to make this situation into a bit of a turning point in all the fun. “of course, jeno’s a big part of my life. whenever i’m not onstage or working, he’s always the one i’m with. this job, it really isn’t the easiest. besides getting to do what we love we also have to be watched constantly, but it’s okay for me at least, having someone like him by my side makes it all okay.” you can almost imagine the cameras showing jeno’s face at this moment, the little hearts edited into the frame of the captured scene, his expression a mix of shy smiles and lovesick eyes. it’s easy to say when you mean it and you know that it’s also easy for jeno when he simply wraps you up in his arms, with content coating his embrace and without care as to the cameras shooting in all directions.

it’s safe to say that the episode went viral, only a few hours after its airing. most fans gushed over your relationship with jeno, sharing screenshots of you in his arms. jeno loves how some fans are even shaming those who look down upon your relationship and he's even happier that he’s allowed to take you out on dates, to add you as a plus one to special events, and to finally be able to call you his, loud and proud.

(bonus: jaemin is beyond excited to watch the episode right when it comes out, popcorn and lights dimmed in preparation. he even dragged a poor renjun to watch it with him, claiming he needed a shoulder to cry on if you guys were being too sweet. he didn’t actually cry, but renjun practically vomited as he watched jeno hoist you up upon his shoulders to reach the basketball hoop during the game segment. he hurled towards the trash can.)

copyright © 2020 rouiyan all rights reserved.

[anika-ann]

Errare Humanum Est - Pt.7

Of Monsters and Men

Type: series, soulmate AU series  (part 1, part 2)      x Supernatural

Pairing: Steve Rogers x reader (past?)    Word count: 2490

Summary: ‘Nat’ and the boys are still on the road and to kill the time more than anything, they talk monsters and most importantly, witches. 

You know what they say: speak of the devil and he shall appear.

Warnings: mentions of violence, monsters, supernatural elements, mentions of amnesia and interesting dreams and swearing (always)

Story masterlist

༻༺༻༺༻ღ༺༻༺༻༺

“Hold onto me tight. Can’t have you falling off, doll…”

“You’re such a troublemaker-“

“I want to see you come undone first. Can I, doll?”

“Do I look unwilling, doll? I’m actually pretty eager to find out how long do you need to recover…”

“Eyes on me, darling-”

You jolted awake with a gasp for air, your eyes snapping open into sharp midday sun. It took you a second to realize where you were, what the low purr under your body meant, music on low volume and a male voice softly humming along.

You blinked, meeting Sam’s gaze as he turned his head to face you.

“Hey. You alright?” he asked, concern furrowing his features.

You took a deep breath, trying to ignore the blood rushing to your cheeks at the memory of the dream. They were bits and pieces, sweet and hot, yet leaving dull ache in your chest in their wake. You were absolutely sure this was your consciousness recalling moments with your soulmate, but you were unable to make anything useful of them. It was like chasing ghosts – eh, actually, did ghosts exist? What was it like, chasing them? Never mind-

You were supposed to be a ghost, because apparently you had died.

Alright. Shake it. Snap out of those messy thoughts.

The more awake your body got, the more you realized your chest wasn’t the only thing that was tense and it wasn’t only your neck that nearly cramped.

“Yeah,” you muttered finally, while Sam’s eyes managed to get really worried, still on you. “Just… call of nature.”

In more than one ways. Your bladder might actually burst soon, but you couldn’t deny your arousal either. Gee. Why did it have to be that kind of dream you had? Why couldn’t you see your soulmate’s face clearly instead? Nope scratch that, his ID would be better, complete with his freaking address.

“Hold on for about half an hour, Nat. I’d like to stretch my legs anyway and Garth should be waiting for us.”

You smiled at Dean despite him being unable to see it, his eyes focused on the road. It was sweet of him. You might as well be sweet back.

“Thanks, Dean. And you can turn the volume up, if it was low just because of me,” you hummed, holding back a chuckle when his hand immediately moved to the radio.

“Thanks, Nat. Wanna tell us what that dream of yours was about? You seem a bit shaky,” he nudged, surprisingly gentle. You would expect such approach from Sam, but he only glanced at you, apparently wanting to know as well.

You sighed, wondering how to put it without sounding like a horny teenager.

“It’s… I think they’re like memories? But they don’t make any sense,” you said in the end, casting your glance down, fiddling with the hem of your shirt, fingers interlacing and disjointing again. “It’s my soulmate, I know as much. Or, you know, I’m pretty sure. It’s nothing useful though.”

“I’m sorry,” Sam soothed, his voice genuinely regretful. You just shook your head, sending a sad smile his way.

“The only pattern is a… a pet-name, I guess.” Well, until now, it was just one. ‘Darling’ was new. “He keeps calling me ‘doll’.”

You didn’t know why you told them, you weren’t planning on it. Except they were so genuinely nice to you it hurt and you felt like honesty was the least you could give in return. Now, you could practically touch their surprise.

It was Dean who commented on it, but not in a malicious way, which you were eternally grateful for.  

“Doll, huh? Maybe he’s a mafioso. Sounds like something from an old movie. Heh, maybe you time-travelled too!” he speculated out loud and you only gulped, not as amused as you should be. Was that a thing? Time-travel?

“God, I hope not,” Sam whined, effectively startling you. So it was possible?

“Nah, I bet it’s just him being a gentleman, ya know, the old-fashioned kind of guy. After all, how could he not, having such a… swell dame for a soulmate?”

Both you and Sam eyes Dean with wary and confusion.

“Since when you’re an expert on war era slang?” Sam demanded, amused surprise lacing his voice.

“Simpler times, Sam. Simpler times. You’ll understand when you’re older.”

Sam just chuckled, shaking his head. You laughed as well despite not quite understanding what it meant. You simply enjoyed the banter and teasing that was strengthening their brotherly love; you already caught up that much, that they loved each other greatly. How could they not? They were both absolutely amazing despite their differences.

People might find it strange for them to be so close at their age – not that you knew theirs precisely, or yours for that matter – but you thought it was endearing. If they killed monsters for living, their lives couldn’t be normal and conventional, could they? It spiked your interest once more.

“Alright. What can you tell me about what you do and how you get your money?”

“Not sure you wanna hear that, d-- now I have the nickname stuck in my head, dammit. It’s not a pretty chat, Nat. You sure?”

You nodded, but agreed out loud for the god measure. After all, Dean was still driving.

“Your choice. We hunt monsters. But let me tell you, humans are actually the worst… well, humans and witches…”

༻༺༻༺༻ღ༺༻༺༻༺

Dean and Sam hadn’t even told half about the monsters that lurked in the shadows and you already felt overwhelmed, grateful when you reached Bedford and the older brother called his ID maker.

Garth was a nice guy, if a little overexcited and goofy.

He called you a madam, gave Sam a newest book by George R. R. Martin (who?), which seemed to excite the hunter greatly and Dean received a piece of apple pie. You couldn’t remember your life, but if you had, you were sure it still would have been Dean’s smile that was the brightest you had ever seen. Note to yourself; when repaying Sam and Dean, a pie and a book were necessities.

Your trio didn’t stop to chat with the man for long though – you needed to be on your way. Garth was apparently in the business of hunting, because he made a face way too similar to Sam’s at a mention of witches. You weren’t sure if you looked forward hearing about those; you guessed they weren’t wearing pointy hats and befriending cats.

The remaining hours to your destination flied; the brothers continued to educate you in monster food chain (people were usually the food, which you did not enjoy learning), briefing you on existence of things you could barely imagine. Also, they weren’t only friends with an angel, apparently – they were also on rather good terms with king of Hell.

“King of Hell?” you parroted, bewildered. What the h— heaven?!

“Yeah. Dean used to be bestie with him, too,” Sam quipped, half delighted at his brother’s annoyed face when sharing this fact, half bitter for pretty obvious reasons.

“Dude.”

“You keep the weirdest company,” you stated, your head buzzing with all the info you got. You grimaced when you realized that the company included you.

“We know,” Sam sighed, turning his tablet on. “But it’s not all bad. I mean, Garth, the guy you just met… he’s a werewolf and-“

“He’s a WEREWOLF?!” you yelped, causing the brothers jump in their seats and Dean jerk the steering wheel aside, throwing you all of balance.

“Christ, woman! Keep the volume low!” the driver spitted out as he returned to the correct lane, ignoring the honks of other cars. “I know, I know, shut up, I’m not drunk…”

“Sorry,” you blurted out on autopilot, your mind pre-occupied with the fact that the sweet dorky guy you had just met was a fucking werewolf.

It was Sam’s turn to apologize or he thought so. “My bad. I shouldn’t have just dropped that on you.”

“But he was so nice!”

“If you say so,” Dean assented reluctantly, voice dripping with doubt. You weren’t trying to figure out why he questioned such an obvious thing. It wasn’t your place. Not to mention you were still too astonished by the announcement.

Sam cleared his throat. “Anyway. We have two victims so far. Both are young women, Alicia Peters, 16 years old and Helen Sanders, 16 as well. They were apparently classmates, rather good students, but not friends. One of them was found three days ago, the other yesterday. They both sneaked away in secret, some other classmates claimed to them being… eh, giggly. They thought they had new boyfriends,” Sam summed up, while Dean nodded every now and then. “Why do you think witches? Could be dragons… which would be probably even worse.”

“…dragons? You’re joking.”

Dragons were real now?!

Dean ignored your incredulous remark. “Virgins, right? That’s what I thought. But check this out – according to the coroner, they had a puncture wound over their heart like from some very thin needle – or, more likely, a very thin straw, because their hearts were completely drained of blood.”

Your head was definitely spinning now, your stomach flipping over. You had been getting hungry before, but not so much anymore. You wanted to tune the conversation out, but it was inevitable to hear it. Your ears wouldn’t listen; it was like watching a train-wreck happen and being unable to draw your gaze away. Morbid curiosity played a part too.

God, you really were weird company.

“That’s disgusting,” Sam stated, his fingers moving swiftly over the screen.

You only hummed in agreement, trying to get the visual from your brain. Soulmate. Think of your soulmate and his sultry voice calling you doll. You took a deep breath, exhaling slowly, shocked that it actually worked. His voice washed over you, cocooning you in a soft blanket.

“Tell me about it,” Dean agreed darkly, but Sam held out his hand all of sudden, causing both you and Dean freeze.

“What?”

“They found two young men this morning. John Doe One and Two for now. They were…” Sam wavered, eyeing you in the rear-view mirror. Now he was checking with you? You guessed your face was pale as a sheet of paper, but hey, it wasn’t like you couldn’t just try and cover your ears. You nodded at him encouragingly and he shifted in his seat uncomfortably. “…found in one bed, stabbed in the heart and… ugh, with their… tools ripped off.”

Dean winced, while you just blinked. Did he mean like… wow. Oh, wow. You weren’t sure how to react to that.

“There was a note. We apologize for ruining such pure lives of the sweetest kind and as a prove of our remorse, we present their families with-“ Sam faltered in his speech, gagging. “Yeah, alright. Apparently, the missing part of their bodies was found with the… note. No need to go into details.”

“Yeah, Sammy, I’d be pretty grateful if we stopped talking about that. What now, though? Do we believe this crap?”

“You could have an ally,” you quipped shyly, receiving Sam’s sigh in reply.

“Brutal one, but yes. We need to at least check it out.”

“Yeah, but we get a lunch before that. I need something to comfort me. You traumatized my love muscle, Sam. Do you have any-“

“Yeah, alright, just… stop right there,” Sam stopped his brother, as if shielding himself from TMI by holding out his palm against Dean. “Got it. We need to stop for a bite.”

You giggled, the sound interrupted by your stomach growling. When had you got your appetite back?

“I guess lady in the back agrees,” Dean hummed, grinning in Sam’s direction. You laughed when you came to conclusion that he enjoyed making his younger brother uncomfortable, Sam making a face back at him as he realized the same.

They seemed like a greater pair of siblings the longer you spent with them.

It only took several minutes to get to the town and find a place to eat; Dean seemed to have a talent for finding food, which you appreciated immensely. You hadn’t been eating much, ashamed of using the brothers like that, so you were hungrier than you would be willing to admit. You had a sneaking suspicion that Sam was beginning to notice, because his eyes were narrowed as you picked the cheapest thing on the menu that appeared edible.

“You’re not eating,” he pointed out bluntly the moment the waitress left.

You just gaped at being caught and so shamelessly called out. Dean’s gaze shifted to you and now you had two men glaring at you keeping you company in the boot.

“I’m… not hungry.”

“Your stomach said differently,” Dean reminded you with his eyebrow arched in challenge. You opened your mouth uselessly, the protest dying in your throat at the intensity of his bright green eyes. “If this is about money, get your head out of your ass, Nat. You need to eat.”

“But-“

“But nothing. We’re having a desert,” he shut you up effectively, not permitting any objections.

You sighed, guiltily merging with your seat. A menu was placed in front of you, Dean’s fingers pointing at it.

“Actually, you’re picking one right now.”

You wordlessly obeyed, defeated. “I don’t mean to be difficult,” you whispered apologetically and Sam just shook his head with a smile.

“We know. And I get it, you don’t want to impose and use us, but… we chose to help you. Try to accept it, alright?”

You only nodded, determined to at least find the best dessert. The corners of your lips quirked when you found it.

“Looks like we’re in for an apple pie,” you decided, smirking in Dean’s direction. His eyes lit up and you couldn’t but feel the warmth around your heart at that. You actually did that, made him smile. Maybe you weren’t the worst company in the world after all. “Unless you’re sick of it after-“

Dean’s hand snatched the menu away, shutting it close. “Shut you piehole, Nat.”

Sam laughed as they brought your food.

༻༺༻༺༻ღ༺༻༺༻༺

You were just finishing your infamous dessert, when the brothers stiffened at the voice coming from behind their back, the other side of the boot.

You frowned, not finding anything strange about the female voice with British accent.

“Thank you, darling. It will be all,” the woman said politely.

The moment the waitress left, Sam and Dean stumbled from their seats and towards the other boot. The tension in their shoulders only grew and they let out a ridiculously synched irritated sigh, multiple emotions playing on their face; you caught annoyance and a bit of anger for sure.

“Rowena,” Sam greeted her in pretended politeness and you couldn’t but check the situation out. They didn’t seem to be happy about running into their acquaintance.

You got a glimpse of a redhead sipping at her tea delicately, her pinkie raised as she held her cup.

“Hello, boys.”

༻༺༻༺༻ღ༺༻༺༻༺

Part 8

༻༺༻༺༻ღ༺༻༺༻༺ 

I adore that woman, I swear. She’s so classy and sassy. 

Also, for those who haven’t seen SPN, I extended the guide at the end of chapter one - you’ll find ‘Chuck’ and ‘Rowena’ there ;)

Thank you for reading!

[azulsartdump]

Picking Roses

@r0setarts slapped me in the face with this idea while we were chatting in dms a few days ago and I felt compelled to write it out.  It turned out a lot longer than I thought it would, so be warned its a lengthy read compared to what I usually post.

It had been two weeks since Riddle had last seen Azul. They weren’t in the same year, let alone the same class, so it was rare they spent time with each other outside of planned excursions. What was quite common, however, was the exchanging of pleasantries as the passed each other in the hall or sending each other amiable smiles when their eyes met from across the dining hall. The blue haired women had not crossed his vision even once during that time, though, and it had begun to worry him a bit.

In all honesty, Riddle would have thought that she was trying to avoid him if Marsella hadn’t enlightened him to Azul’s situation. 

“Oh, did Cater not tell you?” Marsella raised a brow, a bit surprised that the dorm leader hadn’t been informed. “Azul left for the Valley of Thorns about two weeks ago. Apparently some urgent business came up so Crowley exempt her from classes for a few weeks.”

Ah, so that’s what had happened. Riddle remembered hearing that Azul’s family had quite a high position in the Valley of Thorns’ royal court. It confused him why Malleus or Lilia had not been summoned back to their home alongside her, but perhaps it was something below their station or a problem pertaining solely to the Attwood family. Regardless of what it was, Riddle hoped it would be solved soon. He’d never admit it, but he was quite eager to see the faery again.

The rest of the week passed, and there was no sign that Azul had returned from her trip home. Riddle supposed it made sense, though. The school’s scheduled spring break had arrived and it would have made very little sense to return to Night Raven College only to travel back home a few days later.

On the carriage ride to his own home, the red head couldn’t help but allow his thoughts to drift to the dragonfly faery. She’d remained as friendly as she always had been with him since Valentine’s Day had come and gone. It wouldn’t have bothered him much, but the lack of response to his gift outside of a bright ‘thank you’ from her weighed heavily in the back of his mind. 

Riddle arrived home much more quickly than he had anticipated, and the last thing he had expected to find was his mother and father running around the house like headless chickens.

“Oh, Riddle, thank goodness you’re home now,” his mother heaved out a sigh of relief once she noticed his arrival. “We have very important guests visiting tomorrow. It’s imperative we all prepare ourselves perfectly for their arrival.” 

It wasn’t often that the Rosehearts residence had guests, so the fact that they were having visitors was proof enough to Riddle of their importance. While their home was always quite clean, Riddle noted that his parents had taken special care to ensure that every room in the house was absolutely pristine as he made his way to his room. The floors looked like they had been freshly waxed, the rugs were washed, and all the shelves were dusted and reorganized. 

Upon opening the door to his room, he noticed a suit had been hung up next to his closet. He assumed it was what his mother wanted him to wear the next day to greet their visitors. As Riddle unpacked his luggage, he couldn’t help but wonder who exactly his family would be welcoming tomorrow. 

Riddle was awoken early the next morning by his mother insisting he bathe himself before their guests arrived. As he soaked in the tub, he noted that his mother had added scented oils to the water and his eyebrows furrowed a bit at the realization. It was clear to him that whoever would be arriving would have business relating to him specifically if his mother was putting so much effort into his appearance. 

The next few hours seemed to fly by as Riddle helped his parents finish their preparations. With every passing minute, both his anxiety and curiosity toward their visitors grew, and he found his heart was racing by the time his mother rushed both him and his father out the front door with the simple phrase, “They’re here.”

Riddle struggled to keep his strides slow and even as his family made their way to the entrance of their front yard. An ornate black carriage pulled by two similarly colored horses loomed behind the front gates. The silver embellishment gleamed in the early afternoon sun and the forest green curtains were drawn closed, disallowing Riddle a glimpse of who was inside before they exited.

Riddle drew in a sharp breath as the carriage’s door clicked open. as the door swug wide, an extremely tall man dressed in a black and green uniform exited. His heeled boots clicked against the cobblestone road, and a long, flowing cape billowed behind him. His ivory skin starkly contrasted against the deep obsidian strands of hair that fell over his face and an ornate eyepatch was situated over the right side of his face. His sharp green eyes seemed to pierce right through Riddle as he gave a curt nod in greeting. He calmly turned as the carriage behind him shook a bit, signaling another person was about to exit.

Riddle’s breath hitched again as his gaze fell on the woman that appeared next. Her blue hair was done up in a braided bun, and she wore a skirted uniform similar to the man beside her. She gently took the man’s hand as he helped her step out of the carriage and offered a bright smile to Riddle and his family upon gaining her balance on the stone road. Her fuchsia eyes never seemed to leave his as she made her way through the front gates of his home, the man that accompanied her following close behind.

“Marquess Attwood, Lady Attwood, it’s an honor,” Riddle’s mother greeted the two as she curtsied. His father followed suit, bowing respectfully and Riddle quickly imitated. 

“Mister and Missus Rosehearts, you have my gratitude for agreeing to this meeting,” Azul’s father gave a slight bow in greeting as Azul curtsied beside him. After exchanging formalities, Riddles mother led them all to the living room and everyone silently settled into their seats. A beautiful tea set was laid out on the table before them, and Riddle’s mother moved to pour everyone a cup. 

“To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit, Marquess Attwood?” she gently set the tea pot down, replacing it with her own tea cup as she took a small sip from it.

“Ah, straight to the point. An admirable quality to have,” Azul’s father took his own cup, nodding in gratitude. “As you wish then, allow me to omit the pleasantries and small talk. I’d like to propose an engagement between my daughter and your son.”

Riddle nearly choked on his own spit, and his attention was quickly drawn to his mother, who had managed to actually choke a bit on her tea. She coughed into her fist before she quickly cleared her throat and righted herself. 

“A-An engagement you say?” she all but croaked out the question as she placed her tea cup down on the table. “This is a bit sudden...” Riddle snuck a peek at his father who was staring blankly at the tea cup in his hands, likely still trying to process the fact that his son just received an engagement proposal from the daughter of a marquess.

“Is it though?” Azul’s father raised his eyebrows in surprise. “My daughter has fancied your son for quite a while. Why, when she returned home from school for the winter vacation a few months ago, your son was all that was on her mind.”

“F-Father, please,” Azul sent an embarrassed glance her father’s way and he chuckled in response.

“Back to the matter at hand,”  Marquess Attwood turned his attention back to Riddle’s mother. “If it’s credentials you’re concerned with, I’m sure my daughter will be up to your standards.” He produced a small stack of papers and slid them over to the woman across from him.

“As you can see, she’s a decorated knight, as well as a close confidant to our crown prince himself. She’s also a well established lady in high society. Many of my friends and their daughters can attest to that. Her education is extensive, and she’s had experience in assisting me in keeping our county and estate running smoothly.” 

Riddle could practically see his mother’s head spinning as she flipped through the papers Azul’s father provided and his father simply stared slack jawed as the marquess continued to list his daughter’s achievements. Looking over at Azul, he could see the prominent blush on her cheeks as she listened to her father ramble about her. She probably wanted to stop him, but knew better than to do so again in front of their hosts.

“Of course, the decision is ultimately up to your son,” the marquess turned his attention to Riddle and the rest of the group followed suit. “I wouldn’t want to lock either of our children in an unwanted marriage.”

Riddle could feel the tension in the room settle in, and it took everything in him to keep himself for fidgeting under the pressure. The look on his mother’s face was intense if nothing else. He couldn’t quite place it, but he knew whatever she was feeling, it was extreme. His father, on the other hand, looked more panicked than anything. Glancing over at Azul, her expression was almost unreadable. Her lips were tilted up in a practiced smile, but he recognized the eager curiosity in her eyes.

“W-Would you allow me a moment to speak with Lady Attwood?” His voice cracked at the start of his sentence and he cursed himself in his head at the slip up.

“Of course, please go ahead.” A smug grin spread across the marquess’s lips as he nodded toward his daughter in acknowledgement. Azul rose from her seat, and Riddle followed, approaching her and offering his arm.

“Why don’t you show her the rose garden, Riddle,” his mother’s voice was steady, but he could tell from the way her brows were knitted she was still a bit shaken. He nodded in response as Azul took his arm and led the blue-haired fairy away from the rest of the group.

As soon as they were outside, a large grin split across Azul’s face, and an undignified snort sounded from her before she burst out in a fit of laughter.

“I- gasp I’m sorry,” Azul attempted to speak as she tried to calm her cackling. “T-The looks gasp on your faces!” 

“What is going on?” Riddle firmly planted his hands on her shoulders, panic and confusion written on his face. “I don’t see you for weeks and the next thing I know you’re popping up in my home to propose an engagement?

“Huh? But you proposed to me first.” As Azul’s giggles died down, her eyebrows furrowed a bit, but her bright smile remained ever present. 

“What?” Riddle’s grip on Azul’s shoulders tightened as his confusion grew. “When did I do that?”

Azul’s smile dropped as a look of surprise overtook it. 

“Ah... um,” her expression quickly morphed into one of realization, then hurt disappointment. “Well, a human picking roses for a faery is the equivalent of a vow of matrimony. And I know they’re not exactly roses, but when you gave me the begonias, I kind of assumed...”

A shock of embarrassment shot through Riddle as he listened to Azul’s explanation. Had Marsella known that when she told him to give Azul begonias? She did refer to herself as a fae historian, but he assumed she did so jokingly.

“If you didn’t know then I’ll take it back,” Azul’s voice shook a bit as she spoke, and although she smiled, Riddle could see the faint traces of heartbreak in her eyes as she tossed her gaze to the side. “I’ll go tell my father to rescind our proposal.”

Azul attempted to turn back towards the door behind her, but Riddle’s continued grip on her shoulders stopped her. She looked down at him curiously and observed as he blinked rapidly. His eyebrows furrowed in concentration and his bottom lip was caught between his teeth as he attempted to think of what to say.

To say this relationship was moving more quickly than he had anticipated was like asking for a coin to throw into a wishing well and receiving an entire sack of them, and it left Riddle quite conflicted on what his next move should be. 

“I’ll... consider it,” Riddle concluded after debating with himself for a moment. “The engagement I mean. I just... want to get to know you a bit before then.”

“I’ll eagerly await your response then.” Azul’s gentle smile returned as she took his hands in hers and intertwined their fingers. “Shall we go back?”

Riddle nodded and opened the door, leading the faery back to the living room.

“I-I’m sorry, I think you might have accidentally added a few extra zeros,” Riddle heard his mother speak as they arrived.

“No, it’s correct,” Azul’s father calmly stated. “That’s the amount we’ve set aside for my daughter’s dowry.”

As they sat down again, Riddle looked to his mother and was met with an intense gaze that all but screamed, “Please marry this girl.”

[masterthetackle]

A Magical (or not) Academia

A Various Magia Record x Male!Reader Fanfiction

Two: The First Day (II)

Word Count: 4,781

Welcome to Kamihama City University, he said as his opening statement. 

We hope that you’re glad to be here. There are over two thousand of you new freshmen; whether you are a fresh high school graduate or an adult that came back to pursue a degree, we are all very excited for you to be here. A few years ago we implemented this system in order for everyone to not get overwhelmed, especially if you are living on campus in the dormitories. There are many activities lined out for you to participate in, including multiple craft opportunities, a outside performance by our concert band, and much more! We encourage you to attend each of these activities, as-

“It’s not like I don’t know this already, so why am I even here?” The unfamiliar woman beside you spoke in a hushed whisper, arms crossed. As much as you wanted to tell her to shush, there was something that told you getting on her bad side would cause nothing but an uproar, so you tried your best to tune her out. 

-two-thirty, there will be a-

“I have more important things I could be doing than sitting here listening to a boring speech.” Damn, does she know how to shut up? Your fist clenched involuntarily at her words. Sure, you didn’t necessarily want to be sitting here either (because of the obvious), but you were still here. There wasn’t any use complaining about the situation since you’re clearly not allowed to leave the auditorium.

-forget about the floor meetings at seven o’ clock sharp in the lobby of your dorm. That’s all I have to say for the time being until the official ceremony on Friday. Make sure to wear the shirt that you’ll get as a part of your activities!

Rather pleased by getting to leave, the woman quickly got out of her seat, but had to wait for the rest of her group to get up, which, well… didn’t look like it would be any time soon. Her face scrunched up, eye twitching slightly as her foot tapped on the floor impatiently. Now that the lights had turned back on, you were able to see her long, russet hair that was blocking her face from your view. A bow was adorned in the left side, hair braided a bit above it with a loose strand sticking below that looked like it could probably fall out at a moment's notice. 

Felicia, Iroha, and Sana were already making their way out to the aisle on the opposite side, Iroha glancing back every few steps to make sure you were still in her view. Wasting no time, you too flew out of your chair and started making your way down the row, but thinking about it, maybe saving that girl’s friends the trouble of her impatience would at least do them some good. Poking her on the shoulder, she turned her head to look at you with a frown adorning her lips.

“Yes?” 

“If you’re in a hurry, the other side of me is free. You could go ahead and leave.” Looking down at her, you waited for a response. Right as she opened her mouth to speak, one of her friends stood up and spoke first.

“That won’t be necessary. She’s just giving us a hard time, that’s all.” Smiling at you, she then turned away. “Isn’t that right, Touka? Wasting your breath when we were going to be leaving anyways. I’m sure everyone in the auditorium heard you complaining.” 

“The tone of my voice was so mute that you were probably the only one who heard me. There’s only a minuscule possibility that anyone other than you and this guy behind me caught anything.” 

“There’s a difference between a murmur and a loud whisper, but I don’t think you can tell one between the other.” 

“That’s what you think, Nemu!”

“Am I wrong?”

The two girls seated down the row from them got up and started walking out, shrugging but looking just as animated as the pair you were standing behind right now. I’m sure they’ll notice they were ditched sooner or later. 

“Y/N!” Shouting slightly, Iroha called out for you, prompting you to turn around. “They said that there would be a music performance outside, so we were going to go. We just wanted to know if you were coming along with us?”

“Yeah. Sorry, I was just a bit caught up…” Flicking your head backwards to gesture at the two girls behind you, you started making your way towards the trio waiting for you at the end of the row. Touka and Nemu were still talking back and forth, and you honestly couldn’t tell if they were serious or just bantering with each other. Given that the chairs were packed close together, you had to place your arms in front of yourself in order to get through without bumping into one of them. 

“Oh… yeah, I could hear what she was saying during the ceremony. It made it really hard to concentrate, but I still got the gist of it.” 

Sana and Felicia nodded in agreement, though neither of them said anything.

“So anyways... the music performance is right now?”

“Well, not exactly... they’re warming up.” The four of you started to walk back up to the entrance, Felicia tagging slightly ahead and leading the way. “One of our friends should be outside waiting. She’s not a freshman, but she wanted to come out and support her friends since the performance is open to the public.” 

“Oh, I see. You guys seem to have a lot of friends in higher classes, huh?”

“It’s really not as many as you’d think. The only reason we know them is because we live together, that’s all!” Iroha rubbed the back of her head, nervously meeting your curious gaze. “But… I guess it could be considered a good thing that we have friends in higher classes.”

The door opened at a slight push from Felicia, and all at once the light poured into the auditorium and into your eyes. It was hard to adjust from the artificial lighting of the closed-off space with close to no windows. Closing your eyes, you hoped that maybe they would suddenly get used to it.

They didn’t. 

Your eyes felt like they were on fire the moment you opened them back up. The sunlight didn’t let up on its harshness at all, which was a bit of a disappointment. Even Sana was trying her best to shield her eyes since Iroha wasn’t much help in that regard. Once adjusted, there were a few noticeable differences in the main area. There were many chairs set up right below the biggest cherry blossom tree on campus with a group of students dressed in semi-formal clothing occupying them. Some of them were talking amongst their friends in the seats beside them while others were standing up completely, as the show wasn’t supposed to start for another half-hour. Meanwhile, others loitered around waiting for the performance to start.

The trio of companions you had were already moving towards the majority, picking out a specific woman out of the rest that wasn’t dressed for the occasion; she must be the friend that they were talking about. Her silver hair made her blend in with some of the crowd, but her hairstyle would otherwise give it away if you knew her personally. Chatting up two of the members, she didn’t notice the lot of you approaching until Felicia placed a hand on her shoulder. 

“Hey!” 

This caused her to jump slightly, and she turned around. Her eyes darted back and forth, but finally settled on the lot of you. 

“Oh, it’s just you guys. Honestly, I was getting a bit worried since you were running a bit over.” Teal orbs with a hint of curiosity met your gaze after a few moments, and her smile made the situation less awkward. “I don’t think we’ve met before.”

“No, we haven’t. My name is Y/N.” Just as you’ve done countless times before, you outstretched your hand towards her for a handshake. This seemed to be your first instinct in situations like this, but nobody seemed to mind. 

“Mifuyu Azusa. I’m a junior at the university.” With a quick motion, she took hold of your hand and shook it gently as she spoke. A junior, huh? Your mind seemed to wander back to Yachiyo, the elusive woman you had met earlier by sheer accident. Mifuyu looked to be around the same age, so maybe... “Is everything alright, Y/N?”

“Huh? Oh yeah, everything’s fine.” 

“You look like something is troubling you.” One of the girls from behind Mifuyu snuck a look at you. Judging by her gaze, she seemed to be forming her own opinion without really knowing who you are. Either your eyes were deceiving you, or there was another one of her standing close by. Upon closer inspection, there was a small difference only noticeable by the hairstyle, as the one who spoke had her hair tied back into one singular ponytail. 

“Your eyes give it away, y’know.” In contrast to the calmer twin, the other one had an exciting aura surrounding her as she spoke, her hair splitting off into two separate, large pieces. Her irises were brighter, filled with more curiosity and arguably more freedom. If it wasn’t for that, there was almost no way to tell them apart. 

"Really, it’s not anything important. I was just reminded of someone I met earlier whenever Mifuyu brought up being a junior.” 

“Ah… well in all honesty I’m only good friends with one other junior. She went earlier with everyone else just to walk them here but was called in unexpectedly for a photoshoot, so she was unable to stay.” Mifuyu sighed, shaking her head. “It wasn’t her initial plan to leave, but she said she might be here later in the evening.”

“I… actually ran into someone earlier today who said the exact same thing about a photoshoot. Her name was… Yachiyo, I believe.”

“Oh, you ran into Yacchan? That’s quite the coincidence.” 

Your mind had to register what she had just said before realizing that Yachiyo must be the very friend of most of the girls surrounding you. What she said was true; it really was a coincidence, meeting all of her friends by chance. Nobody seemed to notice the twins talking until one of them cleared their throat in order to get everyone’s attention. 

“Pardon the interruption, but the concert is going to start soon. Tsukasa and I wanted to warm up before our performance.” 

“Oh, that’s right! We’re sorry for holding you up Tsukuyo, Tsukasa.” Mifuyu bowed politely before backing away. “I’m sure your performance will be spectacular.”

“I would hope so, especially since we had to come back a few times over the break just to memorize it!” Tsukasa abruptly sat down in her chair and folded her arms, groaning in annoyance. “I mean yeah, we have to do it… I remember when I was a freshman last year and I watched them perform the same exact thing!” 

“Playing it by ear in the dorm room and memorizing then practicing the sheet music are two different things, sister.” 

“Ah… well, we’ll be watching you in the audience. Would you like me for me to see you afterwards?” Mifuyu’s head tilted slightly to the right as she spoke. Felicia, Iroha, and Sana had already started to make their way towards an open area in the grass while the three of them talked, leaving you as the odd one out. It was odd… they didn’t seem to pressure going with them, so perhaps they were trying to help you get acquainted with others in their own way. 

“That won’t be necessary. We have another rehearsal to attend afterwards, although if you would like to come by the music hall later in the evening we should be done.” Tsukuyo nodded her head, closing her eyes and then opening them back up when she realized you were still present. “I’ll extend the invitation to you as well, Y/N. You do look lost in thought, even now. I’m sure a change of pace as well as scenery should do you good.”

“You say that as if we’re going somewhere, sis! We aren’t, are we?”

“Oh… I forgot to tell you Tsukasa, but I have decided to accompany the rest of Mifuyu’s friends to dinner tonight at around nine. You don’t have to attend, though.” 

“Wha- why at the last minute?! I guess I’m lucky that I don’t have any plans tonight…but still!”

You felt something tugging at the sleeve of your shirt only to find Mifuyu’s thumb and index finger looped on the ends of the fabric. There was no need for her to speak when you already knew what she was trying to do by pulling you away from the twins. The moment they started to have their own conversation and got distracted, she let go of your sleeve and the two of you started walking over to the others.

“It’s best to leave them alone when they bicker, but I’m glad Tsukuyo invited you to tag along with our little group for dinner if you’d like.” 

“I’ll think about it. I still have a few things to unpack, after all.”

“Oh that’s right, you must live in the dorms. Well, just know that the offer still stands, even if it’s a last minute decision. I’m sure everyone would enjoy your company.” Smiling, Mifuyu sat down in the grass and leaned against one of the numerous cherry blossom trees. Your eyes watched as one of the petals fell and landed straight on her head, but she didn’t seem to mind as she was too engrossed in watching the band warm up. Mustering enough courage, you sat down beside her with your legs crossed, just as mesmerized as she was. 

“Well look who finally showed up! We were starting to wonder if you were going to talk the entire time, Mifuyu!” Felicia sported a toothy grin, leaning forward with her hands out in front of her. 

“Well, we were in the middle of a conversation about tonight, and then Tsukuyo invited Y/N to come along with us.”

“Aw, really? Banbanzai's gonna be real crowded with-”

“Felicia, I think you should stop talking for your own sake.” There was malice lacing Mifuyu’s words, and Felicia took notice and backed off quickly. Why was Felicia so reluctant, though? “Please don’t pay her any mind. She didn’t really mean what she said, so don’t take it to heart. The only reason she’s complaining is because she works part-time at the restaurant in question and agreed to help out tonight.”

“Ugh…” 

“Oh, I see.” You cracked a smile of your own, looking at Felicia. “I completely understand. If you wanted me to come so badly, you could have just said so yourself.” 

“I didn’t- I didn’t say that!” 

“Shh, the performance is about to start.” Iroha put her hand on the blonde’s shoulder, making her settle down and sit up straight. “You can continue this conversation afterwards.”

Turning your head back, you focused all of your attention on the band, Tsukuyo and Tsukasa in particular. Their selection started off with recognizable tunes from the university’s repertoire such as the Alma mater, each section harmonizing to create an alluring and soothing sound. The woodwinds played the melody, brass and percussion backing them up. The twins effortlessly switched their fingering, clearly rehearsed so many times that it was just second nature to them. Eyes closed, there wasn’t a need for them to look at their music as diligent as they were about playing their instruments. Even the original pieces they performed were of little difficulty for them, the tips of their fingers gliding beautifully as the sound resonated quietly, though as a collective section they sounded pure.

The performance lasted around a half hour with an afterword from the director of bands, though your mind was focused on other things. Even though it was completely unrelated, it made you realize that maybe it would be a good idea to join a club or two, maybe even a casual sports team to get out of your room and make more friends. It wouldn’t hurt to be in an organization like a concert band… though I’m not very good at a particular instrument. It would have to be something else… 

“Y/N?” Your head turned sharply to the source of the noise, which turned out to just be Iroha. “We’re all getting ready to leave campus for a bit. We just have a few things to do. I just wanted to let you know so that you won’t think that we ditched you without saying anything. Um… I think Mifuyu is going to come back to campus when she’s done in order to meet up with her friends though, so if you’re planning on having dinner with us I can tell her to meet you outside of the dormitory…”

“Yeah, that would be great! But… are you sure that you want me to go with you guys? I mean, we just met and everything-”

“We’re friends, right? After all, we’ve all been hanging out the past few hours, and it’s not like you don’t know everyone that’s going to be there already!” 

Friends. The exact thing that you thought you didn’t have. It felt odd hearing it from somebody you’d just met a few hours ago, but… it made you feel like Iroha and the others wanted you there with them because they thought you were a nice person and not just because you were a loner. There was no hesitation in her voice, and her eyes bore into your very soul. Her intentions were clear through the smile on her face. Sana, who was still clinging onto her for dear life, had the same bright smile, although it was much less pronounced. 

Were they really your friends? Of course they were; after all, they wanted to make sure you knew they were leaving to do some important things and not just to ditch you. They knew you weren’t a local in Kamihama, and wanted to make sure that you weren’t completely lost in the city. 

“Of course we’re friends. I just… didn’t expect for you to say it so outright like that.” The corners of your lips turned upwards into a smile, affirming your subconscious decision. 

“I-I’m glad… that you think of us as friends, too.” Sana let her arm fall to her side, stepping away from Iroha and bowing. “G-Goodbye!” 

“You don’t have to bow, Sana…” Iroha let out a stifled giggle, shaking her head. “But we really should be going. We’ll see you tonight, okay?” 

“Yeah, see you later!”

How many times does this make today? Instead of watching the group walk away while standing awkwardly, you made your way back towards the dormitory and inside, fishing for the key to your room out of your pocket. There wasn’t much to unpack from your bag, but you didn’t want to take things out of it on one of the busier days of the week. That reminds me… I saw Kaede and Rena in the auditorium, but I wonder where they could be now? The hallway was completely void of other people, save for one straggler at the end of the hallway who was rushing to get into their room. There were no voices traveling, no footsteps tapping along the wooden floors… it felt like a barren wasteland, and you were right in the middle of it. You could only assume the two girls across the hallway were still out and about, as there wasn’t a peep of arguing coming from their room. 

Your door unlocked without a problem, the knob turning easily and making for a smooth opening. The bag you had haphazardly thrown on the bed was left untampered, although you noticed the latch came undone, more than likely from the force of the landing. There wasn’t much in your bag in the first place, but it contained all of the things you’d brought from home such as your laptop, some personal care items, and a few other things that weren’t significant enough to mention. Sliding the laptop and its charging cord out of your bag, you went over to the desk and plugged it into the receptacle beside it. You took a few steps away to observe your main place to study, and you couldn’t help but crack a grin. If anything, the laptop made the room a more habitable place than before. 

It felt like home.

The rest of the things were put away without much effort, though you made extra sure that everything was put up in their proper places. You’d be using your bag to carry around your textbooks, so having it cleaned out for when you went to the bookstore later this week to buy them was thinking a step ahead in your book. There was a slim part of you that wished you weren’t in solitude at the current moment, but even if you wanted to go outside, you’d just be back to square one. Staring off into space was the only way you knew how to cope with your problem, though it wasn’t the most efficient way to deal with it. Others just thought you were weird, and you’d even been called a pervert on a few occasions because a girl just happened to be in front of you. 

If Kaede and Rena were in their room, you’d probably have the balls to go over and ask if they wanted to do something.

If Iroha and the others lived on campus, you’d probably be with them instead of your room. 

Instead, you just stared out the window as you sat on the bed. It was still cracked open from earlier, the all too familiar breeze gracing you with its presence. The silence was comforting in its own way, letting one reflect on past events, and that’s exactly what you were doing as your eyes were fixed on a singular cherry blossom tree that was planted right in front of the window. You hadn’t noticed it before now, but it really was a beautiful sight. It reminded you of earlier, when Mifuyu was leaning against one and was so lost in thought that one of the petals landed on her head and she didn’t notice. She was oblivious to how graceful she truly looked in that moment, although you were the only one that seemed to catch sight of it. 

Maybe being aloof every once in a while wasn’t such a bad thing, especially since it let you catch something you would have otherwise never turned your head at.

An hour had passed, then two. You’d snapped out of your trance around a half hour in, occupying yourself with the television provided to you, as well as your smartphone. Soon it was nearing the seven o’ clock floor meetings.

“I think… I think I should dress up a little. If I’m going to be surrounded by a bunch of women, I should at least look like I care about my appearance.” Nodding, you walked over to the dresser and pulled the top drawer open. Button-up shirts and some of your nicer pants were folded neatly inside, and you took one of each out to change into. There was a faint knock at your door, but amidst your humming and shuffling around you didn’t hear until a much louder knock resounded. 

“Hey! If you don’t want to be late, I suggest you hurry up!” Rena. Clasping the button on your pants and zipping them up, you opened the door and looked down on the two girls before you. 

“You didn’t have to come get me, you know… also, I’m sure that everyone heard you pounding on the door.” 

“I told her not to be so loud, but she didn’t listen to me!” Kaede stuck her head inside the room for a few seconds, looking around out of curiosity before backing up in order to let you through. Having put the key to your room in your pocket beforehand along with your wallet, you swiftly closed the door and locked it. 

“You were knocking like a baby, and then you wondered why he didn’t come to answer the door after a few seconds.” Rena rolled her eyes, shoving her hands in her pockets and walking down the hallway towards the lounge area in the middle. The two of you followed suit, sitting down on a sofa that was against the wall when you arrived, though being sandwiched in between Kaede and Rena was quite an awkward situation. 

It took all of your brainpower just to focus on the lecture being given by the Resident Advisor, who was the same guy who handed you the key to your room earlier in the day. His voice was unappealing, and it seemed everyone else agreed. The only time you paid attention to him was when he explained the form you had to fill out, which was yet another inconvenience, but it was required. It asked a few simple questions, like what kind of activities you’d like to see on the floor, about the state of your room when you arrived, and trivial questions about yourself personally.

By the time you finished, everyone minus Kaede and Rena had left the room and turned in their forms, the girls waiting patiently (well, Kaede was) for you. 

“Thanks for filling it out! The turnout this year was surprisingly good compared to last year.” Taking the forms, the RA tapped the stack against the table and made them into a neat pile. “Many of the residents didn’t turn up to the floor meeting and had to be personally reprimanded. The university takes all of the activities they do during the introductory week very seriously, so they ended up getting a mark on their permanent record.”

“A-Ah, well, I’m glad I showed up. I’m a rule follower, not a rule breaker.” You rubbed the back of your neck and stood up, chuckling nervously. “What other things can get a mark on your record?”

“Bringing alcohol in the dorms, coming back intoxicated, drug paraphernalia… there’s a whole list on the university website. Oh, and getting caught with someone who isn’t from the dormitory in your room without signing them in at the front desk first. We’re more lenient on that one since it’s not like you’re doing anything illegal, but as your RA, I recommend you do.”

“So someone from a different room in the same dormitory can just… go to someone else’s room with no problem?” Rena stood up from her seat followed by Kaede, though the latter stayed silent.

“Yep!” 

What an odd rule, especially since this is a co-ed dormitory.

“Well, I do have to get going. Just make sure to follow the rules and regulations and you should have a fantastic two semesters in the dormitories! Good night to you three!” Bowing quickly, the man swiped the forms and went storming towards his room on the other side of the building. There was a foreboding silence shared between the three of you, and you took the moment to check your wristwatch. Fifteen to nine. 

“I have something that I agreed to do tonight. I’ll… see you two tomorrow?”

“Yeah, tomorrow! It might be later in the day since Rena and I are going to go visit some friends in the afternoon, but um… we can definitely get dinner or something together!”

“D-Don’t go putting words in my mouth, Kaede!” There was a faint blush on Rena’s face as she sharply turned her head away from view. “Fine, if you want to go to dinner with us or something, you should be grateful that I’m agreeing…”

“That’s just Rena’s way of saying she’s excited.” Kaede moved closer to whisper in your ear, giggling at the end and pulling away. “We’ll see you tomorrow, Y/N.” 

Waving to the two girls, you plopped back onto the sofa behind you, slumping back and crossing your arms. Today was probably one of the most eventful days you’ve ever had in your life. Even high school couldn’t compare to everything that happened. More people than ever before wanted to talk to you, wanted to get to know you… and you even spoke up to someone else instead of freezing up. That in itself was considered an accomplishment in your book.

Even though the day is over… the night was only beginning.

[minamclaggen]

tag dump (because you’re all inspirations tm)

[randomfandomimagine]

Love Above All. Chapter 5

Fandom: The Man in the Iron Mask/Musketeers

Ship: Phillippe x Marie (OC)

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AO3

Remember to please reblog and leave feedback if you’re enjoying it! It means the world to me :)

It turned to night, yet all that new information was quite overwhelming, and so I was trying to take it all in still. Only Aramis had known all those facts, keeping Porthos, Athos and myself in the dark. About Phillippe’s existence, about the complexity of his plan, about his own sin in being responsible for the boy’s fate.

And after all, Phillippe was not a nobody like he thought himself to be. He was the son of the old King and the Dowager Queen, he was the twin brother of Louis. The crown was his birthright as it was Louis’. And they expected him to take the place of his brother and pretend to be him, to become king even though all he had known most of his life was loneliness and despair. It was a terrible leap, and a great burden.

It was too much to accept at once, and a painful turn in my stomach instantly caused me to regret ever learning about the matter. In an effort to calm myself, I summoned the feeling of hope and eagerness that had taken over me at the possibility of a new purpose, of an important endeavor.

“You had to listen, Marie” Aramis’ voice startled me so badly that I jumped in my seat.

I recognized a brief apology in his eyes for having startled me, yet he did not openly voice it. He lingered on his stubborn demeanor as a punishment for my snooping.

“I needed to know” Was my only reply.

“What troubles you, my child?” Aramis’ stern demeanor immediately dropped as he sat by me, and only then did I look into his eyes.

“It is quite a lot to take in” I shrugged one shoulder to take importance out of my daze. “And that poor soul… I cannot help but to feel sympathy for him”

“You must detest me after I inflicted such cruelty upon him” Aramis sighed tiredly, and I could truly tell the effect of his age in his exhausted expression. “An innocent man...”  

“No, I…” Aramis did not have a choice, and while his actions were terrible, he always had the security of his country in mind. I understood his motives in spite of it all. “You… Aramis, you have tried to make amends ever since that awful day”

“I seek his forgiveness, and that of God” He desperately wrapped his hand around the crucifix that always hung around his neck and over his chest. “Yet I do not wish for you to regard me as a monster”

“I could never” I gently lay my hand atop of his. “I regard you as the kind man that gave me a home and a family when I had nothing else”

Aramis managed a small smile in gratitude for my forgiveness, something that he had longed for despite it not being from the right person, but I assumed it was a beginning for his soul to heal. After that, he leaned back on the chair and deeply exhaled, rubbing a hand across his face in further exhaustion.

“I would like to comfort him, though I don’t know how” I spoke up to break the loud silence, also changing the subject for my friend’s sake. “Should I go see him?”

Aramis watched me for a moment, yet he paused and did not move at first.

“He shall appreciate the comfort of your company” Was all I needed to hear to stand to my feet.

As I walked to Phillippe’s room, I rummaged through my thoughts in search of words of comfort, or perhaps on a subject that would distract him from any possible bad thoughts. Aramis interrupted me as I arrived at the threshold.

“Marie” I turned at the sound of my name. Though a tired gesture, Aramis smiled at me. “Ever since you arrived, you have succeeded in looking after us and blessing us with your gentle cares and your kind friendship. I do not have a doubt, you will comfort him as well”

“Thank you” I was genuinely moved by his honesty and generosity.

Before his smile could falter, he ushered me away with a motion of his hand. I laughed a little as I nodded and left for Phillippe’s chambers.

  Athos was still there with him, yet they continued to chat until I knocked and opened the doors.

“May I come in?” I softly said, hoping I wasn’t interrupting anything important.

“Of course, I was about to leave” Athos stood up, kindly leaning a hand atop of Phillippe’s shoulder. “Come on in”

“Thank you” I examined the man, wondering what they were talking about.

I was still getting to know Athos, yet it felt like I knew him a little already. I ventured to think that he had also been there to comfort the boy, using his experience as a father to rid Phillippe of any anguish.

As Athos passed me by and left the room, Phillippe and I made eye contact. As soon as we did, I gently smiled down at him.

“How are you feeling?” I timidly started, unfamiliar with him still.

“Tired” In spite of it all, and of the clear telltales of his absolute exhaustion, he achieved a small smile of his own.

“May I?” Phillippe nodded, and so I sat down in the chair in front of him.

The tension was palpable in the air, for we were clearly strangers still. I averted my gaze as he timidly yet curiously stared at me, nearly posing a question. Perhaps he was wondering why I was visiting him.

“Forgive me if I importune, I only wanted to bless you with my valuable company” I decided to acquire a playful attitude to diminish the awkwardness. “Although Athos might be better at comforting people, though he does not have my dashing good looks”

Acknowledging my intentions, Phillippe laughed a little. The sound of his laughter caused me to smile widely as our glances met, this time in a comfortable gesture.

“I do appreciate your valuable company” He teased me a little as well. “It certainly makes up for the lack of luxury”

“What are you on about? This is greater than any palace!”

We both laughed, still aware of the fact that our current living space was humble yet comfortable. His warm blue eyes settled on me, acquiring a more serious approach.

“Truly, it is very kind of you to be here with me” Phillippe reached forward, as though to lay a hand upon my arm, but retracted in the end.

“I didn’t want you to feel alone” I merely shrugged, slightly flustered by his manners and incredible softness.

I realized I had averted my gaze once more when I had to force myself to glance at him. The striking resemblance with Louis bothered me still, to the point that I nearly expected Phillippe to angrily shout at me and see his eyes acquiring that intense hateful look. But of course, it never came. Louis and Phillippe were identical, like two drops of water, yet at the same time they could not have been so different. The more time I spent with Phillippe and the more I watched his tender expression, the more I realized.

“May I ask you a question, Marie?” He asked, perhaps to stop my staring.

“Of course” I immediately looked down to my hands, which I folded over my lap, not to stare anymore.

“Is Aramis your father?” I smiled at his curiosity, the very one reflected in his eyes at all times.

I understood his question, however, as not only our closeness, but our likeness was notable. We both had brown hair, although his was starting to whiten because of his age. Though my eyes were dark blue and not brown like his, we both had that fierce spark in them. Our personalities were quite similar as well if we were to compare our stubbornness and determination.

“No, he is not” Though for a moment he reminded me of the events that led me to staying with him, I recovered quickly. “He is the closest thing that I have to one, but no. Weren’t it for him and Porthos and Athos, I would have no one”

“Forgive me if I-“ I shushed Phillippe with a movement of my hand, for when I looked up at him I saw the sadness and empathy in his expression.

“It is quite alright. I do not mind you asking, I-“ Taken aback by a sudden commotion coming from downstairs, I interrupted my sentence.

Phillippe and I exchanged a quick glance of concern as we both rushed to our feet and towards the window, just in time to see Aramis and Athos rushing to the collapsed hut. Was someone inside there? Porthos, perhaps?

“Excuse me, Phillippe” I lightly graced my hand against his arm, briefly turning to him before I left. “If there is anything you need at any moment, please let me know”

“Of course” He vehemently nodded. “Now go, I will stay here”

I nodded myself and rushed out the chamber and down the stairs, jogging across the lot and joining them. I found with Porthos, who was wearing Aramis’ coat. I was certainly glad it took me several seconds to arrive, for it seemed Porthos had been nude. However, I did see a rope tied around his neck.

“Porthos?!” I exclaimed in shock, to which he immediately turned to me. He had seemed to be furious with Aramis since he was the one responsible for his failed attempt. However, Porthos’ glance immediately shifted at the sight of me.

“Put some clothes on” Aramis urged him as tough it was not the first time he asked him.

“Wait... I want to speak to you, Porthos!” I rebutted, prey of a desperate need to address such a thing at that very instant.

“He will wait for you upstairs” Athos said for him, to which Porthos reluctantly nodded.

Porthos stomped on the ground as he walked away from us, clutching to the coat to cover his backside as he did. It would have been quite a comical image were it not for the distress I was experiencing. I would certainly have a word with him later for attempting to end his own life in such a manner.

“Did he try…?” I asked to them for confirmation.

“Yes” Aramis sternly replied, his brown eyes fixed on his departing figure. “Perhaps now he will quit his foolish and puerile attitude”

I glanced up to Phillippe’s window, about to gesture to him in order to let him know everything was alright. However, the sight I was received with startled me so that I shrunk closer to Athos, who was immediately by me.

“Athos…” I gently patted his arm, pointing to the window. When his eyes fell over the figure of Phillippe looking down at us, he frowned.

The boy was wearing the mask again, a sight that troubled me profoundly. Whatever he was going through, I thought that Athos had more experience on the subject at hand, having had a son before he was cruelly taken away from him.

“I will go” The former musketeer said in his soft voice.

“Let me know if I can assist you in any way”

“I will” Athos left too, just as I noticed Phillippe walking away from the window. I heaved a sigh as the tension within me vanished and turned to the only other person with me.

“Serves him right” Aramis still showed his temper. I nervously fidgeted as he directed it to me. “And you, Marie, I do hope you are truly done with that same attitude. For the love of God, I am sick and tired of your gloominess! Both you and Porthos, it is exhausting!”

Perhaps it was a nervous reaction, yet a chuckle stirred within me. I fought to suppress it not to anger Aramis.

“Forgive me, Aramis” I innocently replied instead, batting my eyelashes at him to appear angelical. “I am done with it, truly, especially after this”

The unexpected nature of my response struck him with shock, though he recovered quickly and decided to maintain his dignity by lingering on his fury, although now quenched and artificial.

“And do not make that face at me, child” The corner of his lips were twitching. “I have seen it before, behave”

“Do I not usually?”

“Not as often as I would like you to”

Remembering that I had meddled in their secret endeavor after all, I decided not to argue. Besides, I did not want to push him back into his enraged state again.

“You are right, of course” Despite my amusement, I attempted to keep my sarcasm to a minimum. “I should not talk back as I do”

“I am afraid you would not be yourself if you didn’t” Came his response, making it harder for me to keep my laughter to myself.

In the end, Aramis gave in to my charm and we both chuckled.

  I barged in, determined to lecture Porthos. If it weren’t for Aramis, Porthos’ decision would have… I did not even want to think about it. Perhaps I was closer to Aramis, yet I appreciated Porthos and I considered him a close friend nonetheless.

There he was, already dressed, feebly sitting in a chair staring at nothing.

“What were you thinking?” I exclaimed as soon as I was inside. “Were it not for Aramis…”

Porthos sighed noisily, and I understood what he was thinking, but I did not care. Although it must have been absurd for him to be lectured by me, who he regarded nearly as a child, it did not stop me.

“I am useless” Porthos shrugged. “What is the point?”

“Useless?” I wished Aramis and Athos could shove some sense into him, though they had tried, to no avail. “You are one of the most brilliant musketeers in the history of France!”

“Not anymore” He had completely surrendered himself to his apathy, once his rage against Aramis had faded, and did not hide it from me anymore either. “I am an old fart”

“You are to restore Phillippe to his rightful place and bring peace and prosperity to France once and for all, is that not enough?”

Porthos did not reply, he in fact looked away from me and into the fire that lit and warmed the room we were in.

“Porthos...” I tiredly continued, sitting before him as I obstructed his staring point. “You would have left us alone”

At my words, he finally glanced up at me. There was now guilt and regret in his dark eyes.

“Are you not glum, Marie?” Was his response. “I thought you understood”

“I did, and although I do feel hopeless at times still, I…” I did not know why, but I was feeling better as of late. Perhaps it was a mixture of Aramis’ words and our endeavor. “I find that there is hope after all”

“How do you do it?” He genuinely asked. “You have recovered that light from when you were brought to us, you have found your smile once more”

“I do not know” I hadn’t quite analyzed when it was that I had found joy again. I had been too concerned with recent events to question it, and honestly, grateful enough about it to be content. “Perhaps it is because I do not know the nostalgia of once being a musketeer and looking back at my days of glory”

Porthos’ silence was quite eloquent, as it was exactly the main reason why he was troubled. I was aware, he longed to see himself as that man he once was, as being useful, being young and spry. Being a man of action. He could not see that he was useful in a different way, that his friendship was important to us.

“Or perhaps I saw that there is indeed hope now that we can cause real change” I insisted, in an attempt to bring some of that hope to him.

My efforts seemed to be of no use, though I had hopefully convinced him not to try end his life again the future. I stood up, hoping to at least see him smile and that he would abandon that lifeless expression.

“I do wish you brightened up” I dedicated him a big smile that might pass on to him. “Besides, there may be some of that action you crave, only that not quite yet”

He sighed once more, only responding by holding my hand in one of his and patting it with the other. I did not know what that gesture meant exactly, but I said a few more words of encouragement nonetheless.

“Believe, Porthos” I covered his big hand with my free one. “I do, I believe that there will come better times. I am quite sure of it, I am done being feeble and dull”

Tag list: @loirabrasileirabr / @suenami3 // Let me know if you want to be added or taken off this tag list!!

[prkjiho]

Just the Two of Us

LOCATION → Huntington Beach, CA

TIME FRAME → Friday Night, June 18th, 2027 | sometime between 9-10pm

NOTES →  Written on Discord. Ji-Ho and Addison separate themselves from the group while they eat their hot dogs to stay away from the drama.

TAGGING → @prkjiho @adoringaddison 

JI-HO

[ sits down away from the group with Addison ] We're close enough to still be apart of the bonfire, but far enough away so we don't have to socialize. [ he chuckles but shortly falls silent ] Is everything okay Addison?

ADDISON

[ sits next to G as her chocolate hues divert over to the others before turning to peer at the male instead ] “I’m totally fine with that. I can finally hear myself think” [ she replies before glancing down at her plate ] “I just get tired of the petty bullshit all of the time”

JI-HO

Ah [ he gives an understanding nod ] I guess I'm used to ignoring all that. [ he takes a bite of his hot dog ] Years of practice, and I honestly just put our group chat on mute a majority of the time. That helps. [ he shoots her a smile, trying to make her feel better ]

ADDISON

[ she takes a bite of her hot dog and begins chewing slowly as she listens to him talk ] “I just don’t understand it. I thought that we would have left all of that behind in high school. It just feels like it’s the same people over and over again starting it” [ she sighs as she peers over at him with a small smile ] “I’m really glad you came, G. I don’t think I could have survived this without you”

JI-HO

[ he eats and nods as she talks. he washes down his food with a drink of Soju before speaking ] I can't say I didn't see this coming, but I had hoped the past would stay in the past. Wishful thinking, getting a bunch of people who were once so connected back together and not have some living in the past moments. [ he sighs but gives a small smile ] You're one of the main reasons I came. I was set on staying away.

ADDISON

[ she finishes the bite that she had taken previously and licks her lips to get any crumbs that might have stayed before gazing over at him ] “Yeah that’s very true. I just would think that it would get tiresome after awhile, but that’s just my opinion” [ she bites her lesser lip slightly as a blush consumes her cheeks at the next words he spoke ] “Really? Wow, I feel special, G. I’m glad that you didn’t stay away though. I would have missed your company” [ she reaches out and places her hand upon his own as she gives him a smile ]

JI-HO

It's tiresome to watch, because it really doesn't have to be like this. If they just talked and got whatever closure they needed to start moving on, [ another sigh left his lips ] then things would be better. [ he looks away, down at his food, embarrassed at admitting she was one of the main reasons he decided to show up this summer. he only looks up at her when he feels her hand on his ] Yeah, it's nice to really hang out for once.

ADDISON

[ she takes another bite of her hot dog and finishes it while he speaks, nodding in agreement to what he had to say ] “I agree, but unfortunately some of them are still stuck in high school and thrive off of the drama. I just really hope it gets better because I don’t think I can handle three months of this” [ she takes a drink of her water and then looks over at him again ] “I completely agree. I love hanging out with you. You’re my favorite person, but shh don’t tell the others” [ she giggles lightly before glancing out at the crashing waves ]

JI-HO

[ he smiles and quietly laughs, she was the second person to say he was their favorite. Who would have thought the quiet boy who worked better with computers than people would actually be someone's favorite ] Your secret's safe with me. You're my favorite too. [ his gazes follows hers to the ocean ] We should go surfing again soon.

ADDISON

[ a light blush dances upon her features at the mention of being his favorite as well. a concept that she slightly struggled to believe given the fact that she didn’t see herself as being worthy of being someone’s favorite, but she was happy that she was considered to be his ] “Thank you, I appreciate it. It’s nice to be someone’s favorite” [ she states softly before turning to look over at him when he mentions surfing ] “Yes, please. I had a blast the last time”

JI-HO

Maybe not tomorrow, but we can try going the next day? [ he takes the last bite of his hot dog and chews it slowly ] I will not be in the best condition to surf tomorrow. [ he says after swallowing and then using his sleeve to wipe away any crumbs ]

ADDISON

“That works perfectly for me. I don’t have any other plans. Maybe it will just be us two this time...like just us two in general” [ she states as she thinks back to their last surfing session in which Austen and Roman tagged along; granted, they stayed on the shore but still, she would prefer for it to be just her and G ] “how much have you had to drink?” [ she asks out of curiosity ]

JI-HO

[ he’s taking another drink when she asks him how much had had to drink tonight. He thinks he probably shouldn’t have taken a whole bottle of Soju and shouldn’t be drinking straight from it, but here he was ] A couple of beers, a handful of Soju shots, and now this. [ he holds the bottle up, label facing toward her - Soju Green Apple flavor - and then sets it down. He never drank in high school, he only started picking that up in college ] Why? Are you worried about me? [ he gives a small half smile ] I’m okay, I usually stay within my limits.

ADDISON

[ she eyes the bottle that he holds up and listens to what all he has had so far, feeling her cheeks redden once again. She did worry about him, and even though she knew that nothing would happen with their group of friends like the event that happened to her, she was still cautious and wanted to keep an eye on him ] “of course I worry about you, G. I just don’t want anything to happen to you” [ she replies while offering him a small smile ]

JI-HO

Nothing’s going to happen. [ he gives his best reassuring smile. Of course she’d be worried, after the incident back in high school that was only normal. Thinking back to it made his smile fade, he should have kept a better eye on his friends ] Maybe just make sure I don’t run off into the ocean [ he forces a laugh and points to the water ] I don’t know how my swimming skills are when drunk.

ADDISON

[ she chuckles softly at the mention of him swimming drunk and nods her head in agreement ] “I’m not allowing you to take any risks, so you are certainly not entering the water on my watch” [ she replies before turning her attention back to the ocean, wishing that they were there together under different circumstances - a planned getaway from their real lives to enjoy one another’s company on a vacation, not a kept promise from five years prior ] “it’s really beautiful out here, isn’t it?” [ she questions as she turns to peer over at him with a small smile ]

JI-HO

[ he watches the ocean before looking at her ] As beautiful as Hawaii? [ he takes another sip, eyes scanning from the ocean to the bonfire ] This place does have a certain charm to it.

ADDISON

[ she shakes her head at his question before rubbing her lips together slightly ] “no, I will always think Hawaii is more beautiful. I just think California is beautiful in its own way also” [ she replies before turning to look back over at the bonfire ] “is it bad of me to say that I would rather just sit here with you all night instead of going back to the group?”

JI-HO

[ he’s surprised at her words ] No, but if we don’t return they might start talking. [ he sighs. as much as he would like nothing more than to just sit there with her all night whether talking or in silence, this bonfire was for all of them to bond instead of everyone doing their own thing as they usually do ] We can stay here a little longer, until you’re ready to get back to the group.

ADDISON

“Yeah, that’s true. I don’t have energy for that” [ she replies but in all honesty, she didn’t really care if they started talking. it seemed like that’s all their group of friends were good at anyways ] “it’s really okay, G. We can head back now. I don’t want to take you away from others who might want to hang out with you tonight” [ she smiles lightly before pushing herself up in order to head back to the group ] “thanks for keeping me company though. I really enjoyed it”

JI-HO

I don't either, I can handle listening to all the talk and ignoring it, but I don't want to be the subject of it [ he stands up to walk back to the group with her ] Any time you want to get away from the house and want some company, just let me know. [ he hopes she's feeling better to rejoin the group as they walk back ]

ADDISON

“I agree. I’m sure we will be the subject of the talk eventually this trip, but I just don’t want it to be tonight” [ she replies with a light laugh while heading back to the group ] “I will definitely do that. Thank you for hanging out with me away from the group” [ she states and reaches out to grab his hand, hoping that it’s okay that they hold hands for a few minutes ]

JI-HO

Of course, it’s always nice when it’s just us two. [ he looks at their now intertwined hands, wondering what brought that on but not wanting to bring attention to it. It feels nice to hold her hand, he only lets go when they have rejoined the group. ]

[darkhymns-fic]

Give Me Chocolate!

Yuan was not much for sweets, while Martel loved them. But surely she could eat something better than apple gels…

Fandom: Tales of Symphonia Characters/Pairing: Yuan Ka-Fai/Martel Yggdrasill, Kratos Aurion Rating: G Mirror Link: AO3 Notes: This is a gift fic for @ssc-chico for a Secret Santa exchange held in the Colloyd discord server back in December! I wanted to combine the idea of sweets with Yuan/Martel. Much of this story was inspired from this comic by Chico! Thanks so much for being a part of the server and happy holidays!

–

When traveling the roads for days on end and avoiding the populous towns that would turn away even at the hint of a sharply pointed ear, there were few luxuries that they could afford. Yuan knew this.

Still, Martel had asked him once.

“You don’t have much of a sweet tooth, do you?”

The question was sudden, surprising Yuan out of his task – stamping out their campfire that morning so that the group could start heading off. Kratos had already gone ahead to scout the forest area with Noishe (always demonstrating his skills at every opportune moment, of course), while Mithos had tagged along. The boy rarely left Martel’s side, but when it came to promises of learning from the human, even the boy could be swayed to leave the company of his sister.

Yuan treasured those rare moments, when it was just him and Martel, when it felt as if no other ear was listening in for once. This was also his chance to truly impress her, now that he had set out on this journey with them. Within the circle of trees the group had taken shelter in the night before, Yuan stood up tall, trying to gaze at Martel with the confidence he used to have as a past military officer.

But of course, that confidence deflated the moment she smiled at him, as she did now, making him fumble in his words – and movements.

“W-What gave you that idea?” he asked, trying once again to put out their campfire with a kick of his boots against the dirt. He had instead successfully kicked the dirt up so high that it landed right in his face. He coughed loudly, trying to wipe it from his hair.

Martel simply smiled, even laughing just a little bit. She placed a hand against her mouth, eyes shining as Yuan tried once again to gain some semblance of dignity. “Nothing, though I guess you prefer something more earthy than sweet!”

Another cough and Yuan was sure that he finally got the dirt out of his mouth. Well, at least the campfire was out. He flicked his long cloak behind him, then cleared his throat. “Still, that is not a question I expected to hear you ask…”

The sun had only just started peeking out from the horizon, painting the sky a pink hue. It blended with Martel’s hair, the green color as rich and bright as the grass beneath them, seeming to take a brightness that Yuan couldn’t turn away from.

Then he caught himself staring, clearing his throat again. Why did he always have to lose all common sense when it came to Martel? Finally, he had a chance to be alone with her again, with no pitying look from Kratos, or a curious stare from Mithos. And yet he kept messing this up. I must be making this unbearable for her, he thought shamefully.

Martel was kind to not comment on his sudden awkwardness. Instead, she seemed to move closer to him, which Yuan could only tell by the nearness of her staff. Delicate fingers held it aloft, and soon she was smiling up at him, the morning breeze picking up her hair.

“You never eat the gels, you know!”

Yuan blinked. “Uh, what?”

She laughed again, never taking her eyes off him. The same green, the same hue of the fields they traversed. All this green that could wither away if we don’t succeed, he thought to himself. But her eyes gave him hope still.

“Mithos loves apple gels the most. They go well with an added pinch of honey, though we haven’t had some in a while.” She tilted her head, dreamily looking towards the clouds in the skies. She always seemed so calm, despite how far they traveled, how far they had to be from so many others to even get a morning such as this, with no burning smoke or jeers from a crowd to disturb them.

She turned back to him. “But you avoid the gels completely! Do you not like them at all?”

Yuan blinked, too confused to even be tripping over himself as he tended to do. “Gels are for healing us, to restore our energy… They’re not exactly meant as desserts, you know.”

Martel nodded in agreement. “True. I suppose it was just that me and Mithos could barely afford to get real sweets… gels were much cheaper in comparison, and every store sold them. You could even make them if you had the right ingredients.“ She sighed, as if reliving a pleasant memory. "And a dessert that heals your aches is never a bad thing.”

Yuan instantly felt guilty – had he just basically ridiculed Martel for her tastes in desserts, all molded by her circumstances? I’m such a fool.

She noticed his sudden somber mood, tilting her head to the side. “Yuan, is something wrong?”

“Um! N-Nothing, Martel. It’s nothing.”

She didn’t seem convinced. “I guess you don’t really like sweets so talking about them must be boring… I’m sorry, Yuan.”

“No! It’s – it’s not that at all!” Yuan coughed. “I mean…this has just reminded me how long it has been since I’ve had any kind of dessert actually.”

“Ah! Would you like these apple gels then that I’ve been saving for Mithos?” With an airy laugh, she gestured to a pack on the ground near their belongings, overflowing with the red gels. “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind you having his share.”

“Martel…” Yuan faintly protested as she plopped one of the wobbly, gooey-looking things in his hand. He had eaten far, far too many of these to ever miss them, but Martel looked so pleased, the green of her eyes shining so bright.

He would never be able to taste the apple gels as anything but much-too-sweet medicine. But, through that familiar taste, the faint hint of honey reached him…

–

“Kratos!”

Kratos turned to him, his face as static as ever, in contrast to Noishe who stood with him, looking to Yuan with a dopey smile. The Arshis was just about to pounce on him while Yuan tried to flail him away.

“Down! Not now!”

“Is there something you need, Yuan?”

Finally, after pushing away Noishe and his slobbery tongue, Yuan faced Kratos. Of course, now his hair was a damn mess…

“I will be taking over the restocking of our supplies today.”

He used a stern voice as he spoke, one he put on for his troops when he had been a Sylvaranti officer. It made men listen to him. But maybe because since Kratos was human, or a knight, or was from Tethe’alla, it only made him raise an eyebrow..

“You mean our grocery shopping?”

Yuan sputtered, shifted on his feet. “W-well, yes, I guess if you put it that way!”

“I thought you had said that such a task was beneath you.”

Oh, of course the human would remember that little detail from months back…

“I just figured that I should help take over some of your heavy duties,” Yuan said through gritted teeth. After all, Kratos would keep taking watch, or making their camp, or even speak to other strangers while they traveled, no doubt quite easy to do because of his human heritage. “If you would rather not, then I see no point in arguing.”

Kratos seemed to consider the suggestion, looking to a curiously-whining Noishe (asking the creature his opinion on the matter?) and then his eyes flickered to the other side of their camp. Martel was seated with Mithos near a birch tree, happily chatting with him, their laughter ringing through the air.

“Ah,” Kratos merely said, then nodded. “I see.”

Yuan huffed. “You see what?!”

“It is of no matter. If you would like to do the shopping, that is fine by me. But will you be alright? The nearest town is of human population.”

“You forget that we’re in Sylvaranti territory. I can find ways to gain trust. Got yours, did I not?”

“Hmph,” Kratos said with a smirk. “But if you do go, just remember to get some treats for Noishe.” He patted the creature’s head, scratching behind the long ears. Noishe wagged his tail. “We are running low.”

Yuan frowned. “Ugh, if I must…”

–

It was rare that Yuan could be completely alone with Martel, but he had managed another opportunity on that same day. Kratos and Mithos had, quite mysteriously, went somewhere else to train just at the time he had arrived. His back was laden with packs – full of food, bandages, and the treats for Noishe, of course. But that was not all he had.

Martel knelt by a rushing river, laying her hands within its currents. She had her eyes closed, appearing to be at peace.Yuan was reluctant to disturb her, but his footsteps must have been less than steady, for then she turned.

“Yuan. Glad to see you safely back. I was a bit worried.”

Her soft tone, combined with the smile she gave him, nearly made Yuan flush. “I…I can take care of myself. There is no need for you to worry.”

Martel smiled. She seemed so relaxed and peaceful. When with her, Yuan felt the world stand still.

He remembered suddenly what he had come here to do. “Ah, actually I wanted you to… have something for me?”

“Hm?” Martel tilted her head in curiosity. “What do you mean, Yuan?”

“W-well, um…” Why did he always have to be so tongue-tied around her? It made no logical sense yet here he was, flushing as if he were a schoolboy in front of his crush, ready to give her a gift.

He supposed he wasn’t that far off, in all honesty.

“Just, let me get it first,” he said, partly to recover from the intensity of her gaze. She looked as if she already knew everything… and she must have. Just as Martel knew that he was infatuated with her. It was one reason (besides finally getting Kratos to respect him!) that he ever even joined on this journey.

From the pack, he got out the package he had bought from the shop, though his hands shook. Why did they shake? Why must he keep acting like a young fool like this?

Martel’s eyes flicked to what he held. “Chocolate?”

Damn it, he meant it to be a surprise! But he hadn’t exactly wrapped it well… “Um! Y-yes, it…it is..”

With a sigh, Yuan held the package out to Martel. He was…not the best gift-wrapper. A small ribbon tied over the box was essentially the best he could do. The box itself was rather plain, but he hoped that to Martel, such plain appearances wouldn’t matter.

“I wanted to get you something sweet. Nothing too fancy. I suppose all the talk of desserts had made me nostalgic for them.”

Martel continued to stare. Her staff was not at hand, placed carefully on the grass near the river. She thoughtfully placed her fingers against each other, apparently so very fascinated by the box he held.

“T-They’re bon-bons! They’re a bit like gels, if you think about it. Here.” Yuan pulled away the box cover, showing off the rows of fancifully decorated chocolates, drizzled over with an array of colors, from blue to silver to gold. “These ones happen to have apple-flavored filling!” he said, pointing to the top row. “And these ones…um… have a bit of honey..”

Yuan pulled at his collar nervously, wondering if he was going about this all wrong. Martel was still staring at him and at the box. Maybe she didn’t like this type of chocolate? He should have done more research.

“Um, Martel?” he asked. Her gaze was very focused, very beautiful – but unnerving.

He was just about to apologize when Martel asked, “Could you feed me the chocolate?”

Yuan’s brain felt like it was overheating at such a request.

“Oh, I am sorry.” Martel pressed a hand to her mouth. “That was very strange. I don’t know what came over me.”

Yuan didn’t get anywhere in life by squandering his opportunities. It was the only way he had ever made any top position. So with his heart thudding in his chest, he took the chance.

“Yes! Of course I will!” Yuan cleared his throat. “I mean… if you would like, I can do that for you.”

The usual dreamy expression Martel held seemed to change just then. It was mesmerizing, it was fascinating in its existence. She genuinely looked surprised, caught off guard by his words.

“You would do that for me?”

Yuan nodded, taking one of the bon-bons, holding it carefully between two fingers. “Yes, I can just-”

Martel was suddenly much closer to him, smiling brightly, hands behind her back as she looked up at him.

Yuan was speechless. She was so close to him that he thought she was about to kiss him.

…Gah, of course not! He shook his head, and just went on with what he promised to do. He held up the chocolate near her mouth. “Well… open up then.” He still felt so nervous!

Martel, bouncing on her toes, opened her mouth, even saying, “Ahhh~”

Yuan thought he would pass out the moment her lips brushed against his fingers, taking the chocolate from him.

She leaned back, her face so euphoric, pressing one hand to her cheek in happiness. “Oh! This is delicious, Yuan!” She took her time chewing the treat, enjoying every second. “And it even has a bit of cacao powder!”

“Ah, yes. I felt that would help more with the flavor.” Yuan still had his hand up, remembering the sensation of her mouth. “So you liked it?”

“Yes! I liked it so much.” Martel, with obvious excitement, reached for one of the chocolates in the box he held. He thought he was taking them for her before she held it up to his face.

“Uh! M-Martel…”

“You must try this, Yuan! It’s so sweet! Say ahhh~!”

But he had never seen her so happy. So happy over something so small and trivial. They were just chocolates. Simply meant to satisfy a craving. But she was enjoying it so much, like he had given her something precious.

Maybe a small thing like this meant more to her than he realized.

Trying to ignore his nerves, Yuan leaned forward to quickly take the chocolate from her fingers. A brief taste of something very sweet. He heard Martel’s soft laughter, and felt his own happiness light up his chest.

“Very… delicious,” he said with a blush, chewing the chocolate, tasting the hint of honey. Martel gazed at him, eyes as green as the hills around them, as green as the world they were trying to save.

.

.

.

–

After so many years, it was hard for Yuan to think about finally resting, about finally staying in one place. But as he gazed at the small sapling that was supposed to be the new World Tree, he didn’t feel the urge to move anymore.

So much of his life had been chaotic – but where the tree rested, there was a peacefulness that was familiar to him.

“Yuan?” spoke a voice, just as familiar. But it was not really her.

Martel, the spirit with the face of the woman he had loved, gently walked over to him. She had a staff held in her right hand, a smile that was soft and bright, eyes that reflected the greenery of their world.

“Did I disturb you?” Yuan asked. Being the guardian for the tree, he felt he still had much to learn. “I only came by to check on things.”

Martel nodded, then looked down at what he held. “Oh. Is that chocolate?”

He smiled at her. The box full of bon-bons were drizzled in an array of colors, from blue to silver to gold. “I’ve gotten a bit of a sweet-tooth,” he admitted. He had made these chocolates himself, made with time and care.

He saw her look at the chocolates with curiosity, with an interest that spoke of something human and so very familiar. “They look very well-made,” she said, her voice so soft.

Yuan held out one chocolate to her. “Would you like one?”

And, he didn’t even have to tell her what to do. Martel, with an echo of the happiness he once saw in the Martel of 4000 years ago, leaned forward to take the chocolate from his fingers. She then leaned back, face bright, her cheeks painted with a hint of red.

“This is delicious!” she said, with an excitement that was also familiar. “Thank you. It has a taste of apples…and honey.”

“You’re welcome,” he told the spirit, thinking he would feel sadness. But instead, he felt contentment, smiling at her. “These were her favorites.”

[boogiewrites]

Choking On Sapphire 83

Characters: Alfie Solomons x Genevieve (OFC)

Title & Song: Baby Says

Summary: Alfie and Genevieve face the troubles of her day to day life. Genevieve gets some surprise visitors that help give Alfie some insight into her past and their future.

Warnings/Tags: Mild Language. References to assault and violence. PTSD. Fluff. Reunions. 

Click on my icon then go to my Mobile Masterlist in my bio for my other works and chapters. (Had to do this since Tumblr killed links, sorry.) Please like, comment and reblog if you enjoyed it! It helps out us writers A LOT!

Arm in arm Alfie and Genevieve walk on a Saturday morning in her garden, in full bloom and lush this time of the year. Gen was freshly out of the bath, her hair starting to curl and bounce in the early summer wind. Her face was unbothered, her limp almost entirely gone and the more superficial of the bruises had disappeared. Her ribs only caused her pain when exerting herself at this juncture and when Alfie was around he made sure she did not. He’d fallen into the habit of treating her much like a child, but in his defense, she was acting much like one. Still prone to bouts of crying, sometimes with clear triggers and others not. The ones without were the hardest, she would sob and scrawl down that she didn’t know why she was so upset and Alfie was left to put on his all too frequently worn mask of indifference and guide her through it.

But this particular light and lovely morning was about to take a turn for the emotional for Genevieve. But in a much-welcomed way.

“Mr. Solomons, sir!” a maid that held his favor calls from the edge of the house. “Miss Durand has visitors!” she shouts with a bright smile.

“Don’t know why she’s bloody smilin’. Told her no one was to see you.” he grumbles, bringing Genevieve around slowly as her glazed eyes looked up at him, silhouetted by sunrays. The red in his hair and beard was standing out in the sun, his freckles coming in across his nose and the tight trim on his beard and hair showing off all the handsome planes of his face. She smiles up at him and hums, still medicated and not speaking except for the occasional vocalizations of happiness or upset. “Take her to her room.” he orders gently, a hand rubbing over Gen’s fluffy mane before another maid chirps and takes her arm. “I’ll be with you in a bit, love.” he calls out and she gives him a slow nod before turning back to the maid who says something to make her smile. At least she was doing that again. “Who the fuck is here? I told ya no visitors.” he mutters with a low brow at the young woman.

“I knew you’d want her to see these visitors.” she keeps the same broad grin on her face, practically beaming at him.

“Why are you so fuckin’ happy? Has the savior returned?” he snorts and chuckles.

“They’re waiting for you in your study.”

“Least they got fuckin’ manners. Tells me it’s not the bloody Shelby’s” he grumbles to himself. His footsteps are heavy and none too happy to be making the trip down the hallway. He hated surprises. Someone coming and demanding they see him without prior invitation or forewarning, who did they think they were?

“Fuck me.” he says with a mouth wide open, revealing Altar and Alma standing and chatting in front of his desk. “Forgive the language Miss Lafitte, I am... ya bloody well surprised the old boy.” he laughs with a shake of his head.

“No offense taken. I rather miss the sort of fellow that would curse in front of a lady.” she smiles and reaches out to take his hand and sighs heavily before patting his cheek and kissing it just as lightly and sweetly. She smelled like flowers just like her daughter.

“You’re looking mighty well for what you’ve gone through, lad!” Altar booms with a big hug and pat the back for him that he swears pops a few things.

“Well I’ve got to keep up appearances, innit I?” she shrugs. “What on earth brings you here? Or HOW I should ask in your case, Miss Lafitte.”

“It’s Alma. I’ll be your mother some day. Almost was a lot sooner if the devil hadn’t intervened I hear.”

“Yes, ma’am. She disappeared the night I was set to ask her.”

“Shame, that.” she shakes her head. “But you found her. You brought her home.” she coos and hugs his neck tightly.

“Yes ma’am I did. Just as I promised.”

“He’s a man of his word Alma. No need to worry about Solomons.” Altar gives an approving nod.

“Might I see her? Is she well enough to see me?” Alma's wide eys inquire.

“I wouldn’t keep you from her even if she weren’t.” he replies happily. “She’s going to cry, fair wairing to ya, love, she’s very emotional already, poor little bird. But she’s been doin’ well this mornin’. And she innit speakin’ yet, throat got damaged the doctors say,” he informs with polite and a quick catching up as he walks her to the door.

“I’d like to see her as well, of course.” Altar smiles.

“‘Course. Best one at a time. Let the lady first then you file in once she’s certain she’s real ‘n that.”

“Real?” Alma asks with a high inflection.

“The medicine she’s on can make her hear and see that what aren’t there. None of it this mornin’ so far, it comes and goes.” he waters down the truth and Altar can sense it but Alma is just so excited to see her daughter she overlooks it.

Genevieve sits perched in front of her vanity, a silver brush in her hand, slowly dragging through her hair. The glow of the Morphine causing her to overlook the last of the bruises on her arms, the high neck of the gown covering those left underneath. Her hair now to her waist she watches it bounce with its natural curl as she releases it.

Alma, the giver of that hair stands in the doorway as Alfie files in first, catching her attention with a loud and happy signal of her name. “Genevieve my love you have visitors.” He calls out and she sets the brush down slowly, turning towards him with a small smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth and half-lidded eyes of contentment in her druggy fog. “It’s someone you haven’t seen in a very long time.” He warns her and he sees her eyes shift, an inkling of curiosity piqued and he sighs with relief. “Are you listening, love?” He asks just to be sure and she nods slowly. “Genny love... your mum is here.” He states while maintaining eye contact to see it sink in.

Her eyes go wide and she reaches up to grasp his forearms which were holding her shoulders. “Muh?” She manages and he feels her shake.

“Yes, love can ya-?” He begins to make sure she can handle such excitement. But she catches sight of her and much to his surprise stands and shoves him out of the way to get to her. The entire showing was rather impressive.

She can’t speak but she cries, oh does she cry. Until her eyes are as red as the sun and dry as the desert, she cries. She makes an awful sound trying to form words as she rushes towards her mother and collapses into her arms, sobbing and wailing.

“There my beautiful girl, let me look at you! It’s been too long little Lily, yes?” She holds her now red and splotchy face as Genieve blubbers, but Alma pays no mind and kisses every bit of her face, telling her how she was more beautiful now that she was grown than she ever had been before. The I love you's begin, Genevieve a weeping child in the embrace of her mother as she directs her to the couch in front of the fire. She shooshes her and cries herself, whispering only sweetness and praise, kissing her daughters dizzy head as she cries softly in her bosom like a baby.

Altar sneaks in after the initial explosion. Moving over to Alfie who stayed back on the other side of the room at her vanity watching the display. He didn’t think the reunion would’ve gone down much differently if she’d been herself.

“I wanted to thank you, Alfie. For handling all this.” Altar gives him a nod and a pat to the back.

“It’s all part of the life innit?” He responds, keeping an eye on her to make sure she was still okay.

“I hear you’re back at work already?”

“Yeah I had to, ya understand. I was going crazy here, worrying about her constantly. Had to keep fings togetha for both of us now. So I just work until the afternoon hours and come home before tea. Off on Shabbat and that.” He explains with the same low tone Altar speaks.

“So she is well enough to leave?” The concern in his voice evident.

“With the girls here yes. If she were on her own, no. I’ll be honest with ya Altar this is going far better than I thought it would.”

“So she's been worse? And I would appreciate honesty. I need to know what future we’re looking at here.”

“She’s been much worse." a flat delivery that tells altar all he needs to know. "Glad you caught her on an up day. She’s been very emotional, all over the place. Nightmares of course, can’t bring up what happened or she cries. She talks to herself, or rather mouths and chases after children what aren’t there. I’ve been told that most likely the medicine though. Morphine. Nasty stuff, yeah? Still too soon to know the long term effects on her mind. Needs the medicine for the pain, but it keeps us from knowin’ the state of her. It’s frustratin' I’ll admit.”

“And I thank you for not running. To speak candidly. Our lives are hard enough without adding...things like this to them.”

“I innit runnin'.” Alfie swings his head. “As long as I have hope she can be herself again some day I’m stayin’. And she is makin' progress. Small but... it’s there.” He groans.

“And I was told you were known for your lies.” Altar grins.

“Nah mate. I tell the truth. Just people don’t know how to listen to me words yeah? I’ll tell 'em what’s goin' down right? But it’s up to them to interpret it. I never make no promises in business. Only contracts and agreements. None of that whimsical horse shite.”  He mutters,

Altar chuckles. “I do hope she is herself again. And that it finds you in  good time. These things... the mind... all very tricky.”

“That it is.”

“Her brother reacted similarly after the war.”

“George is it? She told me 'bout him.”

“They were close growing up. She helped him, believed in him. Patience was key.”

“It is in most fings.”

“Yes. It is.” He laments, knowing the road was still unclear on the horizon for his niece. “Thank you for your candor Alfie. I only have second-hand information and hearing to from you is more than reassuring for an old man I’ll have you know.”

“So you know what happened?”

“I know she was taken from her home and held captive for almost 4 days by Horne. That he was killed in a shoot out and now she’s at home.”

“I can tell ya more.” He offers with a frown.

“Do I want to know?” Altars broad mouth forms a tight line.

“Would you rather know the truth or hear people talk like I have? Because I’ve been well miffed 'bout what I’ve been hearin’.” He replies with clear anger on his voice.

“Then yes, please tell me.”

—-

“Your house is so lovely Genevieve. Just like the drawings you used to keep as a girl, yes?” Her mother coos, Gen now only having the hiccups that sent pain in her chest every time as she recovered from the tears. “...and your hair has gotten so long.” She strokes it back. “And the man you have chosen is a proud Jewish one. One that sought me out after you were taken. He speaks of you with such passion, cheri. I am so proud of your choice. And you were working towards your bat mitzvah I heard as well? You are becoming everything I could’ve dreamed for you, my darling girl. Your mum is so proud. You’ve come so far haven’t you?” She continues her string of praise, Gen now nuzzling into her mother lap and feeling rather sleepy. Alma strokes the hair back from her daughters face just as she had as a child, the other hand gentle on her back where she rubs small circles just like she used to, to calm her. She could sense her spirit was a bit lost and desperately needed the comfort.

When she was young and took to her fits of crying she would throw herself around dramatically, making grand sweeping statements of woe and agony. There were no words this time, but she felt the same raw wildness when she looked into her wounded daughter's eyes. She had never been a stranger to the dramatic, but Alma hadn’t minded. It reminded her of her mother, of that power in getting swept away by her emotions. She felt so deeply and completely she could live no other way, and those around her would either be drowned in love or burned by hate depending on her mood, It seems Genevieve was just as sensitive a soul as her bubbie had been. For the line of work her daughter had chosen to go in, the true line of work and not Abeille, she wondered how she managed. Perhaps much like Alma, she locked parts of herself away to cope. That’s what she’d done being with George. But at least her daughter had a man with a sound mind of her choosing, a rare and heartwarming thing for a mother to know.

“I haven’t seen her so quiet and still in weeks.” Alfie states, walking over to Alma who was looking down at her contently.

“Sometimes a girl needs her mother,” she answers softly, leaning to look upon her face. “I see she has finally fallen asleep.” she lets out a huff of a laugh. “Just like when she was a child.” she sighs happily. “Circles on her back, gently stroke her face and hair, tell her all the praise she deserves. She’ll always come back to you.” she looks up at Alfie with pinked eyes from the shared tears.

“Good to know.” he thanks with a nod. “Would you like anythin'? We can move her to the bed if you need.”

“No, no. I’m staying close the whole time I’m here. Some tea by the fire sounds lovely though.” she announces reaching out and patting his hand that rests on the couch arm. “Bring us all some, would you? We need to discuss some things.” she speaks with a still kind face but a more purposeful tone.

“‘Course Miss.” he nods and gives Altar one as well as he heads over to the couch and Alfie goes to fetch tea.

-----

With the Aggie reunion with Alma already passed before Alfie even saw her into Gens room, the older woman kisses her head as she hands her her tea she still takes the same way after all these years. Alfie settles in with Gen’s mother and uncle in the set of chairs in front of the fire. Gen was laid out with her legs in Altars lap, her head in her mothers as Alfie takes the armchair to the matching pink hued set.

“I suppose the best place to start would be why we arrived together.”

“I was more than curious, yeah?” He responds with a smirk.

“I’ve moved out of George’s house.” She speaks with the same decisiveness that he misses from the childlike woman in her arms.

The surprise on Alfies face is clear.

“Yes, I made the same expression when she showed up at my door.” Altar snorts.

“After you came by, I had to reevaluate some things. Perhaps I’d been in denial about how one-day things would work out. But time kept passing, my children kept growing and changing and I was not around to see it as I would like. I had to do something. Seeing the poor condition of George in the face of real danger, his own most trusted servant betraying him and the watching and infiltrating of our estate, I saw the end was closer than I anticipated.” She delivers plainly and without drama, her hands still loving on her daughter. “I’m at the point now where I knew what I could lose or what could happen to me was lesser than what I’d suffer if I went on without my most wild daughter. Knowing she was fighting to become everything I always wanted for her… I would be damned if I’d miss her wedding, the birth of a child, being able to be at her side during something like this.” She sighs deeply. “My little wildflower.” She strokes her face lovingly and Altar gives a soft smile, reaching out and patting his sister's arm. “She was always so rebellious. I see that was not passing phase for her now. It is who she is and I could not be more proud of her for sticking to her true self.”

“It’s something you never got a chance to do, little one.” Altar says with an affectionate and soft tone he reserved for speaking to the women in his life. “There is so much more Lafitte in her than any of your other children. She’s so much of you sister, she had no choice but to follow her heart did she?” He smirks and gives her cheek and soft pinch and she smiles in return. “This one was just as wild in her youth. Don’t let that Christian repression they beat into her fool you.” Altar chuckles after wagging a finger Alfie's way.

“I cannot and will not make an argument I cannot win.” She grins to herself, another forlorn sigh as she dotes on the sleeping woman in her arms.

“Wish Genevieve had taken after you on ‘at.” Alfie jokes and it makes Altar laugh out loud.

“She is more rebellious for the sake of drama. She is a theatre in and of herself that Lily. I knew it the moment I first held her.” Altar reminisces.

“She always had a taste for it.” Alma murmurs with fond memories playing behind her soft eyes.

“Hasn’t changed a bit.” Alfie reaches over and gives Gens chin a squeeze. “Will you be living with Altar now? If you mind my asking.”

“Not at all, cheri, yes I will. He has plenty of room, and dare I say he could use the feminine influence.”

“They say a man is not complete without one.” He teases. “And what of you Solomons?” He turns a strong face his way. “Do you still have the same intentions with our Genevieve? Even now?”

“Same as ever.” Alfie announces with confidence. “Only in ritual is she not mine, she is in ‘ere ‘n ‘ere.” He points to his temple and chest. “I almost went bloody' mad when she first got home. Watchin' over her. I was bloody scared is what I was. I don’t wanna lose that one.”  He points and sighs. “I love that hellion. That little Lily of yours. And once she’s better. Once this awful process is behind us I will make her my wife. Same intention as ever. I’m here for her now and always. As I said, only in formality is she not mine. In my eyes.”

“That is a relief to hear.” Alma admits. “I admittedly was concerned when I heard about the state of her. Most men would leave.”

“I am no coward to a challenge. And ‘ats what ‘is is. I like to think she would do the same for me. Fuckin' ‘ell she has to a degree if you must know. Gettin’ shot, negotiations behind me back to keep me alive. She’s a proper little nurse, that one.” He looks at her with fondness, perhaps needing to be reminded of all she had done for him after such a rough spell as they were in.

“She never did shy from the blood and violence as a child. Never phased her. Just fetching boiling water and flannels when the boys would come in hurt.” Alma shares with a gentle expression.

“Always been fearless, that one. Suspect that’s how she came to be here. Like this. But it’s also what kept her alive. I have no doubt.” Altar gives her small ankles a pat.

“A lesser man would’ve caved and perished.” Alfie agrees with a hard expression.

“Little fighter.” Alma whispers, leaning down to give her a kiss to her fluffy head of curls. “Perhaps everything will turn for the better. One can only hope and pray. She’s never given up before, let’s hope that holds up this time around.” she looks to Alfie with sad eyes. “But I did want to thank you, for getting her back. For taking such severe and swift action against the person who did this.”

“As I told her, I would burn down the whole fuckin’ country for her. No one messes wif a Solomons. And she is. If ‘ats how they want to treat her then she is to me.”

“I approve of your retaliation.” Altar lets him know. “Not only from an uncle’s standpoint. But from a man who has had to make many of the same decisions. If they come for your heart, you go for their head. Take them out and leave him no choice. Can’t show weakness in this sort of life.”

“My sentiments exactly.” Alfie nods solemnly. “I went for his livelihood. All the businesses and properties in his name. Gone. But this one here...she’s the one what killed him.”

Altar beams proudly. “My little Lily.”

“As much as I hate the idea of her having to do that, I can only approve. Revenge is something so few women get on their abusers.”

“Time will come for us all, dear.” Altar gives her a supportive rub on her back. “Even little George will have his day. He’s busy digging his own grave so we don’t even have to do anything at this point.” he rolls his eyes.

“He’s been in decline for some time. Which is what I assumed brought him to act so swiftly towards our Geneieve. He needed an outlet for his anger at his own shortcomings. His selfishness is coming back to bite him. He doesn’t have the power or the money like he used to. Too many poor decisions. No one wants to work with him because all this is rumored among his peers. He’s a weak little man, now both physically and mentally. Used to he was a stout thing, but in his old age his black heart has made him decline so quickly.”

“Good.” Altar gruffs out. “Bastard deserves worse.”

Alma shrugs. “It is true. But time will come for him. And I leave it to the higher powers to decide now. I am taking my life into my own hands, on my own terms now. My darling here gave me that push to do so. I can’t imagine having to do it at such a young age with no experience.”

“Luckily she came to me.” Altar adds.

“So true.” Alma agrees. “And now I am as well.” her face is still a frown, but a hopeful glint in her eyes. “We won’t be staying long, I’m afraid. I don’t want word to get out that we’re staying here and have George do something moronic about it. But we will be only a phone call away. I know it was a chance coming here, people seeing or hearing, but…”

“She will be better for it. Thank you.” Alfie says reaching out and placing his hand over hers. “As you said. A girl needs her mum sometimes. And now she needs all the help she can get. I’ll be sure she knows you’re well, and with Altar when she’s a bit more herself. She’ll be happy to hear it. Expect letters.” he ends on a light-hearted note and giving her a charismatic smile.

“I expect many.” she beams in response, a gulp and giving his hand a squeeze. “I’m leaving you with my most precious belonging, Solomons.”

“And she is mine as well. Have no doubt. I will always do what I think is best for her, for us. Not only out of respect for you and our laws but as a man who loves her. Who understands her and wants her to thrive. I would never act against her interests. Be sound knowing I will do everythin' in my power to keep your little girl safe and healthy. Her wellbeing in mine now.”

“And you will let me know the moment the wedding planning begins. I must be involved.” she adds on a lighter note.

“Of course.” he smiles softly. “We would have it no other way.”

“I knew there would be little traditional about my daughter's life once she left, but if I still can’t help but have the same wants of tradition when it comes to her wedding. She already skipped the planner and chose her own groom.” she chuckles. “So amuse an old woman and let her be a good Jewish mother for the first time.” she grins.

“What old woman?” Alfie says with a smirk.

Altar laughs loud enough for Gen to stir before he reaches down to rub her back to soothe her. “Told you he was cheeky. Same as Lily. No wonder you found each other. A couple of charismatic to a fault little buggers.” he chuckles.

“Altar!” she scolds and shoots him a look.

“No, no. As usual he is right. Both stubborn as hell but we’ve got our humor.” Alfie confides.

“She gets both from you.” Alma side eyes Altar.

“Oh but if you were only honest with yourself sister.” he laughs. “Us birds of a feather. We will always find ourselves in others and flock together won’t we?”

“Even when we aren’t looking for one another. As in our case.” Alfie’s adds a touch of sentimentality.

“Like bubbie said, when you aren’t looking for it.” Alma begins as she knows Altar will continue.

“That’s when you find it.” Altar finishes with a charismatic grin.

Alfie recalls Gen saying something much of the same sentiment. One night on her wine, lips on his jaw and fingers in his beard. She was never looking for him, for love. But against all odds it found her. Disguised for so long as something else, trying to run from her and hide, she carried on. She said she would change nothing that brought her to him, that kept them together. He wonders if she would say the same after this was over. Would she still not regret finding him, falling in love with a man like him and letting more danger into her life? He wasn’t a praying man, but he did hope that she wouldn’t regret the path they were on together now. ‘As long as it leads me to you.’ she would say. He truly hoped that would still be the case.

-------

After tearful and grateful goodbyes, Gen remaining lucid and not embarrassing herself or Alfie while her family was there he was breathing easy for a lovely moment in time.

Gen felt a rush of energy within herself, unsure of how to elaborate on it or process it she finds herself restless. The excitement sending too many signals off in her brain for her to calm down hours after they’ve gone. With Alfie asleep in their bed, a soft mess of dark gingery hair and a still hard looking face even at rest she slowly creeps out and into the bathroom.

She looks at herself in the mirror, facing herself truly for what was the first time since the incident. She didn’t remember each mark or bruise, and she truly didn’t want to. She wanted to never remember. Recalling the feeling of Horne’s brain as her nails dug into it when she killed him was enough for her. If he deserved that he wasn’t worth remembering.

A soft snort comes from the bedroom, a welcome change of thought. She leans against the doorway, her temple to the gilded frame. The past weeks were a fog to her, but she did remember Alfie always being there. She sighs and hums with a contented feeling as she watches him. The noise surprises her after the fact. She hadn’t heard herself speak except for her own thoughts since she came to in the hospital. But she hadn’t really tried, only pushing out the first syllable to indicate the severity of her words. Another snore from Alfie’s full and chapped lips as he rubs his face into the pillow. The sun would be up soon and so would he, or as soon as he discovered she wasn’t there. She decides to thank him for his dedication during all this chaos. Full days she didn’t remember, spans of trauma she didn’t care to remember that were still locked away in her brain, only coming in dreams and unwanted, uncontrolled flashes at random times. The medicine had helped those it seemed. It kept her impassive, kept everything with a lovely fuzzy frame of numbness around it. It was how she preferred to exist. The pain was still too much, both the physical and the mental. The morphine was a calm sanctuary she could return to when she needed, when things started to feel sharp and edged, she could go back to the cozy comfort of numbness. The morphine was becoming her best weapon.

But in these wee morning hours, before Alfie had to get up to make the drive to London, she rubbed her throat and tried to clear it as she felt muscle control coming back with the first dose of morphine taunting her in the near future. Reminding her it’d been hours and they were due for another rendezvous. But with her control, she warms up her throat and tries to speak. By the hour Alfie should rise, she would give him something to show she was trying.

She tasted blood but she didn’t care. Her voice light and raspy, but there. An odd soreness to her tongue she’d never felt before, her neck ragged but functional. She sits on her throne of pillows in the big elaborate bed with her various accouterment of medicinal devices and tonics around her. She waits, the light from the sun filtering through slightly, soon to rouse the sleeping bear she gently stroked that lay next to her, sprawled on his stomach.

A deep, sleep-filled grunt escapes him and she smiles. Fingertips over his nose and temples, waking him more.

“Mmph.” he blubs out with flared nostrils. Alfie loved being up before everyone else, the feeling of getting a head start on every other lazy fucker who was still in bed. But the act of waking itself he was not a fan of. He hadn’t realized how integral Gen’s practice of waking him gently had helped ease him back into the plane of reality until he no longer had it. He’d awoken to a still woman next to him, sleeping through him getting ready most mornings. But he’d forgotten all that time in the dim light alone for a moment as he crawled from the shelter of sleep with the tickle of her fingertips on his skin. “Mmph?” he asks with a clear question.

Gen remains soft, covers pulled up over her to her stomach, nails now on his scalp.

“Mmph. Genny?” he asks while rubbing his eyes. “Ya should be asleep, love.” he mutters and tries to focus.

“Matin.” comes from her mouth and he almost misses it. Easier to speak for her than the English greeting, she whispers it to him, leaning closely.

With a stiff grunt, he raises his head up fast, a pop of his neck as he does so. “Wha-?” he mumbles, and rolls to her side, reaching out to take her hand into his, holding it in the warm spot where he’d slept. “Genny love what are you doin’?”

“Good...morning.” she forces out, a childish expression on her face, hoping for happiness and praise.

“Fuck me…” he whispers, sitting up and giving her a more focused expression. “Ya talkin’ again?” he questions with a deep throaty noise of approval, reaching over to cup her face.

“Good... morning... Alfie.” she says slowly.

“Oh, pet. Little French flower, my darlin’...” he coos at her, caught up in her wide eyes that met his and the subtle smile and closed eyes that nuzzled into his hand as he held her face. “Don’t ya be pushin’ yaself too much. Stubborn thing.” he grins and kisses her forehead. “Ya know I am weak for my name from your lips, love, don't be exploitin’ a man now.” he gives her a warm smile and kisses her cheek and she happily hums. A sound besides one of pain for the first time he recalled after touching her in such a way.

“Good morning... Alfie.” she says again, a rough delivery but her voice most certainly.

“It is, love. It is.” he says before giving her the most chaste and innocent of kisses that he feels her reciprocate. A brief moment in time where everything was light and hope-filled in his sleepy brain. Something he would think back on when her condition was questionable. This small moment that meant so much to them both. They both felt as one again. No matter how fleeting these moments could be.

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[lesbian-deadpool]

Rocky Raccoon

Y/N has created a chat.

Y/N has renamed the chat: Earths Mightiest Survivors

Y/N has added, Steve, Natasha, Bruce, Thor, Rocket, Okoye, Rhodey.

Y/N: Hey, so how are all of you on this fine day? :)

Okoye: What's wrong with her?

Natasha: This is her way of trying to cope with everything.

Y/N: I :) Am :) So :) Sad :)

Y/N: Ouch :) The :) Heartbreak :)

Steve: You know what makes me sad, Y/N?

Steve: The chat name!

Steve: THE CHAT NAME

Y/N: It may make you sad. But, hey, at least it's accurate :)

Bruce: She still has her sass I see.

Y/N: Hi Bruice, you know what I'm still wondering about? When you're gonna get off of your smart ass and GET TONY OUT OF SPACE

Thor: How do we even know he's still alive?

Y/N: GASP! THOR, HOW DARE YOU?!

Bruce: TAKE THOSE WORDS OUT OF YOUR MOUTH RIGHT NOW!

Thor: I'M SO SORRY. I'm just so sad.

Thor: I've lost, almost everything important to me. I just want you to be prepared for bad news if it comes. Which I dearly hope it does not.

Natasha: I've never seen Thor sad before.

Natasha: I don't like it.

Steve: No one does.

Bruce: It's breaking my heart.

Y/N: Ditto, to both of those.

Natasha: Take it back.

Natasha: Where's the receipt?

Natasha: I don't want sad Thor anymore.

Okoye: Quick someone make him happy.

Y/N: ON IT

Y/N: SQUIRREL TALK TO ME

Y/N: FUR BABY

Y/N: FLUFFY BOY

Y/N: What does Thor call you?

You: Oh yeah!

Y/N: RABBIT

Y/N: TALK TO ME RABBIT

Rocket: WHAT? WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT?!

Rocket: Why won't you just let me cry in peace?

Natasha: Hold on. How does he have a phone?

Bruce: He's from space, probably had one the whole time.

Natasha: Makes sense.

Okoye: Or he stole one.

Natasha: That makes more sense.

Y/N: Hi, Rocky Raccoon.

Rocket: It's Rocket.

Y/N: Rocky Raccoon.

Rocket: Rocket. AND I'M NOT A RACCOON

Natasha: Does he really not know he's a raccoon?

Steve: I don't think so.

Bruce: Well he is a TALKING raccoon, from SPACE, maybe he's never seen one before.

Okoye: I say we show him one.

Steve: No, that would be awful, and most likely scaring.

Natasha: Yes, that would be so awful.

Natasha: Let's do it.

Steve: Natasha! I thought better of you!

Natasha: Did you really?

Steve: No. No, I actually didn't.

Y/N: Rocky Raccoon.

Rocket: Rocket.

Y/N: Rocky Raccoon.

Rocket: Rocket!

Steve: What is she doing?

Natasha: I have no clue. But I am enjoying this immensely.

Okoye: Same here, I just made some popcorn.

Natasha: Cool, can I have some?

Okoye: Sure.

Bruce: What about me?

Okoye: No.

Bruce: What? Why?

Okoye: There's not enough.

Bruce: Oh, okay. Fine.

Thor: May I have some? I am so very depressed.

Okoye: Of course.

Bruce: WHAT

Bruce: I don't get any, but he does?

Bruce: I see how it is.

Okoye: Ugh! Fine, you can have some.

Bruce: YAY

Steve: How can any of you eat at a time like this?!

Okoye: Leave us alone, Steve.

Natasha: Yeah, this is how we grieve.

Thor: With delicious popped corn.

Bruce: And watching Y/N be weird.

Y/N: Rocky Raccoon.

Rocket: ROCKET!

Y/N: Rocky Raccoon checked into his room. Only to find Gideon's bible.

Rocket: What? Who the fuck is Gideon?

Y/N: But Rocky had come equipped with a gun. To shoot off the legs of his rival.

Rocky: Your leg's? Cause they soon will be, if you don't stop this shit.

Y/N: His rival it seems had broken his dreams. By stealing the girl of his fancy.

Y/N: Her name was Magill and she called herself Lil. But everyone knew her as Nancy.

Rocky: Who the fuck is that?!

Rocky: I don't know anyone called Magill, Lil, or Nancy, whatever the fuck her name is.

Natasha: Steves head's about to explode with the amount of swearing in this chat.

Steve: That's never gonna go away is it?

Thor: Never goNNA GIVE YOU UP

Bruce: Thor how do you know that?!

Natasha: I'm dyING.

Thor: Y/N taught me before I left for... Asgard...

Okoye: Is he alright?

Bruce: He's dissociating. He'll be fine in a minute.

Y/N: Now she and her man who called himself Dan. Were in the next room at the hoedown.

Rocket: Who in the hell is Dan?!

Y/N: Rocky burst in, and grinning a grin. He said, "Danny boy, this is a showdown".

Rocket: What the hell is she doing?

Steve: No clue.

Thor: Nor I.

Natasha: Wait! I do. And just let me tell you, it's amAZING.

Steve: Natasha you're enjoying this a bit too much.

Natasha: I am enjoying this the regular amount, Steven.

Bruce: Is she alright?

Steve: Probably not. We're all going a little crazy with grief.

Okoye: Not me bitch. I'm just the same old, Michonne.

Steve: Who?

Y/N: But Daniel was hot, he drew first and shot. And Rocky collapsed in the corner.

Y/N: Now the doctor came in stinking of gin. And proceeded to lie on the table.

Y/N: He said, "Rocky, you met your match".

Rocket: Do you wanna meet yours?

Thor: YeS FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT

Natasha: FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT

Okoye: Twenty on Y/N.

Bruce: Nah, no offence to Y/N, but Rocket would destroy her.

Natasha: Are you shitting me, Bruce? Y/N has kicked MY ass, the raccoon's no match for her.

Thor: I have to disagree with you, Lady Natasha. Have you seen Rabbits gun? She would be dead within a second.

Natasha: We NEVER said anything about weapons!

Okoye: Yeah, what are you? Some sort of monster?

Thor: No of course not.

Natasha: But I do guess they could have armour and equally matched weapons.

Steve: What?

Steve: NO

Steve: NO BETTING ON THEM. NO MAKING THEM FIGHT. NO CONSIDERING WHO WOULD WIN IN A FIGHT BETWEEN THEM. AND ESPECIALLY  NO GLADIATOR STYLE FIGHTING.

Natasha: Ooo, bolded, and italics, you are mad.

Steve: I'm not mad. Just disappointed.

Natasha: No not that, that's worse!

Thor: Not the eyebrows of disappointment! Anything but the eyebrows of disappointment!

Bruce: We're sorry, please forgive us.

Okoye: Why do I feel like I need this random white guy to be proud of me.

Bruce: That's the power of, Steve Rogers.

Natasha: Some may think it's his advanced EVERYTHING that makes him a superhero. But it's not. His true superpower is making you want him to be proud of you.

Natasha: It's a curse for everyone who's not him.

Y/N: And Rocky said, "Doc, it's only a scratch. And I'll be better, I'll be better, Doc, as soon as I am able".

Rocket: I'll give you a scratch soon...

You: Now Rocky Raccoon, he fell back in his room. Only to find Gideon's bible.

Rocket: Once again, who the fuck is Gideon? WHO THE FUCK ARE ANY OF THESE PEOPLE?!

Y/N: Gideon checked out, and he left it no doubt. To help with good Rocky's revival.

Rocket: I hated every minute of that.

Bruce: Yes, yes. That was amazing.

Natasha: Standing ovation worthy.

Y/N: Thank you, thank you. I perform to make people happy.

Thor: So entertaining.

Rocket: You bastard.

Okoye: Gotta love me a free performance, however, where is the tip jar? My black card's gotta go somewhere.

Rocket: I fucking hate you all.

Rocket has left the chat.

Thor: Oh, no rabbit.

Thor: :(

Steve: See, look you made our new friend sad.

Natasha: I doubt that. I just taught him how to use YouTube, now he's humming along to it.

Natasha: Btw Steve. Better student than you.

Steve: I'm gonna go ahead and ignore that.

Steve: Y/N?

Y/N: Hmm?

Steve: What the hell was that?

Y/N: Rocky Raccoon?

Y/N: The Beatles?

Steve: ???

Y/N: You don't know The Beatles?!

Steve: I've heard of them.

Y/N: But you never listened?

Steve: No?

Y/N: DISGUSTING. YOU DIRTY HEATHEN SINNER.

Y/N: You've been in the modern world now for what? Six years? And it never occurred to you once, to listen to The Beatles?!

Y/N: I'm disappointed in you, Steven.

Steve: What?

Natasha: Oh, no. That's so much worse than Steve's disappointment.

Thor: I pity you, Sir Steve.

Bruce: You know you've done something awful if Y/N is disappointed in you.

Okoye: I don't even know who she is, and I know that.

Natasha: Just out of curiosity. Are you ever gonna do that again? Cause I loved that. A lot.

Y/N: Yes. I have one for everybody.

Bruce: Do Tony's. I miss his presence in this chat.

Y/N: Yeah, sure. I have more than one for Tony.

Steve: Wait. Why does Tony get more than one?

Natasha: Someone's jealous they only got a beard in the divorce.

Steve: What?

Bruce: You say that a lot.

Steve: That's because I am in a constant state of confusion, thanks to all of you.

Natasha: You're welcome.

Steve: That wasn't a compliment.

Natasha: But still...

Bruce: No wait. Do Tony's later. I remembered his face, and I need to go cry.

Bruce: Again.

Bruce: Bye.

Bruce has left the chat.

Steve: Poor guy.

Y/N: Speaking of leaving the chat.

Y/N: Steve, piss off, and go listen to The Beatles. Now.

Steve: ... okay.

Steve has left the chat.

Y/N: Thor would you please join him?

Thor: Of course. I am quite excited.

Thor has left the chat.

Y/N: At least he's happy.

Natasha: At the expense of Bruce crying?

Y/N: You win some you lose some.

Y/N: But in all honesty. It turned out better than I originally planned. I would have made you all cry if it meant Thor was happy.

Natasha: I see, and I wholly agree.

Okoye: That man is a giant puppy, and needs to be protected at all costs. If it came to it, I would sacrifice all of you for him in a heartbeat.

Y/N: Omg, thank you for the compliment.

Natasha: That is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.

Y/N: I'm gonna go watch Thor be happy now, and force Steve to listen to the best songs.

Y/N: Deuces!

Natasha: Bye, Y/N.

Okoye: Bye.

Y/N has left the chat.

Natasha: That song really made me want some gin, I'm gonna go find some.

Okoye: Oh, count me in!

Natasha has left the chat.

Okoye has left the chat.

Rhodey: You add me to this chat

Rhodey: While I'm passed out after crying over Tony.

Rhodey: An hour I was asleep. AN HOUR!

Rhodey: I LEFT YOU ALONE FOR AN HOUR!

Rhodey: And you do this shit?!

Rhodey has left the chat.

Rhodey has joined the chat.

Rhodey: Also, Y/N would totally kick Rocket's ass.

Rhodey has left the chat.

Wade has joined the chat.

Wade has added, Loki.

Wade: Don't act like you're dead you little shit.

Wade has added, Scott.

Wade: Is you Skrull? Is you Loki?

Wade has added, Clint.

Wade: And what the fuck happened to you?

Wade: Oh, no wait! We can't find out till April! Like I can wait that long!

Wade: Bye bitches, see you then. I'm gonna go get ME some gin and tacos, and gorge myself into a food and alcohol-induced coma until April!

Wade has left the chat.

Clint: What was that?

Scott: No clue.

Loki: Your regular local dumbass is my guess.

Wade has joined the chat.

Wade: NO TALKING UNTIL ENDGAME, HOES!

Clint has been disconnected.

Scott has been disconnected.

Loki has been disconnected.

Wade: APRIL!

Wade: Also, did you know that the song, Rocky Raccoon, is what inspired the creation of our favourite homicidal furball.

Wade: The more you know, right?

Wade: anyway...

Wade: APRIL!

The chat has unexpectedly been disconnected.