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irmawrites · 6 months ago

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Sleeping with the enemy | One-Shot

Summary: your father, Gwayne Hightower, had always told you to beware of Davos Blackwood, son of one of your grandfather's most ardent haters. But when you meet him at a party years after graduating college, you can't help but think he's not so bad after all.

Rating: Explicit [18+], MDNI.

Pairing: modern!Davos Blackwood x Hightower!Reader (appearance isn’t specified, everyone is 18+ in this)

TW: smut with a tiny bit of plot, fingering, oral sex (m receiving), p in v sex, praising kink, unprotected sex, loss of virginity, dom/sub undertones, afab reader, not proofread.

Words count: 4393

Author’s note: Hi, everyone! This is my first time posting here, and I have to admit I'm a bit intimidated ahaha like a lot of people, I fell in love with Davos Blackwood's in episode three and ABSOLUTELY had to write this idea that's been on my mind for a while now.

I should probably mention that English is not my mother tongue, so please excuse my grammar mistakes!

Davos Blackwood had a bad reputation in your neighborhood, that much was true.

The rumors about him had started when you were still in college, something about red liquid smeared on the mirror in the boys' bathroom. A silly prank involving fake blood and strange theatrics to scare off a younger classmate that had perhaps gone too far. It was your own cousin Aemond who had found the fake crime scene just after the culprit had left, still licking his red-stained fingers. It caused quite a stir at the time, and he hadn't been seen on campus for at least two weeks. It may have been fake blood or just a tasteless joke, it was still inevitable that action would have to be taken.

It was Aeron Bracken in particular who had helped make these bizarre stories popular. He told anyone who would listen that Davos Blackwood was a deranged, violent madman. It was no secret that the two young men didn't get along. But no one expected things to get as bad as they did. There had been rumors in the hallways and whispers in the cafeteria, but that wasn't all. His car had been vandalized and marked with insults on several occasions. Even Gwayne Hightower, your father, had warned you.

A real witch hunt.

As far as you knew, however, the main target had remained unaffected by the situation, even toying with those who provoked him. In a way, he almost seemed to enjoy the wild, mysterious aura that all this fuss gave him.

You, for one, had never really believed it. After all, he didn't look like a bad guy, with his big, green eyes and permanently disheveled black hair. He seemed a little strange to you, a little off, but not enough to be considered a clear danger. But your opinion didn't matter much.

Nothing had ever destined the two of you to spend time together. His parents' company only did business with Rhaenyra's, refusing any ties and especially any agreements with the Hightowers. His father seemed to harbor a fierce hatred and boundless distrust of your family, apparently fearing that Otto's overweening ambition would lead him to overturn the order of succession established by Viserys himself and install his own grandson as sole ruler of the company.

And in your world, your parents had a bit more say in who you dated than they did for other people. You couldn't just go out with a guy because he seemed interesting, especially if he was the son of one of your grandfather's most ardent haters.

So you'd never spoken to each other in college, let alone at the lavish charity galas your family hosted.

Never, until that day.

"You like Iron Maiden?" a hoarse, unfamiliar voice said from behind you as you wrung the water out of your hair, "or is that your boyfriend's shirt?". The sun was high in the sky and you could feel the heat of its rays burning your exposed neck. The clear waters of the Targaryen family pool sparkled, and the garden echoed with the bursts of voices of those Aegon had invited to what should have been a casual gathering of the younger generation with ties to the Targaryen business.

You didn't think he'd invite Davos Blackwood, though.

"It's mine," you replied, giving the young man a mischievous smile, your fingers playing absentmindedly with the string that held the bottom of your swimsuit to your hip, "and yeah, it's one of my favorite bands actually." He seemed to take a moment to assess the situation, his eyes roaming up and down your body, an unreadable smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Never pegged you as a little rebel," he crossed his arms over his chest before continuing, "more of a model daughter." You knew he was toying with you, trying to tease you, but you were more than happy to play along.

Besides, you understood where the thought came from, you who were usually more used to short skirts and high heels than band shirts.

Mentally, you thanked Aegon for thinking of him. "Be careful, Blackwood," your voice sounded like a playful threat, "you might be surprised."

You were about to leave to return to the deck chairs, but it seemed that Davos wasn't quite finished with the conversation. "Wait," he ordered, taking your wrist between his broad fingers. Mechanically, you glanced around to make sure no one was watching. After all, the last thing you wanted was for someone to spy on your conversation with someone who still belonged to your grandfather's enemy side. "What is it?" it was your turn to cross your arms over your chest, your eyebrows furrowing as you waited for some kind of justification from him. It was clear he had something on his mind, but you just couldn't figure out what. "Do you want to come over to my place sometime?" he finally said, and you felt your breath catch somewhere between your throat and your lungs. "Why?" the question crossed your lips before you could even think about it.

You didn't know each other, had never spoken before, not to mention the fact that your families didn't approve of each other. You were tempted to agree, of course, because whether you liked it or not, you felt this kind of almost magnetic attraction pulling you together.

You'd have liked to think it was fate, but you knew it was just your love of danger and the forbidden.

His voice pulled you out of your thoughts again. "You seem like a pretty nice girl, and we obviously have the same taste in music," he replied, finally loosening his grip on your wrist, "we could watch a movie, get to know each other, something like that." The offer was tempting, the prospect of spending a little more time with him appealing, but even though you desperately wanted to say yes, you knew you couldn't. You had to be reasonable and listen to that little voice in your head that told you it all sounded like a terrible idea. But he seemed to sense your reluctance because he quickly added, "Don't worry, no one will know."

***

Davos’ room wasn't exactly what you'd call tidy. You noticed a half-full ashtray on the windowsill and a few empty cans on his desk. It was the opposite of your own bedroom, neatly decorated and perfectly organized. Your wardrobe drawers were a bit of an exception, but that didn't really matter.

Even so, you couldn't help but find it a little charming. The smell of his cologne in the air, the half-unraveled sheets, this was unmistakably him. It tasted risky and illicit, and it stirred something unfamiliar in the pit of your stomach. A reaction that no boy had ever managed to provoke in you.

"There's no denying it, vampires really are the best supernatural creatures," you muttered, sinking your teeth into the last slice of the half-cold pizza you'd ordered earlier. You were especially comfortable sitting cross-legged on his bed as the rain pounded against the windows and the end of the movie drew near on his computer screen. His parents were out of town for the week, on a business trip or something, providing you with an opportunity to finally meet away from prying eyes. He seemed quite comfortable too, with his leg pressed against yours and his hand wrapped around his soda cup, which he sipped absentmindedly. "I have to say, I never thought you'd be into movies like this," he told you after a few long seconds, a wry smile tugging at the corner of his lips, "given your looks, I thought you'd be more into romantic comedies or something." You held back an annoyed sigh.

"Like I said..." you finally replied, "you should beware of appearances."

They can be misleading sometimes, you kept to yourself.

It was true that you were usually a sweet, sensible girl, the ideal daughter who always smiled and never caused trouble. The pride and joy of your parents. But lately you had grown tired. Tired of following orders, of doing everything you were told without ever being able to listen to your heart. You were eager to get rid of this constant fear of disappointing your loved ones if you didn't live up to their expectations, and it seemed that life had given you the perfect opportunity to free yourself from all that.

"Is there something I should know?" the young man’s hand came to rest on the top of your thigh, his thumb delicately stroking the soft skin there, "some dark secret of yours, princess?". His almost mocking tone and the annoying nickname were enough to bring back that scorching heat in the pit of your stomach. The way he looked at you, at your breasts, made you think that he was affected by this sudden closeness, too. His gaze burned, almost as much as his fingers, which were now creeping dangerously up the hem of your shorts. And when you felt them graze the lace of your underwear in the hollow where your leg and hip met, you thought that maybe, just maybe, you'd bitten off more than you could chew.

But even though you were entering unfamiliar territory, something foreign to you, you refused to lose control and let him take what he wanted without saying a word. This wasn't your style. You always had a witty comeback ready to go. And you were going to show him.

Slowly, you moved forward a few inches on the bed to sit astride his very inviting lap, never taking your eyes off his lips. Your hands found his shoulders, and you could feel the hardness of his desire beneath your thighs. Gods, the sensation was divine. This was your doing. You and no one else’s. The sudden surge of power and dominance made your head spin. "Be very careful what you do now," his fingers settled on your hips to bring your chests a little closer together, his grip tight and bruising. "Or what?" you replied in an almost insolent, even provocative tone.

"Or we could end up doing something you might regret."

This was all a very bad idea, that much was true. Davos Blackwood was a very bad idea. But you didn't want to dwell on what the future might hold, let alone the potential consequences of your actions. All you knew was that you wanted more. More of his hands on your skin, more of his lips on yours, and more of him.

And it seemed that he, too, was eager to take it further.

His fingers made their way up from your waist to your chest, slipping under your tank top to brush his thumbs over the two little hardened buds. The ghost of a touch, really, but it was enough to make you moan. Your mouths were now just a few inches apart, your breaths mingling, but you didn't want to kiss him yet, choosing to prolong this delicious, exhilarating tension for a few minutes longer.

"Do you have any idea what you're doing to me?" he asked, his voice hoarse with desire. "Do you feel it?". He backed up his words with action, rolling his hips and planting a kiss right at the corner of your jaw. "You know what this is?" he added, rolling one of your nipples between his index finger and thumb, "what happens to a man when a woman behaves the way you do?". Of course I know, you wanted to say but the words stuck in your throat and only a moan managed to break through the barrier of your lips. You weren't stupid, you were perfectly aware of what happened in this kind of situation. But you'd never seen it, let alone touched it, and the theory was very different from the actual reality.

"Shut up," you replied at last, before planting a kiss on his lips. You didn't mean it, though. To be honest, you wished he would talk to you like that all night long, sending a wave of heat straight to your core with words alone. His tongue found yours, silencing your thoughts, and you wrapped your arms around his neck to keep from losing your footing. "Such a foul mouth," he said, smiling against your lips as he gave you time to breathe, "we'll see if you're still so talkative once I'm done with you."

The young man's hands found the bottom of your tank top and pulled it over your head, and soon it was your shorts that suffered the same fate, leaving you in nothing but your black lace panties. You suddenly felt exposed, lying there under that hungry gaze that regarded you like a precious gift, a prized possession. You waited eagerly for his next move.

Where was the bold young woman who had taken the lead just a few minutes earlier, the one so determined not to lose control? It seemed like she'd already vanished, replaced by some shy creature beneath his crude words and inappropriate touch.

"What are you going to do to me?" you tilted your head to the side to give him better access to the skin of your neck, which he was kissing with increasing fervor. "Nothing you won't like," he replied as he stood up to get rid of his t-shirt, which joined the pile of clothes at the foot of the bed. Your eyes couldn't help but wander over his toned torso dotted with dark hairs, your hands itching to touch him.

Soon enough, his lips found your jaw, then your neck, then the top of your chest, and you immediately shivered. The weight of his body lying on yours was delightful, comforting. "Please..." you whimpered as your hands settled on his shoulders, urging him to give you what you were so desperate for. You felt his fingers slide slowly against the skin of your belly, then lower, much lower, to play with the lace of your underwear, and your back arched almost reflexively. You wanted more, you needed more, and you were getting tired of waiting.

"Be patient, princess," he said, nibbling on the soft skin of your breast, his mouth soon wrapping around your hardened nipple. A grunt escaped you, and you weren't quite sure if it was from your frustration or the dominant tone he had just used. His hand slipped under the fabric of your panties to tease the top of your slit before brushing over your already soaked folds. It was annoying, really, the effect he was having on you with such a light touch. But it was heavenly, and you had decided to ignore the voice of reason for the night.

His index finger found the little pearl nestled at the apex of your center, and the contact felt like a delicious electric shock. You threw your head back, eyes closing, lips parting in a silent cry as he drew little circles around your most sensitive area. "Have you ever had anyone here?" he asked after a few seconds. When you didn't answer, he added: "I asked you a question, and I want you to answer me." There it was again, his commanding, almost controlling tone.

"N... no," you stammered as you opened your eyes again to meet his, "nobody." You suddenly felt like prey under his hungry gaze that devoured your trembling body. "Perfect," you heard, just before his fingers found your entrance, which was already clenching around nothing, "and here?".

The idea of being the first to enter you seemed to obsess him.

You nodded, this time from left to right, signifying that no, you had saved your virginity for the right man, the one who would know how to make you tremble under his ministrations, the one who would know how to make you beg for more, always more.

"Perfect," he repeated again, as the first knuckle of his index finger sank agonizingly slowly into you, teasing your inner walls. It was barely there, nothing really, and yet you already felt incredibly full. "You're so tight," he growled against the skin of your throat, "so warm too, you're going to feel amazing around me." He added a second knuckle and soon his finger was completely buried inside you. It felt good, and it felt right, but it didn't feel like enough. You wiggled your hips and it seemed as if Davos had understood your silent request immediately. "I need you to take another," he straightened on his left elbow to look at you with lust-blown pupils, "do you think you can do that for me?". Once again, you nodded your head in agreement, but this time it didn't seem to be enough for him. "Use your words, princess." You fought the urge to roll your eyes. "I... I can take more," you murmured right against his lips as you looked down between your thighs.

"Good girl," he said, his voice low and rough as you felt his middle finger pressing into you. He curled them both, brushing that spongy spot against your inner wall, and you threw your head back.

You dug your nails into his pale skin to stay anchored in the present as his thumb found your clit. But you knew you wouldn't last long. You could already feel tingles of pleasure buzzing through your body, and in the pit of your belly, the fires of delight burned a little more fiercely. You wanted to warn him, to tell him you were close, but he was quicker than you: "Come for me."

He didn't need to tell you a second time.

Soon, the wave of your orgasm washed over you.

It made your whole body shake with spasms, your climax exploding like fireworks behind your eyelids. Your lips crashed against his neck to stifle your final moan as your back arched under the intense sensation. The young man was merciful enough to give you a few seconds to recover before withdrawing his fingers, leaving you empty and frustrated. "Look at the mess you made," you heard him groan, "clean it up." His index and middle fingers brushed across your lips, which parted eagerly to welcome them into your warm mouth.

You timidly wrapped your tongue around them under his predatory gaze. The mere thought that you could taste yourself on your taste buds set your body on fire once again. It was indecent, inappropriate, and you probably should have been ashamed to be used like this, but you couldn't care less.

Maybe it was his fault, or maybe you'd just found each other despite everything that kept you apart.

His fingers left your mouth to wrap around your neck. But as he lay back on the mattress and guided you towards his lips, you resisted. Once again, you straddled his hips, only this time completely naked. He looked at you for a few seconds, a little confused, until you reached under the elastic of his underwear to slide it down his legs. This seemed to make him realize the extent of your intentions. His hard member jumped free and caught your eye. Standing proud with a mass of dark curls adorning its base, the sight alone made you salivate. "Let me thank you," you said, as your fingers gently traced its length. "I want to make you feel good too." You slowly moved between his legs to kiss his inner thighs.

You reached out tentatively and wrapped your fingers around his manhood. It felt heavy in your hand, massive and your index finger couldn't quite touch your thumb because it was so wide. You brought your lips to his crotch and, watching Davos from beneath your long lashes, planted a quick kiss on the head where it was already weeping for you. Your tongue traced a vein on the underside without ever breaking eye contact. He threw his head back, his lips parted to let out a muffled curse.

The rush of power you felt when you saw him so vulnerable under your touch was sinfully delicious.

You tilted your head to the side to plant a series of kisses all along his hardened manhood, your big innocent eyes still locked with his. There was a pause, a few tense seconds, before finally, finally, you moved your head forward to take him fully into your mouth. His big hand found refuge at the back of your skull, and you let him guide you completely.

The grip on your hair tightened, almost to the point of pain. "Breathe, through your nose," the young man ordered, but his voice was more urgent than before, his breathing becoming ragged from the growing pleasure. "You can do better than that." The fingers buried in your locks soon forced you to swallow him whole, your nose pressed against his pelvis, the unruly hair tickling your face. You could feel yourself drooling around him, the action messy. "Such a filthy girl," he said as his thumb came to caress the corner of your mouth, right where his member disappeared between your lips, "sucking my cock like a real whore." You let out an audible moan around his length in response to the foulness of his words.

But instead of disgusting you, it only served to encourage you.

You hollowed out your cheeks, still following the rhythm of his hand, which had resumed its place at the back of your head. He was big, and he filled your mouth in a way you hadn't experienced before, but you wanted to prove to him that you could satisfy him, that you could make him proud. Tears formed at the corners of your eyes, which he hastily wiped away with the tip of his free thumb. "Shh... you're doing so well," he praised you in a reassuring tone. You knew he was close to reaching his climax. His breathing had become labored, his movements erratic, and it was evident that you were causing him to lose his balance. But it seemed he didn't want to end it that quickly.

"Wait, not yet," he straightened into a sitting position, placing his hand on your cheek to force you back a few inches, "I'd hate to waste it." The implication made your cheeks flush, but you couldn't help but look forward to what would come next.

His hands came to rest on your waist, encouraging you to sit on his hips again, this time making his still impossibly hard manhood brush against your soaked cunt. The contact alone was enough to elicit a moan from you. His own fingers wrapped around his member as he guided it towards your narrow entrance.

And after what felt like an eternity, he finally thrust into you.

He stretched you to perfection, the foreign sensation a mixture of delicious pain and aching pleasure. "Fuck princess, you're tight," your head found refuge in the hollow of his neck, but you could hear that annoying smirk in his voice, "I'm going to ruin you." And oh how you couldn't wait for him to make good on his threats. "Move," you pleaded against the skin of his throat as you hesitantly moved your hips up and down to get that delicious friction you craved. He seemed hell-bent on teaching you self-restraint, even though you desperately wanted to see him lose control. He grabbed your waist in a firm grip, keeping you pressed against his hips and making you whine. "Did I say you could move?" he asked, kissing the side of your jaw. Once again that night, you'd annoyed him by not answering, and he repeated, "did I say you could move?".

It seems he was also trying to make you learn obedience, in addition to patience.

You didn't even have a chance to react before the young man used his grip on your waist to pull back almost completely, revealing his member glistening with your sticky juices before thrusting himself into you once more. His head was rubbing against that most delicious spot inside you, making your legs tremble with pure bliss. "Please, I..." You didn't even know what you were asking for as he moved back and forth continuously. You thought he'd ask you to speak again, but he was too caught up in pleasure and close to his release to be bothered by your pleas.

But even if he'd lost his rhythm, it was clear he was still determined to satisfy you. His thumb was back on your little pearl, tracing small circles around it, while inside you his length relentlessly pounded against your inner wall. You could feel yourself clenching around him, and the heat between your thighs was back with a fiercer intensity than ever. “I’m going to fill you up,” his teeth nibbled at the soft skin of your neck, marking it possessively, “I’m going to fill you up and you’re going to take everything I’m going to give you, feel me for days.” The moans that came out of your mouth were now completely incoherent, a confused jumble of yes and please.

Your climax hit hard and fast—stronger than the one Davos had offered you earlier that night. You dug your nails into his shoulders, leaving red half-moons as evidence of your forbidden actions. Your back arched off the mattress, pressing his body against yours as reality slipped through your fingers and a myriad of stars danced behind your eyelids. He followed you just a few seconds later, pouring into you with white ropes.

He stayed inside you for a few more moments, his length softening. But neither of you felt like moving, not when you were so comfortable, lying against each other, your limbs tangled. He placed a tender kiss on your forehead that made your heart clench. You still refused to think about the future and the problems that might arise from such a strong connection between the two of you. All that mattered for the moment was his skin against yours and your fingers in his hair.

"We should do that again," you murmured as you kissed his cheeks, his chin, his nose, "someday."

He smiled.

"We will," he said with confidence, "I'll make sure of that, princess."

The nickname made your stomach flutter with excitement.

#davos blackwood #davos blackwood x reader #benjicot blackwood #benjicot blackwood x reader #hotd x reader #davos blackwood x you #benjicot blackwood x you #davos blackwood fanfic #benjicot blackwood fanfic #hotd fanfic

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storiesforallfandoms · 2 years ago

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he already has my approval ~ taron egerton

word count: 4393

request?: no

description: in which her dad keeps trying to set her up with her celebrity crush, who just so happens to be playing him in a biopic

pairing: taron egerton x female!reader

warnings: swearing

masterlist (one, two, three)

The first time I met Taron was on the red carpet for Kingsman: The Golden Circle, and it did not go as well as I had wished it would’ve.

I had seen the first movie in theaters when it came out and immediately developed a crush on Eggsy, and, in turn, on his actor Taron. When dad was offered a cameo in the sequel, I think I was more excited than he was. I begged dad basically every day to let me go to set with him, but I was in college at the time and neither of my dads would let me miss that much time to travel just to meet my celebrity crush. It felt unfair at the time, but they had a point in the long run.

When the day of the premiere came around, dad took me as his plus one to the red carpet. I was buzzing with excitement the entire day as dad’s stylists came in to help us get ready for the night, but the minute our ride pulled up to the red carpet my excitement turned to nervousness. There was no reason for me to be so nervous. I had been to huge events like this before, and of course I had met famous people plenty of times. But there was something about meeting my actual celebrity crush that made me feel like a high schooler who was about to go on her first date.

Dad introduced me to Taron, because of course he did. Fatherhood never changed who dad was, and he was shithead, cocky, lived to tease everyone in his life Elton John. I always knew it was a bad idea to tell dad about my crush on Taron, but I never regretted it more than when I heard him shout across the red carpet, “Taron, darling, come here!”

He looked like the most handsome man in the entire world dressed in his suit, his smile lighting up his face as he approached us. That moment was when I realized he was real. He wasn’t just a character on my screen; he was an actual real person. And now he was stood in front of me. So close that I could smell his cologne, and boy, did it ever smell good.

“Taron, I want you to meet my daughter (Y/N),” dad said, gesturing to me. I was still in such awe by his beauty that I almost forgot who I even was.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, (Y/N),” Taron said as he shook my hand. “Elton has spoke very highly of you.”

My brain was definitely short circuiting. Hearing him say my name was one thing, but then for him to also say that he’s heard a lot about me from dad also contributed to it. When I realized I was just stood there staring at him like an idiot, I felt embarrassment wash over me. I tried to force myself to say something, but it was like I completely forgot how to speak English.

“She’s a little shy because she has a crush on you.”

I turned to look at dad in disbelief. If there was a higher power, They would do me a favor and open up the floor to swallow me whole and take me away from this entire situation.

I made my escape before Taron could say anything. I turned away from the two of them and walked away as quickly as possible.

The memory haunted my nightmares for a while afterwards. Even after I managed to forget about it for the most part, the intrusive thought would pop into my mind from time to time just to make me cringe. I could barley ever watch Taron’s movies anymore without thinking about that moment, which was hard since I still had such a big crush on him.

A year later, I was on set with dad and papa for the movie papa was producing about dad. Papa was so excited, as he was making the movie as a gift to dad. Papa had complete creative freedom and dad was able to give as much input as he wanted. When filming started, the two of them wanted to bring me, Zachary, and Elijah on set to watch some of the filming. They hadn’t told me much about the movie just yet, but papa’s excitement was contagious enough that I was feeling it, too.

“We’re filming the Troubadour scene today,” papa was telling us. “Full 70s aesthetic. You guys are gonna feel like you were really there to see your dad’s first ever solo performance.”

“Do I get any 70s outfits once you guys are done filming?” I asked.

“Darling, you know we have a closet full of all my favorite outfits from those days,” dad said. “You’re free to go through it as you please. It’ll be the real deal, not some cheaply made replicas.”

“Hey! You’re the one who approved of Taron’s wardrobe!” papa said with a chuckle.

The mention of his name made me stop in my tracks. “Wait...whose wardrobe?”

Both of them looked at me, confused by my reaction. “Taron, honey,” papa said. “That’s who’s playing dad in the movie. You didn’t know that?”

Memories from the year before came rushing back. I could not see him again or else I may just turn into an embarrassment puddle at his feet. I especially couldn’t be here with dad and have a potential repeat of the situation.

As if reading my thoughts, dad walked up to me and gently took my hand in his. “Honey, it’s been a year. He’s not going to remember.”

“But what if he does?” I asked. “God, he probably thinks I’m crazy after our first encounter. I can’t watch the filming.”

“Hey, hey, calm down sweetheart,” papa said. “You’re working yourself up. It’s okay. If you feel uncomfortable you don’t have to watch, but I don’t think it’ll be as bad as you’re expecting.”

I took a couple deep breaths to calm myself down. I wanted to be there and support both of my dads on this project they were both so excited over. I knew they were right and Taron likely didn’t even remember our first encounter, but I still couldn’t shake this pre-embarrassment feeling about seeing him again.

I sucked it up and followed them to the Troubadour set. There were many extras dressed in 70s clothes standing around the stage. The general murmur of the crowd turned into an excited one as people began to notice dad walking onto the set. I couldn’t see Taron anywhere, but I did recognize Richard Madden talking to the movie’s director, Dex Fletcher. Zachary was tightly holding my hand, trying to hide behind me. I knew the crowd was likely making him nervous, so I squeezed his hand and picked him up.

“Lead actor walking the set!”

I felt my body tense as everyone turned to see Taron taking the stage. He was wearing a pair of white overalls and a navy blue shirt with silver stars. He had on a wig that looked like dad’s hair from this time period and a pair of thick framed glasses that matched his overalls. He looked really good, even if he was dressed as my dad.

It took my brain a moment to register that he was walking towards us. I felt the panic return, but I tried my best to play it cool.

“It’s like looking in a mirror,” dad said as he embraced Taron. “I still have this outfit I’m pretty sure. I was just telling (Y/N) that I still have all my favorite outfits back home going all the way back to this very first performance.”

At the mention of my name, Taron’s eyes landed on me. I tried not to crumple under his gaze, and kept the smile on my face.

“Hey,” Taron said. ��Good to see you again.”

“Good to see you, too,” I said, surprisingly myself with how confident i sounded.

“Who is this little guy?” Taron asked, referring to Zachary. The young boy buried his face in my neck, peaking one eye up at Taron.

“This is Zachary,” I said. “Z, this is Taron. Doesn’t he look like daddy?”

Taron struck a pose for Zachary, who seemed to warm up slightly but not a lot.

“What do you think, Elijah?” papa asked the youngest boy. “Do you think Taron looks like daddy?”

Elijah shook his head. “Daddy is old!”

We burst out into laughter as dad gave Elijah a mocked offended look. Elijah squealed as dad picked him up and began tickling his sides. Zachary was still a bit hesitant, but I could feel his body shaking as he chuckled in my arms.

“Come on, Rocket Man, we gotta start filming,” Dex called to Taron.

Taron made his way onto the set stage. Quiet was called and a hush fell over the room. The minute Dex called action, music filled the silence. One of dad’s songs, his least favorite yet one of his most popular ones, began to play. Except it wasn’t dad singing it, it was Taron’s voice. I was a little shocked to hear him singing instead of there being a backing track of dad’s music, but I had to admit he was an amazing singer. It was a fantastic choice they made. His singing voice was amazing and it made the movie have more of a fantastical musical vibe, instead of just a movie with dad’s voice dubbed over for the music.

I tried to get Zachary out of his shell more by dancing with him while the music was playing. We were not strangers to dad’s music. The three of us had seen dad perform on numerous occasions. I figured the familiarity of the music, plus the goofy dancing would definitely help with his nervousness. And I was right for the most part; Zachary came out of his nervous cocoon eventually and started dancing with me. By the time Dex called cut on the scene, Zachary felt comfortable enough to be put back down on to the floor and followed dad and papa to meet Jamie Bell, who was playing Uncle Bernie.

“Seems he enjoyed the show.”

I jumped at the sound of Taron’s voice so suddenly. He was laughing at my reaction as I turned back to him, my heart beating a million beats per second just having him so close to me.

“I think he just needed some time to warm up to being around so many people,” I said. “Usually when we go to dad’s shows we’re in a special VIP area where it’s just the three of us and papa, so he’s not used to so many people and so much attention being on him.”

“I get that. He’s only young. Doesn’t fully understand how well loved his dad is.”

“I don’t think I even fully understand it, and I’m in my mid 20s,” I said.

Taron chuckled and I couldn’t help but smile too. The realization of his realness was starting to wash over me again. He was actually here, stood in front of me, talking to me. He was a real person!

“Listen,” Taron said, “I wanted to talk about the first time we met.”

I felt my heart drop to my stomach. I tried not to let my embarrassment show too much. Maybe if I pretended I didn’t even remember, we could just move on from the entire situation and pretend like it never happened.

“I’m sorry it went the way that it did,” he continued. “I know you were embarrassed about what your dad said. I know Elton meant no harm, and he was just trying to tease you because...well, he’s Elton John, but it really wasn’t fair of him to say that to me when we were first meeting. I could tell by your face that that wasn’t exactly the way you wanted our first meeting to go.”

I was a little surprised by what he was saying. I don’t know why I was expecting for him to say something that would make the situation worse, like maybe calling me out on my crush and saying something about it. He seemed like a really nice guy, not the type to make someone feel bad. But I guess, after having an entire year to let that embarrassing moment stew, I just expected the worst if I ever met him again.

“I appreciate you saying that,” I said. “It definitely was not the way I wanted to meet the guy I had such a big crush on. I think dad expects stuff like that to wash over me like water off a duck’s back because of who he is and how many famous people I’ve met and am close to, but his status never makes those types of interactions easier. Again, especially when meeting someone that I was crushing so hard on.”

Taron was giving me a look that I wasn’t sure how to read at first. “Was?”

My brows furrowed together. “Hmm?”

“You said ‘someone I was crushing on’. As in you’re not anymore?”

I wasn’t sure why that was the part he was focusing on. I opened my mouth to respond, but Dex called to Taron again. Taron looked at me and winked behind the thick framed glasses before making his way back to set to start filming again. And it was with that wink that I could not handle anymore and finally had to sit myself down.

~~~~~~

I kept coming to set the next few weeks. At first it was only one day out of the week for a couple of hours, but soon enough I was tagging along with dad and papa every day. I tried to tell them it was because I was enjoying watching the movie being filmed, and getting to relive these big moments with dad, but they both knew that wasn’t the truth. They knew I was going because I wanted to see Taron.

We had gotten to talking a lot in between takes when I was on set. About everything and anything really. It started with just getting to know each other, but eventually it blossomed into talking about whatever was on our minds. Sometimes it was about the movie, sometimes it wasn’t. Either way, we just got to know one another. And eventually, my “celebrity crush” became a real one.

I knew my dads could see what was going on, but they didn’t bring it up. I figured that was mostly because of how my first interaction with Taron went and dad didn’t want to risk embarrassing me like that again. Which, I did appreciate. I felt like a friendship was being built with Taron and I didn’t want that to be risked with fatherly embarrassment to the extreme, even though I knew that wasn’t dad’s intentions.

One day, we walked on set and I was surprised to see Taron was nowhere in sight. Instead, we walked into a setup that looked like great grandma Ivy’s apartment that I had seen in plenty of dad’s baby pictures. There were three different actors than normal on set, one I recognized as Bryce Dallas Howard and one young boy I recognized to be dressed up the way dad had been when he was that age. I realized pretty quickly that today was probably mostly shooting scenes of flashbacks from dad’s childhood, which caused me to feel disappointed realizing that I likely wouldn’t be seeing Taron today.

I was sat in my usual seat (because yes, I had visited so often that I was given a seat with my name on it) watching the set up for the scene when dad came over and sat next to me, dramatically sighing as his body settled into the chair.

“These old bones can hardly sit down anymore,” he said.

I smiled at him. “Oh, please. You’re hardly that old, dad. Besides, we both know that after everything you’ve gone through, you’re going to outlive us all.”

“A man can only hope.” We laughed together. Dad put an arm around my shoulder and leaned into me. “Taron’s in his trailer, you know.”

“Oh?” I said, hoping I didn’t seem as excited by this information as I was. “He’s filming later on then?”

“Yeah, way later on this evening. David said that Taron showed up way earlier than he needed to claiming that he thought his call time was this morning, not this evening.” I raised an eyebrow at him, silently telling him to say whatever it was he was trying to say. “I don’t think that was the case, though.”

“Clearly.”

“I think he came here early hoping to see you.”

I scoffed and rolled my eyes. “I think you’re being a little ambitious there dad.”

“About as ambitious as I would be to say that you show up every day so you can see him, too?” When I didn’t respond to that, dad just laughed. “I see things, (Y/N). My eyes may be old, but they can still see things that no one else sees.”

“And what is it that you see with me and Taron?”

“I see a young man who is enamored by a young woman, and a young woman who feels the same way. I also see two cowards who are too afraid to confess their feelings to one another.”

I playfully nudged him with my elbow, to which he dramatically clutched his stomach and acted like I had shot him or something.

“I’m not saying that Taron feels anything for me,” I said, “because I don’t think he does. I think he’s just being friendly with someone that he considers to be a friend. But, if what you’re saying is right and he does have romantic interest in me, maybe the reason why he won’t admit it is because he’s too afraid to? I mean, my dad is Elton John after all. That’s a pretty big name to have as a potential father-in-law.”

“Hey now, I didn’t say anything about marrying you off to the man.” I smiled and shook my head. This really was just an every day thing with dad. He loved being a father, but I think he loved being a nuisance more than that. Papa always warned him he would regret that when Zachary, Elijah, and I started to pick up on his habits. “But both of you know that Taron has my approval if he does want to pursue you romantically. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have even been cast in this movie!”

“You cast him because he’s a good actor!”

“Oh, that was only part of it. The other part was so that you two could have a do-over with your meeting, since I ruined the last one.”

I put my head on dad’s shoulder. “You didn’t ruin it. You just embarrassed me beyond belief, but that’s what a father does.”

Dad gave me a small squeeze before pulling me away from him. “Go to his trailer. Have a few moments alone.”

“Give you a few grandkids?”

He pushed me away, which caused me to laugh hysterically.

“Darling, I may be old but I am certainly not that old,” he said. “And, again, I said I approve of him. Not that you two need to get married and pop out babies right away. Go on a few dates first, for the love of God.”

I stood from my chair, still laughing. Dad tried to glare at me, but he couldn’t. This was just our relationship.

I made my way out of the set before they started filming so that I wouldn’t be disrupting anything. All the trailers were grouped together in the lot, luckily with signs on them to label what or whose trailer they were. Taron’s was the furthest on the lot, with a theatrical gold star stuck to the door with his name on it. Part of me figured this was dad’s doing, but the other part of me would believe that it was Dex’s doing, too. Papa truly couldn’t have chosen a better director to capture dad’s personality and aesthetic than Dex.

My heart was pounding so loud that I thought Taron would hear it before I even knocked. I took a deep breath and pushed myself to knock before I got too nervous and ran away instead. There was a brief rustling in the trailer before the door opened, revealing Taron in a pair of black and gold hot pants, a gold jacket that was left unzipped so I could see his entire torso and chest, and heeled shoes with gold tips and gold wings on the side. I wasn’t sure where to look first. My eyes naturally lingered on his chest, his coarse chest hair a welcoming sight, but I couldn’t help but glance lower at his thighs in those hot pants, too. Not to mention the bulge -

“Shit,” Taron breathed, a panicked look in his eyes. “Sorry, uh, I didn’t expect...I thought it might’ve been someone from the set. I’m just...uh...”

“In costume, I would assume,” I said, trying to pretend like I was looking at his shoes and not another area lower on his body.

“Yeah,” he said. His face was starting to turn bright read. “It’s for a scene later on...way later on. I’m - I was early today, so they already put me through costume and makeup.” He cleared his throat and ran his hands through his hair. “Do you, um, do you want to come in?”

I nodded, unsure if I could even form any words. He stepped aside to let me into his trailer. He still looked flustered by my sudden appearance, which I thought was cute.

“Don’t be sorry, by the way,” I told him. “I don’t mind this eye full that I’m getting. Quite the opposite, really.”

That only made him more flustered, and I couldn’t help but smirk at that reaction.

“You’re a lot like your dad,” he commented. “He said something similar while we were filming Kingsman a few years ago.”

“We Furnish-Johns have good taste in men.”

I sat down on the couch of his trailer and he sat across from me. I tried not to be too obvious with my gawking, but it was hard not to look at him. God, was he ever attractive. And here he was, sat next to me, practically naked, and all flustered because I had caught him this way. I felt like I should be feeling a similar way, but knowing that I was the one who had made him feel that way just made me feel so cocky instead.

“I didn’t think you were on set today,” I told him. “I showed up and didn’t see you or Jamie or Richard.”

“We’re filming a couple smaller scenes later on to end the day. Dex wanted to film all of the flashback shots of your dad before he was Elton John today, just to get that out of the way.”

“You got here really early for that. It’s not even noon, and your scenes are this evening papa said.”

Taron shrugged. “I got the wrong call time.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “By over 12 hours?”

He shrugged again, but didn’t offer any further explanation.

I took a deep breath, once again willing that cockiness to stay long enough so that I could say what I wanted to say without losing my nerve. “Remember the first day on set where we talked about the first time we met, and you made a point of asking me about my crush on you.”

Taron nodded. “Yeah. You made it seem like you didn’t feel that way anymore.”

“Yeah, I did. Because I thought I would scare you away if I admitted that I did still like you that way.” I was moving towards him now, closing the already smaller space between us. “That I do still like you that way, if you get what I’m saying.”

We were so close that I could feel the heat radiating from his body. He was looking down at me in a way that I could only ever dream of having Taron Egerton look at me like. It was like the movies I had seen him in, except this was real life and the person he was looking at was actually me.

“I think I understand,” he said. “But just in case, is it okay if I do an experiment just to be sure?”

I giggled. “Yeah, that’s okay.”

He placed a finger under my chin and tilted my head back until I was looking up at him. He leaned forward at an agonizing pace before his lips finally pressed against mine. It felt like the entire world around us paused in that moment. I had to restrain myself from getting onto his lap and deepening the kiss, even though I wanted to so badly. I wanted to spend the next few hours in this trailer with him, not even letting him leave to go film. I wanted to be tangled up with him and never let him go ever again.

The kiss ended far too soon. When Taron pulled away, I tried to chase his lips to pull him back to me. He chuckled at my eagerness, allowing his lips to press against mine for a quick peck.

“Let me take you out before we get too hot and heavy,” he told me. “I want to take you on a proper date.”

“I guess we should do that before I jump your bones,” I teased. “But you do still have quite some time till your call time. If you’d like company while you wait, I wouldn’t mind staying here with you for a while. Especially if you’re going to be dressed like that the whole time.”

Taron’s face turned red again as he looked down at himself, almost like he forgot what he had been wearing. “Might be too tempting for you.”

“It definitely will be. But I will respect your virtue and not try to deflower you in your trailer.”

He buried his face in his hands. “Oh my God! What have I gotten myself into here?”

“Something pretty great, if you ask me.”

#taron egerton #taron egerton imagine #taron egerton x reader #rocketman #elton john #imagine #one shot #rpf #fanfiction #fanfic #fandom

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lomotunes2008 · 2 months ago

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Ok folks! Here's a list of every Kerr Stuart narrow gauge engine I could find!

It was a struggle (most of these had basically zero info on them other than very, very basic stuff) but I tried my best! I've also included photos of each just for fun ^_^

Tattoo:

1284 - Current location: Nam Tu Mine Railway

1288 - Current location: Nam Tu Mine Railway

2395 - Current location: Apedale Valley Railway

4047 - Current location: Talyllyn Railway

Winston 17 - Current location: Corris Railway

Unknown - Current location: Nam Tu Mine Railway

Skylark:

742 - Current location: Red Cliffs Railway

813/814/1360* - Current location: Mauritius

1281 - Current location: Pernambuco, Brazil

4389 - Current location: Alagoas, Brazil

Sirdar:

652 - Current location: Walvis Bay Station, Namibia

685 - Current location: Beaconsfield Heritage Centre

1158 - Current location: Amerton Railway

Wren:

1015 - Current location: Sao Paulo, Brazil

1194 - Current location: Santa Catarina, Brazil

2387 - Current location: Pattaya, Thailand

2388 - Current location: Falkland Islands

2392 - Current location: Falkland Islands

3114 - Current location: Vale of Rheidol Railway

3128 - Current location: Statfold Barn

4031 - Current location: Sandstone Steam Railway

4250 - Current location: Amerton Railway

4256 - Current location: Leighton Buzzard Railway

4260 - Current location: Leighton Buzzard Railway

Hunslet 3905 - Current location: Unknown

Hunslet 3906 - Current location: Kew Bridge

Brazil:

886 - Current location: Sittingbourne Railway

926 - Current location: Sittingbourne Railway

1049 - Current location: Great Whipsnade Railway

1179 - Current location: Santa Catarina, Brazil

1314 - Current location: Carribbean Islands

3024 - Current location: Cavan & Leitrim Railway

3025 - Current location: Private

4219 - Current location: Sittingbourne Railway

Hunslet 1842 - Current location: Statfold Barn

Hunslet 3756 - Current location: Statfold Barn

Hunslet 3902 - Current location: Stratford Barn

Darwin:

4063 - Current location: Sandstone Steam Railway

Joffre:

2405 - Current location: West Lancashire Railway

2442 - Current location: Richmond Light Railway

2451 - Current location: L&B Railway

3010 - Current location: Statfold Barn Railway

3014 - Current location: Apedale Railway

Unknown - Current location: A. Schweitzer Hospital

Haig:

3117 - Current location: Teifi Valley Railway

4183 - Current location: Western Springs Railway

4185 - Current location: Western Springs Railway

Huxley:

2383 - Current location: Nam Tu Mine Railway

4141 - Current location: Nam Tu Mine Railway

4393 - Current location: Nam Tu Mine Railway

Matary:

4034 - Current location: Great Whipsnade Railway

4193 - Current location: Alagoas, Brazil

4404 - Current location: Welshpool Railway

Unknown class:

98 - Current location: Pernambuco, Brazil

668 - Current location: Sao Paulo, Brazil

847 - Current location: Chennai, India

848 - Current location: Puri, India

928 - Current location: Sao Paulo, Brazil

1244 - Current location: Alagoas, Brazil

2417 - Current location: Pernambuco, Brazil

4077 - Current location: Antofagasta, Chile

4315 - Current location: Vizinagaram, India

4316 - Current location: Visakhapatnam, India

4408 - Current location: Visakhapatnam, India

Unknown - Current location: Oruro, Bolivia

*Unsure of works number. Numbers listed are speculative and may not be accurate.

Hope someone finds this useful :)

#ttte #thomas and friends #trains #real life trains #kerr stuart #ttte peter sam #fun fact: peter sam and luke from thomas and friends are based on the Kerr Stuart Tattoo and Wren designs respectively!#ttte luke #character lore #victorian #edwardian

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crackers4jenn · 12 days ago

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Title: what is a wave without the sea

Fandom: Blue Eye Samurai

Pairing: Mizu/Taigen

Word Count: 4393

Summary: “Your vengeance had to be all the way across the ocean,” he complains. “Stupid.”

He’s squeezing his eyes shut, probably fighting back the same churning of his stomach she is. It’s almost endearing, if Taigen was a man capable of being anything other than annoying.

“I didn’t ask you to come.”

“We had a deal.”

“I take it back. You’re not honorable. You’re an idiot—”

He scoffs. “I’m not the one on some boat to London to kill some—” Her eyes flare at him, and he catches the silent accusation: aren’t you? “You know what I mean! I’m only here because you are. You are the idiot that got us both on a boat.”

Listen, I just know in my bones Taigen is stowed away in some barrel on the same boat Mizu took. There's no way that man didn't stalk her across the ocean to settle their duel.

#blue eye samurai #writing in a new fandom is always so weird! might this story get zero kudos and hits? very likely! 😬#fic #mizu x taigen

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doahaesunshine · 2 months ago

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Chapter 8

Chapter WC: 4393

Tags

Idk man

Tristen Notes: Still on me Hoshi to Soonyoung Agenda

Master List | Prev | Next

I always knew when my friends were in pain. They were too afraid to talk to me, But I knew. Art is what healed us, We spoke through it And not a single word was needed.

The past month has been… interesting.

Every now and then you have been feeling these motes of emotion. You knew this was normal, everybody felt things , but this was different.

One evening, you enjoyed some time relaxing with your roommates. The energy in the room was high and the vibes had everything flowing comfortably. That night, Vernon was a little…off, to put it simply. Jihoon and Soonyoung were deep in conversation regarding spell components which you only listened to due to limited knowledge. Drowning out their voices, you let yourself focus on Vernon who had become quieter as the night progressed.

Overall, you were feeling good, you were happy and able to relax, however as you allowed your mind to focus on Vernon, you seemed to step into a shallow pit of sadness. The feeling itself wasn’t very intense, if anything the sadness was more shrouded in confusion and loneliness.

Vernon’s brows furrowed together, a prominent crease evident of the action on his forehead. The sadness has shifted into stress muddled with anxiety, leaving an unpleasant taste in your mouth. Part of you wished to take Vernon’s hand and let him know that everything would be alright, that whatever was plaguing his mind would work itself out and he didn’t need to worry so much.

A deep sigh resonated from Vernon as he looked up, smiling softly as he met your gaze. The moment he smiled the negativity was gone, he was content and worry-free. There must have been a moment of realization for him and it allowed him to sort out his emotions.

Another time after that, Soonyoung had been working on a ritual. He had mentioned something about Geomancy and how the ritual cast would help strengthen his bond with nature. Each time he attempted to perform the spell, it kept fizzling out and continued to fail for three days straight.

Emotions were high in the house, tension thick enough to cut with a knife because of how unhappy Soonyoung was with his spellwork. His fuse was immensely short and though he snapped at people, he apologized each time. The longer his frustration lasted, the more it bled into you. Your patience was stretched thin and being tested with each turn. An insignificant misunderstanding had caused you to explode and you made a harsh remark to Jihoon due to it.

The insult didn’t only affect Jihoon, but Soonyoung as well. He was within earshot of your comment and rushed into the room, a fire burning behind his eyes. Not long after, the simple misunderstanding had escalated into a screaming match. The irritation that had been growing within you made you want to cry, not to mention the outright hostility that spat between you three. Everything that was being said started to hurt a bit too much and all you wanted was for the arguing to stop.

“Okay! We’re getting nowhere! Soonyoung, stop being so fucking mad all the time! And Jihoon, I’m sorry! So can we please stop yelling at each other?!” You remembered shouting at them.

You let out a haggard breath, only to watch as Soonyoung’s and Jihoon’s expressions softened, the room no longer heavy with tension. For a moment you all stared at each other in confusion. Though awkward, you each managed to apologize and went separate ways for the rest of the day. By breakfast the next morning, it was as if nothing had happened. Soonyoung was boasting about his final attempt at the ritual being a success and Jihoon seemed to hold no grudge against you.

One night, you and Vernon were having your rather frequent balcony hangout and chat times when he brought up his emotional state.

“I don’t know. One moment I was really anxious and then it just washed away.”

Your eyebrow raised at the comment. That was odd…

“Maybe I just saw you and the others and thought now’s not a time to be sad.”

You let your jaw drop the slightest bit…Huh?

“And Soonyoung mentioned something about his anger just evaporating after that fight.”

What the fuck?

“That’s weird. I’ve been feeling everything lately.” You spoke your worries to Vernon. “Every time you guys start freaking out, I freak out and just want it to stop- and I feel it stop. Does that make sense?”

Vernon thought for a moment. “You must be really good at reading people then.”

The most recent incident was when Seungkwan, a Ward Mage so you were told, came to visit. He had walked in, saying he was going to ‘hang with everyone ,’ but you only saw him with Vernon. You had been sitting in what the others called the living room, more an open room with two couches, playing with Ruby when an unfamiliar warmth nestled its way into your chest.

It was fuzzy and felt like hundreds of butterflies fluttered in your stomach. It was a new sensation, one you never experienced while in the dorms. Peering out into the hallway, you saw Vernon and Seungkwan chattering. Quickly, you picked up Ruby and held him close to your chest, sneaking towards the archway.

Ruby softly chirped as you held him like a teddy bear, shushing him as to not alert the other two men of your presence. Investigating further, you saw no danger in being caught with how the two were only focusing on each other. They spoke in hushed tones, neither’s eyes straying from one another.

“No way-” You whispered to no one in particular but Ruby perked up at your words.

Seungkwan snickered at a comment Vernon made and another warm wave of adoration washed over you. Internally you gagged, wishing for the feeling to stop.

“Nonie?” You heard Seungkwan say in a worried tone.

Peeking down the hallway, you watched as Vernon started to walk away from Seungkwan. The former turned around, confused as if he had no idea why he was moving. Ruby chirped once more and this time it was loud enough for the other two to hear.

“Sage?” Vernon asked, still puzzled.

“Uh- I wasn’t eavesdropping! If I’m being honest I didn’t hear anything- you guys were talking really quietly.” You tried to stop your rambling but the words kept falling out. “I just felt really weird and warm and-”

Both Seungkwan and Vernon stared at you in visible confusion, a light blush dusting their cheeks.

Seungkwan’s face lit up in realization. “Oh!”

“Oh?” You and Vernon parroted.

“This is good!” Seungkwan sauntered toward you, pulling you back into the living room.

He sat down on one of the sofas, bringing you down with him. Ruby settled into your lap and watched as Seungkwan took one of your hands.

“Sage, I think your magic is manifesting.”

Your eyes went wide. “Wha-”

Seungkwan smiled as he released your hand. “It appears that you are not only able to read other people's emotions, but feel and morph them as well.”

Every word Seungkwan spoke sounded like gibberish and you had a hard time swallowing the information.

“Oh wow~” Your tone was sarcastic. “I’m an empath~”

Seungkwan sputtered. “I-it’s a little more than that. You might not see it now, but that gift has potential.”

You scoffed. “Hell yeah, I’ll be a master negotiator. No one will be able to resist my charm.”

Vernon laughed at your words while Seungkwan tried to remain serious.

“You joke like this now, but who knows? Maybe one day you’ll enthrall the cosmos!” There was a lightheartedness to Seungkwan’s voice.

He was right and you knew it. While the gift of empathy may seem lame in the moment, there may come a day where it could prove itself useful. There wasn’t any worry found in your heart, it was simply reading emotions and changing them some.

Where was the danger in that?

Wonwoo roused from his slumber as Cosmo’s warm snout nudged his face. He swatted the panther’s face away as a plea to let him get more rest, but she wouldn't allow it. Cosmo quietly leaped off the bed and bit on the end of the bed's countless amount of blankets. With little effort, she pulled the covers, only leaving Wonwoo with the pillows under his head.

A low grumble resonated from Cosmo as she paced in front of Wonwoo’s bed, occasionally brushing against his arm that had draped off of the mattress. The soft shuffling of sheets stopped the panther’s movement as she watched her Arcanist rise from bed.

“Good morning, Cosmo.” He said as he lightly scratched under the cat’s chin.

She purred in delight as Wonwoo continued to pet her, he gave her one last pat on her head before he stood. There was calm stillness in the darkness of Wonwoo’s bedroom as dawn had yet to break. The Archivist reached into his nightstand, retrieving a chunk of fluorite, violet and green in color. A dull glow emanated from the stone as he held it.

“Lux.”

The dull glow radiated outward, blanketing the room in a dim, iridescent light. He gently tossed the light source up and the gemstone remained in the air, hovering around Wonwoo’s head.

First, a bath was in order and he would have to do something about his hair, no amount of spell work was able to tame his bedhead. After freshening up, he brushed Cosmo, making sure her coat was sleek and prim. He fed her his own leftovers from last night, Mingyu had grilled salmon for everyone which Wonwoo was thankful for. Sure he was a powerful mage, but when it came to cooking… it wasn’t his strong suit. He couldn’t even conjure a slice of bread without it tasting like ash.

Deciding his breakfast could wait, he began his rounds of Diamond Hall. The archives needed to be checked at least once a day to ensure all of its knowledge was still in place. Next, the sealing wards would have to be strengthened, the week was coming to a close which meant the magic of the wards were dwindling. He would have to employ either Seungkwan or Joshua to recast the spells to guarantee the archive’s safety.

Once Wonwoo concluded that everything was in order in Diamond Hall proper, he set out to visit the rest of the grounds. Dawn had come, casting a cool blue hue onto the early morning mist that shrouded the land. The sun itself hadn’t peeked over the mountains yet, but Wonwoo could tell just by the air that today was going to be colder than usual. A shiver ran down both his and Cosmo’s spine as they were met with the frigid air.

“Pallium.” Wonwoo spoke through chattering teeth and a heavy cloak with a scarf apparated in his hands.

Quickly he pulled his arms through the sleeves before kneeling down to wrap the scarf around Cosmo who grumbled in content at the warm cloth. The two walked briskly towards the plaza and down one of the many paths. One area of the territory was always warmer than the rest and he wished to warm his limbs.

Dino had enchanted the land and atmosphere around his cottage so that it would remain a comfortable temperature. It was more for the health of his garden than himself. Wonwoo knew this and was the reason why he would frequent the Alchemist's residence.

He knocked softly, using the iron knocker on the old oak door. There was a moment of silence as Wonwoo and Cosmo looked at each other in discomfort. Even with the enchantment, the cold was beginning to bleed through their clothing. After another minute, Dino answered the door, wearing his nightwear along with a soft robe.

“Archivist Jeon? Doing your rounds already?” Dino rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he held the door open for both Wonwoo and Cosmos.

The Arcanist and his familiar quickly entered the cottage, not wanting to stand outside for any longer.

“Yes.” Wonwoo answered. “It’s still winter. An early start is a must if I wish to finish my work before nightfall.”

He nearly sprinted toward the hearth, Dino had always kept the embers low in order to keep central heating. Cosmo rushed to the foot of the hearth, nuzzling her form into the warm stone and sighing in comfort.

Dino chuckled at the sight of his superior cozying up to the fire with his familiar. It wasn’t the first time the Archivist had rushed to his home in search of warmth.

“Archivist Jeon?” Dino asked sheepishly.

Wonwoo turned his attention toward the young Alchemist. “You don’t need to worry yourself with formalities at this hour, Dino.”

Dino nodded as he understood and he approached the hearth to feed the flame. The embers began to eat away at the added fire wood, growing in size. Cosmos brushed against Dino’s legs as a thank you.

A chirping squeal called out from the stairwell as Kelpy descended the steps. Cosmos quickly retreated behind Wonwoo’s chair but the little otter was faster. The panther trotted away to try and escape the small creature, but Kelpy was relentless in his pursuit as he clung to the larger beast.

“Would you like some tea? It’s Minghao’s blend.” Dino offered.

Wonwoo smiled softly as he watched Cosmos and Kelpy play. “Yes, tea would be nice.”

It didn’t take long for the kettle to begin whistling, the noise causing Cosmo’s ears to tilt in every direction. Dino placed a teacup filled with pale golden herbal tea in front of Wonwoo, despite his physique he held the cup delicately.

“Are there any elixirs you need?” Dino asked as he sat across from Wonwoo.

Wonwoo procured a small notebook from his cloak and scanned its pages. “A few mana elixirs would be wonderful, but I won’t be needing them for a while.”

“Are you working on something?” There was an innocent curiosity in Dino’s eyes.

Wonwoo shook his head once. “Nothing in particular. I prefer to have the potions nearby in case I am practicing heavy spell work.”

There was a moment of silence as the two Arcanists enjoyed their tea. The subtle sound of the hearth’s flames and the occasional howling wind filled the room. Cosmos continued to trot around the room as Kelpy chased her. Eventually the small otter was able to climb on top of Cosmos’s back and the large panther decided she had no more fight left in her. She curled herself into a ball at Wonwoo’s feet while Kelpy remained nuzzled in her fur.

“Oh!” Dino exclaimed as his eyes glimmered with excitement. “Did you hear the news?”

Wonwoo cocked an eyebrow in confusion. “News?”

A bright smile spread across Dino’s face, showcasing his perfect teeth. “Sage’s magic manifested! Seungkwan didn’t tell you?”

“No, he forgot to mention it.” Wonwoo’s mind filled itself with endless curiosity. “Do you know the details of their magic?”

“Seungkwan said it was associated with Empathy. Apparently Sage can feel other people’s emotions and they said they can influence them too!” Dino continued to smile as he spoke. “I’ve never heard of anything like that, have you?”

Wonwoo thought to himself for a moment. Empathy was a very rare gift and many Arcanists were fueled by envy to try and replicate the magic. It had no recognized school, there was no way to teach it and no formal spells attached to the subject. Empathy was completely natural, if an Arcanist really wanted the magic they had to be born with it.

“Empathy…” He pondered the term. “It’s an esoteric practice, not many Arcanists can say they have mastered it.”

Dino’s eyes widened. “Woah~ Does that mean Sage is some sort of big shot?”

“Big shot?”

“Oh- sorry. It’s a term Sage taught me.” Dino chuckled, self-conscious of his word choice.

The room was blanketed in silence once more as Wonwoo considered the possibilities of the new human who had joined their realm. This required research, a lot of it, and that made Wonwoo internally groan.

“I may need those elixirs sooner than expected…”

Grand Archivist or not, Wonwoo was still an Arcanist and he knew he was going to exhaust himself with research.

Learning to control your new found gift of Empathy was proving to be very difficult. No Arcanist specialized in Empathy or anything related to it within the Diamond Hall grounds and it frustrated you to no end.

Even studying the tome was fruitless. Any Empathy Arcanist, or Empaths, were long gone. They were either exiled, disappeared into the ether, or simply passed away.

Sitting at your desk, nose deep into the tome, you let out an irritated groan. You methodically bashed your head into the aged paper, not enough to damage yourself or the pages, but enough to tame the annoyance growing within you. Needless to say, it didn’t work. You sat up and scanned a few more pages, only to find nothing, prompting you to drop your head onto the tome.

You roared out another groan, springing from your chair and closed the book. Pacing about the room, you lost yourself in thought. Nothing was really making sense regarding your new found ability and it was slowly eating at your mind.

A soft knock interrupted your brooding.

You sighed. “Come in!”

Gently the door to your room creaked open and Vernon poked his head in followed by his black wolf familiar, Shadow.

“Everything alright in here?”

You flopped onto your bed, breathing out a loud sigh as you laid on your stomach.

“This magic stuff is hard.” You whined but the comforter muffled most of your voice.

Shadow leapt onto the bed and sniffed at your face, his cold nose ticklish against your cheek.

“Thanks, bud.” You muttered as the wolf licked your cheek.

You felt a dip in the mattress as Vernon took a seat on the edge of the bed. Shadow laid down, leaning his weight against Vernon and keeping his muzzle rested next to your face.

“I’m sorry, Sage. I wish there was someone around that could help you.”

“Me too.”

Vernon was quiet as he pet Shadow, the wolf closing its eyes as it relaxed into its Arcanist.

“Have you checked the archives?”

With your head still sunken into your blanket, you shook your head.

“Why not? There’s so much information there, I’m sure you’ll find something.”

Your ears burned with humiliation. “It’s intimidating.”

“What is?” Vernon’s face lit up in realization. “Don’t tell me Archivist Jeon scares you-”

“No!” You shot up from bed, answering a little too fast. “H-he doesn’t scare me, he’s just hard to read.”

Vernon snickered. “If the Grand Archivist was easy to read, I don’t think he would be very grand. ”

With a little convincing from Vernon and big puppy dog eyes from Shadow, you agreed to search the archives for information.

As promised, Vernon accompanied you to Diamond Hall. Shadow stayed close, nose to the ground and ears alert as he followed . If you were being honest with yourself, you haven’t ventured out to Diamond Hall since your initial meeting with Archivist Jeon. The thought of running into him didn’t scare you per se, but you wouldn’t know what to say or do if you were met with the Archivist.

The archives were just as dimly lit and maze-like as you remembered. Vernon navigated through the halls with relative ease and led you to a small room that was filled with rows of tall bookshelves. Looking up, they appeared endless, each had its own ladder to help reach the highest shelves.

You stopped and stared upward, skylights lit the room from above while floating globules of light danced along each row of bookcases.

“It’s over here!” Vernon called out.

He turned one last corner and you were met with a stone archway, letters engraved into the structure.

“Antique- scien- does that say science?” You attempted to pronounce the words but gave up quickly.

“Antiqua Scientia, it just means ancient knowledge, or at least that’s what Seungkwan told me.” Vernon said as he neared the opening of the archway, but was stopped hard as he ran into an invisible force. “Ouch- That’s weird.”

You tried to reach out toward the opening and were met with the same solid surface. The longer your hand lingered, the colder it felt.

“That wasn’t there before.” Vernon mentioned as he rubbed his forehead, a red bruise slowly growing below the skin.

“Are you two in search of something?”

Both you and Vernon jumped as the low vocals of Archivist Jeon surprised you.

“Oh- Archivist Jeon! I was just showing Sage the archives. We were hoping we’d find some knowledge about their magic here.”

The Archivist looked between you and Vernon, expression unreadable. Cosmos prowled out of the darkness, yellow eyes glaring at Shadow.

“I see…” Archivist Jeon trailed off.

There was a twinge of something, uncertainty. It didn’t linger and it was gone within a second but you felt it nevertheless.

“I regret to inform you that some of the archive’s knowledge is missing. I’m currently working on a solution, but until then the Antiqua Scientia is warded off. I apologize for the inconvenience.” His words were sincere and he bowed with his apology.

“Do you have any idea where it went? It’s not like books can fly away. Wait- can they?” You knew that almost anything was possible and soaring parchment was in the realm of possibility.

“I am unsure.” Archivist Jeon addressed you directly. “Another Arcanist could have borrowed the tomes and merely forgot to return them.”

“ Tomes ?” Vernon emphasized the fact that the term was plural. “What’s missing?”

Archivist Jeon paused for a moment. “Tomes on Hemomancy, blood magic.”

You winced at the thought. “Is that a bad thing?”

“Not particularly.” Archivist Jeon said as he shook his head once. “Hemomancy isn’t illegal by any means. It is merely a tool, just like any other class of magic.”

“But it has the potential to do some messed up things…” Vernon muttered though it was still heard.

“That indeed Vernon, but all magic has the potential to be dangerous, you of all people should understand this.”

Vernon nodded his head and remained quiet. A strong sense of shame radiated off of him and you couldn’t help but be a bit curious as to what the Archivist meant. The room grew eerily silent, enough to make your heart pound with nerves.

“Okay… Uh- Vernon!” You exclaimed, trying to fill the awkward silence. “We should head back to the dorm. I’m sure Jihoon needs us for that crazy spell he’s working on.”

Vernon perked up. “What spell-”

“Uh- The one that creates a bunch of big fireworks! Let’s go!” You said as you locked arms with Vernon and rushed him out of the area.

Shadow sprinted ahead of you, the poor wolf must have been just as uncomfortable.

“This is exactly why I haven’t gone to the archives since I got here!” You raised your voice as you paced in the living room.

Vernon was lounging on the couch with Shadow, absentmindedly stroking the wolf’s fur. He had been unfocused and quiet the entire trip back to the dorm. Shadow rested his head on Vernon’s chest as the man scratched behind his ears. Jihoon sat on the floor with his spellbook, meticulously scribing formulas on the paper while Ruby nested in his lap.

Soonyoung on the other hand had his full attention on you as he and his orange tabby familiar, Tigris, tracked your movement about the living room.

“He’s so cryptic and creepy and- and-” You were at a loss for words. “What’s that term for someone who bothers you?”

“Um- Annoying? Irritating?” Soonyoung offered.

“No- it’s more than that.”

“Aggravating?” Vernon handed out another term.

You shook your head dramatically.

“Obnoxious.” Jihoon stated with confidence.

“That’s it!” You proclaimed as you clapped your hands together, waking up Ruby and startling Shadow.

You winced. “Sorry boys, I’ll be quieter.”

“Hey!” A raspy voice called out in the hallway. “Are you guys hungry? I brought- Am I interrupting something?”

Mingyu appeared in the archway carrying multiple containers in his arms. Yucca, his fennec fox, was also carrying a small container in his mouth. Both Mingyu and his familiar froze as they made eye contact with you.

“Is this like a family meeting or-”

Jihoon closed his spellbook. “I’m hungry! I don’t care what you brought, I just want food.”

“Okay, well, come to the dining room, you’re not eating on the floor.” Mingyu said as he walked down the hallway.

Dinner didn’t last long. Mingyu served steak with roasted vegetables that got devoured quickly. After your meal, you washed up and bid your roommates goodnight as you returned to your room.

Before going to bed, you returned to your desk and opened the tome. There wasn’t a particular question you had in mind but flipping through the pages was relaxing.

You stared out the window across from you, taking in the night sky. Vitidel, the main moon, was not present in the sky but Gi-Enos, the smaller, blue moon was in a waxing state. It still astounded you that there were two moons in this realm. They both were beautiful, Vitidel was always a shade of orange unless it was full, in which it became silvery in color. Gi-Enos was always a shade of blue no matter its size.

Clouds slowly obscured the light of Gi-Enos and rain began to patter lightly against your window. Closing the tome, you sighed and stood from your desk. You dove into the covers of your bed and bundled up as you fell asleep to the sound of rain.

The sun’s light bled through the curtains, shining directly onto your face. With a grumble you rose from bed and rubbed your eyes.

“ By the Stars you sleep a lot.”

A breathy, melodious voice rang clear in your ears.

Your eyes shot open in search of the voice. At the foot of your bed, sitting up right was a huge and striking snow leopard. Its crystal blue eyes stared straight into you.

“Your room bores me. How about we take a morning walk by the stream?”

“Oh what the fuck-”

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