#Ate so hard he started levitating | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

neopuff · 1 year ago

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ALWAYS ON MY MIND

chapter nine: a load off my mind ships: sasha/milla characters: milla, sasha, ford, oleander word count: 5867 ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/53435410/chapters/137330296

[chap 1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

Whispering Rock was a very interesting place.

The valley was certainly remote - Sasha hadn’t expected to drive through the woods for almost two hours - but he couldn’t deny that it looked lovely. Oleander had done a great job, though he probably wouldn’t say as much to the man. He’d been getting enough praise for the camp already.

Sasha and Milla decided to arrive at the camp three days early in the hopes to familiarize themselves with the area and get used to the great outdoors. It’d been a long time since either of them roughed it, so to speak, and they needed to portray a good example for the children.

She was already there when Sasha arrived - her signature car sitting in the parking lot in all its shiny, red glory. His car was boxy and green and felt very quiet next to hers. He wondered if it would’ve made more sense for them to carpool. Perhaps he would suggest it if they decided to come back.

But before any of that, he needed to find her. Sasha reached out to her mentally and she sent back a relaxed aura and images of water. It wasn’t hard to figure out that she was by the lake. He grabbed the crudely-drawn map that Oleander provided them and started making his way towards Lake Oblongata. The path wasn’t too difficult to follow, which boded well for the campers.

A large building caught his eye as he made his way towards the water, and a quick look at the map told Sasha it was the main lodge. Agent Cruller apparently spent a decent amount of time there, and it would be where they ate all of their meals. It looked well-constructed, at least.

As the lake finally came into view, Sasha spotted his partner sitting along the edge of the beach - boots on the ground next to her so she could dip her feet in the water. He couldn’t say he was surprised by that.

Sasha levitated over and stood just a few feet behind her. “Having fun?”

Milla leaned her head back so she was staring at him upside-down. “The water’s very nice. Maybe we can go swimming before the kids get here!”

He smirked at that, then stared out at the water. It was quite nice. Oleander had really outdone himself. “I didn’t bring a swimsuit.”

She gasped dramatically. “You didn’t plan to swim at all?”

“Not particularly.” Sasha took a few steps forward, but not close enough for the water to touch his shoes. “I’m not much of a swimmer. But I’d be happy to sit here and watch while you enjoy.”

Milla chuckled and Sasha’s face immediately burned at the realization of what he’d said. He didn’t even bother correcting himself, simply sent a mental wave of you-know-what-I-meant towards her.

“I haven’t seen Agent Cruller yet,” Milla said, changing the subject. “Aaronson said that he’s even stranger here than back at the Motherlobe.”

“Is that so?” Sasha pulled out a cigarette, deciding he was getting a little too much fresh air. “It’s hard to believe Agent Mentallis’ theory was wrong.”

She shrugged and levitated into the air, shaking the sand and water off her feet before putting her boots back on.

“Did you look at anything else or just come straight to the lake?” Sasha asked, trying not to watch her every movement. She was hypnotizing to him sometimes, he couldn’t help it.

“Nope!” Milla smiled and plopped her feet back onto the ground. “I know there’s a fire pit on the other side of the lodge and the cabins are off in that direction,” she said, pointing to the north, “and I believe Morceau said there’s an off-limits area over that way.”

Sasha tilted his head. “Off-limits? For what purpose?”

“I’m not sure.” She started to walk back towards the main lodge and Sasha followed her. “He probably just meant it’s off-limits for the campers. Maybe something they haven’t finished building yet?”

“Hmm. I think we should check that out, then.”

A few minutes later and they found themselves staring at a very unexpected structure deep in the woods of Whispering Rock. Neither knew quite what to say about it, except that they never could’ve anticipated seeing something of that nature in a camp made for children.

Milla frowned, staring from the entrance. “These are psychoisolation chambers, aren’t they?”

“Looks like it.” Sasha levitated above the structure to get a better look. “I’m sure Morceau isn’t planning on throwing the children in here. That’d be…” He paused, then floated down on top of the highest part of the chambers. “Immoral. Probably.”

“Probably,” Milla repeated, doing nothing to hide her annoyance. “We’ll have to ask him about this when he gets here, won’t we?”

Sasha came back down and they made their way around the rest of the camp. Oleander had a large treehouse office that was, thankfully, very well-constructed, and also very close to the camper’s cabins. There were just three cabins - one for girls, one for boys, and one for the counselors.

“Ah.” Sasha stared at the counselor cabin, realizing something he should’ve realized earlier. “So. It’ll be you and me and…Morry. In this little space. Every night?”

Milla laughed and elbowed him in the arm. “You seem surprised, Sasha! What did you expect? Private rooms?” She floated inside and moved to the bed furthest in the back, wiping off the blanket. “I think I’ll take this one.”

Sasha followed her inside. He hadn’t thought about sleeping arrangements at all. He and Milla had shared hotel rooms in the past, but they usually had more space between them. He found himself both relieved and annoyed that Oleander would be in the room, too. And what about Agent Cruller? It didn’t look like Cruller had been staying there. Perhaps he had his own cabin somewhere else on the campgrounds. Or maybe a tent.

“Darling, you should take the bed across from mine!” Milla said, floating over to that bed and sitting on it. “I’m sure Morceau will want to be closest to the door, anyway.”

“Of course.” Sasha shrugged. He didn’t imagine he’d be sleeping much in such an uncomfortable space. But he needed to prove to Oleander that he was capable of doing this, and he wanted to support Milla by sticking around. There was no room for complaining about little things like sleeping arrangements. “Whichever you think is best.”

After that, they headed to the parking lot to grab their suitcases and bring them back to the cabins. If not for telekinesis, Sasha would’ve been annoyed that they were on complete opposite ends of the camp. He couldn’t imagine being forced to actually carry his luggage the entire way across.

Along the journey back to the cabins, they finally spotted Agent Cruller.

He was using a broom to sweep grass and dirt not far from the main lodge, mumbling under his breath. Sasha and Milla looked at each other, and psychically decided to wait until they were unpacked before they talked to him. They both had a feeling that he’d want to chat for a long time, as older people tended to do.

Agent Cruller was gone by the time they made their way back.

“Maybe he’s in the lodge,” Milla suggested, pointing towards it. “Morceau said he cooks all the camp meals, and it’s almost dinnertime.”

Sasha nodded and they made their way inside, unsurprised to find Agent Cruller standing there behind the counter. He was mumbling about burgers and fries and had on a chef’s hat and apron, which weren’t present when they saw him earlier.

“Agent Cruller,” Sasha said, walking towards him. “It’s good to see you.”

The older man tilted his head at the two of them. “Huh…you look different than before! What’s with the green? Huh?”

Sasha frowned and glanced at Milla, who simply smiled and came closer. “Hello! Do you remember me, Agent Cruller? My name is Milla. Milla Vodello!”

Cruller stared at her, his eyes slowly squinting until there was no way he could see anything at all. He then opened his eyes wide, made a noise of surprise, then looked over at Sasha, and then back to Milla again. “I know you two! You’re psychics! Hungry psychics, I’ll bet! You want some burgers?”

Milla’s smile softened and she tugged some hair behind her ears. “Um, yes, sure! That sounds lovely. Thank you, Agent Cruller.”

“Call me Ford, why don’t you?” the older man said loudly. “You two are much too tall to be talking to me like that!”

Sasha ran a hand through his hair, feeling a frustrated knot forming in his shoulder. That always happened when he talked to Agent Cruller for too long - the man’s mental state reminded him too much of exactly the type of damage a Psychonaut was constantly in danger of. “Of course, Ford. Whatever you’d like.”

Cruller gave them a toothy smile and disappeared to make the food.

“I, um. I don’t think Agent Mentallis had the right idea about the psitanium,” Milla said, clasping her hands in front of her. “But maybe the fresh air is good for him, at least?”

“Hopefully,” Sasha answered.

Milla woke the next morning feeling oddly achy. Her head hurt - not in a way she was used to. It was like a specific part of her brain was irritated. Almost like she’d spent all night listening to loud music, but somehow…different. It was difficult to explain.

When Sasha came out of their shared bathroom and expressed a similar type of headache, she knew she wasn’t crazy, at least.

“I just assumed it’s because I’ve been cooped up indoors for so long,” Sasha joked, though he also meant it genuinely. “But a headache after less than a day outdoors did seem a bit fast.”

She got up and rushed to the bathroom, desperately needing to brush her teeth and do something about her hair. Sometimes Milla remembered the first time she and Sasha shared a bedroom - she’d been so nervous about how she looked that she’d made sure to wake up before him so she could beautify herself. It took barely two days of that before she gave up and let him see her ridiculous bedhead. He never commented either way. “Could it be the psitanium?”

There was a pause before she heard Sasha’s muffled response from the other side of the bathroom door. “That seems likely. I've certainly not been around this much psitanium before.”

Milla stared at her reflection in the mirror, happy she didn't look as bad as her head felt. “Me neither,” she added before starting to brush her teeth.

She could hear Sasha moving around in the other room and reached out with her mind - somehow they’d gotten to the point where even thirty seconds of not knowing what was going on in his head made her curious. If they were in a different kind of relationship, they’d probably be described as clingy or codependent. But as Psychonaut partners, it was totally normal and fine.

“Maybe we can ask Agent Cruller about it,” Sasha said. Then, after a moment, he corrected himself. “Er, Ford. We can ask Ford.”

Milla smiled. He was never very good at being casual, especially not with senior Psychonauts. She sent him a mental agreement, then quickly finished getting ready and dressed and headed out the door. “Ready to go?”

Sasha nodded at her and telekinetically opened the cabin door, allowing her to leave first. Such a gentleman.

They wandered around for a bit, wondering if they’d find Ford outside somewhere. His persona in the main lodge - the one wearing the chef hat - wasn’t the most helpful. There was always a possibility that one of his other personas around the campgrounds would have better information. But they didn’t see the sweeping persona on their walk towards the lodge, so they decided it was time for breakfast.

“Good morning!” Ford shouted as they entered the lodge. He had a bright smile on his face and was chewing on a large piece of bacon. “We got the good stuff today!”

Milla and Sasha glanced at one another before walking closer to him. She smiled gently. “Good morning, Ford! How are you today?”

“Great!” He pulled the bacon out of his mouth and took a big whiff of it, then took another big bite. “I love this bacon! It’s delicious!”

Sasha sighed and stepped forward, much more impatient than Milla. “You’ve been here for a few weeks now, Agent-er, Ford. Did the psitanium have an adverse effect on you when you first arrived? Headaches? Anything like that?”

Ford stared at Sasha and blinked slowly. Once. Twice. Three times. Then he shook his head. “I’ve got no clue what you’re talking about. But I’ve got some fine egg ‘n bacon sandwiches for the two of you when you want ‘em!”

Sasha sighed again, and barely reacted as Milla put a hand on his arm. “That sounds great, Ford, thank you.”

The older man disappeared for a few seconds, then reappeared with the sandwiches. “All wrapped up, just like a fancy restaurant!”

Milla took them and gave one to Sasha, who seemed generally uninterested in the food. He was clearly disappointed in Agent Cruller’s response, but Milla figured it was what they were going to get. Cruller was…exactly who he was. There was no changing that. “Thank you,” she said quietly, smiling at Ford again.

He stood there silently for a few moments, then slammed his hands on the counter and stared at the two of them, completely bug-eyed. “Y’know where all the psitanium is? It’s underground!” Ford said, tilting his head too far to the side to keep his balance for much longer. “You’d be surprised what’s underground in a place like this!”

The two younger Psychonauts glanced at each other again, then gave a polite goodbye to Agent Cruller before taking their leave. It was a unique reaction from him, especially considering the lack of appropriate response they usually got. It seemed that he at least understood their question, though it was hard to say whether or not his answer held any useful information. Were they the ramblings of a madman? Or was he offering them some semblance of insight from the small parts of his brain that were still functioning?

“Underground, huh?” Milla muttered, finishing up her sandwich. It was very good. Seemed like the campers would be eating just fine during their week of training.

“I suppose it’ll be worth it to keep an eye out.” Sasha only ate half of his and folded the wrapper around the rest. “Maybe there’s some sort of…cave by the water.”

She smiled and grabbed his wrapped sandwich half, unwrapping it and shoving it towards him. He never ate enough, in her opinion. She’d swear that if she didn’t remind him to eat, he could go well over a day without anything but coffee and cigarettes. That wouldn’t happen while they were alone together, that was for sure. “Maybe! You should finish this, darling. In case we find a secret underground psitanium cave and need our strength to get out.”

Sasha exhaled through his nose, but relented and continued eating. “So we’re exploring again today?” he mumbled between bites.

“That’s what I’d like to do, at least. I mean…I’ve got all my lessons planned,” she answered happily. It was always nice when he listened to her in regards to his health. Now if only she could get him to stop smoking! “Reorganized my mind so the kids can practice levitation safely. So there’s nothing else to prepare.”

“Ah.”

He nodded and then pouted, an expression that Milla didn’t expect to see. “What’s wrong?”

“I may need to take some time and…move some things around.” He took the last bite of his sandwich and crumpled up the wrapper in his gloved hands. “Maybe we’ll head back to the cabins early.” He paused, then corrected himself. “Er, I’ll head back early. You don’t have to. Also. You can do what you want, of course.”

She smiled brightly at him. He was so cute when he stumbled over his words. “Maybe I’ll go swimming, then.”

Sasha returned her smile with a small one of his own and they got up from the picnic table outside the lodge. It was a beautiful day out and there was plenty of campground for them to check out before he needed to start on his lesson plan.

Their third day on the campgrounds, aka the last day before the campers arrived and the actual camp started, did not get off on the right foot.

Milla and Sasha were loudly woken up by a loud - loud, loud, loud - trumpet playing a slightly off-tune Reveille. It didn’t take a genius to know what that meant: Oleander had arrived.

Of course, he chose to arrive at six-thirty in the morning. And he had to announce his presence as loudly as possible.

Sasha wasn’t ashamed to admit that he didn’t like Morceau. He didn’t get along with the argumentative man, who was always trying to pick a fight with him over everything. He made inappropriate jokes and comments, gave him insulting nicknames for absolutely no reason, and felt the need to heckle Sasha about his personal life and personality on a regular basis. He was genuinely surprised that anyone got along with the short man, though he supposed Milla got along with everyone.

The two of them got up and took turns getting ready for the day, despite Oleander’s attempts to get them up faster. Sasha just knew that the day was not going to improve with such a loud, little man having access to the camp speaker system.

On the plus side, he didn’t have a headache anymore and his lesson plan for the campers was all ready. It also seemed that Milla didn’t have a headache anymore either, since she hadn’t mentioned it.

While eating breakfast with Milla and Morry, it hit Sasha that he was already really missing the alone time with her. Sure, it wasn’t the romantic nonsense that Morceau had joked about, but it was still very nice. He really enjoyed spending time with her where they didn’t have to worry about danger potentially lurking around every corner.

“Did you get a headache on your first night here?” Milla asked Morceau over their egg sandwiches.

“Huh?” Oleander tilted his head. “Aaronson and Whittaker complained about that, too. The four of you just need to get used to the outdoors, is all!”

Sasha disassociated while Morceau continued to talk about how much stronger and more outdoorsy he was than everyone else, and stared down at his egg sandwich. Though Ford’s cooking wasn’t bad, he was beginning to realize that the food options were quite limited. He wasn’t a man who needed a lot of variety in his life, but he couldn’t imagine eating it over and over again for an entire week. Maybe he’d have to grab some fruit before the campers arrived the next day.

“What do you think, Nein?”

Sasha was pulled back into the conversation to find both of them staring at him. He had no idea what they were just talking about and shook his head. “I didn’t catch the question.”

Oleander rolled his eyes. “See what I mean? If any of this week’s kids give us a bad review, I’m blaming it all on you!” he said, pointing a finger in Sasha’s face. “If you’re gonna screw anything up, just try to keep it small, alright?”

“...alright,” Sasha responded, standing up. He wasn’t interested in listening to insults any longer, so he decided it was a good time to look around the camp. By himself. “I’m going for a walk.”

Milla gave him an apologetic smile, almost like she somehow knew he was leaving because he didn’t want to spend too much time with Morceau. She’d heard him complain about the man enough times to come to that conclusion. “Catch up with you later?”

“Of course.” Sasha nodded at her and levitated away, decidedly towards the geodesic psychoisolation chambers in the woods. He’d meant to ask Morry about them, but didn’t have the patience for it. Maybe Milla would remember.

As he came to the structure, he noticed a strange-looking squirrel out of the corner of his eye. Sasha turned to look directly at it, but the squirrel immediately ran off - though, notably, it fell into a large tree stump. After a moment the squirrel climbed back out, looking slightly worse for wear, then it ran off in another direction.

Bored and curious, Sasha walked closer to the tree stump. He’d noticed a few of them around the camp, though they didn’t really catch his attention considering they were in the middle of the woods. When he looked inside the stump, however, it was clear that it wasn’t a normal stump. It was hollow and the hole inside was very deep. One could even say that it led to something…underground.

Sasha raised a single eyebrow at his discovery. He looked up - turned left, then right, then looked back down into the hole. It was certainly big enough for him to fit into. Though now he was wishing he’d used clairvoyance on that squirrel before it got away.

With a shrug, he decided it was worth a shot to look, so Sasha levitated himself down into the stump to see what was inside.

He didn’t expect to land on an awkwardly small rail car. Even more than that, he didn’t expect it to talk to him.

"Welcome to the Whispering Rocket Underground Rapid Transit System. Would you like to go back to your private sanctuary now, Agent Cruller? Or...somewhere else?"

Sasha stared at the device in front of his face. What the hell was he looking at, exactly? Whose voice was that? And…it specifically mentioned Agent Cruller. Did that mean this was something Ford had managed to put together in the short time he’d been living at the camp? It looked like an entire underground tunnel system.

Unsure of what else to say, Sasha cleared his throat. “Uh…to the sanctuary. Please.”

“Yes, noble Psychomaster.”

He glared, unhappy with that nickname, and held the car tight as he was suddenly pulled in a random direction. The rail car seemed to be functioning well, though Sasha was understandably nervous about the construction quality. Did Agent Cruller build this secretly or did Oleander know about it? He had so many questions.

Questions that would be followed up by even more questions, Sasha realized as the car came to a stop. He levitated out through another hollowed-out tree stump and found himself in some sort of underground laboratory - or, sanctuary, he supposed, was the word the rail car had used. The space was still very clearly under construction, but there were floating screens all around, several comfortable-looking chairs, and a pile full of psychic devices that Sasha recognized from Agent Mentallis’ lab.

It was a strange sight to behold.

“...Agent Cruller?” Sasha said, unsure of what was going on.

No one responded. He supposed it was silly to think Ford would just be waiting around when he saw him in the main lodge less than an hour earlier. The man was probably working around the campgrounds somewhere, or maybe he was-

“Sasha!”

He turned around to find Ford Cruller floating up from somewhere below, a large piece of scrap metal in his hands. “Ford. What’s going on?”

“I didn’t expect you down here so soon,” the older man answered, plopping down on the same platform as Sasha. “You get into a fight with Oleander?”

Sasha pouted slightly. “Not a fight. Just annoyed with him.” He paused for a moment, then shook his head. “Wait, no, where are we? Why are you wearing your Psychonauts uniform? Are you-?”

“Oop! I’ll be right back!” Ford interrupted, then quickly dove into the tree stump that Sasha had come out of earlier.

“I…what?” Sasha felt positively bewildered. He needed to find Milla and bring her there immediately, maybe she’d be able to shed some light on the situation. Or at the very least, offer a comforting presence while they absorbed the insanity together. He reached out to her mentally to let her know that he wanted to speak to her alone, then jumped back into the tree stump from earlier. Somehow, the rail car was still there, despite the fact that Ford seemingly exited the same way. Sasha was very, very confused.

It didn’t take much effort to get Morry to walk away from her. Milla let him know that she had some womanly things to take care of, and he immediately bounced away without a single question. He was truly a man’s man, she supposed.

She was very curious about whatever Sasha had found. Milla could feel that he was surprised and confused by something and she hoped it was something exciting, because the past hour of talking to Morceau about his Basic Braining mental boot camp was exhausting. She could not have been less interested in the militarized jungle gym he’d set up for the kids inside his head. It was…certainly different from what she’d planned.

She agreed to meet Sasha near the woods where they’d found the psychoisolation chambers - which she’d almost forgotten to ask Morceau about, but thankfully she had the answer. Agent Mentallis had suggested them as a fun exercise for the kids, then after they were already built, Second Head Forsythe and Grand Head Zanotto rejected the idea completely. But they were already built, and no one wanted to see all that money wasted, so Agent Mentallis promised to come and relocate the chambers whenever he had enough time and found a good space to put them back near the Motherlobe.

It wasn’t a great solution, but the campers would probably be too terrified of the chambers to mess around. Milla knew she could scare them off if she told them exactly what they were used for, but she wouldn’t do that. She never wanted to scare children.

Sasha was waiting for her near the entrance, standing next to one of the large tree stumps she’d noticed around the campgrounds.

“Morry didn’t follow you, did he?”

Milla gave him an incredulous stare. “Of course not, darling. Why would he? Did you find something bad?”

“Not bad, just…secretive. I think.” Sasha tugged at the turtleneck of his sweater. “Follow me,” he said, and then levitated down into the stump.

She leaned over to see that Sasha had completely disappeared into the darkness. That was unexpected. “Um…Sasha?”

“It’s safe,” his voice spoke, echoing slightly. “Just come down.”

Well. She trusted Sasha more than anyone, so there was no reason not to do what he said. Milla floated down slowly and after a few seconds she felt herself land in Sasha’s arms. Another unexpected development. She looked around and saw that he was sitting in a small rail car and they were in a little tunnel.

“What is this?”

Sasha grunted as he tried to adjust the way she was seated - moving her legs around to make sure they weren’t sticking out too far, if she had to guess. “Sorry, just. Give me a second.”

She could’ve helped him, but it was kind of fun to just let him move her around. It wasn’t often that Sasha initiated physical contact with her, after all.

He seemed satisfied with her positioning - she was sitting on his lap and her legs were crossed over one another, laying on top of his left leg. Her shoulder was resting against his chest and she had her hands poised politely in her lap. Sasha glanced at her, a nervous blush on his cheeks, then reached out one hand towards her hair.

After a moment of hesitation, he pulled his hand back. “You, um. You should pull your hair in front of you. Just in case.”

Milla was entertained enough by the situation to do what he said without question.

Once that was done, Sasha cleared his throat and tapped the little screen in front of them. “To the sanctuary, please.”

“Yes, noble Psychomaster.”

Not expecting such a sultry voice - or any voice at all, really - Milla let out a nervous laugh. “Darling, what in the world is going on? Where are we?”

“You’ll see in a few moments,” he said quietly, and then the rail car started to move.

Instinctively, Milla pulled her knees up towards her chest and tucked herself into the tightest ball she could. The car moved faster than she expected and she wasn’t exactly seated very securely. Thankfully, Sasha caught the hint and wrapped one hand around her legs and the other around her back, keeping hold of her.

It was very nice. She’d have to thank whoever built the tunnel system for that little moment she got to have with her partner.

Less than a minute later and it stopped. Sasha didn’t wait even a second before wrapping his hands underneath her and levitating them both out of there. They exited through a similar hollow tree stump, but found themselves in a very high-tech-looking lab. It looked almost nicer than some of the things they had at the Motherlobe.

She levitated out of Sasha’s arms and floated over to the middle of the room. “I have never been more confused.”

“There you are! And good, you brought Agent Vodello.”

The two of them turned to find Ford Cruller walking towards them from a platform on the opposite side of the room. He looked more sober and focused than either had ever seen from him before, and his presence asked just as many questions as it answered.

“Ford…” Milla said gently, floating towards him. “What’s going on?”

“My question exactly,” Sasha added.

The older man shook his head. “Sorry for rushing out on you earlier, Sasha, but I could hear Oleander thinking about getting his hands on a boat, so I felt that inescapable urge to get out there and help him. You understand, I’m sure.”

Milla stared at the man, unblinking. She did not understand at all. “You remember our names?”

“I do,” he answered, taking a deep breath. “Just down here. Surrounded by all this psitanium…it’s enough psychic energy to keep my mind together. For now, at least.”

“I thought this much psitanium exposure was dangerous for psychics.” Sasha walked along the platform, coming to a stop next to Ford. “We’ve seen that in the past, at least.”

“Yes, of course, I remember the whole situation with that Rehm fellow a few years ago,” Cruller responded absentmindedly. “But he was an untrained psychic mind, someone who didn’t even know he was psychic until he was exposed. My mind is…well, it’s not what it used to be. But it’s used to psitanium and it’s used to psychic enhancements.”

Milla wasn’t surprised to hear Lucius’ name brought up - Whispering Rock was, after all, very close to the place where he’d first been exposed to the psitanium that made him lose his mind. His accidental discovery was helpful when Oleander was looking for the right place to build the camp. “But above ground you’re still…not quite yourself.”

“That’s true. I…can’t leave this sanctuary.” Ford sighed and sat in one of the chairs. “My every free moment has been spent working on this underground chamber, trying to make it liveable and giving myself access to all the classified information I can get my hands on.”

Milla noticed Sasha staring at a pile of gadgets sitting across the way. Those probably belonged to Agent Mentallis - she wondered if Ford had stolen them, or somehow convinced his old friend to give them to him.

“This is great news, Agent Cruller,” Sasha said. “Why haven’t you told anyone yet?”

“Hmmmm,” Ford hummed, closing his eyes and leaning his head back. “To be honest…I don’t think most of them will believe me. I’m just happy you two do!”

“It’s hard not to believe when you’re so much more, um…” Milla started.

“...coherent. Than usual,” Sasha added, finishing her sentence.

“Ha! That’s true.” Agent Cruller stood up and stretched, cracking his back loudly. “Oleander doesn’t know about this, alright? And I don’t want him to. He can’t keep a secret worth his life.” He scratched the top of his head. “I don’t know if the psitanium will keep me sane forever, but…so long as it does, would you two help me out with some projects?”

Milla and Sasha glanced at one another, not even needing telepathy to understand that the answer was of course.

“Excellent,” Ford responded, despite the fact that they hadn’t actually answered out loud. “And since you asked, Sasha - we’re just due north of the main lodge. Directly underneath.”

Sasha hadn’t asked anything like that, which made Milla wonder if Agent Cruller was able to read their minds so effortlessly while in his sanctuary that he didn’t even realize the telepathy was happening. It was a strange concept, though she’d certainly had moments where she couldn’t tell if Sasha was talking to her or thinking at her.

“I know you two have a lot to do, getting ready for the campers to arrive tomorrow,” Ford continued, “but I’d appreciate it if you could visit me down here sometime soon. I have some important things I’d like to discuss.”

“Of course, sir,” Sasha answered.

Milla wondered if he felt as intimidated by Ford’s commanding presence as she did. It was so strange to be talking to the Ford Cruller of legend rather than the Ford Cruller they’d gotten to know in the Motherlobe. All the stories they’d been told about him suddenly made sense, just from such a brief interaction.

“Is there anything we can do for you now?” Milla asked.

Ford shook his head. “No, I…oh. I need to go.” He suddenly rushed towards the hollow tree stump and jumped in, leaving the two active Psychonauts alone.

Milla frowned. “Maybe Morceau needed help with that boat again.”

“Perhaps,” Sasha answered, but he was already back to staring at the pile of gadgets in the corner. “These are definitely from Agent Mentallis’ lab. He was complaining to me about missing equipment just last week.”

“Ah. Well…too bad we can’t tell him where it is.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “This is a strange situation, right? This isn’t something you’ve experienced before?”

“Not at all.” Sasha stood up straight and walked closer to her. “I think I can say with absolute certainty that this is not something any Psychonaut has dealt with before.”

Milla nodded her head and took a deep breath, wondering if the extra psitanium exposure would have an immediate effect or if they’d have to wait longer to feel a difference. She felt a little lighter, maybe a bit stronger, but she also wasn’t sure if she was just imagining it. “Agent Mentallis would probably be very happy to know he was right.”

Sasha sighed and stuck his hands into his pockets. “Yes, yes he would.”

#psychonauts #sasha nein #milla vodello #sashamilla #morceau oleander #ford cruller #lunchtime yoga #science party #carrofics

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axvwriter · 2 years ago

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CatMask brings Jaxon some gifts

Here's my attempt writing not only a canon character, but someone else's oc. I am not confident in this at all as I'm still new to writing fanfiction for canon stuff. Riddle is from Twisted Wonderland.

CatMask has taken a liking to @ryker-writes's Jaxon.

word count: 1,797

Jaxon had seated himself near the Ramshackle Dorm’s fence. The old, dilapidated building rarely had visitors around, which made it a nice space for Jaxon to get away from everyone. The lunch he had grabbed before heading here was nearly gone. He brought the remains of the meal to his lips to take a bit but tensed as something brushed against his waist. Glancing over, he saw a black housecat staring into his eyes. Blinking and quickly adjusting his sight back to his meal, he frowned a little. Professor Trein has a cat familiar named Lucius, but he had some patches of white fur. He had seen some sort of cat hanging around some freshman, but that one had some weird fire ear whiskers.

Plucking a small, cat-friendly piece from his food, Jaxon held it out to the cat still staring into his skull. The cat dropped its gaze to his palm. Leaning its head down, it quickly ate up the piece. Jaxon left his hand outstretched, allowing it the chance to sniff it. The cat stared at his hand, making no motion to sniff it.

“Oddball.” Jaxon quietly muttered under his breath before slowly moving his hand towards its head. The cat lifted its head up, bumping it into his hand as it resumed its previous staring at his face. He gave it a few cautious pats, but with it showing no sign of hostility or discomfort, relaxed into truly petting it. The cat’s body rumbled in response.

“Quiet one, huh?” Jaxon smiled a little at the silent purring. He shifted his body to get a bit more comfortable, unintentionally bringing his meal closer to the housecat. The cat shifted its gaze and chomped down on the rest of his food before he could properly react. Jaxon huffed, finding it rather cheeky for doing that. Slowly he wrapped an arm around the cat’s body, testing how far he could go. Upon its lack of response, he pulled the cat into his lap, hugging it somewhat as revenge.

It was late, so late that even most night owls of the school were asleep. Yet Jaxon was out of his dorm, walking about the campus. He had used some of his unique magic on himself to fight back the sleep and nightmares that always came for him. Though was it really worth it when it almost feels like a nightmare could be starting right now? What if he had fallen asleep despite his attempts not to? Why did it feel like something’s following him? That something’s in the shadows, watching him, keeping pace behind, then jumping in front at times.

Jaxon stopped, forcing in a deep breath. It was just his magic, just lingering longer than it should. He held it as he told himself it was likely a school ghost. Letting out the breath, he wondered how long a ghost would find this funny. How long until the ghost either jumped out at him or gave up and left? If it would show itself, then Jaxon could quickly make it regret messing with him. Crossing his arms, Jaxon decided to wait. It didn’t take long for him to catch glimpses of something white and something brown.

Furrowing his brow, Jaxon tried to keep his breathing steady as he realized what was approaching did not look like a ghost. A white cat-face-shaped… mask? A white carved stone? A glossy brown guitar that seemed to be levitating in front of the mask? As it got closer, he noticed four white stones? Four white round objects that seemed to take on a walking pattern. It wasn’t until it was a few feet away that he realized it had some sort of body made of shadow. No wonder he had such a hard time seeing it fully before.

As the creature reached him, it shifted smoothly onto its hind legs. It stopped, slouched, as its odd face reached the same height as his own. Jaxon stared at the being, taken aback. This didn’t look like a direbeast nor like a ghost. What in the twisted wonderland could it be? Was the creature becoming impatient with him? Perhaps as it was now, lightly pushing the guitar into him. Without thinking too much about it, Jaxon reached up and took the guitar. Once the guitar was in his hands, the creature slunk back down to all fours. Did it’s face change? Weren’t those teeth grooves slanted before?

Something moved behind the being, catching Jaxon’s attention away from its weird face. Blinking, he realized it was the creature’s tail. Its tail moving lazily side to side. More movement caused him to snap his gaze back to its face. Which was sinking into its body? The face? The mask? The mask seemed to sink into the creature’s head, dimming it to match the same off-white of the stones in its… feet? Jaxon tensed as it reached one of its legs up, reaching for him- wait no, it was reaching for the guitar. It plucked a cord.

“Do you… want me to play?” Jaxon breathed out. If this was some sort of nightmare, it was on the oddly calm side. Sure, he had never seen something like this before and it had stressed him by silently stalking after him in the dark… but it didn’t seem aggressive at all. Shifting his weight to subtly shake out some nerves, Jaxon plucked each one of the cords. The guitar sounded to be perfectly tuned. Keeping his eyes on the creature in front of him, he started to strum out a song.

After a couple of songs, Jaxon suddenly realized the empty space in front of him. He stopped, looking off to the sides to try to figure out where it went. Did he really get caught up in playing to lose sight of the creature? Or did it somehow teleport? Then he felt light pressure on his shoe, prompting him to look down. At his feet was the black cat from lunch earlier today. It had one paw on his shoe, staring up at his face. Its gaze felt way too similar to the shadow being’s unblinking gaze for this to be a coincidence.

He knelt down and the cat reached up, using its paw to pluck a cord. Was this something that familiars could naturally do? He didn’t recall ever hearing about familiars being able to transform. Jaxon sat down, getting comfortable. The cat climbed onto his lap, nosing at the guitar strings.

“Demanding little crap.” Jaxon half-heartedly grumbled. He strummed away, creating melodies for the cat which curled up on his lap, refusing to blink or even move its gaze away from his face.

It wasn’t until near dawn that he saw the cat shift back into the large shadow being from before. The sight was rather odd. It was as if its fur grew and extended into a big fuzzy blob until it smoothed out into shadow. The transformation was rather fast, making it difficult to take in even that. Instead of an increased feeling of weight on his lap, it lightened instead. Its shadowed mask pushed out of its head and the grooves of its teeth slanted. He felt a pressure tug at the guitar. Letting go of it, he watched as the odd creature walked away with the guitar levitating in front of its carved mouth. Watching it slink away, Jaxon could roughly guess it to be a foot longer than his own height.

Jaxon sat at a table in the library, rubbing at his forehead. It had been a few days since he saw that odd familiar. Familiars are supposed to help their mages, right? He wondered if he could somehow get that familiar to help him understand what he was reading. Though would it even help him? Familiars are loyal to only one mage at a time, right? He briefly wondered if he could ask Lucius for help, but the idea of the cat telling the professor how stupid he is…

Jaxon grumbled, shifting up in his seat as he heard a slight commotion. Must be some freshmen getting a bit rowdy in the library. He took a moment to stretch out his limbs, waiting for someone to quiet them down.

“Enough. Quiet in the library.” A somewhat familiar voice caught his attention. Jaxon looked over as the most bizarre sight arrived before him. The shadow creature, which he could have sworn was taller than that, was walking on its hind legs as Riddle seemed to levitate in front of its mask. The beet red of the boy’s face portrayed that Riddle had not agreed to be carried about like this. Yet he wasn’t casting off fire spells. Had he simply given in to the odd being’s whims?

With a quiet thud, it released its hold on the back of Riddle’s blazer collar, dropping him by Jaxon’s table. Reaching its head past Riddle, the creature pulled a chair out. Riddle glared at the shadow that barely reached over his head.

“What is the meaning of this?” Riddle asked, just to find himself being pushed into the chair by one of the creature’s feet. Riddle huffed and adjusted himself. The shadow leapt up, transforming into a cat as it gracefully landed onto the table. Riddle briefly focused his attention on Jaxon.

“Is this your doing?” Riddle shifted his gaze away as the cat nosed the open book on the table over towards him.

“No… I don’t know what it’s doing.” Jaxon answered, watching the cat. Riddle reached out to take the book, pulling it closer and briefly glancing over the page.

“This is one of the third years’ study subjects.” Riddle stated and glanced curiously at the cat, the red finally fading from his face. The cat nodded then looked over at Jaxon. Riddle followed its gaze, giving Jaxon a questioning look. Jaxon stared in surprise and offered a small shrug. The black cat suddenly reached over and batted Jaxon’s face. Riddle let out a small laugh.

“If only it would talk.” Riddle tapped the cat, gaining its attention. “Come on, I’m quite good at animal linguistics. Tell me what you want from us.”

“…”

“I’m not sure it can talk.” Jaxon muttered. Riddle let out a huff.

“Trey thinks so too. I don’t need to look over this subject… Do you want Jaxon to show me something in this book?” Riddle asked. The cat stared into Riddle’s eyes for a moment before reaching a paw out to Jaxon’s head. It seemed to pat Jaxon’s head.

“Right, I forgot that Trey’s mentioned its not very good with yes or no questions.” Riddle sighed. “I’m afraid we’ll have to figure out what it wants as I doubt it’ll let me leave.”

~~~

CatMask brought Riddle to Jaxon to try to get Riddle to tutor Jaxon. Those two are stuck there until they finally figure it out or until Trey comes to get Riddle and CatMask.

#axv writing fanfic #catmask #twst related #riddle rosehearts #twst riddle #twisted wonderland riddle #twst jaxon #jaxon crowley #jaxon crowley being menaced #if youre going to stay up you may as well play some music for catmask #Riddle has tutored Cater before in a way Cater would easily learn it #Riddle surely could help Jaxon #Trey only needs to walk by and CatMask will be distracted #my wording in my character intro post probably is a bit confusing for catmask's heights #in the natural dark it can be as long as 7ft #in direct sunlight it can be as along as 3ft #hopefully ill remember to add that clarification to catmasks intro post at some point #i wanted to write something with bobo and jaxon interacting but i dont have a solid idea #did have this idea for catmask interacting with jaxon #i like to ramble in tags #long post

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astaroth1357 · 4 years ago

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Demigod MC Series: Nyx

Nyx is a primordial goddess and the Greek personification of Night - the mother of Hypnos, Thanatos, Nemesis, and many more. She's a mysterious figure in their mythos as there's little surviving info about her cult. What is known, however, is that she was portrayed as beautiful, powerful, and feared by Zeus himself.

Demigod MC Series: Intro, Aphrodite, Hermes, Hades, Dionysus, Demeter, Athena, Hades Pt. 2, Poseidon, Ares, Hestia, Nyx

Lucifer

What happens when you take a being born from the darkness and place them in a realm of eternal night…?

The answer came when the MC first stepped out of the portal. Everyone in the room was wholly expecting a normal-looking, confused human they could get up to speed, however…

The MC's skin suddenly darkened until it was as black as a shadow, their clothes levitated around them as if they were defying gravity, and glimmering speckles dotted their skin like twinkling stars.

Even their eyes turned a pure, glowing white without irises or pupils… Like two crowning stars locked into a body made from the shimmering night sky...

They weren't human. At the time, Lucifer wasn't even sure he could say what they were... Breathtaking, certainly, but there was something else about them that he couldn't place… something… foreboding...

Diavolo must have had the same unease because Barbatos was put in charge of monitoring them. The butler would send reports to them both and the results would range from benign to nerve-racking...

They kept their distance from his brothers and most people, but their power seemed immense... Barbs would report seeing them making small items float or summoning a meteor shower from their fingertips!

Lucifer ended up actually tasting their powers only once. When they stepped in to protect Beel and Luke and he went to attack them…

The whole House began to shake and the candles of the tomb started going out one by one as the air grew intolerably heavy... He could have sworn he saw a vortex of… something... swirling at their feet...

He backed off immediately and Beel and Luke got off with a warning, mostly because he was trying not to look utterly petrified...

He's never met a more beautiful and dangerous creature in his life… Pact mark or no, this is probably the only person the firstborn will admit he never wants to have to fight because he'd lose, big time.

Mammon

He was expecting to find a human when he walked into the Student Council room, not an alien!!

Mammon was seriously scared of the MC when they first met because he legitimately believed they were an extraterrestrial sent to probe him!!... Or whatever else those scary movies say aliens do, lay eggs in his stomach?

He straight up avoided them like the plague until the Goldie incident more or less bound them together. But even then there was a distance between them he just couldn't place…

Naturally, it bothers a demon a bit if their master doesn't seem to like them, so he eventually cornered them one day to force them to tell him why they'd been running off!

As it turned out, the MC actually knew as little about their new form everybody else! They had been perfectly normal in the human world, but for some reason the Devildom supercharged them! They could tell that they were powerful, but had no idea how to control themselves yet and it scared them...

So Mammon became their first unofficial "coach." Not that he knew how to train them or anything, but he was the first person supportive enough to even try to help them learn their new powers.

It led to some… interesting misadventures. Like when the MC unexpectedly burst every water pipe in the House or when they got a little too frustrated and ripped the kitchen apart with an accidental twister, but hey, Mammon was always there for them at least.

Of course, because he's who he is, he's not above asking the MC to help him with his schemes for "training purposes…" Infiltration is more fun if you're weightless, after all!

Speaking of weightless… His favorite way to float is when the MC gets excited and hugs him. They can't help but levitate them both off the ground when they're that happy and it makes the whole hug that much sweeter.

Leviathan

It's… it's like he's in his very own Magical Girl anime!!! Uh, "I'm a Demon and this is My New Life with a Magic Starchild!!"-or something like that. 🤷‍♀️

He didn't even think their transformation was real when he first saw it! He really thought it was an elaborate body art cosplay but then their "freckles" rearranged themselves when he frightened them, so it had to be real!!

He'll declare that they're probably (literally) the coolest thing on the planet. They have the looks of an epic fantasy character plus insane powers to boot!

…though uh… they may need a training arc or two to learn how to control them… 😅

Since their powers are apparently tied to their emotions, Levi's seen them do a whole bunch of stuff that's not entirely on purpose... Like, they can make things float when they're happy and push everything down when they're sad.

So once he showed them one of those "tragic ending" animes for fun, but they cried so hard that they increased gravity and accidentally sent his bathtub crashing into the basement…

The worst of it is when they're mad, though. He made the mistake of making them play a rage game once and they ended up shattering all the glass in his room! His aquarium wall and Henry's fishtank included!!

They were able to make a zero G sphere of water in order to save Henry's life, but the cleanup was brutal… They were super sorry, but Levi took most of the blame himself anyway.

Honestly, he'd have been more mad but their body is clearly not something they can control just yet. Plus, it's so cool that he can put up with a little destruction anyway, you know?

Satan

Well, isn't that an interesting phenomenon?

Meeting a demigod is exciting enough, but one who reacted to the Devildom like that? It was pretty much unheard of!

Though he'd hate to admit it, Satan stalked the MC just as closely as Barbatos for a little while... But only because he was a little unsure of how to approach them…

They kept to themselves and their powers seemed "a little" unpredictable (see Levi's orphaned bathtub). Thankfully, Mammon ended up recommending the MC to him since Satan's one of the smartest guys around.

Satan made a better coach than Mammon, anyway. He was far more knowledgeable and actually able to hypothesize the strength their powers, which came in handy because uh… well…

Look. The whole realm 'ooohs' and 'ahhhs' over their appearance but they're all fools - no morons - for not noticing what potential the MC actually has. Satan was positive that the MC is the most powerful being in the Devildom, without question.

They had a complete control over gravity, atmospheric pressure, and even astronomical bodies… If they wanted to, they could literally pluck a planet out of orbit and send it careening into who knows what!

Want more terrifying? They could create near-matterless vacuums at the palms of their hands with the potential to suffocate, crush, or rip apart basically anything they wanted with implosive force….

Does he even need to spell out why that's utterly horrifying??

At least the MC seemed to be a genuinely nice person who wanted to control their powers better… Their emotions often got in the way but they tried their best.

He likes the MC a lot, but he'd be lying if he said that they didn’t also terrify him… They may have been pretty normal in the human world, but give them endless night and they may as well be a god...

Asmodeus

Oh… My… Father!!! They're GORGEOUS!!!!

From the moment their transformation completed, Asmo had never seen anything like them! He said that they were like a living droplet of the night sky!

They were magnificent!! They were radiant!!! He was posting pictures of them before they had even said their first sentence!!

So Asmo was pretty much patient zero for any and all rumors and hype about the MC after that... Apparently someone like them only visits the Devildom every one, maybe two, centuries so everybody was bound to get talking.

Thankfully, the MC's habit of ducking out of the House kept them from becoming a full on sideshow. Unfortunately, however, Asmodeus was relentless!

He'd beg them to try modeling or make videos with him because of their unique look! He'd lay on the praises, but it was a little... much. It wasn't until Mammon finally stepped that he backed off a bit.

Asmo sometimes forgets that not everyone puts as much emphasis on looks as he does... Though he meant well, he hadn't realized that the MC maybe wouldn't appreciate him making such a big deal out of their appearance change. Pretty as it was, it was still involuntary to them...

Of course, after they told him this he cooled off and stopped putting them out there so publicly but even still he could hardly keep his eyes off of them... unless he was looking in a mirror, of course. 😘

A fun fact about the MC: when they blush, their skin makes a pink nebula. And thanks to his antics, Asmo has seen their lively pink cheeks many, many times… 🤭

Beelzebub

Belphie would like them, wouldn't he...?

Beel's first reaction upon seeing the MC was genuine sadness, as seeing the stars with his twin brother still gone often brought him…

The sadness didn't last too long at least because Beel tried his best to see the MC more like a person than a work of art or an oddity. Sure, they looked different - like really different - but they still laughed, cried, and ate like everybody else so they couldn't be that different.

Though then again, most people don't end up floating in midair when they laugh… Eh, oh well. It's not like those little details bother him. 🤷‍♀️

He always remained certain that Belphie would like the MC so he told them a lot about him. Since his twin loved stargazing, it'd only be natural that he'd like someone who looked like the stars, right?

Aside from the occasional tangent about his brother, Beel would also help the MC with their training by letting them help him with his training!

Controlling gravity can be pretty nifty for strength/resistance exercises, so there would be days where Beel would just pull a Dragon Ball and walk around at 1.5 or 2 times Earth's gravity thanks to having the MC on his back!

Sure, lifting a glass of milk becane so difficult that he literally broke a sweat from trying, but he felt like he can juggle motorcycles afterwards so who's complaining? Not him!

Belphegor

……

………….

Was it some kind of joke?

The MC was not human. There was no way in heaven or hell that whatever he lured to the attic was supposed to be a human!!

Really, everything about the MC and their situation seemed directly designed to throw a monkey wrench into his plans...

One: They weren't human so how was he supposed to ruin Diavolo's dream? Two: They were clearly some kind of magical being so they could likely defend themselves…

But third ans most embarrassing of all... he honestly, genuinely, has never seen a more amazing person in his life. Blame it on his soft spot for the stars, but the moment the MC step up to his prison bars, he was smitten...

And. He. HATED IT!

Look, as much as he loved the night sky, he wasn't about to let some random non-human derail his anger! He was stronger than that!

He managed to hold onto his bitterness just long enough to make a halfhearted attempt on their life after they got the door open, but uh…

His brothers found Belphie when he fell through a newly-made hole in the ceiling... Said hole was made when his body slammed to the ground hard enough to crash through the attic floor... 😣

If the damage they caused wasn't enough to change his mind (which it was), then their distress when they thought they might have hurt him certainly did. Even their tears looked like stardust...

After far too long, Belphie got over his denial and began to properly love MC. If he liked stargazing before, he adored it now because he never even has to get out of bed! He can just roll over and follow the "stars" on the MC's body!

Unfortunately, that same love means it also takes a lot to ditch him if they get sick of being his personal night's sky… The brothers have found him floated up and sleeping on the ceiling on numerous occasions so the mortal can get some fresh air (clever MC)...

#obey me #obey me shall we date #shall-we-date-obey-me #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor #obey me headcanons #obey me demigods

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drarrily-we-row-along · 4 years ago

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Day 121: Record

"I found some weird box full of muggle stuff," Ron called, carrying said weird box out into the open living room that Hermione and Draco were working in since they had mandatory cleaning on Saturday mornings for everyone who lived in Grimmauld. "I don't even know what these are," he added, holding up flat, black circles with holes in the middle.

"They're records," Hermione replied, glancing up from the cabinet she was working on cleaning out. "They play music," she elaborated.

Ron made a face, "They're probably junk," he replied.

"What are?" Harry asked as he emerged from the creepy closet off of the kitchen, covered in spider webs.

"These records," Ron said, kicking the box with his toe.

"Oh," Harry said, making his way over, "Were they Sirius', do you reckon?"

"It says 'Lily Evans' on the side," Draco pointed out.

"Probably junk either way," Ron said.

Draco Malfoy had spent more than half of his life in love with Harry Potter. He might not have called it love when he was young but the older he got, the more clear it became that he had been a lovesick idiot for most of his life. He'd spent a lifetime memorizing every detail of that face. So he couldn't really be blamed for noticing the split second of hurt that flashed across Harry's face before he nodded, "Yeah. You're probably right. I'll just run them out to the bin."

"Let me," he said before he'd really formed a plan. "I've got all this to take out anyway," he said, gesturing to the box of junk that he'd weeded out this morning. "And we all know that Kreacher has less of a problem with it when I do it."

Harry gave him a little smile that Draco wondered if anyone believed was genuine. "Thanks," he said.

Draco levitated his box and the box of records and headed down toward the kitchen. When he was out of ear shot he murmured, "Kreacher," and the elf appeared.

"Yes, Master Draco?"

"Hi," he said, giving him a little nod, "Could you help me with something?"

"Anything!" he replied, nodding hard enough that his ears flapped.

"Could you hold onto this box for me?" he asked, gesturing to the box with the records.

"Of course," he said, immediately taking the box and disappearing.

Draco nodded in satisfaction and started plotting how he'd learn enough about records that he could help Harry use his mother's.

(Read more below the cut)

Two weeks later, on another Saturday morning cleaning day, he still hadn't made much progress. Luna had actually been the most helpful but he hadn't any idea where to find a record player.

But as luck would have it, one turned up in the library, tucked in a cabinet behind some very dusty potion vials and a rusted old cauldron. "Kreacher," he whispered.

When he appeared he held out the record player and asked him to keep it with the records.

He felt quite pleased with himself now that he'd found the record player; he was certain that he'd be able to play records for Harry in no time.

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

It took a couple more weeks. Figuring out how to get electricity into the house was no easy feat (but it was easier once he found out that someone, Sirius he suspected, had done it before).

When Harry arrived home that evening, Draco dragged him into the living room, "Draco, what is going on?" he asked, laughing at him as he tried to get him to hurry up.

"I have something for you," he said, nudging him into the room and presenting the record player. "Ta da!"

"Err," Harry said, looking more closely at it, "What is it?"

"It's a record player," he said.

Harry's head whipped around so fast that it made Draco feel dizzy, "What?" he whispered.

"I found it," Draco said, "when I was cleaning in the library. And I thought you might," he shrugged and reached for the box of records, holding it out to Harry, "I thought you might want to listen to them."

The other man looked at him then down at the box in his hands, eyes wide as he reached out a trembling hand to brush his fingers over the spot where 'Lily Evans' was inscribed on the cardboard box. "You," he started before breaking off and covering his mouth with his hand. "I don't know what to say," he whispered.

His heart was full to bursting and he was pretty sure he'd never done anything as good as this in his life. "Would you like to listen to one?"

Harry looked up at him and nodded.

Carefully, he took out the record on the top and slipped it out of it's jacket, "Ella Fitzgerald," he said. "I've no idea who that is."

"Me either," Harry replied, coming closer to watch over Draco's shoulder as he set the record on the plate, turned the player on, and set the needle.

Music spilled forth entrancing them both, It's not the pale moon that excites me, that thrills and delights me, oh no, it's just the nearness of you.

"Wow," Harry murmured, watching the record spin. He turned to Draco, "I can't tell you what this means to me," he whispered. "Thank you."

He shrugged but couldn't quite keep the pleased smile from his face. "You're welcome."

Harry looked back at the record player before looking over at Draco again, "Do you want to sit and listen with me?"

He nodded, "I'd like that very much."

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

It became something that the two of them did together fairly regularly after that. Sometimes they'd sit together and read while they listened to records, sometimes they'd talk while they listened, or catch up on work, or just listen together but it quickly became Draco's favorite pastime.

One Friday night while Ron and Hermione were out on a date, Ginny was away for a tournament, and Luna was working late, the two of them put on a record and ate dinner in the living room, continuing to drink wine while they talked and laughed long after their pasta was gone.

As the Bob Marley album, Exodus, came to an end, Draco stood up and made his way over to the box. "Etta James," he read, "At Last." He smiled and showed it to Harry, "look, she drew little hearts next to the song titles."

Harry smiled that melancholy sort of smile that made Draco ache inside. "Let's hear it, then."

Draco put it on for them and plopped back down on the floor in front of the sofa, his side mere inches away from Harry's, close enough that he could feel the heat radiating off his body.

"I like this one," Harry sighed thirty seconds in as he leaned his head back against the couch and closed his eyes. "Do you think they used to dance to this one?" he murmured wistfully.

Draco's heart clenched painfully as he was overwhelmed by the sense of loss that Harry must feel constantly. He had to take a slow deep breath before he responded. "Maybe," he whispered back.

The corner of Harry's mouth curled up in a soft smile, "I think they liked to dance," he murmured. "Hagrid gave me a picture of the two of them dancing together when I was at Hogwarts."

"Yeah?" he asked, hoping Harry would say more about that.

Harry nodded, "They looked really happy, you know?" he said. "Like they were the only two people in the world, like they weren't in the middle of a war," he sighed. "I like to imagine both of them dancing with me when I was a baby," he confessed in a whisper, "when I was crying or something. I like to imagine that the love that saved my life was tangible all the time, you know?" he murmured.

"I'm sure it was," Draco said softly.

He leaned over and rested his head on Draco's shoulder and Draco hardly dared to breathe. After a moment Harry said, "Would you dance with me?"

"Yes," he breathed immediately. "Yeah, of course I would."

"Yeah?" Harry asked, sitting up slightly to look at him.

Draco nodded and stood up, reaching for Harry's hand and tugging him up after him. He kept Harry left hand in his right and wrapped his left arm around Harry's shoulder, leaving space for Harry's right arm around his waist.

The other man hummed softly, drawing Draco in a little closer and closing his eyes as they swayed around the room. Draco couldn't stop staring; at the way Harry's eyelashes were long enough that they brushed his glasses, at the tiny nearly invisible freckles that dusted his cheeks and the bridge of his nose, at the barely visible wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, at his lovely full lips, and the way his stubble looked against his skin.

I love you he couldn't help but think, over and over like it was a personal mantra, like it was the only thing that could keep him alive; he ached with it, with the desire to hold him, to kiss him, to tell him what he really thought of him, to build a life with him, to give him everything that he deserved to have.

Harry's eyes blinked open as the song came to an end, his brows furrowing slightly as he brought his hand up to cup Draco's cheek, "Are you alright?" he asked softly, wiping a tear that had slipped out.

"Merlin, sorry," Draco said, taking a step back to wipe his eyes. "Sorry. It's just your life has been so unfair and when I think about you not really knowing your parents and having to live with your shitty relatives, and-" he choked on the tears.

"Hey," Harry murmured, pulling Draco back into his arms and rubbing his back, "Hey, it's alright."

"It's not alright," he managed.

"Well, no," Harry agreed, "I suppose it isn't. But it's all past now," he said. "Now I have my friends and I live with people who love me and whom I love," he carded his fingers through the hair at the base of Draco's neck. "Ron and Hermione, Luna and Ginny," he swallowed, "you."

"I just wish," he started before breaking off because finishing that sentence would be showing far too much of his hand.

Harry drew back slightly to look at him, "What?"

His eyes were so open, so earnest that Draco couldn't help himself. "I wish you'd let me love you the way you deserve to be loved."

The other man blinked, "What do you mean?"

"Promise me that nothing changes if you don't like what I have to say," he said, clenching his fingers in Harry's t-shirt.

"I promise. You're one of my best friends, Draco," he assured.

He took a deep breath, "I'm in love with you," he finally managed. "And I just want to love you, all the time. I want to hold your hand, and dance with you, and make you laugh, and surprise you. I want so many things for you-"

"Me too," Harry interrupted. "I'm in love with you, too, I mean."

"Really?" he whispered, hardly daring to believe it, his eyes welling up with tears again.

"Oh, love," Harry said with a little smile, wiping Draco's eyes with his thumbs, "Yes, really. Come here," he said, pulling him in closer and swaying to the music, letting Draco cling to him as they moved together.

As they continued to dance, Harry started to tell him all of the things that he dreamed about for the future together. Painting a picture of the beautiful life they could have and after a few minutes, Draco joined in, adding bits of his hopes as well.

They stayed up late into the night, talking and dreaming of the life they wanted to give each other. And every time they fought after that, one of them would get out the record player and they'd dance together and remind each other of the lives they wanted to build.

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

Day 120: Tough | Day 122: Moon

#100 drabbles in 100 days #one year of drarry drabbles #drarry #drarry ficlets #drarry drabbles #fluff #pining #like a lot of pining #boys in love #love confessions #acts of love #this one got away from me #but I sort of love it #getting together #friends to lovers

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theeslytherinslut · 4 years ago

Text

The Perpetual Freak (1/?)

Pairings: Sirius Black x reader, Marauders x reader

Warnings: Mention of bullying,

Word Count: 2,063

The Beginning

“Twitch,

Just 4 days now--like I need to tell you, likely been counting down the days all bloody Holiday, haven’t you? We’ll be there Sept 1st at 10 on the dot, we should make it to King’s Cross by 11 that way. Be ready this time, won’t you? I think Padfoot just might actually hex your grandmother if he has to make small talk with her again, but can you blame him? Anyway, we’ll be there at 10. Don’t forget Jinx this time. I don’t fancy being attacked once he breaks out of your grandmother’s house.

P.S Sirius said he’ll be on his best behavior--does that make you nervous too?

See you soon,

Prongs (& Padfoot)

The letter lay in the same spot on your cracked cherrywood desk since you received it. Though short and to the point, you’d reread it many times, hoping somehow the more you read it, the faster the day would come.

Holidays were hell. Being a muggle-born, there was always a bit of an adjustment period after coming home from Hogwarts for a break--an adjustment period usually aided by parents and family--however, this could not have been further from the truth for you.

“Y/N!” As if on cue, your Grandmother's angry call shot up the stairs. Cringing, you held your breath as you walked down the stairs into the kitchen. She stood with her blue gingham apron covered in flour, as well as most of the floor and countertop.

“If this bloody bird scratches my window one-more-time,” she said the words through clenched teeth, glaring at you from across the room. Her stacked icy grey curls bobbled on her head as she shouted, her fist pressed against her hip. “I’ll have to drown it in the creek.”

Your Snowy Owl, Jinx, sat outside the baby-blue curtained window, his big orange eyes peering at you innocently through the glass.

Piecing together the situation, you’d guessed Jinx had arrived suddenly during your grandmother’s baking and had startled her, causing her to spill much of the contents of her bowl.

Suppressing a smile at the mess, you walked over to the window and opened it. Jinx’s peppered wings stretched out briefly before you felt his talons brush against your collarbone, and he perched onto your shoulder.

“Sorry, Grandmother,” you mumbled, catching your cousin smirking at you. A blush of anger lit up your face, and you made to disappear back into your room before anything got ugly; you’d gone all Holiday without a vicious row, and you weren’t about to start one just before you walked out the door.

“When does that school of yours start again, anyway? Aren’t you normally gone by now? Blakely’s school has already started, he’s been working so hard,” she doted, smoothing his hair as he ate his cereal, milk dribbling from his lips and onto the table. “We could all use a little peace and quiet around here, frankly.” she sniffed.

Jinx gave an annoyed hoot and ruffled his feathers unpleasantly as your grandmother glared at him from across the room.

“Train leaves September 1st at 11am like it always does. I’ll be leaving within the hour,” you said, struggling to control your voice.

“Train? There are enough of you--you, people, for an entire train?” Blakely said, dropping his spoon in his bowl, splattering more milk onto the table, evidently thoroughly shocked.

“Yes, oddly enough, it seems I’m not the only freak in England,” you said, using the word he often threw at you.

“Maybe not the only one, but definitely the biggest,” he said quietly, glaring up at you from his cereal. Grandmother, however, pretended as though she didn’t hear, merely clanged dishes loudly together as she turned back towards the sink.

“One day, I’ll hex you so terribly you’ll be lucky if someone calls you something so kind as freak,” you pushed the thought into his head and promptly stormed out of the kitchen, though savoring the terrified shock on his face.

“She-she did it again!” Blakely called, color draining his face. But you were already halfway up the staircase with Jinx balancing on your shoulder before her angry screech reached you.

You’d almost always been an utter freak in their eyes, and it all started when you were only a baby.

Your mother died while giving birth to you, and your father was never in the picture, so there was no one but your Grandmother to take you in; no one but you to blame for it all. You were, after all, the product of your mother’s insolence--having fallen pregnant at 15 by a man whom she’d never spoken of. And further, you were the reason she’d died; she wouldn’t have bled out if you hadn’t been conceived. To your Grandmother, it was as if you were the cause of every problem she had in life, a walking reminder of where it all went wrong--and she made sure you knew it.

Terrible as things already were, nothing was to be helped by the events that were to unfold. As the story had been told to you, you were a little over a year old, crying incessantly in your crib. You’d evidently been exceptionally whiny that day, crying non-stop, refusing to be consoled, and just when she’d for the first time seriously considered doing you in, you stopped. Relieved yet confused, your grandmother had come in to check on you.

“I’m hungry.”

She had heard the words clear as day, in a voice she didn’t recognize, but the words sounded funny. The voice almost echoed, somehow managing to sound crystal clear but miles away at the same time. Sure she was simply going mad from a lack of sleep, she stood rooted to her spot in shock.

“Did you hear me, Grandmother? I said I’m hungry.”

Seeing your bright Y/E/C eyes boring up into hers, she let out an ear-splitting scream when you grinned as recognition dawned on her face.

Obviously, no Muggle doctor could give any sort of explanation or help. At most, they’d give one of the two of you some kind of a crazy pill and a suggestion of seeing a family counselor.

Soon after, tragedy struck your grandmother’s side once more, and you were landed with a cousin, Blakely. Blakely, however, seemed to adopt a mindset closer to your grandmother’s about it all and would no sooner take a shine to you than get friendly with the rabies-infected alley cat.

But as the years went on, things began to get even stranger.

At the age of 3, your wailing cries caused all the lightbulbs around you to pop inexplicably (costing your grandmother a fortune, as she so loved to remind you).

At 5, you’d managed to levitate a ball Blakely was taunting you with out of his hands and into yours.

However, at age 9 is when it became harder to keep a secret; at age 9 is when your grandmother began truly resenting you.

Being a self-ascribed ‘freak,’ bullying was something you were no stranger to. A comment here, a hair tug there. However, this had been a particularly extreme case. Kylie Kippely and her best friends had backed you into a corner, each shooting off snarky comments at your scared state, and when that wasn’t enough, they began throwing things--anything they could get their hands on--cans, papers, pencils, erasers. All the while yelling how everyone would be much better off without such a freak in their midst, about how all their parents were scared to even send them to school anymore after your last incident.

Then, they began running out of rubbish and started picking up rocks instead. Before a single rock could leave their hands, however, the mulch around you began to shake, then chips slowly started rising into the air behind them. As your face went from scared to full of awe, they turned around to see what you were looking at and simultaneously dropped everything in their hands. The mulch then began pelting at all of them, causing everyone around you to scream and disperse, all batting away the pieces of mulch pelting at their running backsides.

Grandmother had pulled you out of the school before you could receive any other punishment, and from that moment on, you’d been stuck in the house with her.

With no outlet, with nothing but growing rage and resentment inside of you, things began to spiral even worse.

Just when Grandmother began researching distant reform schools, however, you received your Hogwarts letter, and everything made sense.

All the strange things you could do, all the bizarre things you made happen, had an explanation. Sure the explanation was that you were, in fact, a freak--but you weren’t the only freak. There was a whole school’s worth of freaks just like you--well, almost just like you.

Though paper cranes soared around you and magic burst from the tip of hundreds of wands, through your time at Hogwarts, you found you did have one unique gift: it was evidently called Telepathic Impression, a branch of complex magic known as Legillimens--no one else could push thoughts into other people’s heads like you could, not naturally anyway. Nobody could ask a question silently and have the Professor answer for all to hear. After you’d interjected into McGonagall’s head during your first Transfiguration class, she’d had you go straight off to Dumbledore’s office. After a brief discussion, it was found you possessed natural Legilimency skills--something that had only been seen once before. He’d been absolutely transfixed when you told him the first instance had been at the ripe age of 1, in fluent advanced English no less.

You smiled fondly at the memory of his laugh of delight as you’d repeated, ‘Did you hear me, Grandmother? I said I’m hungry.'

Never before had you told that story in any sort of positive light, never got a positive reaction either. Dumbledore had been absolutely enthralled with you from then on.

He had carefully explained the practice of Legilimency, how the mind was a layered thing and could not be ‘read’ simply, like a book. He’d explained how everyone learned it to some advantage of theirs, how no two Legilimens were the same.

After several years of private lessons, it seemed all you’d ever be able to do with your gift was push thoughts, images, and sounds of your own into other’s minds--but this was an incredible feat in itself, a private gift of yours. However, just the year before, it was found that with effort, you could twist the thought to become persuasive, convince the person the thought was their own, and to complete the idea you’d given them. During the first lesson which you found you could do so, you’d been practicing with Dumbledore. Though he was giving no effort at all to resist, you’d silently suggested his tea was abysmal and that he knock it off his desk in disgust. With a twitch of his wrist, the cup shattered onto the floor, shocking you both into silence. It was after this Dumbledore had insisted you promise to never use it for evil, never ever use it with ill intentions--for as a Legilimens himself, he would know. You quickly agreed, of course; you’d never once had the thought to use it with ill motives--aside from maybe having Blakely go for a nice long dip in the creek in the dead of January, but that was a fantasy you kept for yourself to get you through Holidays like these.

Shaking your head of past childhood memories, you turned to your trunk to make sure you did indeed have everything all packed up and ready. You didn’t want to stay a second longer than necessary.

Spotting your cloaks pushed into the depths of your closet, you plucked them from the dark and folded them into your trunk. It wasn’t a moment too soon either, because right as you closed the lid, you heard the boisterous arrival of your best friends as they pulled in the winding driveway driving the enchanted car James’ parents had lent him. You heard an enthusiastic barking whoop and smiled as Sirius’ bright eyes and smile filled your mind.

Your stomach bubbling with excitement, you hastily put Jinx in his cage as he looked around in interest. Picking up his cage, you bounded down the stairs to meet them.

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sam-bl-lover · 2 years ago

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The answer was as simple as that. Mork was incapable of threatening this friendship the more they spend time together.

The more they spend time together, the more fearful he was of his feelings, knowing well one wrong move would pull Pi several steps back that he took his time taking.

Especially after knowing how hard it was for the latter to trust people. They had a rough start all because he couldn't talk in truths. He still wasn't when he told Pi he was a friend every time looking at those round eyes and soft cheeks.

He couldn't put what they had at risk for something he wasn't sure about.

And that was the reason precisely why he pushed every thought of leaning closer when they were only inches apart. Because no matter how close he wanted to lean in, he had to step away before things get out of hand.

Sometimes it felt so pointless, as if the possibility of them getting together was a fading light at the end of a tunnel.

Some mornings he woke up thinking all about those 'What If's' he couldn't answer himself.

Other time there was a sudden urge to shove all his secrets inside a box and lock them away for good because at this point, being friends was way better than loosing Pi in any sort of way.

When he could feel Pi's warmth and wanted nothing but wrap his arms around the latter, forming a shield to hide him away from this cruel world.

Or the way his intrusive thoughs won over his self control on his weak days as his traitrous hands would make their way to fix that one strand of hair falling over Pi's forehead just right to poke him in the eyes.

They way his figures twitched to reach out and wipe the corner of his mouth when he messily ate something.

And these little feeling would erupt every time he saw Pi doing something as trivial as taking food to his table. Or simply sitting side by side studying. Or replying to his text. Talking about his shitty day.

To the point it would travel all through his body like crackling electricity, make his fingertips tingle until he had to remove himself from close proximity of Pi.

Keep his thoughts at bay, in the dark, whenever he felt words flowing inside his brain.

Swallowing bits of the acidic feeling when he would slip up and reveal the truth.

How could he so obvious and Pi be so oblivious.

A bit angsty.

A bit of slow burn

We all love these little guilty pleasures.

My Book-'Levitating Towards You' on Ao3, more refined and edited.

A bit angsty tags_

#One-sided enemies to friends to lovers

#Slow building romance

#Emotional hurt

#A bit depressing

#Dark thoughts happen at some point

#Feelings denial

#Triggering subjects

#Past traumas

#Unhealthy coping mechanism

#Mild mention of bullying

But it also has_

#Humor

#Satire

#Fluff

#Sarcasm

#Happy ending

#Healthy relationship building

#Enemies to Friends to Lovers

#Stupid cheesy flirting

#Eventual stupid but iconic confessions

#Developing feelings

#Mild sexual content

#Sloppy make out

#Drunk shenanigans and confessions

#Declaration of love

#Domestic shit happens out of nowhere

#We have side couples? Maybe

#Mentions of other Bl series in between as other characters make cameos!!!

#Everyone is gay- Yuppie!

My writing isn't the greatest but I try.

Please consider reading it.

I really need the motivation.

'Do we really know the truth behind someone's lies? Is it fair to lie to someone you care about because of your own fears?'

"Do we really know how to differentiate between Romantic and Platonic Love? Should we? Could we?"

'Is it alright to want someone who looks so far, out of reach?'

So many question. So many answers....

Ao3 account-Paint_the_sky_18

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angrythingstarlight · 4 years ago

Note

Today is International Female Orgasm Day, so - out of all the people you write for, who do you think is most likely to give you the most mind-blowing orgasm of your life?

That is so hard to pick from...

So you have beefy biker Steve who will make you see stars, like seriously your soul levitated from your body after he filled you up and then ate it out of you.

But beefy biker Bucky made you come so hard you passed out and woke up a few hours later in bed with him lying beside you watching a football game on his phone.

Mafia Bucky will have you screaming in the middle of his conference room while you ride his fingers and you're so far gone that you don't even care that there are dozen people waiting for the meeting to start.

Then again, Demon Bucky treats your body like it's his personal alter and after he's done, you feel your orgasm for hours.

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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 5 years ago

Note

Carnival date headcanons with kalim, cater, epel, jack, and malleus please?

Curiouser and Curiouser...

Kalim’s so excited to explore the carnival--he wants to see and do everything at least once, hauling you from one attraction to another with sparkling eyes. He can scarcely stay at a food or gaming stall for long without something else grabbing his attention and rushing over to it, your hand clasped in his.

Just as he wants to experience it all, Kalim also wants to taste it all. He’ll put down the Madol to buy a ton of snacks, and he insists on feeding it all to you! You just can’t say no to your boyfriend when he plucks off a tuft of cotton candy and holds it out to you, or stuffs some funnel cake in your mouth.

Kalim doesn’t mind the “kiddie” attractions; he treats them just the same as the more adrenaline pumping rides. He’ll jump around in a bouncy castle or spin around and around on the merry-go-round happily, a wide grin plastered on his face.

He doesn’t realize that carnival games tend to be rigged against you, so he just keeps shelling out money when he doesn’t win until he finally does! Kalim really wants to nab that grand prize for you though Jamil will scold him later for frivolously spending! When he finally does, he’s so proud of himself that he beams like the sun as he hands over a massive otter plush and claims a victory kiss.

Cater will want to take as many cool looking photos as he can to commemorate the date! That means lots of couple selfies sharing snacks, making silly faces in cute accessories, and posing with prizes from carnival booths.

He elects for something savory while you’re exploring the carnival! There’s nothing like a carton of nachos or fries drenched in cheese, shredded veggies, and greasy meat! Of course, it gets a bit messy to eat--but rather than use a napkin to wipe things up, Cater cheekily kisses your fingers and licks up the remains of your snack.

Cater likes the idea of playing carnival games, but he’s not very successful at winning them. In fact, he would rather use a ring for taking an aesthetic picture rather than play ring toss! (You get a lot of confused looks from the stall runners when he thanks them for lending him “props” for his MagiCam account.)

Instead of games, you visit the balloon artist, who twists up a crown for you--and though it looks goofy, Cater insists that it’s a piece befitting royalty! He drags you into the hall of mirrors, and you spend hours there in the maze, bouncing into a thousand of you and Cater in silly balloon crowns. When you finally find the exit, the sun is setting--the perfect backdrop for one final date selfie.

Epel wants to go on all the high excitement rides! No merry-go-round for you guys, it’s all about the roller coasters and bumper cars! He’ll let his hair down and scream as much as he wants as you’re plummeting from a drop or smashing his car against yours.

For a carnival snack, you share a caramel or candy apple--but because the apple’s so round, it’s hard for you to find a place to bite! Eventually, you and Epel agree to try chomping on the apple from opposite ends at the same time to keep the fruit from slipping around on its skewer. It kind of works, but the sticky sugar clings to your hair and Epel’s! You use a moistened napkin to help clean one another up before you chow down on your shared treat.

He gets pissed off while playing carnival games! The people running the game stalls tease Epel, calling him a little kid and implying he won’t be able to win a big prize no matter how hard he tries. Joke’s on them--Epel manages to score a win while they’re distracted laughing! With a snide grin, he lets you know that you can pick whatever prize you like from the stall.

At the end of the day, you’re both tuckered out and don’t feel like going on another roller coaster, so you agree for your final ride to be on the ferris wheel. You reach the apex and look out to see a shimmering sunset, the sky red like an apple and the sun like an wobbling yolk sinking into the horizon. Epel sneaks a shy peck on your cheek while you’re distracted--and that sets both your faces aflame.

Jack allows you to lead him around the carnival and determine which attractions and rides you want to engage with. He only intervenes when he thinks it’s a bad idea (like if you ate before trying to get onto a roller coaster) and will propose an safer alternative for the sake of your safety and wellbeing.

He’s not a fan when it comes to most carnival foods--they’re deep fried and dipped in too much sugar, and Jack insists he needs to stay in shape for Track and Field Club! You manage to convince him to grab a bag of popcorn to munch on throughout the day, and you take turns tossing pieces for the other to try and catch in your mouths.

Jack’s a beast (both literally and figuratively) when it comes to carnival games! He can score hoops, whack moles, dunk tanks/hit targets, and win tests of strength easily, netting you an entire army of new giant prize plushies!

You spend most of the date on your feet, but if they start to feel sore, Jack volunteers to give you a lift to let you rest. Be it princess carry or piggyback ride, he makes sure to handle you carefully as you thread through the carnival grounds with you clinging to him.

Wherever Malleus walks, the crowds instinctively part for him (whether in fear or in reverence, you’re not certain). This makes it far easier for the two of you to navigate the bustling carnival crowds, though if you ever do get separated, it’s not that hard to spot a tall, horned guy in the middle of a sea of people.

He’s fascinated by the variety of snacks offered at carnivals and spends a long time choosing what he’d like to eat. In the end, Malleus settles for his favorite: ice-cream! You follow suit, grabbing a different flavor than him--but curiosity gets the better of both of you, and you end up briefly exchanging cones to sample one another’s choices, resulting in indirect kisses!

The game stall employees call Malleus out for using his insane magical abilities to cheat (”Oi, oi, oi, you can’t just levitate the ball like that, young man!”), so he’s forced to play without them. Though Malleus is generally elegant, he lacks the skill needed to win any of the games. He does eventually accumulate enough attempts to get a pity prize, but he still gets gloomy and sulks about his loss.

Some of the kids at the carnival mistake Malleus for a costumed performer because of his horns and pointed ears! They swarm around him, asking for pictures and jokes or clinging to his legs, finding his regal way of speaking to be funny! You do eventually shoo them off, but that didn’t stop you from giggling when you saw one of the greatest magicians in the world getting mobbed by children--and taking it quite well, too!

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feralthoughtdump · 4 years ago

Text

Please Don’t Say You Love Me

Neither of them really knows how to navigate love. They fear the idea of it. But the universe has other plans.

CW: angst, reader is a witch, catching feelings, drinking, no smut but it’s implied they have sex, complicated feelings towards love, heartbreak. Part Two will have a happy ending (I promise)

Word Count: 1.5k

The two first crossed paths at one of Tony’s parties. Loki had been hesitant to go, but Thor had managed to convince him. And looking back, he was pretty thankful. The second his eyes landed on her, occupied with mixing a drink, he was intrigued.

He’s heard her name come up in conversation before. A witch, one of immense power, who used to do little favors for the people of New York. Fury had recruited her after a little incident in the Financial District. An incident that caused many to look at her with wary eyes.

“I hate the taste of liquor,” She had told him, pouring a concerning amount of gin into a glass along with tonic water, “But I do like getting drunk.”

Loki had laughed and poured himself a glass of Asgardian liquor. They cheered a playful “to getting drunk”, and downed their drinks.

After one too many rounds of shots of god know what, they found themselves in her room, locked in heated kisses, grabby hands, and sweaty bodies pressed against each other.

In the morning, not only did the two of them have to nurse their horrendous hangovers, but they also had to deal with the quiet snickers and knowing glances from the rest of the Avengers.

Bucky had given him a proud clap on the shoulder.

“She’s a doozy, isn’t she?”

Loki just hummed in agreement and sipped at his coffee.

He had later learned that she had hooked up with the super-soldier. Multiple times.

And for some reason, it caused a mild twist in his stomach.

Loki had made an internal promise not to pry into people’s minds, but a few days later, he found himself looking into Bucky’s head, trying to figure out his relationship with her. It wasn’t any more than friends with benefits. No strings attached, and no developed feelings. But it did nothing to curb the unfamiliar emotions within him.

Loki couldn’t stop thinking about her, and every time he received a text from her or conversed with her, he felt his heart race.

And for the young witch, the same was happening.

It terrified her. She found herself unable to admit that she had developed feelings. Eventually, it led to her crying for an entire day, refusing to let anyone onto her floor or to even leave.

But she hid it well, she had always been good at hiding her feelings, and this was no different.

Both of them thought that if they just ignored it, maybe even found ways to avoid each other, those uncomfortable emotions would just disappear.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t as easy as they thought. Unbeknownst to them, the rest of the Avengers had noticed, and it led to them getting paired up on small missions, being lumped together on the same couch during movie nights, and during the moments of a slowly ending party.

The two of them made the best of it, thinking that as long as they kept their feelings to themselves, the other wouldn’t know and they could just leave it as a friendship.

They grew close, practicing their magic, sharing playlists and jokes, trading books and secrets, things that friends did. But those feelings didn’t go away.

Love was confusing for Loki. He’s been around for thousands of years, yet he can’t remember the last time he’d felt this way. Sure, he’s been in relationships ranging from friends with benefits to commitments lasting quite a while. But none of them ever felt all that real. Loving someone would only hurt him.

From a distance, it appears to be a pretty thing. Clasped hands, gentle kisses, quiet whispers that make the other blush and smile. Love is beautiful, he’s seen the love his mother had for his father, the care they’ve shown each other. Yet he’s never really felt it. It made him feel outcasted, unloveable. It made him fear that he’d always end up alone.

For her, love was brutal. It’s a game of Russian Roulette. Like Loki, she’s been with many. But every time she’s fallen in love with someone, she was left heartbroken. Left to her own devices to pick up the pieces. She’s been torn apart far too many times it left her exhausted. Exhausted from having to put herself together over and over again. So she stuck to small rendezvous and spur-of-the-moment hookups. Minor things that wouldn’t really matter. Ones where she wouldn’t get hurt. The closest thing she’s ever had to a relationship was being friends with benefits with Bucky, but when it was over, they still stayed friends. No hard feelings and no broken hearts.

They’ve built walls around themselves, lashing out at anyone that seemed to be a threat to the illusions they’ve cast. Eventually, their illusions became something even they couldn’t escape.

A fear of love turned into resentment of it. Disgust at the thought of a relationship. Terror at the idea of commitment. What was the point of loving someone if they get hurt at the end?

So while, she pushed those feelings into a trunk, one to be locked away and forgotten about, Loki started to scheme. A complex, possibly stupid, but well thought out plan, on how to have her.

He’d pick up on the small things, the music she liked, her favorite flavor of cupcakes, the colors she liked, and slowly implemented them into his life.

A psychology book he had found in the library had explained Pavlov and conditioning.

She wasn’t a dog, but Loki hypothesized that if he’d make strawberry frosted vanilla cupcakes, wore her favorite colors, and played the music she liked, she would associate her favorite things with him.

That was the plan. And the backup plan, well, he didn’t want to consider the possibility of having to implement that backup plan which was to just take a leap of faith and tell her how he felt.

But it seemed as if he was cursed as the realization slowly dawned upon him: he had to use the backup plan.

So here he was, shifting nervously on the couch while she happily ate the cupcake that he made her.

“I love you.” He spills, the words tumbling out of his mouth before he could close it.

She licks the frosting off her lips and smiles.

“I love you too. Thanks for the cupcake.”

Loki shakes his head.

“No, I love you. I really love you.”

She tilts her head and places the cupcake on the coffee table.

“What do you mean?”

“I-” He stammers. “Look, I haven’t felt this way before, and I-”

Her tone shifts. One that is sharper, scarier. The one that she only uses when she starts to get angry, the one that she uses before objects around them would levitate and the lights would flicker.

“Spit it out.”

“I want more than a friendship with you. I love you. I’ve loved you since the day we met.”

His heart pounds as the air around them shifts.

“No.” She shakes her head, a harsh laugh slipping past her lips. “No. Don’t say that.”

“Why not?” He shifts closer to her. “I-”

“You’re lying to me. You’re being cruel.”

“Why would I be lying? I may be-”

“This has nothing to do with you being the god of mischief.” She interrupts.

He opens his mouth but he finds himself speechless. His hand reaches for hers but she pulls it away.

“You’re being mean. You’re being cruel.” A tear slips down her cheek and she roughly wipes it away with her sleeve. “Who put you up to this?”

“No one! I’m being honest with you!”

He feels his heart slowly start to crack, a sharp ache growing in his chest.

She stands up and runs her hands through her hair.

“So what is it then?” She cries, voice wavering. “You want someone to be at your beck and call when you want your dick sucked? No, I won’t let you do this to me. Not when I’ve loved you for so long.”

Loki walks over to her and gently reaches out to wipe her tears away but she turns her head.

“Darling, I promise you, I love you. I don’t have any ulterior notices. I just… I just want you.”

Silence falls between them and she sniffles. He tries to meet her eyes but she won’t let him.

He waits with bated breath.

“Leave.” She mumbles.

“What?”

“I want you to leave.”

Loki shakes his head and gently places his hands on her shoulders.

“No, I’m not leaving, I want to talk about this.”

“Stark made this my designated apartment. So, this is technically my home. If I want you to leave, you will leave.” She hisses.

With a wave of her hand, the door flies open.

“Please, just listen…”

She steps back, letting his hands fall to his side.

“I won’t tell you again.” She shakes her head as a pained smile crosses her face, the lights starting to flicker. “Leave.”

Before he can blink, Loki finds himself being sent backward, gently landing in the hallway. As he stands to run back into her apartment, the door slams in his face.

#loki #loki x reader #loki x female reader #loki angst #loki x reader angst #loki fanfic #avenger!reader

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wesimpforxiao · 4 years ago

Text

Say My Name and I’ll Be There: 10.3: The FINAL Chapter!

Author’s Note: IM SO SORRY IM A DAY LATE I ENDED UP BEING BUSIER THAN EXPECTED AND HAD TROUBLE WRITING BUT HERE IT IS!!!! THANK YOU FOR READING! Be sure to stick around for Inception(Childexreader) ;)

"Xiao! Come here real quick!"

The yaksha glanced your way but didn't bother to get up since you were the one approaching him. It took a moment to register that your hands were entangled in his hair, placing something in it. Your smile was unusually bright today--so much so that it was blinding. Not that he minded though; you've been through a lot these past few months. Maybe this was the happiest you've been in awhile.

"I knew it," you beamed as you admired the flower crown atop his head, "You look so cute!"

"C...Cute?" His gaze flicked away from you for a moment while the tips of his ears reddened. "I-"

"Oh, take the compliment already. We've been together for awhile now. You don't need to be so shy around me." You let yourself fall back onto the grass that was shaded by a large orange tree. Is it a gingko? I need to ask Aether next time he comes in here, your mind trailed.

"I..." Xiao returned his attention to you and lay down next to you, careful not to invade personal space and always leaving an inch or two of space between the two of you. He let his hands lay on his abdomen until he jumped a little from you scooting over without a word. When he looked at you, he was greeted by a cheeky smile.

"I know you're not used to this type of thing called affection, but I can tell you don't mind it."

"Hmph. You've gotten smarter."

"Hey, I told you I'm not a stupid human!"

"You're beginning to sound like Aether's companion."

"Okay, there is a huge difference between emergency food and a stupid human."

"So you admit it?"

"Ugh, keep this up and I'll have no choice but to put more flowers in your hair."

"Do you dishonor every adeptus you come across?"

"Well, you're the only adeptus I've met besides Rex--Er, Zhongli!" The filtered sunlight peeking through the leaves above blinded you when you broke eye contact with Xiao, so instead you propped yourself on your side and admired the view behind him.

Aether's Serenitea Pot was massive. It had to span a mile or two in every direction, and the entire territory sat upon five tall cliffs that were connected via wooden bridges and held flowing waterfalls. The weather was always pleasant day-round. There were several pets outside of the main house on the main cliff that you had befriended, while Xiao seemed to connect the most with one of the gray tabby cats near the entrance. You had caught them sitting quietly together on several occasions.

"Granny would've loved this place," you sigh.

"I shall go with you to visit her grave." He didn't look at you as he said this, but the sincerity of his words rang as clear as the sky above. "...She'd be happy to know you're safe."

"All thanks to you." Despite originally admiring the scenery, your eyes had drifted downward and landed on his stomach. Both of you were fully healed by now because of Bennett, and neither of you had any lasting effects from your battles minus the required resting time. Your side held a prominent scar both at your front and your back, but did Xiao even get scars? He never revealed the answer--mostly because you were too embarrassed to ask--and thus leaving the idea to your imagination.

"I should probably check on the situation outside soon; it's been awhile since Aether updated us." Xiao sat up and summoned his spear--he had mentioned a few times that it was difficult for him to relax here and needed to keep himself busy since a comfortable life is a foreign concept.

"Oh, right..." Your gaze followed his figure as he rose to his feet. Sensing your--what was it, disappointment?--Xiao turned to you and removed his flower crown before gently placing it atop your head. That action was followed by a faint smile, then his lips lightly pecked the tip of your nose.

"I shouldn't be long."

"You two love birds have made quite the nest here! I've gotta say, Aether's got great taste." A familiar voice caught both of you off your guard and Xiao's stance became aggressively defensive in an instant. You and Xiao were supposed to be the only ones in the teapot at the moment, and even then, those who did occasionally stay in here didn't greet you like this. The person that voice belonged to wasn't welcome--or at least, belonged to a presumably-dead man--regardless of that savior act he pulled in Snezhnaya.

"Childe?" More shocked than afraid, you too rose to your feet. "What're you doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious? I came here because I had something to say." The harbinger was as carefree as ever, but as he walked towards you a slight limp became noticeable in his steps. He was hiding an injury, but was it from Scaramouche or from Aether?

"What did you do to Aether?" Xiao's voice was as low as a growl as he raised his spear higher. He stood slightly ahead of you to ensure your safety since you no longer had a vision and couldn't use those mysterious anemo powers ever since the rescue. And knowing you and your idiotic tendencies, he had to make sure you didn't do something stupid like try to fight Childe if provoked.

"Haha! Relax! Aether and Mr. Zhongli are doing just fine; in fact, they allowed me to enter!" Childe hid a wince when he stopped walking, but noticed the flicker of recognition in your eyes. His lips curled upward with flattery. "Don't worry, ojou-chan. A little scuff isn't going to take me out."

"I-I wasn't worrying about you."

He seemed unconvinced but faced Xiao again anyway. "You'd be pleased to know that both Aether and Zhongli let me in on their own accord--no manipulation from me whatsoever." The fact that he had to clarify that! "Why don't we chat over lunch? I'll cook. Show me to the kitchen, girlie?"

.............

To say that you and Xiao were staring was a bit of an understatement. Here you were, both sitting at the dining table in the main hall of Aether's adeptal house watching Childe cook up a meal fit for a large family while expertly navigating the kitchen like it was his own. And when he served you, the delicious aroma that wafted into your nose was nothing short of enticing. You and Xiao withheld your utensils--one out of weariness, and the other because it's not almond tofu.

"What?" Childe let out a slight chuckle as he took his seat and dug into his plate. You have no idea how thankful he was that there were forks in the drawers instead of chopsticks. "Oh, perhaps you two already ate before my arrival? More for me then I suppose."

"Um, so why are you here?"

"I figured I'd give you an update regarding our little situation outside."

"'Little?'" Xiao couldn't contain his scoff. He hadn't dismissed his weapon either, and it levitated beside his seat.

"Seems like the quiet life hasn't changed you one bit, yaksha." The harbinger stopped stuffing his face and set his fork aside to look at you. "Regarding what happened with Scaramouche, I think it's safe to say I won."

"If it weren't for you coming here today, I would've assumed your untimely demise." Ignoring Xiao's look of disapproval, you reached for your utensils and started to eat. Both of you hadn't taken your eyes off of the harbinger as he cooked, so the chances that he may have tampered with the ingredients were low. Plus it'd be out of his character to go about eliminating enemies like that. "I'm grateful that you saved my life, but don't think for a second that that makes up for everything you've done to us."

"Oh, I wouldn't dare. I know I've been aggressive for lack of a better term, but I'd like you to know that I'm only like that when it comes to my duties as one of the eleven harbingers. Aside from that, I'm happy to call you a comrade just as I view Aether and Zhongli."

"Woah woah woah," you nearly choked. "I'm certainly not going to start viewing you as a friend now."

Childe simply laughed at your objection. "Think what you may, but I do respect you and the rest of Aether's party. As for my motherland and it's affairs, I think you'd be happy to know that the Tsaritsa has stopped her pursuit of you and Xiao. She's not exactly appreciative of you wrecking the palace and would like to avoid any further destruction that can hamper her current plans."

"That's all it took for her to leave us alone? You must be joking." The archon had spent so much time and resources on hunting and imprisoning you--the idea of her giving up just like that had to be unrealistic, right? And the fact that Xiao managed to bring the entire palace down...there's got to be some sort of bounty on your heads.

Childe met your gaze and held a level of sincerity equivalent to the time when he confessed his feelings and offered you a position among the harbingers on Dragonspine. "Not in the slightest. Regardless, you're free to lead carefree lives from now on. Though if you'd like to rejoin the Fatui I'm sure I can pull some--"

"Nope. I'm done with that."

"Ha! Very well then." Childe resumed eating with an amused grin on his face, but Xiao wasn't satisfied with this conversation yet.

"You've given us no reason to trust your words." His stare was hard and calculating as he tried to decipher any hidden motives behind Childe's friendliness. It wouldn't be unusual for this to be some kind of trick. In fact, he expected that there'd be some sort of catch.

The harbinger sent a brief glance Xiao's way before guiding another forkful of food into his mouth and shrugging. "...Like I said, think what you may. I don't care if you two choose to live in this realm or in Teyvat with the rest of us. But then again it must be incredibly boring for a guardian yaksha to be lounging around in this domestic place. I know I'd be driven mad if I had to live in such a quiet place for so long."

Xiao didn't flinch or give any indication that he was right, but your eyes briefly flicked his way. It was uncomfortable for him to be 'relaxing' here with nothing to do. It wasn't surprising that he'd be yearning to go out and uphold his contract with Rex Lapis again.

............

"Childe, wait." Your hand gripped his forearm rather aggressively as he reached for the door handle to take his leave. Xiao had heard a disturbance outside and went to check on the realm just in case, so it was only the two of you inside the mansion.

"What is it, ojou-chan? Miss me already?"

"Yeah right." As he turned to face you, your grip lightened until you let go. He hadn't called you 'Mezzetin' once since he got here, only referring to you with this nickname like old times...Childe raised a confused brow. "Why?"

"...Why? Why what?"

"Why did you save me? You could've just let Scaramouche kill me back there. So...why did you risk your life to save mine when you didn't care less when I was tortured?" Your stance was firm as you faced him head-on. "I need to know."

"Ah," Childe awkwardly scratched the back of his head, "that." Some sort of conflict flickered in those blue eyes of his as he formulated an answer he didn't quite know himself. "Like I said earlier ojou-chan, I've always seen you as a com--no. As a friend. Just as Zhongli and I converse despite the Osial controversy, I see you in the same light despite my loyalty to the Tsaritsa."

"That doesn't answer my question, though. You had several opportunities to stop what was happening, and it was only then when you decided to step in. So why then? What changed your mind?"

"I don't know."

"Bullshit, Tartaglia. There's got to be strings attached to this, right? You expect something in return from me? Just get on with it already and tell me."

"I doubt you'd be satisfied with my answer regardless," he muttered mostly to himself. "I may be kind of a bad guy, but I'm not completely heartless." He observed the stumped expression that sat on your face as the gears turned in your head. Then, he turned to the door again. "When you're ready, you should join Mr. Zhongli and I for drinks sometime. Farewell, girlie." He was gone.

Despite the deep-rooted grudge you held against the harbinger now, you couldn't help but still hold some sense of familiarity or gratitude for him. You might just take on that offer if only to purposely antagonize him at the dinner table.

......

"Xiao, how did you get your tattoo?" The two of you were sitting beneath another one of the many trees native to Liyue in the adeptal realm, still waiting for news regarding your return to the mortal realm. Several days have passed since Childe paid you a visit, and Zhongli and Aether still had yet to check in on the two of you. To keep Xiao occupied and keep him from worrying, you'd ask him questions. "I don't have any of your memories of it."

Despite his memories being shared with you due to your bond, the further back in time they're from, the blurrier they got. The oldest memory you could 'remember' dealt with the god that enslaved him, and even then, there was no mention of the mysterious green markings that sat on his arm.

"I've always had these markings," he answered gruffly. He had sat up a moment prior with the intent to exit the teapot out of concern for your companions, but your random question caught him off guard. His amber eyes narrowed cynically when your fingers traced them.

"Do they have a special meaning?"

"'Meaning?'" His gaze averted for a moment as he decided whether or not to indulge such a topic. But your eyes were so full of life as you traced his arm, and your touch was so warm... "They represent my true form."

"True form?" You tilted your head and attempted to picture whatever the heck he would be, but all you saw were a bunch of random shapes. The other adepti in Liyue are shaped like deer and cranes, but what the heck was this mosaic supposed to be picturing? "And, uh, what would that be?"

Xiao let out a tiresome sigh and realized he may have made a mistake in answering these questions. Now that he had told you, you weren't going to stop asking until you got to see for yourself. He never uses his true form; very few had ever seen it and those who have have already passed. Zhongli had only ever seen it once.

Seeing his apparent concern made you raise a brow. "No way. Don't tell me your true form is a bug or something!"

"Tch. Is that really what came to mind?" Xiao shot you a glare before standing. He was planning on walking away and ending the conversation, but your silent pleading made him reconsider almost instantly. We are alone, he thought. Perhaps I could show her once. "Fine," he grumbled. "Close your eyes."

You obeyed. He didn't exactly say 'no' when you asked if he'd be a bug. He wasn't going to appear as such...right? Butterflies fluttered in your stomach at the anticipation. And just as your excitement grew, so did the winds that brushed past you. Even the leaves in the tree above were shaking violently. Then, everything stilled. Something soft brushed your fingertips, which were resting on your knees. It was a cue.

"Hm?" Xiao was no longer standing over you. Instead stood a majestic bird with blue and green feathers that shimmered like glitter in the sunlight that filtered through the tree branches. "You're--!"

"--a bird," he finished. He didn't say anything for a moment and allowed you to take it all in, seemingly shy or even embarrassed as you instantly reached out to touch him.

The blush that rushed to your cheeks was ignored by the both of you while your fingers grazed over the feathers that stuck up from the top of his head. He was beautiful; as breathtaking as a peacock, even. Your fingers trailed down the back of his long neck, earning a rise of feathers as Xiao contemplated your movements. His feathers were softer than the finest textiles in Liyue! And the tail feathers he had must've been as long as you are tall. They glowed a light blue that's similar to the eyes of his mask.

"So beautiful," you whispered in adoration. Xiao shifted his wait to his other foot. "Thank you for showing me." The fact that he did showed how much trust he placed in you--

The sound of a twig snapping scared the crap out of both of you--so much so that Xiao immediately transformed back into his mortal self. Since he was so close to you though, it looked like he was sitting on you from the front angle.

"Hey guys! Sorry it took so long to check in--" Aether nearly stumbled when he approached you. "Um...am I interrupting?"

"No!"

"The Vigilant Yaksha is BLUSHING?!" Paimon squealed so loud that the three of you scowled. "And what's with that sitting position?! You--"

"Paimon!" Aether swatted at his companion before she could say something that angered the yaksha. "We came here for a reason!"

"Hey! Paimon is NOT a fly!"

"It's confirmed to be safe now. You two can come home!"

"Wait, really?" The two of you stood up. "Are you sure?"

"Yep! There's no issue with the Fatui anymore. Everyone's backed off. We'll see you at the Pavilion for dinner to celebrate, okay? Don't be late!" The two partners exited the realm in a flash.

"Ready?" Xiao turned to you.

"Right now?! It's so sudd--"

"You don't have any belongings here anyways." The statement cracked a smile on both faces. "Let's go." He reached to tap the symbol on his hand.

Your hand grabbed his. "Wait! Let me see you a little longer." He was confused to say the least, but you didn't bother explaining how gorgeous he looked in the light right now. Those amber eyes mirrored your own--though perhaps it'd be more accurate to say the opposite. This is the last chapter of the crazy 'adventure' and the dangerous waltz with the Tsaritsa. In just moments you'd be back in reality, return to Liyue Harbor, return to your Granny's grave, and he would return to his duty of protecting Liyue. One more moment in this peaceful environment is all you need to admire him before life got hectic again.

Now your new adventure will be permanently at Xiao's side for however long your lifespan is: training with him, supporting him at his darkest moments, and loving him. No matter what Teyvat brings next, you'll be able to take it on head-first despite lacking a vision and at his side. You'll both thrive, not just survive. And as you peered into his eyes, you could tell he felt the same. "Okay," you nod. "I'm ready."

#wesimpforxiao #wesimpforxiaoupdates #genshin x reader #xiao x reader #genshin impact #say my name and ill be there

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