#BUT THEN they asked that tiny white lady to go after her

[chaos-with-a-twist]

cant believe i had to organically decide to watch ahsoka and find out about all the potential gayness myself instead of my mutuals putting it on my dashboard and stuffing the saphics down my throat. I TRUSTED YOU GUYS

[squipa]

not today, maybe tomorrow

aka your childhood best friend (and crush) came back… different.

———

you’ve been patching up jason for a long time.

it started when you were both just kids. he’d come to you with the injuries he didn’t want to show his father, and you, who had experience in patching people up, were happy to help. mostly you were eager to spend any time with him he would give, even if that meant brutal gunshots and ugly stab wounds. you refused to admit to yourself that you had a ginormous crush on him— but you did. it was a secret that sat on your chest like an elephant: you are in love with jason todd.

then he died, and that excitement became grief. you became a nurse, fixing people up for a living because it was the only thing you were really good at. you spent years just… stuck. stuck on him, stuck in the past, stuck wishing he didn’t die.

and then jason came back, and it was just different.

the first time, he stumbled in through your apartment window, bleeding buckets from a bullet lodged in his shoulder. he failed to come to you as red hood (because you pointed a tiny little revolver at him and he was in no position to leave), so you were the first one who saw him as jason. still, he refused to say a word. not when you cried so hard your hands shook, not in the hours you spent fixing him up, not when you begged him to stay, to come back.

you didn’t see him after that for nearly six months. you were starting to think it was a dream. you had all but convinced yourself the blood on your windowsill came from your own hands, that this version of jason was a cruel manifestation of just how much you missed him.

but it happened again, and again, his visits growing more frequent as time went on. before, he only came to you when he was circling the drain. now all it takes is a deep cut in the arm for him to request aid from your gentle hands. he spoke almost exclusively in its better than it looks, and thank you’s, but at least he spoke.

you hate this arrangement. you really do. you want jason, all of him, your friend, and the boy you loved back. you want him to actually speak, talk to you like he’s your friend and not your patient. you’re tired of being woken up in the middle of the night to put a bandaid on his injuries. you’re tired of dropping everything to get nothing in return. but what’s the alternative? losing him? not when you just got him back.

not when you love him so much. so much your chest hurts when you think about what would happen if you asked for more.

but it’s draining. being jason’s on call personal doctor— no matter how much you care about him, you’re not sure how much you have left in you.

“my therapist said i need to start saying no to you. put myself first.” you say, pulling the thread through jason’s wound, sewing it closed.

“smart lady. you should listen to her.” he says, flickering his eyes up to yours.

“you wouldn’t come back if i stopped sewing you up.”

“that’s not true.”

you don’t respond to that. it’s too vulnerable, the way his eyes chase yours while you stare down at the gash on his arm, running a sewing needle back and forth through his skin. you don’t know what to think, it’s far too late and you’re far too tired to have any idea what it is you want from him.

you’re scared. scared that if you stop doing this for him you’ll lose him all over again. scared that you’re nothing more than a private medic. scared that the moment you ask for more than 2 am visits and blood stained carpets you’ll get left behind.

he sighs, pulling you out of your head just as you finish the last stitch. you cut the thread with a pair of grooming scissors, tying a small knot to keep everything in place. you look up at him, noting the frown firmly tugging at his features, and the defeated expression in his eye.

“you’re good to go.” you say, leaning back, putting your supplies back into your first aid kit, wiping the blood on your hands against the white box.

“thank you.”

he stands with a small groan, slipping back into his costume. you focus on cleaning up, refusing to look up at him as he walks back towards the window where he came, his combat boots scraping against the floor.

“i’ll come back.” he says, quietly, with his hands hooked under the windowsill.

sure you will you think, but instead you simply nod, keeping your eyes trained on the blood stains in your carpet. you know if you look back up at him the tears stinging your eyes will spill, and you’ll lose the scraps of jason you’re so determined to keep.

he sighs, pushing himself through the window, and just like that, he’s gone. just like the first time, the only confirmation you have that he is real are the droplets of blood running down your fingertips.

you wait for him to come back. one hour, one night, one week. you feel stupid, hoping so desperately he’ll come when you know he won’t. at least, not without a near-fatal wound you have to magically heal. anxiety overwhelms any thoughts of him— did you scare him off? was that moment too much for him?

you feel like such an idiot, that is, until he returns. you don’t expect it to be him when you open the door. because it’s only six p.m and he’s… at the door… and not breaking and entering through your window…

but, to your surprise, it’s him.

jason, who isn’t making eye contact and you can only assume it has something to do with how absolutely rigid his stance is. jason, who is white knuckling a bouquet of lilies with one hand and a bag of takeout from your favorite guilty pleasure restaurant with the other. you didn’t realize he remembered your favorites, not after all this time.

“ah- shit.” he says, looking up at you with those ice blue eyes. this is the first time in… you can’t even remember how long that he’s come to you just as jason, no red hood attached.

“jason?” you ask, your eyebrows knitting unconsciously together. he looks back down, mumbling something along the lines of i look like a jackass.

“i’m late.” he says, looking back up to you. you swallow down a wad of spit that resembles your overwhelming anxiety. you can feel the crush that you can never seem to kick bubbling up again, fighting to spill over the surface, as your eyes go back and forth from the flowers, the food, and him.

you nod, staring at him blankly, unsure of what to expect. he awkwardly shoves the bouquet towards you, taking a breath.

“i told you i’d come back.” he says, while you take the flowers from his hand. it’s not a cheap grocery store bouquet either, the flowers are fresh and perky, arranged professionally with baby’s breath, the stems cut carefully at an angle.

you look up at him, gently bringing the lilies to your nose. “are you hurt?” you ask, because honestly, you’re confused as to why jason would be here without a knife jammed in his back.

he grimaces, shaking his head. “no, i— fuck. i’m fine, i just— i wanted to say… look, i’m sorry.”

your eyes widen. you lower the flowers and press them against your stomach, confused and nervous and excited all at once. “…for?” you prompt, tilting your head.

he sighs, forcing the words out like it’s the hardest thing he’s ever done. “i’ve been a real asshole. i, uh… i should’ve been treating you better, y’know, not waking you up ‘cause i’m bleeding just enough to get to see you. not leaving you behind over and over.” he omits the part that some nights he’s less careful than others because he wants to see you so badly it hurts. “‘cause…” he starts, taking a deep breath. “i really care about you. and it took me way too long to get my head out of my ass and realize you deserve better. and a week ago, that meant getting the hell out of your life before i ruined it. today that means doing everything i can to make it up to you.”

your heart beats faster than you can bare, your eyes wide. you feel like you’re falling, your stomach doing somersaults as he speaks. just about everything you��ve wanted him to say just fell from his lips, and you don’t know what to say in return.

luckily, he’s not done.

“i brought you the food and the flowers, ‘cause i didn’t want to spring too much on you. i figured i’d wait for you to decide whether or not you hate me before i ask you out on a proper date.” he says, looking up at you.

oh.

now it’s your turn to speak. you don’t know what to say— you’re on cloud nine because the boy you’ve had a crush on for nearly a decade is asking you out. all you can do is look up at him like a complete idiot, while his expression grows more and more nervous.

“would you like to come in?” you ask, finally pushing the words out, praying you don’t sound too gleeful.

for the first time in years, you see him smile. part of its relief, that much you know, but there’s this unfamiliar look in his eye that tells you it’s much, much more. he relaxes, letting his shoulders fall back.

“lead the way.”

———

pause i just want to thank y’all SO MUCH for all the love on my previous fics. i’ve had this acc for like a week and i am so grateful for all of the notes and reblogs and people who have been so kind as to follow me !! this account really is just to force me to write and like… have hobbies so y’all interacting means so much <3 i hope you enjoyed this one !! tysm!!

[riddlesbunny]

out of the woods

summary: The war is over and Rhaenyra’s daughter gets a fresh start in The North.

pairing: Cregan x Targaryen!Reader

word count: 842

warnings: Description of pain & childbirth, grief, RIP Jace <\3

note: Sooo……. It appears that I’m in Cregan Simp Mode

It is a brighter day than usual when your labors start. The sun even begins to peak behind the clouds, casting a gorgeous gleam over Winterfell. It has been six months since the civil war between your family has ended and it seems as though the smoke-like grief that clouds your mind is finally beginning to clear. After all of your pain and suffering, you are now far away from Dragonstone and even farther away from King’s Landing. As your younger brother sits the Iron Throne, you have a hope for a peaceful realm. As well as hope that you and Cregan will finally be able to start anew.

Things are different in Winterfell, especially now that the dance has ended. There is no pressure for your babe to have silver hair or violet eyes. No pressure for it to be born with a cock. All that matters is that the babe is healthy. Your child will not suffer the same hardships as you and your siblings once did.

You can hear heavy footsteps outside of the chamber as Cregan paces restlessly. While you endure another hour of labor, you try to keep your mind elsewhere. Your gaze is fixed on the flicker of the candle that sits in the chandelier above your head.

One of your earlier memories is your mother being in labor with Joffrey. You remember wincing at her screams and placing judgement on the names she called her midwives. Now you don’t blame her. You even admire her for going through this so many times. You miss her terribly.

Your hand grips tightly onto the wooden headboard as you try your hardest to listen to the instructions of your midwife.

“Push into the pain,” she advises you, “when the pain is at its worst, that’s when you will want to push the hardest, my lady.”

Your knees are at your chest, a thin layer of sweat covers your entire body, and your once white nightgown is now stained red. You inhale deeply as you brace yourself for another painful contraction.

And just like that, it’s happening again. It begins as a dull ache in your spine that eventually overtakes you completely. It feels as if you were being torn to shreds. Your muscles begin to spasm and each wave of pain is worse than the last.

A particularly loud scream echoes out into the hallway and it has Cregan bursting through the door into the room, his auburn brows furrowed.

“This is not the place for men, my Lord,” your midwife sternly warns him.

“I do not care! What’s happened?”

“Nothing!” you bark at him, your teeth gritted. This is a pain he is unable to comprehend.

“I’m fine, we’re fine. It just hurts. That’s all.”

Cregan frowns at you as he comes to stand at your side.

“My lord—” your midwife tries to interject once again.

“I’m staying.”

He keeps true to his word and remains at your side for the rest of your labor, despite your midwife’s wishes — earning him many dirty looks.

Another painful contraction comes and the pain is mind blowing. But it seems to be the light at the end of the tunnel. You bring your chin down to your chest and push with all of your might. You push as if your life depends on it, because it does.

“That’s it, my lady! Perfect. I can see the babe already, a full head of hair,” she states.

Just when you swear you cannot push anymore, you feel sudden relief and loud cries fill the room.

“It’s a boy,” your midwife declares, and Cregan squeezes onto your hand tightly.

“And he is one healthy pup! With quite the set of lungs!” she adds.

About an hour later, once you are moved from the birthing bed and all cleaned up, you sit in your large bed that you and Cregan share. Your babe is cozily bundled up and suckling at your breast, his tiny gums gnawing at your flesh.

“Do we have a name for him?” Cregan asks you as he comes to take solace beside you, peering down at the tiny babe.

“I’m not quite sure yet,” you reply, your mind still hazy, your heart full, “did you have something in mind?”

“I was thinking… he holds a striking resemblance to your brother. What do you think?”

You glance down at your newborn son. An angelic face matched with tiny wisps of dark hair that threaten to grow into a thick head of curls.

“Oh,” you coo, “yeah… yeah, he does, doesn’t he?”

Cregan smiles widely at you, in a way that makes your heart want to burst right out of your chest.

You and Cregan both held great love for Jacaerys. It was something you bonded over when you were first getting to know one another. After spending so much time with him at the beginning of the dance, Cregan began to care for Jace as if he was a brother of his own.

“So it’s settled then,” he states with pride, “we’ll call him Jacaerys.”

“Jacaerys,” you breathe out in agreement as your husband places as gentle kiss on your forehead.

[supernovafics]

𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐑 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐒𝐄

"i'll be there for you" universe masterlist

pairing: bestfriend!roommate!steve harrington x fem!reader

word count: 4.9k words

warnings: explicit language, a bit of angst (bc of some family drama), lots of fluff, smut (18+), unprotected piv sex, tiny hint of praise kink

summary: in which a family wedding makes you think about the future

author's note: i love when i randomly get hit with inspiration for this universe<33

general note: everything in this universe/series can be read as standalone oneshots but to understand the full “lore” it would prob be best to read the other stuff too<333

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Summer 1986

You had been trying to stay on your parents’ good side. They hadn’t been pestering you a lot about your future— specifically college and transferring to the University of Chicago, where they had wanted you to go since you were a kid— and you wanted to keep it that way. And if that meant going to a family wedding in Illinois, then so be it. 

The only bearable part about it was that Steve was coming too, and it had taken absolutely no bribing to get him to say yes. 

“Is this my girlfriend privilege coming into play?” You asked him as you two sat on the couch in your apartment’s living room. “Because I swear if we were still just friends you would at least force me to do all of the driving or something.”

Steve gave you an amused smile. “Do you want me to make you do all of the driving?”

“Nope, not at all,” You shook your head. “So, actually, I’m gonna stop talking now.” 

Steve laughed a little and you focused your attention back on the random sitcom playing on the TV, a small smile on your face. 

“Do you think Dustin will wanna babysit Harold again?” Steve asked as he mindlessly reached out to grab your hand that was buried under the blanket draped over your laps and intertwined it with his. 

“Oh, yeah, definitely,” You answered with a nod, taking a look over at the brown and white hamster’s cage that was sitting on the low shelf you two had next to the TV. “Honestly, I think he’s starting to like Harold more than us.” 

“I’m pretty sure that happened right when we got him.”

“Shit, you’re right,” You said as you shifted a bit and wrapped Steve’s arm around you so that you were nuzzled more comfortably in his side and then intertwined your hands once again. “I actually feel kinda offended about that. Just so you know, I love you and Harold equally.”

“Equally?” Steve said, sounding playfully shocked. “I’ve known you for basically ten years.”

“Yeah, but Harold’s our son, so…” You shrugged, trying to contain your growing smile. 

“Okay, I guess I’ll share the number one spot, then,” He responded as he pressed a kiss to the side of your head.  

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

The four-hour drive to the town just out of Chicago where the majority of your family lived wasn’t terrible. You and Steve evenly split the driving time and spent most of it playing silly games; mainly the license plate game because it was a car ride staple, and also a game where you two had to try and think of the same word and say it at the same time, and you two were eerily good at it. 

By the time you made it to the hotel that all of the out-of-town family members were staying at because of how close it was to the wedding venue, it was the middle of the night. Even though Steve didn’t have to work today— he took off the entire weekend, actually— you two still decided to leave later in the day because you wanted to avoid as much unnecessary time with your parents as possible.

Unsurprisingly, you and Steve were the only people checking in at ten o’clock at night. 

“So, it looks like there are two rooms in the reservation,” The lady at the front desk told you; her name tag said Joan. “One under your name, and one under Steve Harrington.”

“Oh,” You said and then nodded after a second. “Um, okay.”

Joan seemed to take note of your slightly confused tone. “Did you not book two rooms?”

“My parents handled all of this, so I guess they did the two rooms.”

She nodded at your words. “I’m gonna go grab the room keys and I’ll be right back.”

She headed off to what you assumed was the back room and you turned to look at Steve who was standing right next to you. 

He let out a quiet laugh as his arm slipped around your waist. “Did your parents forget that we live together and that we've been dating for the last five months?”

“They probably think we still sleep in our own bedrooms,” You said, leaning into his touch and realizing just how tired you were. 

You truly couldn’t remember the last time you slept alone in the past few months since you and Steve got together, and even before that, you both had spent a lot of time in each other’s beds. It probably would’ve made sense for you two to downsize to a one-bedroom place, but you both loved the apartment so much that you couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. 

“Should I pretend that I’m actually staying in the other room?” Steve asked and you quickly nodded. 

“Yeah, just in case.”

“Bad idea that we decided to share a suitcase then, huh?”

When you came up with it, it seemed like the perfect idea for the quick weekend trip. Why bring two separate suitcases that would probably be half empty, instead of just sharing one? 

You sighed now as you took a look at the black suitcase that Steve was holding the handle of. “Very bad idea.”

Joan returned a moment later. “So, good news, the rooms are right next to each other, and they’re actually connecting, so you two won’t have to be too far from each other.”

“That’s great,” You said, grabbing one of the keys from her outstretched hand, and Steve grabbed the other. “Thank you so much.”

She smiled at you both. “I hope you two enjoy your stay.”

You and Steve said another quick “Thanks” before heading toward the elevators. 

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

“Your room is so much nicer than mine,” You said as you slumped back onto Steve’s bed, head quickly finding the pillow that was actually so soft. 

“Do you wanna switch?” He asked from where he stood by the suitcase, pulling on a fresh t-shirt for the night.

The door that connected your rooms was wide open and it would probably stay that way for the entire night. 

“No, it’s fine, I’ll deal with my shitty shower pressure and lumpy bed.”

“You can stay in here with me tonight, y’know,” He told you, moving closer and maneuvering so that he was settled on top of you. It was a comfortable position, even though it probably shouldn’t have been. The way your bodies molded so easily for each other always felt like two pieces of a puzzle coming together. 

You smiled under his gaze. “Thank you for the formal invitation.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “Of course, no problem. I wanna be a gentleman.”

You couldn’t help but laugh a little at his words that were said very seriously, but you knew they were anything but. 

You could’ve easily fallen asleep just like that if you wanted to, with his warm body pressed so comfortably against yours, pretty much equivalent to a weighted blanket. And it would’ve made sense to fall asleep after the long drive you two had to endure, but you really didn’t want to.  

His head dipped down and yours tilted upward, allowing you two to meet halfway in the softest kiss. 

There was something about kissing Steve that always felt so nostalgic, and also the complete opposite. Even five months into everything, there was still a newness to being with Steve in this way that you’d probably never get fully used to. Every time felt like the first one, but there was also so much comfort that had been there from the beginning and it only continued to grow.  

After a moment that you considered way too short, he pulled away from your lips and his mouth started immediately trailing along the underside of your jaw and then down to your neck.  

You let out the softest hum as you shifted underneath him, searching for any sort of extra friction. Steve’s low groan was the first thing you heard when you brushed against his hardness and you wished that you could pull off the few layers that separated the two of you in one quick movement. 

“You still tired?” He mumbled against your neck.  

“Yes, but I also really want you right now,” You whispered back as you threaded your fingers through his hair, which was slightly damp from the shower he just took. The only pro about not sharing a room was that you both got your own bathroom, even if the water pressure in yours sucked.  

“Yeah?” He asked as he pulled back a bit to look at you. His voice was teasing, playful, but you also knew how much he loved the reassurance too. 

“Yeah,” You nodded immediately. “Please.”

There was the sweetest smile on his face as his fingers found the bottom of your t-shirt and proceeded to pull the fabric up and off of you. 

You had opted against putting on a bra after your shower, so your chest was left bare for him once your t-shirt was off and he was groaning at the sight. 

“You’re so fucking pretty,” He whispered as the pad of his thumb brushed against your already hard nipple.

For the briefest moment, your eyes slipped shut and you bit your lip to hold back your moan, and then you were meeting his gaze again. 

“You’re really pretty too, Stevie,” You said, smiling up at him as you reached up to softly poke his cheek. 

He laughed a little and turned his head a little so that he was kissing your poking finger. “Thank you. You’re so nice.” 

Your shoulders upturned in the most nonchalant shrug, but the same smile was on your face; you were always the one to bring a bit of silliness into moments like these. “I try.”

Steve was smiling back at you as he gave your nipple a quick squeeze and then his hands moved down your sides and settled at the waistband of your pajama bottoms. He pulled your shorts and underwear off in one motion and tossed them to the floor somewhere along with your shirt. 

He kissed from your collarbone down to your belly button, stopping and teasing different spots along the way which made you squirm beneath him and you could feel yourself dripping onto the blanket below you with every teasing press of his mouth. He moved lower and lower, and then deliberately skipped past where you needed him to be. Instead, he started kissing your inner thighs.

Your fingers carded through his hair as you looked down at him. “You’re being very evil right now.”

“I’m sorry,” He told you, but you knew that he really wasn’t. He spread your legs further and pressed the most featherlight kiss against your clit before looking up at you again. “What do you want?”

There were a lot of things you could’ve said in answer— in that moment, you were craving his fingers and his mouth too— but after the exhaustingly long drive, you simply just wanted to be as close to him as possible as quickly as possible. 

“Honestly, I really need you inside me,” You told him softly, hand moving from his hair to his cheek. “I need your cock. Please. Is that okay?”

He let out a contented groan at your honesty, head falling against the side of your thigh. “Fuck, yeah, of course that’s okay.” 

Steve moved away from you then, his warmth leaving your body as he pulled back to look at you. The juxtaposition of you being naked right then and him still being completely clothed, made you pout at him.  

“Well, this is very unfair,” You said, reaching out to grab at his shirt. 

Steve was smiling as he leaned in to press a quick kiss against your lips. “I knew you were going to say that.”

Before you could playfully complain any further, he pulled his shirt off and your fingers quickly moved to the waistband of his sweatpants. He let you pull them down along with his boxers, revealing his hard cock that you bit your lip at the sight of, and then Steve did the rest of the work of pulling them off his legs and tossing them somewhere to the side. 

When his body was once again on top of yours, his warmth enveloping you completely, he didn’t hesitate to push inside of you, your wetness making it easy for him to fill you to the hilt. 

Steve’s thrusts were languid and slow, both of you simply craved the feeling of each other rather than anything else. His lips found yours in the most searing kiss that was so different from his unhurried movements above you. It was a messy clash of tongues and teeth and one of your hands came up to tangle itself in his hair. 

You broke the kiss when a particularly rough stir of his hips made him push deeper inside of you and you gasped. “Shit, yes, Steve, right there.”

He hit that specific spot again and again and you were moaning louder each time, not worried about how thin the walls maybe were in this hotel. “You sound so pretty screaming for me, honey. You’re so fucking good.”

You nodded profusely, trying to keep your eyes on his, but it was too hard not to let them slip shut with every perfect snap of his hips. “Only for you.”

It didn’t take long for both of you to reach your ends— it was his thumb on your clit that triggered your orgasm, and it was the feeling of your walls clenching around him as you came that sent Steve over the edge too, pressing his face into your neck. 

A quiet stillness took over as your racing hearts returned to normal and a deeper tiredness took over and made your eyelids feel heavy. 

After you weren’t sure how long, Steve started to shift so that he could move off of you, but you stopped him with a hand on his back before his softening cock could slip out of you and told him that you wanted to stay like this for a bit longer. He didn’t protest your words and instead buried his face back in your neck, pressing the sweetest kiss against your pulse point. You two slowly fell asleep just like that for the time being, too spent and exhausted to make any other movements. 

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

If it weren’t for the incessant sound of someone knocking on the door, you were certain that you would’ve slept for a few more hours. 

The sound woke you up slowly and then all at once. Your eyes opened and you got the urge to pull the blanket over your head. You weren’t even sure when exactly that had happened, but at some point, you and Steve finally made it under the covers and you had also grabbed his t-shirt and slipped it on too. 

You ultimately didn’t pull the blanket over your head to muffle the noise. Instead, you pulled it off of you when you realized that the knocking was coming from your room. 

“Shit.” 

The door that connected your and Steve’s rooms was still open and you were suddenly so certain that the knocks you were hearing were being rapped against your room door. 

“What’s wrong?” Steve asked when he felt you get out of bed. He tiredly rubbed his eyes; you, on the other hand, were suddenly the complete opposite of tired. 

“I’m pretty sure my mom’s right outside my door. Or my dad. Or both,” You answered him as you quickly searched for your underwear and pajama shorts and found them in different random spots on the floor. “It’s probably both of them, actually, and I’ve had no time to mentally prepare for whatever this conversation is about to be.”

“I can go answer it, if you want,” You heard Steve suggest as you hastily pulled on your bottoms. 

“I think it would be better if we kept the illusion up that we don’t sleep together,” You told him. “I’m gonna go see what they want and I’ll be back in a sec.”

You rushed over to where he was now sitting up in the bed and pressed the quickest kiss against his lips before heading over to your room and pulling the door that connected your room to Steve’s shut.  

You ruffled up the untouched bed so it looked like you actually slept in it last night and then went to open the door before another series of knocks were rapped against it. 

“Hi, good morning, sorry,” You rushed out. It was only your mom standing in front of you, and right then it was hard to tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing. “The bed’s so comfortable, it was hard to wake up.”

She nodded at your words. “The bed in your dad and I’s room is terrible, we’re gonna try to switch to a different room tonight. Anyway, what time did you and Steve make it here last night?” 

“It was a little after ten.”

“And how was the drive?”

“Good,” You answered simply. “Me and Steve split the time so that made it easier.”

“That’s good,” She smiled. “Do you know if he’s still sleeping?”

“Um, yeah, he probably is,” You shrugged through your lie. “He’s right next door, but I haven’t seen him since last night.”

“Okay, well, your dad and I are going to have breakfast downstairs in an hour with your Aunt Tracy and Uncle Sean, you and Steve should come too.”

Her words sounded like a suggestion, but you knew that they were actually the opposite. 

You forced a smile. “Oh, okay, we’ll definitely meet you guys down there. I’ll go wake him up now.”

“Okay, great,” Your mom smiled back at you. “See you two then.”

You closed the door when she started walking away and headed back to Steve’s room. 

“So, what happened?” He asked as you climbed back into bed. 

You settled next to him and rested your head against his bare shoulder. “We’re having breakfast downstairs with my parents, and my aunt and uncle in an hour.”

Steve nodded at your statement. “Honestly, that sounds good. The last time we ate was right before we got here last night and it was shitty McDonald’s.”

“Yeah, those were the saddest burgers ever,” You said with a sigh. 

“Wait, which aunt is gonna be there?” Steve abruptly asked. “The nice one or the one that hates me?”

You laughed a little. “The nice one. But, I feel like I should remind you again that Cheryl does not hate you.”

“You don’t remember that party the way I do,” He said and you couldn’t help but roll your eyes at his seriousness. 

It had been a birthday party for your mom a few years back. Of course, Steve and his parents were there, and you and him spent most of the night camping out in your room, away from your mom’s friends and your overbearing family members. It had been your idea to sneak a bottle of wine from the kitchen and bring it to your room, but Steve was the one who actually went and did it. Or at least attempted to before he got caught by your aunt and, according to him, was harshly scolded by her. 

“I’ve seen her a bunch of times since that party and I promise you she doesn’t think you’re a bad influence on me or whatever,” You told Steve, lifting your head from his shoulder to press a kiss against his cheek. “And she definitely doesn’t hate you.”

“We’ll see what happens at the wedding later.”

You leaned in to whisper into his ear. “Don’t worry, if she does hate you, I’ll defend you from any and all shitty comments.”

He gave you an amused smile when you pulled back to look at him. “Thank you, that’s all I ask. You’re the best girlfriend ever.”

You smiled at him as you leaned your head back on his shoulder and closed your eyes, attempting to get a little more sleep before you’d have to force yourself out of bed again. 

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Steve was right and he didn’t hesitate to whisper an “I told you” in your ear seconds after your Aunt Cheryl gave a warm greeting to you and the coldest hello to him. 

You didn’t have time to respond to Steve’s whispered words because you two were being told by one of the ushers to find seats since the wedding was minutes away from starting. The weather was pretty much perfect; warm but not so much so that it made sitting outside entirely unbearable, which was a little surprising for the middle of August but you weren’t complaining. 

Steve was on one side of you and your parents were on the other, and you smiled in thanks when your mom complimented the dress you were wearing; the long pale pink floral dress that you bought only because you knew she would like it, and you had wanted to avoid her saying anything bad about your clothing choices like she usually did. 

About halfway through the ceremony, Steve’s hand found yours, and the simple action made you suddenly feel warm all over. You shouldn’t have felt so fazed by it— that was something that had happened practically a million times before— but the current circumstances made it feel a little different. 

Samantha was one of your cousins that you weren’t that close with— you remembered going to the sleepover for her fifth birthday party and that was one of the last times you two hung out before you and your family moved to Indiana, and then you only saw her during random family occasions— but she looked beautiful and seemed so genuinely happy that it was hard not to feel a little emotional; it was what weddings did to people. 

You tried to listen to the vows and everything else being said right then, but it was hard to fully focus when all you could think about was a future that would someday involve this with Steve, and how nice that sounded. 

Maybe Steve could suddenly read your mind or the subtle smile on your face, but either way, he was giving your hand a light squeeze, as if telling you that he agreed with everything you were thinking about. 

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

To probably no one’s surprise, you and Steve stayed attached at the hip throughout the majority of the night. Your hand was always laced in his or his was placed at the small of your back. 

You were grateful for that closeness and you were especially grateful for him because he made it a thousand times easier to deal with family members that you hadn’t seen in forever and the forced small talk that came along with that estrangement. 

It quickly became a revolving door of the same topics and questions— how was graduating last year, how is college going now, what are your future plans, etc, etc— and you thought you’d be able to put up with it for the entire night. However, there were only so many times you could say, “Fine,” “Good,” and “I’m still figuring it out” before it became too annoying. 

Therefore, the second the brief conversation with one of your uncles came to an end, your hand found Steve’s and you led him out of the big ballroom where the reception was happening. He didn’t question your current antics and you two ended up outside moments later— it was much cooler out now, but still comfortable— and you headed toward a little garden area with a bench that you had noticed earlier. 

 “Let’s just sit here for a bit,” You said to Steve, not explaining the why behind you wanting to do this right now, but you didn’t have to. 

He nodded, understanding just how exhausting this entire day had been for you, and sat down with you. Things fell into a comfortable quiet, the first silence all night, and you reveled in it. You shifted around after a few moments so your head was in his lap and your legs dangled off the side of the bench.

“Do you wanna leave? I think we’ve been here for a reasonable amount of time,” Steve said, breaking the quiet after a few minutes of you simply holding his hand and looking at all of the flowers in the garden. “We can go to that Dairy Queen we saw when we were driving here last night, if you want. I think it’s only like ten minutes away.”

You knew what he was trying to do— make things light in any way that he could, and in this case, it meant offering up ice cream— and once again you were reminded of just how fucking grateful you were to have him here with you in this moment.  

“I love you,” You said instead of answering his question. “Like, a lot, a lot, a lot.”

You immediately noticed the smile spread across his face as he looked down at you. “Hm, you’re not drunk right now, so where is this sappiness coming from?” 

“Shh, don’t question it. Just let me get disgustingly cheesy with you right now, Harrington.”

“Okay, sorry, continue,” He told you, but then he abruptly kept going before you could start talking. “And I love you too, by the way.”

You smiled up at him. “Aside from all of the family stuff I had to deal with today, this wedding was actually really nice and it made me think about you and us a lot.”

“In a good way or a bad way?” He was so obviously teasing you because you were certain that he knew the answer to his own question.  

You shook your head at him. “I don’t even want to dignify that insane question with a response.”

He laughed a bit as he pulled your intertwined hands up and pressed a soft kiss to the back of yours, and it was hard not to smile at the action.  

“This entire day made me realize that when we eventually, one day down the road, do this, I don’t want it to be anything like this,” You told him. 

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t want all of this huge fanfare and I don’t want a bunch of people that I don’t ever talk to, to be there either. If we just have the kids, and Robin and Eddie, and Nancy and Jonathan too. Oh, and Harold, of course. That’s more than enough for me. Is that okay? Does that even make sense?” You looked up at him to see if he understood what you meant, and of course he did. He always did. 

Steve nodded immediately. “That sounds perfect, honestly.” 

“I know that probably won’t be able to happen because of how involved our moms are gonna want to be with everything, but I just think the thought is nice,” You said with a halfhearted shrug. 

“We can do a small thing with just everyone that we want to be there and then let our moms take the reins on the huge fancy thing that they’ll force us to do.”

“God, you’re so smart,” You said and you wanted to sit up so that you could kiss him— you’d been craving it all night, actually— but you felt too comfortable to move right then. “So, is this a proposal, Steven?”

You were the one doing the teasing now, a smile playing on your lips as you looked up at him and he looked down and met your eyes again. 

He shook his head as he smiled at you. “Give me some time to plan the most elaborate one ever.”

“Take all the time you need,” You told him, and you genuinely meant that. In your eyes, there wasn’t any rush to get to that place. Even though you loved talking about the future with him, you didn't feel the need to make it happen before it was meant to. You two were already happy and in love and you felt so certain that that would never change, so you felt content being in this place with him. “Thank you again for coming with me to this, by the way.”

He lightly poked your side, making you let out the quietest breath of a laugh, before speaking. “You know I’d never say no to you.”

“Aw, I love it when you also get sappy with me,” You sat up then and finally leaned in to slot your lips against his. You hummed in contentment the second he eagerly reciprocated the kiss and your hand instinctually moved to the nape of his neck as you pushed yourself closer to him. 

You savored the moment for as long as you could before you had to pull away to take a breath. “Okay, now let’s get out of here and get ice cream.”

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

let me know ur thoughts<333

(requests are open for stuff you wanna see in the universe/series!🫶🏾)

[lev1hei1chou]

Little Snitch

Dad!Gojo x reader Genre: Fluff Words: 444 Synopsis: Gojo's son is a snitch Masterlist

Gojo Satoru strode into the preschool, his white hair practically glowing against the backdrop of the brightly colored walls. His usual confident grin was plastered on his face as he approached the reception desk to sign in for his son.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Gojo," greeted the receptionist with a warm smile.

"Hey there! Here to pick up S/N," Gojo replied cheerfully, signing the necessary paperwork before making his way to the classroom.

As he stepped into the room, he immediately spotted his son playing with blocks in the corner. The little boy's eyes lit up at the sight of his father and he ran over, wrapping his tiny arms around Gojo's legs.

"Daddy!" he exclaimed, his voice filled with excitement.

"Hey, champ! Ready to go home?" Gojo asked, ruffling S/N's hair affectionately.

"Yeah!" the younger boy nodded eagerly, taking his father's hand as they made their way out of the classroom.

As they walked through the hallway, a young teacher approached them with a friendly smile. "Hello, Mr. Gojo. I couldn't help but notice how adorable S/N is. You must be so proud."

Gojo's grin widened, his charisma oozing effortlessly. "Oh, definitely. He takes after his father, afterall."

The young teacher blushed slightly at his words, her gaze lingering on Gojo for a moment longer than necessary. "Well, if you ever need any help with S/N, or anything else for that matter, please don't hesitate to ask."

Gojo chuckled softly, giving her a charming wink. "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks."

As they exited the preschool and headed home, his son chatted animatedly about his day making expressive gestures with his hands, oblivious to the brief exchange between his father and the teacher.

Once they were home, the little one burst through the door and ran straight to where his mother was waiting in the living room.

"Mama! Mama!" he exclaimed, tugging on her sleeve.

"What is it, sweetheart?" you asked, smiling down at him.

"Daddy talked to a pretty lady at school today!" he announced excitedly.

You raised an eyebrow, amusement dancing in your eyes as you turned to Gojo, who entered the room with a sheepish grin.

"Is that so?" you teased, crossing your arms over your chest.

"Yeah, but don't worry, I shut her down real quick," Gojo said with a wink, wrapping an arm around your waist and pulling you close.

You laughed, shaking your head in mock disapproval. "Well, it looks like I'll have to start picking him up from school from now on. Can't have you causing trouble with the teachers."

Gojo chuckled, pressing a kiss to your forehead. "Sounds like a plan, babe."

[mahalachives]

Part 2: The Reluctant Villain

TW: Mention of suicide

Pairing: Azriel x F!Reader

Genre: angst, romcom, humor, fish out of water reader, canon (ish)

Summary: Murdered after a late-night study session in the modern world, you awaken in Prythian—still yourself, but with Fae features and the infamous title of Beron’s cold-hearted and ruthless daughter.

Then, fate snaps the mating bond into place between you and the shadowsinger, Azriel—who rejects it so fiercely, even the magic recoils.

You died a healer. You woke up a villain. Now fate’s mated you to who wants nothing to do with either—you’ll prove them all wrong, one heartbeat at a time.

Between Two Fires - Masterlist

Morning came with amber light filtering through stained glass, painting warm patterns across your skin.

Your dreams had been filled with burning hands and screaming servants, but beneath the horror lurked memories of your real life—white hospital walls and the antiseptic smell of disinfectant.

"Rise and shine, my lady," Briar chirped, pulling back heavy curtains. Golden light flooded the chamber, making dust motes dance like tiny faeries. "Lord Eris sent word that the Night Court delegation arrives by midday."

You groaned softly into silk pillows scented with cinnamon and smoke. "Already?" The pillowcase felt impossibly soft against your cheek—another reminder of how different this world was from yours.

"Indeed! And he's arranged weapons training to help restore your... equilibrium." Briar's fingers trembled slightly as she laid out your clothing, though less so than yesterday.

Weapons training.

Exactly what every nursing student needed—instructions on how to efficiently disembowel magical beings. You thought of your anatomy textbooks and wondered if Fae physiology was similar enough for your knowledge to be useful. At least in a way that didn't involve killing.

"Can't I claim I'm still unwell?" you asked, your voice gentle despite your reluctance.

Briar's silence spoke volumes. When you looked up, her face was horrified, eyes wide with genuine fear.

"My lady," she whispered, glancing nervously at the door as if afraid someone might be listening, "never let Lord Beron hear you suggest weakness. Not after Lord Tallan."

You felt a chill despite the warm morning. "What happened to Lord Tallan?"

Briar shook her head minutely. "It is not spoken of. But the screaming lasted three days."

Right. The mysterious Lord Tallan. Probably set on fire for sneezing incorrectly. You made a mental note to never, ever show weakness around Beron.

"Of course not," you sighed, your lips curving into a small, wry smile. "How foolish of me."

"Lord Eris also said appearances must be maintained." Briar emphasized these words carefully, as if reciting them exactly as they had been told to her.

You noticed her fingers trembled less than yesterday as she helped you dress in supple leather training clothes that felt like a second skin. The craftsmanship was exquisite—another reminder that whatever else this world might be, its beauty was undeniable.

"What exactly happens when the Night Court arrives?" you asked, pulling on boots that laced halfway up your calves.

Briar's expression lightened slightly. "Oh, the usual diplomatic theatre. Thinly veiled threats, ancestral grudges aired like cherished heirlooms, and enough alcohol to make it slightly less excruciating."

You laughed softly, the sound surprisingly melodic in this body's throat. "You're funny."

Briar froze, her eyes widening in alarm. "I—I didn't mean—"

"Relax," you said gently, touching her shoulder with instinctive compassion. The same way you'd reassure a nervous patient. "I'm not going to hurt you for being honest. Ever."

Her expression cycled through confusion, suspicion, and cautious relief. She studied your face carefully, as if trying to read a language she only half-understood.

"You really are different," she murmured.

"Perhaps I am," you admitted. "But it'll be our secret. Otherwise..." You cast about for something appropriately menacing. "I'll turn your toes into... roasted chestnuts?"

Briar's lips twitched despite her obvious effort to remain solemn. "Not your best, my lady, but I appreciate the seasonal theme."

When her fingers brushed yours as she handed you a leather band for your hair, she didn't flinch.

Progress.

You caught your reflection in a mirror as you prepared to leave— Beautiful, but with a predatory edge that felt foreign to your gentle nature. No wonder poor Briar had been terrified of you.

The eastern courtyard blazed with autumn colors. Trees with impossibly vibrant foliage surrounded a training area of packed earth. The air smelled of woodsmoke and fallen leaves, crisp and invigorating.

Eris stood waiting, magnificent in training leathers that emphasized his lean, powerful frame. Unlike Beron's cold malevolence, Eris carried himself with calculating precision—a blade rather than a bludgeon.

"Ah, sister," he called, amber eyes assessing you with the same careful scrutiny as yesterday. "Ready to remember who you are?"

There was a double meaning in his words—a warning, perhaps, or a genuine question.

You wondered, not for the first time, how much he suspected.

"Always," you replied, approaching with graceful steps, surprising yourself with how natural it felt in this body. Your borrowed muscles moved with fluid ease, as if simply walking was a form of lethal dance.

Eris gestured to a weapon rack displaying an assortment of blades that gleamed in the autumn sunlight. "Choose."

As your eyes scanned the deadly array, one name echoed strangely in your mind.

Azriel.

An inexplicable warmth bloomed in your chest, like the golden hour of sunset captured in feeling. The sensation was so unexpected that you almost missed a step.

You selected the smallest dagger with a golden-leafed hilt, its weight unfamiliar but somehow right in your palm.

Eris raised an eyebrow. "The ceremonial dagger? Not your usual battleaxe?"

You tried not to show your alarm at the revelation that your body's previous occupant favored something as brutish as a battleaxe. It seemed fitting with everything else you'd learned about her.

"I'm focusing on precision today," you improvised, your voice soft but steady. "Sometimes the smallest wounds cut deepest."

Something flickered in Eris's eyes—not quite approval, but perhaps reassessment. "Indeed," he murmured.

Without warning, he lunged forward, his movement a blur of deadly grace.

Your body moved before your mind caught up, sidestepping with inhuman speed. The dagger felt suddenly right, an extension of your arm rather than a foreign object. Muscle memory, you realized. This body remembered what your mind did not.

For several moments, you let that memory guide you through an intricate dance of blades. Eris pushed harder, faster, and remarkably, you kept pace—until your human consciousness asserted itself, wondering at the physical impossibility of what you were doing.

The moment's hesitation cost you. You landed hard on your back, Eris's blade at your throat.

"Sloppy," he commented, though genuine confusion flickered in his amber eyes. "Your form was perfect until you... what? Forgot how to walk?"

"Momentary distraction," you murmured, accepting his outstretched hand. His grip was firm but not cruel—another small difference from what you might have expected.

"Distraction gets you killed," he replied sharply. "Especially with the Night Court. Their shadowsinger could slit your throat before you even sensed him."

Shadowsinger. The term sent another peculiar flutter through your chest, like butterfly wings against your ribs. A fleeting image flashed behind your eyes—hazel eyes flecked with gold, shadows coiling like smoke.

"Their shadowsinger," you repeated, trying for casual but hearing a note of interest in your voice. "Azriel, right?"

Eris gave you an odd look, his head tilting slightly as he studied you. "Since when do you struggle to remember the name of the male you once tried to burn alive?"

Your stomach dropped like a stone. "I—I did what?"

"During the war. You caught him alone near our borders." Eris's voice was matter-of-fact, as if recounting something unremarkable. "His wings still bear the scars where your flames touched them before Cassian intervened." He studied you, something calculating in his gaze. "You bragged about it for months. Said it was the sweetest sound you'd ever heard, his wings crackling."

Horror flooded through you, though you managed to keep your expression neutral with effort. What kind of monster had occupied this body? Your natural compassion recoiled at the thought of such deliberate cruelty.

"I just like to hear how others tell the story," you lied softly, fighting the urge to apologize for something you hadn't done.

Eris watched you for a moment longer, then stepped back into fighting stance. "Again," he commanded.

This time, you consciously surrendered to the body's instincts, letting your mind drift slightly. The result was immediate—your movements flowed like water, precise and deadly. Each strike perfectly balanced, each block timed with inhuman precision.

A small crowd of servants had gathered at a safe distance, their expressions ranging from fear to fascination. You noticed Briar among them, watching with wide eyes.

"Better," Eris conceded after a particularly complex exchange left you breathless but exhilarated. "Now, let's add fire."

His dagger erupted in golden flame that somehow didn't melt the metal or burn his hand. The heat washed over you like a physical caress, reminding you that elemental magic was as natural as breathing to these beings.

You stared at your own blade, willing flame to ignite.

Come on, fire. Burning. Heat. Nothing happened.

"Problem, sister?" Eris's voice carried an edge, but beneath it—concern?

"Just... conserving energy for the Night Court," you improvised quickly.

"Since when do you conserve anything?" Eris scoffed, though his eyes remained watchful. "You once set an entire forest ablaze because a deer startled you."

You suppressed a wince. An environmental disaster in addition to everything else. Lovely.

Closing your eyes, you searched for that wellspring of power you'd glimpsed yesterday. There—a warm current beneath your consciousness, pulsing in time with your heartbeat. But unlike yesterday, when fear had guided you, you focused on healing, on warmth that restored rather than destroyed.

Heat tingled down your arm like liquid sunlight.

When you opened your eyes, your dagger was encased in... pink fire.

Eris stared at the rosy flames as if you'd suddenly sprouted a second head. "Pink? PINK?"

"It's... hotter than regular fire," you improvised, smiling sweetly. "More efficient."

The flames seemed to respond to your amusement, reshaping themselves into a small, hopping rabbit with impossibly delicate ears and a fluffy tail. It pranced along the blade before hopping onto your wrist, leaving no burns despite its fiery nature.

A serving girl giggled, then clapped her hand over her mouth in horror at her own temerity. You beamed at her, making her eyes widen with shock. The pink bunny responded to your playfulness, performing a little somersault in the air.

"That's it," Eris declared, his own flames vanishing with a wave of his hand. "Training over. Go... meditate or whatever you need to do to remember how to be terrifying."

As he turned to leave, he paused, looking back at you with an expression you couldn't quite read. "Father would burn that creature from existence if he saw it," he warned, with strange protectiveness. "And then he'd wonder why his daughter was creating something so... whimsical."

You recognized the warning for what it was—perhaps the closest thing to brotherly concern Eris allowed himself to show. "I understand."

The pink bunny hopped up your arm to nuzzle against your neck before dissolving into sparks that drifted away like embers.

By midday, the Autumn Court was in frenzy. Hearths roared hotter, servants scurried with silver trays and decanters of amber liquid, and guards in burnished copper armor took up positions at every doorway. The air thrummed with tension and ancient power.

You paced your chambers, memorizing Briar's briefing about the Night Court while she wove actual flame into your hair—tiny tongues of fire that danced among your strands without burning.

"High Lord Rhysand," you recited for the dozenth time. "Most powerful High Lord in history. Married to Feyre, a former human."

"Excellent," Briar nodded, her fingers working with surprising confidence given that she was literally playing with fire inches from your scalp. "And his Inner Circle?"

"Cassian and Azriel—Illyrian warriors with battle wings." That flutter in your chest again at the shadowsinger's name, like recognition of something you'd never seen.

"Yes, my lady. The shadowsinger hears whispers from the shadows themselves. Some say he can step through darkness as others walk through doorways." Briar's voice had taken on a storyteller's cadence. "They say he was kept chained in darkness for the first years of his life."

Your expression softened, compassion rising unbidden. "That's horrible." No wonder you'd felt that strange pull—your nursing instinct responding to past trauma.

Briar glanced at you, surprised by your empathy. "Perhaps that's why he's so... reserved." She added softly, as she adjusted the ember-orange gown that made your skin glow like firelight, "You've always been especially hostile toward him."

"Why?" You couldn't imagine deliberately targeting someone who had already suffered so much.

"You never said. But there was an incident during the war..."

"I tried to burn his wings," you finished quietly, the words ashen in your mouth.

A horn blasted from the walls, its deep tone reverberating through stone and bone alike.

"They're here," Briar whispered, making final adjustments to your appearance. Sparks trailed behind you like a comet's tail when you moved, a dramatic effect that suited the intimidating persona you needed to project.

"How do I look?" you asked, studying your reflection. The female who gazed back was undeniably beautiful, but with a predatory edge that seemed at odds with the gentleness you felt inside.

"Terrifying, my lady," Briar assured you. After a hesitation, she added, "But... different. There's something in your eyes that wasn't there before. Something..."

"Good?" you suggested hopefully.

"Softer," she replied carefully. "Which may not serve you well today."

"What if I just... don't set anyone on fire today?" you suggested with a small smile.

Briar's eyes widened as if you'd suggested flying to the moon. "That would be... unprecedented."

"Maybe unprecedented is good."

"Lord Beron expects cruelty from you," she replied carefully. "The last time someone in this court changed unexpectedly, he had them examined by the Bone Carver for possession. And then... eliminated the problem."

Your blood ran cold. "Possessed? As in..."

"A different soul inhabiting a body." Briar's eyes searched yours with unsettling perception. "My lady, are you... are you still you?"

Before you could respond, the door swung open.

Eris entered, resplendent in formal attire of deepest burgundy that complemented his auburn hair. His gaze swept over you critically.

"It's time," he announced.

The Great Hall throbbed with ancient magic that made the very air shimmer with power. Tapestries depicting autumn hunts and conquests hung between tall windows of amber glass. Lord Beron sat on a throne that appeared to be made of living flame, your mother beside him, beautiful but tense. The tight set of her shoulders and the way her fingers gripped her armrest betrayed her anxiety.

Courtiers lined the hall in their finery, a riot of autumn colors—russet, gold, deep orange, and blood red. The anticipation was palpable, a current of nervous energy that made the flames in the massive hearths dance higher.

Eris guided you to stand at Beron's right—a position of obvious importance. You could feel your "father's" gaze on you like a physical weight, assessing and suspicious.

The enormous doors swung open with theatrical slowness. A wave of power—cool night air and starlight—washed over the assembly, so different from the fiery magic that permeated the Autumn Court.

The Night Court had arrived.

They entered like living shadows, bringing the night sky with them despite the midday hour. The very atmosphere seemed to shift in their presence, as if darkness itself had taken form and walked among you. At their head, a male of such breathtaking beauty that several courtiers gasped audibly. His power rippled before him like heat from pavement, midnight and stars and ancient secrets.

Rhysand, High Lord of the Night Court.

Beside him, a female of extraordinary loveliness moved with lethal grace, her eyes scanning the hall with the assessment of a predator sizing up potential threats—Feyre, his High Lady.

Behind them came the Inner Circle—two enormous warriors with folded wings shadowing their broad shoulders, and a tiny female whose delicate appearance was belied by eyes of ancient silver.

But it was one of the winged warriors who caught and held your attention like a hook through your heart. Unlike the others whose expressions ranged from diplomatic neutrality to barely concealed disgust, his face was an impassive mask. Shadows seemed to bend toward him like faithful pets, writhing around his shoulders in constant motion.

Azriel, the shadowsinger. The name echoed in your mind with peculiar resonance.

When his hazel eyes finally swept across the Autumn Court assembly, they paused imperceptibly on you. The gold flecks in them caught the firelight like tiny stars.

For a heartbeat, you felt... seen. Truly seen, beyond the body you inhabited. The connection left you breathless, a moment of recognition that made no logical sense yet felt undeniably real.

"Night Court," Beron intoned, his voice betraying no emotion despite the flames at his fingertips that betrayed his agitation. "Welcome to the Autumn Court."

"Lord Beron," Rhysand replied, his voice cultured and smooth as dark chocolate. "How gracious of you to host us. Particularly given our... colorful history."

"History written in blood rarely fades," Beron responded, malice wrapped in silk. "The Night Court has cost the Autumn Court dearly over the centuries. Or have you forgotten the Massacre at Kharos Ridge?"

Tension crackled like lightning about to strike. Every member of both courts was poised on a knife's edge of diplomatic civility, centuries of grudges barely contained beneath polite veneers.

"Ancient history," Rhysand replied with a smile that didn't reach his star-flecked eyes. "Much like your claims to the northern forests."

Small flames licked between Beron's knuckles—the only indication that the verbal barb had landed.

"We have prepared refreshments," your mother spoke, her voice surprisingly gentle—a cool stream in a burning forest. "Perhaps we might proceed to more comfortable surroundings? The treaties of old demand hospitality, regardless of... past disagreements."

"A lovely suggestion, Lady," Feyre replied, though her eyes remained watchful as a hawk's. "We come in peace, after all. At least for today."

As the assembly moved toward the adjacent dining hall, your gaze was repeatedly drawn to the shadowsinger like a magnet finding true north. He moved with predatory grace, yet there was something contained about him—tightly controlled, as if holding himself apart from everything around him. His shadows occasionally formed shapes before dissolving again, like messages written in smoke.

You couldn't help but wonder about the child who had been chained in darkness, and how he had survived to become this warrior of shadow and steel. The thought made your heart ache with a tenderness that was entirely your own, not borrowed from this body.

In the dining hall, you found yourself seated between Eris and another brother, directly across from the larger of the two winged warriors—Cassian, with his brutal grin and assessing eyes—with Azriel seated silently beside him.

The shadowsinger kept his gaze carefully averted from yours, but you couldn't help noticing how the shadows around him coiled more agitatedly whenever your eyes strayed his way.

The elaborate feast was a masterpiece of autumn bounty—roasted game glistening with honey glaze, jewel-toned fruits arranged in spirals of artful decadence, pastries that steamed with cinnamon and nutmeg. Wine flowed freely from decanters that never seemed to empty, though you noticed the Night Court members barely touched theirs.

Conversation moved like a complex dance, pleasantries exchanged with the precision of blade work, double meanings layered beneath every comment.

"I must say," Amren remarked, as she reached for her goblet, "the Autumn Court is particularly vibrant this season. Almost as if the trees themselves are putting on a show for us."

"Nature recognizes power," Beron replied coolly. "As do we all."

"Speaking of recognition," Rhysand cut in, his voice deceptively casual though his eyes missed nothing, "we've heard reports of unusual magical fluctuations from this region. Any insights you care to share, Lord Beron?"

Every head turned toward the high lord, whose expression remained impassive despite the flames that flickered brighter in the nearest hearth.

"Nothing unusual," he replied. "Just my daughter's continued explorations of her considerable gifts."

Suddenly, all attention shifted to you.

Feyre's gaze was particularly keen, as if she could see beneath your skin to the human soul residing there.

"Is that so?" she asked, one perfect eyebrow arched. "What manner of explorations, if I might ask?"

The scrutiny of so many powerful beings made your heart race, though you managed to keep your expression serene. The unfairness of your situation—trapped in a body not your own, forced to pretend to be someone terrible—suddenly felt overwhelming.

"I've been studying the relationship between elemental fire and emotional resonance," you explained, your voice soft but clear. "Intent matters as much as power."

To demonstrate, you raised your palm, concentrating on the hollow ache of homesickness in your chest. A small flame appeared, dancing above your hand—not the violent inferno your body's previous occupant might have conjured, but a gentle, wavering light tinged slightly blue around the edges.

The room fell silent, all eyes fixed on your small, melancholy flame.

"How... unexpectedly poetic," Rhysand commented, genuine surprise in his violet eyes.

"And unlike you," Cassian added bluntly, suspicion evident in the set of his shoulders.

You managed a small, enigmatic smile in response, though your heart raced beneath your calm exterior. "Perhaps we all contain unexpected depths."

"Forgive my sister's sentimentality," Eris interjected smoothly. "Her recent... incident has left her somewhat philosophical."

Your eyes accidentally locked with Azriel's across the table. His hazel gaze had been studying you with subtle intensity, shadows writhing around his shoulders, reaching toward you before pulling back like waves uncertain of the shore.

Then it happened.

A golden cord snapped into place between you—a connection so powerful it physically rocked you backward in your chair. A rush of sensation flooded through you—warmth, recognition, belonging—followed immediately by confusion and alarm.

Azriel flinched visibly, his wings flaring slightly, shadows coiling in chaotic patterns. His normally impassive face registered naked shock for a split second before shuttering into cold neutrality. But not before you glimpsed something else—confusion, perhaps even fear.

The entire table had gone deathly still.

"Well," Rhysand said into the silence, his voice dangerously soft. "This is unexpected."

"What just happened?" you asked, managing to keep your voice steady despite the strange sensation pulsing between you and the shadowsinger like a living thing.

"The mating bond," Amren said, "It just snapped into place."

"This is some trick," Beron snarled, rising from his seat. Small flames erupted around his clenched fists, dancing in disturbing patterns. "Some Night Court deception."

"I assure you," Rhysand replied, his own voice tight as a bowstring, "this is not our doing. The mating bond cannot be manufactured or falsified. It is the Cauldron's will, not ours."

"Mating bond?" you repeated, a slight tremble in your voice the only indication of your shock. The term meant nothing to you, yet the golden cord between you and Azriel pulsed with undeniable reality.

"How convenient," Beron hissed, flames now dripping from his fingertips onto the priceless tablecloth, "that my only daughter should suddenly be bound to one of yours. What better way to infiltrate my court?"

"Father," Eris began carefully, "perhaps we should—"

"Silence!" Beron's command cracked like a whip. "I will not have centuries of careful diplomacy undone by... by whatever this is." His burning gaze fixed on you with terrible intensity. "First the strange behavior, now this. Perhaps we need to discover what exactly has happened to my daughter."

Your blood ran cold.

Azriel spoke then, his deep voice cutting through the chaos with quiet authority that commanded attention despite its softness. His face was completely closed off, his eyes cold as winter frost.

"There's nothing to worry about," he said, addressing Rhysand rather than you. "A mating bond can be rejected." He turned that cold hazel gaze to you, and the dismissal in his eyes made your chest ache anew. "I have no interest in the Lady of the Autumn Court. I want nothing to do with her. Not after what she's done. No bond can erase that history."

His words struck like physical blows. The connection between you—the mating bond, apparently—throbbed with pain at the rejection. You breathed deeply, fighting the urge to show how deeply his words cut.

Yet beneath that mask of cold indifference, something in his eyes flickered—a moment of doubt, perhaps. His shadows, despite his rigid control, stretched slightly toward you before he harshly pulled them back.

"I said, I want nothing to do with you," Azriel repeated, each word precise and final. "This changes nothing."

You rose with quiet dignity, despite the ache in your chest. "Please excuse me," you managed, and slipped from the hall with as much grace as you could muster.

"Stop her," you heard Beron command behind you. "Something is not right."

You moved quickly through the corridors, your mind racing.

The mating bond. Rejection.

Beron's suspicious anger. All of it spelled danger, but you had no idea how to navigate any of it.

You found refuge in a small garden courtyard, enclosed by trees whose leaves burned like living flame in the afternoon light. The beauty of it momentarily took your breath away, despite your distress.

A tiny pink flame flickered to life in your palm unbidden, forming a miniature bunny that hopped up your arm. The fearsome Lady of Autumn, reduced to creating cuteness while nursing a broken heart over a male who despised her.

The irony wasn't lost on you.

"My lady?"

Briar stood at the entrance, concern evident in her expression.

"What's a mating bond?" you asked, your voice carefully controlled.

"Oh... My lady..." Briar approached without her usual hesitation and sat beside you. "It's rarest and most sacred connection between Fae. It's said to be the Cauldron's way of identifying your perfect match. Two halves of a whole soul." She tucked a strand of hair behind your ear with gentle fingers. "It can't be forced or faked. It simply... is."

"But he rejected it," you said softly, feeling the golden thread still pulsing between you despite his denial.

"The shadowsinger?" Briar asked, surprise evident in her voice. "Your reputation with the Night Court is..."

"Terrible," you finished for her. "I tried to burn his wings off."

"The bond doesn't consider past actions," Briar offered hesitantly. "It sees something deeper, something true. Perhaps your recent changes..."

You laughed softly, without humor. "My 'changes' are more significant than anyone realizes."

Briar studied you for a long moment. "You truly are different, aren't you? Not just acting differently, but... something fundamental has changed."

Your breath caught. Was it possible to confide in her? To tell someone the impossible truth?

"Briar," you began cautiously, "what if I told you I'm not who everyone thinks I am?"

Before you could continue, footsteps approached—measured, deliberate. Eris appeared at the courtyard entrance, his expression thunderous.

"Leave us," he commanded Briar, who squeezed your hand once before scurrying away.

For a long moment, Eris simply stared at you, as if trying to solve a particularly vexing puzzle.

"A mating bond," he finally said, the words falling like stones. "With the Night Court's shadowsinger." He shook his head in disbelief. "Of all the ways you could have disrupted negotiations, this is... creative, I'll give you that."

"I didn't do it on purpose," you protested, arms crossed protectively over your chest.

"Obviously not. The bond cannot be faked." He paced before you, agitation evident in every movement. "But why now? Why him? And why are you... different? You've never cared what anyone thought of you."

"Maybe I'm changing," you whispered.

"People don't change their fundamental nature overnight," he countered, echoing words you'd heard before.

"What if I'm not who you think I am?" The words slipped out before you could stop them.

Eris went still, his amber eyes narrowing. "Explain."

You hesitated. Beyond the courtyard, guards' footsteps approached. Your time was running out.

Suddenly, a commotion erupted behind you. Two guards appeared at the courtyard entrance, their faces tight with tension.

"My lady, Lord Beron demands your presence immediately. The Night Court delegation—"

Before the guard could finish, a flash of movement caught your eye. An assassin—dressed in nondescript leather—appeared on the garden wall, bow drawn.

The arrow flew—not at you, but at Eris.

Without thinking, you moved, pushing your "brother" aside. The arrow found your chest instead.

Pain—bright, burning pain—bloomed between your ribs. You gasped, falling to your knees.

"Sister!" Eris caught you, lowering you to the ground. His face, normally so controlled, twisted with shock and something that looked remarkably like genuine concern. "Guards! Healers!"

Commotion erupted around you.

Shouts, running footsteps, the rush of wings. Through blurring vision, you saw the courtyard suddenly fill with figures from both courts—Beron rushing forward with unexpected speed, Rhysand and his Inner Circle appearing as if from thin air.

"What happened?" Beron demanded, his power flooding the courtyard like midnight tide.

"Assassin," Eris growled, still cradling your head with surprising gentleness. "The arrow was meant for me."

A healer knelt beside you, hands glowing with golden light. But you could feel something already—the magic of this body failing, your grip on this world loosening. The arrow had struck true, poisoned perhaps, or enchanted.

Darkness swept in from the edges of your vision.

The last thing you saw was Azriel pushing through the crowd, hazel eyes wide with alarm—alarm that belied his earlier rejection—as shadows coiled frantically around him. Then nothing.

Beeping. Rhythmic, electronic beeping.

Your eyes flew open.

White ceiling. Fluorescent lights. The antiseptic smell of hospital disinfectant.

You gasped, trying to sit up, but pain flared in your chest—an echo of the arrow wound, though when you looked down, all you saw was a hospital gown and bandages wrapped around your torso.

"She's awake!" A voice—familiar, human. Your roommate from nursing school. "Doctor! She's awake!"

"What happened?" you croaked, your voice rusty from disuse.

"You were stabbed." Your roommate's eyes filled with tears. "You've been in a coma for three days. The doctors weren't sure if you'd wake up—the knife nearly hit your heart."

A coma. A dream. Relief washed over you despite the pain. The magical world, the borrowed body—it had all been some elaborate fantasy while your brain healed from the trauma.

"I had the strangest dream," you told your roommate. "I was in another body, in a magical world with fire magic and winged warriors."

Your roommate squeezed your hand. "The doctors said you might have vivid dreams. Just rest now. You're back. You're safe."

The stab wound ached whenever you moved, a constant reminder of your mortality. Yet you reveled in the normalcy of hospital routines, fluorescent lights, cell phones, and the absence of magic fire. The steady parade of modern technology—IV pumps, vital monitors, tablets with medical charts—all reassured you that you were home.

It had all been a dream. A vivid, incredible dream.

Until, It wasn't.

A strange warmth in your chest, radiating from your wound. A pulling sensation, like a golden thread tugging at your very soul.

"No," you whispered. "No, I'm home. I'm where I belong."

The warmth intensified, spreading through your limbs. You could almost hear voices—unfamiliar and familiar at once. Feel hands—not human hands—working over your body.

"Stop it," you murmured, then louder. "Stop it!"

The hospital room wavered around you, reality thinning like mist under strong sunlight. The monitors, the IV stand, the sterile white walls—all began to fade, replaced by a strange golden light that seemed to flow through your very veins.

"No! Please—"

"—don't take me back!"

Your eyes flew open to find yourself in a healing chamber rather than the courtyard where you'd been struck. Fiery amber light poured through stained glass windows, casting jeweled patterns across stone walls lined with shelves of potions and dried herbs. The air smelled of cinnamon and strange medicinal scents you couldn't identify.

You lay on a raised stone platform covered with soft furs, your chest burning with half-healed pain. Around you stood members of both courts, watching with varying degrees of concern and suspicion.

A healer—one of the Autumn Court's—pulled back her glowing hands from your wound, startled by your outburst. The magic hummed in the air, warm and tingling against your skin.

"My lady?" she questioned, confusion evident.

"I was home," you whispered, disoriented by the sudden transition. "There were beeping machines and fluorescent lights and doctors and—" You looked around wildly, finding both Eris and Beron nearby, along with the entire Night Court delegation.

Azriel stood in the shadows near the arched doorway, his darkness seeming to blend with the corners of the room as his hazel eyes fixed on you with unreadable intensity.

"Why did you bring me back?" you asked, tears welling in your eyes despite your effort to remain composed. "I was in a hospital. I was stabbed during a robbery. My roommate was there—"

"She's delirious," the healer said quickly, adjusting the bandages wrapped around your torso with gentle fingers. "The poison from the arrow—"

"I'm not delirious!" you insisted, struggling to sit up despite the pain that lanced through your chest. "I was home! In my world! With cell phones and subway trains and—and no magic! I was a nursing student, not... not this!" You gestured weakly at your borrowed body.

Beron's expression darkened dangerously, the flames in the room's central brazier leaping higher in response to his mood. "What nonsense is this?"

"I was there," you insisted, tears now streaming down your face.

Your distress triggered your unpredictable magic.

Small pink flames flickered around your fingers, forming tiny dancing animals—rabbits, deer, little birds—that hopped and flew in circles above your healing platform. They cast soft rosy light across the stone ceiling, making the runes carved there seem to dance.

Beron looked absolutely appalled. Eris seemed caught between concern and mortification.

"This is... unprecedented," the healer murmured, backing away slightly as one of the flame rabbits hopped curiously toward her herb basket.

"I think," Feyre said cautiously, "that the trauma of the attack may have affected her mind."

"Oh, Cauldron," Cassian muttered from where he leaned against a pillar, barely suppressing a grin despite the tension. "She's gone from terrifying to adorable. The little pink bunny things are actually... cute."

"It was real," you insisted, your voice growing smaller as reality reasserted itself. The pink creatures multiplied with your distress, creating a small menagerie of flame animals that darted between hanging bundles of herbs and crystal bottles. "There were cars and buses and no one had pointed ears or wings and—"

"Shh," Eris said, surprising everyone by approaching your platform and awkwardly patting your hand. "The arrow was poisoned. These... delusions will pass."

"They're not delusions," you whispered, looking directly at Azriel, whose stoic expression had slipped just enough to reveal confusion. "When I died, the mating bond took me home."

A collective intake of breath swept through the gathered Fae, the sound echoing against the stone walls.

"She probably lost the will to live after you rejected her," Cassian remarked to Azriel, whose face suddenly paled.

The shadowsinger's eyes widened fractionally, his shadows swirling in agitated patterns around the healing chamber, momentarily dimming the brazier's flames. For a brief moment, genuine alarm flashed across his features before he controlled it.

"I didn't," you started to protest, then faltered. "I mean... I did, but..."

Azriel stepped forward, his shadows reaching toward you before he visibly reined them in. "You should rest," he said stiffly, though his eyes betrayed something more complex than indifference.

Beron's patience finally snapped.

The brazier flames roared suddenly, casting the room in harsh orange light and sending your pink creatures scattering in alarm.

"Enough of this," he snarled, rising to his full height. The temperature in the healing chamber rose several degrees. "I believe it's time for the Night Court to take their leave."

Rhysand's eyebrows rose slightly. "Is that so? When your daughter has just revealed such... interesting information?"

"My daughter," Beron emphasized coldly, "has been poisoned and requires rest. Whatever delusions the venom has caused can be dealt with by Autumn Court healers."

"Lord Beron," Feyre began, stepping forward with diplomatic grace, "perhaps under the circumstances—"

"The circumstances," Beron cut in, "are that my only daughter has been injured saving her brother's life, and now requires peace to recover." His amber eyes glittered dangerously. "Or perhaps the Night Court would like to explain why an assassin penetrated our borders during your diplomatic visit?"

The accusation hung in the air like smoke.

Rhysand's expression cooled several degrees. "A baseless accusation, but not an unexpected one." He turned to his delegation with calculated casualness. "We'll take our leave. For now."

Your eyes found Azriel's across the room.

The shadowsinger stood motionless, his face once again a perfect mask of indifference. But his shadows betrayed him, twisting restlessly as they reached toward you before being sharply pulled back.

Something in your chest ached at the sight—a hollow feeling that didn't entirely belong to you. The golden thread of the mating bond seemed to stretch painfully as he moved toward the door with the others.

Azriel hesitated a moment, then gave Rhysand a single, tight nod. With one last unfathomable look at you, he turned and followed his High Lord.

You watched them go, your pink flame creatures dimming slightly as the Night Court delegation filed through the arched doorway. The last glimpse you caught was of Azriel's wings disappearing into the corridor's shadows.

Your heart felt strangely fractured, torn between relief at their departure and an inexplicable sense of loss. The bond pulled like a physical weight, making your healing wound throb in sympathetic pain.

Then, abruptly, a realization struck you.

A terrible, perfect clarity.

A small, broken giggle escaped your lips.

Eris and Beron both turned to stare at you, identical expressions of alarm on their faces.

"Sister?" Eris questioned cautiously.

The giggle blossomed into full laughter, slightly hysterical. The pink flame creatures danced faster around you, reflecting your manic energy.

"I know how to get home," you whispered, just loud enough for them to hear. Your eyes met Beron's, then Eris's, a strange smile spreading across your face.

Beron took a step toward you, suspicion darkening his features. "What did you say?"

But you just smiled wider, the revelation burning in your mind like the clearest truth you'd ever known.

I just need to die.

The thought should have terrified you, but instead, it filled you with a twisted sort of hope.

Die here, wake up there. So simple. So perfect.

You lay back against the furs, smile still fixed on your face, as one of your flame bunnies settled onto your chest directly above your wound.

"Nothing, Father," you said sweetly. "Just a passing thought."

Eris's eyes narrowed, as if he could somehow read the dangerous idea forming in your mind. "Perhaps the healer should administer a sleeping draught," he suggested carefully.

"An excellent idea," Beron agreed, still watching you with open suspicion.

As the healer approached with a vial of amber liquid, your gaze drifted to the doorway where the shadowsinger had disappeared.

If he didn't want you, and you didn't belong here anyway, what was there to lose?

The mating bond tugged painfully in your chest, as if in protest.

Just one more death, you thought as the sleeping draught was pressed to your lips. And then I'll be home for good.

Author’s Note:

This chapter had it all: fire bunnies, accidental war crimes, surprise soul-bonding, and one (1) medically inadvisable resurrection. Shoutout to Azriel for rejecting his mate like a dramatic Victorian ghost. See you next chapter—bring snacks and emotional support. 💀🔥🐇💘

Taglist: @circe143 @lunarxcity @willowpains @messageforthesmallestman @lreadsstuff

[cressidagrey]

Looked to the Sky - Chapter 7

Summary: 

Eira Archeron was neither a Valkyrie, nor a Seer, nor the High Lady of the Night Court. She was, however, Azriel‘s mate with her own mysterious, untrained powers.

Also known as: Azriel tries to court his mate the human way.

Warnings: 

THIS IS THE LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE SEQUEL! SO READ THAT FIRST IF YOU WANNA READ THIS ONE OTHERWISE THIS MAKES NO SENSE!

Elain Bashing, Magical Help with Dyslexia, Rhys is a good big brother, Azriel finally is less of an idiot and without @k-godling this would have never happened.

(super pretty dividers by @tsunami-of-tears)

"I am supposed to...read all of these?" Eira asked Rhys with a grimace. He had dropped a stack of books in front of her at breakfast the next day...after Azriel and she had...come to an understanding of sorts. After…

She didn’t want to think of it. Not right now. She needed something else…something to take her mind off it. Of all of it.  

And Rhys sufficed.

Rhys chuckled, his shoulders shaking with silent amused laughter.

“It's just three books,” he replied with a wide smile. “Magical Primers of sorts. They’ll help you understand how magic works. I recommend starting with the one at the bottom of the pile. That’ll probably be the easiest to digest.”

“How long do I have?” She asked weakly. 

“You’ve got a week,” Rhys said, and the horror dawned on her face. A week. She could never read that in a week. Maybe one book. Maybe if she did nothing else and didn't sleep. Maybe then. "Is something wrong?" he asked, his voice growing gentle. "I know it probably is....overwhelming...."

"I can't read that." Eira blurted out.

"You can't read these books or you can't read at all?" Rhys asked her, no judgement in his voice.

"I can read," she assured him weakly. "I just..." she hesitated. "Promise not to laugh?" she asked him, her voice trembling.

The look on Rhys’ face became instantly serious, the gentle look in his gaze became even more gentle as he took in her expression. "Of course I promise," he assured her, and his voice was so sincere, it almost made her feel like crying.

"The letters change positions," she admitted, her voice tiny.  "I know it sounds insane, but I swear it's what happens."

Rhys was silent, his expression thoughtful. He didn't call out her insanity or brush her off or call her a liar. He just nodded and asked calmly, "What, exactly, do you mean by that? How exactly do they change positions?"

Her shoulders drew up to her ears, her chin drooping in shame. "They...when I'm looking at a word, the letters move around. Switch places. So that the word I'm looking at isn't always the word I'm reading," she explained.

His expression was still calm, like he wasn't shocked or disgusted or horrified by her admission. But a strange look had come to his face, like something she had just said had...clicked in his mind, like he had just figured something out.

"Have you always had this issue with letters?" he asked quietly.

She bit her lip, her face going red with humiliation. "Yes," she admitted quietly. "It first started happening when I learned to read...some of the letters changed around, and I started saying other words, the wrong words. I...Our Grandmother wasn't...she  yelled at me for 'not paying attention'..." Though that was the least she had done. She nearly flinched when she remembered the ruler to the top of her hands.

A muscle ticked in Rhysand's jaw, and for a moment, Eira swore she saw the hint of anger flare on his face. "How old were you?" he asked, almost growling out the words.

"Four," she said quietly, and for a moment, she could have sworn she saw a flash of fury on his face. But it was gone so quickly, she couldn’t be sure.

"So your grandmother punished you for this?" he asked, his voice almost too calm. Like he was holding in some very strong emotions

"Yes," she admitted quietly. "She...she would yell at me and hit me with a ruler. On the fingers." She could still feel that stinging pain, the white-hot sharpness of it. How it had felt when…

"And your parents knew about this?" he asked, his voice low and careful. Like he was trying desperately to keep from letting whatever anger or fury he was feeling slip out.

"No, I...I didn't tell them," Eira confessed. "I was afraid they'd be angry at me for being stupid, because I kept getting words wrong and couldn't read right....and I was afraid Grandmama would get really angry...and I was afraid that I deserved it. Because I can't read like I should."

Rhys was quiet for a long moment, his eyes staring off into space. His hands were clenched into tight, white-knuckled fists. The muscles in his jaw were jumping, like he was trying very hard to keep in the anger that was burning under his skin.

"The letters...the letters that keep changing places...that's a common learning disability, Eira," he finally said quietly. "It's...if you had been born Fae, it would have been caught when you began your lessons and it would have been managed."

Eira’s head jerked up, a small, almost desperate hope flaring in her chest. "Y-you mean...that’s normal? You…you’ve seen others with that issue before?"

Rhys nodded, and there was a grim anger in his eyes as he said, "Yes. And there are ways to help with it, spells to manage it...and it never, never involves a child being yelled at and hit with a ruler."

Something tightened in her throat, and her eyes were suddenly hot. But she fought back the tears...she was not going to cry about this. She would not cry.

Rhys took a deep breath, his hands unfurling from the tight fists he had clenched them into.

He took one of the book, opened it and then did a complicated-looking hand movement over it. He handed it to her. She blinked.

The letters were...different. The script was different. The script was so crystal clear, the lines further apart...for the first time in her life it didn't feel like trying to swim upstream as she read the first few lines. It felt...nearly easy.

"There are different ways to transfigure the spell...different fonts, different colours...spacing. If this doesn't work, we'll try another one."

A shuddering breath left her, and the tears that she had been trying to hold back spilt down her cheeks. In only a few moments, he had done what her entire life of trying and struggling and praying to make sense of the words hadn't, making the script so clear like it was just suddenly easy when it had never been easy in her life.

"Thank you," she whispered to him, her hands trembling slightly as she held the book. "Thank you." She didn't know how else to say it, because it felt like he had given her something priceless...something she had always longed for, something so wonderful, that she didn't even have words for it, had no way of describing the depth of gratitude she felt. And Rhys’s gaze was so gentle as he looked at her.

"I’m just sorry that you've had to go your whole life without that," he murmured gently to her. "No one should struggle that much for something that should come so easily."

And it was that easy suddenly. 

The practical part of learning to control her magic…well that was another thing entirely. They were out in the garden, mostly because Eira was terrified of the idea of burning down the house. 

Rhys sat across from her, not looking worried in the slightest. "It's your magic. There is no need to be afraid," he told her seriously. "Don't be afraid. It will bend to your will. It will do what you want it to do."

She swallowed hard, trying to believe him. He was right....but it was so hard. She was so used to thinking of her magic as wild and uncontrollable, and the thought of letting loose the power that coursed through her veins, of letting it loose into the world...scared her.

"It killed four men," she disagreed quietly. "it burned down trees."

Rhys gently took her hand, his large calloused fingers wrapping around her smaller, paler ones. "I know," he murmured to her. "It did. But those men were trying to harm you, little one. That's why your magic acted as it did, because it was protecting you, because you were in danger. I’m here with you now, I’m not going anywhere. You won't hurt me. You have control. You have control."

Something tightened her chest, his words echoing through her like a soothing balm. He was right. She could control this, if she tried.

She exhaled slowly, breathing out the fear and doubt that was trying to wrap around her heart and soul. "I...I can do this."

A smile curved his lips, his fingers squeezing hers reassuringly. "Yes, you can," he told her, and let go of her hand. "Now, start simple. Don’t focus on anything specific. Just...let your magic flow."

She let out a shaky breath, closing her eyes and reaching for her magic. It was like a roaring flame under her skin, just waiting, aching to be let loose.

She let it flow, let the heat of it fill her, let it course through her veins.

She could feel it. Could feel it spark over her skin. Could...

Her eyes fluttered open, and she saw the tendrils of her magic swirling around her hands. Little sparks snapped along her fingertips, and she had to fight to keep the magic contained.

"Very good," Rhys praised her. "You are doing well." She wet her lips, carefully pulling and pushing...concentrating her magic on her hands. It reacted nearly...rushing. Like it wanted to please her. Like it wanted to help her.

It was nearly like it was alive, like a living thing under her skin...like it wanted to please her. Like it was aching, desperate, to be used, to be commanded. It took a moment to get used to the feel of it, like this wild, feral thing that obeyed her commands, that rushed to her skin at her merest whim.

The lightning crackled between her open hands...and then she pushed it away.

When she pushed, it went. Slid back. Coiled back under her skin, a roiling heat that still burned under her skin, but obeyed her command. It obeyed her. That thought sent a shock through her, that this fearsome, powerful force that had killed 4 faes...it obeyed her. It listened to her.

A quiet, ragged gasp left her, her breath leaving her in a whoosh.

Rhys grinned at her, pride and pleasure gleaming in his eyes. “Very good,” he praised her voice, and his hand squeezed her own. “That was very well done.”

Eira’s hands were trembling violently, her breath shuddering out of her mouth as the adrenaline coursed through her veins. She had done it. She had let loose that fearsome power, and she hadn't hurt anything, hadn't destroyed, hadn't killed. She had controlled it. She had controlled it.

"I didn't hurt you?"

Rhys just smiled at her, lifting a hand and gently running his fingers through her hair. "No," he assured her, his voice gentle. "You did very well. I knew you could do it."

A shuddering sigh left her, and even though she was shaking violently with the adrenaline, her heart was lighter than it had been in days. Because it had worked, she had done it, and she hadn't hurt him.

"The more you do it, the easier it will be," Rhys promised her. "Maybe you'll be able to light a candle with it even."

A small smile tugged at the edges of her lips, and she let out a watery laugh. "A candle?" she repeated, the words sounding almost absurd. The magic she had could burn down a forest. And he was talking about lighting a candle.

A chuckle left his lips, and he leaned over to press a comforting kiss to the top of her head. “Maybe in a few days,” he told her, and warmth blossomed in her chest. “When you get a bit more used to it. But you did well, Eira. You did verywell.”

She had never expected her lessons to be this… undramatic. She'd half-expected sparks, explosions, destruction.

What she hadn't expected was to feel something almost like peace once her magic was unleashed, like it was settling instead of trying to break free.

It was a strange, but almost comforting sensation. Like something had suddenly clicked inside of her, like a piece of her soul that she hadn't even known was missing had finally settled.

At least one thing in her life was…easy.

It was a novelty, she'd admit. To have something in her life that didn't feel like an endless struggle to understand, that didn't feel like everything was stacked against her.

She'd never had anything in her life that was effortless, that came easy to her. Something that made her feel...like she was good at it...like she was talented.

“There is something else that I wanted to talk to you about,” Rhys said quietly. “We received the formal invitation for Elain’s wedding.”

The mention of her sister's name made her blood go cold, and the little bubble of peace inside of her popped like a balloon, leaving her with nothing but a hollow, aching emptiness.

"Oh," she mumbled the word, the sound falling from her lips like a dead thing.

“If you don’t want to attend…neither of us will say a single thing against it,” Rhys said quietly.

The thought of going to this wedding, of seeing her sister walk down the isle, dressed all in white, her hair all done up, with a smile on her face...it was like someone had reached into her chest, wrapped their hands around her heart, and squeezed.

She had never imagined missing Elain’s wedding. But she wanted more than anything to stay far, far away from that stupid, awful event.

She never wanted to see her twin sister again. What did that say about her?

But even as she thought that, even as angry as she was...a part of her still loved her twin sister. A part of her still wanted to reconcile. And that thought made her chest ache with how badly she missed her, with how much she longed to just reach out and fix everything, to go back to how things had been before her sister had said those horrible, awful words to her.

Before she had tried to take her future from Eira. Her baby.

It was such a bitter thought, something that made her chest throb with remembered pain. Elain knew how much she had wanted a baby, how much she had dreamed of holding her own child in her arms...knew how desperately hopeful Eira had been.

And Elain had tried to take that from her.

“Eira,” Rhys said carefully, a look at her hands and she saw the lightning sparking at her fingertips. She willed it away. It disappeared.

She swallowed hard, her hands shaking as she clenched them tightly together, willing the sparks to quell. But the anger, the pain, they burned in her chest, like a flame inside of her, and she couldn't keep the words from coming out, from tumbling past her lips in a rush."All my life, all I ever wanted was to be a mother," she managed to force out, her voice shaking with unshed tears and pain. "All I ever wanted--all I longed for ...was to be a mother, and she, she..."

Her breath came out in a shuddering gasp, and she took a few deep breaths before saying, "She tried to take that from me. I...I would have had that baby by now, Rhys...I would have. And she was just going to...she wanted to take that from me."

“I know,” Rhys said softly. “I know.”

She closed her eyes tightly and took a few deep, shuddering breaths, fighting back the burning pain in her chest, the hot tears that were pricking at her eyes.

"Why would she do that?” she whispered, her voice barely a breath. “Why...why would she want to take them from me...?"

Take her babies…and take Azriel too. Because that’s what it felt like. 

Elain had wrapped him around her little finger so that Eira didn’t even have a chance.

“Jealousy,” Rhys answered with a sigh. “Her mind was a wasteland of jealousy, Eira. She was so used to having every male fall all over himself for her…and suddenly there was this vision that showed her twin sister with a male she herself found handsome. And Elain couldn’t have him…nobody could.”

It was an answer she had almost expected, but it didn’t make it hurt any less. It didn’t make the pain any less real.

"She's my sister," Eira whispered. "How...how could she be so selfish? So cruel?"

And it hurt, it burned to even think, to wonder how her sister could have done that to her, had been willing to do that to her.

"I've miss her so much," Eira mumbled, the words like broken blades in her chest. "Every day, I miss her more than I can even put into words ...but how could I ever face her, after what she did...? How could I?"

It was like a storm in her chest, the pain and uncertainty, anger and anguish warring inside of her, and she fought to hold it all in, to keep it behind locked doors inside of her. So much anger...and it was warring with her grief. The two were at odds, at war inside her heart.

“Azriel said that he would come along if you wanted to go,” Rhys said quietly. “We would be there to…you wouldn’t need to face her alone. I am sure Cassian would even borrow you a sword if you wanted one.”

The thought of walking into that wedding, of being on display with the rest of her family...it sent a cold shudder through her. But if her friends were with her, if they were there...maybe she could do it.

Maybe she could go, just this once. Not to celebrate her sister, but to mourn her. Mourn the sister who had been, even if she was gone.

“Yes,” she whispered. “I think I….maybe I’d like that.”

She swallowed hard and looked up to meet Rhys’ eyes. “If I was to attend...if I was to go to the wedding...would you and Azriel be there with me?”

Rhys nodded immediately, his jaw clenching, a hardness in his eyes. "Of course," he assured her, his voice firm and brooking no discussion.

"Azriel will be there, and I'll be there, and Cassian will be there and your sisters damn well better be there too."

She swallowed hard, her heart beating a little bit faster at his words. The thought of walking into that wedding, knowing all eyes would be on her...but Rhys would be there. Azriel would be there. Nesta and Feyre.

Maybe she could do it. Maybe she could.

Even if she wasn’t quite sure that Azriel at Elaine’s wedding was a good idea.

But she pushed that jealousy down. She couldn't...she couldn't...she couldn't keep bringing that up. There must be a day someday in the future where she forgave him for...that. Where she was willing to move on.

She drew in a slow breath, but she couldn't keep the words inside of her. "How...how is Azriel doing?" she asked, her words quiet. "With...Elain, and the wedding...?"

Rhys stared at her. "Eira, I can honestly say, that I don't think that has even crossed his mind," he said quietly.

Her chest went a bit warm at that, at that knowledge. At the thought that Azriel was...fine. That Azriel didn’t...care about Elain's wedding in the slightest.

But a small part of her, a part of her that almost frightened her, couldn't help but wonder....

"It hasn't?" she repeated, and she cursed the thread of hope in her voice.

Rhys studied her for a second or two, as if he, too, could hear the hope in her voice, the need. “No,” he said simply. “It seems that all my spymaster cares about is Elain's twin sister."

***

Azriel should probably consider himself lucky that Nesta hadn't used Ataraxia to cut his throat. Granted, as she had said, the only reason why she didn't was because Eira would be upset if he died.

No, he supposed that was a pretty good reason not to kill him. "And if you ever treat my sister like that again, I'll wring your neck," Nesta hissed.

He didn't doubt that she would.

"Noted," he said, and he was pretty sure he heard Cassian snicker behind them

But what he didn't add was the fact that, if he had that horrible conversation with Eira again, he'd wring himself by the neck. For being such an idiot, such a stupid bastard.

If he ever saw her cry like she had, shake like a leaf because he had broken her heart, shattered it. 

"What are you going to do now?" Cassian asked him. "Anything new on your...wall?"

Ah, the wall.

The wall of doom, as the others had taken to calling it. Or more accurately, 'Azriel's obsessive chart of Eira's life'. 

He had taken the whole thing down. And then put it back up. Put it back up with everything else the shadows could tell him. 

"No," he said. How did he go forward with Eira? How did he...do this? How did he mend things, make things better? He was a Shadowsinger, a spymaster, a warrior and a killer. He had absolutely no idea how to deal with something like this.

"I would suggest you actually try to talk to her this time," Nesta said frostily. "And you owe her an apology as well, Cassian," she hissed.

Cassian let out a long sigh. "Alright," he said, before raising his hands in supplication at the look on Nesta's face. "Alright, I'll talk to her. Jeez, I said I would."

Azriel just suppressed a smile. He had a feeling Cassian had learned to tread very carefully around his mate, not wanting to spark a war between himself and the very, very scary Lady Death of the Night Court.

"That's usually my speciality though," he drawled. "Saying idiotic things. I think it's actually one of my gifts, really."

"Yeah, you've already displayed that gift for Eira, and it was quite a wonderful performance," she said dryly. "Perhaps you could try to make it up to her, hmm?"

"I'll...do my best," he mumbled, and he would, damnit. He would do his absolute best to make this right.

“So where are you going to take her next?” Cassian asked. “I would suggest somewhere you could actually talk to her.”

He'd thought a lot about it, for longer than he really should admit, and he had a few ideas.

"I was actually...thinking of a picnic," he confessed.

"A picnic?" Cassian asked, his voice almost disbelieving. "You and a picnic. Those two words...I never thought I'd hear them in the same sentence, Az."

Azriel just scowled. "What's wrong with a picnic?" he asked, his voice a bit defensive.

"Picnics are for romance," Cassian said, his voice almost gleeful with how teasing it was. "You're going to have a romantic picnic? Is there going to be wine, and roses, and candlelight?"

Azriel felt his heart skip a beat at that...and he had to admit, some of those things actually sounded rather nice...but that didn't mean he was going to admit that.

"Eira doesn't drink wine," Nesta said drily..

Azriel nearly cursed, but caught himself. Right, Eira didn't drink. At all.

Damnit. There went the wine.

"No wine, then," Azriel grumbled. "No wine, but it's still going to be a very romantic picnic, trust me."

"And where do you want to have your very romantic picnic?" Cassian drawled.

"I thought the River Bank at the House," Azriel admitted. She would be comfortable there...If she wanted to get away from him...she easily could.

Cassian actually looked a bit surprised at that. "Huh," he said, sounding a bit impressed against his will. "Didn't think of that. She'll...feel safe there. Plus, there are a few beautiful spots there..."

He swallowed back a bit of the anxiety that he felt. "So...you're saying it's a not completely idiotic idea?"

"It's...definitely a good idea," Cassian conceded. "As long as you actually talk to her this time.  “

"What are you thinking for food?" Nesta asked him pointedly.

She was asking him that question as if he actually knew how to cook anything other than a piece of meat over the fire. He was a court-trained, highly skilled warrior, a Carynthian. He could fight, intimidate, and kill. Asking him to cook? That was a completely different thing…

“I’ll have the shadows pick up some things from a restaurant in the city…that way it will actually be edible,” he answered. 

"I feel like that's probably a very good idea," Cassian said, and Azriel could hear the poorly concealed laughter in his voice.

"Shut up," he growled, but there wasn't enough actual heat in his words. 

“She likes raspberries,” Nesta told him graciously. “She once nearly made herself sick by eating so many of them…If you can get any, she will be delighted,” she promised him. 

Raspberries. He could do raspberries. 

The shadows procured raspberry tarts. He also had them pass Eira a note, asking for her company that evening, receiving her agreement quickly. 

She was giving him a chance. 

Which was how he ended up in the River House with a Picnic Basket, a blanket and a dream.

He chose a place on the bank of the river, a place that was secluded and quiet. A place where he could show Eira that he hadn’t come here to ambush or intimidate her, but to talk to her, to listen.

And then he found her. Waiting for him on the back porch, a book in her hand. 

She hadn't heard him yet, hadn't even noticed him.

He paused, for a moment, taking her in like this.

Beautiful. Even when she was just sitting there, reading and unaware that he was there, she was so damn beautiful that it made him ache inside.

Azriel found his heart catching at the sight of her, the sunlight dappling down through the trees, and the look of near serenity on her face as she read.

He almost didn’t want to disturb her, wanted to just let her remain there as she was, but he pushed down the urge and slowly stepped towards her.

"Eira?" he asked quietly, and it was almost a crime how lovely she looked in the sunlight as she lifted her head from her book, her blue eyes widening in surprise to the sight of him.

"Azriel," she said, her voice soft, and something in his heart twisted as he saw her hands tighten almost imperceptibly on the cover of her book. He swallowed hard, his heart clenching tight at the sight of it.

"I, um," he mumbled, forcing the words from his stupid, clumsy tongue. "I..." He swallowed hard, "I...brought a few things," he finished lamely, setting the picnic basket down at the foot of the porch.

"A picnic," she said, and he could hear the almost faint wonder in her voice. He dared to look up towards her, and saw her watching him, her eyes slightly wide, her lips parted.

"Yes," he said quietly, forcing words past the lump in his throat. "A...picnic," he repeated. "I, um...I thought...If you were willing…"

She was watching him, her blue eyes wide with surprise, the sunlight dappling down across her head, making parts of her braid gleam in gold.

He swallowed once more, his heart clenching in his chest. "I...I wanted to talk to you," he finally managed to confess. "If that’s...if that’s okay."

There was a moment of silence, and he felt like he was going to choke as he watched the different emotions flicker across her eyes.

Surprise, trepidation, hope, and more surprise...and there was a hint of vulnerability in her eyes, as if his words made her scared. Terrified. And he couldn’t blame her, really, not when he had royally messed up last time.

But she slowly nodded, her lips barely curving in the ghost of a smile. “Y—yes,” she said quietly. “I’d like that. Talking, I mean.”

"WIll you come with me?" he asked her, holding out his hand and her smile widened.

He caught a flash of something in her eyes before she slowly stood up, setting her book aside and lifting her own hand to meet his.

He fought the urge to let out a long sigh of relief or to clutch her hand too tightly as she slowly stepped down off the porch, and he gently led her over to the blanket that he had already laid out by the river.

He let go of her hand and watched as she slowly sat down on the blanket, tucking her legs underneath her. Her blue skirts puddled around her and he wondered how she managed to look elegantly while doing it. He stayed standing for a moment, just watching her, taking in the sight of her sitting there on the blanket that he had laid out for her.

Slowly, he also sank down into a sitting position, careful to keep some space between them. He didn’t want to...to startle her, overwhelm her, make her run.

He busied herself with unpacking the food.  

"I love a picnic," Eira said quietly. "When we were still at the cottage, sometimes we ate outside just for a change of scenery. Don't get me wrong, it was...the winters were horrible. But not everything was," Eira whispered. "When we were glamoured...I missed it sometimes. I didn't know what to do with my time when we had staff again. When I didn't need cook, didn't need to harvest vegetables and we could just buy them..."

He had to swallow at that confession. He hadn’t...he hadn’t even realized that she would miss those days, even though of course she would. She’d had...had a life at that cottage, a family, a home.

Even when they had struggled…she still had those things. 

"What do you miss the most?" he asked her curiously, handing her a plate and cutlery, and she thanked him with a smile. 

She went quiet for a moment as she thought about that question, her head tilting faintly to the side before she spoke again.

“I think…” she began, her voice a mere murmur. “I think I miss the animals the most. We were at the edge of a forest...you could see deers sometimes...sometimes stray cats...I loved the stray cats. There was this one...it was ancient. Only had half a tail," she recounted with a laugh. "It used to come visit me when I was gardening...Sun itself in a spot and keep me company, listen to me singing...let me pet it however much I wanted."

He could almost picture that image. Could picture her, singing a soft, quiet song, as a cat sat in a patch of sunlight, enjoying her music.

He found himself wondering...he found himself wondering what other secrets Eira was hiding. How many more things he didn’t know about her. How many things he had never realized, never even thought about before...

"Do you actually enjoy gardening?" he asked her, unable to help himself.

She blinked at that question, looking...surprised he had asked. Then she nodded, a small smile on her lips. "Yes," she confessed. "It was a part of my chores, a part of survival, but I enjoyed it. It was..." She paused as if she almost wasn’t sure how to explain herself. "It was soothing," she confessed quietly. "Gardening...it keeps my hands preoccupied. Busy. And you get a result at the end of it... It...it was good."

"I couldn't hunt...I have absolutely no talent for that...so when Feyre started hunting...I made sure that she didn't need to worry about anything else," she explained.

He swallowed against the lump in his throat as she explained more about how their lives had been at the cottage, at how they had divided their tasks and...how they had survived.

How she had kept Feyre from having even more weight on her shoulders. Had taken that weight onto her own.

He wanted to ask her, wanted to ask her if it had been hard. If the weight of surviving had been too heavy for her.

But he...he didn’t want to push her. Didn’t want to bring up unpleasant memories, not when they finally had a chance to talk to each other.

"And you?" she suddenly asked, jolting him from his thoughts.

"You...you train and fight," she said quietly. “Is...is that soothing for you? Can you just...turn off your brain that way?"

It was a quiet, direct question, and it sent a shard of a shiver down his spine.

He wanted to lie to her about it. Wanted to say that yes, hunting and killing creatures and people was soothing, that he could turn off all of his mind and become the living, breathing blade that he was.

But he couldn’t. He couldn’t lie to her. He found his throat bobbing as he swallowed once more, trying to find the right words to explain himself that wasn’t just excuses.

"Not always," he confessed quietly. "There are nights...there are nights when I can sleep, when I can just let go. When the killing is necessary to keep the people I care about safe," he said.

He was about to go on when his throat was dry, and he had to swallow hard before continuing. "But...there are nights when I can’t," he continued, his voice a painful whisper. "There are nights when the killing is not necessary, and I can’t…I can’t just forget after it."

It was the most open he had ever been with anyone, including his brothers, about the truth of what was inside him.

But with Eira...he wanted to be open. Wanted to be honest. He wanted her to finally know how broken he was, how damaged he was, and see if she would still look at him with those beautiful, wide blue eyes of her and not turn away.

To his surprise, she didn’t. Instead, she...she slowly nodded, that quiet understanding in her gaze.

The expression in her eyes...she understood. She understood how broken he was. How he was nothing more than a weapon. A killing machine in the shape of a male. She understood that brokenness and she wasn’t running.

“You should have a hobby,” she said finally, and there was a soft, teasing lilt in her voice. Surprising him. He expected hesitation, coldness maybe…but she was clearly serious about giving him a chance. 

“A hobby,” she repeated, her voice still so very teasing. “Something to help you wind down, to relax, and to...to keep your mind occupied. Instead of just going to the training rings all the time like Cassian always says you do. It's why I garden, why I sew...why I embroider," she answered honestly. "It calms me. Feyre paints...I do that." He nodded, feeling the lump in his throat growing even larger. 

She sewed and embroidered and gardened. And she did them all to try and calm her mind and heart, to distract herself even a little from how broken the world really was, to try and make something beautiful.

"I like listening to music," he said quietly.

"Like the symphony," Eira recounted and he nodded.

Which reminded him of the harp he had given her...

"I am sorry about the harp," he blurted out.

"Why?" Eira asked him, shock evident on her face. "Why would you be sorry about..."

"I didn't even think about that fact that giving you the same thing that you lost to keep your family from starving was maybe not...the kindest thing to do."

Eira froze for a moment, something like shock flickering across her face before she let out a quiet, somewhat shaky laugh, and he felt a cold ball of fear form in his stomach. She was…she was upset. Surely she had to be upset. But her voice was level and soft when she spoke.

“You really think that it…that it bothers me?” she asked, incredulity in her voice. “That I care that you gave me the same instrument that I had to sell?”

He opened his mouth, ready to tell her that yes, that was exactly what he thought, and that he had hurt her, but she cut him off.

“Azriel,” she said quietly, and the way she said it, the way his name rolled over her tongue, was like a gentle caress. His thoughts stuttered to a halt and he stared at her.

“I…I didn't think twice about that,” Eira confessed quietly. “I am so happy about the harp. About the fact that you gave it to me, and the fact that I can play again, do something that I loved...”

That confession...it was shattering him. He had worried over that harp, over the fact that he had probably reminded her of the worst parts of her life without even realizing it, but here she was, telling him that it hadn't even crossed her mind.

“I…" Azriel swallowed hard, his throat painfully tight, but he forced himself to speak anyway. "Then…you’re not…you’re not upset with me about it?" he asked again, his heart clenching in hope, in terror, in prayer, and she simply shook her head, her eyes still filled with that quiet wonder.

“No,” she murmured to him, her voice so soft and gentle. “No, I am not. How could I be? How could I be upset about the fact that you gave me something that I love, when you did it out of kindness, out of some attempt to make me happy?”

"I went about it wrong," he said quietly. "I should have...I should have actually talked to you. Asked you what you wanted...what you liked to do."

"We can talk. I like talking to you like this," Eira admitted quietly. "Getting to know you...I..."

He felt something in his heart tug at her admission, at her quiet confession. She…she liked talking to him. She wanted to get to know him better, to have him get to know her better.

He couldn’t stop a smile from tugging at his lips as he nodded, hope swelling in his chest.

He felt something in his heart tug at her admission, at her quiet confession. She…she liked talking to him. She wanted to get to know him better, to have him get to know her better.

"I wrote a list of questions," he admitted and she started laughing.

"Is that how the spymaster gets information?" she teased him.

He groaned in embarrassment, feeling the back of his neck starting to flush hotly as she just kept laughing. “Hush,” he muttered, his voice almost pleading. “Please, just hush."

Her laughter was like music, that was all there was to it. It sent something warm and golden through his heart, made him almost dizzy with how lovely it was, and he found himself wanting to hear more of it.

To hear her laugh just like that all the time, for the rest of his life...that would be Heaven.

"What's your favourite colour?" he asked her, and the amusement glinted in her eyes.

“Blue,” Eira answered, honestly, a blush rising on her cheeks. 

Blue.

He hadn’t known that. 

"And yours?" she asked him.

For just a moment he came up empty. What was his favourite colour? Black? "Blue," he answered, honestly. Blue. Blue because it meant coming home. The colour of the sky...of his siphons...of Eira's eyes.

"Favourite Food?" he asked her, clearing his throat.

She had to bite down on her lower lip before answering, trying and failing to keep her amusement from overwhelming her completely. “Favourite food?” she echoed faintly. “You really…a question like that is on your list?”

To his mortification, he was blushing now. He had made that list, trying to come up with as many possible good questions as he could think of. And of course, he had also put some of the stupidest and most mundane questions he could think of on that list as well.

"It is,” he muttered awkwardly, and she outright laughed again, burying her face in her hands this time, but it was a fond sort of laughter. Like she thought the question was ridiculous but was amused and charmed by his effort anyway.

"I want to know you," he admitted quietly.

Her laughter stopped, like she’d suddenly been stunned into silence. She slowly pulled her hands down from her face, that blush on her cheeks still there as she met his eyes.

“I…you do?” she whispered in surprise, and there was a trace of…something in her voice. Hope, perhaps. A hope that he meant what he said.

“Yes,” he answered her quietly, the word coming out in a strangled whisper as a wave of heat washed through him. He meant it. He meant it more than anything.

"Mine is this Illyrian candy that involves nuts and honey," he admitted. "It's so sweet that your teeth get stuck together."

Her eyes widened at that, and her lips parted in surprise. He could practically see her trying to imagine just how sweet those nuts and honey had to be, to make your teeth stick together.

Then she let out a soft laugh, the sound like music to his ears. “Oh goodness,” she muttered. “That sounds like…that sounds like something that tastes amazing and gives you a stomach ache at the same time.”

“It is,” he confessed, and he found himself smiling as he did so. “It’s the best thing I’ve ever eaten…and it makes me feel sick to my stomach if I eat too much of it.”

"Raspberries for me," Eira admitted to him. "I once nearly got myself sick with eating so many of them too."

"Look in the basket," he told her.

She squealed. Squealed as she saw the tarts, her eyes widening in surprise before a look like ecstasy washed over her face. His heart stopped in that moment, his breath catching in his throat as this beautiful female made such an adorable sound over pastries that he had brought, for her.

The shock and surprise on her face lasted for only a moment, before being replaced with absolute and childish joy, and he found a strangled chuckle tearing from his throat.

She’d…she’d squealed. Squealed and made an expression like a happy child on Solstice morning at the sight of raspberry tarts. All at something he had brought.

"How?!" she demanded.

He found himself grinning at her excitement, that childish reaction to seeing a gift in a basket. “I have my ways,” he told her with a hint of smugness in his voice, but he felt a strange rush of pride at the fact that he’d managed to surprise her like this. At the fact that he had given her something that would make her reaction so…adorable.

“In this case, the way was your sister.”

She laughed at that, the sound bright and happy.

[msmorningstaarr]

let me fill you up | Jaime Lannister x F!Targaryen reader

ao3 | masterlist

Pairing: Jaime Lannister x F!Targaryen reader

Summary: You, a Targaryen princess were married into the Lannister fold to ensure the alliance between the two houses, ensuring your eldest brother’s claim to the Iron Throne. Now, Lord Jaime makes your days filled with happiness and makes you eager to present him babies.

Word Count: 2.3k

Warnings: rhaegar wins AU, no targcest, smuff, fluff, breeding kink, praising kink, a lot of pet names (sweet girl, princess, love), reader has no physical description besides the silvery white targaryen hair, creampie, oral (f receiving), a very devoted husband commited to your pleasure, smut, sex;

a/n: Happy new year! I had posted I wanted to write something like that and it's been a while since I want to write something other than holy and heathen because I must admit I'm not very satisfied with what I've been writing lately. Some validation kudos, comments and reblogs would be very important to me, seriously :') I’ve been thinking in turning this into a small series but I’m not so sure. Could you give me your thoughts on this too? please, enjoy your reading!

Taglist: @princessanglophile @hiroikegawa @hiraethrhapsody

You are sitting surrounded by your maids and children on a breezy night, covered with a fur coat and a crimson silk dress under it. Attentively, you go stitch by stitch and slowly form a lion, sigil of your husband’s house. Ever since Robert’s Rebellion ended and your brother, King Rhaegar Targaryen won, you became promised to the former knight of the Kingsguard, now Lord Jaime Lannister. Life in the lion’s den was not difficult, once Lord Tywin treated her with the most kindness and Jaime was still coming out of his shell. At first, he was your sworn sword in King’s Landing and spent plenty of time together in an unbalanced relationship. Now, you two are sharing a bed after a tumultuous year of war and destruction, as equals. In the beginning, you were sceptical about marrying into the Lannister household, but as the months went by, you found yourself drowned at him. Jaime is careful, gentle and kind. He brings you a small dandelion every morning once he knows it reminds you of home.

His only quirk was the strange attachment to his sister, Lady Cersei. But after being sent to Dorne to marry Prince Oberyn of House Martell and getting distant from each other, your relationship with your husband seemed to finally thrive.

“It appears to be beautiful, my lady.” Said one of her maids, taking care of your youngest son, a small silvery blonde figure of two years of age.

“A bright lion handkerchief for Jaime to carry with him.” You reply, admiring your piece of work. “Do you believe your father will like it, sweetling?” You then ask your eldest daughter, an adorable child of four. Your daughter eagerly nods her head and wraps her hands around one of your fingers to pull the fabric closer to her eyes.

“Dada will love it, mama!” The little one exclaimed, spinning around with the kerchief on her tiny hands.

“What will I love, if I’m allowed to ask?” A tall, blonde figure shows up in your private bedchambers, wearing a classic Westerland attire with a crimson fabric and intricate strings of gold shaped into the sleeves and collar. You smile sweetly to Jaime as he approaches you and grabs your middle child to hold in his arms.

“Papa!” The blonde little girl runs towards her father to embrace his legs and your maids stand up to bow to their lord.

“Have you missed me, dear?” Jaime asked and the fussy children eagerly nodded at him, embracing their father even more. Sometimes, seeing Jaime being so loving and kind towards your children simply melted your heart. You felt the urgency to kiss him and dig your fingers onto his bright hair, begging him for another child. Your cunt ached in pleasure to the thought of Jaime pumping his seed inside of you. You were still young and could bear many more children.

“Mm-rrhm…” You scoffed. “I have missed you too, husband.”

The three children giggled and the child on his arms hid his face on the crook of Jaime’s neck. The eldest covered her laugh with her tiny hands and the youngest beamed along their siblings. Jaime came closer to you and caressed your cheeks with his free hand. Then, a single and gentle kiss he places over your forehead, making your heart flutters with love and passion.

“I have missed you too, my love.” Jaime said, passing his fingertips on your chin and smiling at you.

Your maids quickly stood up and bowed at their overlord as a sign of respect. “Excuse me, my lord, my lady,” Said the servant girl. “Let us take the children so you can rest.”

“But I want to stay with papa!” Said the elder daughter, pouting and crossing her arms. The other two children whined and complained along, but you lowered into their level whilst Jaime talked to the youngest on his arm.

“Sweetlings,” She said, caressing their cheeks. “Your father is rather tired after riding for so long. Go with her, I promise you, your siblings, me and your father will have plenty of time together on the morrow. Is that understood, my loves?”

“I can take you to ride a horse tomorrow and even let you eat lemon cakes before super. What do you think?” Jaime asked, delivering the fussy child from his arms to the other maid. In unison, the three infants agreed and left disappointed. Once you and your husband were alone in your bedchambers, Jaime smiled at you gallantly. You embrace him intimately and are finally able to feel the warmth of his muscular body and feel the softness of his golden hair. His lips reach yours and in a whirlwind of sensations, your cunt is already dripping in anticipation just by a simple touch coming from him. Once he breaks the kiss, he keeps holding you by your waist and gazing at you with admiration.

“You have been gone for too long, love.” You say, passing your fingertips on his lips. He smiles and gives you a peck on the lips before speaking.

“I had duties with your brother, Our Grace King Rhaegar, sweet girl.” Jaime replies, pulling her out gently and grabbing the fabric she embroidered for him.

“I hope you like it, I made it just for you.” You point out, joining your hands to follow him. He keeps smiling as he observes attentively the intricate work you did.

“I shall cherish it and take it wherever I go, dragon princess.” He replied, folding and putting the kerchief in one of his pockets. You giggle as you hear him calling you ‘dragon princess’, a custom he chose to never abandon as a form to remember the late days of their relationship “I wish I had more time to be around and play with the children, I have been missing them and you.”

“They made drawings every day and left it on your desk at your office.” You reply, walking to the window and being followed by him.

“I will make sure to have them guarded in our chambers. Safe as our gold.” He says, hugging you from behind and kissing your neck lightly. You beam in ecstasy feeling his body smother you into a comforting embrace and full missing him.

“Sometimes I still cannot believe we are wedded to each other. You were my sworn shield in King’s Landing!” You exclaim as his hand caresses your empty belly and it tingles by his touch. He grins at your words and says.

“Most people are not so lucky to know your spouse before the wedding day. I consider myself the most lucky man in the world because I could be in your acquaintance from so long ago.” He replies, falling his head on the crook of your neck.

You turn around to be face to face with Jaime, feeling the cold breeze of the rock hitting your back and giving you small shocks as Jaime caresses your back, making you experience a thermal shock and shudder to his touch.

“I feel very lucky to be your wife, Jaime. Most women are not so fortunate to have such a kind, loving and handsome husband.” You mutter as he strokes your hair, in awe with your beauty.

“I guess we are fortunate to be together after so many troubles in war. We even brought new lives into this world to paint a new, brightful history.” He replies, caressing your womb. You stare at his fingers passing up and down your belly and glances at him with a sweet smile.

“And we could have more, love. I must admit I feel empty for so long and I want to give you more children… I know I can give you an entire army of your own. Half lion, half dragon. Unstoppable creatures.”

“You feel empty, love?” He asks, smirking and you eagerly agree with him. “Then allow me to fill you up…” Jaime finished, slowly undoing the intricate laces of your dress to reveal your bare skin under the crimson fabric. In response, you open his attire slowly and little by little his white tunic appears to her eyes.

By this point, your cunt is already sore in anticipation for the moment about to happen and clenches around nothing once he pushes the last section of string holding your garment, releasing you from the pressure tightening your upper body. Jaime pushes down your dress and your underwear is now on display for him, which makes him bite his lip and eagerly take down your white camisole to show him your bare body. You moan as he squeezes your breast and pinches your nipples whilst kissing you. You quickly take off his own undershirt to show off his chest.

“So eager is my dragon princess.” He playfully says, leading you to bed and carefully laying you down. With devotion, he starts to kiss your feet, legs and knees, his hands roaming through your thighs and hips. “Spread your legs for me, little dragon.”

You part your legs, obeying his soft command. “So wet… I can see you truly missed me, my love.” He says, kissing your inner thighs as your body squirms in pleasure before he reaches your intimacy.

“Oh… I have missed you so much, my lion.” You moan your words as he kisses your groyne and passes his fingers lightly over your clit, making your womb tremble and convulse to his touch.

“I can see that, just as I missed you, my dragon princess. Do I have permission to give you a lord’s kiss?” He asks and you only nod in response, making Jaime wet his lips with his own saliva before diving into your dripping core and you to scream involuntarily as his tongue and lips eat you up with full desire. Jaime circles his tongue around your clit and roam around your entire intimacy, making your hips bounce onto his direction. It was his costume to make you come every time before he would be inside of you, now could not be different.

You feel your body explode as if someone threw you into dragon fire as Jaime relentlessly pleases you, making magic with his tongue. Skillfully, he explores your intimate area inch by inch with eagerness, making you dig your fingers on his golden curls, pulling him closer to your cunt and you contorses your body urging for more. Tears of pleasure fall off as you feel goosebumps once you realise you are close to your climax.

As the intensity builds, Jaime's movements become more deliberate, pushing you closer to the edge of bliss. Your breath hitches, and your fingers entwine in his golden locks, urging him on. The world narrows down to the pleasure he provides, the connection between you deepening with every passing moment.

When the climax finally crashes over you, Jaime doesn't relent. He continues to caress your sensitive core with his tongue, prolonging the sweet release. Your body shudders with pleasure, and you feel the bond between you and Jaime reaching new heights.

“Husband…” You try to stop him and give yourself some time to take a breath, but Jaime does not back off and part your legs once more, holding it as he keeps licking, kissing and sucking your pussy.

“No no, wife… let me please you and bring you to climax once more…” He cuts your words and gently goes back, but now he plays with his fingers on your clit, with far less pressure and slowly draws circles around it, taking soft moans from you. Jaime rises to hover over you, a wicked glint in his eyes. His fingers trace patterns on your flushed skin as he leans in for a heated kiss, allowing you to taste the remnants of your own pleasure on his lips. “Taste yourself, love.”

And not so long after, you scream his name as you feel waves of pleasure hitting your body as a lightning bolt hits the ground in a storm. Your body is trembling and your legs seem to be two wooden sticks, barely able to stand.

“Please… inside of me, Jaime… I need you…” You plead with him, pulling his body to be on top of yours.

“Your wish is my command, princess.” He replies, kissing you passionately once more and positioning between your legs. Jaime's eyes meet yours, filled with a mixture of desire and adoration. The anticipation was hanging heavy in the air, your bodies aligned perfectly, and as he slowly entered you, a shared moan escaped both of your lips.

The sensation is electrifying, the culmination of the pleasure he bestowed upon you and the intimate connection between your bodies. Jaime moves with a rhythmic precision, each thrust deepening the bond that exists only between you two.

“My perfect princess takes me so well…” He grows as thrusts into you going back and forth nonstop. You lock him by involving your legs around his waist and feeling his hard cock entering your cunt in full force, reaching your cervix and making you beg for more in his ear.

The room echoes with the sounds of your shared ecstasy, a symphony of pleasure that reverberates through the stone walls. The flickering candlelight casts shadows that dance across your entwined bodies, creating a tapestry of love and passion.

“Put another babe on my belly Ser, please…” You beg him as moans leave your mouth and the sound of crashing bodies fill the room quickly.

“With pleasure, love…” He says once more. Jaime moves with a rhythmic precision, each thrust deeper inside of your pussy in farfetched positions. He missed you too much after months away from you and it shows by the way he kisses you as he moves desperately to have more of mounting his dragon. The room echoes with the sounds of your shared passion, a symphony of pleasure that reverberates through the stone walls. The flickering candlelight casts shadows that dance across your entwined bodies. As Jaime's movements become faster, the pleasure intensifies, and you find yourself on the verge of another climax. The pleasure is overwhelming, and your bodies move in perfect harmony.

With a final, fervent thrust, Jaime succumbs to the ecstasy and releases his seed deep inside of your womb, growling and grunting with relief and utter bliss. You hit your own orgasm as you feel the warm jets of his seed invading your walls and your body squirm and you scream his name, crying out.

Your bodies tremble in the aftermath, and he collapses beside you, pulling you into his arms. The room is filled with a comforting silence as you both catch your breath. Jaime's fingers gently trace patterns on your skin as you bask in the warmth of the afterglow. “Do you think we created one more life for our household, love?” You ask him, laying your head on his chest. The world outside your chambers seems distant, and for a moment, it's just the two of you, lost in the serenity of each other's embrace.

“Depending on your fertile womb, my love, I have no doubts you are.” He replies, caressing your silvery white hair. “But we must endure in our pursuit on a daily routine. Just to make sure our fourth babe is on the way.” He playfully replies, smirking at you, who mischievously smiles back at him and kisses his lips, wiping some strings of sweat from his face.

Jaime presses a tender kiss to your forehead, his voice a soothing murmur, "I love you, my dragon princess."

And you, wrapped in the arms of the man you love, whisper back, "And I love you, my lion shield."

[writingroom21]

Girls On Film

pairing: pornstar!Rafe x pornstar!Reader

Summary: Running away from home to become a pornstar was never in your books. Having to move in with some asshole wan't in it either. Surely living in a house with someone you dislike can't be hard. It's just work, that's all it is. Right?

Warining: 18+, smut, fingering, masturbation, oral (m receiving), teasing, (let me know if I missed any)

Wc: 4.3K

Say Hello To The Camera

The girls around you all seem so confident. All dressed in minimal clothing, caked in makeup, sultry smiles plastered on their faces. You feel out of place, not fully but it feels like you don’t belong there. You’re dressed in a skirt and crop top with minimal makeup, you look more natural. Everyone there seemed like they were made for this life and you were the only one who wasn’t. It was like all eyes were on you, which isn’t something new.

You grew up in a small town, everything you did was broadcasted for the whole town. You learned that at a young age after your dad left your mom for his mistress. It was all anyone could talk about. All the parents were talking about it and then all the kids at school talked about it. Your life was the laughing stock of the town.

From then on your mother made you have a certain image, keeping you on a tight leash. She needed you to be picture perfect so you wouldn’t bring shame to your family. You were never allowed to date, go to parties, or even have sleepovers. That just made everyone at school pick on you more because you were the perfect little girl. You hated being perfect.

Once you hit puberty boys started to notice you and you couldn’t even react. The first time you’ve ever been kissed was when you were playing truth or dare at a party you snuck out to in highschool. Being a horny teenager who’s scared to lose her virginity so as to not disobey her mother is pretty hard. It was also hard to sneak the fact that you eventually did at senior prom. 

You remember having to face you mom late that night. All the questions still clear in your mind. Everything you’ve done was to make her happy, hiding who you were so she would approve of you. All the sneaking around and keeping a low profile is the only thing you really know. So being here is like a culture shock to what you grew up with.

So to say all of this is sort of overwhelming is an understatement. 

The number you were given when you first walked in was called out. Reluctantly you get up and walk over to the person waiting for you. This is what you wanted, you left home to do something that intrigued you. Since you were sixteen you’ve been watching porn. It became a habit for you and slower you started exploring yourself to find out you really like sex. That’s why you moved out of your small town and moved to Charleston. It was the closest porn company to you.

Also a move that you could actually afford, California is too far away and you barely have money. This is what you wanted, so why are you so afraid? The room looks practically sterile. White walls and clean furniture carefully placed in the room. There’s three people sitting at a table watching as you walk in like hawks. Two guys and a girl, then a camera placed directly beside them. The little red light is on, signaling they were already recording.

“What’s your name?” One of the guys asks you. “Oh um.” You tell them your name. Their eyes scan down your body, watching your every move. You stand there perfectly still with a smile on your face. “You know you’re going to have to come up with a name if you get any further in this.” You take a deep breath. “I know.”

They all look at each other, the lady looks at you. “Can you take your clothes off for us sweetie? We want to see what you look like.” Nervously you strip from your clothes. You’re left in a tiny pair of panties that cover nothing. They write down on note pads, taking notes about your appearance. “Why don’t you touch yourself?”

Without a second thought you start to drag your hand slowly on your body. Fingertips skimming your skin to reach your nipples, pinching them between your fingers. For a couple of minutes you play with your breast, giving them a squeeze and pushing them together. Your nipples are hard from all the playing. One of the guy’s mouth drops when you slip your panties off and make your way over to the couch.

Sitting down you spread your legs, exposing yourself to the room. Your left hand spreads your pussy as the right toys with your clit. Moans slip from your lips as you continue to play with yourself, a finger dipping in. You open your eyes and smile at the camera, slipping another finger in. The two fingers scissor you open, curling to give you the best pleasure ever.

The three of them watch in awe as you finger yourself, bringing yourself to the very edge of an orgasm and stopping. Only to continue the cycle once again. By the time you actually cum both of the guys are close to cumming in their pants. The lady’s panties are soaked and she’s not even into girls that way. You were a star in the making.

“So when can you come in next?”

☾☾☾☾☾☾☾☾☾☾☾☾

“No, I'm not doing it.” The voice on the other end sighs. “Rafe you can’t just ignore this. I’m telling you this girl is different.” Jared, his manager, tries to reason with him. “I’m not going to work with someone who doesn't know how to do anything. Find someone else to do it.” He’s honestly tired of them trying to get him to do castings. This has to be the fourth one he’s turned down. 

It’s always the same thing, Jared calls him and it’s something below his pay grade. “Listen Rafe, you’re good but you need to do this. I don’t know how many times you can keep turning things down before they find another new pretty face. Trust me when I tell you, this girl is something else.” He knows he has to do it. There’s only so many times he can say no to them.

He’s been in the industry for a year and made them a lot of money but that doesn’t mean someone else couldn’t. “How much?” He’s walking around his kitchen opening cabinets to see what he can eat. “$2,000 just to do the screen test. Then you both get 20% of the profits made. Think about it after every $5,000 you would get $1,000. With her, trust me this will make you rich.”

Rafe thinks about it as he opens up a cereal box and takes a handful of it. “I’ll do it but I want 3,000 for just doing it. You know I don’t like working with newbies.” The guy on the other end laughs out loud, the vibrations ringing in his ear. “We’ll see if you still have that attitude after. The shoot is at three so you better get here for two. You should get to know her a little.”

He looks at the clock on the stove and sees that it's twelve already. “Yeah whatever I’ll be there.” Hanging up, he takes another handful of cereal and goes to get ready. He makes sure to wash with extra hot water to be squeaky clean, scrubbing down his body to be as clean as possible. Next he grooms himself by trimming his pubes, leaving them at a good length so they aren’t all over the place.

The whole time he keeps cursing himself for not having in his contract NO CASTINGS. It’s not that he has something against them, it's just he would rather not do them. They’re great to watch, especially when you can tell they are really new to everything. He would rather be on the watching end than the receiving end. The girls just seem to over do it when you’re the one they are with.

Rafe would rather be paired with someone who’s been in the industry long enough to be comfortable on camera, not shy and awkward. He’s frustrated the whole drive there, slamming the car door when he gets out. This is so stupid. He thinks, greeting everyone as he walks by. He walks into the green room where Jared and Liz are waiting for him, but when he enters it's just you.

You’re just sitting there  going through different porn magazines. “Who are you?” His voice scares you. Looking up from the page you meet blue eyes, you tell him your name a bit distracted by him. He has to be one of the cutest guys you’ve ever seen. He’s tall, well built, god his buzz cut is to die for, plus his arms would be good for putting you in a headlock. Overall you would say he’s really fucking hot.

“Oh the new girl right?” A bit nervous about meeting your potential costar you squirm under his gaze. “Um yeah. Are you Rafe?” You’re picking at the skin around your fingers, a nervous habit you’ve gained over the years. Just further proof that Rafe doesn’t want to be here, you’re new. Not just to the industry but to all of it. He’s seen it before with other co-workers.

They get paired with the new girl and boy is she new. Never sucked a dick and sure as hell never been fucked. It’s not hard to spot those types of new girls, they dress differently from the ones who have lost their virginity. Their demeanor is different, you can just tell by looking at them. That’s what Rafe sees as he looks at you. Some little girl who doesn’t even know where pleasure begins or ends. You looked like the embodiment of virginity, pure like the coke he takes. 

He’s going to eat you alive.

“Are you sure you should be here?” The look of confusion on your face is met with his closed off stare. “So you’re not Rafe?” His stare gets more intense. “I am. Are you going to answer my question?” You scoff at him. “Well considering they asked me back, yeah I would say I should be here? Should you? I feel like they have rules about being a dick.” You may have been the nice girl growing up but that's because you were forced to. You are tired of being her and everyone always looking down at you.

“That’s a smart mouth you got there. Hope you know how to use it.” Rafe’s steps echo as he walks to the couch you are sitting on. “Well I hope your dick is not as small as you make it out to be. Would feel bad for the girls you work with.” It’s surprising how quick you are with your comebacks. It’s like you don’t even think before talking back to him.

As he watches you, he sees your leg bouncing just another sign of why you shouldn’t be here. He may like the way you talk back but this isn’t a place for a girl like you. Just as he was about to make a snide remark the door bursts open. Liz walks in first then Jared and finally Micky. “Alright sweetie, figure out a name for us yet?”

All eyes are on you waiting for your response. “Maisy Day.” Rafe wants to laugh at the name, Maisy out of all things? “Sweet and innocent. Great job.” But Micky has a point, it sounds flowery if that even makes sense. It’s like he would find you out in the middle of a field, all innocent waiting for him to ravage you. On second thought maybe he can get used to the idea of this.

“It’s a simple blowjob seen okay. Rafe you will be recording everything on this camera.” Jared places the camera on the table in front of them. “He’s going to be recording you and just try to go with the flow on this one. We want to see how you are behind the camera a bit more and then you’ll get a script.” You shouldn’t be nervous, you’ve seen plenty of these videos, even practiced with the dildo you had.

Now that it’s getting closer to being real it’s scary. “Alright let’s get started.” Like second nature, Rafe picks up the camera and points it at you. The red light turns on after he presses the record button. He’s leaning the lens down, getting you sitting on the couch in the frame. You look so pretty sitting there for him, even prettier when you slide down to your knees.

“Smile at the camera baby. Tell them your names.” Sitting back on your knees looking up at the camera in Rafe’s hand with a smile. “Hi my name’s Maisy and I’m your new wet dream.” You seal it with a kiss and wink towards the lens. The camera picks up your hands as they unbuckle his belt and pull his pants down. Rafe can’t help but get excited when he sees how much you’re ready to suck him off. 

He doesn’t get why he was so upset about having to do this screen test in the first place. Seeing you on your knees for him was enough compensation. He tries to calm the excitement because he still has a chance of being right. You seem good so far but that can only last for so long. “Oh fuck.”

The words slip out before his brain can even catch up. Your tongue licks up from the base to his tip, swirling it around before giving it a kiss. “You like that?” The way you tilt your head slightly is making your head spin. Then your lips wrap around him and give him a nice suction. Whatever can’t fit in your mouth is occupied by your hand. Rafe’s other hand grips a fist full of your hair, helping to guide your movements. 

“Just like that baby. Such a good girl aren’t you?” The moan you let out is muffled by him, the vibrations adding to his pleasure. He’s getting so lost in the moment looking at you from the lens and in person. So lost that he didn’t realize he was thrusting into your mouth or that your hand slipped under your skirt.

Only when you let out a particularly loud moan did he finally realize what you were doing. “Are you rubbing your pussy right now?” Your closed eyes open wide from being caught. “I thought you were a good girl, just a slut in disguise aren’t you? Bet you touch yourself every night to the thought of someone fucking you good.” Your eyes close on instinct as your fingers increase their speed.

You’re matching your strokes to his thrust, trying to feel what he felt. He maybe an asshole but he’s a hot one. You honestly wouldn’t mind fucking him. Rafe looks over his shoulder to see the three of them just watching what is unfolding. The clock right behind them shows that only two minutes had passed and he was ready to blow his load.

Not wanting to be embarrassed of cumming too early he pulls your hair back as his hips retreat from your face. He rubs his dick over your face as you give it open mouthed kisses when you could. “Lay back on the couch.” Your tilting your head again but this time in confusion. “Come on baby. Don’t make me punish you.”

Following his instructions you get up and lay down on your back. He joins you on the couch sitting on his knees between your legs. Lifting your skirt up, he focuses the camera on your pussy, using his fingers to spread you out for everyone to see. “Such a pretty pussy.” He brings the lens back up, positioning it so it catches his tip playing with you.

You squirm under him as he rocks his hips back and forth. The girth on him spreads your lips with each stroke perfectly hitting your clit. He continues like this for a few more minutes, teasing you every step of the way. Giving you a few strokes and almost putting the tip in and backing out. Just when you think he’s going to go past the tip, bury himself deep within you, he just psychs out.

It was driving you all mad. “Please.” The voyeurs in the room don’t know what to do. They told Rafe just a simple blowjob, but this. This doesn’t really feel like they should be here, which is new to them. “Awww the poor baby, can’t take a little teasing.” You whine more at his words. “Shhh it’s okay. You can handle it.” The only sensation you get is from him sliding between your lips. 

He’s trying not to touch anymore of you, afraid that you’ll be burned into his skin forever. You’ve taken him by surprise and he doesn’t like when someone else has control. To him this is his way of overpowering you. He wants to be ingrained in your brain before you run off to fuck someone else. Let’s face it, Jared was right, there is something about you. 

Bringing his right hand down, he places his thumb right under his tip adding pressure to his strokes. With only a few more strokes your mouth drops open, letting out the most pornographic moan he’s ever heard. He couldn’t stop himself from cumming if he wanted to, his hips still moving to milk himself.

He leans back a tiny bit more to catch all of the mess he made of you. Your pussy is covered in his cum, coating you in white film. He spreads it around a little more, marking his territory. “Look at what a mess you are. Tsk. What am I going to do with you?” Eyes track your hand that moves down your body and how the fingers gather some of his cum. His eyes flicker up to yours as you give the camera an angelic smile. 

Blue eyes are trained on your movements, seeing what you’ll do next. What he didn’t expect was for you to wrap your lips around those fingers and hum at the taste. Once the fingers leave your mouth you have him letting out a moan himself. “I’m sorry. I can still be your good girl right?” His moan is involuntary, slipping out before he can fully process your words.

Gathering his cum himself he brings it back to your lips, watching as your tongue licks it up before your lips wrap around his fingers. “Yeah baby you can be my good girl.” As if the fog that clogged his brain cleared his head he realized what happened. He went completely off target and he doesn’t really care. 

Carefully he moves around and turns off the camera, getting up to find something to clean you with. The gentleness is a stark contrast to how he acted with you earlier. Not that you are complaining, it’s nice to think he cares even though he doesn’t know you. Flipping your skirt back down you get up and look at Liz. Her eyes are somewhat wide, looking between the two of you. 

“That.” The voice was squeaky, Micky clears his throat to fix it. “That was wow. Umm great job guys. I’ll take the camera and the two of you are all set.” The three of them leave and it’s just the two of you once again. “Still think I shouldn’t be here?” Rafe’s turns to you at the sound of your voice. “Never said I didn’t.”

You hum at him as you grab your bag. “Didn’t need to. Your question and body language said it all.” Maybe he was actually wrong about you, maybe that good girl act is just an act. He watches as you walk out of the room, blowing him a kiss over your shoulder.

That night when he’s trying to go to bed all he can think about was you.​ The way you looked, smelt, smiled, fuck the way your mouth felt around him. Every painful image flickered through his head like an old film. You were just plastered on the big screen, his very own porno right before his eyes once again. Before he knows it, his hand makes it’s way into his loose sleep pants. He’s hard as a rock just by thinking back to earlier. His orgasm was embarrassingly quick, a new world record honestly.

It didn’t get any better in his sleep. Every dream was about taking you in different positions and shutting your smart mouth up. When he woke up in the morning he was was painfully hard, precum seeping from the tip. He had to get himself off twice just to feel normal again. It still didn’t stop you from infiltrating his mind, plaguing all of his thoughts.

By the time it hit afternoon, he was ready to drive right into a wall to stop the thoughts. Not once has anyone made him such a mess. He’s literally slept with hundreds of girl, what makes you different? He’s seen them all, the really good girls to brats that need to be tammed, yet you are the one who does him in.

He’s honestly thankful that it was just that you two didn’t actually have to sleep together. The thought of that alone is enough to want to make him quit, he would never be the same again after that. But that’s not who he is, he’s Rafe Cameron. Girls are the one’s wo fawn over him and get obsessed not the other way around.

It has been five days since the shoot. He wonders if you are thinking about it as much as he is. If you touch yourself at the thought of him like he’s been doing. It’s a shock he even cares if you are or not. It shouldn’t even matter to him. In the middle of his pity party, his phone vibrates on the couch cushion next to him. He sighs when he sees it’s Jared. Great another casting. “Hello?” 

“Dude you need to get down here as fast as you can.” Jared’s voice isn’t one of anger but more of excitement. “Why?” Rafe feels like this is a trick to get him to go do another casting. He doesn’t have any shoots lined up for a bit since he decided to take a little vacation. They were lucky he even went in last time. “Do you always have to argue with me? Just get down here.”

Reluctantly he gets up and fishes his keys off the hook by the door. The whole ride many scenarios are playing out. One is of him going in and finding out it actually was another casting. Two you reported him for not following the “script” they gave you. Three they decided he isn’t worth dealing with anymore. Every scenario seems worse then the last.

Walking into Jared’s office he’s greeted with the sight of Liz and you. His eyes widen when he sees you look over your shoulder at him. There’s a little smirk that is rubbing him in the wrong way. Ironic considering you seemed good at it the other day. “What’s all of this?” He takes a sear on the chair next to you.

“The two of you are a hit. I mean the number are crazy and it just released.” Did he just hear what he thinks he did? Next to him you are internally freaking out. Just how many people actually saw it? “What?” You both say in unison. Liz sits down on the edge of the desk closer to you. “Sweetie we have a deal for you. We want to sign you on and start you on your first project.” 

You sit up and lean closer to her. “Wait really?” The excitement in your voice is noticeable from a mile away. Rafe stares in confusion. “What does this have to do with me?” Liz and Jared give each other a look. “Well we also have an offer for you.” Jared starts off. “For fucks sake. We want the two of you on this project together. Everyone loved seeingf the of you and it would be a lot of money.” 

“No way.” The words fly out faster than he means it. Your shoot him a death glare. Who does he think he is? “I agree I don’t want to work with some dick.” He slowly turns his head to look at you. “At least I belong here. You probably wouldn’t even last long.” He doesn’t like the smile you are giving him right now. “You would know all about that wouldn’t you? I got you off pretty quick last time and you didn’t even fuck me.” 

The clench of his jaw wasn’t hard to miss. It’s honestly such a shame his personality is awful. The man is attractive but the personality makes it hard to like him. After you got home from the shoot you went straight to the companies website and searched him up. Thousands of videos popped up and each one was screaming for you to watch. You aren’t ashamed to admit that you got off to them a couple of times.

But you are ashamed that you actually want to fuck him. You blame his looks, he’s too hot. This is like all of your fantasies coming to life. “Rafe can you stop being a dick for once. This is going to be huge, think of the money.” He actually stops to think about it, if they are right then he can’t pass it up. “Fine.”

All eyes are on you know, waiting for you to cave in. IF you’re beig honest you only said no because he turned it down automatically. It stung that he didn’t want to work with you. “Okay.” The two managers relax knowing that you both agreed. They whip out the contracts and hand them to you along with a pen. RIght before you could sign Liz says one last thing. “Oh yeah, you also have to live together for this. Now you can sign.”

“WHAT?”

[zenyyyluvyuu]

(Hiya guys I decided to make it a series because it rot in my brain and I can't take it anymore, kinda ooc I'm sorry, and I'm sorry for the incorrect grammar and English)

White & red

Chapter 1

Next part.

Tw: child abuse, chronic illnes, blood, etc.

It's been years since we played, years we played in those old alleyways, years when you and him rob some goodies from the rich.

He is always a healthy young boy, and you're just weak. Weak. That always comes out of your parents mouth, you are born different. Your father even accuses your mother of cheating with another man, even though you are really his daughter. Just a different color.

Eventually your father couldn't believe it and leave without trace with a signed divorce paper for your mother.

Your mother left heart broken, she doesn't even care about you anymore. And you just stand there watching her crying when you tried to comfort her she shove you away, yelled at you to stay away from her. That's when your world crumbles into pieces. So you run. You run away from the house, leaving your mother to rot in that house.

You tried to find food from the dumpster but none of them were healthy. You tried to steal food from the old lady but some of her minions came by and beat you out in a bloody plup.

You're really going to die. With this body you easily die. You can't hold it any longer, your stomach is hurting. So you just sleep. Curling yourself in the cold.

But a warm hand touches you, sending you to joilt awake, your gaze meets him. The boy with black hair and bright eyes, kneeling at you. "Hey.. are you okay? Please don't die beside my door.." he looks at you with a concerned tone.

"h..." You manage to say a word.

"huh? What was that?"

"h-hungry..." Your voice sounds hoarse. It sounds like a mutter to you.

He understands what you manage to say and reaches for his pocket to find a piece of bread. He ripped it into a tiny piece and leaned it to your mouth, you obediently ate the piece of bread he handed you, struggling to chew you eventually shove it with your dry throat into your stomach.

Your stomach is not really satisfied with the small pieces of bread but it is reducing your stomachache. He also seems satisfied too. "Let me help you to my house!" He then processes hold your tiny body, it was light too damn light.

He lets you sleep on his bed,he brushes his hand to your forehead, testing the temperature. Hot. It feels like you're burning. His concern deepens. It was his first time meeting you and you're making him paranoid.

He can't have a dead girl on his bed. What does he do now? He sits beside you. Taking a cold bottle he has stolen to your forehead. Your breath labored. Your head hurts. It all hurts.

While he holds the bottle on your forehead, he can't help but watch you. Your white hair, skin tone. You look stunning even tho you are at your lowest.

You blink softly, to see who has been helping you. Your gaze meets him. Blue with a mix of green, meeting yours.

"why.. are you helping me?.." you ask him, your voice sounds like a mutter but he hears you. "Because you almost died in my territory." He answer.

"I'm..jason. jason Todd by the way"he cut the eye contact, rubbing his neck from behind. His hold of the bottle is still on you. He looks at you again waiting for an answer.

"I'm..(name) (lastname)" you smile at him, glad he helps you. "Thank.. you" you thank him. His face is warming up and looks away. "No problem... just don't die again.." he's cute.

With that he lets you stay with him, he teaches you many things, you both rob, play, and even share the same fate. He tells you what happened to his parents and so did you. You also tell him about your condition that makes him more protective of you.

For years, just him and you. Until that one night he decided to rob some of the batmobile tires, he told you to stay and let him do it. He promised to come back after he got the batmobile tires. And you just obey him like that. Waiting for him until sunrise but he didn't come back like he said. Leaving just you alone.

Did batman catch him and send him to the jail? Oh no. What happened to you jay? Where have you been?

With that day turning to years, you're tired. You can't find him anywhere. Like he just banished. You never know. During your robbery you accidentally meet the infamous catwomen, she takes an interest in your appearance and personality and takes you as her kitten.

Eventually you leave the house you share together. You got your own apartment, selina trains you how to be flexible and other things. You even got yourself a suit. Quite eye catching with your current appearance.

When that night you and catwoman is taking a break, selina tells you a story how she got involved with batman, and his sidekick. While taking a break

Nightwing , redhood, red robin, spoiler, orphan, robin, signal and even oracle. One by one she tells you about them and you just hearing her out.

Well the redhood one kinda familiar to, because selina explain about how he is the angry robin that reminds you of your childhood friends who sometimes hot tempered.

When the break over, you wonder could the redhood is your childhood friends? Oh this make you really curious. The night end with you finally comes home and plop on your bed. Unknown to you. Batman has caught his eye on you. He saw how you pass those building with catwomen. Who are you, why are with catwoman. He better talk about that to her later.

Next part

So sorry about the story if it was not good ,cringe and even ooc. And the English too 😭 But i still hope you guys like it 🙏

Spoiler for the next episode is how you and catwoman meet the batman.

[potatoplace]

You Can Have It - Chapter 1

Alpha!Feysand x Omega!Reader

chapter 2 | series masterlist

Story Summary: You've been a baker for 75 years, and are finally moving on from the Winter Court to the City of Velaris to start your own bakery after your grandmother passes. After your grand opening, the High Lord and Lady of Night become daily visitors to your bakery for months, every day having your most popular pastry- one that increases fertility for a short time. All the while, the two alphas want nothing more than to call themselves yours.

Warnings: A/B/O dynamics, death (brief and non graphic), most likely a LOT of future smut, this is a pregancy plot fic so keep that in mind

Words: ~4.2k

*Reader is a half peregryn, half high fae, presenting as a peregryn with white wings, with white blonde hair and ice blue eyes from her Winter Court father

*Title taken from Chelsea Cutler's 'You Can Have It,' I feel like the general vibe of the song works well with how Feysand will react to reader (with less alcohol)

Author's Note: It's heeeere I'm so happy! No Feyre or Rhys yet, but we'll get there in the next chapter or two. I'm so excited to build up the bakery and upstairs apartment, and the grand opening will be fun! I hope you guys like this chapter.

18+ only pls

🤍🩵🤍💜🤍

“I love you, Nanna. I’ll never forget you, and all that you taught me. I will miss you so, so much. I’ll see you in the next life, but you go have fun for now. Go make all the pastries that you ever dreamed up, bake and make people happy, just like you did here, Nanna. I love you,” you whispered as your grandmother’s chest stopped moving, her soul leaving with her last exhale. Tears streamed down your face as you kissed her hand one last time.

“Y/N, we need to move her,” Viviane said softly from behind you, placing a hand on your shoulder while avoiding your wing.

“I know,” you sighed, squeezing your Nanna’s hand one last time before standing. She led you out of the room and out of the infirmary altogether, taking you from the place where you had spent months tending to your grandmother as she slowly died, a curse that was spilling through her veins for so many years.

“Have you packed everything yet?” Viviane asked you as the two of you walked back to your quarters near the kitchens.

“Everything besides what I use daily, but it shouldn’t take me more than fifteen minutes. Are you still willing to winnow me?”

“Of course, Y/N. I wouldn’t have anyone else do it, not after all you’ve done for us,” Viviane reassured you with smile. The two of you were already at your room, and Viviane stood in the doorway as you packed up the rest of your things. “You know you could go to one of the villages nearby, or even have your own shop in the market here. You don’t have to move out of the court…”

You sighed. The two of you have had this conversation multiple times, the outcome always the same: you’re still leaving. “I know, Viviane. And I would stay, if… if everything wouldn’t remind me of her. She’s been my only family for the majority of my life, the reason I lived here, knew you in the first place. I can’t… I can’t see her ghost around every corner, right now.”

“Well… If you ever want to come back, you know we’ll be happy to have you, no matter what. And don’t even think about trying to repay us, I will have Kallias send the gold straight back to you if you do,” Viviane said as she watched you. “And you promise to write to us and let us know when you’re ready for us to visit, yes? Your shop does not even need to be open for us to visit, your company is worth the travel.”

“Yes, Viviane, as soon as I feel settled I’ll write you for a visit.” You had finished packing, your belongings fitting in two leather travel bags. All of your life you had rebuilt in the past six years was now contained to such a tiny space.

You took one last, longing glance around the room that had been your home for the past six years, and the first twenty five of your life as well. So many memories, most of them happy and including your grandmother. Loosing a sigh, you finally turn to Viviane and pick your bags up.

“I’m ready.”

Viviane came to your side and grabbed your arm, and then the two of you were slipping through the fabric of the world, making a few quick stops between the Winter Court and your destination. Your new home.

Velaris, the City of Starlight.

In the five years since the victory against Hybern, the city had been opened to visitors and, in select cases, new citizens. You were lucky enough that Viviane is friends with Morrigan, and that you were employed by and friends with Viviane. She was able to secure you the right to move to the city, and a business license that was cleared pending an interview with Morrigan on your arrival. In less than a minute, the two of you were outside of a cozy looking townhouse, set on a busy residential street and near the river that split the city in two. There was a thin layer of snow covering the ground, and the city looked like a winter wonderland.

Viviane raised her hand to knock, but before she could the door had swung open, revealing a gorgeous blonde woman in a red dress and high heels with a wickedly sharp heel that would most likely cause you to topple over. Her scent, cinnamon and a sweet citrus, was calming, and very clearly alpha.

“Viviane! I’m so glad you could make it!” The blonde, Morrigan you assume, embraces your friend tightly for a few seconds before letting her go and turning to you. “And you must be Y/N! Welcome the Velaris, I do hope the city ends up being what you’re looking for.” Her tone was sweet and excited, and her chocolate brown eyes held such warmth that you couldn’t help but trust her.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Morrigan. Viviane has told me so much about you,” you say as you take her hand in yours for a handshake.

“Oh, call me Mor dear, Morrigan makes me feel like I’m being scolded! Now, come in, we’ll get that pesky little interview out of the way and then we can go take a little tour of the city, maybe find you a place for your bakery.”

The two of you follow her inside, and you’re struck by how… cozy and homey the house was. You weren’t sure what you were expecting, what with your opinions on the Night Court having shifted drastically in the past few years, but this was definitely one of the best outcomes.

Hopefully you would be able to find a space to create as your own, make it feel just as if not more welcoming than this house.

“Sit, sit,” Mor says as she leads the two of you into a sitting room, taking your bags and setting them on the floor next to a couch, before taking a seat on the chair opposite it. Viviane sits on the plush couch, and you follow suit, the lower back of the couch perfect for your wings to rest over. “So Viviane tells me you want to start a business here in Velaris?”

You nod your head in confirmation. “Yes, I would like to open a bakery, if there is availability for a new one in the city.”

Mor smiles, and it’s warm, like sunshine. “I’m sure we can find a suitable place not too close to another bakery or café. Viviane has told me you have experience in the baking field?”

You swallow, a lump suddenly in your throat. You’d known this would come up, it was inevitable, after all. “Yes. I was the head baker Under the Mountain for thirty years, after my grandmother had irritated Amarantha one too many times. I was her pastry sous chef assistant for the twenty years before that as well, and I started baking at six years old.”

“And how old are you now?” Mor asked.

“I am 81, currently,” you answered quickly. “I hope that isn’t an issue?”

“Oh, no, no,” Mor shook her head. “I am sorry to hear that you were forced to work for Amarantha for so much of your life. I do hope that you find working in Velaris to be much more fulfilling, and nicer.”

“I- Are you offering me a business license? Just like that?” You asked incredulously.

“Yes, I am Y/N. Kallias and Viviane have both vouched for you, they believe that you are more than capable of running your own business. And they’ve told me that you take care of the baked goods for all of the High Lord’s household. I trust that you will be successful, based on their testimony alone. Hearing that you worked Under the Mountain, though…” Mor paused. “Knowing that, as well, you will be a fine business owner.”

An invisible weight was lifted off of your shoulders. You are a resident and future business owner of Velaris now. “Thank you, Mor. This opportunity means so much time,” you say gratefully.

“It’s no problem, Y/N. Now, would you like a tour of Velaris and to see where you’ll be staying for the moment?” Mor asked as she stood from her chair.

You followed suit, smoothing the skirt of your dress as you did. “That would be lovely, Mor. Viviane, are you able to join us?”

“No, I should be getting back to Kallias soon, we still have a few winter parties to finish planning and he prefers to have my input,” Viviane replied, following you and Mor out of the townhouse. She stepped toward you for one last hug, holding you tightly in her arms until you pull away. “If you need anything, Y/N, write to me.”

“I will, Viviane. Thank you, for everything.” Tears pricked your eyes, even though you know you’ll see your friend again, likely in the next couple of months. “I’ll write to you even if I don’t need anything, too, keep you updated on my life here, Viv.”

She lets go of your arms, stepping back slightly. “You’d better, Y/N. I want to know all the juicy details, especially if you find an alpha,” Viviane said teasingly. The other omega knew how badly you craved to have an alpha, a love strong enough to tie you together and eventually have a family with them. The sex of the alpha doesn’t matter to you, just that it’s someone who understands you, and values you despite your submissive personality and ‘lesser fae’ status, someone that you love equally.

“I’ll make sure to keep you informed on that front as well, Viv,” Mor chuckled, and you threw a playful glare in her direction. “What? I figure you might like to have a friend here, and I have to warn you, I’m a bit of a gossip.”

Viviane laughed, “‘A bit’ is an understatement, Mor. Take good care of my girl, okay?” Mor nodded, giving Viviane a hug as well before the silver haired female winnowed away.

“We’ll leave you bags in the townhouse for now, I’ll come back and get them later for you once you’re settled in your hotel,” Mor says, taking you by the arm and walking away from the townhouse, leaving you no choice but to follow. She took you first to the Palace of Bone and Salt, a commercial area dedicated to fresh and dried meats, spices, baking goods, along with any cookery and bakeware you could ever need.

There were a few shops already that you were dying to go in to, you’d never had much of a chance to pick out your own pieces of bakeware, let alone enough to stock a bakery. There were so many different options that you wanted to explore, but you knew you could wait to lose yourself in the possibilities until you were alone. Next Mor showed you a few shops, ones for clothing items, bedding, shoes. A bar named Rita’s, which she promises to take you to after you’ve settled. Then her favorite restaurant, a small, cozy placed named after its owner and chef, Sevenda. The heavenly smells coming from the windows were enough to convince you to return for takeout later tonight, even without Mor’s enthusiastic recommendation.

And then you were in the Palace of Thread and Jewels. A section of town dedicated entirely to fabrics in every shade of every color imaginable, huge tables covered in glittering gems, an amount of wealth you had never seen displayed so casually before. People were milling about, and you tucked your wings as close to your back as you could manage, not wanting strangers to brush against them any more than necessary.

There were a few shops dedicated solely to custom gowns, their displays filled with gorgeous dresses decorated with intricate embroidery and small gemstones that shined like the stars. You had never before considered wearing such fine clothing, but now you wanted to feel the slip of the fabric over your body, experience how it feels to be dressed like a princess.

Someday. Someday I will save enough money, and buy a beautiful gown, all by myself, you promised yourself as you let Mor lead you across a bridge on the Sidra to the next Palace.

This one was the Palace of Flame and Steel, a district reserved for weaponry, armor, building materials and tools, as well as a few competing construction guilds. Mor guided you to one of them, apparently the one that the High Lord and Lady had trusted to build their new home next to the Sidra.

“Ah, Marcus, I would like for you to meet Y/N,” Mor said, and Marcus extended his hand to you. His scent was soft, pine trees and fallen snow- an alpha. You take it, noticing his strong but gentle grip. Your shoulders relax slightly, wings spreading slightly.

“It’s nice to meet you, Y/N,” Marcus said in a friendly voice.

“The same to you, Marcus,” you reply, a slight dusting of pink on your cheeks. He is rather handsome, for a High Fae.

“She will more than likely be needing your services, Marcus. Y/N here is planning to open a bakery somewhere in town in the next couple of months,” Mor informed him with a bright smile, one that he flashed back at her, and then turns it toward you. Your breath catches slightly in your throat, and you instinctively smile back at him.

“That sounds nice, I always enjoy a new place to eat at,” He said, still grinning at you.

“Well, once I’m up and running you’ll be more than welcome to drop in whenever you want.”

“I’ll look forward to that day, Y/N. Come back once you know where you’d like to build or renovate, and we can draw up some plans together, okay?”

You nod your head in agreement. “I’ll make sure to do that, Marcus. Thank you.”

“Yes, thank you Marcus,” Mor said as she led you out of the shop and back towards the Sidra. Once you were a few buildings down, she asked, “So, do you think he’s cute?”

Your face flushed, and you managed to push out an “I suppose…”

“He’s pretty niiice,” Mor sings, still tugging you along the road next to the Sidra. “And he doesn’t have an omega.”

You shake your head at Mor. “I know Viviane mentioned me finding an alpha, but that’s not really my goal at the moment Mor. And I can also find my own alphas,” You say lightly, tugging on her arm as you did. “Also, you move fast, already trying to set me up.” Mor laughed at that, and you giggle a bit as well as the two of you continue walking, passing cute houses and apartments as you do.

“Well, you’re possibly the cutest single omega in the city at the moment, and Marcus truly is a kind male. And you needed to meet him anyways, for any building needs related to your bakery.” Mor stopped in her tracks, holding you in place by your arm. “This, is the Rainbow,” Mor announces to you.

You gaze around, taking in the colorful buildings that housed everything from painting studios to dance halls. You spied quite a few art supply stores and pottery shops as well, everything so beautiful that your eyes couldn’t choose just one place to land.

Mor draws you further in to the artistic section of town, walking more slowly than any other area you’d gone through today, and you had your wings tucked in tight behind you to avoid brushing against the other fae. Your eyes catch finally on a beautiful painting, one of a cosmic green light fall in the night sky, and you stop moving, taking in every brush stroke on the canvas as quickly as you could. It took your breath away, it was such a magnificent rending of something you could only wish to witness.

“Ah, that is the High Lady’s rendition of Starfall this year,” Mor tells you once she saw where your eyes had locked onto. “Feyre is a magnificent artist, she even hosts classes whenever she has the time, if you’re interested.”

You tear your eyes from the painting to look at Mor. “Oh, I don’t think I’d be any good, really. The most my artistic skills stretch beyond baking is for sketches of my baking,” you laughed, turning to continue your tour once more. “And I’d like to get the bakery up and running before I do many extracurriculars.”

“That makes sense, I suppose, but it’s a good thing to keep in mind. Feyre lets me sneak wine in, so even if my painting turns out terrible, I still have a great time.” The two of you were near the end of the colorful street when you spotted it.

The perfect location, right next to the river and on the edge of the Rainbow was a small one story building, a for sale sign in the window. The building looked decrepit, nearly ready to fall down in your opinion.

You pulled Mor in the direction of it, and let go of her arm to walk around the back of the building.

The view was absolutely lovely, the noise of the river soothing to your ears. You stretched out your wings as you closed your eyes and just listened for a moment, ignoring the noise of the people behind you. Snow was covering the open space behind the building, mostly untouched compared to the streets you had been walking on with Mor.

“Would I be able to buy this lot?” You asked Mor as you spun to face her. “This feels like the perfect place- and there aren’t any other cafés in the Rainbow, as far as I could tell.”

“Of course, Y/N. This building just went up for sale, as well, the previous owner retired a couple of weeks ago.”

You smile at Mor, your eyes sparkling brightly. “Just my luck, then. Do you know about how long it would be for the sale to go through?”

“It should take no more than a few days, Auric seemed very ready to get rid of the place. I’ll set up a meeting for the two of you later today, and if it’s not too late I’ll swing by your room and let you know when it will be. But for now, let’s finish out the tour, then I’ll take you to your hotel,” Mor suggested, holding out an arm.

You grab it once more, allowing her to take you to the last Palace in the city- the Palace of Hoof and Leaf, dedicated to more meats, as well fish, fruits, and vegetables. There were stalls with vendors cooking street food, bowls of noodles and burritos that all smelled delicious- you would definitely be coming back here to try something from each and every fae.

While you were well acquainted with nearly every type of baked good and dessert, different styles of cooking were something you hadn’t been exposed to very often before being trapped Under the Mountain. And while there, you were lucky to get anything besides the imperfect bread you would make.

And after all those years, you had just wanted to taste something familiar, so you stuck with the Winter Court fare you had as a child for the past six years.

But now, smelling everything here and Sevenda’s restaurant? You wanted nothing more than to taste every type of food that you could. Perhaps you would even think of new pastries in the process.

Soon enough, the two of you were back at the townhouse you had arrived in front of with Viviane. Mor popped inside quickly, returning with your bags. She passed one to you as she said “Now that you’ve seen the main parts of Velaris, it’s time to get you to your hotel room so you can relax a bit, settle in some.”

You both crossed the Sidra again, right as snow began to fall. You looked around, taking in the sight of glistening snow, your favorite weather in the world, falling onto the beautiful city that you could now call your own.

“It’s beautiful,” you blurted out without thinking. “Does Velaris suit every season so well?”

Mor looked at you from the corner of her eye, also taking in the scenery. “Yes, it does. I have found every city I’ve visited in Prythian to be beautiful in its own right, but Velaris seems to capture the beauty of every season the best. Of course, I am terribly biased, being from the Night Court and all,” Mor laughed.

She stopped in front of a large building, several floors tall with two balconies on each facing the Sidra. Mor opened the ornately carved wooden door, the words The Sidra Inn engraved on it, revealing a warmly decorated lobby. Behind the reception desk was a slim, bark skinned fae.

“Hello, Mor, it’s good to see you,” the female- a beta- said, extending a hand, which Mor shook readily. Then her eyes turned to you. “And you must be Y/N, our newest resident.” You nod your head in confirmation. “My name is Druana, I’m the owner of this quaint little inn.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Druana.” You take her hand as well, fascinated by the texture of her bark skin. “From what I’ve seen so far, your inn feels like home. It’s very warm, inviting.”

The fae smiles at you. “Thank you, Y/N. If you’re ready, I’ll show you to your room.” You look to Mor, who hands you your second bag.

“I’ll see you in a couple of hours, Y/N. And if I don’t come by then, I’ll send a letter telling you what time I’ve arranged for you to meet with Auric. Do you want me to bring anything for you when I do come? Any food, clothing, nesting materials?”

Heat creeps up your neck at the last idea. “No, Mor, thank you though. I should be fine, for now. I’ll see you in a bit,” you said, parting ways with the friendly blonde.

Druana led you up a set of stairs and in front of a room on the second floor. She handed you a set of keys, then walked back the way you had come.

You turned the key in the lock, and opened the door to your new home for the foreseeable future. It was spacious, containing a large bed set against the left wall, a dresser, wardrobe, a circular table with two chairs on opposite sides, and your own personal bathroom and kitchenette. It was all decorated in cozy fall colors, reds and oranges and browns everywhere, and a fireplace against the right wall. Opposite the door was a set of double doors, likely leading out to one of the balconies you had seen from the street. You dropped your bags on the floor next to the bed, and went to look at the bathroom, it’s door next to the fireplace.

It was lovely, a deep tub that you knew would fill enough so that you could sink entirely beneath the water. There was also a large counter with two sinks, a large mirror hung above it on the wall. And of course, a toilet that looked suitable enough.

You returned to the bedroom, walking over to the set of doors and pushing them open.

On the street, you hadn’t been able to see the padded rocking chair and small table, but now that you had, you knew you would be reading in it, protected from most of the snow by the small roof covering the patio.

You went back inside, grabbing a romance novel that you had picked up a couple of months ago, but had never gotten around to reading. You also pulled a blanket from the bed.

Being from the Winter Court had given you a mild immunity to freezing weather, it was much more comfortable to sit covered in a blanket.

Before you went back on the balcony, your eyes snagged on the kitchenette- already laying out were a few boxes of tea. You placed the book and blanket on the bed and walked over to the counter.

You looked through the flavors before deciding on a basic green tea. In a few minutes you had brewed a large mug for yourself, and took it and your book and blanket onto the balcony.

You snuggled down into the chair, careful to position your wings so they weren’t squished or pinched anywhere. The blanket came next, and you wrapped it around your legs and dress as much as you could, then over your right arm.

With your left, you spread the book open, happily diving in to the story about childhood friends slowly growing to love each other romantically.

Friendship before love- that could be nice, you thought to yourself as you read, sipping your tea and looking out over the beautiful view of Velaris in front of you.

And now, most likely, you would be able to meet people who didn’t already know you as the tortured omega baker slaving away for Amarantha to keep her grandmother and Court as safe as possible.

Now, people would know you as the omega baker from the Winter Court, hopefully with a cozy bakery and the best pastries that they’ve ever had.

You lost yourself in the book, hoping the entire time that you would find a love to last you forever.

[starsofjewels]

Sisterhood

Cersei Lannister x Autistic! Lannister! Reader

Part 4 (?) of the autistic Lannister daughter reader.

CONTENT: Autistic!Reader, usual Westerosi mental health shenanigans, vauge mentions of Joanna's death, potential spoilies for the show (but it came out a decade ago so is it really?).

Lannister warnings

Feat. The High Sparrow, Mace Tyrell and Jaime's need for family therapy.

2.5k (ish)

If you guys like this fic, make sure to check out the masterpost for the rest of the series

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Reposted from 10 minutes ago bc of a mutual who wouldn't stop fecking around in the replies (you know who you are).

This was originally a request but I altered what they asked for so much I didn't feel I could attach it to post.

Thank you for your patience as we deal with my procrastination issues and also the fact I have 0 spare time for fanfic atm.

I'll be back in 7 weeks with the next offering, stay safe kids.

<3

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Cersei Lannister is utterly delighted when, at the grand age of thirteen, she is handed a squirming, complaining lump of pink flesh wrapped up in fine blankets. She knows what it is immediately, a baby sister, her baby sister. As much as she loves Jaime, and tolerates Tyrion, there is something appealing about a little girl. To dress up, to play with, to have all to herself- How wonderful it is, to be a sister and a prince’s betrothed. 

She is very lucky, all her friends, and the low noble girls who will be her handmaidens, tell her so. Cersei is beautiful, virtuous and perfect, and you will be too. Your father calls you the angel, and with those wisps of blonde hair around your tiny, pink face and big, impossibly big, eyes, it is hard not to believe.

When Tyrion was born, he was large and bloody, misshaped like a thing made of clay, not a baby. Cersei couldn’t remember the last time she had seen a real baby, like in the paintings of herself and Jaime wrapped in their mother’s embrace, or of illustrations she can’t quite believe are her father and uncles. She goes to Tywin, Septa behind, insisting you must have come from the Gods, not quite understanding the knowing smiles of the adults around her. And life with this new, precious, thing- For that is really what you are as an infant- Is perfect. For a few days, at least.

Joanna dies four days after your birth. Cersei is not fully old enough to understand why, or what exactly has occurred, but she remembers her mother’s pale face, a hand around Tywin’s shoulder. Sometimes, when she recalls it, she thinks she can hear soft harp, even though the room is silent. You take pride of place, of course, in your mother’s arms, Father’s free arm cradling your head. If it weren’t for that lingering smell of rot, and the ever-growing whiteness of your mother’s face, it might be a pleasant scene.

The maester appears, and Cersei is ushered out of the room, new baby sister in tow. She will not see Tywin smile truly for another many years. At least, not without a very little lady accompanying him.

When you go from a lump of flesh to a truly formed person (if very small, and quite plump), Cersei begins to realise just how wonderful it is to have a much younger sister. She is fifteen, and you are an excellent pawn to get Prince Rhaegar to notice her. Rhaegar is soft and gentle, less like a dragon and more like a dog, and he simply adores infants. He has one coming himself, from his new wife, the Dornish princess, but no-one seems to care much about poor Elia, hidden away upstairs. 

One of your earliest memories is sitting by the fountain in the courtyard as Cersei plaits flowers into your hair, Rhaegar coming by to offer her more, and sitting with your tiny self as you attempt to poke the fish. Cersei remembers you wailing every time the dragon prince took your hand to prevent a fish massacre. Your earliest memory, funnily enough, is Tywin taking you line fishing at no older than three or four.

You, as it transpires, turn out to be an excellent bonding point between herself and Rhaegar. Viserys is just about your age, if slightly older, and so it becomes not an uncommon sight to see the older boy taking you places, wandering about with the Hand’s daughter no differently than the common children. Everyone seems to love you; you are good, obedient, quiet. Glances turn to Tyrion, four years your senior. Loud, and brash and already with a decent-sized collection of swear words. It is no wonder you are everyone’s favourite. 

Of course, women in Westeros do not tend to have a very good lot in life. Women are virtuous, women are prizes, and what is a better prize than Tywin Lannister’s eldest daughter? Cersei stays in the Red Keep when Arryn becomes Hand, when she is married off to a man who would rather spend his nights in foreign beds and wrestle hogs than he would with her. Her gaze falls to Jaime, her babes come Lannister-blond, and she wonders what may have become of you under your father’s influence. 

And like most ideas Cersei has, this one falls apart just the same. There is no little blonde maiden, dressed in Lannister colours and paying more attention to her dolls than the court. She expects a lion, and what arrives is little more than a cat.

The next time Cersei properly sees you, you are at least twenty. Her son, her single pride and joy, rules as a tyrant, even she can admit that. Ned Stark is dead, Renly Baratheon is dead, and the idea that you might have grown up into a proper young lady is gone. 

You, a woman of twenty, are attached to your father like an infant. Cersei remembers you as a young child, and cannot honestly find a difference, aside from the obvious developments of womanhood. You are very pretty, but you are not a Lannister: your hair has darkened, your eyes shift, wide and frightened. 

“Go, child,” She doesn’t quite think she’s ever heard Tywin’s voice so plain, so sweet, “go and see your sister, there is work to do.”

So you do, you sit awkwardly between herself and one of her more favourable maidens. Cersei does not speak to you, only occasionally passing you something or half-explaining an inside joke. Something is wrong with you, she can feel it from even a passing glance, but she cannot quite tell what. 

But you are her sister, so it doesn’t really matter what she wants or thinks. Cersei is, for all intents and purposes, as much under the control of Tywin as she was before her marriage, before he abandoned her in the capital; she will never admit it, but she’d do anything he asked. 

Days become months, and months become the better part of years, she hardly speaks to you. Together, at Tywin’s funeral, she watches you recite all of your prayers, leave him coins and jewels on his person, and she realises that the last time the two of you spoke was Joffrey’s wedding day, if she even wants to remember such a tragedy,

“He always liked you better,” She says, motioning to your father. By now, the Septon has already finished his prayers, and Tywin is well and truly moved to the next place, “Never one conversation didn’t have your little name on the end: how sweet you were, how intelligent you were-” Cersei’s tone takes an edge, even if she doesn’t mean it to, “There was nothing any of us could ever do to win his favour- But you? No-one could tear him away from a princess like you.”

And you sit there, letting her say anything that needs to be. Your eyes just as wide, just as still as ever, and it infuriates her. Perhaps she wants you to fight, or to sob and insist you knew nothing of your father’s favouritism, but you say nothing.

“Do you even speak?” Cersei asks eventually, “Or did Father take your tongue with him?”

She wants some retribution, and she gets none. So she slaps you across the face. There is no Tywin to protect you in this instance, but there is Jaime. He marches over, golden hand glistening in the firelight, and takes her by the wrist, gently, into a side room. Mace Tyrell bumbles over to you. You’ll speak to him, apparently, but not to your own sister.

“What was that for?”

Bitter tears come. The very ones that worked so well against any man other than her brother. He has, and always will, see past it. Hands cup her cheeks, and she almost jumps at the cool metal of a prosthetic she still isn’t quite used to.

“She’s not like us-” Jaime says eventually, “It isn’t her fault she’s different.”

This is not the Jaime she remembers. The Jaime with two hands, who would defend her in an instant. Cersei isn’t quite sure where this has come from, what he’s done, or heard. She assumes Tywin spoke to him, in his usual way, some time before his death,

“Father said-”

“Father said-” He has never argued against her before. Not once, not truly, “That she is our responsibility. What else would you do, Cersei? Ship her down to Dorne with Myrcella? Lose the only remnants of Father we have left? Tyrion is gone, Father is dead. I will not let her go anywhere - Besides, Father would haunt us.”

It is too soon to make such jokes. She falls into his arms, much like a princess would in one of her mother’s old fairy stories. For the first time in years, Cersei wants her mother…

Tommen’s ascension to the throne is marked by religion. The High Sparrow (as he insists upon calling himself) creeps from the outskirts of King’s Landing and places himself, quite comfortably, right within the royal family. Cersei feels her son’s following slipping from her control into the world of religion, and she wonders if this is how her father felt when Joffrey began to stray from command.

But Tommen is not her worry, not really. He is her son, but he is too dense to truly be manipulated. A sweet boy, a good boy, but far too young to have any real sense of coercion.  No, her worry is not Tommen, it is you. 

Quiet, obedient little girls, as it turns out, are essentially gold dust to this new group of robins, or sparrows, or whatever idiotic bird-themed name they’ve given to themselves. Especially a quiet, noble girl. She finds you frequently with Cousin Lancel, applying salve to the hideous star carved into his forehead. She imagines you kissing it as well, that you fulfill a mother’s role for him. Not that she’d be surprised. 

It is one of those strange days that she doesn’t quite remember fully. She hasn’t slept well, not that she has been, and she notices her handmaidens are depleting in numbers. To be married, or to become septas, or whatever it is they do with their lives; she isn’t entirely sure. But it is getting colder, definitely, Winter is coming again. 

“But then it turned out he was scared of them-”

It is your voice, definitely, talking about dogs. She has never heard you so utterly in your element, and nor has she heard the burst of laughter that follows. A man’s, an older man’s. For the first time in her life, Cersei hides herself in the shadows, and you walk past on the High Sparrow’s arm. You seem confident, almost at ease, entirely different from the little girl she’s grown to know, and something like jealousy blooms to see you with a strange, old man, rather than her.

“Which I don’t understand, because it was only a little dog-”

“It was well past your waist, and it had a bird in its mouth- His bird.”

Your laugh is something your father would treasure, her father would treasure. But there is something about this interaction that spurs a rage within her. She doesn’t understand how you, the lady who would not speak a word to her own sister, could be so friendly to that old Sparrow. The two of you go down the corridor, and an hour later you are summoned to the Council rooms. 

“He’s nice to me,” She hears you say, brushing one of the king’s cats. What a childish response. “He wants me to become a septa.”

“And- Do you want to be a septa?”

It is Uncle Kevan who speaks, and Cersei is thankful for that. She isn’t sure she has the correct words to voice exactly how she’s feeling. You look up with big, sweet eyes and tilt your head.

“I suppose it’d be nice to wear the same thing every day, I wouldn’t have to worry about laundering.”

The queen beside you scoffs and rolls her eyes, it is a response she has grown used to from you, your dependence on order. It comes from Tywin, he was exactly the same with money and accounts. At least he had a dresser. 

She does not worry about you personally, particularly, and she knows she ought to. She worries that you’re sleeping with that old zealot, and it’ll look bad on the family’s name. It isn’t entirely implausible, not with how the two of you behave with each other; less like a teacher and his mentor, and slightly more like a young couple in love.

You are devastated when Tyrion arrives with half of his new Valyrian army to take you away to some land beyond. She watches you try to convince your new friend to come with you, but he has his mission, and you yours. A High Sparrow does not belong outside of his nest, he says, and Cersei wonders where he thinks a lioness is supposed to go- Not that you could ever be classified as a lioness. 

And that High Sparrow, your friend as you insist, turns on her as soon as you are out of the picture. She is stripped and lashed and shamed, to such an extent she feels her father roll in his grave on particularly quiet nights. Any other woman might understand that this is how you have felt your whole life; alone, afraid, latching onto any connection you manage to pull from the wreckage. But Cersei is not any other woman, and she unleashes fury like no other. Your High Sparrow crashes to the ground in spectacular, green, fashion, and she doubts you will ever find out.

When Cersei is queen in her own right, before she is killed as a tyrant like her son before her, the last she hears of you is a life of adventure on the Iron Islands, chasing about the now-broken Theon Greyjoy under the watch of his uncle: The pious one, not Euron, who is barred from coming anywhere near you, she discovers. And the three of you have, apparently, formed an odd little family, overseen by Balon and monitored by Yara, or Asha, or whatever the girl’s name is.

She never did understand you, but with the family in tatters, she is relieved you are safe. As one less burden on her shoulders, and not out of love, she assures herself. Perhaps one day you will marry Theon and Balon will stop pissing around. Or, more likely, you’ll stay on that bundle of wet rocks, playing about like a child. Less a lion, and more of a leopard seal. 

At least you have a happy ending, even if she is not there to see it.

[sareeen]

The charm of snow

Based on this request. :)

Pairing: Azriel x fem!reader

Summary: Azriel surprises his wife at home and fulfils a childhood dream of her.

Warnings: fluff, mention of abuse, sweet, playful husband Azriel

Masterlist

A/N: Hope you like it! This is part 2 of Unknown Touches for a Lady, but it can be a standalone. (Here –> Part 1)

English is not my first language, sorry for any mistake! :)

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Azriel was attentive.

Y/N only really realised this when the clock struck quarter past three and the man suddenly stepped through the door with a slight, sweet smile on his face.

Y/N was lying on the sofa, almost swallowed up by one of the soft blankets, looking at her husband with a sleepy, surprised expression.

She quickly straightened and ran a hand through her hair, but winced as she caught her finger in one of the tangled strands.

She hadn't expected him, Azriel was busy with the Court's affairs, so Y/N had mostly only met him in the late hours, when thousands of stars shone in the sky. They had been married for three weeks and were still getting used to each other's closeness.

They hadn't slept together since their wedding night.

There had been a few coy kisses, a gentle peck on the cheek and a brief double-sided hug. Every night Y/N waited for Azriel to knock on the door of her bedroom, but all she heard were footsteps pausing for a second and then moving quickly on outside her door.

It was as if each time he restrained himself from knocking.

But now he stood there, his wings and muscular shoulders almost filling the doorframe. There seemed to be a restrained glint in his eyes as he spoke.

“It's snowing.”

Y/N's eyes widened and a surprised sound escaped her, then she rushed to the huge window overlooking the street and pulled the curtains.

Huge flakes of snow fell from the sky, the light wind carried them in a thousand directions, turning the landscape white.

Happy, screaming children rushed out of one of the buildings holding something in their hands – some with scarves, others with carrots.

“Shall we go outside?” asked Azriel quietly behind her. “We could go for a walk.”

Y/N's eyes watered and she sniffled, barely audible.

Ever since she was a little girl, she'd longed to see a snowfall - to feel the sensation of snow on her skin.

Two weeks ago, after a dinner, the subject came up between her and Azriel about what she would like to see of the outside world and the first thing she said was snowfall.

Her husband remembered and came straight home to get her. He's going to go with her and make her dream come true.

Warmth flooded her chest, her heart just fluttering with gratitude and happiness as she turned and nodded.

“Yes” her throat tightened with emotion as she said the words. “I really want to go outside.”

She almost flew to the rack, grabbed her coat and awkwardly wrapped her thick, fluffy scarf around her neck. She tucked her feet into the boots, but she was so scrambled that she would have fallen if Azriel hadn't caught her right arm and held her.

“Here we go, I'm ready!” she looked up at the spymaster, who grinned as Y/N blushed.

She was being too silly, she realized.

“Not yet” he shook his head serenely.

Y/N watched with furrowed brows as Azriel pulled a knitted cap from behind his back and pushed it on her head. It was so warm that within moments Y/N could feel herself beginning to sweat underneath and her hair sticking to her forehead.

“Now, you are ready”

Azriel opened the door for her and put his hand on her back to lead her out into the street.

An icy, shivering wind hit their faces and Y/N took a deep breath, letting the feeling wash over her. Her cheeks were almost tingling from the cold, but the wide grin still sat on her face.

Another first time.

She tilted her head up and closed her eyes. The tiny snowflakes found their way and caressed her cheek, and within moments melted away to leave her skin wet.

She reached out and looked at her palms, gazing at the six-pointed, star like snowflakes. They were beautiful, like tiny transparent crystals.

The touch of them left an icy, tingling sensation in her fingers, but it was all the more wonderful.

“Do you like it?” Azriel whispered in her ear as he placed a snow ball in her hand.

Y/N just stared at the ball.

“What am I supposed to do with this?” Y/N asked, puzzled, and Azriel grunted.

“Throw it away” he suggested in a mischievous tone. “Maybe at him.”

Y/N looked in the direction where the shadowsinger was pointing and was stunned.

“I'm not going to throw a child!” she blurted out immediately and elbowed Azriel in the side, who laughed and dodged the hit.

The snow crunched under Y/N's boots as she took a few steps forward and in a sudden burst of excitement spun around and aimed at Azriel. Targeting the combat-skin covered chest, she pulled her arm back and swung. The snowball flew towards Azriel at high speed and then it was on target.

It hit her husband squarely in the face.

The shadowsinger was knocked backwards by the blow, while Y/N clapped a hand over her mouth in fright and turned pale.

“Cauldron” she hurried over to him and quickly brushed the snow off his handsome face, which was slightly flushed.

“I am so, so sorry, Azriel. Please don't be angry with me! I swear I was aiming for your chest.”

She felt fear flooding every inch of her body and anxiety clenched her stomach. Azriel may have been nice, but no man would tolerate being humiliated like that by his wife in the middle of the street.

When the spymaster raised his hand, Y/N hunched her shoulder and tensed in preparation for the punch, then closed her eyes.

But the pain and the sharp snap of his palm failed to register, so she gingerly peeked out from under her lashes and looked at her husband.

Azriel watched her with a frown, pity shining in his eyes. But at the same time, something ancient and destructive rage lingered in him, and Y/N winced again.

“Did you think I was going to hit you?” inquired Azriel, his voice almost lost in the howling wind.

Y/N could only manage a small nod and tried to swallow the lump in her throat that made her feel like she was choking.

“I –“ Y/N cleared her throat and blew out a shaky breath. “I would understand.”

She hung her head, eyed the tiny embroidered designs on her black boots and waited for Azriel's reaction. But he just stood there motionless, which almost drove Y/N crazy.

“Can you please say something?” she blurted out nervously.

Azriel suddenly cupped her face in both hands and forced Y/N to look up at him. Her husband's face looked as if it had been carved from stone, his beautiful features now looking sharper in the wintry landscape.

“Y/N” his thumb ran over her skin in a soft, caressing motion. Gently, so gently that Y/N's breath caught in her lungs. “Look into my eyes.”

The golden-brown gaze almost burned Y/N's face and she found it hard not to turn her head.

“I'll never hit you” Azriel declared with firm determination and promise radiated from every inch of his body. “I swear it. I will cut off my hand before I lay a hand on you. Understand?”

“Yes” Y/N whispered.

“I don't want you to be afraid of me. You are my wife and so I want you to feel safe and comfortable with me.”

Azriel pulled his knife from the sheath hanging at his side and placed it in Y/N's hand, then shook her grip. The cool, murderous steel gave her chills.

“But if anyone hurts you, kill them with this,” he murmured quietly. “And those who have laid a hand on you in the past years, I will be the one to deal with.”

Y/N couldn't even speak as Azriel leaned in and kissed her.

The kiss tasted of anger, sorrow, and promise, and it pulled her off her feet and clung to Azriel's shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her, his hand holding her tightly by the waist, almost devouring her.

Azriel's lips were warm on hers, his tongue begging for entrance. Y/N opened her lips and their tongues intertwined, following each other's dance sweetly.

They broke away from each other, both gasping for breath and Y/N was almost certain she was going to faint. A hotness flooded her guts and Azriel took her hand and raised it to his lips.

“Let's go, darling.”

They walked hand in hand past the rows of shops and Y/N was still dazed from the kiss and the events that had just taken place.

“Where are we going?” she asked when they had been walking for a few minutes and she could gather her thoughts.

The city was beautiful, with wreaths and red bows decorating the streets everywhere. Snow was falling heavily from the sky, making the roofs of the houses look like they had been sprinkled with icing sugar.

Azriel didn't answer, but went into one of the shops and pulled her along behind him.

The little bell above their heads rang, the heat inside hit Y/N and she inhaled the scent of cinnamon. It was a tiny, cluttered room and she tried to make out what all the wooden stuff was, leaving almost no room for a mug.

The shadowsinger picked up one of them, a very large one with a string hanging from one half, and approached the vendor to pay.

Afterwards he turned to her with a smile of such delight that she was unable not to smile back.

“Come.”

He led her to a back door and outside they found themselves at the top of a hill.

Y/N looked down at the long, snow covered ground and looked expectantly at her husband, who had set the wooden thing down and was patting the top.

“Sit on it,” Azriel commanded kindly, and Y/N immediately sat down. She had no idea what this was going to turn into.

“So we're looking at the scenery?” she asked him, but she looked around cheerfully. “I like it.”

Azriel gave a hearty laugh and sat down behind her. Her back was against his muscular, warm chest, which made her feel relaxed and she was about to nestle into his embrace when Azriel began to squirm.

He pulled his wing up so it didn't touch the snowy ground and handed Y/N the rope that connected to the front of the structure.

“Hold on!”

With that, he swung his legs into momentum and kicked away, and they started down the drop.

The breakneck speed and the snow in her face made Y/N scream, but Azriel just laughed behind her and wrapped his huge body around her. The trees blurred in her vision and her ears whistled because of the wind, but somehow she began to enjoy the rush.

There was something liberating about hurtling to the bottom of the hill, leaving all her troubles behind for a moment and just enjoying it.

“Pull the rope!” shouted Azriel, his voice deep and wonderful in her ear.

Y/N leaned back slightly, straight into her husband and tightened the rope, causing them to slow down.

Eventually the contraption they were sitting on stopped as they got down to the field and just sat there quietly for a few moments while Azriel stood up.

I've been married to a child, Y/N thought to herself in amazement, but there was a bubbling joy inside her.

The shadows surrounding Azriel crept fiercely around his ears and his eyes brightened.

“I heard that” he smiled wryly. “That's not what I remember you thinking on our wedding night.”

Y/N playfully, but laughing, nudged Azriel's leg, who began to pull her up the hill.

“What do you call this thing?” Y/N asked, laying her feet on the two long wooden planks.

“Sledge” Azriel replied and repositioned the sledge just as before. “We're sledding, Y/N”

He pulled back a little and grabbed the back of the sled. The scarred hands, tanned face and golden brown eyes evoked feelings in Y/N that she couldn't even express.

Maybe she could.

She would have loved to throw herself on him and do all the things she had done on their wedding night.

“Be careful and pull the rope like before” Azriel suggested and Y/N panicked.

“What?”

However, Azriel started to run and gave a big push, releasing the sledge, and Y/N started to race back down into the deep.

She screamed as if Azriel had sent her to her death - though that wasn't far from the truth.

She yanked on the rope, but lost her balance and fell sideways in front of the field, off the sled and rolled for a few moments, then, face down in the snow, came to a stop.

She heard the flapping of wings and Azriel's desperate voice, but her shoulder was already shaken.

He rolled her towards him and laughter burst out of her. She kept tearing and clutching her stomach, then managed to speak.

“Oh, I was so scared!” she wiped her face. “But let's do it again!”

Azriel sighed in relief, but smiled sweetly and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“Don't scare me like that anymore.”

They sledged until dark and Y/N's lips were almost frozen in a grin by the time they got home.

She had never been so happy in her life.

She wanted to cling to Azriel and never let go. Her heart began to beat faster when he escorted her to her room in their flat and pressed a long, honey sweet kiss to her lips.

“Azriel?” she toyed with the strands of sultry, slightly curling hair that frizzled at the top of his neck.

“Yes?” The spymaster murmured and ran his hand soothingly up and down Y/N's back.

“Thank you.”

The shadowsinger looked down at her and Y/N's legs trembled at the golden brown gaze.

“Me too” he replied, then stepped back and walked towards his own room.

Y/N sank her teeth into her bottom lip and hesitated.

“Azriel?”

“Yes?” he turned to her immediately.

It was as if the shadows had already whispered Y/N's question to him and he was just waiting for her to ask it.

Y/N looked over him, took in his muscular frame, his charming face, and felt a warmth flood over her.

“Would you like to sleep with me?”

“To sleep?” Azriel's lips twitched in amusement.

“We don't have to sleep.”

Y/N giggled as he moved towards her, gasping for air as he almost pushed her into the room with his imposing body.

The door closed behind them with a loud slam.

[soelstress]

The Meet Cute

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x female!reader

Summary: you never thought a meet cute could be so cute… and fluffy

Warnings: nothing but fluff... apologies for any cavities!

Word count: 913

Square filled for @avengers-assemble-bingo “Bucky Barnes Birthday bingo event": Square 2: 'Strangers to Lovers'

Card - 4B011

A/N - Hello lovelies! My second for the above bingo event. I cannot fluff flirt to save my life… further apologies for cringiness!

The pic is sourced from Google

Do not Steal, Copy or Plagiarize any part of my work

Mew.

The unexpected noise caused you to glance around your little bookstore in confusion since the usual sounds came from the bell above the door or murmurs of people browsing the shelves. 

Mew.

Wondering if perhaps a toy had been left behind you wandered over to the children’s corner and shifted a big teddy that had fallen over. An uncontrollable sound of adoration erupted from your chest as your heart melted.

Big blue eyes blinked up at you as another mewl escaped from a tiny mouth seemingly asking for help. The white ball of fluff immediately began purring at your touch as you answered the plea and checked the pink collar that had a little tag attached with a number and address but no name. Without hesitating you pulled your phone from your pocket to dial the number and had to leave a message with your details when the automated voicemail answered. Scooping up your new friend you walked back toward your desk and couldn’t help cooing when it nimbly burrowed into the excess material of the cowl neck hoodie you wore. You’d barely sat down when a grumble sounded nearby.

“This isn’t funny you little punk. You’re gonna get us kicked out, now where'd you go?” A bulky beefcake suddenly appeared at the end of an aisle crawling on his knees while peering under every shelf and wiggling a laser pointer. It was hilarious to watch this Herculean hunk of a man trying to be discrete. “C’mon this is no time for games.” When he looked up you were met with a dazzling pair of blue eyes very similar to the ones of the little furball you suspected he was hunting. 

“Um, hi” he stammered with pink dusted cheeks. As he stood you took in his appearance. The top of his head had thick dark hair that smoothed to a close cut on the sides. Stubble edged his strong jaw and outlined his pink lips. Broad shoulders and built arms were encased in a snug looking jacket while dark denim hugged his thick legs down to dark boots. 

”Can I help you find something?” You bit your lip, wanting to see how he’d react.

The man hesitated before nodding reluctantly. “Yeah, my cat. Her name is Alpine-“

As the man reached for his phone to show a picture he heard a soft mewl. He quickly looked around hoping to spot his feline friend but saw nothing. “Alpine?” His eyes narrowed at the sight of two little white ears peeking out from your hood before darting back to yours.

You grinned sheepishly. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist after seeing your stealth act. I did try calling you when I first found her but it went to voicemail.” As Bucky checked his phone you gently removed Alpine from your hood and she yowled as if offended that you had disturbed her.

“Sorry. I must have touched something because it should have rang.” The man’s blush deepened slightly. He carefully took Alpine from you, holding her so her blue eyes met his. “Don’t scare me like that, you punk.” Alpine blinked and softly booped him on the nose. Giggles spilled from your lips as he rolled his eyes and tucked Alpine into the front of his jacket. “As you can probably tell, she’s not too happy with me.” He shifted his weight before a bashful smile graced his lips. “What’s a guy gotta do to avoid two ladies being mad at him?”

It was your turn to blush. “I find that treats always work.”

”In that case may I tempt you to a coffee?”

Nodding eagerly, you locked up the bookstore and led him down the block to a cat friendly cafe. You gave him your order, watching as he mumbled to Alpine. He certainly was adorable. It suddenly hit you that you didn’t know his name when he grabbed the drinks before the barista could call for him. 

“Y’know… I just realised you know this fuzzball's name but not mine” he chuckled while stroking Alpine’s head. “I’m Bucky.”

With a smile you offered your name and the conversation flowed from there. Bucky apologised for any inconvenience caused by his and Alpine's shenanigans. You waved it off, too shy to say that he had certainly provided you with some entertainment. 

Time passed too quickly as you both walked outside after deserting your long empty cups. You panicked over what to do next and glanced up at Bucky while biting your lip. His tongue darted out to wet his lips and you were so focused wondering how the stubble around them felt that you missed him leaning down before he pressed his lips to yours lightly and pulled back.

”Me-wow.” Your eyes shot open at the total nonsense that had just spilled from your tingling lips. 

A small smile tugged at Bucky’s mouth. “Sorry you had milk on your top lip. And it was a purrfect opportunity to try and kiss you.” When you tried to hide your face, he caught your hands. “Seriously though, I had a great time today. Would you - I mean may I please take you out to dinner sometime?”

“I’d love that Bucky.”

As you walked away, your phone buzzed with a message from Bucky. “You’ve got the cutest me-wow I’ve ever heard.”

“Careful with that laser pointer or I’ll be chasing after you”

Unknowingly both you and Bucky walked your separate ways with big grins like cats that got the cream.

[iandarling]

The universe is funny when it comes to timing.

Because of course it happens the one day a month Lip and Tami go to couples therapy, which happens to coincide perfectly with Ian’s new wish of doing a cycling class once a week. Somehow the fucking stars aligned perfectly or whatever, and none of them have their phones turned on. So Mickey gets the call.

Freddie fell from the monkey bars and broke his arm.

He’s at home when the phone rings. A frantic teacher is in the ambulance with the crying five year old. She couldn’t get a hold of his parents, so she tried his other emergency contacts. Ian didn’t pick up, but Mickey was listed at his spouse so she tried him.

“Can you meet us at the hospital?” She asks, while trying to soothe the crying child. Freddie seemed to be hysterical.

“Yeah, course- hey put him on so I can talk to him” Mickey answers, already outta the door and on his way down to the garage. He’s no baby talker like Ian, but he sure knows something about broken bones.

“Uh hey Fredster, it’s me -“

“Uncle Mickey?!” Fred interrupts him with a hiccup, crying.

“Yeah, look you’re safe in the ambulance bud and I’m on my to the hospital now. Just…sit tight and listen to the grown ups ok? Hand the phone to your teacher, I need t’know what hospital you’re going to”

Getting to the car to drive to the emergency room, Mickey tried once again to call Ian. Maybe he just didn’t pick up because he didn’t recognise the teacher lady’s phone number. Ian doesn’t fucking pick up.

That means he’s doing this alone. Fuck.

Mickey considers calling Debbie, but he also knows she’s been busy lately with the Rich-And-Definitely-Closeted-Housewife wanting her bathroom tiles replaced, and if he calls to interrupt Debbie now she will skin him alive. She needs the money and he can respect that. Even if that means tackling a crying five year old on his own. Fuck.

Traffic is not bad today so he gets to the emergency room a few minutes after the ambulance. White overhead lights shine bright, the sterile chemical scent is overwhelming, and he walks past several bloody teens on his way to the receptionist, who smiles at him “Hi, how may I help you today?”

“Got a call about my nephew coming in with a broken arm. Fred Gallagher, five years old and uhh” Mickey stammers out, suddenly a little nervous. He fucking hates hospitals, and he especially hates talking to strangers.

“Uncle Mickey!!” A little voice shouts from across the room. Mickey looks up and to the left where he sees his nephew in a chair inside a cubicle looking room. A woman is sitting with him. Probably his teacher.

Without explaining to the (probably perfectly lovely) receptionist, Mickey walks away and hurries towards the crying boy. Freddie is getting out of the chair to meet him halfway, hot tears running down his red face, his arm is in a sling.

“Hey kiddo” He says as he picks him up. Suddenly he’s struck by how tiny he seems compared to his usual self- shit has Freddie always been this small? His legs wrap around Mickeys waist as he hides his face in his uncles chest. Gently rubbing his back like he’s seen Ian do so many times, Mickey tries to shush him.

“Thank you for coming so quickly.” The teacher is thankful, and looks to be calming down now that Mickey has arrived. She’s young, probably fresh outta teacher school or something, and it’s clearly her first broken bone incident. Mickey smiles at her “No worries, I had nothing better to do today”

A nurse enters their room as well as the receptionist. He didn’t fill out the visitors form, and since he’s here maybe he can help fill out the intake form for little Freddie too? The receptionist hold the papers as he fills out the information with one hand.

“Name, age, address yeah yeah, relationship to the patient - uncle”

“Favourite uncle” Freddie whispers.

Smirking, Mickey adds it to the form “relationship to the patient- favourite uncle”. The receptionist giggles.

Ok, so maybe this isn’t as bad as he feared. He can do this.

After the forms are all filled out he sits down on the bed, Freddie now in his lap. The child is still crying but quieter now. Tiny hands grip at his jacket. “He get any painkillers or something?” He asks the teacher, whose name he still didn’t know.

They gave him something in the ambulance she tells him, but the shock is still there so he’s not entirely calm yet. They will give him more meds now that a family member is there to approve it. “Hear that kid? You’re gonna get the good stuff” Mickey tries to joke with him. Freddie doesn’t get it but he seems to be calming down now that his uncle is here.

The same nurse comes back in telling him they need to take pictures of the arm to ascertain the break and how bad it is. Mickey carries him down the hallway to a new room further down the hallway. Freddie is no longer crying hysterically, but he’s clearly in pain and scared. Mickey keeps rubbing his back as it seems to help.

The arm is definitely broken. Apparently it’s a small break so it will be easier to heal. They’re taken into another room where Freddie will get his arm set in a cast. A second nurse comes and gives him more painkillers. He starts to smile now. He’s excited about getting a cast.

“And we can draw on it!” Freddie tells his uncle excitingly. The pain is long forgotten and he’s talking happily to everyone now. “Can you draw me a lion uncle Mickey?”

Mickey has never drawn a lion before but sure how fucking hard can it be. It’s just a big cat right? “Sure bud, but uh we should wait until the cast is dry before I can draw on it”

The nurse smiles as she continues to work on the little boys arm.

Mickey snaps a picture of Freddie, sitting pretty on the hospital bed with his arm on the table. The nurse working on his cast smiles for the picture too. He sends it to the family group chat- hopefully someone else can show up soon. “Kids first broken bone” he texts.

Liam sends a flurry of texts back asking if Freddie is okay. Carl responds with a thumbs up.

Finally, after almost an hour at the emergency room, Tami calls him. They have to turn their phones off at the therapist, something about being fully tuned in or whatever. She’s almost more hysterical than Freddie was an hour ago.

“Ey ey; listen Tams I got him ‘alright? He’s good, getting his cast done as we speak. He’s fucking smiling and all” Mickey tries to calm her down, but it’s not easy. Lip takes over the phone.

“We’re on our way now, Mick. Please let him know and uh, maybe send another picture of him, Tami is really freaked out”. Mickey can tell Lip is just as freaked out as his girlfriend but decided this is not the time to make fun of him.

Mickey turns to Freddie, camera ready. “Hey little man, smile for me. Your mom wants proof of life”. Freddie smiles brighter than the sun. He looks so much like Lip it’s uncanny. The same crooked nose, those damn cheekbones and dirty blond curls. If he hadn’t been so damn cute Mickey would’ve almost felt sorry for him.

“So your mom and dad will be here soon, kid”

As they wait for the kids parents to show up, Fred compiles a whole laundry list of things he wants his uncle to draw on his cast. A lion, a monster truck, a dinosaur, and his house. Mickey has no idea how to draw any of those things, but he’s sure as fuck gonna try. He nods and promises to do his best.

Mickey feels like he is fucking nailing this uncle thing. Who knew?

Liam arrives at the same time as Lip and Tami. He had hopped on the L once he heard of Freddie’s accident.

Tami runs in looking frantically around for her son, Lip right behind her. “Oh thank god!” She screams as she lays eyes on him, kissing every square inch of his face. Fred giggles and Lip lets out a heavy sigh. His son is fine.

“Hey, thanks Mick” Lip claps him on the shoulder in that brotherly way he’s come to expect from him.

“Course, no problem”

It’s not until an hour and a half later that Ian finally turns on his phone.

Asshole

[tothosewholisten]

Forever Healed | TUA insert

Chapter: 00

next chapter>>

Masterlist

…

On the 12th hour of the first day of October 1989. 43 women around the world gave birth. This was unusual in the fact that none of these women had been pregnant when the day first began.

Sir Reginald Hargeeves, eccentric billionaire and adventurer, resolved to locate and adopt as many of the children as possible.

He got seven of them, yes seven.

..

MARCH 21, 2019

I have to be at least somewhat proud of myself for lasting this long. I thought as I sat on the bus, not everyday you are born with magical powers and are destined to save the world from evil. Yes, hearing myself think that sounds crazy. But that's normal in my life.

I had reached my stop after a half an hour of sitting with my earbuds in, listening to nothing at all. I just wanted to seem unapproachable on the sketchy city bus.

My destination was a terribly designed office building, the space was so crammed and ugly it made me want to turn right back around and get on that bus again. But I didn't because I was trying to convince myself that this would be good for me, but I didn't believe my words.

I was about to have a therapy session with some middle-aged white lady who has glasses and tell her all of my life issues, starting every week at 5pm..

It's not like I had anything else going on, I haven't had work for days now. So I thought I'd give it a shot.

The waiting process made me anxious as hell, I finally got the courage to walk up to the front desk and gave the man who sat there my name. And now I have to wait for this lady to get done with some other patient.

I sat on a chair and frowned, like she is really going to be focused on "my" problems and not the 30 other people she sees today.

I swear it was only a second into me zoning out when I heard my name yelled. "Y/n L/n? It's so nice to meet you!" A woman said, when i looked up at her i saw the exact lady i was describing earlier to the closest details.

I let her lead me to a smaller room that looked way better than the lobby. It had two chairs, a water machine, some fidget items and a large window view of the city. Gloria, I learn to be the name of my therapist, asks me to sit with her.

She clears her throat, "I know this is our first session so you may not be the most comfortable sharing details. But I'd like to know a little bit about you if you're okay sharing."

“Well, I’m 29 years old and a home care nurse.” I say slowly. Hearing the words leave my mouth I knew I haven’t amounted to a lot in my years.

"Oh wow, 29? I would've never guessed that Y/n, you don't look a day over 21" Gloria complimented me i give her a tiny smile in return.

I'm not sure why that is, I get that a lot in my working field. Older women saying that they wished they looked as young as me.

"That's a great start for today's session." She smiles, "A little bit me is, you know my name already but I'm 56 years old since Monday. I have 3 children and a cat named Mr. Furball."

I regret what i said earlier because I think I already like Gloria and not just because of Mr. Furball. But the fact that she has a calming sense about her. I find myself listening to what she's saying, and I rarely do that with people nowadays.

"But I would like to hear more about your upbringing, how’d you become the fine young lady you are today?" She says.

Oh, she wants to hear about my childhood. I mean I knew she would ask but so soon, I'm worried about saying anything. So I told her that.

"I'm worried about opening up to someone about my past cause well I've never done it before." I said.

She hands me a cup of water. "That's okay Y/n, we can take it at your pace."

“I grew up in a small house with my mom and dad until I was twelve. When I was scouted by Reginald Hargreeves because of my unique abilities. And I've been there ever since I was 18 when I moved out to live on my own.” I waited for the burst of confusion I was about to get from Gloria. Not everyday one of the Umbrella Academy walks into your office.

“Oh wow…” she says, eyes wide. “You're one of those superheroes? That’s amazing wow.” She nervously chuckles “I’m sorry I’m normally not this shocked about things, and I hear a lot on the daily.”

“It’s okay” I say, staring at my hands.

She clears her throat. “I'm sure being apart of the Umbrella Academy was big but could you tell me about your life before that?”

I closed my eyes for a couple of seconds, pictured my childhood in my brain and opened my mouth.

"Well, I'm sure to this day my father still thinks that my mother cheated on him, due to his "daughter's" virgin Mary-like creation since they were just newlyweds. He held it against my mother all of her life." I took a sip of water and continued.

"I'm not sure why he turned to alcohol. But that turned out as you could expect. He turned on everyone around him and acted like a beast. He regularly attacked my mom for anything she did wrong. But what made him more angry was that his freak of a daughter could heal her mother, after every beating."

"My mom told me before I left I had made her so much happier and in her words. She didn't even question these strange occurrences; she knew her baby was special." I smiled a bit.

I could tell that Gloria was painting a picture in her head of what I was describing too.

"And by the age of 8, I was standing up to my father, even if it didn't end so well. I'd get the beating instead but by the next day, my bloody body would be as good as new. On the surface at least, I had lots of internal issues from that time. But none of that stopped my father from trying to get equal with me.." I stopped talking after that.

My eyes could only focus on my right hand as it was picking at my left hand's skin. It was a habit I picked up as soon as I started to use my powers because I knew my skin would be right back to normal in the next few minutes.

"That's awful y/n I'm so sorry." She frowned. "Would you be okay with continuing?"

I blink up at her. “Yes, that would be okay,” I said. “Then there was this one day..”

..

17 YEARS AGO

“In five, four, three, two. This is Jim Hellerman, reporting live for channel 2 News outside of the Capital West Bank at Main and Sixth. A group of heavily armed men stormed the bank not three hours ago and took an unknown number of hostages.”

That was the big news update of September 2002, I remember. Well I don’t really have to think about it much because I was there with my mom at the bank. She planned on making some deposit when we were screamed at, not to leave by a man who had his gun pointed at us along with so many other civilians. He taped us up and told us to stand in a corner.

That was the first and only time I feared for my life. Police didn’t want them to start shooting, so they didn’t come into the building. Meaning that we were on our own and could die at anytime

One of the armed men walks into the scene unfolding. Sirens blaring, people getting shoved around and threats being made to the innocent.

“Now you’ve put me in a position where I gotta do something I don't want to do. Hmm?” He said talking to another person on his walkie talkie.

My mom brought me closer to her trying to use her body as a shield if things went south. And to us we thought they were about to be.

But strangely, a girl walked up to the man. She’d looked to be around my age in a school uniform and cartoon mask. Her loose curls bounced in the wind as she skipped up to him.

“Shit!” He screams putting his device down. Not noticing the girl until a few seconds after his outburst. “Hey, get back with the others.” He told her, trying to sound intimidating but she didn’t seem to fear him at all.

“I heard a rumor.” She spoke out.

He bent a little to reach her height and get in her face. “What? What did you say?”

She leaned in and cupped her hand to mimic whispering in his ear but loud enough for all of us to hear. “I heard a rumor that you shot your friend in the foot.”

Without any hesitation he did what she commanded and shot the nearest armed man who happened to be trying to rough up my mom. We screamed as he kept shooting.

“We just heard shots from inside the bank. It’s uncertain if any hostages have been harmed in that.”

“There’s some movement on the roof. Possibly law enforcement.”

A loud crash and a boy landed down from the roof. It was crazy he wasn’t harmed at all from that high distance. He was also wearing the same mask and uniform as the girl but he had blond hair. From where he landed he jumped on one of the robbers and started beating him to a pulp, and then throwing him out a glass window.

“Looks like one of the armed robbers had been thrown from the bank.”

Another boy with brown hair runs in from the opposite doors as the girl and yells. “Guns are for sissies. Real men throw knives.” He then threw one of his knives and it curved in the air hitting a robber no where close to where the knife had originally been heading. It was incredible.

“I've been in many hostage situations like this, and it can escalate very quickly.”

The original man hops on a table pointing his gun out at the two of the before seen children plus another one. “Get back you freaks” he says walking back and forth in fear.

“Hey, be careful up there, buddy.” The knife boy calls out.

“Get back now!” The man screams.

“Yeah, I wouldn't want you to get hurt.” The girls mocking voice says.

Right before my eyes another boy teleports behind the man, sitting criss-cross on the table. “Or what?” He said calmly.

The man turns around and shoots at him but before the bullets could hit he teleports again. This time standing up with his arms crossed, clearly not impressed. But the man tries to shoot again.

“Ooh! That’s one badass stapler!” The boy laughs. The man no longer had a gun anymore but a stapler placed in his hand by the kid instead. The boy shoves the stapler into his face and the big man falls back, head hitting the floor before his body does.

“Although there’s been no activity for a few minutes, we’re gonna stay live on location to make sure we don’t miss a thing. In this hostage situation at the Capital West bank.”

The five already counted for children make way for the last and shortest one to make his move. “Do we really need to do this?” He talks quietly.

The blonde one replies to him. “Come on, Ben. There’s more guys in the vault.” So his name was Ben huh?

Ben sighs, “I didn't sign up for this.” Before walking into the room with more people. Large black tendrils illuminated the room as men screaming could be heard behind the door. And a beast roars but then the sound stops and Ben walks out again, this time covered in blood and guts.

He breathes heavily. “Can we go home now?” I felt bad for him.

The kids untied our hands and told us to run. And once it was clear to go my mom started to run out of the doors thinking I was right behind her.

“Now we see the hostages. They— They’re free. They’re scared clearly but they do seem to be unharmed.”

But I was behind her trying to help this older woman who’d slipped on the floor. As I was helping her, the kids walked out too.

“People are coming out now. It’s not the armed robbers. These are schoolchildren in uniforms with masks on. Jim Hellerman, Channel 2 News.”

But there was one not accounted for robber, the one from earlier who had been shot in the foot. I started to run out and call out to my mom who was outside. When the man got up from the floor, cocked his gun and shot at the kids.

Fortunately, he missed them but the bullet hit me.

Questions being asked to the children stopped when they saw my body flail onto the floor outside of the bank doors. I was shot right in the chest. There was blood everywhere and it started to leak over to where the kids were standing. They turned around to see where it was coming from..

Everyone looked horrified and there was a bunch of screaming. Mainly from my mother who was wailing as she ran over to hold me to her chest screaming for me to wake up. And that will be engraved in my memory forever after this day, I never wanted to hear her like this ever again.

Police started to rush over but in a matter of minutes, a miracle seemed to happen. At least to the city that is. There was a yellowish glow around my chest and the blood seemed to have reversed back into my body. Even the stains on my blue dress were gone. The bullet even spit out of my chest; it was truly witchcraft.

My eyes then shot open as I started to breathe in and out.

I don't exactly remember what I felt during those moments but I'm sure I left those people around me stunned. After all this was their first look at powers.

I couldn't care what the paramedics were talking about above my body. I was focused on the 6 children looking at me bewildered as well as the old-looking man with them and whatever my mom was saying at the time.

I was put on a stretcher and rushed to a hospital for evaluations after the pandemics came but they never found anything. It was like everything was perfectly reattached.

But as I was leaving I could see the news reporters zeroing in on the kids trying to get the details on how these children saved the bank from thievery.

“Our world is changing.” The man spoke to the crowd. “Has changed. There are some among us gifted with abilities far beyond the ordinary.” He said looking back at the children. But they weren’t paying attention, some were staring at my ambulance and some eyes were on the ground.

“I have adopted seven such children. I give you the inaugural class of the Umbrella Academy.”

I now realize thinking back, the seventh person he was talking about was me..

..

PRESENT DAY

My mouth felt like it was moving faster than my brain so I took a pause and chugged the rest of my water cup.

Once again Glorias eyes were wide open. As she took some notes down in a notebook I never noticed beyond this point.

"Uh once I got home I remember the house phone noise filled my house with its nonstop ring, the other person on the phone would change my life forever when he came in.”

“And who was that person?" Gloria asked.

"Reginald Hargeeves, eccentric billionaire and caring father from what the public knew.." I rolled my eyes.

"So I'm guessing it wasn't really like that" she asked carefully.

"He was never a father really, more like a hard state-national basketball coach." She wrote that down.

"I guess it was a hard decision for my parents to make well, my mother. My father was ready to give me up as soon as Reginald stepped foot in my small house."

"And I'm sure they thought there was nothing bad about the offer they were given, he promised I'd be raised in a steady environment with the best schooling and my powers would be used for the greater good. And in exchange, my parents would get a large sum of money for my absence."

"What were you doing during this?" Gloria worried.

"I think I was just sitting right there next to my mom actually. I definitely didn't understand at that point what was happening to me. Still thinking about the events of that day.”

"And then I was being taken out of my only home in the blink of an eye. I resisted the people taking me, starting with screaming and then kicking and then running. Back to my mom's arms, Reginald himself had to pull me away from her. The deal had already been struck and there was no taking me back."

Now looking back at my hands I could only see small teardrops on my palms. Gloria reached for a tissue from the other side of the room. "Thank you," I said as I wiped my eyes.

"I like to think that my mom was upset that day but the memory has already started to fade as I reached adulthood.

You know after that day I was no longer 'Y/n L/n' no, I was known by my new name.. Zero Hargeeves."

..

I decided that was the end of my story, at least for now because I couldn't place the pieces together anymore. I was full-on sobbing at that point.

Gloria decided to bring up something more light to talk about next but I don't remember what it was because I'd zoned out and thought about the cat she'd told me about earlier.

The two hours seemed to fly by because the last thing I heard her say was if I didn't have anything else to talk about then that would be the end of the session. My legs seemed to move on their own as I walked out of that building. I would come back at the same time next week and honestly, I think therapy was for the best. I forgot about how I felt about all these things for the longest time.

I started the journey back to the bus stop, stopping to look in the windows of shops.

Shops like bakeries and bookstores and other things like that. Until I came to a stop in front of a store with a TV sticking out in the window.

My eyes scanned the screen and they went wide. The lady on the news had a somber expression as someone died. I was feeling sad for the person's family, but then I read the red-blaring headline.

The person who died was Reginald Hargeeves...

...

Aug 14 update:

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