#Budding Romance

[codsoup]

He sounds so worried for his Johnny 🥹

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Came a long way from keep up Soap

[birinboom]

The Luck-Bringing Cat

Jing Yuan x Fem!Reader; a shy former imperial concubine

The Apothecary Diaries-esque AU (I am kinda-sorta stealing this plotline from ep. 3), arranged marriage, budding romance, domestic fluff, pet names (JY calls Reader my dear, my love), Reader is also referred to as ‘my lady’ 💌 3.162 words

Jing Yuan, a famed general and childhood friend of the emperor, has yet to take a wife. The emperor decides to solve this by giving one of his least favorite concubines to his best friend. Even though Jing Yuan is against this practice, he can't help but fall head over heels in love once he meets you.

Thank you so much to @a11eya for beta-reading this for me!

Only one man had managed to stay at the emperor’s side through most of his life. Jing Yuan, the son of imperial scholars, made friends with the crown prince early in their lives, and they quickly became inseparable. As they aged, Jing Yuan became an asset to the newly crowned emperor; a seasoned warrior, an accomplished general, a brilliant strategist, and one of the few people who dared oppose the monarch when needed. 

The emperor loved him like a brother. And it worried him that Jing Yuan never seemed interested in taking a wife. The general was far from blind to the longing gazes of the women of the court, he accepted their offers on occasion but he never seemed to want more than one or two nights with any woman. The emperor did not see anything wrong with this as he himself split his time more or less equally between his favorite concubines. But any man who was less fortunate than the emperor should surely want something more stable, especially a man who was slowly getting through his best age.

When Jing Yuan was pressed about why he did not want to marry, he stated with a lazy smile that he had neither the time nor the energy for that kind of courtship. But the emperor saw the slight downturn of the corners of the general’s lips. He saw through the facade of his best and oldest friend. 

I have neither the time nor the energy for that kind of courtship. But I desperately wish I did.

The emperor thought deeply about this issue. Then he remembered someone in the inner court. A concubine who had fallen from his favor at their first meeting. He had never spent time with you after that. Why, he had barely thought about you in years. Still, you were a beautiful woman, well-educated, and, from what he had been told, quite quick-witted. You would make a good gift for his best friend.

Now he just needed to convince Jing Yuan that he would not take no for an answer.

Jing Yuan was still unable to fully understand how everything had come to this. He could not fathom why the emperor suddenly wanted to give him one of the imperial concubines as a wife. Giving an unfavored concubine to a newly appointed officer as a reward was far from an uncommon practice, Jing Yuan was well aware of that. But he had never expected it to happen to him, not after so many years in service of the emperor. He had been lucky to manage arranging a meeting with you before the wedding. 

This practice seemed so wholly unfair in his mind. Unfair to you and any other concubines affected by the custom. You had already been given as a gift to one man, now you were being given to another, neither of whom you had chosen for yourself. Jing Yuan knew there was little he could do about the situation, but he did not feel right accepting another human being as a gift.   

He continued towards the palace gardens which had been chosen as the meeting place, still in deep speculation about whether he had any chance of changing the emperor’s mind. 

Turning a corner, he was torn out of his thoughts when he came upon a small gathering of women, all of them wearing identical robes. One held a folded-up parasol. They were all calling out to someone in voices too hushed for Jing Yuan to discern any words. 

Ladies-in-waiting, he thought, paying them little mind. Then, his eyes fell on you.

The emperor had shown him a painting of you, commissioned shortly before you had begun your journey to the palace. Even if some years had passed since then, Jing Yuan still instantly recognized you.

You stood at the top of a small bridge crossing one of the many creeks in the garden, your face tilted up towards a nearby tree. The setting autumn sun fell upon you at an angle that made your skin and hair glow. Tearing his gaze away from you, Jing Yuan looked towards the tree as well, his trained ears picking up the song of finches. For a moment he wondered if it might be the same flock that visited the small garden of his own residence. Turning his eyes back to you, he watched as you lifted a hand, holding it up towards the tree. A finch took off from a branch and landed on one of your outstretched fingers.

Until now your face had been mostly devoid of emotion, eyes fixed on the tree. But when the finch landed on your hand, looking calmly at you with one black eye, your features softened, a fond smile gracing your face like the sun appearing from behind rain clouds. 

Jing Yuan watched you lift the bird closer to your face, whispering to it, your other hand coming up to gently scratch the top of its head. He unconsciously raised a hand to his lips in an attempt to hide the smile blooming there. If this was how you behaved with one of his beloved finches (and he was certain at this point that the bird was indeed from the flock he possessively thought of as his), if you acted so kind and loving towards the smallest of creatures with no prompting, then marrying you could quite possibly be one of the best things to ever happen to him. The thought of having you gifted to him still felt wrong, but… perhaps he did not need to dread it as much as he had at first.

Stepping forward, he cleared his throat, trying his best to school his features into a pleasant, if slightly detached, expression. 

You gasped, raising your arm to hide your face behind your long sleeve. The finch took off, frightened by your sudden movement, and the rest of the flock followed it. The flapping of their wings filled the air, drowning out your greeting as you and your ladies-in-waiting bowed to him.

Jing Yuan felt another smile tug at his lips. He managed to hide it behind his hair as he returned your bow.

Your ladies-in-waiting quickly moved to one side of the walkway, letting him pass. He looked at you as he ascended the bridge. The way you peeked shyly at him over your still-raised sleeve made his heart clench. He sent you what he hoped was a pleasant smile, and nodded towards the path on the opposite side.

“Shall we, my lady?”

The two of you strolled along the garden path for a while, Jing Yuan filling the air with what idle conversation he could think of, and you giving brief, shy answers.

Then, he heard the flap of wings and felt the touch of tiny claws digging into his hair, brushing against his scalp. Soon, he felt a small tug as the finch began to preen him. He could barely help but chuckle when another finch landed on his shoulder. He felt your gaze on him, then your eyes moved to the bird on his far shoulder.

“Oh!” you exhaled.

Raising his opposite hand, he gently encouraged the bird to hop onto one of his fingers, then moved the hand -with bird- closer to you.

“I have worked quite hard on taming them over the years,” he said. “The most recent brood is the tamest yet; they are the only ones so far to actively seek my presence. Though I suspect they only come to me in hopes of food. Would you like to hold it again?”

You looked away, your sleeve rising once more to hide your face. “Again…” you said, sounding very put on the spot.

Jing Yuan tried to quell his laughter. “I must admit that I was watching you for a moment before making my presence known. What I saw was very… endearing.” 

You were silent for a while, then you peeked at him over the top of your sleeve. “May I be frank with you, General?”

He nodded. “Please.”

Staying quiet for a few seconds, you then drew in a deep breath. “I was rather nervous about this meeting. I have heard quite a few rumors about you, about your excellence at anything you do. And I was worried that I might not be able to live up to the expectations of the august general. But… You handle these birds with such tenderness and care. They trust you. Maybe they can trust me too, in time.”

Looking off to the side, you finally lowered your sleeve, clasping your hands in front of you. “I am very fond of small animals. My family owned a couple of tame nightingales when I was a child; I used to love falling asleep while listening to their singing.”

He felt another smile tug at his lips. He too had pleasant memories of falling asleep to the sound of bird song as a child. Though in his case it had been the wild birds outside his windows lulling him to sleep. Sharing such a similar memory with you only made him feel delighted.

Briefly peeking at him, as if to judge his reaction to your words, you then continued, “I have always yearned for a cat too, but my parents would not allow it because of our birds. And I never mustered up the courage to request permission to keep a cat after I arrived at the inner court. Though I doubt the emperor would have indulged me.” You sighed ruefully. “I suppose even now, since birds are favored once again, a pet cat will be impossible. The birds will be enough.”

Jing Yuan looked at you for a moment, stroking his chin. “A cat is a pleasant idea. As the saying goes, ‘a cat well cared for may bring luck to its owner.’ Though if I had my way I should like a lion instead!” When he saw your eyes widen, your mouth starting to open in surprise, he could not stop himself from laughing once more. “I jest, I merely jest! A house cat will suffice! Perhaps we can teach it to leave the birds in peace, or keep it indoors at all times.”

The thought of keeping a cat locked inside, though he doubted it was truly achievable, brought his thoughts back to the way you had been hidden away in the inner court for years. His smile faltered. Would it be right for him to mention his hesitation? Would it assuage you to know that he was far from satisfied with how the situation was handled?

“If I may be so bold, my lady… You were not the only one who had a certain level of apprehension about this meeting.”

You shrank back a little, shoulders slumping. “I… see.”

Jing Yuan saw you raise your hand again, he could only assume to hide your face once more. Without fully realizing what he was doing, he reached out to take your hand in his.

“Please, do not misunderstand me, my dear! It is not because of you, it is the entire situation. I do not much like being given another person as a gift. And I find it wholly unfair to you to be given away once again.” 

He had so much more to say on this subject, so many points to make about how the former concubines nearly always came out as the losers in these circumstances. And yet he felt his mind go blank. He brushed his thumb over the back of your hand in an attempt to gather his thoughts. It had the opposite effect. Your hand was softer and more delicate than he could have ever imagined; so different from his own strong, calloused hands. It took every last shred of self control to not raise it to his lips. 

Releasing your hand with great reluctance, he forced himself to finish his thoughts. “I am loath to receive a wife under such circumstances, even if she is one I should have quite liked to court of my own volition, had I been allowed to. But in the end it is His Majesty’s decision. Even so, I can promise you this, my dear: No matter what may come, I will always do my utmost to ensure that we are both happy with this union.”

You grasped the hand he had held with your free hand, rubbing the skin, your head bowed enough that he could not see your expression.

“I-I…”

Then you raised your head again, a small smile tugging at your lips. “I must admit, I am quite relieved that you feel that way. That you understand the situation from my point of view too.”

Jing Yuan returned your smile. “As much as I am against this entire circumstance, I must admit… the more I get to know you, my dear, the more I am looking forward to you becoming my wife.”

The two of you talked for a while longer, then Jing Yuan escorted you and your ladies-in-waiting back to the inner court. Seeing the gate leading to the inner court left him with a sense of melancholy he could not quite place. Perhaps he had already grown so accustomed to your presence that the thought of being without you left him empty. It made him look forward to your wedding day even more.

One early morning, some six months later, Jing Yuan was found crouched over a rosebush in the small garden of his residence, pruning shears in hand. It was something he refused to give up, no matter how many people told him it was below his rank to tend to his own garden. Gardening was one of the few things that truly cleared his mind, one of the few still moments of the day that allowed him to relax. And today, he needed it.

He had already spent several hours lying awake, tossing and turning, his mind whirring, until finally giving up on sleep once he heard the first birds singing outside. Rolling over, he pressed a kiss against your bare shoulder, then left the bed to start his day.

The air outside was cold enough that his breath created little puffs of mist, the remnants of frost biting his cheeks. He paid it little mind; it helped clear his head. And so, he crouched over the few bushes that needed pruning this early in spring, settling into a calming rhythm as the world around him slowly grew from a milky gray to pink and orange.

His rhythm was disturbed as something brushed up against his knee. Looking down, he spotted the white kitten he had presented to you on your wedding day, just a few days before the new year began. You had been infatuated with the cat (as had he, as were both of you even now), and you had aptly named it Snowmoon in honor of the full moon hanging in the sky, casting lambent light over the snow-covered ground of the garden outside your windows.

The memory of that night still made him smile.

Snowmoon raised itself on its hind legs, the little bell on its collar jingling. It propped its front paws against his knee, and chirped imploringly. Jing Yuan could only assume that he had been so engrossed in his gardening that the sound of the bell had gone unnoticed.

How did you get out? he wondered as he picked up the kitten, holding it up in front of him. 

The kitten returned his gaze evenly with its brilliantly blue eyes and began to purr. Cradling it to his chest, he stood, intending to put the cat back inside. It had yet to learn that the birds of the garden were off-limits. And the birds had yet to learn what the sound of the bell signified.

But as he stood, he caught sight of another figure in the morning light. You were bundled up in several layers of clothing, seemingly ready to spend a while outside.

Jing Yuan frowned. “What are you doing out of bed, my love?” he asked. “It is still so early.”

You looked away, trying to hide the shy smile forming on your lips. You were still not used to the terms of endearment which he favored.

“I wanted to lend you a hand,” you said.

He appreciated the sentiment. But he found it difficult to imagine you crouching in the dirt like he had been. 

“There is no need, my dear, I am almost finished.”

Your mouth set in a stubborn line. “Then I will help with the last of it.”

The firmness in your voice made his heart flutter. He enjoyed all the work you put into getting to know him better. And he made sure to return it tenfold.

“Very well, my love. Let me just put this little rascal back inside.”

As he came outside once again, he found you crouched over the rosebush he had been working on, your long sleeves almost trailing in the dirt.

That will not do.

Jing Yuan pulled out the long ribbon holding his hair as he moved closer. Crouching behind you, he deftly wound it first underneath one sleeve, across your back, then underneath the other sleeve, tying it at your shoulder. His actions left your arms bare, sleeves far out of harm’s way. 

You shivered in the cold air, goosebumps forming on your newly exposed skin. 

Jing Yuan rubbed your arms, trying to get some warmth into your body. “You are still free to go inside.”

You huffed. “I will not.”

He chuckled, pressing a kiss to your temple.

Handing you the pruning shears, he showed you where to prune, guiding your hands. The two of you chatted idly about the roses for a while, when he expected them to bloom and what colors he had planted. Then the topic moved to the future as a whole.

“Tell me, my love,” Jing Yuan said, wrapping his arms around you, “I know you have only been with me for a few short months, but how do you like it so far?” 

You leaned back against him, nestling further into his embrace.

“I enjoy it so very much. I appreciate the freedom I have, compared to the inner court. And…” You turned enough to meet his gaze, raising a hand to caress his cheek. “I have grown quite fond of the master of this house.”

He felt a smile tugging at his lips. “Oh? Do I need to be jealous of this man?”

“Perhaps,” you said, a smile lingering on your own mouth. “He has been very kind to me.”

“I suppose I shall have to be even kinder, then,” he said, before leaning in to press a kiss to your lips.

Maybe there really was something to the saying of ‘a cat well cared for may bring luck to its owner.’ Jing Yuan was certainly feeling very fortunate at that moment.

Thank you so much for reading! Likes, comments, reblogs, and asks (on and off anon) are always greatly appreciated! If you like, you can check out my other works here. Love, Em 💖

[roguishcat]

Astarion x Tav Prompt! (for the 200 follower celebration)

Astarion tailoring Tavs clothes before they reach the big city.

Some sensory ideas: rough linen, crackling warm campfire, fingers caressing skin, crisp autumn air, sounds of skin against fabric, soft sighs or humming

Thank you so much for the ask! I love reading tailor Astarion stories, so this is my humble attempt at writing one. Hope you like it! 💕

This is set in Act II, soon after the tiefling party.

Pairing: Astarion x unnamed female Tav

Word count: 2.4k

Part of his plan

To Astarion their relationship was a transaction. A little tit for tat. Because this was what 200 years of servitude taught him. Nothing was ever given for free. Nothing came without a price. And usually it was not worth the pain or the effort anyway.

But when it came to Tav, Astarion found himself trying to make more of an effort to stay in her good graces. Not because he cared about her as such. But he didn’t find the thought of spending time with her, travelling alongside her, even sharing her bedroll as distasteful as with anyone else. Perhaps because she foolishly put others before herself. Perhaps it was her treating him with respect and kindness. But her being nice made him want… to be nice back. Just to make sure that their leader was well and truly smitten, of course.

That evening as Tav changed out of her armour to offer her neck to him, Astarion’s eyes fell to the rather obvious tear in her shirt. She noticed him look and flushed.

“I was going to take care of that yesterday but felt so tired that I just kind of decided to leave it,” she mumbled, pulling at the fabric awkwardly.

She scurried out of his tent and into her own before he could reply. Astarion felt his lips quirk into a smile. Now this was just the opportunity to make himself useful in their leader’s eyes that he was looking for!

He had already bedded Tav and although the experience was hardly unpleasant, he didn’t look forward to using his body over and over just to secure his place by her side. Therefore, making himself so much a part of her life that she felt that he was indispensable to her was crucial in keeping her interested.

Thus assured that he was once again right and everything was going according to his plan, Astarion grabbed his sewing kit and walked confidently in the direction of Tav’s tent.

“Darling, how about I-”

Tav looked up and Astarion was rendered speechless when he looked at her handywork. Only gods knew how she managed to create the monstrosity in her hands in such a short time. And where on earth did she even get thread of such toxic, garish colour?

Tav blushed a rather fetching shade of red and lowered her eyes.

“I suppose I made it worse, haven’t I?” she whispered, clearly embarrassed at being so terrible at something as basic as fixing a simple tear.

“Well… This isn’t the best needlework that I’ve seen, admittedly. But I am certain that it isn’t the worst either.”

The large, uneven stitches were quite remarkable, in their own way.

“How about I take over from here. I’m sure that we can salvage this,” he gently pried the shirt out of her hands and clicked his tongue as he lifted it closer to his eyes.

“I suppose this will take me a little longer than initially anticipated, seeing as I have to undo your fine effort first, but I will certainly finish it come morning.”

Astarion made a move to rise but felt a hand grasp his sleeve.

“You could stay here, if you wanted,” she suggested, making him freeze.

Truth be told, staying here was the last thing that he wanted to do. It was too intimate. Him staying could be misinterpreted as him wanting to engage in certain activities. And sex was the last thing currently on his mind.

“And have you miss out on the chance to catch up on some beauty sleep? How villainous would that be!” he joked, trying to extricate himself without making it too obvious that he wanted to leave.

“Then I could sit out by the campfire with you. I mean, if you want…” she trailed off, suddenly feeling silly, “we could talk.”

“Talk?” he repeated, raising an eyebrow.

“I would like to get to know you more. Learn more about you, if you allow it.”

Talk. Yes, just like people did when they spent any amount of time around each other. He supposed that knocking boots was not enough for someone like Tav, someone who was… sweet.

Astarion supposed he could be forgiven for jumping to the conclusion that her asking to stay was asking for sex. He met few people who wanted him for his conversation skills. Most wanted to bed him, some wanted to spend time with him afterwards. He could recall hardly any who actually seemed to care for him or his past. And one of these people was sitting in her undershirt and waiting for him to make a decision. Always so patient with him, always treating him with such respect.

“Alright, why not,” he conceded, feeling his shoulders relax a touch now that he knew that she was not expecting him to perform. “Seeing as a night of passion is off the table and there is plenty of time until sunrise, I might enjoy this- this getting to know each other better idea. Though you may want to put something on, the night is quite chilly.”

Unfortunately, Tav had little else to wear. Seeing as others were always a priority, she purchased very few things for herself. Astarion rolled his eyes as he saw her eyeing her armour with uncertainty.

“Here,” he pulled his shirt off and handed it to her. “Whilst I may be all but immune to the elements, it wouldn’t do for our leader to be bested by a common cold.”

She hesitated briefly before taking the shirt and slipping it on. It smelled like Astarion, bergamot, rosemary and something else. Something that she couldn’t quite put her finger on but didn’t want to ask.

They walked out of her tent and Astarion took a seat near the campfire.

“So how should we go about it, dearest?” he asked without looking in her direction, but rather focusing on trying to minimize the damage that she did to her clothes.

Honestly, had no one taught her to sew? This work was worse than anything done by the other spawn even in their early days!

“How about… a question for a question?” she suggested, taking a seat beside him.

“Is anything off limits? Are you truly prepared for everything that you might uncover?” he teased, squinting a little as he used the sharp, pointy edge of scissors to carefully unpick her terrible stitches. “Us big city folk come with our terrible, depraved secrets.”

Ah, a blush for his efforts. Familiar territory.

“I can’t say what is off limits,” Tav said, playing with the collar and the ruffles of his shirt with her long, nervous fingers. “How about you are allowed not to answer any one question of your choosing?”

“Seems reasonable,” he shrugged, finally getting the thread that she used to cooperate and pulling on it until the fabric was no longer bunched awkwardly.

“What is your favourite colour?”

How uninspired. Honestly, were they children?

“I assumed it was blue,” she went on. “Your underwear is blue. And you seem to favour the blue dye, when you have a choice.”

“Observant, are we?” he chuckled. “Just how long has it been since I’ve piqued your interest? And yes, this is not a rhetorical question. I do expect an answer.”

“I guess… When you opened the doors on the bugbear and the ogre.”

“Oh? How scandalous of you to find that appealing! Did that get you excited?” he elbowed her gently, finding to his surprise that he was rather enjoying the light tone of the conversation.

“No,” Tav laughed, “but it was the first time you smiled. A real, proper smile. That image stayed with me for a long time. And got me wondering… what is beneath the polished look and practiced mannerisms?”

If Astarion had actually fed on her and any blood coursing through him at this moment, he was quite sure that he would have blushed.

He cleared his throat, “I believe it’s your turn to ask.”

She nodded, but didn’t ask him anything immediately, content to simply watch him for a while. The work of his dexterous fingers was such a contrast to her clumsy, inexperienced movements. Tav knew that she was way out of her depth when it came to Astarion and didn’t think that she would be able to figure him out even if she tried. Which is why she looked for an excuse to talk to him without others being around, wanting to get to know him better. But every time she tried to have a genuine conversation with him in the past, his expression would shutter, and he would give her some tired, clearly practiced lines. And perhaps it was foolish of her, but Tav felt she wanted to get to know him. To really know him.

 “What makes you happy? And I mean apart from walking in on freaky sex.”

“Tsk, I was going to say just that, actually. Took the words right out of my mouth, you cheeky pup.”

In truth, he was not really sure how to answer that. Happiness has not been part of the equation for over two centuries. Survival and prevailing against all odds. That was all that he was concerned with.

“I’m not exactly sure,” he finally admitted with a frown. “Drinking your blood makes me feel… strong. Powerful. Free. I am not sure what it means  to be happy in your books, but I believe this is it for me.”

He took a furtive look at her from underneath his lashes and was taken aback a little by the genuine, warm expression on her face. By the gods! Who did that? Who actually went around looking at people like that? No one did, in his experience.

“I hope you find more things that make you happy,” Tav said earnestly, giving his shoulder a light squeeze.

“Well, the pleasure of your company definitely tops that list,” he cleared his throat and moved away a little, feeling uncomfortable at the warm feeling that bloomed in his chest. Whatever it was.

“Well, of course! But I mean inconsequential nothings. Something that will make you smile. Something that will make you look forward to tomorrow.”

“And what makes you happy, Tav, hm? Seeing as you are the expert on the matter?”

To his surprise, he actually found that he wanted to know the answer.

“Well, it’s nothing unusual. Seeing people I care about being happy. Being helpful. Seeing families reunited.”

“Tsk, you are no fun!”  Astarion clicked his tongue in annoyance. “And here I was, actually answering your questions properly and what do I get in return? A cookie-cutter hero ‘I live to serve’ answer. Give me a break,” he scoffed.

“You don’t believe that people can help others just because?” Tav tossed several sticks into the campfire, the flames rising to lick the dry wood hungrily.

“No,” he said firmly, with conviction. “Not in my experience.”

He took a deep breath that he did not need, more for effect than out of necessity. “People are cruel, vile and everything is done for gain and nothing else.”

“You don’t mean that,” Tav looked down at her knees, playing with the hem of his shirt.

“Oh, but I do. My sweet, sweet friend. Kindness gets people tortured. Kindness gets people killed. Kindness is the root of all trouble and you will be better off if you realise this sooner rather than later-” he stopped himself abruptly when he realised that he almost shouted that last part.

They fell silent, the crackling of the fire loud in the stillness.

“I’m sorry you feel this way,” she finally said.

“It is the truth.”

Astarion did not have to look at Tav to know that she disagreed. It didn’t matter. Their experiences were too different. They were too different. She probably was a nice girl from a small town in the middle of nowhere where neighbors were friends, and every day ended with a lovely sunset over the fields. At least that was what Astarion imagined when he thought about Tav’s home. He never actually bothered to ask. Come to think of it, none of them asked Tav about her past. Although they all seemed to be eager enough to have her help them on their personal quests, they actually knew very little about her.

“Goodness me, we seemed to have gotten carried away with that lively discussion,” he cleared his throat, realising that he was silent far too long. “Your shirt is almost fixed, so one last question.”

“Of course,” she stretched, fighting back a yawn.

“The scars on your side,” he noticed that Tav immediately moved to cover them up, pulling his shirt down with a jerk. “How did you get them?”

He had noticed them before, the night of the party. But he didn’t really care to ask then. Astarion out of all people knew that scars could tell quite a story. Cazador told him that his were a poem, but he was determined to find out exactly what it was that that bastard carved into his skin.

Astarion was a little taken aback when Tav’s demeanor changed, the expression turning bitter for the briefest moment before she caught herself. When she turned to look at him, her smile was as pleasant as any she would usually give him.

“Ah. I believe this is the question I will choose not to answer. At least not tonight. Thank you for my shirt and for talking to me. I enjoyed getting to know you a little better. Goodnight.”

“Sleep well, my dear,” he handed her the mended shirt, watching her walk away from the campfire without another word.

Well, perhaps there was more to their fearless leader after all. There was definitely a secret, something that she did not want to be uncovered just yet. And that piqued his interest. Perhaps a glass of wine or two would loosen her tongue next time they decided to meet for a chat.

Astarion scowled. Him finding talking to Tav pleasant and them bonding was not part of the plan. On the contrary, any sort of relationship was a hindrance.

The vampire rose soundlessly and looked into the woods. Perhaps a hunt to clear his head would do him good. If anything, it would take his mind off Tav. Because whatever was happening between them had to remain a transaction. And it would be prudent not to forget that even for a moment.

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[newblvotg]

[lov3-lik3-ghosts]

Hey I was wondering if you could write something about Jacob & Ricky (mphfpc characters) hanging out and also Jacob helping Ricky dye his hair green could it be romantic??

Stained Fingers

Pairing: Jacob Portman x Ricky Pickering.

Warnings: Not beta read. Awkwardness. Unestablished but budding relationship.

Summary: Ricky’s car breaks down on his way home. He takes solace in his (not) friends home, Jacob’s, while it storms, when he decides he wants to go through with dyeing his hair. (set before Abe’s death)

Format: Drabble.

Word count: 1.5k

A/n: Hello! Please note that I hadn’t heard of Ricky before this, as I’d only watched the movie, but had luckily bought book one a few months back! Everything I know about him comes from the first few chapters. I really hope I’ve managed to do your request and their character’s justice. I apologise for the long wait. Congratulations on being my first commission! Thank you so much, it means the world to me! ♡

Request Guidelines Masterlist

~ 𐀔 ~ 𐀔 ~ 𐀔 ~

Jacob usually had the time to plan before Ricky came over but this time, Ricky had arrived unannounced and drenched and shivering under the onslaught of pelting rain and rough winds. He had no coat to burrow into and no umbrella for cover, just the clothes on his back and the bag in his hands.

Jacob had ushered him in with shock, given him a towel to dry off with and the most oversized of his clothes to change into while he explained that hadn’t had anywhere else to turn. That his car had broken down a half hour away from his home and Jacob was the closest solace he could think of. That he hadn’t thought to stop in the rows of cafè’s or the half-deserted laundromats on his way. Jake’s heart warmed.

They’d huddled down in his room after that, where the thermostat was turned up and blankets piled atop his bed, and Jacob had forced a cup of coffee into Ricky’s hands to warm both his hands and his innards.

But Ricky and Jacob never had too much to say to the other and they’d been sitting in silence long enough for the mug to sit empty on the bedside table and for Ricky to stop tremmering. Usually, with the time to plan out something for them to do, the two of them would play whatever crappy video game they could find or Portman would tutor him in whatever he was struggling most with at the time but without it… Jacob doesn’t think they’ve ever just spent time together just to spend time together. Ever been around each other without it feeling almost like an obligation.

He couldn’t help but wonder if they were actually friends or just akin to close acquaintances. Maybe unplanned visits would further their friendship. He hoped it would.

Jake was never great at silence, and neither was Ricky it seemed, because they both opened their mouths and began to speak at the same time with a lingering awkwardness.

“Do you min-”

“Do you wan-”

They paused, looking at each other with sheepish eyes and tight-lipped smiles. Ricky waved a hand as if to say ‘you go ahead’ and Jacob shook his head and nodded at him to say what he wanted.

“I was just going to ask if you’d mind if I dyed my hair? I was going home to do it but, y’know, my car.” He cleared his throat.

“Oh- uh- no. No, go ahead,” He shook his head and gestured at the bag by the door. “Just try not to get it on anything, my mom’ll kill me.”

“‘Course.” Ricky stood from his nest of blankets and moved to the bag, taking a box of dye from inside it with a picture of a man with a head full of green hair holding up a murky bottle stained with the same shade. The box was caved in and damp from the storm outside, the rain having soaked through the fabric, Ricky sighed lowly through his teeth at the sight of it.

“You’re going green?” Jake asked, voice coated in judgemental surprise. He felt a rush of mourn at the thought of Ricky’s natural hair disappearing under a vibrant, unnatural shade.

“What, you don’t like it?” He raised a brow, looking over his shoulder.

“It’s not ba-” He stopped at Ricky’s knowing glance, relenting into telling the truth and forgoing social politeness. “It’s awful.” He frowned. “I like your hair now. It suits you, it’s yours. I don’t know why you’d choose green of all colours, but I guess if anyone would suit it, it would be you.”

“Thank you?” Ricky's face furrowed. “I just like the look of it. I can always change if it turns out shit.” Jacob hummed in response, watching as Ricky walked over to the mirror hung on his wall and began to mix the dye together.

The colour in the pot was shades darker than the man in the advertisement photo and looked more like something Jacob could get behind. He saw Ricky frown through the mirror, a downturn and pursue of his lips, before he looked up and caught eyes with Jake and smiled. His breath caught in his throat and he forced a smile back.

The first slather of dye painted the sides of his head where the hair was shorter and shallower and gave the effect that his hair was wet — which Jacob supposed it was, really. The colouring wasn’t instantaneous through the roots but the dye was green already and Jacob felt an almost physical sensation of grief at the first signs of his favourite head of hair changing.

The more Ricky applied the more he began to look as though he’d slicked it back with a thick discoloured gel but there was a large section on the back of his head that Ricky missed every time he tried to get it and Jacob felt an amusement bubble in his stomach and fester in his chest. He wasn’t sure if Ricky could tell at first, with not being able to the back of his head, but his jaw began to tick and his eyes began to narrow until eventually he reached his fingers around width and felt along the dry area with a huff.

“Need help?” He called.

Ricky sunk his teeth into his lower lip, looking away from his frustrated reflection and straight at him. His lips parted and he in-took a breath like he was going to say something before hesitating. “Please.” He swallowed and gave a curt nod.

Jake moved from his burrow of pillows and blankets, shivering at the loss of warmth, and walked the short distance to him while grinning. The pot of hair-dye was half empty and the closer he got the stronger the chemical scent stung his nose, he quite liked it. Ricky didn’t have an application brush, just the gloves on his hands that came with the dye and Jacob felt no point in having him remove them for his own hands when he would surely stain them through the process anyway.

The patch of unslathered hair was small and wouldn’t require too much of the paste so Jacob chose to just stick a couple fingers into the substance and apply it that way. Ricky made a noise of indignation, looking at Jacob incredulously. “That’ll dye your fingers green, you idiot.” He tsked.

Jacob shrugged. “So?”

“I thought you didn’t like the colour?” He reminded.

“It’s alright.” He said passively. It’s your colour now. “I was right, you pull it off.”

Ricky’s chest rose with a breath and stuttered in its fall. His eyes flashed with something that stirred Jacob’s stomach but it was gone as quick as it came, hidden underneath the closed offedness that he always masked under.

“Did you get all the other sections?” Jacob asked. Ricky nodded with the flesh of his cheek sucked between his molars. “Then you’re all done.”

Pickering turned to face him, looking down at him as he removed the clear gloves in a way that turned them inside out and shoved them into the empty box. The green was smeared along his hairline and travelled down his forehead and temples and the tops of his ears in a way that Jacob found endearing. Ricky’s larger hand rose encased the width of his wrist in a cradle and the other moved to trail along his palm and up his slender fingers in a soft caress. The movement followed the outline of dye splotched wetly against his skin, stroking there with tender affection. Jacob’s face reddened in a splatter warmth.

His eyes moved from their hands and connected with Ricky’s watching ones with a spark of passion. Ricky’s eyes flickered down to his lips and back up again and Jacob thought, hoped, that he would lean down and kiss him and then never stop kissing him ever again. But instead, he stepped back and dropped his grip from Jacob’s wrist with a thick swallow.

“Thank you.”

“No problem.” He breathed.

There was a moment of the same silence from before, the one where they didn’t know what to do with themselves and looked sheepish and out of place. Jacob shuffled on his feet, looking anywhere but at Ricky with vehemence. Ricky was the one to break the silence.

“Can I- uh- use the shower? To wash it out?” He cleared his throat.

Jacob’s gaze snapped to him. “Yes, there’s shampoo in there — it’s the green bottle. I just need to wash my hands first.”

He walked out to the bathroom, twisting the knob of the warm water on with a sqeach. The skin of his hands was rubbed red and smelt strongly of the vanilla hand soap he’d used by the time he’d done washing them — no matter how hard he’d scrubbed the tips of his fingers still stayed green. Ricky’s green. And Ricky had scoffed at him in a manner that sounded awfully like “I told you so” without the words when he walked in and saw.

Jacob didn’t mind. People would see Ricky’s hair and then they would see his fingers and they’d know — they’d know it was Ricky’s hair dye staining him and they’d assume, assume something more was going on between them and Jake quite liked that thought. The thought that he was stained by a piece of Ricky in a way that others could see and not just in a way that marred his soul.

~ 𐀔 ~ 𐀔 ~ 𐀔 ~

Reblogs and comments are extremely appreciated and encouraging!

[wenclairanthology]

Accidentally In Love (1502 words) by LouieTheMonarch Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Wednesday (TV 2022) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Wednesday Addams/Enid Sinclair, Wednesday Addams & Enid Sinclair Characters: Wednesday Addams, Enid Sinclair, Thing (Addams Family) Additional Tags: Autistic Wednesday Addams, Autistic Enid Sinclair, Enid Sinclair Has ADHD, Agender Wednesday Addams, Trans Enid Sinclair, First Kiss, Not Beta Read, Asexual Wednesday Addams Summary:

"Kissing is weird" Wednesday said quietly, head tilted to the side and eyes still closed, a light blush all over their cheeks.

 "Bad, good or neutral weird?" Enid asked breathlessly.

 "Absolutely revolting, kind of weird" the goth deadpanned in their usual way.

[claire321r]

What love is

The music of the movie we'd been watching began to crescendo as the lead man dashed through crowded streets with a look of panic on his face. He reached out and grabbed the wrist of the woman who'd been featured throughout before she could board a train with doors held open. Tears were streaming down his face and his mouth was moving, but the direction let the music take the lead.

Eventually the doors closed and the train departed with the two left standing on the platform, hitching back tears as they embraced. And I could also feel my eyes getting wetter as the scene played out.

---

"I just dont think it makes sense," Jessie complained as we made our way back into the afternoon sun. "There are other way's to get a hold of her. Why not just send her a text and tell her to wait instead of causing trouble for all those people. He wouldn't have to rush to beat the train then."

"I suppose..." I sipped the last bit of my cola before tossing it in a bin we were passing.

"And all those romance movies are full of clesheys too," she continued. "They just start bleeding together... I'll know I watched this one but I wouldn't be able to tell you who the characters were... I can barely remember even now, and we were just watching it ten minutes ago."

We hit an intersection and had to wait for the crosswalk.

"I dunno... Maybe it's just played up for dramatic effect but love can't make you that stuipd."

"Well... People in real life do some crazy things for what they think is love." We stepped off the curb as we were given the signal to cross and I continued. "Heck, my dad traveled halfway across the world to meet my mom. He left everything behind and came here with basically nothing."

"Sure, but that's not normal."

"I suppose, but is there even a 'normal' for love? Everyone experiences it differently..."

"Well then what's love to you, Ms. Love-expert?"

We walked in silence a bit while I thought about what Jessie had asked.

"Honestly... I'm not sure. I don't know if I've felt love yet so it's hard for me to know what it is."

"What do you think it is then?"

"Well probably a mixture of things. I've had crushes before, and the light feeling in my chest from those would probably be a part. Maybe having them come to mind randomly too, if they took up that much of my brain. If being with them made me happy, and I wanted them to be happy too..."

"Aren't you just describing a friend?"

"Woudn't you want the person you love to be your best friend?"

"... On the scale of friend to enemy, a friend would probably be best... Even though enemies-to-lovers is a pretty common trope for romances."

"But those are just stories," I pointed out. "I'd worry about real relationships built like that."

We passed through a set of turnstyles and made our way to a platform.

"I personally think that friends slowly growing to lovers is a much sweeter feeling. Starting off slow and building over the years. Sharing interests and experiences with each other." I continued as I noticed my train pulling into the station and could feel my face groing a little warmer. "Kind of like how we started, but going further..."

Jessie stood there just studying my face for a bit with her own cheeks a little flushed.

The chime to signal the train was about to leave sounded and I started towards it. "Sorry for saying something so weird. I'll see you later."

"Wait, Dawn!" Jessie called and grabbed my wrist. The doors of my train closed and it departed. I turned around to find that the redness in her face had spread. "You can't just go saying things like that and dashing off... Would you... want to hang out a little longer?"

I could feel a lightness in my chest growing as I offered my reply of "Sure!"

[mellybaggins]

Kvitravn

Laileth of Waterdeep Series

Baldur’s Writers III Prompt #1 Character A casts a spell that is meant to protect Character B but it backfires, badly. How is tending to them/their wounds handled? Are they angry or forgiving?

Laileth is injured pretty badly during a fight and after she heals Gale takes it upon himself to teach her how to protect herself with a spell. To mixed results.

This takes place early in their budding relationship, when they are still getting to know each other, but there's still definite attraction.

[cluelessatthispoint]

I’ve had this horrible idea floating in my brain for a month now. Medic x (GN) Reader. Basically, Medic discovers his wife cheated on him. His first instinct is to call the reader for comfort and to ask to stay with them while the divorce finalizes.

Medic soon realizes that he’s in love with the reader, and has been for a good while.

I’d like a oneshot. If you’re busy, I understand. I apologize for the inconvenience.

I'm so excited! Thanks for the request, I've been wanting to write something involving Medic for a while now.

:)

Warnings: mentions of a fight and cheating on one's spouse.

~~~~~~~~

It's been three days.

Three long, painful days.

The first day was when he discovered his wife's infidelity. That was when the insults began and the screaming matches started. On the second day, they began the talk of getting a divorce. Medic shut his eyes recalling the third day. He walked into the house that he shared with his wife to gather his belongings, claiming that he needed some space. And there in the doorway to his kitchen stood the bastard that stole his wife's love.

Everything from that moment till now passed like a blur. There was shouting, plates being broken and fists were thrown. The sting on his knuckles felt like nothing compared to the aching numbness that's been gnawing away at him. It was the first time in a very very long time that he felt like crying. It was almost as if he were crying for the first time in his life. His sobs reverberated around his small office. His hands felt far too rough against his sensitive eyes, prompting even more tears to fall.

His teammates knew something was off with him the moment he set foot back on the base. A jolt of embarrassment shot through him. His sobbing stifled.

'Did they know?'

'Oh Gott, do they know?'

More and more questions fluttered through his head. Each one, worse than the last. He was catastrophizing, he's seen it before. Many people go through divorces, but being a mercenaryon top of it? The thought of his teammates knowing this delicate part of his personal life was affecting him this way was akin to a fate worse than being tortured by the BLUs.

'What would Misha say?'

'Would my teammates ever look at me the same way again?'

'what would you say?'

For some strange reason, that thought didn't seem as bad as the others. The other thoughts about his team knowing about this situation filled him with dread. But you. The way that you cared about what everyone had to say, whether it was good or bad was astonishing.

You took people's perspectives and flipped them upside down, you knew what to say and how to say it. If there was a problem, you were one of the first people that his team would call. The way that you helped him in the past came to mind. How you would sit up with him in the darkness of the rec room and talk him through a situation. How you would get that look in your eyes when explaining a passion of yours, how your soft hardworking hand felt in his much larger one...it was breath-taking.

He needed to call you.

He needed to call you ASAP.

Eyeing the phone warily he dialed your number and waited. He didn't have to wait long. Soon the sound of your tired voice came through.

"Medic? You do know that it's 9pm, right?"

"Medic? is everything okay? did something happen?"

The way your voice sounded through the phone was so sweet. His hands felt sweaty against the phone handle. He couldn't bring himself to say anything.

"What's wrong Ludwig?"

And with that, the damn broke. He felt like an utter dummkopf. His chest heaved with despairing sobs..You both have known each other for years. And yet he never noticed how he felt around you. He never noticed how you looked at him with those twinkling eyes or how you always stayed behind to help him clean his lab and feed his birds.

"Ludwig, I'm here, just breathe. Breathe with me."

"Ludwig please."

As you inhaled he inhaled, as you exhaled he exhaled. This cycle continued for what felt like hours. He could feel his temples throbbing painfully. He felt a strange warmth fill up his chest, not the uncomfortable warmth of embarrassment. It was the feeling of that gentle warmth called admiration, perhaps...maybe even love? He smiled a little at that thought.

"Danke der Schatz"

"Medic? You know that I don't speak german right?"

Oh, that voice.. that lovely voice you had.. with no doubt an equally lovely voice box to match. He could tell from the tone of your voice that you your words with a light smile.

You both stayed on the line for quite a while. Not really talking, but listening to each other's breaths. Once in a while breaking the silence by just saying each other's names. Medic felt himself slowly relaxing into the wall behind him. The sound of your voice saying his name felt as if it were taking all of his stress away. You sounded so concerned, so confident. That if he were shot in the leg and you told him he could walk he would have walked with you to the ends of the earth.

With a sigh his strained voice thanked you and he hung up. His heart beat violently from within his ribcage. His tired voice echoed around his empty room. Wishing desperately that you were still on the phone.

"I think..."

"I think I love you."

[codsoup]

Double look at the husband 💕

[dancingqueen0019]

Saving Grace Ch. 11

Aaron Hotchner x Female Reader

Author's Note: Once more, enjoy! If you see an issue, please report it to me :) I tried going for what I thought a Domestic Hotch would be like, idk if it's any good or not.

Warnings: Domestic Hotch and slightly protective Hotch. Also, slight touching, but as always, if you think something needs to be added, please let me know! I'm learning more and more what could be considered a warning so please be patient with my learning, I mean no harm.

Everything felt different from before. 

Before the kisses, the touches, the words spoken in honey like tones. 

Before last night, I thought Aaron wanted to take things slow, almost snail-like slow. That out of fear of being discovered by my boss and his friends, and the fear of dating so soon after his wife would be holding him back. He did not do that last night at all. Our deep conversation opened something up within him. It got him over some sort of bump and from there on he just did what he wanted without reservation. 

I could have slept for ages longer, but I felt something gently tracing my arm. At first it caused me to stir, and the more I focused on the sensation, the more I realized how delicate and ticklish it was. I frowned slightly from being woken up and squirmed from the touch. The hum in my ear was in a very low timbre, thickened from the lack of speaking over several hours, and a kiss was placed just above my ear. 

“Let me sleep, please.” I begged after I peeled my eyes open and saw that the clock only read 6:30am. I only have a few days to sleep in on break and I want to use the remainder to sleep in. The hand tracing down my arm stopped and instead slipped under my shirt and rested on my bare stomach. 

“I just can’t help but enjoy how beautiful you are.” Aaron lulled out and a small smile pulled at the corners of my lips. “Besides,” he shifted himself closer to me, “all I want is to be as close to you as possible.” 

The hand on my stomach drifted lower until it started to graze the meeting point of my stomach to pubic mound. His fingers toyed with the mixture of red stretch marks and the curls of hair. The sensation made me feel all warm inside, knowing now how he prefers seeing and feeling hair rather than bare skin. His lips kept busy on the side of my head, creating a path of kisses from hair to the shell of my ear, and down to my neck. 

“It doesn’t take a profiler to figure out what you are after right now Aaron.” I mused out, determined to keep my eyes shut so I didn’t have to face the day. Aaron on the other hand, was determined to have me face the day already. 

Sighs left my lips when his fingers slipped down to my closed thighs and easily pushed his way through them to reach my core. Not entering, just grazing, teasing. My body flushed when I felt Aaron push his hips against me once more, but this time I felt just how awake Aaron was. 

“If you need me to stop, just say so” He whispered into my ear right before he started sucking on my earlobe. Desire to sleep and desire to continue this, fought with each other for a moment before I gave in. My head turned as far as it could and in return Aaron kissed my cheek, my eyes opened and were met with a smile. 

“There’s those beautiful eyes” 

His arms let go of my body as I rolled over to face him, hands landing on his stomach and chest. I let out a tired sigh, “Good morning” and another kiss was placed on my face. 

“How did you sleep?” He asked, keeping his lips against my forehead. Aaron rubbed my back with his large hands, but every so often a hand would dip lower to squeeze my ass. He was so gentle and domestic in the morning, much to my liking for sure. I could only hope that he would be like this all the time when he is over here. 

I arched my back to stretch some of the sleep out of my body before telling him how wonderful my sleep was until I was woken up too early. His chest vibrated with a soft chuckle before he promised that we could take a nap later today. 

We laid there for a bit longer, basking in the warmth of our bodies until we came up with a plan for the day. Since we were up early, we might as well get some work done. First, the gym, then coffee and breakfast out. Aaron said he needed to get some work done so I managed to convince him to bring his work here. That way we could stay together as we both got some much needed work done. He hesitated at first, citing that there were a lot of confidential documents involved and that he also didn’t want me to be around such dark work. 

Assuring him that I wouldn’t pay any attention to what he was doing, he gave in. So, we quickly got up and I changed into black high waisted biker shorts, a black sports bra, and I added a light jacket with it to keep myself a little bit warmer. Aaron was waiting downstairs for me and thankfully he took Murphy out for me and fed him as well. We decided to take his car so that we could stop by his apartment on the way to breakfast. On the ride to the gym, Aaron looked a bit tensed up but I chalked it up to it being early in the morning. 

Aaron went straight to the treadmills while I started stretching out my body to prepare for a leg day workout. The gym wasn’t too full yet, but as I finished my warmup and headed to the racks to do my series of weighted squats, there were plenty of people in there. I took the last open set of racks between two different groups of guys. I’ve been coming to the gym regularly since college and ever since I moved in with Lucas I had been coming with him and his buddies. That being said, I’m not too phased anymore with being nervous around strange men when working out, I just have to trust that they are here to do their thing so that I can do mine. 

Now I was doing just fine, already halfway through my set when I felt eyes on me. I racked back up and added my last set of weights on to, hopefully make me max out, when I snuck a quick look around. There was a creep kind of just watching me, but I didn’t want to make it obvious that I caught him looking at me. A while ago I discarded my jacket so I was just left in my shorts and sports bra. Ignoring the sudden urge to cover myself back up, I felt myself stand a bit straighter as I scanned around the gym for Aaron. I couldn’t see him and I felt myself panic a bit. Trying hard to push the feeling of watchful eyes away, I prepared to go forward with my last set. One of the guys to my left saw how much weight I had on the bar and he kindly offered to spot me so I took his offer up. He stood off to the side a bit the first couple of squats but quickly became distracted by his friends. By the time I went to stand from my 5th squat, my legs had started shaking and I could feel my face start to flush. I knew I only had a couple more good squats left in me before I needed to call it quits. 

Usually I try to keep eye contact with myself in the mirror so I can focus better on my breathing, but some movement behind me caught my eye. That creep from earlier got up from his machine and started making his way to the front, near me. Maybe he’s just taking the long way to the front doors I said to myself to ease my nerves. 

I was wrong.

Panic replaced the nerves as he very obviously made his way to me. His eyes were dark and hungry looking in a vile way, and his shirt was drenched in sweat. Unlike Aaron’s well kept hair, this man had a very ragged look about him. Automatically I went down into my last squat, despite my legs feeling like they were on fire. My muscles ache and my eyes shifted in the mirror to try to locate Aaron. 

Like a knight in shining armor, more like navy running shorts and a gray shirt, he was making his way back to me. He proved his skill as a profiler and saw that not only was my body in obvious discomfort from my workout, but my face read that I was panicking. He made a beeline to me and swooped in at the last second to wrap his arms around my middle. Dipping down to squat with me and holding me close, he helped me through it. Once I was stable on my feet he went to ask if I was okay, but stopped himself when he saw that I was staring intensely at the now frazzled man not even three feet from us. 

“Go rack up honey.” Was all he said before turning back around to face the man. 

“Anything you need?” He asked the man in a nonchalant tone. The man’s jaw tensed up and shifted around as he ground his teeth together. He shook his head curtly and stared at Aaron for a moment more before walking away, bumping into Aaron’s shoulder for good measure. I stood there meekly between the bars of the weight rack, waiting for him to say something. 

He simply turned back to me and asked if my workout was okay and if I was ready to go. I swiftly picked up my jacket and slid it onto my arms as I answered him and grabbed my water bottle. Aaron kept his arm around my side and led us out of the gym, eyes constantly scanning the area and the moment the front doors opened his hand pulled me closer to him and I winced. 

“Sorry, my bruises are really sore today.” I stated, even though he still kept his hand where it was, not releasing any pressure. 

“I’ll turn the seat warmer on for your seat, that should help a little bit for the ride home until I can get a heating pad for you.” He replied, still scanning the parking lot as we got near his SUV. Aaron opened my car door for me and made sure I was buckled in, despite my protests, and quickly walked around the car to get into his side. The moment the car was on he turned my warmer on and locked the doors. No words were said as he backed out of the parking lot and pulled onto the main road. No words were said as we checked his mirrors every 10 seconds, as if he expected someone to be following us. And there were definitely no words said as he made his way downtown to his apartment building. 

I wanted to thank him for coming to my rescue back in the gym, but I also wanted to ask him why he acted like I was someone needing a bodyguard. I glanced over to his hands gripping the steering wheel with tensity radiating off of his arms and chest. Electing not to say anything until we arrived at his apartment, I gently twisted myself in my seat to a more comfortable position with my legs stretched out in front of me. 

Aaron pulled into a parking garage under the apartment complex and let out a small breath, almost could have been mistaken for a sigh. “I’ll be just a couple minutes. Would you like to wait here in the car?” He asked, sending me a blank look. The heck is his problem? 

“Uh, yeah, that’s fine with me. You go on ahead.” 

Aaron left the keys with me and I locked it once he closed his door, per his order. The moment the elevator door closed to what I would assume would be the lobby I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. 

“Something crawled up his butt” I said out loud to myself before grabbing my phone to check any missed messages. There was one from Mac, asking if I would be able to talk today about his student Tristin. I shot back that I wouldn’t be home for a little bit longer, but would call as soon as I could. Mindlessly scrolling through my phone, waiting for Aaron to get back I felt my stomach starting to grumble from lack of food. 

It was nearing ten minutes of waiting for him when the elevator doors finally opened back up, holding Aaron inside. My eyes tracked his face and body as he walked back to the SUV and I deduced that while he looked less tense, he was still on edge. He looked like he was working hard to mask  whatever thoughts were plaguing his mind. 

I unlocked the doors as he approached and he gently placed an expensive looking set of leather bags on the back seat. One looked to be an office bag and the other was more of a carry on style. While he was inside I changed how I was sitting to be more comfortable, so now I was sitting with my left leg under my right leg. In a half criss-cross sitting position. Aaron slid into the driver’s seat, and immediately put his seatbelt on. 

Before he turned the car on he looked over to me, studying me for a moment, “You okay?” He asked carefully. His hand moved slowly to turn the car on. 

“I’m totally fine, I was going to ask you the same thing though. You look like you are going to punch someone.” I replied in a cautious way. Aaron froze for a moment but then slid his right hand over the center console and onto my left thigh. The warmth of his touch made my thighs burn in addition to the soreness from my workout. 

His thumb rubbed up and down over the dark polyester material. “I-I um, didn’t like how that man was looking at you. Maybe you didn’t notice him, but I was watching him for a while while he watched you. Did you really not notice him for that long?” His tone shifted into an almost accusing voice. 

“Honestly I didn’t notice him at first. Only when I went to the rack to do my squats. How long did you notice him?” 

“For much longer than that.” He replied

“And you didn’t cut in before that?” I shot back. 

Silence. 

His hand moved away from my thigh and back onto his lap like he was wounded. 

“You’re right, I didn’t cut in and I should have. To be honest I was hoping that it was my mind just making me paranoid that someone was looking at you, but I hated that it was right.” He spoke with his eyes downcast, looking like a child prepared to be scolded. 

I’m frustrated that he didn’t come to me sooner, frustrated that he probably now thinks I can’t even go to the gym without putting myself in some sort of harm's way. My mind drifted back to my apartment when he had to search the whole place after the loud bang outside. That impulse of needing to make sure everything is safe probably weighed heavy on him. How draining that must be.

Twisting my body to face him, I reached my right hand across and turned his face so he was looking at me. “I was safe, and I’m okay. I’m sorry that this paranoia has been getting to you lately and if there’s something I can do or say, please tell me or teach me. Normally I’m at that specific gym with my brother or with one of his buddies, so I always have someone either right there with me or within eyesight. Maybe I just took that for granted a bit, but something that you need to trust is that I know how to take care of myself. Do you really think my brother would leave me here all by myself without teaching me how to disable a man?” I joked with a light smile on my face. 

He responded with a half-smile, “Can only imagine how tough you are.” 

“You’ve got no idea, big boy. Now, I am starving, and you don’t want to see me get hangry.” I retorted with a gentle pat on his cheek. His head shifted in my palm to kiss it. 

With our bellies full of too much food, we pulled in my apartment driveway with little motivation to actually do work. Sitting there in silence a big blow of air pushed its way past my lips, “We have work we have to do.” I said in a matter-of-fact tone. 

“Unfortunately that’s true.” Replied Aaron, just staring at the front door. 

“Shower first?” I turned to him in hopes of procrastinating all the emails and grades I needed to put in. HIs lips lifted in a small smile, “Shower first.” 

It was as if we were teenagers in the following moments. In one swift moment we both looked at each other with a newfound playful glint, then practically jumped out of the car. I had a time advantage because I had to only open the door while Aaron had to grab his two bags. The rush of excitement flowed through my fingers as I fumbled with the key, but hearing the second car door slam shut pushed me to unlock the door. 

Once inside the door I spun around to see Aaron maybe 20 feet from me. A quick thought flashed through my head and a mischievous grin spread across my face, something Aaron picked up quickly with a cocked eyebrow. Grasping the front door in my hands I laughed loudly as I went to shut it in his face as he bounded his way to me. 

I took a few steps back to kick my shoes off and shrieked when the door went flying open and two strong arms wrapped around my waist. Soon I was airborne and spinning in circles, the air was filled with Aaron’s laughter and my failing attempts of telling him to put me down.

“Sweet girl, do you really think a closed door is going to stop me? I’ve had my fair share of kicking them in at work.” He said with his mouth close to my ear. 

Aaron’s arms were wrapped around my waist and I laid mine on top of his. My head twisted to the side to look at him, but at this angle my eyes were staring directly at his lips. His breath fanned over me and it smelled of dark coffee, and for some reason it was so comforting. 

My tongue slipped out and swiped over my lower lip, “Can’t deny that the thought of you breaking a door down is incredibly hot.” Aaron let out a huff and pulled back slightly to get a better look at me. 

“Really?” He asked and I nodded my head to confirm, “Hmm, I’ll keep that in mind. Now, about that shower…” His lips trailed down the side of my neck until he reached my exposed shoulder. A giggle left my lips as I squirmed out of his embrace. I stood a few feet away from him with my hand outstretched to him. “Come on big boy” I said with a wink.  When I turned around to climb up the stairs, Aaron’s hand made swift contact with my bottom and a sharp yelp left my lips. I threw him a look over my shoulder that playfully said Excuse me? Aaron cocked a smile and chased me up the stairs and into my bedroom.

[creepypasta-meh-dudes]

short story: I'm sorry....Old friend...

On top of a hill in some oddly clear and sunny part of the Slender woods, a tall, pale, slender, but...not quite faceless man with long black hair sits in front of two small grave stones, A name on each "Evelyn" and "Sarah".

"I'm sorry....I'm so so sorry......." The man whispers to the graves, his deep blue eyes shedding somehow black but clear tears.

"No," A deep, gravelly, and almost distorted and demonic voice comes from behind.

The tall man raises his head, "Zalgo?"

"I'm sorry, old friend...I'm sorry, I wasn't there,"

(My description of Slenderman gives him blue eyes and long black hair, it's basically PuFu's version of human slenderman, and I honestly fell absolutely in love with the design. Please go check her out on YouTube, and if you want to see the design, you can just search up "Slenderman human form Pufu" and you'll find him)

((Link to video of human slendy by Pufu https://youtu.be/B4yANEcOMSg?si=oi7_mQU-wh9j-WfO))

[cilil]

❀ 𝕋𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕚𝕥 𝕤𝕝𝕠𝕨

Prompt(s): Demiromantic rep + coming out + I guess they're also gay like almost every fic on my blog Characters: Lúilírë/Airilin Synopsis: Two Maiar, a budding romance and a confession. Warnings: /

Author's Note: So yeah, I know I'm late, but I keep my promises. Here's some LuiLin! Also small disclaimer before we begin: I'm doing my best to portray these prompts accurately and provide some decent rep, also drawing from my own personal experience at times. Feel free to reach out if there's something you think I got wrong, but also keep in mind that experiences differ and are still equally as valid. Thank you♡

"F-for me?" Despite his best efforts, Lúilírë stutters slightly when a gorgeous bouquet of water lilies is presented to him. 

"No, I just spend my days swimming around in lakes to pick flowers for fun and then show them to others so they can appreciate me," Airilin says in a light, playful tone. The mischievous twinkle in his violet eyes and the jolly swishing of his tail betray his amusement. 

Is he just messing with me or is he... Lúilírë wonders – and not for the first time – but after a moment of hesitation, he accepts the gift with a small smile. 

The bouquet is so big that he needs both hands to hold it. Every single flower is as flawless as it could be, carefully selected and handpicked, and a thin sheen of glitter covers their petals, something he has learned to identify as Airilin's signature. Lúilírë can tell that his... acquaintance? friend? fellow Ainu he's found himself thinking about in strange and exciting ways sometimes? put a lot of effort into this gift, and he wants to tell him how much he appreciates it, yet – 

When he looks up and meets those wonderful, alluring eyes, his normally quick and sharp mind fails him. Airilin looks at him expectantly, waiting for him to say something, and it seems to Lúilírë as if he can see the flow of his emotions in his gaze, like waves crashing on a beach. There's joy, excitement and something resembling hope, there's nervousness, worry and something akin to hurt. 

Lúilírë has long since decided that he likes Airilin. Despite his moodiness and habits of messing with those around him, he finds himself drawn to the beautiful water spirit, admiring him, laughing with him, allowing him to drag him away from his work every once in a while. He has happily entertained the occasional physical advances as well, chalking it up to Airilin's playfulness for the most part, but allowing himself to dream of more in the privacy of his chambers in Ilmarin. Yet in moments like this, Lúilírë wonders if, under the pretence of games and casual flirting, there's something else the other Maia wants – and if it is something he can and wants to give, if he's ready for whatever has remained unspoken between them thus far.

"These flowers are very lovely," Lúilírë says, trying to keep his expression even so it doesn't reflect the same nervousness he detects within the other Maia. 

"To be honest, I-I don't know what to say... y-you really didn't have to..." 

He trails off as words fail him once again. Airilin raises himself from the pool he has appeared from, balancing on his tail to be on eye level with the strategist, and reaches out to brush his hand against his cheek. Lúilírë remains completely still, allowing himself to enjoy the calming feeling of his companion's cool, slightly wet touch. A few glittering ice crystals form on his cheek, much to the water spirit's delight. 

"I like you a lot if you haven't noticed," Airilin says, his melodious voice unusually soft. 

"L-like as in...?"  

"Yes. As in liking you very much and more than a friend. And..." 

A moment of silence ensues, interrupted only by light splashing noises as Airilin's tail twitches nervously. 

"I... haven't really felt like this in a while. Or at all; I'm not quite sure. All I know is that I like you and I want you. But... if you don't want something like that... we can also just... you know, have fun. Or do nothing at all. I don't mind."

He looks down at the bouquet in Lúilírë's hands in an attempt to hide his blush. 

"Just... tell me if you want this too. I don't want to feel like a fool for liking someone again."

Again? Did he have other lovers in the past?

Lúilírë hesitates before responding. Part of him wants to ask about it, yet he feels like this isn't the time to pry. It's not like Airilin to be so open and direct, making him wonder whether those strange feelings between them have been on his mind for a while now as well. 

He lifts his hand to catch the other Maia's just as he's about to withdraw and instinctively interlaces their fingers. Never before has he initiated such a gesture, Lúilírë realises only after he already feels Airilin reciprocating, his claws gently scraping over the back of his hand; but it feels good. 

"I have never... done anything like this before," he admits. Being honest is the least he can do, he tells himself. "And I like you a lot as well, I simply haven't... figured out where I want to go from here. Would you mind... taking it slow?"

Lúilírë expects to see disappointment, yet to his surprise Airilin brightens up and nods eagerly. 

"You know what, little pearl? That's even better. I'm going to need some time as well."

His usual grin returns and he starts gently tugging on the other Maia's hand. Lúilírë feels like a weight has been lifted from his heart and smiles back; it's strangely relieving to finally admit what has been on his mind and to be assured that Airilin wasn't upset with him. 

Little pearl...

"So, um... what should we do now-?" he asks, only to be pulled into the pool and find a pair of strong arms and a tail wrapping around him. 

Airilin laughs. "Now I take you for a swim while you hold onto those flowers." 

If you enjoyed, please consider liking and reblogging!♡

taglist: @bluezenzennie @edensrose @i-did-not-mean-to @wandererindreams

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[pinkpintolesbean]

Chapters: 1/6 Fandom: The Locked Tomb Series | Gideon the Ninth Series - Tamsyn Muir Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Gideon Nav/Harrowhark Nonagesimus, The Body | Alecto | The Girl in the Tomb/Harrowhark Nonagesimus Characters: Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Gideon Nav, Palamedes Sextus, Camilla Hect, Ianthe Tridentarius, The Body | Alecto | The Girl in the Tomb Additional Tags: Breakup, beginning relationship, Griddlehark, Care Package, Friendship, Friends to Lovers, toxic ex, tw for weight loss, TW for past abuse, Consent, Colors, the world's longest sex scene, Patient Sex, Sexual Harassment in the Workplace, tw for ianthe, Office Romance, tw for past dubious consent, nona-less alecto, the bite at the end of nona though, a bumpy ride, buckle in because alecto is not a nice person in this fic, TW FOR PAST CHILD ABUSE, tw for past name-calling and slut-shaming, tw for sexual harassment, Depression, Anxiety, Paranoia, Trauma, Crying, Loneliness, tw for mild self-harm, tw for self-neglect, harrow-typical hallucinations, gideon dispenses hard-won relationship advice, there's a lot of projection in this chili's tonight, just processing our own trauma using the funny little guys from the books, Grade-A premium grassfed Gideon Nav word vomit, Like I’m talking top-shelf word vomit, Unrequited love (kinda), self-deprecation, Happy Ending, hope you brought totopos because this shit is cheesy, I am so sorry, alecto but her name is never specified, Mentions of Past Dubious Consent, Alecto without Nona, it's rough and i'm so sorry, Harrow "I knew I should have asked for GI Jane for xmas, Instead of Hollywood Hair Barbie" Nonagesimus, Modern office AU Summary:

Harrow's just been through the roughest breakup of her life, and moving on is proving just as agonizing as leaving. She's prepared to suffer, as she always has, but one particularly obnoxious colleague seems dead-set on getting her back on her feet—and showing her how love is truly meant to feel.

Note: Archive warnings didn't seem to apply, but this fic does feature some very toxic past relationships and current sexual harassment. Check the tags for more details, and feel free to skip this fic if it's not for you. Your mental health is far more important. <3

[otto-sea-main]

Yoooo, just found out my fanfic put Sneaky Sasquatch in the video game category instead of miscellaneous! Check it out maybe?

It’s actually kind of badly written.

[superheroandco]

TEEN METAHUMANS

Chapter 4 (CONT'D)

Amaya and her mother watched as Midnight Hour played their opening song. Roxie, the lead singer, blasted out at the mic 🎤while Hector and the lead guitarist Mitch began rocking out. There was also a drummer and someone to adjust frequencies. This band brought down the house in no time, and were rewarded by a round of applause by the end of their performance.

Amaya hurried over to Hector as he got off the stage. "You were amazing up there!" she praised him.

Just then someone else appeared behind her: Malcolm, one of Hector's closest friends since childhood. "Hey there Hector! And Mitch!" He greeted them with a broad smile and a high five from the latter and a somewhat awkward wave from Hector, who could only let out a "H-H-Hi!" with suddenly dilated eyes. "You guys were impressive!" "Thanks guys!" said Hector, then introduced Malcolm to Amaya. "She's a friend I'm just getting to know."

Malcolm's girlfriend Hilda appeared at that moment. "So you're Hector?" she smiled at the rather unusually flustered goth. "Malcolm talks a lot about you. He says you were his best friend since grade school. You 2 must be very close." "Y-Yeah, we are," Hector managed to stammer out.

If only speaking to his friend's date wasn't so hard. Hector could only try to hide his inner turmoil as much as possible, and hope nobody noticed it, especially Malcolm.