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moonyslove78 · 11 months ago

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KATIE!! OMG!!

I can hardly contain myself!! When you mentioned that you had wrote 5 pages in Google Docs and you had a good start on this chapter, I didn't know how to react! My favs were back in action!

And I know I've been telling you already how damn much I loved this but it's never official for me until I ramble on and on to Tumblr about it! So here's where that comes in. Also, I'm sorry for my child's need for the laptop every single time I had the chance to type this up, so am I doing this review now instead of doing my dishes, like I should be? Yes. Do I have any regrets? ZERO! So HOOOOWWWWLS it goesssss...

(Sorry, that was super corny... 😂👀)

🐺🏹SPOILERS FOR CLM - CH5 PT1 UNDER THE CUT🏹🐺

First off, I'm going to sound like a broken record here, but idc... the amount of pride you should have in your ability to scene build is outrageous. You have literally, in the brief first 2-3 paragraphs, have transported me from my living room to the cozy brown cabin in the middle of the woods. I could fucking smell the pine, Katie! Not many I know can do this... but you do it with ease and perfection. And because of that, I could easily get sucked into anything you write... Peter Parker related, or not. 👏🏽❤️

To explain just how thankful I am that you're back and writing again, I'm gonna quote the great @liz-allyn's reblog... because I couldn't have said it any better than this. Cause it really is such a gift to have the privilege to read your work.

Aylin's little conversation where she was trying to justify her NOT being in a discriminatory cult, only to realize by her own words that that may just be what she is involved in, was such a perfect set up for the rest of this chapter. The moment she started thinking just like they'd want her to (EG: "He's a stupid, low life, disgusting werewolf." -- "Who's been nothing but kind and graceful despite her attitude towards him.")

It sets the tone for how things are going to look from here on out and how things are going to unfold.

You already got my live reaction to meeting Kedi, to which I would've never known what the name meant had you not mentioned it! And to me it makes Aylin seem even more creative than I'd originally thought!

But this part had me cracking up because it's so relatable! Star was literally doing zoomies while I was trying to fold clothes earlier and when I went to hang dry a few shirts, she decided that was the best time to climb under the upside-down laundry basket (somehow? I still say she's magic✨). And the look on her face when I removed said laundry basket so I could continue to use it was as if she was saying 'how dare you!' So needless to say, they will put themselves in the strangest of places just for the attention it gets. 🥰😂

First, I love how Aylin's got this chaotic plan of hers and is packing for a weekend stay with Peter... It's like the polar opposite of what we would've expected from her at the beginning of this story.

And second, I can't say I didn't find some irony in the werewolf's company being of the feline species 😂 But also, aweeee!!! Because how freaking adorable would it be to see Peter cuddling Kedi on the hammock while they napped together?!?!?! 🥺

I died at this little scene depiction! 😂😂 I could just see this black kitty cat running out from under a patio chair to swipe a paw at this big ass black bear who's trying to enjoy his lunch... and Kedi just glaring at him for trying to steal his food. Then the tone got super tense when I realized this wasn't that kinda scene when Kedi stayed hidden. That could only mean one of three things.

YUP! I just got nauseous myself! 🤢 This man is something else entirely when it comes to creep factor. And add in an extra side of intimidation. He thrives on it, gets off on it, he wants to make sure anyone and everyone is fearful of him and whatever his next move is. That's a cult leader, if I've ever heard of one. He may put some of the others to shame.

(side note: I mean that in no disrespect to victims of those cult leaders, I'm just saying... Katie's ability to build a character as sinister as Sergei is absolutely mind blowing. His canon character is already menacing in his own right, but this version brings a whole new meaning of the word -devious-)

I'll give Aylin mad props here for choosing the 'I got sick from undercooked meat.' excuse here. I'd have probably froze up in this instance and not known what to say or do to talk my way out of it.

But it goes to show how disgustingly manipulative Sergei really is. Feigning his 'concern' for her well-being, while at the same time using the guilt of the worry, she'd put her mom through, by not returning home like she'd should have. (by his standards of the rules) Only to try and use his intimidation factor to his advantage, to try to get her to confess her way into something. This is also where I started noticing a fairly uncomfortable, but none too surprising, pattern with him when it comes to Aylin... and it makes want to skin something off him... and it's not gonna be a werewolf pelt, that's for sure... 😠

EWW! The 'safety baiting' and essential gas lighting! 😒 He makes me wanna reach through the screen and strangle him. But I'm glad Aylin is seeing the truth behind his lies. It's disturbing the amount of extremely intentional grooming he's doing when it involves Aylin. And I cannot wait till Peter gets a load of how Sergei is with her... I feel protective werewolf vibes? 👀🙏🏼

Again with the descriptions! I'm just fucking blown away by your ability to set the tone and atmosphere of a scene so clearly. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

And ugh... it's her... 😒 If there's another person I hate as much as I do her significant other, it's Cal. (And Kateri, but that's a rant for another time) I can't seem to figure out who is worse when it comes to the Kravinoff's. So I will choose to hate them both just as much. Equality.

They really are the perfect couple. Both equally as atrocious as the other. I definitely sense some sort of jealousy stemming from Kraven's unwanted attention towards Aylin emanating from Calypso. You can absolutely guess that this is probably a topic brought up behind closed doors (not that anyone necessarily WANTS to know what's going on behind their closed doors). And he's totally giving Fatal Possession vibes here with his 'important guests tea'. 👀😣

When I say, I gasped! 😱😨

I was literally like "oh fuck no! no! nonononono!!"

I really thought for sure he'd found out something MORE about Peter. Not that this wasn't bad enough... but I was ready to hear him say he had him chained up somewhere in some dungeon torturing him or something! 😩

But much to my surprise, it was because of something a little more relatable... and something I probably should think about before doing so too, before I tell my cat about my incessant obsession with a certain web shooting super hero and someone hears me that shouldn't. 👀😂

I really wanted to punch him in the face at this point... 😡 First of all the 'boyfriend' part should be none of his business, especially if he's looking at it in the way he's making it seem. Ugh! God he gives me the creeps... And I know that I haven't even scratched the surface on how badly I'll hate him by the end of this. But like, that's your dead best friend's daughter. You watched her grow up practically. If anything, he should be looking at her as a daughter of his own. Not like he's some star crossed jealous lover who isn't getting his way, so he's gotta make a scene about it! 😒 And then he has the nerve to bring up the Leah situation... when he obviously knows he's touching on a sore spot by bringing her up. Mainly because he knows HE was the reason it was a sore spot to begin with.

And with the fact that he mentions Calypso is bi just makes the 'grooming' vibes even more prominent. It's almost as if he's giving her this info in hopes (for lack of a better term, considering I don't think this monster has hoped for anything in his entire life, he probably just takes whatever he wants, damned the consequences or effects it has on others... 👀😩) that Aylin will somehow fall into his trap and he can have the both of them at the same time.

👀🥰 I think this just makes it even more obvious that Aylin is slowly (but surely) developing feelings for our beloved werewolf. Whether she realizes it now or not, these aren't just friendly feelings... And I am totally enjoying the fact that she's being protective over him, even if she thinks it's just in a friendly manner. 😍

YES!👏🏽🙌🏽 Hallelujah! She's finally seeing the truth for herself! I was hoping it wouldn't take much longer before she realized that this was not normal by a long shot. Even for a group that hunts Lycans... This was sick and twisted. This was unhealthy for everyone involved. If the suspicious behavior towards her alone on Kraven and Calypso's parts weren't enough to show it, at least the fact that they'd shown the other signs of it being 'cult like' (aka A CULT!!) made her realize that Peter was for sure on to something. I know it usually takes an outsider's prospective to make the victim's see those unhealthy patterns, so thankfully Peter hadn't held his tongue about the vibes he was getting from them, because who knows how long Aylin would've dealt with these conditions before it actually started to hit her. Or would it have hit her ever? And if it did, would it have been too late by that time? Luckily, we don't have to wonder about that because Peter planted that seed in her brain, it just needed a little rain water and some sunlight to sprout into a full on realization.

Nope! NOPE NOPE NOPE!!! RUN AYLIN! GTFO AND RUN! NOW!! 😩😣

Now see, Aylin, here's what were not gonna do... We're not gonna blame yourself, the victim, here! We're just gonna be strong and figure out a way out of here and back to Peter... he can help you... the two of you can help each other... we're also NOT going to DRINK THAT FUCKING TEA!!!! 😱😨 Also, 😭🥺 'Lycans' and not 'Werewolves' made me super duper smiley for some reason. Like she was finally accepting that they weren't always the bad guys in this case.

I could quite literally feel Aylin's skin crawling during this whole display. It's definitely been obvious how overly public these two are when it comes to 'affection' or just outright sexual acts. But I feel like it's probably a tad bit different for Aylin when those previous times have been in the company of others in the community. But this is more of a personal type of setting. Where it's literally just the three of them there and she really has no choice in the matter but to be forced to watch Sergei fondle Cal.

It also goes to show that a person's character definitely effects how others view their attractiveness. Because, and I could be completely wrong here, I feel like this Kraven kinda would have that rugged hard ass hotness about him. But his personality makes him disgusting to even think about and the same goes for Calypso. Badass bitch, who's strong and probably built very well. But her completely hideous personality makes her just as disgusting, in my eyes, as Kraven. So I feel like this scene, if involving 2 different of people, would've had a much different reaction from the audience. These two just make it unappealing. 😩 But also, I'm totally here for the sick and twisted...soo bring it on! 👀😂

Exactly!! They're so twisted and devious! And I absolutely love to hate them for it! For these reasons in particular, as well as many MANY others!

I wanted to grab the damn cup from her the moment Calypso sat it down! It's always the most delicious smelling drinks that are the most lethal it seems! 😣 So the entire time she kept nervously drinking, I was yelling "STOP IT, DAMN IT! DON'T DRINK ANYMORE!!" And now she finally notices that she's the only one touching the stuff... 😩🤦🏼‍♀️ Oh Aylin...

😩😩😩

Noooooo! I do not think you'll be fine, Aylin... Well, hopefully you will be eventually... but right now, it's not looking too promising.

Ummmm... no... nothing ever good comes from something you've gotta hide behind a bookcase! ...Unless it's a sex dungeon, and even then, in this case that'd be a hard pass for me. 😣😨

Ughhhh!!! Not the copper smell! 😭😱 This is definitely not gonna be 'fine'! I just really hope and pray that they didn't drug her to the point that they have her giving up Peter's whereabouts! 😨 He's already been through enough with Kateri... lord knows what would happen if Kraven or Calypso were to get ahold of him... 😣 And then he'd think that Aylin gave him up willingly! Nooo... my heart can't handle it!

Katie! Omg... I'm, once again, entranced and sooooo ready for part 2!

I'm most definitely scared shitless, but I also need it in the worst possible way! 😩👀 The possibilities are practically endless as to what these two twats have planned, and I am also thinking of all the possibilities that could happen as a direct consequence to that plan! So like, I just need to know!

But I will be very patient and wait for the quality that you manage every single time. Just don't be surprised if I'm messaging you everyday, 30 times a day, ranting about how much I love you and your amazing brain! Cause its literally untouchable!

I can always count on you to write anything that just blows me away and transports me to a place I didn't even know I wanted to be! 👏🏽🙌🏽

But that's probably enough of my rambling to last you a couple years 😂 I just can't help it! So, I'll just end it with telling you how much I adore you and that I'll be patiently waiting for the next update! 💖💓

(I know this random Peter gif is probably not a great 'sign off' type of GIF 😂 but he's so fucking hot and I wanted to watch him breathing heavily for a few moments... 😳😳)

CREATURE LIKE ME || CHAPTER FIVE (part one): YOU'RE IN A CULT

[TASM Peter Parker!Werewolf AU]

Story Summary: Kraven and his guild of hunters have been tracking and quelling the werewolf population for centuries. The time has come for Aylin to complete her first solo hunt to prove herself to the guild. It was supposed to be simple. One wolf, one death, one victory. She never expected to end up with a secret hostage on her hands.

Chapter Five Warnings (spoilers): mild sexual exhibitionism (fondling an exposed breast) in front of an unwilling person, being unknowingly drugged

[link to chapter index]

The familiar scent of pine soothed her worried soul as she stepped through the threshold of her home.

Their little, brown cabin, with its sturdy fireplace of stacked, gray stones, and pine needle covered roof gave off the illusion of a safe haven. She might be back in her guild’s territory but this was her house. Her home. Here, she could find respite.

It was quiet as she stood in her cozy living room. Everything was still. By mid day, her mother would have been in the communal kitchen preparing meals for anyone who might want to stop by for a free lunch. Their guild supported their members and made sure no one would ever go hungry. They functioned as a bunch of tiny parts all moving in unison to form a single, powerful behemoth. They worked on the bartering system and the good will of their neighbors. If something was taken, something else would always need to be given.

Mrs. Harkner, down the road, gave her time to teach the children academics, in return, the children would pick the crops from her garden so her focus could be spent on lesson planning. Mr. Jacobson, at the other end of town, couldn’t aim a gun to save his life, but was an expert in construction and could fix any housing issue that arose. In return, the hunters would make sure he was always provided with fresh game and a well stocked freezer. Eight year old Christopher Lennings would sell freshly made apple juice from the apple tree in his front yard every Saturday morning and all it would cost was the coolest looking rock you could find. Everyone had a job and everyone was taken care of.

As long as they followed the rules.

Aylin had formulated a plan during her five mile hike back home. She knew she would have the house to herself at this time. If she could quickly pack her car full of gear, staying out of sight, then she could head back to Peter for the next few days. During that time, she would get every bit of information she could about Kat’s pack. When she finally returned back to the guild, she could trade that information as an apology for not completing her ritual to become a full time hunter. Trading was how their guild functioned. Information could be traded for a lighter sentencing. Sergei would be more focused on taking action against an entire pack than dealing out punishments for her defiance. She could right all the wrongs before the situation got too out of hand.

It wasn’t a perfect plan but it would have to do.

The old floorboards creaked under foot to alert the only available member of the household to her presence. Her large, sleek black cat lazily rose his head off the sofa to see who dared to disturb his nap. When he caught sight of Aylin, his ears perked up and he gracefully leapt to the floor to greet her by weaving between her legs. He gave a piercing whine, begging for attention.

“Yes, yes. I missed you, too, Kedi.” Aylin bent down to scoop him into her arms where he proceeded to be carried like a baby up the stairs to her bedroom loft. “Has mom been worried about me? Have you been looking after her?”

Kedi purred, his golden eyes squinting up at her. It was a rarity to find him inside their cabin. He preferred to be out hunting for his next meal or clawing his way up the highest tree. Finding him willingly behind walls meant that he knew something was wrong. He had probably spent the night curled up next to Nesrin. Sometimes Aylin swore that he was actually a person trapped inside the body of a cat. She imagined him to be a grumpy, old man who would yell at innocent children to get off his lawn but secretly loved the attention they gave him. He was fearless, tenacious, and a ferocious serial killer of all rodents.

A family of killers. Is that all they were?

Peter’s words from this morning still buzzed around her thoughts like an annoying gnat that refused to leave her personal space.

“We’re not in a cult, right? I’d know if I was in a cult,” she mused down at the cat in her arms.

He responded with a deep, guttural purr that vibrated his entire body.

“Sergei isn’t Jim Jones or Charles Manson. He has a reason behind what we’re doing. There’s a purpose. A meaning. We’re helping people. We’re…” She paused and gave a long sigh. “My father wouldn’t have been best friends with a cult leader. He was smarter than that. He was a good man. Peter’s wrong. He doesn’t know us, does he, Keds? He’s a stupid, low life, pathetic, disgusting werewolf. He’s-”

She stopped to listen to the words falling from her lips. No one was around to hear them and she was still holding deep prejustice for a man who had done nothing but show her kindness and grace despite her attitude.

Lycans. That’s what Peter referred to himself as. Not a werewolf. A lycan. A person with the ability to shift into a wolf.

A person. Not a monster.

Good and bad people. That’s what Peter had said. There were always good and bad people regardless where you stood in the world.

Which one was she?

Aylin carefully dropped Kedi onto her bed so she could pack a bag, trying to pull her thoughts away from Peter’s grasp and focus them back onto the task at hand. Some extra clothes, camping supplies, her crossbow, and more food would be on her list of needed items. She quickly changed out of her dress and into something more practical for forest living. She began tossing clothes out of her drawer and into the waiting duffle bag. As she turned around to pack them more neatly, she stopped to see Kedi curled up under the growing pile.

“You’re not helping, Ked. You’ll suffocate under there if I zip it up,” she smiled softly down at the stubborn cat who merely squinted back at her. He was always able to lift her mood. “Okay fine, you can stay but I’m going to keep packing around you.”

She grabbed an unopened pack of spare toothbrushes and ripped it apart. Carefully, she glanced over the colors, selecting a red and blue striped one for Peter. She felt like he would suit those colors…and he really needed to brush his teeth. It had probably been a while since he had a toothbrush of his own.

With some basic grooming items taken care of and a duffle full of spare clothes, Aylin shooed Kedi out of the way to finish her getaway bag. He followed as she made a handful of trips from the house to her car, filling the trunk with everything her and Peter might need to survive for the next few days. She slammed the full trunk closed, tucking her keys into her pocket, and put her hands on her hips. A sense of determination settled over her.

“There! We have a camping stove, some canned food, extra water…I think we should be all set for a couple days,” she spoke down to the cat waiting patiently at her feet. “If you would like to come with me, Keds, I would be more than happy to bring you. I don’t think Peter would mind the extra company.”

Kedi’s fur raised along his back, his ears flattening, and he gave a long hiss before darting to the safety of the darkness under her car.

“Wha- he’s not that bad, jeeze,” she frowned at his sudden change of attitude, wondering what had set him off, when she heard the crunching of footsteps making their way up her dirt driveway.

“Going somewhere, Aylin?” The familiar baritone voice caused her skin to erupt in goosebumps. Her heart leapt into her throat as a wave of nausea overtook her. She suddenly felt faint.

She wasn’t fast enough.

The only other time she had seen Kedi display fear like that was when a black bear broke through their screened in porch one afternoon to try and grab a bite of his cat food. Even then, he had darted back out from under the safety of a chair to claw the bear across the snout before running away again. Today, he stayed hidden.

Aylin straightened her back, attempting to fix a warm smile onto her lips, and turned around to face Sergei standing in the middle of her driveway. He was dawning his signature werewolf pelt draped over his shoulders and giving her a grin that was stretched far too thin to be anything but forced. The sight of the pelt made her sick to her stomach when she thought about the person who it once was ripped from. Barbaric. He might as well be wearing a pelt of human flesh.

Where was she going? She tried to steady her fluttering heart as a million potential answers swirled around her panicked thoughts.

“I’m planning on going to the Catskills to hike along the Devil’s Path like I do every year,” she lied, thinking quickly. With the way her trunk was currently packed, it easily resembled a hiking trip. She could fake this scenario.

“Isn’t it a little early for that?” He raised his scraggly brow at her. He was starting to get flecks of silver among his dark hair. The silver stood out more prominently against the midday sun and made him look closer than usual to his age. It was rare to catch signs of him aging. He seemed to always be in his prime despite how many years have passed. “Don’t you typically do that hike closer to the summer?”

Aylin shrugged, trying to play it off like it wasn’t a big deal, “Last summer was too hot. Thought I’d go early this year.”

“In the rainy season, I imagine parts of the hike would be really dangerous?”

She held firmly onto her bluff, knowing he was trying to break her, and kept her eyes locked with his to help sell the lie, “Sure, but isn’t that part of our training? To overcome difficult feats despite the challenges that face us? Besides, it’s not called the Devil’s Path for nothing. It’s meant to keep you on your toes. I think I could use a good challenge. ”

Sergei squinted at her with a hard glare, “Yes. About that. I think we need to have a talk about exactly what challenges are facing you. Something seemed to bother you the other night, did it not?”

She could tell from his tone that he was carefully keeping his voice steady. Under the surface, he was boiling. He wanted her to pay for the other night. There had to be consequences. Aylin had not only gone against his direct orders but, in her defiance, belittled his authority in front of the guild. If there’s one thing to never do to Sergei, it would be to embarrass him. She was now caught in an unwanted game of cat and mouse and she was terrified of losing.

She widened her eyes like it was a shock to hear that and not a conversation she had been dreading, “Oh? You mean when I ran from the ceremony? I’m so sorry about that. Really. I must have eaten something weird. Probably undercooked meat. I got really sick. I spent the night on the toilet. I had to run before I had an accident in front of everyone. You know how it is. When you gotta go, you gotta go.”

He took a step closer, a dreadful smile flicked at the corner of his lips, “Really? I stopped by your house to check on you later that night. I wanted to make sure you were okay after that shameful display you pulled in front of everyone. Your mother told me you weren’t home. Poor woman was worried sick about you. She thought you might have run off and done something stupid.” He paused, closing the gap between them. The cold metal of her car door pushed against her back as he towered over her. He propped an arm against the roof of her car to pin her in place. “Well? Did you? Do something stupid, I mean.”

Her stomach flipped with nerves as she shook her head. She was going to lose this game. The cat was ready to pounce and she had nowhere to hide, caught in place, forced to face her demise. Sergei went in for the kill, sensing he was gaining the upper hand in their silent standoff, and threw a heavy arm around her shoulders. He had her locked tightly in place against his side and gave a loud, dark laugh as if that would expel the thick tension between them. She couldn’t run. Couldn’t hide. He had her exactly where he wanted.

“Why don’t you come take a walk with me, Aylin?” He started to drag her down the driveway. “Cal made rabbit stew earlier. We can have some tea and lunch and discuss our futures. I have a proposition for you. What do you say, kid?”

Despite his question, there was no choice to be had. She was going to be coming with him even if he had to throw her over his shoulder and carry her there.

“Uh, yeah, I guess that’s okay. I should go leave a note for my mom so she knows where I’m at when she gets back…” Aylin tried to dig her heels into the dirt but got shuffled along like she weighed nothing. Any resistance would be futile. She had lost the game. The cat had caught the mouse and was now boastfully parading her squirming body down the road as he carried it proudly between his salivating jaws.

“That won’t be necessary. I’ll inform her exactly where you are should she come asking. There’s nothin’ to worry about. You’re safe with me. You know that.” The weight of his words hung over her like a rapidly approaching storm. There wasn’t a single ounce of truth behind anything he said.

It was only a matter of time before the cat clamped down, piercing her flesh with his razor sharp teeth.

The Kravinoff residence was the largest house in their town. A two story cabin with breathtaking floor to ceiling windows to let in all the natural light. The eaves of the red gabled roof were decorated with ornate wooden details. They had been handcarved by Sergei Sr. when he rebuilt the Kravinoff home many years ago before his passing; his final gift to his spoiled son.

Their kitchen was larger than the floor plan of her entire house with brightly painted, red cabinets to match the color of their roof. A pot of yellow sunflowers brightened up the room to soften the red and create an inviting atmosphere. Calypso lounged against the double wide, walnut island wearing nothing more than a skimpy, silk robe. Her dark, tight curly hair haloed around her head and she flashed Aylin her infamous, pointy toothed grin.

“Ah, the weakling has returned, I see,” she slinked over to the younger woman, standing tall in front of her. “Such a disappointment you gave the guild last night, was it not? I don’t know why Sergei holds you in such high regards. You don’t look like much to me.”

Sergei placed a possessive hand over Aylin’s shoulder, “Now, now, Cal. Enough teasing. Everyone makes mistakes. She says she wasn’t feeling well. Ate some bad meat. Happens to the best of us. Aylin is our guest and should be treated as such. She’s here for a chat over drinks. Why don’t you make us some of your special tea?” His eyes flashed into his wife, giving her a silent command. “The kind we save for our very important guests. Aylin needs to be reminded how much her community values her.”

Calypso smiled and bowed her head, “Of course, dear.”

Aylin was led into the dining room with the sounds of Calypso rustling through the cabinets following her out the door. A long, black cherry dining table, lined with tall chairs, greeted them. At the head of the table was a throne, carved out of the trunk of a tree and adorned with giant wolf claws at the end of the legs. Kraven sank down onto the pelt covered seat. He looked like a true king of his castle. He waved a large hand for her to sit in one of the normal chairs beside him.

She took a hesitant seat, having stayed quiet this whole time, terrified that speaking the wrong words would get her further into trouble. It was better to play defense with Sergei. Let him take the lead so she could match his energy.

“It’s been a while since you’ve been in our home,” he mused, lazily scratching at his beard. “You used to visit all the time with your father. I believe the last time you stepped foot inside these walls was when you were merely 16 years of age.”

After Samuel and Emir’s funeral.

Sergei had held a repast at his home after the burial service. Everyone in town had attended, each bringing a dish of food or drinks, to show their support for the fallen members. Nesrin was too busy weeping in the bathroom to know her daughter was getting wasted off some stolen liquor. Aylin had snuck away from the guests with her bottle in hand to hide in one of Segei’s guest rooms. The rest of the night was a blur but she distantly remembered him finding her tucked away in the corner behind a bed and holding her while she cried. Everything after that was dark. That entire year had been dark.

She remembered a time when she felt protected in his arms. His presence used to come with a warm safety. Now, it came with a foreboding sense of danger, like stumbling upon a sleeping rattlesnake. If she was careful enough, she might get away without a fight. If she took one wrong step, all it would take was a mere second for the snake to strike.

“Things got bad after-” She stopped. She didn’t need to say anything else.

Sergei gave a solemn nod, “Yes. I can imagine. Sam was my good friend. He was an important, valuable member of our guild. It was hard for everyone.”

He was studying her face, trying to read every micro expression she held, but she kept her features stiff. She should have left sooner. Maybe if she hadn't spent so much time doting on Kedi, she would have escaped before Sergei arrived. She wished she was already back with Peter and wondered how long he would stay in her trailer before he started to wonder if she’d ever return.

“Who’s Peter?” Sergei asked with an air of innocence, as if he had directly read her mind, but kept a close eye on how she responded. He was carefully studying her every move.

Aylin’s eyes widened in shock for only a split second before she softened her face but there was no doubt that Sergei had caught it. Had he read her mind? There was no other way he could possibly know about Peter…was there? Her stomach churned with nerves at the question but she raised her eyebrows in feigned confusion, “What do you mean?”

He shifted on his throne, leaning towards her, and placing his arm on the table, “When I came to pick you up, I heard you say ‘I don’t think Peter would mind the extra company.’ So, who’s Peter?”

That’s what she got for speaking out loud to a cat. She should have kept her mouth shut.

“He’s my friend,” she lied, thinking on her feet. “Works at the gas station a few miles out. He works nights. I’ve met him a few times and we got to talking. He enjoys hiking as much as me. He was planning a trip of his own so I invited him on mine. I thought we could both use the company.”

“Is he your boyfriend?” Sergei’s tone was light but his tense shoulders gave off the impression of a possessive, jealous lover. Aylin was beginning to see him as an overgrown child who refused to share his toys with others. She felt like she was nothing more than his property.

She repressed a gulp, refusing to let her eyes wander from his, “No. He’s a friend.”

He ignored her statement. “After Leah Rivera, I thought you might not be not interested in men. It’s good to know you appreciate both sides,” Sergei leaned back to give off the illusion of someone who was casually lounging instead of someone fishing for information. They were both playing a difficult game of chess, each crafting their next move, while simultaneously trying to find their opponents weakness to exploit. “Cal swings both ways, too.”

“He’s not my boyfriend. He’s just someone who enjoys hiking as much as me,” Aylin’s jaw tightened, giving him a stiff reply. She desperately hoped the heat burning behind her cheeks wasn’t outwardly noticeable. Her racing heart spiked at the mention of Leah. That was a name she hadn’t heard spoken aloud in years. “I don’t swing any way. Leah was nothing more than a friend, too.”

Liar. Leah was more than a friend. She was Aylin’s childhood best friend, her favorite person, her first crush, her first love. Leah used to be her everything.

Until she was nothing.

“Right, right,” he chuckled. “Cal and I were just friends once. I get it. But, Aylin, you know how this guild feels about outsiders. You can not trust them. It’s best you let that friendship drift away before it’s too late. I don’t want you going on a trip with that boy. It’s too dangerous. Cancel it. Stop seeing him. There’s more than enough eligible men here for you to attach yourself to. I can think of at least three off the top of my head who would love a chance. Stay within the guild.”

She had tried to stay within the guild until Sergei caught on about her and Leah’s relationship. She remembered his eyes flaring with hatred when he saw them share a quick kiss behind the school house one afternoon. Neither of the girls could understand why he would care what a couple of sixteen year olds got up to. It wasn’t long after that Leah’s entire family disappeared in the middle of the night. One day they were there, the next they were gone. Banished. No explanations given. No goodbyes said. Their empty house was demolished, as per tradition, whenever someone leaves the guild. Erase everything and build back up from scratch without the tainted memories. They were to never speak about the Rivera’s again. Every ounce of Leah’s existence in Aylin’s life was gone overnight until it was almost as if she never existed at all. If it wasn’t for the pictures hidden in a shoebox in the back of her closet, sometime’s Aylin might wonder if she dreamed up the entire thing. First, her best friend disappeared, then, her father and brother were slaughtered by wolves. Sixteen had not been kind to her.

But that was years ago. Leah was gone and so was the person Aylin used to be. She didn’t want Peter to become another pained memory added to the ever growing pile of forgotten people. She would protect this one. She wouldn’t let him be another soul for Sergei to steal from her.

Even if that made her a traitor.

She fixed a pleasant smile onto her face, “You’re probably right. I don’t know him that well anyway. I was just looking for a hiking buddy. Not a big deal and I’d better be safe than sorry. You never really know what those outsiders are like. Although, I do think I would be able to overtake him if it ever came to that. I’ve taken down werewolves. I think I can manage to get the upper hand on a random gas station employee. You’ve trained us well.” She threw Sergie her best attempt at a cheeky wink despite the anxious tightening of her throat. Her desperation for him to believe her was suffocating.

Outsiders. Traitors. Banishment.

Maybe Peter was right. She might be in a cult.

The truth hit her hard. She forced a smile onto her face despite wanting to slide under the table and crawl away.

Canceling fake plans with an imaginary boyfriend was easier than the truth of her deception. Outsider Peter was better than Werewolf Peter. One was a simple mistake at the hands of a lovestruck young woman. The other was direct treason against everything she ever knew.

He didn’t look impressed with her response.

Earthy, herbal smells wafted out from the kitchen door. She caught notes of lavender and chamomile mixed with some kind of sharp spice she was unfamiliar with. Sergei noticed her analyzing the scent.

“It’s not something we grow here in the mountains,” he remarked, blatantly ignoring her attempts to butter him up. “Calypso has family in Haiti. They send her all sorts of home grown products she can’t get here. She likes to think of herself as a bit of an alchemist when she’s in the kitchen. She makes the most wonderful tea. You’ll love it.”

As if on cue, Calypso burst through the doorway with a tray in hand. A clear teapot was placed on the table in front of them. Bits of loose herbs floated around inside the amber liquid. Skinny, swirling trails of hypnotizing white steam rose from the spout. She lifted the pot to pour out the delicious smelling tea into the delicate china cups. Aylin was handed the first one.

“For our guest,” Calypso smirked. “Made with love.”

Aylin ignored the snarky edge to her words and gave a polite smile. She took a small sip, happy for the distraction. It burned her tongue but slid smoothly down her throat. It was like nothing she’d ever had before. Warm and cozy with a sharp tang of spice as a lingering aftertaste. She took another big gulp as it gave her something to do with her fidgety hands.

Calypso perched on the thick arm of Sergei’s throne as she watched her guest drink, “How is it?”

“It’s wonderful. Thank you,” she feigned a smile. She wasn’t lying. It was delicious. She just struggled to make her voice sound genuine when her and Peter’s lives hung on her every word.

“Pleased to hear it.”

Sergei patted his wife’s thigh, “Aylin was just telling me about her gas station boyfriend. An outsider. They’re already planning a trip together.”

Calypso leaned against him, running her fingers through his hair, “A gas station boyfriend? Even she can do better than that.”

“He’s not my bo-” She was cut off by Sergei.

“I already told her that it would be best to let that relationship fade away. I think we could find her someone better. One of us. I would be doing Sam a disservice if I let his daughter run away with an outsider.”

Aylin bit her tongue and refused to mention that her mother was once an outsider. The longer they stayed on the topic of her lie, the more anxious she became. She didn’t want to have to keep thinking on her feet. It was exhausting her psyche.

“I said I would. It’s not a big deal,” she huffed, taking another sip of her tea. “He means nothing to me. I just thought it might be fun to have someone to hike with but I prefer being on my own anyway.”

Calypso smirked, “That’s what I like to hear. Outsiders are nothing. They don’t deserve your time of day. You have everything you need right here.” She shifted her body to lean forward, her deep brown eyes penetrating into Aylin’s very soul. “We’re all you need.”

She was most definitely in a cult. How could she have ever been so oblivious?

She might be the stupidest person alive.

This would be her downfall. The people she loved and fought to protect were the one’s holding the knife. They would be the ones to fatally stab her. Not the Lycans.

Before the realization could overtake her, Calypso’s loose robe had fallen open when she moved and her right breast had pushed its way out from the silky material. The sight of the woman’s freshly exposed skin caused her spiraling mind to halt. Sergei’s arm wrapped around his wife to grasp onto her breast, absentmindedly flicking her dark nipple with his thumb, as they both stared in her direction. Aylin’s ears heated up with a mixture of disbelief and horrific embarrassment. She quickly averted her gaze to the table. She got uncomfortable watching people kiss in public. Watching someone blatantly fondle his wife in front of her made her want to claw out of her own skin. They had always been overly affectionate with each other but it had never been as in her face as it was now. This was different. New. It was like they were challenging her. Like this was some kind of sick test she’d have to pass. From the moment Sergei showed up behind her, she was being tested. Her every move was stuck under a microscope and picked apart with a watchful eye.

These were not the people she once thought they were.

A new found hatred wrapped around her like a warm blanket. They were toying with her. Teasing her. Playing with her. They were getting off on watching her squirm. They liked this.

This was who they really were.

Aylin focused on her tea to keep herself distracted. She heard Calypso stifle a laugh under her breath. They were getting off on her discomfort. Her head was starting to feel dizzy and her heart felt like it was pounding in her ears. She suddenly felt very sweaty like there was a fire igniting in her stomach and spreading up her chest towards her throat. She hated them. That much was clear to her now. The guild was not a safe place. It never was. It had only felt that way because she was drinking the Kool Aid along with everyone else just like Peter said. Her whole life she had been fed a lie which she happily lapped down. Her world was crumbling down around her. Piece by piece it fell with deafening crashes and she was beginning to suffocate on the smokey rubble filling her lungs.

A headache was rapidly growing and her vision blurred for a millisecond before she blinked it back into focus.

“Ms. Aylin was just about to tell me what happened last night,” Sergei spoke, still massaging Calypso without any hint of embarrassment. His tone had flipped, losing the fake lightheartedness from earlier. He was serious. There was no more time for games. “She was going to explain exactly why she refused to kill a wolf in front of her entire guild.”

She was?

“For someone who claims to have killed two on her own, without any proof, you’d think a malnourished, caged bitch would be easy,” Calypso remarked. “It sounds to me like there might be a little white lie hiding somewhere in your story, dear girl. Don’t worry, darling, you can tell us. We won’t judge. We just want the truth.”

She took another sip of the tea to avoid having to answer them right away. Was she the only one drinking? Neither of them had touched the stuff.

Aylin didn’t want to look in their direction to check. She didn't want to watch what they were doing. They were making her uncomfortable on purpose. A power play. A way to prove that she was nothing but inferior to them. She didn’t want to be here. Her head felt like it was swimming with a million thoughts but none of them were making it to her lips. Her body was refusing to function. She couldn’t make her mouth and brain work as one.

“I, uh,” she stuttered over her words. “I…”

Her mind was starting to feel like it was slowly filling with sand. An hourglass at the verge of tipping. Her mouth felt dry so she downed the rest of her cup.

“That girl- she…she…was just…so…so young…” Aylin gave a slow blink, her chin bobbing down to her chest before quickly steadying her head back upright. “I…feel…”

She was suddenly exhausted. The empty tea cup slipped from her hand to shatter into pieces across the floor. She finally turned her attention to the couple, fearing that she was coming down with an illness. She was seeing double. Their forms wavered like rain in a puddle.

“Something’s not right,” she whispered.

“That would be the tea,” Sergei spoke, his voice steady. “Don’t worry, my dear. You’ll be fine.”

He pushed himself up from his throne to walk over to her. Aylin slumped into his arms, feeling paralyzed, as he easily lifted her to his chest. He cradled her there while he moved through his house, each room flashing slowly before her lagging eyes, until he stopped in front of a large bookcase.

“Wha-” she tried to speak but words were useless to her.

Sergei kicked his foot at something hidden against the side of the bookcase, tucked away from view, where the wall meets the floor.

With a low grumble, the bookcase slid slowly to the right to reveal a set of wooden steps leading underground. They creaked underfoot as he carried deeper into the abyss.

The musty smell of mildew and copper hit her nose.

“No…” Aylin managed to whisper, in a last ditch effort to protect herself before the drugs completely captured her mind.

“Sleep now,” Calypso purred over Sergei’s shoulder. “We have some important business to discuss. You’ll need your strength. Shh, drift off, little one. We’ll keep watch over you. Sleep.”

[CHAPTER FIVE (part two)]

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xiaowhore · 3 years ago

Text

yours truly,

yours truly, (part one). / sincerely, (part two).

premise: as a friend of the most attractive students in school, you're more than used to acting as the middleman between them and the people vying for their affection, often tasked with delivering presents or handing out their love letters. however, when you chance upon a small bouquet of flowers on your desk without a note indicating the sender or who you're meant to give it to, you start to wonder if this one's supposed to be yours.

includes: childe, xiao, diluc, kazuha, albedo, thoma & gorou !

a/n: hahaha why is this so long... anyways this is a college au + reverse harem of some sorts. enjoy. i really don't want this one to flop so likes and reblogs are appreciated thx

“Do you think it's a prank?”

“Why is that the first thing that pops into your mind?” Keqing sighs as she fixes her makeup in front of a compact mirror, smacking her lips to spread the color evenly. “You're really cute, [Name]. why wouldn't someone like you by now?”

Your face burns at the offhand comment. “You're only saying that because we're friends.”

Ayaka giggles, twirling a lock of your hair with her finger. “Of course not. You're very adorable! If anything, it'd be more surprising if nobody likes you.”

“Who do you think it's from, though?” Ganyu quietly asks from beside you, observing the handful of carnations laying on your desk. Scanning the students currently present in the room, she thoughtfully adds, “maybe someone on the shyer side since they couldn't give it to you directly?”

“Or someone who did it to be romantic,” Kokomi suggests, scrutinizing the flowers with keen eyes. “That's quite nice of them.”

You hummed in contemplation, trying to figure out who placed it on your table. “Are you sure it's not a prank... or a mistake? You all sit beside me, so maybe they mistook my seat for yours-”

“You're the only one who faithfully sits there, [Name]. We don't even have assigned seats so most of us sits wherever,” Keqing clarifies, staring at you with a disapproving look. “Don't deny it. You know it's yours.”

“But I can't think of anyone who would like me!” you exclaim in defeat. “I am curious about who gave it, though... I should try to find out who it is...”

“More importantly...” Ganyu smiles at you, noticing the blush dusting your cheeks. “Who do you want it to be?”

childe:

in all honesty, he's your first guess.

not because you think he likes you or anything! he's just a huge flirt.

at the beginning of the school year, you hardly got along. you know he's a friendly guy, but it's in the way that... intimidated you. he's part of the “mood maker” clique, attracting attention wherever he goes, and you're not sure if you could handle his energy...

you preferred to stay away from the spotlight though that's a bit hypocritical considering you're friends with the prettiest group of girls in your year, and he relished in it. you didn't know if you could get along.

you didn't become friends until you were assigned partners for a project that meant a lot for your grade, and you vowed to yourself if you couldn't be close to him, you should at least be close enough to work together without trouble.

in the end, you surprisingly hit it off, childe easing the awkward air between you with jokes and random stories to tell about his weird friends. your friendship didn't end when the project did, and you continued to hang out outside of school. you're sure he didn't approach you to get closer to your friends, either; though you had some doubts at first, he was nothing alike with the jerks who tried to use you.

you're no stranger to the pranks he pulled, nor were you unaware of his flirty nature; he occasionally entertained the lot who fancied him when he attended drinking parties. so it made perfect sense if it was childe who gave those flowers, along with the gifts that followed after. it would just be him messing around again, right? oh, definitely! it wouldn't be the first time he spent his money in reckless abandon, bragging that he has the cash to spare for it.

but unexpectedly when you bring up the topic, his expression darkens, showing no sign of joking around. he looks a little shocked, too, to know someone was pursuing you.

“it's not from me,” he admits, gently taking your hand. “but it's true that i like you.”

xiao:

xiao is one of the people you deliver presents to lol

due to his intimidating disposition (and the endless amount of nasty rumors swirling about him, thanks to said intimidating disposition), hardly anybody would dare to approach him, daunted by the perpetual scowl etched on his face. he remains as eye candy, but an entity no one could reach.

you avoided him at first, too. his face is admirable, you can say that much, but you've become somewhat desensitized from having been surrounded by pretty faces 24/7 so you can't really say it's anything new... and yes, you are scared of him to a certain degree. you could never guess what he's thinking.

you weren't sure if he's as scary as people make him out to be though, since people tend to exaggerate gossip for the sake of shock value. he once defended a middle schooler from high school delinquents (through persuasion and not with fists), but the story somehow twisted into another tale entirely detailing how xiao had brutally wiped the floor with their faces and painted the concrete floor with blood...

but as intimidating as he might seem, you don't think he's that kind of character. if you overlook his piercing glare and sharp tongue, he's quite decent.

... you thought that way until you caught him tailing you on your way home.

he crept up behind you, maintaining a natural distance, but after numerous twists and turns in hopes of leading him away, he had yet to cease heading towards your direction. you wouldn't be so suspicious if you hadn't purposely gone in circles around town, leading back to where you came from — which meant he didn't have a particular destination in mind, and fully intended on being hot on your tail.

tired of having bated breath waiting for his next move, you gathered all your courage and confronted him directly, cornering him to the nearest wall to assert dominance. xiao seemed startled by your forwardness, and you took his moment of vulnerability as an opportunity to interrogate him.

unexpectedly, he sheepishly confesses, “i'm not a stalker, i got worried since you're going home this late. haven't you heard about the crime rate these days...”

from there on, you suppose you could say you understood him better. though he's snappy and stern, he's not that terrifying, even sweet at times. when you become proper friends (and you stop suspecting him as your stalker), he saves you a seat next to him, or brings you coffee that you like when he notices you're sleepy in class.

it wasn't long until everybody came to know you were friends and a girl finally — you guessed it — asked you to send a love letter to xiao in her stead.

when you gave it to xiao, he was unusually flustered, flushed pink to the tips of his ears. his expression falls flat once you tell him it's from someone else, badly containing the disappointment to show on his face.

nevertheless, you continue to be friends, and xiao has learned not to expect much from you.

he's the earliest to arrive in class, so you ask him if he'd seen the person who gave you flowers. with a cold, hard look, he says no.

he's acting kind of weird, isn't he...

diluc:

the barista in the coffee shop near your university that has to put up with so much bullshit flirting everyday.

he has to reject people in a roundabout way, and you know he hates it, but of course he has to provide great customer service if he still wants customers right... directly breaking their hearts would only make problems.

but he takes no shit from rude customers.

no, you weren't one of them. in fact, diluc quite liked you a bit. first of all, you don't have any romantic interest for the staff, you genuinely enjoy his drinks (he knows because your face is like an open book), and you mind your own business. he tolerates you enough that he can make small talk with you and it doesn't upset him in the slightest.

so it really ticked him off when some idiot was bothering you in the cafe, starting an argument over a trivial matter that shouldn't be fussed over.

in normal circumstances, diluc would've done the usual protocol — reason with the angry customer, offer free products, and let them leave the premises peacefully. but the moment he saw the man grab your shoulders and you winced in pain as a result, he didn't even have to think of what to do next.

cold coffee rained down on the ill-mannered man's head, evoking a surprised scream out of him. his fingers left your body in favor of patting away the sticky liquid from his clothes, and you stared blankly at the seething figure behind him.

“your order,” diluc announced, his voice tinted with rage. then he pretended to remember something, looking at the empty cup in his hand. “oh, i apologize. you ordered it hot, didn't you?” he forced a smile on his face. “would you like me to brew another one for you?”

the man erupted to a new screaming fit, but he was promptly dragged aside. diluc immediately questioned if you were hurt anywhere, his voice a total 180 from before and turning into a soft tone you nearly didn't recognize.

“that stunt you pulled...” you nervously said. “will you be okay...? won't you get, er, dismissed because of it?”

“...you don't know i own this place?”

“???”

in any case, you've become good friends ever since that incident. so when your secret admirer gives you your customized drink from diluc's shop (that even xiao doesn't know the recipe of!), you ask him if there's a customer who ordered your exact drink that morning.

strangely enough, he changes the subject.

“he only gave you coffee?” diluc wrinkles his nose. “he's not fit for you.”

he proceeds to shove you a plate of pancakes for breakfast and won't let you talk about that topic again.

kazuha:

the soft-spoken boy working part-time as a florist. as one would expect, his good-looking features attracted customers left and right, just like how a flower allures bees with its colorful petals and sweet nectar.

he studies in a different university from you, but it's relatively close by and you run into each other a lot. you could say you're pretty good friends; you exchanged contact information and text every other day, phone each other up to have a meal together whenever you're both free, and hang out over the weekend.

he stirred up some drama with you once. on a rainy day, he invited you to eat lunch together, but you've forgotten to take an umbrella before leaving for school so you told him you'd be a little late 'cause you had to run to the convenience store first. however, he told you not to worry about it and abruptly ended the call.

fast forward to the afternoon: the glass doors to leave the corridors had a few people lurking by, covering what was beyond. you cocked up an eyebrow in question, confused over what was all the fuss, but then you see that familiar pale hair streaked with bright red.

kazuha stood innocently by the school gates, a crimson umbrella in hand, and a small bouquet in the other. he checked his wristwatch every few minutes, seeming to be waiting for someone. he completely ignored the gawking stares pinned on his frame, busying himself by humming a quiet tune.

you hesitantly pushed open the doors, approaching him with wary steps. he immediately perked up once noticing you, beaming brightly to greet you with enthusiasm. he offered you the bouquet, telling you it's nothing more than a small gift the owner had let him craft for free (who mistakenly thought kazuha had a lover, since he was always on his phone texting someone).

you might have known the reasons behind the present, but nobody else did. and what general implications could gifting a bouquet of flowers have?

thus, the school's online forum exploded with questions, asking for the identity of the pretty boy standing by their university, and the lucky person he'd given flowers to.

needless to say it was hard to convince your friends that no, he isn't your boyfriend.

but that was another issue! the issue NOW is the other bouquet you received, much more recent in nature. after suspecting childe, your next thought was to ask kazuha if he had any buyers who purchased the same flowers you had.

his lips twitch for a moment, faintly looking displeased. but he flashes a flawless, award-winning customer service smile, covering his initial expression easily.

“no such customer ordered for those flowers that day. but i am curious about this matter... could you humor me and explain more in detail, by any chance?”

albedo:

the med student fawned over by students and teachers alike. he's simply brilliant, idolized by the entire student body. though he's mainly studying science, he's been praised for his art as well, his paintings hung in the art room proudly.

you're not very familiar with him, only knowing him through hearsay. you don't know what he looks like, so you've never confirmed for yourself if he's as beautiful everyone says he is.

he's well-known but you haven't heard anything bad about him, which is an impressive feat. his name is only ever mentioned in concert with endless compliments.

you meet him by chance in exam season. unsurprisingly, the library is filled to the brim, tables stacked high with books and each chair occupied by agitated students sipping energy drinks and coffee to stay functional. amidst all the chaos, one student remains radiant and carefree, leisurely flicking pages through his notes. he's situated by a corner table, unbothered by the mindless zombies despite having plenty of free seats beside him and everyone else is squished together like canned tuna.

and you, carrying binders, books and stationery, are visibly desperate for a place to rest. his eyes leave the words in his notes briefly, beckoning you to come closer. and you, still unaware of his identity, gladly plop on a chair and heave your heavy supplies atop the table. it shakes for a moment as it bears the new weight, rattling his items, and the zombies gape at you in question. ironically, the person you've been bothering is not offended at all.

you sneak glances at him when you need to freshen your eyes from studying, nauseated by the letters that never seem to come to an end no matter how many paragraphs you've read. you're at awe by his fair skin, not a single blemish in sight, and he doesn't even have dark circles under his eyes. truly mysterious. either he has a magical skincare routine or he's not human. if anything, you'd think he just came from a relaxing vacation, not in the middle of hell week.

you snap out of your trance, and you scold yourself for being bewitched. you have more pressing concerns, and so you grill more information into your brain, oblivious to the turquoise eyes that begin to stare at you.

the next encounter comes when exams are finally over, and you celebrate by buying the pricey food set in the cafeteria. the crunch of golden breading is rewarding for your taste buds and you shovel more food towards your mouth, minding your own business.

the seat next to you is pulled back, and you pause from chewing. it's that guy again, his refined beauty easy for you to recognize. he places his tray on the table, smiling amiably as he asks if it's fine with you should he sit there. you nod, but there's plenty of vacant tables around. it's also pretty weird that he sat next to you, not across...

well, strange as it is, that's how you befriend albedo. you've yet to learn why he came on so strong, almost aggressive. like he really wanted to talk to you. but whatever.

the more you learn about him, the more his image of “golden boy” withers away. picture of elegance? the standard of sophistication? sure. but this guy doesn't hesitate to do the weirdest shit sometimes.

he doesn't fear anything. he puts anything edible in his mouth. one school trip to the countryside taught you a few things. if he's offered fried bugs, he'll eat it. if he's given frog legs, he'll eat it. he doesn't care. he'll eat seemingly anything. because of this, you worry his admirers will put something strange in the food they give him, but that possibility doesn't cross his mind at all. (well. not that he eats it. he rejects gifts most of the time. exceptions are when they come from you.)

you're starting to think he really doesn't fear anything. when you start to scream in fright like a headless chicken while watching a horror movie, he calmly studies the anatomy of whatever horrifying creature is on screen, questioning their ability to walk when half of their body is split apart. why is he questioning horror movie logic. “ghosts are supposed to be transparent and can pass through walls, how come she can grab the main character's hair and drag him to the incinerator?” “albedo, please.” (he comforts you when you get scared, hiding your face in his shoulder as he wraps his arms around you. he softly whispers in your ear to tell you when the scary parts are over.)

he's also an overprotective older brother. for good reason, actually. his little sister, albeit cute and outwardly harmless, is an explosive child who likes to make trouble. if he takes his eyes off her for more than two minutes, she will undoubtedly set fire to his little garden.

she's the reason why he's so observant. he can tell you trimmed your hair because he's all too used to klee chopping off her own hair with craft scissors. he also notices when you feel a bit under the weather. klee is the type to hide her sickness so she could play outside, and albedo would often have to forcibly tuck her back to bed. you're no different. he will, quite literally, drag you to your house and make you rest.

but aside from being a pain in the ass, his observation skills can help you — surely albedo can make a few guesses for your secret admirer's identity?

albedo blinks at you, uncharacteristically silent. he purses his lips, and gives you a small smile. he asks a few unassuming questions, things like what traces your secret left behind, or if they'd sent a love letter and he'd check the penmanship to see if he found it familiar.

he's not the most eager to help, you know that, but you're still slightly disappointed when he says, “sorry, i can't help you with something like that. it'd be better if you figured it out yourself.”

thoma:

the cute neighbor living in the apartment next door. just like kazuha, he studies in a different university, but you run into each other a lot because... well. obviously.

you find him rather silly. he'd signed the lease not knowing pets weren't allowed in the premises, and tearfully waved taroumaru goodbye when he moved in. to cope, he started staying at the park near the apartment building, playing with the dogs there and getting hit on by their owners in the process, but let's not talk about that.

despite being a newcomer, he fit right in with the tenants. he made effort to learn everyone's names and chatted with them whenever presented a chance, thus winning their favor. it isn't a strange sight to see him with middle-aged ladies and looking at home, listening earnestly to their complaints about their husbands or rowdy children. (his hard work pays off when they give him their special recipes and inform him of supermarket deals lol)

he seems to get along well with old men too, invited to their drinking parties. except thoma isn't good at rejecting alcohol from older adults, so when you save him from such situation — pulling him away from the old men prying into his love life, because surely a good kid like him would have someone to love him dearly — he's become eternally grateful.

he's honestly too good for his own good.

exhibit a: thoma is prone to cooking too much food for one person to eat in one sitting, so he tends to invite you to eat his hotpot with him or bring you packaged food you can easily pop into a microwave. after your one act of goodwill, he's become strangely attached to you, pronouncing you best buds. he then admits he used to live with a larger group of people (hence his cooking habits), and he's thankful for your company. (you'd argue you're getting the better end of the deal, receiving free food like this)

exhibit b: he's always available to help you in your troubles. need a hand with heavy groceries? he's on his way! ran out of soy sauce? just wait a bit, he's gonna grab some from the cupboard! forgot your key inside your apartment? then stay at his place for the meantime before the locksmith comes! your shower isn't working well?... he promises he won't peek in the bathroom, so feel free to take a bath h a h a h a. need someone's opinion on what outfit to wear for a date? sure, he's- wait.

YOU'RE GOING ON A DATE?

his face twists weirdly as you showcase two different shirts, asking which one he likes better. you raise an eyebrow when he doesn't dare to utter a single word. “are they both bad?”

he blinks rapidly, then shakes his head laughing. he half-heartedly points to the shirt in your left hand, but you can tell he doesn't really think much of it. he excuses himself fairly quickly, saying he had chores to do, and scurried back to his own home.

(you were only going to a date with ayaka's older brother because she insisted you both needed a love life, but it's not like you actually feel anything for him.)

it doesn't end there. thoma acts weird sometimes. he's strangely cold when he sees you inviting kazuha to your apartment to hang out. he also stiffens when he spots xiao walking you home.

but by far, he acted the weirdest when your phone number called him, but when he answered, he heard a different voice respond.

it's childe, whom you went drinking with. he doesn't know where you live, and you're not nearly sober enough to return home on your own, and it's not like you'll agree to staying over childe's house. you also refuse telling him your address, so childe is left with no choices but to call for someone he knows.

he uses your fingerprint to unlock the password in your phone, heading straight for your contact list, and dialed thoma.

it doesn't take long for thoma to arrive where you are, panting after running for a while, and childe is almost impressed. thoma hoists you up and you obediently wrap your arms around him.

“sorry for the trouble. [name]'s dead drunk as you can see,” childe comments, chuckling to himself. thoma doesn't look amused and replies with, “it's no trouble at all. i'd be glad to help [name] anytime.”

then in a way that almost seems possessive, thoma leaves childe behind.

so now when you arrive home, bouquet in your arms, red dusting your features, thoma is displeased once more.

(yet he is envious of those who can freely profess their affections, because he's certain if he were to ever admit his feelings to you, things can never be the same.)

gorou:

you first suspected childe because you thought the bouquet of flowers was a joke, but if it wasn't and it was real with the intentions of sweeping you off your feet...

then you might have another suspect in mind.

gorou is... a funny guy. can you put it like that? you don't know what to think of him. he's nice, you already know that very well, kokomi's good friends with him and told you a few stories about him, all of which are sweet and amusing. your first impression of him was that of a pure-hearted boy that can do no wrong.

he's younger than you by a year, and kokomi was fairly excited when she first told you he would be attending the same university soon. she promised to introduce you to him in hopes you'd be friends as well.

and okay, you could get behind that. there's nothing wrong with meeting new people. gorou sounded like a great guy too, and it'd be nice to take care of someone younger. you've been coddled by your seniors the past year as a freshman, and you thought it would only be right if you did the same to the new batch of students.

so you attended the welcoming party kokomi dragged you into. it was just a small gathering to get the freshmen familiarize themselves with older students, and she told you you'd get to meet gorou there, her eyes carefully scanning the crowd in pursuit of a specific face.

just as you were reminiscing over the past where your sadistic seniors encouraged you to drink a lot in the last welcoming party, shuddering in fright, kokomi tapped your shoulder and gestured to the brown haired boy standing before you.

it must be him. per courtesy, your lips curled into a practiced smile, exuding an amicable air. kokomi briefly exchanged a few words with him, but it looked like she was doing all the talking, the male frozen in spot as if he'd seen something strange.

he stared at you blankly, eyes slightly widened, and you slowly became unnerved with his vacant gaze, your smile faltering. you made eye contact with kokomi, silently questioning her, but she gave a subtle shrug of her shoulders, also confused by his behavior.

then, completely out of everyone's expectations, he'd dropped to the floor.

gorou had knelt on the ground with one steady knee, solemn in his endeavors. in an instant, your hand was seized, fingers enclosed in his warm palm. his piercing stare was impassioned, sincere at its core. heat shot up to the tips of your ears.

“marry me!”

his voice resounded in the entire room, earning unwanted attention. the chatter halted immediately, all eyes dedicated to the spectacle that was the both of you, and your mind began to spin, cold sweat dripping down your forehead.

your voice was caught in your throat, not knowing what to say, and all you could formulate was a garbled string of incoherent mess. undeterred, the grasp on your hand was unrelenting, gorou committed through this act until the very end.

everyone was thinking the same thing: we haven't even started drinking yet, but this little guy is drunk already??

shameless. crazy. a head with loose screws. you're probably the only one who'd describe gorou that way.

but what kind of sane man would say that upon first meeting???

kokomi quickly tried to mediate the situation for him, pulling him away and patting his back to knock him out of his dazed stupor, and pushed you to the farthest corner.

she vouched for him when she saw your puzzled expression, thinking of him as a weirdo, and she insisted he's normally not that odd. she swears he was never interested in dating before, and she isn't sure what changed for him to... propose... all of a sudden... to you, who he'd barely seen for ten seconds, no less.

naturally, it feels strange for you to see him. after that disastrous encounter, gorou — who did feel embarrassment for what he did, horrified at his own impulsiveness — tried to make amends, backtracking steps (he skipped way too many and immediately went to propose lol) and treating you normally like a friend of a friend, slowly trying to make the atmosphere between you casual instead of a freezing blizzard that kills off the amicable mood.

in spite of all that, however, you do feel as if his feelings are actually genuine. he can be clumsy, and incredibly so, you don't know who else could propose to another person within a span of a minute meeting them for the first time, but he means well! you started off on the wrong foot, and maybe this bouquet of flowers is him trying to curry your favor... or something...

yet all he gives is a disbelieving look, and that's enough to provide a clear answer: it's not from him, and he's upset.

it,, probably wasn't a good idea to ask someone who likes you about another person who likes you.

but if it isn't him, who else could it be?!

drop your guesses in the comments but im pretty sure it's already obvious lol

#genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact imagines #genshin impact headcanons #genshin x reader #genshin impact scenarios #genshin impact fluff #childe x reader #diluc x reader #xiao x reader #kazuha x reader #kazuha kaedehara #albedo x reader #thoma x reader #gorou x reader

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murdock-barnes · 2 years ago

Note

I NEED A MATTHEW MURDOCK ANGST sort of? based on the she hulk episode. so they're like married but he's still this huge player and sleeps with random women when his wife isn't at home, like when he went to LA or whatever he fucked she hulk even when he's in a relationship and she finds out and just breaks down preferably no smut with reader and matty but add whatever u want with him and anyone else ty!!

A Million Heartbreaks

Matt Murdock x Fem!Wife!Reader

Warnings: Manwhore Matt(he deserves his own warning lmao), pure angst

Word Count: 1,8K

A/N: Reblogs and comments are sooo appreciated! I really wanna hear what you think of this🥹

You stirred awake upon hearing the door being shut. Confusion and panic filled you for a second but then you remembered that your husband had a late flight. It must have been him.

"Matthew?" you called out.

"Yeah, it's me," his voice came. A relief filled you when you heard his voice, accompanied by deep sorrow.

He entered the bedroom, dropping his suitcase. "Sorry, did I wake you up?"

You shook your head no, he could tell. Matt was always so sweet... until he's not.

You sat up, your back on the bedframe. "How was your trip?"

"Uh... it was okay." He was shaking off his clothes as he talked.

"That's it?" you asked. "Tell me more. I would love to hear about She-Hulk. She's so famous these days."

"Yeah... she was cool. Jen is a great lawyer."

"Jen?" you mumbled under your breath.

He noticed the change in your tone but didn't want to further investigate. He was left in his boxers and now slipped under the covers beside you. He seemed ready to sleep.

"I saw the trial, you know? On the news," you said. "Jennifer was talking to the reporters outside the court and I saw you in the back, leaving the building with that designer guy."

"Uh huh."

"You weren't wearing your wedding ring."

Matt's eyes opened. You couldn't hear heartbeats but you knew his got way quicker now.

"Baby..." he started.

“You just can’t help it, can you?" The disappointment in your voice burned his chest. Matt was truly sorry but yes he knew he just couldn't help it.

"What are you talking about?" His brows furrowed. Oh, he was gonna take the highway again.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about! You couldn't keep it in your pants... AGAIN. You fucked Jennifer."

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me... I don't have to explain myself but that did not happen."

There he was. The same old same old.

"I can't believe you..."

"Sweetheart, I swear nothing happened between me and her. Can we just talk about this in the morning?" He closed his eyes and shuffled to get into a more comfortable position.

"Oh my God! You're unbelievable and insufferable!"

He opened his eyes with a huff. His attitude only made you more annoyed and angry.

"Don't even try, Matt. There's a literal video of you leaving her house, doing the walk of shame. Some dude recognized your pathetic ass, filmed it, and put it on Twitter."

"What? That couldn't be me. I was in my hotel room all night."

He was kidding, right? Did he really think you were that dumb?

"I swear to God, if you attempt to gaslight me one more time, I'm gonna smack you so hard in the face."

He squeezed his eyes shut with a grunt. You didn't say a word and just waited for him to admit it. It's always been the same. He cheated, you confronted him, he denied it, and then confessed his sins. The same cat and mouse game.

"I did it." His voice was bitter, guilt dripping from every word. You couldn't give two fucks about his so-called guilt.

You chuckled, knowingly. He did it again despite his promises... and the promises before that... and before that. You gave him another chance every time because you wanted to believe in him. You've seen how determined he could be with his vigilante shit. Maybe he could put the same effort into his marriage. He never did.

"I'm sorry... I don't know what-"

"Shut it!" your voice grew stronger now. Your body was burning with rage and sadness and disappointment.

"How could you, Matt? Again?" You threw off the covers, sitting taller. "I am so sick and tired. I can't take it anymore."

He got up and sit, turning to you. His hands reached yours to hold but you drew them back, away from his touch. You got off the bed and started pacing the room.

"Please, I'll make it up-"

You couldn't stand hearing his whining, honestly. "Oh, stop it! It's the same thing every time. You go fuck around and come back, begging me to forgive you. You have no fucking respect for me, let alone love! I've had enough."

He pouted "Don't say that, you know I love you."

"No, you don't... No. If you were, you wouldn't do any of this."

He got up quickly and before you know it, he was at your feet, groveling. His forehead hit the ground and his hands grabbed your ankles. "I'll pray. I'll confess and repent my sins. Please, forgive me. I truly am sorry. Please."

Was he fucking for real? You backed away, slipping away from his clutch.

"You're such a good Catholic boy, aren't you? Catholic, my ass! Your conscience only seems to be working when it comes to killing but adultery and lying are okay, huh?"

A pained grunt came from him but he stayed in the same position. "I know, I'm a horrible person. I've made a mistake again. Please, take me back."

"You said it was a mistake with Claire, too and it was just one time with Karen. And Elektra... don't even get me started on her." You took in a sharp breath. Tears were burning your eyes. "You always went back to her. Whenever you were in trouble, you didn't come to me. Instead, you went into her arms."

He was silent as he sat up, taking his head between his hands.

"I don't know... maybe I am the problem. Maybe I couldn't give you the comfort that a wife should've given but I tried my best, Matt. You didn't even try." Your voice cracked in the last part and tears started to spill down your face.

"No... no. It's not you. You've been nothing but supportive and loving to me. I... I ruin everything." He swallowed hard with that lump in his throat. He hated seeing you sad and especially knowing that he was the one that was making you sad.

"You can't just say you ruin everything and move on with your life being an impending doom, Matt. You gave up. You're not even trying to be better. I've been on my own in this marriage for a long time now."

You sat on the bed with a huff. How did your relationship turn into this? It was all so sweet in the beginning. That night at the bar changed your life. This handsome, mysterious stranger approached you, buying you a drink. Honestly, you just wanted a free drink but the conversation hooked you. He was a charming man and a dangerous one. It felt like he was luring you into dark, shady waters but he was oh-so-sweet.

It was a month into your relationship when you found out he was the devil of Hell's Kitchen. One night, he stumbled into your apartment, beaten up and bloody. You spent the rest of the night tending his wounds. For you, it was hard to accept that he was risking his life out there every night. Somehow you got used to it.

Three months after getting married, you got promoted at work. Everything was so great, you were so happy. However, now your position required you to travel sometimes and you hated being away from Matt.

It was one of those nights that you came from a trip. Matt wasn't home so you just changed and decided to wait for him. You poured yourself a glass of wine and right when you were about to sit on the couch, something caught your eye. You leaned down to check. There was a red thong beside the couch, almost under it. Your body froze, all the air in your lungs emptying. It definitely wasn't yours. When you confronted Matt about it, he refused to recognize the underwear. Shocking! He even claimed that it was yours. That was your first big fight and when you find out about Claire.

There have been more work trips and more women. You only knew about Claire, Karen, and Elektra but you were certain that there were so much more. Why was he doing this? Why having you wasn't enough?

"Was I ever enough for you, Matthew?"

Matt never ever heard your voice so broken. He was drowning in your sadness while the taste of your tears filled the room.

"I gave you all of me and I did it gladly. I love you with all my heart, all my existence. We took a vow. We swore before God. We promised to honor each other." Your voice was barely a whisper now but he heard you loud and clear.

You fiddled with your ring, it almost burned your flesh now. "We promised to wear these rings to show our love and faithfulness."

Matt was sitting there silently and tears were falling out of his eyes. He was well aware that he fucked up. He ruined the best thing in his life. He made his one and only's heart bleed.

You were just sitting there contemplating the broken shards that were your marriage. You never loved anyone as much as you loved him. Hell, that was probably the only reason you kept forgiving him. He was a good man, you knew but he was in a constant battle with his demons. He would sometimes be off the rails but he always came back to you.

How long could you do this? How many more women? All these years, he trampled down your honor and dignity in the name of love and mistakes but no more.

No more.

You took a deep breath in and got up. It might've looked like a simple movement but it took all your courage and what's left of your dignity. You wouldn't take this man's disrespect and dishonesty anymore. Matt's head snapped in your direction, following every little movement.

You walked to the front door, grabbing your purse and coat. When Matt realized what was happening, he was by your side before you know it.

"Baby, please don't go. Let's just talk." He grabbed you by the waist and tried to halt your motion.

You tried to shrug him off but his hold was strong. "There's nothing to talk about. Let me go."

Matt's heart was breaking into million pieces. The idea of you leaving him... the idea of moving on with his life without you... he wished he could take back the time and undo every misdeed he committed.

"Don't leave me. Please... I'll change... for good this time, I swear. Baby, please don't do this to me."

His words burned through your chest. Even though he broke your heart a million times, you still felt sad because he was sad. His pretty face was contorted in pain. His unfocused eyes were filled with tears. You wanted to reach and wipe his tears away, give him a kiss and hug him.

No more.

"I'm done, Matt. I can't do this anymore. I don't deserve to be treated like this. I never did." You freed yourself from his grip and opened the door.

He fell onto his knees with a sob. "Please..."

You took in the view in front of you, feeling pity for him. Right before you walked out of the door, you said "Sign the divorce papers when they arrive."

#matt murdock angst #matt murdock x reader #matt murdock fanfiction #marvel imagine #matt murdock smut #daredevil #daredevil fanfiction #daredevil x reader #fanfiction #matt murdock #marvel fanfiction

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hangmanssunnies · 2 years ago

Text

Good Comes In 3

House We Share: Double Tap, Sfumato, Good Comes In 3

Summary: You and Jake navigate what it means to spend six months apart. Then, when he does come home, you two have to evaluate precisely what feelings you have for each other and also what a future together could mean. You just aren't sure he will ever forgive you for starting a puzzle without him.

Pairings: Jake "Hangman" Seresin x Fem! Civilian! Reader, minor Javy "Coyote" Machado x OC

Word count: 34K

AO3 Link

Warnings: Angst with a happy ending, Abuse (Implied), Slow burn, routines and compulsions, Jigsaw puzzles, Rejection, Drinking, Arguments, Yearning, Deployment, communication, Fertility problems, miscarriage (discussed), menstruation (discussed and lightly described), close female friendships, Depressive episodes, PTSD, roommates to lovers, love confessions, hyper-specific!Jake, Neurodivergent coded! Jake. Please let me know if I missed any for this part; I know it is a long one.

An: Unfortunately, this last part was too long to post altogether here on Tumblr. So I have included the first half here, the rest can be read on AO3 though. My first reblog of this here on Tumblr has the other half as well. I apologize for the inconvenience.

Thank you for taking this journey with me. Thank you all for loving this version of Jake. There were so many things I wanted to include and finish off for these two. While I couldn't include everything, I hope you enjoy what I did.

Thank you so much if you take a chance to read this work. I hope you enjoy it. My inbox is always open if you want to let me know your thoughts. Reblogs with your thoughts, opinions, and tags are gold to me. I love reading through them.

"Jake looked tired. Has he told you how he's been sleeping?" Marlee asks you curiously while chatting with you on the phone. The question causes your stomach to roll in a deep dive, and it takes you a moment to find the composure to respond.

"No, I haven't heard," you manage to tell her. Setting down the piece of fruit you had been about to eat, you lean back against the kitchen counter.

"Ah, well, will you ask him about it whenever you next talk? He wouldn't answer Javy or me about it when we asked."

"You and Javy are joined at the hip, practically the same person sometimes. Do you find that shocking?" You ask Marlee teasingly. Marlee chuckles at your comment. Her smile betrays her true feelings, though she likes how in sync she and Javy are generally considered.

"We are sometimes." Marlee concedes but then says frankly, "But even when Javy had his individual call with Jake, he wouldn't say. And you are the only other person I can imagine him opening up to,"

"I'll mention it next time I talk to him," you manage to say. It would just be one of the many things that you were supposed to be talking to Jake about on his deployment. It was easier to go along with their assumption than to flay your chest open and let the hurt you felt pour out.

Sometimes it's better, easier, to keep the kind of pain you felt to yourself. Bundled close and protected. To expose it would just make it hurt all the more. The idea of anyone, especially your closest friends, knowing you weren't important enough, or you had scared Jake away, or made some other mishap was mortifying. How could you go about explaining what had transpired? You weren't sure you could explain it. Also, Javy and Marlee had plenty of other things and people to worry about without having to add you higher on their list than you were already placed. You felt bad each week when one of them called you to check in begging, sometimes demanding that you hang out with them.

"Okay, I'll talk to you later then, babes. I love you!"

"I love you too, Marlee," you say, giving her the sweetest, kindest tone you can muster up. You end the call and walk over to the chalkboard in the kitchen.

Jake normally would draw seasonal decorations on it, but you had cleared it to be blank for notes months ago. The only thing on the board is a list you had titled: things to talk to Jake about. You add 'sleeping habits' to the bottom and frown. Reading through the list makes tears prick at the back of your eyes, and a lump forms in your throat. You hold the eraser poised for a moment, ready to trash the entire list, but you don't manage to follow through and drop the eraser, letting it fall to the ground.

You walk through the house, checking the locks and turning off the lights. The sadness and frustration you feel in you is still bubbling as you pass where Jake had unceremoniously left the large Juniper chest. You glare at it just like you do every night.

The morning Jake left, he'd woken you up with his thumb tracing your pulse point. His soft mostly lidded eyes trained on you, neither of you said anything just laying there quietly memorizing the moment. Neither of you could bear to get up until after the third alarm rang. The sun still hadn't crested the horizon when Jake went to shower. While he was occupied you stole one of his large Navy shirts that had been washed so many times it was soft. You are reluctant to leave his room, but make your way to the kitchen starting some breakfast and Jake's morning tea. You were just adding the dollop of honey he likes when he came downstairs, fully dressed and ready to leave you.

Jake thanked you sweetly, with a kiss pressed to your cheek. In the same breath he tried to steal the whisk out of your hand. You danced out of way holding the whisk out like a sword to ward him off. He had quickly grabbed the masher from the utensil jar and brandished it in response. Amusement filling his features. After a small chase around the kitchen which included a small clash of utensils, Jake got his way. You loved the way Jake's eyes crinkled and how charming his dimples and smile lines were. It was a look you almost always got anytime you let him do things for you. Jake had still let you help though, asking you to toast the sourdough bread, while he whipped the avocado, goat cheese, and honey together. Once it was the constituency he liked, Jake spread it on the toast sprinkling some sea salt on top. He made one for you as well, but you had already started cooking three eggs for him, and didn't really have an appetite. After Jake ate, you spent every minute waiting for Coyote to arrive for pick up wrapped tightly in Jake's arms.

"There is one last thing I need before I go," Jake had said.

"I can't give it to you this time," you said muffled, trying hard not to cry on his whites.

"Just one smile." Jake pleaded with his large warm hand lifting your chin so he could stare at you intently again.

"No, Jake." He frowned at your answer, eyebrows pulling tight together.

"I suppose I've reached my limit on things I can take from you." Jake puffed out with a quiet sigh. The tip of Jake's nose had dragged softly across your forehead before pressing a soft kiss to the center. He lingered there, breathing you in.

"Thank you for everything, my sweet," Jake whispered quietly.

Your breath hitched in your throat, and you tried to pull him as close and tight to you as possible again. Jake allowed you to hug him, but he didn't relax into the embrace like he normally would have. He was almost stiff in your hold, but one of his hands traced slowly over your back in a soothing motion. When Coyote's headlights had inevitably shown through the frosted window on the door, Jake carefully detangled himself from your arms. He lingered though practically trembling.

"I can't do it," Jake whispered, leaving his forehead pressed to yours.

"It's not optional, and there isn't anything Hangman can't do. Let alone something you've done before," you reassured him. It didn't seem to work as he tensed up more.

"Promise me you'll be okay," Jake had begged you. You had nodded yes in response, saying the word would have tasted too close to a lie. Jake's nose nudged yours and he asked again. The second time was much closer to a desperate demand, "promise me."

"If you be safe," you had compromised, wanting to savor every second ticking by that you would never get back. This last time you would be in the same space sharing the same air, for an undetermined amount of time. With a resolve you knew you didn't possess, Jake mouthed the words goodbye he was so close that his lips brushed yours as he did so. With a shaky inhale, Jake stepped away from you. His first two steps hadn't hurt so much, but the third as he exited the front door took all the air with him, including the bit trapped in your lungs. It was a sense of instant emptiness you had never experienced before. Everything you wanted to do seemed impossible when you couldn't even breathe. So there was no running after him for one more stolen moment, no collapsing against the floor, sobbing until your throat was raw, no more reassuring green eyes you could look to for comfort.

The hollow feeling that nestled into you was hard to find your balance with. You had thrown the lock on the door and stumbled through the house, ready to retreat back into Jake's bed. Well aware his scent would be gone sooner rather than later, you were determined to imprint as much of it to memory as possible. You are blindsided by pain shooting up your foot as you unexpectedly stubbed your toe. Cursing and looking down you realized there was now a new piece of furniture. Jake had left a hand made juniper chest Jake left sitting in the area between the living room and dining room. On top was a small note card with a watercolor of two very detailed puzzle pieces.

You stare so hard at the water colored pieces trying to parse their meaning the focus of your visions started to blur. The rapid blink forced tears to lubricate the area. However, when there is one tear there are others quick to follow. Just as a tear had splashed against the edge of the card you recognized the duplicates of the last two pieces you and Jake had double tapped into your last puzzle. On the back of the card stock was the drawn design of the chest, with all of Jake's neat measurements noted. You traced over his neat handwriting, and you were quick to quell your disappointment not finding more. That confusion and disappointment was impossible to ignore when you had gone to see what was inside and it was locked, the latch refusing to open.

Now, after 6 and ½ months of radio silence, the chest taunted you. His entire deployment, there hadn't been a single word to you. Your only source of information was occasionally hearing from Coyote and Marlee about how Hangman was doing. And there was the memory of him, a large empty house, and a locked chest that was too heavy for you to move.

You kick the side of the chest as you walk past it. It has become a tradition for you – this small abuse of the furniture while pacing before bed was a small soothing habit that helped you work some of your worries out. Once the feeling of missing Jake had settled into a dull, steady pain there was room for anger. You were furious and the only thing you had to take it out on was this beautiful work of craftsmanship. Unshockingly, the chest had been well made – because why would Jake make something that was easy to take your anger out on. He couldn't even give you that small concession. Even though you aren't as angry anymore, kicking the chest has become a part of your nightly routine.

The chest didn't just bother you because it was locked or a surprise gift you hadn't asked for. It also bothered you because of what it was made from. The juniper wood Jake used didn't match the boards he used for the puzzle table, which was a more common light juniper. The boards for the chest were such a deep red it looked purple. Jake made it from one of the logs that you had helped him strip. Seeing the chest felt like a reopening weeping sore; one bleeding from a formally treasured memory that was nestled close to your heart.

…

Saturday mornings were always a wild card with Jake.It was the one day of the week you could never be 100% sure what his plans were. There were staples you could expect like his morning run, but after that who knew? Sometimes he would have plans to see his friends, other times he had a project, list of chores, plans with his "little brother", manuals to read or some other all day activity. He liked it to be all day. So Sometimes you liked to just lounge in the living room waiting to see what he was going to do before making any plans of your own.

"Hey, I'm going on a drive and run some errands. Anything you want me to pick up?" Jake says to you when he comes down the stairs one Saturday morning.

"Oh, can I come with?"

"Sure, if you want. It's going to be boring though," Jake warns you.

"No, it won't," You protest, standing up and stretching. "I'd rather be with you. As long as you don't mind me tagging along?"

"Yeah, of course, sugar. I never mind when you tag along." Jake says with a wide smile.

"Well, what's the errand so I know how to dress?"

"I'm going to meet an old friend."

"Oh my god. Please be less ominous Jake"

"What would you like to hear, sugar?"

"Who exactly are we meeting?"

"We are meeting up with my friend, Jess."

"And?"

"And, and, and," Jake says, twirling his hand around the air before dramatically pointing to his watch. "We are already 4 minutes behind our schedule. I'll tell you right now that this is cutting into our farmers market time." "Farmer's Market is on the list?"

"Of course it is sugar. And so is Target," Jake says in his ‘duh-voice’ that you actually hate, but also you love because it reminds you how easy this is supposed to be. How it's not supposed to be a second thought. The things you like are included and planned for without you having to ask.

You are scrambling up the stairs to get ready when Jake calls after you. "You don't actually have to rush!! I'll make up time on the road."

"You know I don't support your excessive speeding Jake!" you call back, grabbing what you thought you would need.

"Bring socks for your heavy boots!" When you make it back downstairs Jake is tapping his pen aggressively against a notepad.

"What am I going to need boots for?" You ask him suspiciously while going through your items.

"Do you want car snacks? I packed some, and we can always stop to pick something else up." Jake asks you glancing up from his paper.

"We don't have to have snacks; I know you don't like eating in the truck."

Jake just shrugs and opens the door to the garage for you. "It's not a big deal, I'll add the car wash to my list for tomorrow."

"I also got your truck slippers so you don't have to wear your boots for the drive," Jake tells you. It's so sweet you want to grab him in a tight hug. You squeeze your hands tight instead, waiting for the urge to pass. Jake helps you up into the passenger side of the truck. Just as he said, the soft fuzzy blanket you like, and the slippers Jake got you are laid out waiting. Jake helps you out of your boots and into the slippers, setting them in the back seat for later. Once you are fully settled and buckled, Jake closes your door. He checks that the garage door is locked before jumping in the truck himself.

"Was I quick enough for you not to aggressively speed?" you ask when Jake gets into the driver's side and checks his mirrors.

"I would hardly call it speeding," Jake complains.

"It's a number above the speed limit sign. Therefore, it's speeding." You say, explaining it.

"I literally fly ten times as fast as car speeds. Well, more like 9.9 but still when you round up. It's ten." Jake responds,

"That is no excuse to be going 120 miles an hour, Jake." You say while rolling your eyes.

"I'm just saying. I am perfectly capable of controlling a fast vehicle," he argues.

"That's fine, and I am not invalidating that. However, you know just as well as I do, that everyone else doesn't have that same ability."

"You are so sassy!" Jake teases, clearly deciding to let the faux argument go.

"I'm the sassy one? Sure," you say sarcastically, drawing out the word. However, you also decide to let it go. Instead you enjoy the start to your drive, getting music going and adjusting the temperature controls until they are just right.

"So," you say after a bit, drawing out the word. "What are we driving to do?"

"It's nothing," Jake responds with a shrug.

"Really? Nothing is the justification to wear the work boots you got me?"

"You can't live with a bit of mystery, can you?" Jake asks, but there is affection laid into his words.

"No," You concede with a joking sigh, "which is what makes you so infuriating sometimes."

"I do strive to live as a man of mystery," Jake says amused.

"Oh really, is that what your next move is? Retire, so you can become an American James Bond?" You tease him.

"I'll admit it. You got me figured out. What gave it away?" Jake asks jokingly but not as quiet as bright as before. You shoot him a look, but his smile is still firmly in place.

"Honestly?" You ask him hesitantly.

"Yes Ma'am. They do say honesty is the best policy."

"It's the fact that you refuse to grow facial hair. I'm convinced that it's because you want to save that for a disguise." You say, almost giggling trying to picture Jake with a beard or mustache. You expect Jake to laugh too, but he doesn't. After a slightly too long pause, he forces out a strangled laugh, and you realize that you've misstepped somehow.

"Talk about it or leave it?" You offer trying to sound natural and keeping the pushiness you felt gnawing on you out of your voice. Jake takes a deep measured breath, exhaling out slowly through his nose. He drums a staccato on the steering wheel before responding.

"Can we leave it please?" Jake eventually requests.

"Facial hair or James Bond?" You ask, wanting to clarify.

"Both, please."

"Can do."

"Thank you," Jake breathes quietly. Then he offers his right hand to you across the center console. You only wait a moment before slipping your fingers to slot in with his. He squeezes your hand affectionately and you both seem to take a deep breath to try and ease some of the uncomfortable tension. Jake's thumb tracing softly against your skin.

"I'll tell you if you really want to know," Jake says a few miles later while his eyes stay trained on the road. You think about whether you really want to press him for details. As much as you want to know, you don't want to ever force Jake into sharing something with you if he isn't completely comfortable with it.

"Nope, it's fine. Keep your mysteries, Hangman, I'll find out eventually." You finally respond, pulling Jake's hand up to press a kiss to the back of it, making sure he understood your innocent intentions. He chuckles good naturedly and his hand flexes at the movement, tightening its grasp on yours when you set them on the middle console again.

"That's good. I appreciate you."

"I appreciate you more," you tell him sweetly, though you mean it very genuinely. Jake pulls his eyes from the road to flash a heavy frown of disapproval your way.

"I don't think that's possible," Jake says with passion.

You just shrug, letting the conversation drift to the next topic, just enjoying the drive with Jake. It is a while before Jake pulls off onto a private road that leads up to a massive barn, and you still don't really have any clue where you are or why. Jake throws the gear into park, the truck in park and shoots you an almost gleeful smile.

"Jake, where are we?" You ask him again.

"Just my friend's place," he answers.Then,while reaching over and patting your cheek affectionately, says, "You, my sweet, can stay here."

"Do I have to stay?" You ask him nervously, checking the mirrors on either side of you. You know once Jake leaves the truck and into the barn you won't be able to see him anymore. The idea of being alone here, somewhere you don't know, even in the truck makes you uncomfortable.

"I just didn't want you to have to walk through all the mud," Jake says.

"It's okay," you tell him reassuringly. "That's why you had me bring my boots, right?"

"Yes, but you just look snug as a bug. I didn't want to make you move," Jake replies.

"I don't mind, it will be nice to get out of the car. And I want to meet your friend."

A moment later Jake is opening your side of the truck and helping you into your boots, tying up the laces for you and ignoring your protests that you are perfectly capable of doing that yourself. Jake helps you out of the truck and holds your hand, helping you walk over the uneven ground carefully. You can smell it before you see it. The fresh woodsy scent permeates the air so heavily that you can nearly taste it.

Subverting your expectations, Jake does not lead you to the large frame equipment sliding doors of the barn. Instead, he leads you around the nearest side where there is a small typical sized door. Opening the door, Jake reveals a huge workshop. Half of the large barn space is filled with massive logs, planks, boards, and other cuts of wood. The other half is full of various projects, a giant tool bench, and shelving making up an impressive workspace.

"Oh wow," you breathe taking it all in. You look at Jake and he is positively gleeful, maybe even more excited than a kid in a candy shop. His grin is wide, looking around and leading you a bit further into the workspace. A soft Jingle plays in the air, penetrating the otherwise quiet atmosphere when Jake closes the door behind you.

"Seresin, that better be you!" A voice calls out from the back of the barn.

"And it if ain't?" Jake calls back playfully.

"Then you should know, I've got a gun I ain't afraid to use, and you're trespassing."

You almost let go of Jake's hand in alarm, but he gives you a squeeze reassuring you. He leads you a little further into the warehouse, and a middle aged woman comes in through one of the open doors.

Jake lets go of your hand to give her a warm hug. She hugs Jake back lightly before pushing him away with a playful shove.

"It's good to see you too, Jess," Jake grumbles, dodging out of the way of her playful punch.

"Hi, I'm Jess. It's nice to meet you." She says turning to you and offers you a warm smile

You introduce yourself a bit shyly, but feel more confident when Jake's hand slips back into yours.

"Have you known this pest for long?" Jess asks you while gesturing to Jake.

"Jess, be nice. I am literally your favorite customer and the son you never had," Jake complains.

"Paula and I were actually very conscious in our choice not to have children, Jake," Jess says, clicking her tongue at him.

Jake pouts and you can't help but giggle a little at the sight. "I've known him for a bit, yes," you respond.

"Well, even if he is annoying, you've found yourself a good man," Jess says. You wait for Jake to correct her. When he doesn't you start to do so yourself but Jess has already changed the subject and started walking to the other side of the warehouse with a gesture for you to follow.

"So, I got them fresh this week. And just like you requested, I'm letting you have the first freshcut pick, even before me." Jess explains to him.

"I knew you loved me," Jake gasps grinning wide. Jess huffs out a breath at Jake but doesn't deny Jake's accusation which just makes Jake grin wider. Y'all walk to a pile of grey logs stacked close to the large barn doors.

They start a conversation that completely goes over your head, something about soil conditions, chain lengths, altitude, sap, and other details you didn't know impacted wood. You take this opportunity to look around the shop, and appreciate all the different types of wood and tools. You have only slightly lost focus when you suddenly realize Jake has said your name and is looking at you expectantly. He quickly picks up that you missed the question though, so he repeats it gently.

"You should pick our first one, Sugar. Juniper was your idea."

"Oh, I just pick one?" You ask looking at all the logs. Besides the fact they were different widths they all looked pretty much the same to you.

"Yes, Ma'am," Jake confirms. He leads you to the ends of the cuts and starts talking about grains, and the potential knots and twists that would be in the wood when you cut into it. Jess leaves y'all to decide, saying she'll go grab her forklift to make getting the selections into Jake's truck easier. Jess declines Jake's offer to drive with a snipe about how he isn't forklift certified. Jake's muttered comeback about how he could be forklift certified if he wanted makes you roar in laughter.

You eventually pick a trunk that overall doesn't look too special, but Jake said it looked like it would be easier to work with because of how sticky the sap was. Jake makes two other selections and also insists on helping Jess get the wood into his truck.

Jess invited you to an early lunch where you met her wife Paula. Paula had clearly been prepared to host and spent the whole meal fawning over Jake. While Jess might deny treating him like a son, Paula certainly leans into it, and you can tell Jake doesn't mind from the glowing smile that stays on his face the whole time you're at their home.

As promised Jake had planned time to stop at the farmers market, and an outlet mall, that included a target, where two do some light shopping. Finally picking up Jake's drycleaning on your way home. It's a fun day, and you were thankful you had decided to tag along.

"So Jake, are these for what I think?" You ask him excitedly when you have finally made it home and he is pulling the logs into the garage.

"It definitely might be. After all, this is fresh Juniper."

You stare at the grey logs of wood with their mossy, splintering bark that has already made a mess in the garage. Examining the wood you try to compare it with the Juniper you have seen in the past.

"I didn't think it was that color," you tell Jake scrunching your eyebrows together in contemplation.

"Well, the wood isn't actually grey, just the bark," Jake explains. You watch as he pulls two pairs of work gloves from the workbench. He jerks the larger pair on, you realize with adoration that he had gotten a pair in your size. Jake doesn't hand the gloves to you, rather just leaves them out as an offering if you are interested in participating. The casual no pressure offering makes your chest warm and stomach flutter. Biting your lip you try to contain the grin threatening to split your face before joining him at the workbench and sliding the gloves on.

Grabbing two chisels, he throws one on his belt. Then he picks up alo with two hammers, hanging both those on his toolbelt as well. You start to get distracted by the way Jake's tool belt sits on his slim hips.

"Yes. Jess managed to expedite it for us in a special order. I'm so excited. You see, in the spring the sap warms up and it runs through the tree so it allows us to do this –" Jake explains to you. He angles the chisel into the bark, working it in. With a controlled hit from the hammer the flat head sinks in a little bit deeper. Wiggling the chisel makes the bark displace, allowing Jake to grab it and pull it downwards. A long section of the bark comes off before splintering and breaking off the log. The action reveals the light colored, bright, 'green' (fresh) wood underneath.

"I can tell you've never experienced stripping before," Jake says cheekily while wiggling his eyebrows at you. You feel a bit amazed at the beautiful gem that's been revealed to you.

"What?" you gasp.

"Stripping is what this process is called," Jake answers while letting out a full bellied laugh, going so far as slapping his own leg. You roll your eyes at him but can't help your smile and excitement on joining in.

"Some people strip wood with a power washer, but I think that's lazy. On top of the laziness, it prematurely ages and strips the wood of its natural oils, color, and saps! If we take our time though, we can get a longer lasting, vibrant cut. It's a lot of work, but I promise it will be worth it in the long run."

Jake takes his chisel and edges it under the bark again. When he pulls the long grey strip of bark gives way with a crunch that sizzles against your ears. Jake continues to slowly peel more away to reveal the fresh color underneath, not pressuring you to join the process at any point.

However when you do ask to help Jake is patient going over the process with you, explaining the best angle to keep the chisel. He provides steady guidance, only leaving you alone in the process when you tell him that you have a handle on what you're doing.

You help Hangman strip one of the logs and just as he had said, it is a slow process. It is however extremely satisfying and lots of fun. He puts on a podcast after consulting you to find one you would both enjoy. At one point you accidentally dig your chisel too far under the bark and feel it sink slightly into the 'green' sap softened wood. Your heart drops, and when you peel it back you see that it has pulled a chunk of wood, leaving a gouge in the trunk. You freeze, noticing the damage of the mistake, pulling your eyes to where Jake is working. Just as you start to wonder if there could be a way to fix or hide your mistake, Jake looks over at you with a wide smile that crinkles around his eyes.

"Oh wow," he gasps, the smile falling. Anxiety claws at your throat, and you instinctively prepare yourself for something bad to happen, every muscle in your body tensing in anticipation. Jake's hand gently pushes yours out of the way and dips over the gouge pushing away some of the sap that was springing from the area. Jake clicks his tongue before saying. "Look at this, sugar"

"I know and–" You are getting ready to spew the best excuse and explanation you can think of before Jake interrupts you.

"I've seen this color juniper, at least not in person" Jake tells you breathily. You are momentarily surprised that his words do not contain any anger, veiled insults, or condescending tones. Then you remember that this is Jake, so of course you're not going to 'be in trouble'. It takes your eyes a moment to drop down to the thick trunk again. Where you had damaged the wood, it revealed a bright purple streak under the top grain.

"It's purple," you say, eyes widening.

"It does look purple does it?" Jake asks excitedly. "That means at the very least that vein will look like that through the trunk. If not all the pigmentation in the grain."

"So, it's not usually purple?" You ask.

"Sometimes red, but not purple. This one was a real treasure find, sugarpie" Jake answers. His grin was so wide you were a little worried about his face. However, before you know it, he is sweeping you in his arms and rocking you playfully while saying, "We are going to have to do something really special with this one."

"Puzzle table," You say as if that was the most obvious answer. That was the whole reason he had gotten all these logs of juniper, after all.

"Yeah, maybe for the puzzle table," Jake says noncommittally, though as he hums you can tell that won't be the case. He kisses your forehead and mutters a thank you.

Jake gives you another thank you, a little while later, once you two have started to work again. "We wouldn't have known about the color until I went to cut planks and then there would have been a lot less I could do to preserve the color."

"I made a mistake, Jake."

"Not all mistakes are bad," he says kindly. "Sometimes they are just something that's meant to happen. They have to happen for us to learn something."

"Says the man who famously never makes mistakes," you grouse back.

"I make mistakes, but unfortunately, like everything I do, it's to the max. Either the best or the worst," he trails off with a shrug.

"Because you refuse to be middling?" You ask him teasingly. You aren't surprised when his sharp elbow playfully taps into your arm, and if you bruise later-- it will be worth it.

"We never should have read and watched Little Women," Jake grumbles. However, his open and light body language make it very clear to you he is being playful. You traced the shape of his dimples with your eyes enjoying the ease they brought to you. They seemed like the perfect place to rest your thumbs on his cheeks. It's nice how Jake comes with a built in guidance system. From his dimples, to the smile lines that will age nicely into kind crows feet all pointing to the freckle-mole by his right eye. You had already mapped out every place you wanted to kiss, given the opportunity.

"You loved them both," you remind Jake.

"Of course I did. It is a heart warming, stunning story. But you don't always have to make fun of how I teared up a little bit." Jake tells you, adopting a frown. Teared up was a bit of a down play on what had happened but you didn't call Jake out on that part. It wasn't a bad thing for men to get emotional and cry.

"I only tease because you were upset about it for the entire next day. Which honestly was so sweet."

"It's not sweet, Sugar." Jake groans.

"Jake, let's not do this dance," you sigh, rolling your eyes at him and turning back to your work on the trunk. You are much more careful now in how you place the chisel under the bark. In the middle of stripping off the next piece the podcast shuts off and some slow country music replaces it.

"Now, Sugar," Jake says in an extra thick southern accent that makes you narrow your eyes. He eases in close to you and pulls the chisel out of your hand sliding it in his tool belt. Unbuckling it Jake sets it on the bench. Coming back to your side he takes your hand, delicately. Jake pulls your work gloves from each finger. Intentional and steady, the pads of his fingers brush against your revealed skin. He tosses the gloves to the side as well, and with your now free hands pulls you closer to him, towards the open space in the middle of the garage.

"What dance exactly don't you want to do?" Jake asks you, starting to sway to the music and encouraging you to join him in the simple steps. Once you do he gleefully spins you in time with the music and draws you back even closer to his chest after.

Blowing out a sigh you melt into his embrace. Dancing with Jake was different than any other man; he was confident and incharge, firm enough with his hold that there wasn't any space for you to really fall out of step with him, but he left enough room so you didn't feel like he was forcefully dragging you through the steps. He was good about taking the worry of thinking about the steps away from you, allowing you to just enjoy the movement and how his broad body felt pressed so close.

"The dance where you try to sell some preposterous lie about not being a good man, and I have to convince you otherwise."

"Ouch," Jake says. You lean back further resisting the hold he has in moving you. Jake doesn't allow the movement though, continuing to step dance to the music guiding you with him.

"I'm sorry, Jake." you say already feeling a little bad.

"No, no. I might have deserved that one," Jake answers, as the song wraps up, and you don't know what to say. He doesn't let go of you though, just adjusts his steps, leads his steps into the next one.

"Let's find a different dance you do like," he says after a bit, shuffling you in his arms. "For example, we know you love the Texas two step."

"Do I?" You ask him with a laugh.

"Yes, ma'am," He responds confidently, not leaving room to contradict him. "How do you feel about salsa though?"

Jake turns you around the open space in the garage, going through dances he knows until you are both laughing. When he suggests cooking dinner and watching Dancing with the Stars for some new ideas you readily and happily agree, especially when he reminds you the logs will still be there tomorrow, and there is no real need to rush since you have at least a week until the sap is too dry to easily strip anymore.

…

"Marlee, your boss isn't going to pass you up for a promotion."

"Well, she might if I'm pregnant," Marlee responds in a small voice that doesn't match her typical outgoing demeanor. You almost drop your phone but manage to keep your grip tight.

"Marlene Machado… First of all, that would be illegal, and we would file a report with HR. And secondly, is there something you are wanting to tell me?"

"No!" Marlee says, "I don't know what you're talking about, me pregnant?! That's crazy talk. Maybe you're the one who's pregnant."

"Okay, honey. Sorry, sorry." You sigh only partly apologetic into the phone.

"No, I'm sorry." She replies in a quiet voice. "But nothing for sure yet."

"That's okay, Marls. It's only been a few months of this new medicine."

"Yeah, well um I guess that leads to my next problem."

"What's that?"

"What are your plans for Saturday?"

"I don't have any plans." You say running through your mental calendar to check.

"Okay, perfect. So, here's what Javy and I are thinking."

"So Javy is involved?" You clarify.

"What? Of course, he is!" Marlee says sounding affronted at even the concept of not including her husband, which makes you almost smile for real.

"Okay, okay," you tell her with a small laugh.

"We'll pick you up. Then we'll carpool to the airport. Don't worry I already made signs. Then we want to take y'all to Olive Garden."

You distantly hear Javy yelling, "When we are there, we are family."

Marlee takes a moment to giggle, "I'll make sure you and Jake drink a bottle of wine. Preferably one each. Trust me, nothing helps with the ‘we haven't seen each other in six months’ awkwardness better than wine. Then we will drive you two home!"

You aren't successful in catching your phone this time and it slams to the ground. You're frozen staring down at it, only managing to shake yourself and pick it up when you hear Marlee saying your name in concern.

"Sorry, the phone slipped. What was that?"

"Oh no, is it okay?"

"Yeah, it's fine," you answer the pit in your stomach growing till it feels like it might swallow you whole.

"You don't need help with anything for tomorrow do you?" Marlee asks worriedly. You take a glance around the house. You had worked hard keeping things orderly and together while Jake had been gone. You knew how worried he was that things would change while he was away. It hadn't been easy and there were a few weeks there when you hadn't been able to keep yourself afloat very well.

"Help with what?" You ask, trying to get her to confirm what you thought you had heard.

"Any cleaning or organizing or any of that. Groceries so you and Jake don't have to go shop. Javy hates going to the store when he comes home. I guess there is something especially frustrating about them," Marlee trails off. You can tell that she is picking up on your off mood, and of course she was. She probably expected you to be ecstatic that Jake was coming home, and maybe you would have been if you had known about it.

You realize there isn't a way out of this so you have to concede a truth to her. You bite your lip and let your eyes frantically comb over the house again before finally whispering. "He hasn't said anything to me… about coming home."

When Marlee answers you can hear she isn't on speakerphone anymore, and asks you quietly, "He hasn't mentioned it at all?"

"Not a word," you respond solemnly.

"I'm sorry for ruining the surprise."

"I'm glad you did. I'll definitely want to clean and shop like you mentioned. And as nice as your plan sounded, maybe not this time. You two are the sweetest ever."

"I still feel bad. Are you sure you don't need help with anything?"

"I'm fine, thank you, Marlee!" You were not fine.

"Wait, babes, I'm worried."

"Don't worry. I'll talk to you later, yeah? I love you!" You hang up the phone and stare at it blankly. Trying to process the new information you had just gotten. Looking around the house you realized you weren't even close to ready for Jake to come home.

You spend all of your free time panicking, cleaning and organizing the house, trying to make sure everything was just perfect for when Jake comes home. You almost had a breakdown when you couldn't remember if the quilt on his bed had been green or dark blue when he left.. The smallest details were haunting you. You had spent nearly an hour working up the courage to erase the chalkboard in the kitchen. Worried that you would forget some of the more important reminders, you erase everything but what you deemed Jake needed to know, like things that had come up concerning the house. It leaves a choppy, oddly spaced list, but you don't think you will have the energy to rewrite it without crying.

You were asleep when Jake came home. Waking up to sounds that are familiar and yet gone enough that they don't sound right, confuses your tired mind before you are startled into wakefulness, fully placing that for the first time in 6 months someone else is cooking in your kitchen. Your alarm is slightly eased when you check your phone and see a text from Marlee.

We're here with a gift, come down stairs as soon as you wake up <3

While you were put at ease knowing some manic axe murderer isn't in your house, you almost feel like you would prefer that to what you now know is waiting for you downstairs. You sit in your room for nearly an hour trying to work out what to do, if you should confront Jake and how to approach it, hoping inspiration or bravery will strike you into moving. It never does though, and instead there is a heavy handed knock on your bedroom door.

Taking a big gulp, not having the strength to find your voice, you slowly creak the door open. You lift your eyes up and unexpectedly find Javy on the other side of the door.

"Hey, sleeping beauty!" Javy says cheerfully. It takes you a few deep breaths to answer from your surprise. You don't know what the look on your face is, but the next thing you know, Javy is sweeping you up into a tight hug. You are frozen though, still strung out on what this must mean, that Jake is home.

"Is he?" You start to ask, but not sure how you actually want to finish the sentence: home, safe, okay, the same. Javy doesn't respond, he just squeezes you harder. You try asking your question again to get an answer. "Is Jake?"

"Hangman is here," Javy finally confirms.

"I thought it was going to be this evening."

"Some of his flights got shifted around at the last minute."

"Oh. And is he..?" You can't finish that question either.

"He will be okay," Javy says lightly.

"Will be? So, that means that he isn't okay now." You grimace, worry flooding your chest that is already so full of hurt.

"It'll all take us some time to readjust and recalibrate. Just don't push him, and more importantly yourself too hard. Okay?" Javy says pulling away from the hug after another squeeze. You nod numbly, not entirely sure you know what he means but it is comforting to know your friend is here.

When you don't make a move to follow Javy towards the door when he starts to retreat he levels you with a concerned look.

"Why do you love Jake?" Javy asks, leaning back against your door.

You open your mouth to protest that you don't love Jake– how can you love someone who willfully hasn't talked to you in 6 months? The words don't come out though, because in spite of it all, you do love him. You love him so much it hurts, and you made that choice even as Jake actively warned you against it. Javy waits patiently for you to respond, which just makes you feel like squirming more.

"I do not see what that has to do with anything," you try to deflect but Coyote frowns at you and shakes his head.

"It's because he makes you feel better than a million bucks right?" Javy presses on with the question.

"Yeah, sometimes." You concede thinking of how it was before Jake left.

"Or like you are the most important thing in the room? More important even than him?"

"Don't know if I love Jake because of that. I think those are just side benefits. I love Jake just by virtue of him being Jake." You say trying to explain how you feel and Javy nods along to your words.

"I get it," he says. You worry your lip and look at the door again, still not sure you can do this.

"It's going to be okay. Marlee and I are here to play interference as long as you two need it. Remembering those things you love about him will help get through the rough patch. He is really worried about doing something wrong."

"What do you mean wrong?"

"I would say he is worried about hurting you." And you had to resist the urge to laugh, because it was already much too late for that. Jake had been hurting you for months now.

"Has something gone wrong before, or is he just scared?"

Javy doesn't answer your question and he avoids your gaze and stares hard at a far wall. "Hangman and I aren't always stationed together."

"Oh, I see."

"You're going to have to give him some grace and time; he will even out, I promise. If it gets too bad you can always call me, okay?" Javy's eyes meet yours again, and he gives you a sad smile. "I love Jake too, you know."

"Yeah, I know you do." You reassure him. "Thanks Coyote, you are a good friend to him, and me too."

Javy is then urging you to finally leave your room, opening the door and gesturing for you to step out. He is asking you to be brave, and it's a lot easier to face your fears when you know someone else is there to help, just in case.

"Hey what's taking so long up there?" Marlee yells up the stairs suspiciously. She must have heard your door open.

"I am once again begging Javy to run away with me." You yell back to her playfully. Giving Javy one last tight hug and a muttered thank you, he strides confidently down the stairs. Anxiety and nerves eat away at your every step leaving a sour taste on your tongue. You keep your eyes trained on the ground, as you descend the stairs, still not ready to actually see Jake.

Instead you keep your eyes trailed on Javy where he has automatically drifted to his wife's side and is already wrapping himself around her and kissing her cheek.

"Well, were you convinced to run away?" Marlee asks her husband, hugging him back, clearly enjoying the joke.

"No Ma'am, not this time," Coyote answers with a laugh.

"I wasn't worried," she tells him. "I know there's only one person you would leave me for."

"I would never leave you," Javy responds, dropping the playfulness from his voice. However, Marlee persists.

"That's not true, we both know if Jake asked, you wouldn't even hesitate." The couple both turn their eyes towards the kitchen, which you realize is where Jake must be. You are frozen on the last step of the stairs, unable to take your eyes off Marlee and Javy, even as they expectantly look back and forth between where you are standing and where he is.

You decide you aren't brave enough, that you can't actually do this. You need to retreat up the stairs into your room and pack all of your things in order to get out of here as soon as possible. Jake was back now, all the responsibility you had to watch and take care of the house was released from your shoulders. Never facing him again seems like the obvious solution, you don't know why you had never considered it before.

"I wouldn't ever ask Javy to run away with me, he snores too much," Jake says. His voice tricks your eyes into looking towards the kitchen. Thinking about Jake Seresin and seeing him are two distinctly different things. He is handsome, Jake always has been handsome, but after so long of not seeing him, it's glaring, breathtaking.

You think you had expected him to change, which doesn't really make sense. Half a year, in the grand scheme of things, really isn't very long. You think maybe his uniform fits him a bit more snugly, that he looks even more fit than before. You weren't prepared… you weren't prepared at all. And now you are stuck because he is looking back at you. Jake blinks at you, and you stare wide eyed, too afraid if your eyes close for even a second he will be gone.

"Hello. Good morning," Jake finally says.

"Hi," you squeak. Then you are finally able to take the last step off the stairs and say, "It's good to see you."

Jake flashes you one of his perfect practiced smiles and a wink. Then he gestures to the bowls and pans in front of him, "I'm making french toast."

You wait a second, having to choke back a sob threatening to bubble in your chest. Then say, "I'm sure that will be good."

Javy and Marlee's analyzing the two of you makes the awkwardness press in harder. Gulping, you try to seem casual about walking towards the kitchen. Jake watches you intently. At the last minute you change your mind and veer down the hallway towards the front door instead.

"Sorry, I just have some errands I need to run," You announce loudly, quickening your step. Fumbling with the locks you burst out the front door, and stand heaving on the front porch. Gripping the railing hard, you lean against it trying to brace yourself.

A minute later you hear the door open, and you close your eyes tight, wishing you had been smart enough to walk further away. There is a slight clunk against the ground and you see a pair of your shoes next to your feet.

"Thought you might need shoes," Jake says quietly. Fuck, this hurt so much more than you though it would. You thought having him home would feel like a relief, not a fresh stab wound. You just shake your head, not sure you can say anything. Jake waits patiently but after several long minutes, he breathes out a quiet sigh.

"Okay. Well. I think I should just apologize and get on with it. I'm sorry, I am so sorry." You can't stop the hitching sob that falls from your throat.

"I know you didn't love back the same way, but I didn't realize you cared so little about me."

"That is an inaccurate statement," Jake protests.

"I don't want us to have a fight Jake." You mumble, nothing about this conversation was making you feel better.

"Well I do. I want us to have a fight, because you should be mad at me. You should be yelling at me and cursing the ground I walk on. You should've burned down this house!" He exclaims, and you can hear his frustration. You open your eyes to find Jake standing stiff and straight next to the slightly ajar front door. Hands clenched tight, Jake was staring at like you were water and he had been stranded in the desert for days, parched. A direct sighting of his green eyes is all it takes to break your resolve.

"I can't be mad at you!" You exclaim, throwing your hands up in the air.

"Why not?" He prods you in a low voice.

"You know exactly why."

Jake huffs, clenching his jaw he glares upwards, away from you.

"You don't have to be this saint you know. You don't have to be this perfectly stable person for me because you feel like that's what I need. Please don't let me get away with hurting you."

"I won't give you the satisfaction," you tell him coldly.

"What?" Jake asks, his eyebrows drawing together in confusion.

"I'm not going to give you the satisfaction of confirming that you are the bad guy you've convinced yourself you are. So, what would you like me to say instead?"

"I guess I want you to listen to the fact that I'm sorry. I'm sorry for how I left, I'm sorry for how I behaved, I—"

"Are you really sorry for what happened between us?" You ask in a small voice. You lower your eyes to look at the ground, not wanting to be too confrontational.

"Of course I am," he sighs. It's a stab to your heart. You had treasured the long heartbreakingly beautiful evening you had with Jake before he left, and hearing him say he doesn't feel the same is harrowing.

"Are you—" you start to ask but stop yourself. You ball up all the hurt in your chest trying to rationalize and compartmentalize. Realizing this is another one of those times you had to fill in the gaps. It was time you refocused on the realities at hand. There were no promises besides the one you had made. That you would love him regardless, and continuously. Reminding yourself this fact helps, you could be upset after, later. Every moment actually with Jake should be treasured, this was the first moment you were getting with him in how long and of course you had ruined it.

"I'm sorry for every other thing I know I should be, and everything I willfully chose not to know too. I'm sorry, and well I want to go on forever. I want to keep telling you I'm sorry every second. So, I'm sorry. I'll say it a million times more. Like you deserve."

"Jake, stop. Sometimes the more times you say something the cheaper the words have become. So let's keep this one valuable. I'm sorry for pushing, and you've said sorry too. We can move on now."

"I'll just be plain then." He says, though you can tell that the frustration and desperation are still burning hot under his skin.

"Yes, Jake, be plain. That's the best option for us."

"If we step over lines?"

"We say something, stop and talk about it."

"Okay." He agrees, "We have to talk about the other thing now too."

"What thing?" you ask.

"My question, what happened between us." He says as if he hadn't just told you part of him regrets it.

"You asked to be selfish with me Jake, and I said yes. I don't regret that, and I'm not mad about what happened. You had my permission and consent for all of it.'

"I just kept waiting until I knew what I wanted to say, but then I never knew what I wanted to say," he explains.

"Jake, I really…" You sigh and scrub your hand over your face. "Can we not talk about this right now?"

Jake nods silently in response. "Okay, Later, then."

"Sure, like when the Machados aren't listening on the other side of the door." You say loudly looking at the front door that was cracked, having no doubt your friends were being nosey. Not that you really blame them, you probably would have done the same thing.

"Do you still have errands to run?" he asks you. You look out to the street deciding you should at least take a small walk to sort through your thoughts.

"I'm just going to go on a little walk. I'm sure I'll be back by the time breakfast is done," you explain.

"Sounds good, sugar. Can I help you with your shoes?" He asks quietly. The only reason you nod your head yes is because you think you might start crying otherwise.

Jake kneels down and hesitates for a long moment before his large warm hand is on your ankle, helping angle your foot into the shoe. His thumb makes a brushing stroke across the skin before doing the same thing with the other foot. When you get back from your walk, it's awkward. You completely avoid Marlee's attempts to get you to go off and talk with her. Instead, you decide that the best course of action is to pretend that nothing is wrong. You laugh at jokes and ignore how stilted and awkward Jake's conversation is with everyone. Then, after Marlee and Javy linger way too long, before you and Jake finally get them to leave. Once they are out the door and Jake has locked the door behind them, you both let out a sigh of relief. You meet Jake's gaze, both of you offer small smiles. It's the most normal moment you've had all day.

"Welcome back, Jake." You offer tentatively. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"I kinda just want to nap," he admits. You part ways at the top of the stairs giving him a strained smile and retreat into your room; Jake's eyes don't leave you until the door is shut firmly in place.

It's much later that night when you hear some loud banging. You shoot out of your room worried, and realize the banging is coming from the other side of Jake's bedroom door. You knock on it firmly but don't hear a response.

You knock again and the banging comes to a stop. You try the door and find it locked.

"Jake, are you okay?" You ask him through the door.

"I'm fine. Thanks," he yells back. You wait but when you don't get anything more, you have no choice but to leave him be and go back to your room. You don't actually even see Jake again until two nights later. You have been able to tell that he is home but Jake is as elusive as a ghost.

You run into him next when you open your door one night to get some water before bed. Jake is standing on the other side, holding two water bottles. Part of you has a hunch that he had been standing there for a while. He looks shocked but a little relieved when he sees you.

"I know I shouldn't be here," Jake starts slowly, taking his gaze off of you and looks down at his feet.

"No, it's okay that you are here," you stutter slightly. "Is there something you need?"

Jake nods his head along with your words, his eyebrows drawing together. Then he holds out a water bottle for you to take. "Can I just be here? Here, with you?"

"Of course, always." You say stepping backwards into your room leaving the door wide open for him. You shuffle to your bed and lift open the blankets ready to welcome him there with you. However, Jake drops the pillow he was holding on the floor nearby and lays down instead.

You want to ask him questions about it but the edge he is on isn't one you want to poke or prod in any direction. While you are still hurt, knowing he is here is safe again, with you is equally as soothing, a small dosage of pain medication.

"There's plenty of room up here with me too, you know." You decide to casually offer just in case.

"It's too soft for me right now."

"I just thought I would offer," you say lightly.

"I can't sleep. It's the worst part. Everything is too quiet and too still and at the same time not quiet or still enough. I think I might go insane." He explains in a low voice.

"What can I do? What do you need?" You ask sympathetically.

"Can we talk about it?" Jake asks hopefully.

"No, Jake. We can't," You sigh and hear him sigh in frustration.

"Someday, at some point, we are going to have to talk about it," Jake says so carefully you know he is consciously holding back the taunting frustration he wants to put into the words.

"No, we really don't," You contradict him.

"Sweets," Jake responds, sounding wrecked.

You think you should give into him again. You should allow Jake to talk his heart out and seek penance from you. How this should be a time when you are strong for him. However, as much as you want to give Jake the world, there must be times that you curl around your own heart to try and shield it from hurt.

"Listen, Jake. I don't need to know why you didn't talk to me while you were gone. No matter what your explanation is, it's going to hurt my feelings. So, I would rather not know. Please, let me pretend something a little kinder."

He is silent, so very quiet for so long you almost wonder if he has left. Evaporated from existence, that he never came home at all, and you've been living an elaborate hallucination. You turn on your side just to check in the soft lamp light that Jake is still laying on the floor.

"You should have said no to me before I left. It would have saved us both a lot of grief I think."

Jake's words feel like a punch in the gut, rattling around like a wrecking ball, leaving a bloody massacre behind. With a heavy blown out breath you say, "No it wouldn't have."

"No, it wouldn't have," he sighs in agreement.

"It would be nice though, if we could go back to before."

"Before?" He asks.

"Yes," you say, clutching your blankets tight. "If I could pretend that you never got orders and didn't leave. I would jump to that in an instant.

"You want to pretend nothing happened?"

"Isn't that an idea?" You huff a small broken laugh at the ridiculousness of it.

"What if I don't remember exactly how things went before?" Jake wonders.

"Jake, I wasn't serious," you say cautiously.

There are several long minutes of silence where you wait for him to say something. Finally, you hear Jake let out a long heavy audible groan while shifting. "If you don't want to talk it out. Pretending is probably our best option then. Otherwise, what are we going to do, sweets?"

"Sugar," You correct automatically.

"Hmm?"

"You usually call me sugar, or honey. Not sweets"

"Ah, that's right, and darling. I got it mixed up because you're so sweet to me."

"I'll help you. If you don't remember how it goes."

"Thank you," he says. And you can't believe he is actually agreeing to this idea, or really that you are either.

"Do you not like sweets?" Jake asks eventually.

"It's fine enough, I guess." You answer as lightly as you can. Then you go through another bout of silence. You nervously play with the edge of a blanket hoping that this tension with Jake will ease. It's always gone away in the past, but that was also before.

"That's what you want then? Tomorrow, we go back?" Jake asks again.

"Yes, tomorrow," You confirm.

"Sugar?

"Yes, Jakers?"

"Can I ask you a question?" He asks. You laugh lightly, feeling a bit of the nervousness ease at his tone which has become much lighter.

"I never understand why people say that. Aren't you already asking a question?" Jake chuckles low in his chest in amusement. He doesn't follow along with the joke though, just leaves it there hanging in the air.

"The answer is yes," you tell him casually.

"You don't know what the question is."

"Yes, you can ask me a question," you clarify in a whisper. Jake makes some rustling sounds and you hear him come closer to you.

"Are you sure that bed is big enough for two?" He asks.

"Why don't we find out?" You laugh feeling more at ease.

With a nod Jake crawls onto bed and turns to face you on his side. However, he doesn't scoot in close like you expect. He is stone still on the other side of the bed, laying on top of the covers, only shifting his pillow once.

"What would you do, if I told you the last time I said yes, it had an extended warranty?" You ask while turning on your side to face where you are in the bed now.

"How long are we talking about here?" Jake asks.

"Unfortunately, I think it expires some time tomorrow." You watch Jake work his lip in contemplation, while examining your face closely.

"Why would you let me be selfish with you again?"

"I think it's because we are selfish. Maybe it's a little bit because I don't want the memory of the last time I tasted you to be bitter."

Jake rolls away from you onto his back, blinking rapidly at the ceiling. "Stop letting me take things from you."

"We both deserve a night where we are selfish with each other, I think." You tell him reaching across the gap between you. You set a hand on Jake's cheek ignoring the prickly stubble there.

"To have you and let you go again the next day would be torture," Jake says all while leaning into your touch.

"Just a kiss this time," you offer, urging him by his cheek to come a little closer to you.

"It was supposed to be just a kiss last time too." Jake's eyes are bright where they burn into yours. He inches a little closer and you lean forwards as well, reducing the gap between you two that much more until there is just a miniscule space now.

"I know," You answer against his lips, letting your hand slip into his hair. Jake's lips move with yours crowding in close, like he is trying to breathe all of you into himself and commit you to memory.

"Maybe, it can be more of a promise?" Jake eventually gasps.

"A promise?" You question.

"A promise not to hurt you like this again," Jake answers.

"That's not an easy promise to keep," you warn.

"That's true, but I'm willing to try anyway." He kisses you again and dips his tongue into your mouth. Jake swallows your little whimpers; he tastes just as good as he always has. It's very easy to be selfish with Jake "Hangman" Seresin.

…

It's a slow road to trying to get back to normal. Jake circles around the house like he is lost. Picking things up and setting them down, starting conversations with you and leaving halfway through them. Shadows stretch across his face and his increasingly dark stubble and facial hair. You are a little surprised to find that he doesn't have a red beard like most blonds do. The facial hair only serves to make him look increasingly gaunt.

Jake even denies your offer to start a puzzle together, telling you that wasn't something he could handle at the moment. You try not to seem like you were watching him like a hawk, but you definitely are. Until one day he stood up from the table in the middle of dinner and announced that he was going camping.

"Oh okay. Do you know how long?"

"Yeah," Jake sighs, "I'll be home before next weekend, and I promise you when I get home I'll be normal again."

"You don't have to be any which way for me Jake," you tell him gently.

"I know, but I need to do this for me too, sugar." He explains while putting away dishes. You watch him complete the task; Jake is antsy even with his hands occupied. None of the projects or tasks he has picked up since being home have been enough to occupy him with real distraction. Two days ago, you had walked into the garage where Jake had rigged up his camping hammock to the ceiling which you felt like he was swaying precariously 8 feet off the ground. On top of that Jake had music blasting, a documentary on Yosemite playing, while also whittling a piece of wood.

"Okay. I'll miss you." You eventually say. Jake purses his lip, and after a heavy gulp he nods his head. Once the last of the dishes is away he spins on his heel and heads towards the garage door.

You hurry after him, "Jake?"

"Yes, sugar?" He asks, not pausing his trajectory.

"Are you leaving right now?" You ask him surprised.

"Yes, I packed earlier today."

"Can I have a hug before you go?" You ask him hesitantly.

Jake freezes. He rubs his hands across his face pressing briefly into his eyes while sighing a very soft "Fuck." Then he turns to you fully looking abashed. "Yeah, sugar. What do you need before I go? I'm sorry I should have asked that first."

"No, it's no big deal. Honestly." You tell him backing off not wanting to be too much. Jake shushes you softly while stepping closer.

"Tell me how it goes. I need to remind myself about this part."

"Well," you start off hesitantly, "normally I would get a hug goodbye."

"Ahh," Jake hums, "that's right. And I do that part like this?" Jake wraps you in his arms, draping them high on your back. You wait a moment before draping your arms around his neck.

"How's the next part going again, sweets?"

"You squeeze my waist a little harder and lower." Jake follows the direction his arms tightening around you drawing you flush against his chest.

"Now?" He whispers.

"You would probably kiss my forehead."

"Just your forehead?" Jake asks breathily.

"I'll leave that one up to you, Jake." He unwraps a hand from your waist to hold the back of your neck, keeping you steady.

"And if I want to kiss somewhere else?"

"You've got my permission Jake," you tell him trying to keep want and desire out of your voice. Jake parts his lips and leans in closer brushing his lips to grace over your cheekbone.

"You can have it, Jake," you remind him.

"No," he answers and closes his eyes. "Not again, not yet. I'll be home in a few days."

Once Jake leaves you know there is something you have to do to help him. It's an idea that gets stuck in your head and then you can't get it out. He had been spending time daily in his hammock in the garage, and you noted that Jake had taken it with him when he left. You missed how he used to casually be in the living room, so you started brainstorming some ideas on how you might entice Jake to join you again.

So, you go to the kitchen and pull out the rolodex, find the card dedicated to Miss Celeste and give it a call. Russell answers the phone, and you can hear the man smiling through the phone as you ask after his wife. It turns out Jake's grandmother is just as blunt but kind hearted as you had been led to believe. After a longer conversation with her, she and Russ offer you some advice and tips

You aren't wholly sure how you managed to get it all done. Eventually having to call Coyote to help you move some of the living room furniture. However, after significantly less sleep than you already get, there is a large comfy hammock in the living room. You and Javy had to sandwich Jake's large comfy chair much closer to the couch than it was previously, but y'all managed to make it all fit.

Jake comes home from camping quietly late one night. The stubble he had been supporting before is a full-on beard now, and his hair is longer than you have ever seen it. This look is intimidating to you in lots of ways, like some mirrored version of Jake that you don't know. He offers. quick hello when he comes in from the garage, breezing past you and towards the stairs.

Jake doesn't make it to the stairs though instead he stands frozen at the edge of the living room for five whole minutes just staring at the hammock. You watch him closely, trying to gauge his reaction.

"It's a surprise for you." You say after the amount of time he is standing there increases to a concerning duration. Compelled to do something you explain, "I know your hammock has been one of the only places you have been able to relax."

"This is very sweet. I appreciate it." Jake starts evenly. It's contradictory as you see him grit his teeth, and his fists clench and unclench at his sides.

"You don't like it?" You ask him.

"It's not that," Jake tries to explain. "It's just you can't randomly switch the living room around and add new furniture like this."

Your mouth drops open in shock. This might be one of the first times Jake has ever told you there is something you can't do in the house. It's jarring, he has always spent so much time tailoring everything to your likes, desires, and aesthetics that you hardly even think about the house as Jake's and Jake's alone anymore. Frustration bubbles under the shock twisting into anger at the situation. You were trying your best, doing all the things you thought you should, and it still didn't seem like enough.

"That is so rich coming from you for so many different reasons Jake." You say agitated, rolling your eyes.

"Why are you upset?" Jake asks you, finally looking away from the living room.

"Why are you upset?" You parrot with emphasis.

"Well, what did you expect? I left for a few days and now there is a hammock in the living room. That's an outdoor item you brought indoors," Jake responds snappily. It pushes you right against an edge that you are unfamiliar with living on now. You had forgotten how it was to live in a hyper aware state, trying to manage and monitor someone else's emotions.

"You act like you haven't done the same thing," you tell him, gesturing frustratedly at the juniper chest. "I was doing something nice for you. However, if you don't like it, I'm sure you're more than capable of taking it down and moving your furniture back and fixing your living room."

You leave Jake in the living room and go to the kitchen. He grumbles to himself upset which makes you feel even more on edge. However, you refuse to let Jake blowing back into the house prevent you from finishing the dishes you had been stacking and putting away.

"It's our living room," he finally calls back to you.

"You aren't acting like it."

"You could have given me some warning," he reasons, but it has a slightly accusatory tone.

"When Jake?" You ask him, upset. "When you called me and told me you were coming home? When you text? How exactly was I supposed to let you know?"

He doesn't have an answer and you slam the door of a cupboard harder than you intend. Inside, the stack of bowls were more precariously placed than you thought. The cupboard closes and bounces back open, the bowls ejecting and crashing hard against the ground. Several of them shatter when they make impact, sending ceramic shards flying across the area.

You aren't expecting the sound to trigger you. It most likely does because of how high strung and worried you already are. The house is such a safe comforting space you don't really have a game plan for when PTSD attacks hit you here. A chill makes its way up your spine, while the sound of shattering glass rings echoing in your ears, for much longer than it echoes in the room. It's all it takes for some flip to switch in your head.

Managing to take small gasping breaths, you try to assess the damage of the sharp ceramic pieces around you, categorizing how many bowls had broken. It doesn't help you to fight off sudden panic that is creeping in when you notice one of the destroyed bowls was one Miss Celeste had made for Jake. It was a soup bowl stamped with a silly song Jake liked to sing anytime he used it. Distantly you hear Jake calling your name but can't fully process it. He is stepping towards you, fear rings through your body, and instinctually you go to step back away from him. Flinching hard every one of your muscles feels like it's attached to a live wire. Your fight or flight mode activated but you are still mostly frozen in the middle with short panting breaths, your eyes flit across the room trying to find a suitable escape path.

"Sugar, please don't move. Just stay right there. It's okay." Jake is repeating, holding his hand up, showing you his open body language. Your breaths continue to come out gasping, but eventually you are able clear the cloudiness up enough with the help of Jake's soothing.

"Jake, help," you whimper. Training your eyes on Jake you think that he is the only available escape, from the glass around you and this attack. At your words, his whole face shifts overcome with a serious ‘get things done’ demeanor.

"Are you hurt?" He asks calmly. You can't answer him just offering a shaking shrug. "Stay right there for me, Sugar. Okay?"

Jake is shoving his feet into some boots, then crunching through the broken ceramics and glass before picking you up. He carries you to the living room, setting you down on top of the closed puzzle table. Once you are there, he kneels in front of you. Picking up each of your feet, Jake carefully examines them for injury. Then gives the rest of your body a scan; he is clearly relieved to find that there weren't any cuts.

"Wait here." He orders you gently, walking back to the kitchen and setting about cleaning the mess.

"I can clean that," you try to tell him in a weak attempt for Jake to stop.

"You just stay there looking pretty and take some breaths, sweets." He responds from the kitchen. You decide to give in, which is probably for the best with the way the numb panic is still very present at the edge of your consciousness. Your heart is still beating erratically as well.

Jake is expedient and thorough about cleaning, going through the whole kitchen and dining room with his shop vacuum searching for any hiding slivers. When finished he makes his way to the living room and crouches by your side again sighing heavily.

"I'm sorry," he says, setting his large warm hands on your knees.

"I'm sorry," you apologize as well. "I should have waited and asked you before changing the living room."

"You don't need to ask. I've just been on edge and wasn't expecting it. I do appreciate the thought. And you know I do love hammocks so, I'm sure I'll love it."

"We don't have to keep it," You remind him.

"We are taking it for a trial run," Jake responds. Then a few moments later he lets out a heavy sigh and says, "You know we are doing it all already, right?"

"What's that?"

"It" Jake says gesturing with his free hand in the air. "We fit together. We're," Jake takes the slightest pause, his hand grips yours so tight you almost ache, then he drops it completely. "A bridle joint or maybe, a box joint."

"We aren't ever going to fit with anyone else are we?" You ask him, clarifying.

"No, we aren't. I think it might just be this, Sugar. It's just us." Jake says the words like a confession, an admission, an honest reality.

You try to analyze the look in his eyes, but over anything else all you can focus on is how tired he is. You pick Jake's hand up again. Standing from the couch, pulling him with you. Jake asks no questions; he just follows you as you guide him. You tug him with you to each of the doors as you make sure each one is locked, jiggling them to be sure. Then he follows you to the kitchen as you grab two of his glass water bottles. You hand one to him and take his, gripping it tightly while his other hand remains loose in yours.

You keep leading him then as he follows you up the stairs. Finally, You open the door to his room, and freeze in the doorway. A gasp catches in your throat. It's empty. The whole room. Not a mattress or a bedframe, no side tables or a dresser. It's all gone. There is one chest, a basket with some blankets, and one pillow. Jake stands close behind you, and you hear him audibly sigh into your ear.

You take a deep breath to steady yourself and pull Jake through the room, leaving no room to address the issue and heading straight to the bathroom. You turn on the water for the bath and let the tub start filling. Turning to Jake and finally, let go of his hand. He looks lost at you, and you bring your hand up to lift his chin up a little higher. Jake takes your direction and those gorgeous sea-glass green eyes look at you.

You tug at his shirt twice before he follows the movement and pulls it off. You step out of your own pants but otherwise stay clothed. Jake follows you sliding off his jeans. You go to Jake's bath chest still in place and grab a scent you think will be soothing, adding it to the bath.

You reach to pull down his boxers, and he shakes his head in a small no. When you start to pull off your shirt, Jake's hands stop you there too. He gives you a pleading look, and you shrug back, leaving your shirt in place. You motion for Jake to get in the bath, and he wordlessly does as you say. Making room for you between his knees, Jake scoots until he hits the back of the tub. You step into the warm water and slide down to settle in.

Jake's head falls forward so his forehead presses into the space where your shoulder and neck meet, taking deep breaths. You shudder, feeling the air of his breath against your neck. Jake's large hands are gripping the side of the bathtub hard. You are shocked that the feeling of the wet clothes sticking to your skin hasn't rocketed you out of the bathtub. But like it often is, it's hard to focus on anything that's not Jake when he is this close to you.

After a while, when Jake lifts his head and leans back, you do as well, leaning into his chest, his arms slide around you, pulling you even closer, as you draw imaginary designs on one of his forearms.

"What's it mean for us?" You finally ask him.

"I'm worse than I was before," Jake says to you quietly.

"Before me?" And that actually makes you want to cry because it sounds so true. Things certainly would have been less variable without you around in Jake's life. No one to throw him off his routines. And before him weren't you better able to protect your heart better than this? You had been calloused and strong before. Living with Jake and in this house has been like a fine grit sandpaper buffing you so now you only have smooth soft edges.

Has that been the way it's been between the two of you this whole time, something bad that was disguised as good? You can't come up with an answer, and apparently, neither can he. So it sits there, wilting, rotting between the two of you.

The silence is loud and almost echoes in the bathroom, with no room to hide. You finally take one of Jake's hands in yours and play with his fingers. He seems content with this, relaxing even further into the water. One of his knees occasionally bumping into you playfully, as if you could forget that he was there, as if there were anything besides Jake on your radar.

Then he is whispering your name against your neck, right behind your ear. Gooseflesh bursts across your skin, and his beard is coarse and scratchy against your sensitive skin not having been trimmed once since it started growing. You try to shift away but his lips follow you. Tired of the game you reach a hand behind you and fist it into Jake's long hair, tightly tugging his face away from your neck. Jake gasps in response.

You drop your hand feeling like he has been sufficiently warned from the action, which you know would have descend into tickling. Jake grabs your wrist and turns it, and then ghosts his lips over your pulse point. After two more soft kisses there he presses three to your palm, and on each finger. Each press of his lips is intoxicating even in a place as insignificant as your hand. With your ring finger Jake's kisses are three times as long and lingering. It's an action that has you slamming your eyes closed to keep the tears from escaping. He finally releases your arm and you drop your hand back into the warm water.

Something starts to thaw out there, in your chest. The combination of the physical warmth of the bath and Jake's blazing body heat. However, it is the feeling, the emotional warmth of it that makes the difference. You tremble slightly feeling completely overwhelmed, the idea of being anywhere else or trying to move is devastating to your system.

"Sugar pie?"

"Yes, Jakobi?" You answer back just as quietly

"We haven't been doing so good, have we?"

"No."

"Our mental health?"

"Positively dismal. We both probably need to be institutionalized." You tell him. Jake nods along, in understanding with your words.

"Do you think I could convince them to let us be roomies there too?"

"Not sure even you could swing that one, honey." You respond. Jake's eyes and whole face positively light up moments after you say the words.

"Honey?"

You hum thinking it over before smiling and nodding, "Yup."

"But that's my nickname for you," Jake says in a pouting tone but the bright expression he is wearing hasn't dimmed.

"Yeah, and sugar, darling, babycakes, anything related to pie—"

"I called you Huckleberry pie once and—"Jake protests but you barrel onwards cutting him off.

"Well no more honey for you anymore. You use half the sweet names under the sun, I'm allowed to have one. And I think it's honey." You cup Jake's scratchy bearded cheeks and smile softly. "You're my honey, now."

"Why honey?"

"Because you're so sweet."

"I'm not," Jake says brokenly, all playfulness having been sucked out of him. His head is heavy in your palm as he eases into your hold.

"You're sweet," you repeat more firmly. Then continue, "Plus I can just imagine how snug and happy you would be in those honey combs."

"Hexagons are one of the superior shapes," Jake sighs.

"Sure they ar, and you are golden like honey." You run your fingers through Jake's hair again. He shutters hiding those sad green eyes from you.

"I never knew just how blond the sun could make your hair," You sigh when you reach the end, scratching back up his scalp to repeat the process. You are turned fully to face him now, sloshing the water a bit to settle more comfortably. However Jake doesn't move, he seems almost as if he could be a statue made of glowing gold.

"This tan also makes no sense," you tell him, trailing your hands over his shaped shoulders.

He squints a single eye open at you, and you freeze as if you've been caught. Instead Jake's hand's pull your knees to settle on either side of his hips. Dragging you that much closer to him. It makes your breath hitch and Jake's eyes darken, however, he still leaves a bit of space.

"One of my grandpas was Italian," Jake says with a quirk of his lips. The single eye he had opened closed as the smile melted off his face. Your hands resume their path, after massaging Jake's shoulders you knead his neck. Which just leads to playing with his hair again. Your train of thought was lost until you noticed a small light but fresh scar on the top of his bicep. You lean forward and gloss your lips over the skin there. Jake's hand tightens where he is holding your thighs. He takes a careful breath in through his nose, and a long exhale. He follows that up with two more shallow but steady breaths and then just like that the tension releases from his body as he releases the air out.

"Where did you learn how to breathe like that, cowboy?" You ask him, letting your thumb continue to trace the strange new scar you have been examining.

"Oh, so, I'm cowboy now?"

"Mr. Cowboy, my honey." You coo back. Jake's eyes flutter open again, he blinks slowly at you heavily lidded.

"You are avoiding the question." You prompt him by raising an eyebrow.

"It's not as bad as you're probably thinking," Jake answers a moment later.

"I'm thinking, you did a whole summer of Vipassana, and meditation in some foreign country that made you have concerns about being that white guy(™)."

As his lips lift in response to your joke, you think Jake's dimples are some of the prettiest things in this world. Suddenly, you find it unacceptable that his beard hides any part of them from your view. You see the hint of them but it's not the same you think as you trace the shape of one. Your left hand remains pressed over the new scar you had discovered.

"We both know I could never do vipassana."

"I have evidence to the contrary," the words fall from your lips before you can stop them, and you regret them instantly.

"Don't be mean to me," he begs you. In the same breath he speaks the words you are already halfway through saying, sorry.

"I'm working on leaving it I promise," You tell him.

"We don't have to leave it, we could talk about it." Jake suggests hopefully.

"We are leaving it Jake," you say back sharply and he snaps his mouth shut chewing at the side of his cheek for a moment before responding.

"Okay. I know I hurt you deep, and it's still fresh," Jake responds. His jaw clenches and you feel it jump.

"So, it wasn't meditation? Is this going to be another riveting USNA story?" You ask him, steering the conversation back on a lighter track.

"It was before Annapolis."

"Tell me more," you laugh, dropping your hold on his face, leaning forward and resting your check against his bicep.

"You're going to laugh at me," he pouts.

"I find that an entirely likely probability," you answer teasingly.

"I had to take friendship classes in middle school."

"I'm sorry, you did what?" You ask Jake to repeat, trying to process this bit of information.

"This other kid and I hated each other, and we were constantly getting into it. The worst part is we had lockers right next to each other. He accidentally hit me with his locker, and I lost it. So, I slammed his head right back and we started brawling. Anyways, long story short, our school counselor made us take friendship classes, and taught us breathing techniques. It was all bull shit, but we ended up being friends afterwards, bonding over how stupid friendship class was."

"At least you got some good breathing techniques."

"Something like that," Jake laughs back.

"What's this one then? It's new." you say ghosting your lips over the scar you had found again. Jake sighs, glancing at the scar himself.

"You are going to be mad," he starts.

"Why would I be mad, honey?"

"I got two more moles removed." The admission makes you pull back and give Jake a weary suspicious glare.

"Have you not been wearing sunscreen again?"

"No, I've been wearing sunscreen ever since you told me about it, I promise. The Doc just asked about one of them and wanted to do a biopsy. So, I said he might as well just take them all off while he was at it."

"And?"

"Everything came back benign. Nothing to really worry about, Sugar."

"I always worry about you, Jakers." You sigh with relief and kiss that scar again, enjoying the feeling of having your head pillowed on his arm.

"I know, I'm sorry." Jake whispers back. You wish he had just left it as I know.

"I don't want to make you worse, Jake."

"You don't make me worse. I am worse, no one has ever inspired me to act quite as selfishly as you have. I don't even know how to wholly be anymore without you."

"I just want to make things better for you."

Jake groans quietly, "Maybe someday it will finally click that you make everything better. That you are stunning, and gorgeous, and just over all the best."

"We could clear cut a forest, and not find a single tree that's sappier than you Jake." It inspires a quirk of his lips but not the laugh you were hoping for.

"You are probably right," is all Jake says back, continuing to trace shapes into your skin. It's quiet for a long time as you two just exist together, coming down from the emotional turmoil of the night.

Eventually, You ask, "Jake, where are you?"

"I don't know. I don't know, Sugar," He sighs and tilts his head back letting out an exhausted breath.

"Are you in the clouds?" You ask. He thinks before shaking his head no.

"Are you on the ocean?"

He feels the water around him briefly then settles his hands on your skin again. "It doesn't appear so."

"Are you on base?"

"No."

"So, where are you?"

"I know I'm here with you sugar, it just doesn't feel real." Jake answers.

You examine him closely from his wet hair to the defined muscles of his shoulders and neck. How much muscle Jake gained deployment almost pushed him into a category you would describe as too buff, but not actually going over the edge. As you trace the shape of his face you can easily identify what one of the problems is.

"You are being suffocated," you tell him as your fingers trace up his cheeks and around through his hair there.

"Why do you have a beard Jake?" You ask in a gentle curious tone.

"I don't have to shave until I go back to work."

"You should shave sooner," You say encouragingly.

"Too tired," Jake says, stretching out one of his legs in the water.

"Do you want help?"

"You want to give me a shave, sugar?"

"I'd be willing to give it a go if you feel like it would help," you answer plainly. He thinks about it before nodding.

"It would."

That's all you need to hear before you are stepping out of the bath. Immediately you hate how the wet material of your shirt clings to your skin. So, you quickly rip it off and throw it into the shower. Jake groans behind you and you point a finger back at him while grabbing fresh towels and Jake's shaving kit from beside the sink.

"It's nothing you haven't seen and you can control yourself," you chastise him.

"But you are so fucking beautiful," Jake groans making absolutely no effort to hide the way his eyes trace over your body.

"You were two minutes from falling asleep."

"That was before," Jake whines as you come back to the bath and he sees you in even more detail.

You set the shaving kit to the side within easy reach and settle yourself back into the water. You sit so your bare chest is pressed against his. This makes Jake close his eyes throwing his head back whispering a quiet "Fuck."

When his eyes open again, they are slightly dilated with lust. It makes you smile at him whispering, "hi there."

"Hi," he breaths back.

"Hi," you say again, smiling wider. Jake can't stop himself from smiling as well, lips drawn upwards. His hands trace up your bare sides and you give him a small glare. Grabbing his chin you tilt his head back once more.

"Yup, hold yourself just like that," You tell him, pausing to make sure he doesn't move. You start to lather up some shaving cream spreading it along this neck.

"Have you shaved someone else before?" Jake questions.

"Not really. So, you might want to give me pointers. I don't want to cut your pretty face." You answer with a teasing tone.

Jake hums in acknowledgement thinking for a long moment. Then he starts to detail the intricate shaving ritual he normally keeps. You follow each one of the steps. It's a slow process, shaving him. You are worried that you will cut him or make some other mistake in the process. Jake isn't hesitant or shy about giving you sweet and gentle encouragement.

Finally, Jake's face is free of hair again. You help wipe away the remaining product, and dab on the aftershave in his kit you brought over. Jake winces but gives you a tentative smile when you stare at him examining your work. You smile back softly, setting things down that are in your way, feeling relieved to be done.

The two of you finish your bath before getting out and drying off. Wrapping a towel around yourself, you head back to your room changing and settling into bed. Jake follows not long after in a pair of comfy pants and a soft muscle shirt. He asks if he can join you in bed even though you already pulled the covers back while waiting for him.

Jake takes a bit of shifting to get comfortable until he is laying on his side facing you, meeting your gaze as you shift to see him better. You lift a hand to cup his face enjoying the fresh smooth skin there.

"Ah, there he is," you say with a soft sigh. The lines of Hangman's face are prominent and easy to follow again. A tear spills from Jake's eye and you push it away gently. Leaning forwards Jake angles his lips to barely brush over yours before he pulls back.

"Please?" You ask him, going to follow his lips for more.

"I don't think we should," Jake responds and snuggles his face into your neck to avoid the temptation of your lips.

"But we fit. We fit perfectly," you whisper.

"That's exactly the problem," Jake answers. "I won't do wrong by you again. And that means I don't want to rush anything. Are you in a hurry?"

"Does that have a timeline?" You ask, ignoring your frustration.

"It does in a general sense."

"Care to share?"

"Sure," Jake mutters tiredly into your neck. "I think it's been going for a while. Right?"

"That's right," You answer, letting your hand drift into his long hair. It is almost all the way dry now and fluffy. He had a haircut scheduled before he started work again leaving you only a few days left to savor this. His eyes close, and a small smile graces his face. With a gentle scratch of your nails against his scalp a tiny whine tumbles out of him. Jake seems too tired to care anymore. His nose just nuzzles your neck, and he places a tiny kiss there. You sigh, and resume playing with the silky strands.

"And how long before we have it all figured out, Honey?" You ask.

"As I see it, the rest of our lives. So, give or take sixty-ish more years."

"We are making it the long haul huh?"

"Yes, Ma'am. We will, so there's absolutely no reason to start at a sprint."

"I thought you had a need for speed." You tell him teasingly.

Jake huffs into your neck, sucking in a deep breath he blows it out slowly tickling your skin. "I have a great comeback for that."

"Oh really?"

He hums in affirmation. Then he sleepily manages to crack an eye open and looks at you, while he mumbles, "But I am a sleepy boy. Wait, no… a sleepy man"

You chuckle and kiss Jake's forehead. "Goodnight, sleepy boy"

"Sleepy man," he tries to correct you, but the words are hardly coherent. It takes less than five minutes before Jake is fully asleep, and you aren't far off yourself. Jake is so warm, and itis so easy to match your breaths with his deep even ones. Falling into a dream where you spend sixty years with Jake, even there in your dream you realize that still might not be enough.

…

Read the rest of this chapter on AO3. Sorry again, Tumblr wouldn't let me put it all here (and that it's so long). My first reblog of this here on Tumblr has the other half as well.

#jake seresin x reader #hangman x reader #house we share #jake seresin x you #hangman x you #gci3 #good comes in 3

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xxwritemeastoryxx · 2 years ago

Note

*chants* Bucky, Bucky, Bucky

18. Just pretend we’re okay, just for tonight, just for show. I’ll be gone by sunrise.

(Pretty please)

Compromised

Author: xxwritemeastoryxx

Pairings: Bucky Barnes x fem!reader

Word Count: 5873

Warnings: Betrayal, weapon usage/violence, angst galore. Canon timeline doesn't exist to make this fic work.

Author’s Note: Okay, hear me out before this one gets started. I'm sorry (That's a lie) for whatever pain comes from this one. But I also couldn't help myself and added a second prompt because it JUST FIT PERFECTLY and I couldn't help myself. I added prompt 10. You started this. The least you can do is finish ripping my heart out by telling the damn truth. The beginning of this fic is a bit misleading. Do not jump to conclusions! Also, I want to say that I'm still getting used to writing for Bucky, so any constructive critiques are welcome. Please note that Make it Angsty Requests are now closed. I'm posting them after the fact cause I fail at posting things in a timely manner. The divider is by the lovely @firefly-graphics ♥

I do not and will not ever give permission for my fics to be copied and posted on other sites. Don’t do it. Don’t be that person that ruins it for me and everyone else.

Feedback gives me life and motivation for future things. While likes are appreciated, reblogs are gold. Seriously, if you enjoyed this in the slightest, please reblog ♥

MCU Masterlist || Fandom Masterlist || Taglist

It was almost a typical Stark party. However for once it wasn’t for his benefit of any kind. For the first time since Y/N had joined the avengers, they were celebrating her birthday. While it may seem odd that they hadn’t done so before, it was because Y/N didn’t want them to fuss over her. For years they had attempted to throw her a party, but she never wanted it and reminded them every time they had tried.

At first she refused to give up the date when she first joined to allow them to throw some kind of celebration. After FRIDAY gave up the day, Y/N always found out about the details that allowed her to evade every get together or surprise party they attempted. They’d throw the party and she’d never show until she was sure they had given up. Or she’d take on missions to avoid the compound altogether.

In truth, Y/N felt as though she didn’t deserve the party they had been so desperately wanting her to be a part of. She couldn’t ever recall a time where her birth had been celebrated. There weren’t an increasing amount of candles to blow out. After years of having nothing, it had become just another day to her. And now that several people wanted to celebrate her birthday, it was overwhelming.

That was until a few months ago that Bucky had been volunteered to convince his girlfriend to actually have a birthday party. If anyone could convince her, it’d be Bucky. He couldn’t get out of the small parties that Steve insisted they have for him. Unlike Y/N, he couldn’t escape his best friends tatics from it.

And after weeks of convincing and reassuring Y/N that it wasn’t the worst thing in the world to have a party thrown for her, she finally agreed to it. It also didn’t hurt to add in that any time he was forced to attend a party for his, she was a willing participant that helped him enjoy the night. For once he wanted to be able to see her enjoy herself on her birthday.

That was how she currently found herself surrounded by plenty of people that she knew and didn’t know. Many of them had been staff within the compound that she hardly ever talked to. If it hadn’t been for the conversations and words of encouragement from Bucky and her teammates, she would have bolted for the door hours ago.

But now, she was beginning to feel ansty and the one person that promised he’d by her side the majority of the night was nowhere to be seen. Even as her eyes scanned the crowd she couldn’t find Bucky. Usually she could pick him out rather easy in any room, but right now she couldn’t.

As her eyes finished her scan, she found Steve and Sam talking across the way causing her to start making her way over. As she had, her eyes kept looking for Bucky the whole time hoping he’d pop up.

“Have you seen Bucky?” She asked as she came up to them.

They had stopped mid conversation the moment she spoke. They both hadn’t missed the anxiousness that was visible in her eyes. While they hardly ever seen that side of her before, they both knew that this was a first for her. They expected there to be some hesitancy on her part.

Steve tilted his head towards the hall at the other end of the room. “He got a phone call a few minutes ago. Couldn’t hear over the music.”

She didn’t blame him. The music levels were just loud enough that some people had to speak louder just to be heard. Any louder and she was sure people would have to be mouth to ear in this place to hear anything.

“Thanks.” She said giving him a smile.

“We’re going to be bringing out the cake soon.” Sam added. “Don’t take too long.”

Y/N rolled her eyes and shook her head. “No promises!” She said before she turned and started making her way towards the hall.

When she reached the hall, her eyes began scanning each room as she walked past them, looking for Bucky. She soon realized that only one room, at the very end of the hall had been closed. A small smile pulled at her lips once more as she made her way over to that door.

Her thoughts instantly going to the playful things she could say to him as she walked into the door. She could joke about how he was hiding away when he promised he’d be there. She could also joke that when his birthday came around, she would be able to hide away. The many things she could say just to help ease the anxiety that was bubbling within her.

“Hey Buck-” As she opened the door, she froze. The playful question about him hiding away never got the chance to pass her lips.

Bucky stood at the opposite side of the desk with a file opened and papers scattered. Several pictures were mixed in with the pages that had been on the desk. A document was in his hand as if he had been reading it moments before she had opened the door.

Curiosity should have filled her with what he currently had his eyes trained on, but it wasn’t. Fear filled her as she recognized the contents of the file he had been going through. All of the information in that file she had tried her hardest to destroy. The life she no longer wished to be a part of was contained within that file. The lies to her life laid out on display.

Taking a shuddering breath, she stepped into the room and closed the door. She kept her back to the door, with her hands on the handle. The simple need to grasp onto it just in case she needed to make a quick getaway.

“I need you to let me explain.”

The instant the words left her mouth, Bucky’s eyes snapped to her. He had heard her when she opened the door, but he couldn’t bring himself to look at her. Not when his eyes were still scanning the document in his hand, taking in the information.

His heart had been in his stomach from the moment he opened the file. Before he opened it, he felt as though he shouldn’t and trust Y/N. He wanted to believe that there was no reason to worry and whatever was in that file was going to prove his recent suspicions to be wrong. But they weren’t.

Being free from the memories tied to it makes it easier to get the job done.

A simple phrase she had said weeks ago had stuck with him. A siren going off within his mind that felt wrong. For someone such as Y/N, who joined from SHIELD, shouldn’t know what it’s like to have her memories wiped. Then again, he had no idea what SHIELD was capable of doing behind closed doors.

It didn’t stop Bucky from wanting the answers himself without dropping a thousand questions on Y/N. He knew the sudden interest in her past would raise questions. While Bucky knew as much about Y/N as she was willing to give, she still had walls up and Bucky respected some of those walls. Just as she had with some of his. But now he had the answers directly in front of him and he hated himself for not seeing it sooner.

“Who are you?” His voice was loud enough for her to hear. His voice hardly held any emotion even though his expressions conveyed everything he was feeling.

“You know who I am.” She responded as she lifted her head up a little higher. Almost as if she was bracing herself for the blow.

“Obviously I don’t.” His right hand gestured towards the desk. “Your background was pretty extensive, I’m amazed that you made it through Tony’s security checks with how much I have sitting on this desk.”

“It’s not that hard for Hydra to create a false identity when you don’t exactly have one.” Much like the calmness in his voice, her’s matched. On the inside, her heart was racing. She was sure her eyes had displayed the fear and guilt she was currently feeling. Her eyes took in every bit of him. Studying him and keeping herself ready for anything she hoped wouldn’t happen. “The person in that file is dead. Has been for several years.”

A scoff passed his lips as he shook his head. “If she’s dead, who’s birthday are they currenty out there celebrating?”

They. He hadn’t included himself in that scentence and Y/N had picked up on that right away. There was a change from earlier this morning when he took her out to breakfast and left a gift on her bed side table to wake up to. She assumed that the time he took to celebrate her birthday ended when he got his phone call, no doubt signalling the arrival of the file.

“Still mine.” There was the slightest nod of her head as she tried to enure his questions were answered as quickly as she could without them seeming rehearsed, even though there were times where she practiced for the day she would tell him. “They-” She stopped herself. There was no use in avoiding the truth. “Hydra believed that if I had no ties to my former life, I would do as they pleased. But when creating a backstory, they used my real birth date. It was only after I left that I found out it was the right date. Everything else was different.”

His eyes took her in as she finished. He could see how she was almost in a defensive stance. Her arm behind her back no doubt holding the handle on the door. The defensive reflex reminding him of many times he had seen other soldiers hold that stance in a room that he was in. An easier way to leave when the opportunity presented itself.

He wondered how many other times there was something that had seemed so familiar to him that had gone unnoticed. For every memory that had been returned to him, he never knew who she was when they first met. He would have known if she was mixed in the sea of memories, but she never encountered him while he was under Hydra’s hold.

But now he kew that brief moment of a gut feeling when he met her for the first time was an actual warning he should have listened to. But it had been Steve, and occasionally Sam, that reminded him that once she opened up, she wasn't as guarded and neither of them had felt off about her presence. It turns out they had been wrong.

"I get it." She said a moment later when he hadn’t said anything. “This is a bunch of new information that you're taking in. Maybe you need a little more time to process." Her hand on the knob slowly turned. This would be the only chance she'd have to leave the room. While she didn't fear him, she was afraid of the emotions that would come from this conversation. She knew, without a doubt, he'd hate her afterwards. "I'll head back to the party and we can talk later. Just please don't say anything to anyone. At least not yet."

She had barely turned around and opened the door a little more than an inch or two before the swish of a blade flying through the air was loud in her ears. It was followed by a thud that caused the door to slam shut just as quickly as she had opened it. She looked up to see the knife barely above her head.

"We are far from finished."

When she turned back around, she found him standing within arms reach. His eyes were narrowed at her. Her heart aches that he had been looking at her like he was instead of the caring looks she had been used to. In the span of a an hour, she had become the enemy in his eyes.

Bucky could have aimed anywhere. He had half a mind to aim for the space right beside her hand or even right by her cheek. Something close enough to knick the skin as a warning not to leave. But the part of him that cared way too deeply for her couldn't bring himself to bring the knife that close to her.

He couldn't deny what was in front of him. The way she had been so calm about this had further proved the evidence. It was almost as if he could no longer recognize who she was. That the woman he loved was completely different from the woman who's life had been spread out on the desk behind him. Even the words leaving her lips that now came out so easily were foreign to him in the way their conversations usually went. Hydra was never spoken of and now it had been mentioned more times in the last few minutes than they had been in the few years they had known each other.

“How long?” He asked a moment later.

“Since before we met.” The words came out easily.

"What was your mission?"

Her eyes scanned his face for a moment. Just enough for her to collect her thoughts. She could lie, but she knew that would get her nowhere. She could tell the truth, and they could possibly find themselves at each other's throats.

“To infiltrate the Avengers." His features hadn't changed as she continued. "I was to gain their trust while I observed and reported anything of interest. When the time came I was to take down my target.”

“Who is your target?” He asked with a raised brow.

“Doesn’t matter, I couldn’t go through with it.” She said with a shake of her head.

That detail she couldn’t bring herself to give up. It caused her heart to ache just thinking about it. She never voiced it before and she didn’t want this to be the first time she did. Any other time she could redirect the questions onto something else. But this wasn’t just a casual conversation to be had anymore. This was Bucky interrogating her.

There weren't any playful conversations or plans for the rest of the night. There wasn’t the comfortable stance between them. Instead they both were on edge and the tension in the air thick.

“It does matter. You came here under false pretenses. Lied to everyone who believed to be your friend. I think it’s only fair that you own up to who it was.” It was no longer about knowing her past and what she had done. It was now about if she still posed as threat while still here within the walls of the compound.

“They’re still breathing.” She noted. “I almost went through with it. But I learned I couldn’t bring myself to do it. So it doesn’t matter who it was, Bucky. All that matters is that I turned my back on Hydra and never looked back.”

“And what’s to stop you from changing your mind and going after them?” He asked taking a step closer to her.

“What stopped you from killing Steve?” With his step forward, she began remembering the layout of the room. The details she could use to her advantage from being pinned against the door as she now was.

“Why can’t you just answer the question?” He shot back as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Because it isn’t necessary!” Her voice raised slightly. The emotions within her growing and she hated the fact that her eyes threatened to tear up. “I left. I made the choice to be better. You got to do the same. Why is it any different with me?”

“Because I don’t know how I can trust you without knowing all of the facts.” He took in a deep breath trying to calm himself. “I let you in. How do I know that everything you’ve told me isn’t a lie? I don’t know how much of it was you actually being you or if you were doing your job and just using me to get close to-”

He stopped himself when something clicked in his mind. The missing pieces of the puzzle being found as he watched the tears well up in her eyes and the words he had just said brought everything into perspective. He looked up at the knife that was still embedded in the door above her head before looking back at her.

“I’m only going to ask this one more time.” There was hurt in his voice and every part of him hoped that the answer he now had in his mind was wrong. “Who is your mission?”

The moment Bucky had cut himself off, Y/N knew he had pieced it together. It was written in his face and in his eyes. It had made her heart ache as she watched him piece it together. She knew this is where he would hate her. Even if she tried and denied it again, he still knew and there was nothing that could change that.

“You.” That was when the first tear fell from her eyes. His hands dropped to his sides as he took a step back. When she reached out to him, he hit her hand away. “Bucky-”

“Everything was a lie, wasn’t it?” His head shook as he looked at her. His heart ached in a way he believed he never felt before. He had felt and done many things during his lifetime. He regretted many things and several of them he wished on everything he could take them back. But the one thing he never regretted was meeting and falling in love with Y/N. At least that was until now. “You are pretty good at your job sweetheart, I’ll give you that.”

“I have lied about plenty of things, but my feelings for you weren’t one of them.” Y/N needed him to understand that.

Her confessions of care and love towards him hadn’t been faked at any point. Her annoyance in the beginning had been clear. It took months for them to warm up to each other, let alone work well together on missions. And while she was the double agent, it was only until her feelings had shifted, right along with Bucky’s, that she realized she couldn’t go through with her mission.

“Don’t feed me that bullshit.” His eyes narrowed at her. “Everything I have known about you has been a lie. From the moment I met you I should have listened to my gut.” He shook his head before running his fleshed hand down his face. “You started this by taking the mission.” He said as he looked into her eyes. “The least you can do is finish ripping my heart out by telling the damn truth for once.”

Her eyes widdened slightly as she took in his words. She knew that this was a justified reaction from him. But it didn’t hurt anyless to hear that she was breaking him. The first relationship he had away from Hydra and she was tormenting him by not telling him the truth.

She looked elsewhere for a moment as she tried to get her emotions in check. After all those years of training, she found them to be useless in that moment. Tears were falling freely with no intent to stop. They were silent and didn’t affect her in the way it would to someone else.

“You want the whole truth? Okay. Here it is.” If it would help in some way to either ease things between them or get them going for the inevitable reveal to the others, she’d give it all up. “Hydra caught wind that you were having your programming removed.” His eyes widened for a moment as he took in her words. “For the right price, there are no secrets, even in closed borders, you know that. Agents were trying to find their place after the fall of SHIELD. It was easy to have a background created for me and I was tossed in with the potentials. It didn’t take long for my skillsets to be noticed and I was brought in rather quickly. I was to observe and report what was necessary to my superiors. And when the time came I was to assess if the Winter Soldier could be returned and utilized or put down.

"I played my role and mingled with everyone. I reported back when necessary. Much like you with the hesitancy towards me, I had the same with you. Yes, I feared that you’d figure it out early on and kill me. I expected it from the moment you returned from Wakanda. I stayed on edge waiting for the moment that you would figure it out. But you never did. And when you managaged to actually hold a conversation with me for longer than two seconds, I knew I had my way in.” She watched as a glare formed on his face and when he opened his mouth to speak she quickly continued.

“Things started to change between us. I fought it because I was supposed to be doing my job and not falling for you. Your death was supposed to come that first mission alone together after it was agreed by my superiors that you were to be put down. You were so eager to get the mission done that you never realized you had a gun pointed at your head several times.” She wiped the tears from her cheek. Bucky had shook his head at her words. No doubt hating himself for not realizing it then. “Nor did you see how I struggled to get myself to pull the trigger. Because every time you looked back to check on me, all I could see was Bucky and not the asset that I was meant to put down. All I could see was the freedom and relationship that I craved and I couldn’t do it.

“The moment we got back from that mission I left for a few days. I said it was because I had a family emergency that I needed to take care of. That was the last lie I told you. Because I couldn’t tell you that I was going to either get myself killed or I was going to take down the base that not even the Avengers knew about.”

The moment she mentioned it, Bucky remembered that night. He remembered, for the first time in a long while, being anxious waiting for Y/N to return home from checking in on her family. The night she had left he was going to tell her how he felt. The feelings that had been developing for her, he needed her to know.

Bucky had been working up the courage the week leading up to the mission. But he couldn’t get himself to. And when they got back, he was on his way to her room to tell her when he caught word she had left rather quickly. The only thing anyone knew was something was going on with her family. So Bucky waited a little longer to tell her.

After almost a week and a half, Bucky woke up in the middle of the night to find Y/N sitting in the doorway to his room. At first he believed he was dreaming until he got up and walked over to her. He had expected to see some kind of smirk on her lips or some kind of joke about her being a lurker. Instead he found her face and neck covered in yellowing bruises.

“What happened?” He asked, quickly moving to sit beside her and take in the damage.

“Some times checking in on your family means getting your ass beat in the process.” It was a horrible joke but it had made her chuckle slightly as tears formed in her eyes.

He brought his hand under her chin and lifted it slightly, angling her face up and to the side to get a better look at her neck. “Should have called in for some back up. I gladly would have stepped in.” They chuckled and she shook her head.

“I assure you, they wouldn’t be able to touch anyone again.”

Her words caused an eyebrow to raise on his face. “Am I being sworn to secrecy with that statement? Cause I can-”

“You wont have to worry about anything.” She promised. “I’m free from anything incriminating.” She looked down the hall towards where her room was. “I’ve only been back a few minutes, I didn’t want to wake you. You actually looked like you were sleeping peacefully tonight. I just needed-”

“It’s okay.” He assured her. He stayed with her in that spot for a little longer before she excused herself to go to her room.

The next morning they received the news that a hydra base had been taken down with no idea who had done it. No mission had been scheduled. They didn't even know that particular base had existed. Yet it had been up in flames without anyone alive to explain what was going on. Local authorities had been the ones to find the base in shambles and it took some time to reach the compound.

“I should kill you right now.” His voice had been calm. The words had even shocked him as they left his lips. Maybe it was the mix of emotions, but there was no stopping them once they left his lips.

Without any hesitation, Y/N shot her hand up above her head, grabbing the hilt of the knife, pulling it free. The moment she had it free, Bucky had his vibranium hand wrapped around hers. He thought she had been attempting to use it against him, and as he tried to keep it from meeting him, she easily brought it closer to her, letting the tip of the blade meet her shirt right above her heart.

“Do it, you’d be doing both of us a favor.” For a brief moment she saw the way his eyes softened at her words and actions before they hardened just as they had moments before. “I never intended to fall for you. But you made me care and I couldn’t stop myself. You want to kill me, go ahead. I deserve it for what I’ve done.”

Bucky pulled the blade away from her and brought it down to his side. “You should have told me the truth sooner. When you knew you couldn’t go through with it. Or even that night. We sat up for hours, you should have told me. I would have let you go then instead of having to find out this way when you slipped up.”

“I know, and I understand that I should have. But you-”

“Leave.” He couldn’t let her finish what she was about to say. While he didn’t know it word for word, he knew she would say along the lines of ‘now he knew and they could start over, now he knew and once she told the others they could make their way past this’. Part of him wanted to let her be that selfish. But the other part that now saw her only as someone that used him, he couldn’t bring himself to allow her any of it.

She nodded her head. “Okay, I’ll give you some space.”

“I meant leave here completely. I don’t want to see you around here anymore. In fact I expect you to be somewhere across the world by morning.”

“What? No-”

“If you don’t leave, I will gladly walk out of this room and alert everyone that Hydra is within their walls.” He would quickly do it if it allowed him the peace of her being gone. He couldn’t stand to look at her right now.

"I am not Hydra anymore!" She was glad the music had been blasting down the hall or else she would have given herself away with how loudly she had yelled it at him. “If you’re going to take anything away from this, please let that be it.”

“I can’t.” He shook his head. He moved towards the door to leave. As his flesh hand grabbed the door knob, she placed hers on top of his, causing him to look over at her with a glare.

“I know you don’t owe me any favors, and I definitely don’t deserve this, but please. Just pretend we’re okay, just for tonight, just for show.” She watched as his eyes hadn’t changed as he kept them on her. “Please. The others don’t need to hear about this right now and I promise that I’ll be gone by sunrise.”

He stood there for a moment, taking her in one last time. For the briefest of moments, this was his Y/N that he was looking at. The woman he had loved with everythin he could give. She wasn’t the enemy that had been standing in front of him. Nor was she the woman that broke his heart several times within their conversation tonight.

The pain in his chest shattered the illusion a moment later and all he could see and feel was the betrayal from her. The lies he had heard over the years on a loop in his mind as he looked into her eyes. He couldn’t give her the whole night she was asking for. He didn’t even know if he’d be capable of giving her any time longer than him walking out of this room.

“I’ll give you until your candles are out.” He said as he shook her hand off of his and opened the door. “That’s the only time you’ll get. After that it’s fair game.”

As the door slammed shut behind him, she closed her eyes and let a shakey breath out. She had expected him to say no. To tell her to leave once more before he left the room. She had expected to be running to their shared room and packing a bag to slip out under the radar. But he gave her smallest window of nothing being wrong.

Leaving the room, she quickly ducked into the nearest bathroom to collect herself. Thankfully there hadn’t been many people in the hall and there wasn’t someone already in the bathroom. Making quick use of her time, she ensured that not a single evidence of tears had been on her face and made sure her eyes didn’t hold the emotions she had been feeling. With one last deep breath, she walked back out to the party.

“There she is!” Clint yelled out, catching her attention. “We’ve been trying to keep Thor off of the cake.”

In the last few moments the music had been lowered significantly, to a decent volume. Thankfully they hadn’t decided to do so before she and Bucky had walked out of the room. If they had, she was sure she’d be greeted differently.

“Didn’t I tell you it wouldn’t be long before cake?” Sam teased.

“Someone couldn’t keep their hands off.”

Bucky’s voice had surprised her. As her eyes snapped to his, there wasn’t the playful gleam within his eyes. If anything, he was hiding the glare that wanted to form. He sent a wink her way before he brought the beer bottle up to his lips. The subtle message that he agreed and wouldn’t take it back. He’d keep the new charade up as long as she left just as he asked.

“Enough of that!” Nat said before Y/N could respond. She came over to Y/N and began leading her to stand in front of the cake. “Let’s sing and cut the cake before they decide to disappear again.”

The instant Y/N was in place, Nat began to light the candles on the cake quickly. But her eyes never left Bucky as he moved to stand closer to her for the time being. The others gathered around and it wasn’t long before a countdown started and the singing began. Taking Y/N’s full attention.

From the opposite side of the cake, she watched as the people who had become her friends over the last several years sing to her. The smiles on their faces as they had were something she’d never forget. And as her eyes landed on Bucky, he too had been participating just as she asked him too. The sparkler candles adding the right touch to the memory she was creating in her mind. The memory she’d keep with her for as long as she could after she left. The and only birthday celebrated with them all.

As the song came to an end, she could see the way Bucky’s eyes had been on anywhere else but her. He had even stopped singing mid song before the others had even finished singing. The ‘normal’ coming to an end.

While every one told her to make some kind of wish, Y/N couldn’t bring herself to. While she could wish for anything and everything to take back today, and even the last few years she would. But the damage had been done. There was no going back now.

I’m sorry. She thought as she blew out the candles.

In the midst of the cheers and the cake being moved away, Y/N was gone from sight. The only one who noticed it at first was Bucky. He watched her the whole entire time. He watched as she manuevored out of sight from the others and down towards the hall.

The moment she was gone from sight, Bucky’s body slumped slightly. The tension in his body leaving as he sat himself down in the nearest chair. The action hadn’t go unnoticed by some of his friends.

“You alright Buck?” Steve’s voice filled his ears as caught his movement in his peripheral taking a seat next to him.

“Give me the rest of tonight to give you an answer to that.” He said even though his eyes never left the hallway.

He had hardly got a grip on the situation himself. He was still processing the information, her words on a loop in his head, along with the hurt he was feeling had his mind spinning. Because how could he begin to explain that the woman they all cared for had been lying for years?

“Where’d Y/N go?” Steve asked keeping his attention on Bucky.

Bucky shrugged his shoulders, trying to keep his emotions at bay. “Your guess is as good as mine.” He finally brought his attention to Steve. “I just need time to give you the ‘why’ of it all.”

After years of freedom from the organization that manipulated, used, and tormented him, Hydra sure had a way of making its presence known in his life even after being destroyed. The relief of freedom he felt had been taken away from him the moment he had opened that file. And the genuine happiness he felt had been shattered to pieces the moment she confirmed his thoughts.

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victoria1676 · 3 years ago

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“LEAVE ME ALONE AND LET ME BUILD MY S**T! PROLOGUE PART 2: “THEN DIE LIKE ONE!”

Summary: The Last thing you remembered was finally putting Dream to jail and then everything went black only to wake up in a world you don’t recognize. trying to find a way home you found yourself in a mob chase that you find irritating and once they are satisfied threatening and killing you who then respawn the in execution made them realize who they almost killed and just as they were about to fall from their knees and beg for forgiveness.

You destroyed their homes in Revenge.

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(Prologue Part 1) (Interlude) (MASTERLIST)

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PLEASE LIKE, FOLLOW AND REBLOG! IF ANYONE STEALS MY WORK WITHOUT PERMISSION PLEASE INFORM ME!

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DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GENSHIN IMPACT OR THE DREAM SMP! THEY BOTH BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS AND I ONLY OWN THE PLOT! EVERYTHING HERE IS MADE FOR FUN AND NOT CANON ON GAMES AS THIS IS AN SELF AWARE IMPOSTER AU MIXED WITH VILLAIN AU OF THE SAGAU/SELF AWARE GENSHIN IMPACT!

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(Very long Note 👇)

Note: Thank you for your support and I didn't expect everyone would love the Prologue part 1 since my writing is pretty rusty and I had to change, fix and add stuff on part 1. But I'm happy you guys like it so please enjoy the second part and this is gonna chaotic since this is gonna be Mondstadts destruction and if you guys read my prologue you already know what will happen UwU

Also, I like to apologize as a writer I should have specific what reader gender is and her gender here is female but I always referred her as ‘reader’ or ‘you’ since that's what I usually do when I write stories of Fem reader but there are times she is referred as she or her. Considering a lot of people liked Gender neutral reader I probably pissed people off for not specifying reader's gender whoops 😅 So for those who expected to be gender neutral I really apologize that it isn't what you want but I do hope you can still stay and continue to read my story even if it's not gender neutral. If you want not read it then it's fine I won't stop you because it's your decision.

Btw I do have been bombarded by hate anons regarding my story however I have removed it and ignore it since it doesn't stop me from making this story as this story was made for fun and interesting idea that has been stuck in my head for so long XD. I also received that one anon right here calling me rude on not drawing reader on what they look like when I want to clarify this.

The reason I drew reader like that is because that's how I see her in my version. Yes you guys can change it since this is a x reader not an oc. If you don't like how reader looks like then that's understandable and you can imagine her or draw her of what she looks like in your own version but don't call me rude of how I drew reader. I'm sure you already know there are artists who draw their own version of their own reader which is why I drew my version of the reader of my story. So anon if you are reading this I'm just stating the facts and not insulting you but next time please watch your words and if you don't like my story then you can leave. The only reason I'm here on Tumblr is to express my writing creativity and I'm sure everyone who is in the SAGAU fandom has noticed one of their favorite writers not being here on Tumblr anymore due to not following rules and sending hate.

If anyone disguises their selves as anon and then sends me hate. What's your problem? If you don't like my story then don't send hate just because I made something that you guys couldn't and this story was made for fun and to let readers enjoy this mixed Au crossover. I am not here to listen or follow your words of saying it's 'cringe' or it 'sucks' or even the worst one 'kys'. Even if you are joking just so you know words are stronger than actions.

Sorry for the long notes I just wanna clarify since I'm basically new or rather just got back writing after reading a lot of wonderful works of different authors who made their SAGAU fanfics and already notice the signs of how people act here on Tumblr. Please know if you keep trying to ruin Another person's life by insulting their work and then it shows how bad you are as a person.

Criticism is open so that I can be aware and try to improve my writing since the only problem I have in writing is missing words and grammar. I am not mad or anything I basically wrote this with a straight neutral expression XD

Also, this chapter is very long, and had to go through major changes, and double-check from transferring this story to docs for Grammarly to check, change, add and also fix. I had fixed a lot of it including Prologue part 1 which is why I take so long to post cause I was adding and fixing some stuff in Prologue part 1. Also, I did mention I made a fight scene and I hope it looks pretty good for you guys since I am scared it's not good DX

Not my strongest suit so please don’t hate it considering I am very bad at explaining them.

But anyways please enjoy Prologue part 2! ^^

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WARNINGS: Swearing, mentions of characters who died, angst, destruction, mentions of alcohol, mention of a pet getting hurt, Characters might be OOC since I'm trying my best to get them in character DX

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Prologue Part 2: Then Die Like One!

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Few weeks or 5 months before the execution...

“So this is where the imposter lived in?”

Mondstadt’s Knights of Favonius including Diluc, Aether, and Paimon were standing a meter away from a comfy cottage that was nicely built and there was also a comfy stable with a horse sleeping in there. Albedo and Sucrose are back at Mondstadt to watch over Albedo's 'brother' who has calmed down from fighting them which was very suspicious however they were lucky they got his Compass that leads them to you. Honestly, when they have finally first found your cottage they all thought your home would be something out of a tent or something else like a cave they would live in so seeing a house in a middle of a snowy land that isn't from Dragonspine or Snezhnaya confused a lot of people of Teyvat, especially the place they found the cottage is from a land they have never see or step foot on before.

"This place…feels normal?" Paimon commented.

"You sure this where the imposter is staying?" Amber asked Aether who is holding what it seems to be a compass that had the name '(Y/n)' on it and it was pointing at the Cottage in front of them.

"The compass is pointing at that building in front of us," Aether said as looked at the object, “This is the only thing that the Albedo's brother had in his cave”

“Right and most of the objects he had there were mostly potion ingredients” Paimon included.

“Then let us get this over with” Diluc summoned his weapon, “Your grace would be yelling at us if we don’t return with the imposter...Including the Traveler as well”

Aether groaned as Amber patted his back while everyone grimaced knowing their grace has been throwing tantrums and are aware of how obsessed their creator is with Aether to the point they almost locked him which is why he left the ancient abode quickly without their Creator's permission and if Klee didn’t snitch but unfortunately the poor girl got herself punished as she was the one who let Aether go out since she didn't like her big brother's friend to be sad and got herself punished and no one likes their Creator’s punishments.

They love their creator and they are sure that they didn’t mean to be mean or hurt their people.

“Hey...” Amber spoke wearily pointing at the tree branch, “Doesn’t that look like those crows that always fly around with the imposter”

Everyone looked where she was looking and indeed there are four crows on the branch looking at them. Everyone had their guard up knowing they were informed that the imposter has crows that are not ordinary ones. Such as one insulted Venti, One suddenly carry a bomb that exploded on top of Zhongli’s head causing him to be angry, and another also sneaked into Raiden Shogun’s home and planted bombs that are made of glitter which pissed off the Archon who was not amused with the mess.

It was a hilarious sight of the Archons getting bullied by those weird crows. However, they are informed that all the crows that belong to the imposter will suddenly speak in perfect human speech.

“Let’s try to take them out first since one of them will inform the imposter,” Kaeya said as Amber got her bow ready to shoot the crows when-

“Well...” A voice spoke causing everyone to pause, “That's not a nice thing to do right chat?”

In a blink of an eye, everyone screamed when something shot the snowy ground to which everyone dodged or try to avoid getting hit.

“NO MERCY!!” The crows spoke.

“KICK THEM OUT, BIG SIS!!”

“INTRUDERS!!”

“THEY TRIED TO KILL US!!”

“Be lucky I heard their voices outside chat”

The snowy smoke cleared revealing you wearing a fluffy light blue cloak as you fixed your hat and twirled your diamond ax with your other hand holding a crossbow made out of fireworks.

“Let’s kick them out when I just finally take a break from building my temporary cottage,” You said with a smirk as your eyes flashed red.

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No one knows how many days or years passed as the world stayed the same. It was like a never-ending cycle with things going back into a routine. But the aftermath of the execution cause all 7 regions to be on the lookout for their missing creator that they have failed to recognize and realized they made a grave mistake serving an imposter who was nothing but a tyrant to all nations. Such as destroying homes and killing a lot of innocents for stupid or little reasons. The imposter has also verbally either screamed at her acolytes or sometimes slapped them.

Speaking off the imposter after the creator left with the Abyss and leaving the fame creator who is an Inazuman mortal that had a bad reputation of being a selfish and greedy woman who also has dumped many guys for their looks. Her parents died and have used almost all of her parent's money for dresses, make-up, and other stuff she could greedily have to herself. Because she was revealed as the imposter she was shunned by her peers and her nation for her sins to the point the Raiden Shogun had tortured the woman 3 times before banning her from Inazuma.

Mallory, unfortunately, had to live getting yelled at or rocks were thrown from different people from the different nations that all banned her from entering but before she was banned each Archon would let the vision users or themselves torture her by reminding her of the mistakes and sins she has done by having the face and voice of the true creator only now to live a curse where she can not die and forever live the pain, trauma, and suffering that you have given her to make her feel what you felt. Supposedly Mallory was to die and be revived 10 times only to her horror is that a big white box appeared in front of her showing that she will have infinite times of getting killed and revived again. It made her cry and realize she will forever have the curse of feeling the pain of death and then waking up alive again with no wounds but she can forever feel the pain of her body.

She then suddenly disappeared but no one knows where she go as the people of Teyvat were happy she was gone and now are focusing on trying to get your forgiveness by looking for you who seemed to have almost disappeared from Teyvat. The people were scared knowing they couldn't bear the sin of hurting their creator yet they knew it was their punishment for almost killing their God.

Aether was cradling his swollen cheek as Paimon put ice on it. The traveler is currently residing in Wangshuu Inn resting on their journey after they witnessed the execution that went from killing an impostor to killing the true creator. Despite Aether wasn't the one who chases the imposter he was still one of the people who wanted to kill the creator for making his journey to all nations to find out the truth of Teyvat by separating him from Lumine. When he went to look for the creator only he realized that it was an imposter because he didn't feel the aura that controlled him in his journey so which is why he didn't get angry or try to kill the imposter and now he regretted his actions for sticking by the imposter who is deeply obsessed for his attention including his love. He thought he could tolerate her but it became annoying and exhausting when the imposter kept staying by his side and he was forced to be with her at all times by her acolytes.

It was right after the execution or rather 3 days after it, he was visited by Lumine to his shock but it made him happy although…

He didn't expect to be punched by her.

He grimaced remembering the look of disappointment from his sister and the shock he had felt from it as he cradled his bruised cheek.

'You are selfish brother…' he remembered Lumine's words, 'I can understand that but letting yourself be with the imposter?… You have failed to realize how deep their obsession with you…'

He did and then he remembered yelling at her about why did she side with the true creator and why isn’t angry at them when they had separated them by letting that unknown God separate them as one had to struggle through the journey 500 years ago and the other had to go into a full saving nations problems, being their errand boy and also going into different nations to experience the same cycle again instead of helping him reach the truth of what Teyvat is like yet no one told him the truth or he never reach the answers what his sister told him to learn.

(Note: This refers he hasn't reached yet the truth of what Teyvat is and he has not reached Snezhnaya yet. He has met the Pryo Archon but the moment he wanted to learn the truth the imposter arrived and thus he was never able to get the truth of the Pyro Archon.)

He sighed earning Paimon's worried expression.

"Something wrong Aether?" She asked and she gave him an ice pack to put on his cheek which he thanked her.

Currently, both of them are in Wangshuu inn and are resting after the execution event that happened weeks ago. The people in Wangshuu inn were pretty much groveling and doing prayers to the shrine of the Creator with many offerings and bowing of forgiveness for what they had done. The Traveler didn't see Xiao hanging up the roof of the inn but Aether is aware that the Yaksha has gone somewhere as he is one of the people who had killed the creator under the imposter's orders.

"Nothing…"He said, "Just remembering Lumine's words"

"Oh…!"

'I never side with the Creator' She said and just as he was about to tell her she was lying she lifted her hand up to stop him, 'Rather I side with an Outlander who has no idea she is the true creator…All she wanted was to return home and be with her siblings. She wanted answers to know where she appeared as she has never been in Teyvat before'

He stayed silent as Lumine shake her head a portal behind appeared revealing an Abyss herald.

"Your highness," The herald said, "Her Majesty is waiting for you"

Hearing what the Abyss Herald just said Lumine turned around and this time Aether was about to run to her but was stopped by his twin who glanced behind him with the same disappointed expression.

That made Aether go silent and he could hear Paimon yelling behind him. Lumine sighed and shake her head before going into the Abyss Portal. Paimon then came to him worriedly and asked a bunch of questions about where did he go and what happened only he gave her an answer that he was in a short meeting with his sister.

"Do not follow me not when I told you to reach your end of a journey like I did so that you will see the true nature of this world…You still didn't do what I only asked you as your sister…Instead you have joined that cult who worships the creator when in reality they are blind to see that they were worshipping the true imposter…"

He didn't know what to say as all he could recall was when he first saw the true creator his vision went red and charged towards her ignoring Paimon's scream that called him out. He was about to stab her but he was deflected as he remembered the look of the true creator who looked at him in shock before annoyance.

"OH COME ON!" She said before jumping back, "AND I THOUGHT I COULD FIND A DECENT HUMAN BEING FOR QUESTIONS!!"

Both of them fought and fought until he was on the ground injured while you were ruffled and bruised with scratches as well. Aether could see a little blood on your arms that was flashing golden slowly before going back to red. He thought he was gonna be killed instead you just looked at him like he wasn't worth your blade, shaking your head before you threw him a potion that is made for sleeping.

Although before he got hit by a sleeping potion he did remember your words clearly.

"Just because I look like their creator of this world doesn't mean I'm trying to be like them…God, what an idiotic simp they are geez…Guess I'll avoid another simp again ugh and to think I had high hopes I could find a decent ally to help me go home…"

Aether grimaced as he looked at his hands like he was stained with blood. Your words hurt him yet he doesn't know why it hurts.

"Well…"Aether paused, "Looks like someone learned their lesson for dooming almost every nation's people by playing ignorant and playing along”

Paimon gasped when she saw a familiar Rockstar, "Xinyan?!"

Aether looked up but flinched when he saw Xinyan’s appearance and expression. Back when he first met her was when she was one of the Creator’s vessels and she is still until now. He officially met her in the Moon chase event by Beidou and then he met again in Inzauma with Childe. He also met her again in the second Lantern Rite. If he remembered Xinyan and Yun jin became best friends sharing their love for music despite their styles of music being different from each other it never stops them from being friends but it also made them interested in each other's musical culture. Pretty both of them were the best of friends.

That is until the imposter came to Teyvat and ruined their friendship.

In front of either wasn’t the same friendly yet bold rock star that Aether and Paimon knew. What they are looking for is someone who had lost a friend, betrayal, and most of all anger. Xinyan did not give them a friendly expression like before but a darkened anger that almost felt like burning similar to how Diluc would glare at Kaeya with that same expression when Kaeya boast of being one of the Creator's favorites back then. The only thing that Xinyan looked different was very obvious other than her hair is down and her wearing a brown cloak.

No, the glaringly obvious difference wasn’t the expression, her outfit, or her hair.

or rather...

Xinyan has lost her right arm.

One of the punishments of trying to tell everyone that the creator they were worshipping is an imposter yet it failed to reach everyone.

Xinyan for some reason knew that the creator they worship was an imposter despite she wasn't a true worshipper she still cared and prayed for the creator in her own way.

Her punishment includes being banned from her Homeland.

The place where she learned her music.

and the broken friendship of Yun jin.

“What?” Xinyan spoke, “Surprised to see my missing limb that the Geo archon did?”

Aether winced before going silent with Paimon who has been silent ever since the execution. Aether remembered being one of the people or rather mostly the one to watch people’s punishment as being the number one consort-he grimaced at the word- of the imposter and was one of the people who saw the friendship of Xinyan and Yun jin destroyed in ashes. Yun jin stayed with the imposter despite her being laughed at a lot by the imposter of her voice, she still kept singing.

He remembered the cries of Yun Jin behind her dressing of how the imposter made fun of her high-pitched voice.

He also heard the ‘creator’ apologizing to Yun Jin yet Aether knew she was lying and is just doing that to make Yun Jin know her god still love her singing and it worked.

Xinyan on the other hand became a wanderer after she tokes all her stuff and disappeared. That was the last time he saw her or heard the last of her music until now.

“H-how are you Xinyan...” Aether cursed internally at how awkward he sounded.

Xinyan hummed, “I’m alright Traveler but I’m here for a reason and I’m just messenger for you”

“A messenger?” Paimon asked.

“A messenger of (Y/N)”

Both companions tensed up knowing it has been like weeks since they have seen or last heard of you and to hear Xinyan being your messenger then something is up.

Xinyan noticed their reaction but didn’t say anything yet continued, “She wants you guys to meet in Mondstadt. I don't know why but she wants you there right now”

“And if I don't?”

“Lumine will never go home with you and you will lose more the people you have cared for or befriended in your journey"

Those words made Aether tense up in shock, “How could she-”

“Her words she said: ‘I don’t give a damn if I'm gonna be cruel when he already disappointed his own twin’ and we all know you are dead set to be with your family right Traveler”

The way Xinyan didn’t sound like her usual tone or accent made Aether grimace and sighed knowing it's almost everyone’s fault-including himself- why she is like this and those words you told her to tell him stung yet it was the truth.

He disappointed Lumine.

He disappointed his other half and twin.

“That’s all I can say,” The former Rockstar said before turning around to leave, “Hope you’ll like your gift there”

Gift?

Before Paimon or Aether could ask Xinyan she suddenly threw something out of the balcony before disappearing in front of them making the two companions startled

"D-did she j-just disappeared?!" Paimon asked, "And what was that?! The one she threw!"

Aether ran out of his balcony and looked down only to find no Xinyan to be found on the ground of the Inn. Paimon looked around before looking at Aether who just shrugged making the floating companion hum worriedly

“Well looks like we couldn’t ask what Xinyan meant by gift? Doesn’t the creator hate us?” Paimon questioned knowing after the execution it was obvious the creator didn't like them.

She also shivered remembered your torture of the imposter and had to cover her ears while closing her eyes tightly to ignore the screams of pain from the imposter.

“...” Aether looked down quietly.

“Well...Let’s go to Mondstadt and see what the creator wants with us” She said as the blond outlander nodded as both he and Paimon grabbed their stuff and left to go to Mondstadt.

Unknow to Aether and Paimon, a crow was watching everything before looking up at Xiao who looked down to which the crow cawed at him softly and flew off to Mondstadt leaving Xiao to drown in his guilt, pain, and Karma.

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

“So you decided to side with us?”

“...”

They sighed and looked at their former friend or rather companion.

“Just so you know you will be the one to bear this betrayal”

“I know”

“Even if they will hate you?”

“...I’ll do anything to redeem myself for the creator”

“The creator? Then what about (Y/n)?”

“Huh?”

“The creator is the almighty being who uses us as their vessels but also the one in charge of everyone’s lives and how our world works. They are also our companions despite we couldn't see what they look like until now. (Y/n) is just an outlander who is searching for answers of going home and doesn’t have memories of possessing us or know the story of our world”

“...”

“Tell me. Are you redeeming for the creator or for (y/n)?”

The companion didn’t say anything making them sigh again and start walking past them.

“You should have thought this through despite you are one of their favorites after all”

“...”

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

“Woah and I thought the people in Whangshuu inn are miserable but Mondstadt...It is wayyyyy miserable” Paimon commented on the miserable atmosphere of what should be the happy city of freedom of Mondstandt

Paimon is correct when the city of freedom was way more miserable than the people who reside in Wangshuu inn. The people were muttering forgiveness and some of them were already crying as one of them were running towards the shrine what it seems to be a bundle of offerings. Children were crying and parents or sisters from the church tried to calm them but they still kept crying. The sight was a mess and the only one who is looking normal is Katheryne.

“Ad Astra Abyssosque” Katheryne greeted the companions with the same line, “Welcome back to Mondstadt Traveler and Paimon. I’m afraid all nations like this place are currently mourning or drowning in their guilt for hurting the outlander (Y/n) Minecraft”

That last name made Aether and Paimon confused since this was the first time they have heard that last name since they never knew you had a last name however the way Katheryne said it like she has been saying that name a lot of times just like how she repeats her lines when they did commissions or expeditions.

Unless she has been one of the people who tried to convince that you are the God and not the imposter but that was highly unlikely since Katheryne wasn't a worshipper like the rest of the nations.

"Hey, Katheryne…" Paimon greeted her, "How long has been everyone like this?"

"Right after they returned to their respective nations all of them started to act like this right away and I had a hunch that after hurting the Outlander (Y/N) Minecraft in the execution they realize their mistake right?" Katheryne pretty much summed up the problem that happened weeks ago.

"Y-You knew?!" Paimon exclaimed.

Katheryne just chuckled, "Of course, I know and I been telling you and many citizens about it yet none listen until the execution"

Paimon rubbed her head sheepishly while Aether looked down. They did hear from Kaeya that Katheryne had to deal with the backlash of getting egg thrown by her or any items but that was over after Bennett stopped them when he said he was doing their job.

Aether flinched remembering he was one of the people who failed Bennett by chasing you down and letting him get killed by the other acolytes.

"I thought I could trust you…" Bennett chuckled that held pain, "I guess you are like everyone else…sorry for wasting your time…"

Aether bit the inside of his cheek as he felt his chest hurting from remembering Bennett's words and sad expression. Paimon continued asking Katheryne numerous questions or to which the android answered the floating companion with honesty.

Footsteps appeared behind them making Aether snap out of his thoughts and glance behind him only for him to get hit by water.

"Aether!" Paimon cried out.

The traveler coughed and wiped his face only to flinch seeing the familiar Astrologist of Fontaine who then started living Mondstadts after accidentally reading her Master's book or rather her Master's diary was now glaring at him with hate.

"It's Mona?!"

"Hello Mona" Katheryne greeted the Astrologist who continued to glare at the Traveler, "I supposed you are leaving Mondstadt today?"

"Indeed especially I am quite tired hearing everyone groveling to the guilt of their mistake that I have been trying to tell them that they have served and imposter only it failed and didn't they didn't listen and hurt us" Mona huffed before looking at Aether who looked uncomfortable making her raise her head in delight.

"It seems you have learned the truth and now drowning in guilt is that right?"

Aether tensed up but it was the answer that Mona knew that the traveler is now having regrets. She then threw an envelope to him who was caught in confusion as Mona then adjusted her bag.

"I'll be leaving this nation to find a suitable place where no groveling of people's mistake of hurting (Y/n) and that letter you have right there Traveler is from her," Mona told him.

Both companions blinked before looking at the envelope that had a crow stomped on it.

"I must make haste" Mona faced where the entrance of Mondstadt is in, "Goodbye Traveler, Paimon, and Katheryne. I do hope we can meet on much better terms"

With those words, Mona walked away and that was the last time Aether and Paimon would last see her.

It was silent other than citizens crying and groveling as Katheryne stared at the traveler before glancing upward to find a crow watching the scene. Katheryne let out a small smile as the crow cawed and flew away leaving Katheryne to glance at Aether who comforted Paimon who looked like she was crying. He on the other hand had an unreadable expression on his face. Almost all the people he befriends slowly disappear or are dead at the hands of the true imposter.

It showed Aether how much he fucked up badly if he only told the truth as the first vessel of the creator then he still could have the companions who had helped the creator still smiling and not being angry with him or the friends who have died for the true creator still be alive and still there to help him.

But they are not here.

Not when everyone betrayed them.

And not when they learned the truth.

And was too late that they realized their mistake.

Look what you have done to the choices you have made...

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

"You know I always give my guest a warm welcome but seeing you guys here with my compass made me rethink and get ready since I have heard from my crows you are here to bring me to your 'Creator?' "You huffed as cracked your neck to the side while observing the knights, the Darknight of Mondstadt, and the famous Traveler of another world.

"So you knew we would come" Jean got ready in her battle stance.

"Yep," You said popping the 'p' at the end.

Honestly, almost everyone is unnerved by how calm and laid back you are when you are supposed to panic that you are about to be killed and forced to meet the creator for your punishment having her appearance, face, and voice. No one liked seeing their creator angry and they all blamed you for making her have mood swings.

In reality, they have not realized the only reason why their so-called creator has been throwing tantrums and anger at the people and to her acolytes is that she doesn't want them to find out she's an imposter and is panicking that her plans will go to ruins once they learn the truth.

"For someone who should be aware of what they have done you seemed pretty calm" Kaeya commented with a dark smirk.

"Eh" You shrugged earning baffled looks from them, "I get that a lot since if I act scared or something it breaks my character"

The chat is cackling at your words and laughing at the knights’ expression that has the look that you have grown a second head.

"Then you are a fool to be this calm when you made a great mistake" Diluc retorted.

"Yes having the appearance, face, and other shit that is related to your master when I'm legit trying answers" You huffed in irritation ignoring the enraged looks from everyone, "You are one annoying group of simps"

"Simp?" Paimon questioned hearing that word.

You waved her off with a laid-back smirk earning a huff of annoyance from Paimon before your tilted your head from the left as an arrow landed on your door. Making you glance at Amber who shot it. No one move until they saw your eyes flash again red.

The atmosphere became even tenser as you let out a sigh before throwing your hat up in the air which one of the chat flew up to catch it.

“There's no other way,” You said as you watch the chat fly off with your hat before looking at the protectors of Mondstadt.

The fact you suddenly feel like you are in Techno’s place with you being him and the Knights being the butcher gang.

The irony of this scene made you feel how your brother felt fighting against the butcher gang.

Your words were very low and ominous causing the people of Mondstadt to get their guard up when you move your hand behind your cloak to get something. Your wings were then revealed and stretched out it moved back and-

“...I choose BLOOD!”

With the splash of potions, you have thrown to the ground and your wings flapped all the snow to make a smoke causing everyone to cough as the smoke became hard to see smoke filled the area. Aether looked around in caution with Amber readying her bow n’ arrow and Eula behind her. Diluc and Kaeya are sides to side with their weapons ready just like Jean and Lisa who stood next to each other until-

“AETHER LOOK OUT!”

“!!!”

You emerge from the smoke in front of Aether who was caught off guard and-

“Peek a boo!” You sadistically smirked as your (e/c) changed to blood red.

You went in for the kill.

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

“Oh, creator please forgive our sins...” One of the who are drinking in Angels share sobbed before taking a huge drink, “We are ‘hic’ doomed...”

“‘hic’ agreed...”

Diluc sighed as he watched his customers drink their sorrows away to be knocked out he and Charles tried to stop the customers from drinking too much until they are knocked out only they will keep coming and more and more people came to drink away their sorrows. Diluc is lucky they still have enough wine or other drinks to make for the customers.

Venti is the most common one who has to drink his sorrows away along with singing his sorrows through the lyre that he played every day. Kaeya is also one of them except he had taken a lot of Death After Noon or Dandelion wine drinks much to Diluc's anger when had those from him only to find out Kaeya took all of it to be knocked out. Rosaria is nowhere to be found and none of the sisters could find her, especially Barbara who was worried for the Cryo nun.

Currently, right things haven't changed after the aftermath of the execution except there are few which is a relief to him and Charles and Kaeya are at his bar drinking his wine slowly instead directly trying to drink all his wine in one go. Heaven knows Kaeya is lucky his liver hasn’t been destroyed from drinking all alcohol too much. The tavern was quiet other than the people who are sobbing or knocked out from drinking Diluc continued cleaning the glasses when Charles came in and sighed causing the Pryo user to look at him.

"I just sent 3 drunks home while one is knocked out but is currently carried by their buddies," He said.

"Thank you" He thanked him.

"No problem happy to help considering how our nation is being down in the dumps…"

Hearing that earned a grunt from Diluc while Kaeya hummed but you can see both sworn brothers are in pain and guilt in their eyes as they learned that they made a sin of hurting you like an outsider. It hit them like one of Klee's bombs hit them when this whole time they could have read or realized the signs that the ‘creator’ they put their whole life was the true imposter. At first impression, they did very well on being kind, warm, and benevolent to the people but the moment you appear they started to lose it and losing show their true colors.

Yet none of them didn't doubt it.

They just blame you for making her that way.

Until they realize their mistake and it was too late.

"I heard that the true imposter disappeared after entering Snezhnaya…" One of the customers whispered.

"Seriously? Well they are doomed especially that's the place where the Fatui are born and lived"

"Exactly and no one know what has happened to her"

"Well if anything happens to her it's on her"

"Right especially she was the one who made us kill our creator”

“Creator has cursed her into some kind of immortality curse but we are not sure”

“Really...”

Whispers began to appear as Diluc glanced at his customers before glancing at Kaeya who had an unreadable expression but he is aware that the Cryo user is listening to get information.

“There have been sightings of crows in the area around outside Mondstadt walls yesterday...” Charles pointed out, “I am not sure if those are from Inazuma but they don’t fly here so they could be the creator’s crows”

“Are they still there?” Diluc asked Charles who nodded.

“So” Kaeya spoke putting down his glass on the counter, “She’s sending her crows to spy on us?”

“I am afraid I'm not sure” Charles admitted.

“But I can say is that there have been rumors of Venti getting attacked by one of them which is why he isn’t here”

Kaeya snorted imagining Venti getting attacked by a bunch of talking crows.

“Anything else you find suspicious yesterday?”

“Other than the crows I don’t think so...Although I'm not sure why there are six of them yesterday flying around above or next to the walls of Mondstadt”

Kaeya sighed as he watched Diluc thank again Charles who then waved off before leaving the Tavern to get home. Things are slowly getting out of hand and the sightings of your crows shows that you are spying on them. They aren’t sure if they should be happy you are checking Mondstadts or if there is a reason why you sent your crows here the city of freedom that is in total chaos of the execution. The people in the tavern began to leave to send their offerings to the creator’s shrine leaving the brothers two vision users in the tavern.

“You know...” Kaeya began, “There are several meanings of seeing crows from what I heard from an Inazuma citizen”

“Is that so?” Diluc said as he began to make a new drink not facing Kaeya.

“There are five meanings apparently of seeing a black crow well there is a six of them” Kaeya raised five fingers and then showed his hand to add one finger to make it six as he then started to be for leaning back before making one of his hand played with the glass graceful.

“A single crow is considered an omen of bad luck. Finding two crows, however, means good luck. Three crows mean health, and four crows mean wealth.” Kaeya then began to frown.

“If we spot five crows means sickness is coming.”

Diluc paused before putting the drink down and glance at Kaeya who looked very tense.

That wasn’t a good sign considering if your crows do have those meanings in numbers.

The redhead noble is now dreading the thought of the next crows gives him a fear of what happens if there are more crows with meanings.

“Then... What if there is a chance we see six crows?” He nervously asked Kaeya who tensed up even more before thinking.

"Then...If I heard that if…we see six crows means death is nearby." Kaeya’s eyes widened when he just realized what he said along with Diluc.

Charles mentioned six crows are spotted yesterday.

This couldn’t be a coincidence.

Kaeya began to laugh in disbelief but you can hear the pain and agony in it as he covered his face with his hand.

“I guess we are gonna be punished by our creator!”

The way he said his word was cracked yet Diluc understand what he is saying as the atmosphere in the Tavern became tense

They are doomed to die in their creator’s hands.

Either Mondstadt.

Or the people.

“HAHAHA BE SCARED!”

And just like that the atmosphere popped up like a bubble as Diluc turned to his left with Kaeya as they spotted a crow on the table kicking some glasses or mugs.

It came from the window that Diluc swore he last saw was closed.

“GET WRECK YOU, HANDSOME MEN!!” It shouted at them and then another one appeared and slapped using its wing on the first crow.

‘Quit being a simp on these fools when we just finished placing TNT around Springvale” It scolded the first crow who huffed...

Both men felt their eyes wide as the dreading feeling intensified hearing the crow’s words.

TNT wha-

BOOM!!

Suddenly a loud explosion was heard outside of Mondstadt causing a big shake catching Diluc, Kaeya, and the other people outside the tavern off guard you could hear screams of confusion including people who fell or lost balance from the explosion and mini earthquake Other citizens saw the smoke as one of the knights began to run towards where the smoke is while one went to inform Jean.

“That's our cue to leave!”

“AWWWWW”

Both crows flew off the window as the door of Angel’s share was slammed open revealing one of the knights who look distressed.

“CAPTAIN!” They shouted, “SPRINGVALE IS ON FIRE AND HILICHURLS ARE ATTACKING THE PEOPLE THERE!”

Kaeya got up and ordered them to hurry out and save them as he then left with Diluc who grabbed his coat and wore it on him.

But as they left they didn’t notice a brown cloak appeared on the side of Angel’s share watching them leave.

A crow perched on their shoulder as the person then handed the note to the crow who used their beak to grab it before flying away. They then decided to walk out of Mondstadt to another exit that was near the tavern.

“It looks like it worked”

The wind moved the cloak of the mysterious person yet they held it before it could drop their cover.

"Let's try to distract Traveler from heading towards Springvale…"

Under the cloak was a familiar freckled skin and long, light auburn-brown hair, some of which is tied into braids was seen under it except they are lucky no one saw who they are under the cloak.

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

“BURN!”

You dodged the flaming eagle as you then appeared in front of Diluc before kicking him as you lifted your shield up from getting stabbed by Kaeya who then freeze your shield as you pull out your crossbow before shooting at him with fireworks causing him to let go of his weapon and jumped from getting hit from those rockets. Smoke from the snow was large from the impact of the fireworks as Amber began to shoot through the smoke.

Suddenly an ax went flying towards Amber who ducked quickly as the ax landed on a nearby tree. Then something was thrown in front of the outrider who flinched seeing your face as you almost shoot her before you let out a yelp in confusion as your body was launched away from Jean’s anemo attack.

"Thanks, Jean!" She thanked the acting Grand Master who reached her hand out for her to stand up to which the outrider toke it.

“Be careful Amber" Jean told the outrider, “She isn’t the same as before don't let your guard down!"

You rolled your body over before landing on the ground graceful glaring at Jean before pausing as you saw purple particles that then formed into a magic circle as Lightning hit you. You did not scream but let out loud curses before shooting Lisa who was surprised by your resistance and teleported away from getting hit.

“FUCK THAT STINGS!” You cursed as you quickly swallowed a lot of the last potions that you made in the case and you were lucky that they didn't notice before charging toward the Dandelion Knight.

“Jean heads up!”

CLING!

CLANG!

CLING!

“Do give me a good fight again Acting grandmaster” You said as you put all your anger on your weapon to Jean who was getting a bit overwhelmed by your sheer strength and bloodlust yet still manage to fight back.

You had to be careful considering this is gonna be a rematch with her since now you remembered how her attacks were like when you first fought her. Plus you need to avoid that hard upward slash that made Jean’s enemies launch in the air and float. You also have to avoid her Gale blade move after hearing from Rosaria how that move is annoying and threatening to all enemies. You already learn how this move is like considering it pushed you away from attacking Amber even further.

CLING!

CLANG!

CLING!

CLANG!

“Look at that she’s able to block Jean’s attack!” Paimon commented.

“Looks like she seems to be now aware of how we attack and is able to defend against us with her attacks that are more aggressive than before” Kaeya informed them considering when he fought them he struggled to parry them yet he had the upper hand using his vision but now it looks like you can attack them even if they used their vision.

Diluc clicked his tongue, “Looks like the imposter improved...”

Indeed he was right. Back then you had struggled against them since you didn’t know their attacks as it was the first time you have seen people who that kind of sword style when you first arrived but you were still able to defend and fight them off when they first attacked you, especially you learned how annoying you have to fight them with their visions. You tiled your head to the right as a piece of your hair was cut only a small portion of it as you then strike back with a harder pressure.

CLING!

CLANG!

SHIIING!

“What is this strength!?” Jean exclaimed noticing your attacks are very much more aggressive yet very quick than before. She then countered attack you as you quickly defend from

as you then sidekick her legs making her lose her balance and then felt her body kicked as well.

“JEAN!” Her friends exclaimed as they ran towards her while Kaeya and Diluc appeared on each side of you with their weapons to hit you who was smirking.

You crouch downward catching the two off guard before yelling out in pain feeling a burning explosion you then felt a pain getting hit from your side as you began to bleed yet it didn’t make you falter.

“If you get hurt and haven’t stopped fighting then continue but if you can’t handle the pain then retreat. Don’t die so dumbly alright” Techno patted your head, “Besides who can keep up my bloodlust other than Phil?”

“I won't’ die yet Tech..’ You thought before your breath hitched slightly seeing a shadow appear above you and you rolled away from it.

The boulder had geo in it and landed where you were standing which means Traveler made his move as you then leaned backward avoiding a blade that almost hit your head as you to bring your other shield to block Eula’s attack but then you felt your back was hit by a huge wind that unexpectedly pushed towards Eula who fell onto the snow thanks to you.

“What the hell dude!” You yelled out of Traveler who switched to Anemo before throwing an ender pearl to avoid getting slammed by Eula as she noticed you teleported away from her as your then cartwheel an ice attack and lightning.

You glared at the traveler as you teleported at his charging figure causing him to skid back and raised his sword to defend himself and then avoid another block which he was lucky he blocked or else his exposed torso would have been where your sword landed if he blocked it. Suddenly he started to get overwhelmed as you began to rapidly overcome his attacks.

‘Not good!’ Aether thought in fear as you saw it making you grin at seeing the emotion that you and Techno enjoy whenever both your bloodlust tends to take over.

“Feeling the pressure already little traveler?” You asked him grinning sadistically.

Your smirk almost reminded the blond traveler of Childe and Scaramouche.

“How the hell is she that strong and fast?!” Diluc grunted as he held his torso in pain.

“Wait look closely at her body!” Lisa pointed out.

Jean squinted before gasping when she sees particles around you as you continue fighting Aether.

“What...is that?” She asked in confusion seeing it.

Considering your potions were different than their potions they aren't aware you drank a potion in the middle of the battle however they know you must have something that made you strong and fast for them to attack. Things aren't going as planned and the acolytes need to hurry especially since they didn't want their creator to be even more in a bad move.

You, on the other hand, are having fun dodging and attacking Aether who is slowly showing signs of fatigue and exhaustion yet he didn't hesitate to continue fighting you.

That is until-

"WOOF! *WHIMPER!*"

You froze which allowed Aether to use his Geo Burst as you were then pushed it with a grunt as you then backflip and landed on the snow before turning around and pointing your crossbow at Kaeya who had your pet wolf under his foot. The poor canine was injured and you could see him bleeding as well.

What the fuck?!

"I didn't know the knights would be this cruel especially bring animals to the fight" You glared at the Cavalry Captain who smirked.

"Eh?" Paimon popped out as Eula ran to Aether who fell in her arms in exhaustion, "Where did that wolf come from!?"

"More like it appear and tried to bite Master Diluc here if I didn't step in," He said as your wolf whimpered but still growled.

Your eyes narrowed in anger as the voices appeared in the rage of seeing your poor dog injured as Kaeya continue to taunt you with a smirk and pressed his foot for pressure.

"Hey! Kaeya that's way too far especially even if that belongs to the imposter you shouldn't be hurting it so we can capture her!" Amber said as she didn't want to see the poor canine hurt despite she knows it belongs to the imposter yet it was way too cruel for the Cavalry Captain to use against her.

"We have no choice especially since we are running out of time and your grace is gonna be angry if we don't return with the imposter" He reminded her making Amber falter.

He also is aware he doesn't usually bring animals into the fight but seeing is the only option for you to finally give up and surrender to them then he has no choice.

The intense silence surrounded the area as the blue-haired male pointed his sword at you who still is glaring at him with those blood-red eyes and your crossbow loaded with fireworks.

"So what is it gonna be imposter? Come with us cleanly or your little mutt gets it"

"…"

Unknown to everyone someone was watching the area as they waited for your decision and see what you will do.

"Times ticking"

Kaeya tapped your wolf making your blood boil and smirked but-

You let out a sigh.

That made him pause at that reaction in confusion.

"I hate to do this but"

You whistled.

Suddenly everyone hear a whizzing noise, Lisa yelped in pain feel something hit her like a blunt ax and it headed towards Kaeya who didn't have time to react as a loud think made contact with his forehead causing him to yell and stagger as your wolf escaped from him. Your palm was open as the one that hit the captain was now in your hand.

Your trident hummed in your grip as you then snorted seeing the fallen captain who is clutching his bleeding head.

"Hmm…"

Jean held Lisa who is rubbing the back of her head while Diluc went to get Kaeya's who is slowly sitting up yet is clutching his bleeding head.

Eula held Aether with Amber as everyone waited for your next move on them

You looked around your surroundings before looking at the chat who was enjoying the fight and you moved your eyes towards Jean who saw it and was about to get her sword until-

"Meh…Imma surrender"

"HUH"

You suddenly threw away your items in the snow as you then sat down crossing your legs like a kid.

The chat was laughing their ass off seeing the disbelief reactions of the Knights as you stretched your arms like you are at home when you had just almost defeated them and now you were surrendering to them that easily!?

Everyone was fuming especially Kaeya who literally got slammed by your trident and now you surrender just like that!? Diluc look at you like you were a fool when you had just almost defeated them. Amber held back Eula who looked enraged as you sighed and stared at Jean who looked confused at your actions.

"W-Why did you j-just surrender," She asked in confusion, "You're just gonna give up when you are about to defeat us"

You shrugged and feel the burning glare of Cryo and Pryo behind you which you ignore.

"It's already annoying running away from you guys and fighting you guys are not worth it"

Your blunt words caught them off guard yet it made them angry and Eula was about to yell at you when you lifted up your hands showing you are allowing yourself to be taken by them.

"Besides as that Cryo bastard" You jabbed your finger towards the injured captain, "Is right when you are aware how your God is like"

"That doesn't mean anything why do you suddenly have up"

"Meh I already said what I said and Mister Ragnvindr refrain from attacking me when I'm supposed to be hurt by your god"

Diluc clicked his tongue as he dismisses his Pryo attack and looked at Jean. Everyone watches the Acting grandmaster make her decision before she let out her sigh and takes out a pair of cuffs that are made of strange magic and walked toward your calm sitting figure. She hesitantly grabbed your hand as she placed the cuffs around your wrists.

You hummed as you then stand up and followed Jean. The knights were very suspicious of your surrender but in the end, they have no choice but to accept that you are willing to give yourself off to their creator. Your wolf whimpered but you turned around and gave them a small smile before turning around to follow Jean. Your smile turn into a sly smirk that was noticeable for a second but it quickly disappeared.

'Guess I'll use Dream's method for now…' You thought.

Once all the knights left the person who was watching you grabbed your items only they couldn't find your sword and ax as you might have thrown them far away or something. They hummed as they look at Chat who nodded.

They let out a small smile and said, "Guess everything is according to the plan…"

Suddenly footsteps were heard behind them.

"Mind if I help on this plan"

They flinched and turned around with their sword ready but it was blocked by an unknown weapon held by a person who had blonde hair similarily to Aether's but they had two familiar flowers in their hair.

They paused and slowly put their sword down as they saw the familiar gold eyes yet the appearance was different which means they are-

"Hello, Rhinedottir second creation…"

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

"Look for survivors quickly!!" Jean ordered her knights as all of them split up to loom for the citizens of what used to be Springvale.

What was supposedly a small village in the southeast part of Windwail Highland, Mondstadt has now turned into ashes as you could see holes and houses burning. Hilichurls were everywhere along with blood could be seen on the ground which send a lot of fear to the knights that someone had died from the sudden bombing of Springvale.

A peaceful and idyllic suburban town. It has a long history of hunting, of sweet spring water, and passing down the legend of a beneficent spirit dwelling within the waters is no more but a village of ruins. Flames were spreading, holes of what could be where the bombs just hit and buildings are burning through inside and outside along with holes on the walls of it. The giant windmill has fallen over and lots of Hilichurls were dancing and enjoying the destruction.

Jean felt sickened at the sight of what was once a beautiful village has now become a ruin. She and the Knights of Favonius look for the survivors along with defeating those Hilichurls.

"How did this happen…?!" She muttered as she just finished defeating those pesky dendro Samachurls.

It has been weeks or what people think despite their world being stuck in a cycle of being a game after the execution of the ‘imposter’ was now a sin of them almost killing their true creator. Mondstadt has now become a gloomy nation like the rest of the nations after what happened. They all went to the great shrine of the creator praying and offering forgiveness for what they had done and now the sudden bombing of Springvale.

This was not a good sign especially since Jean heard from one of the knights that there have been sightings of crows mostly six of them circling above Mondstadt or flying outside the walls.

"OVER HERE A SURVIVOR!!"

"SOMEONE CALL DEACONESS BARBARA!!"

"MISS NOELLE OVER HERE!'"

"SOMEONE HELP ME GET THIS SURVIVOR OUT OF THIS RUMBLE!"

"ACTING GRANDMASTER MORE HILICHURLS ARE COMING!!"

"WHERE'S KAEYA OR THE HONORARY KNIGHT?!" Jean yelled as she unleashed her Dandelion breeze and then used her gale blade.

4 Hilichurls were caught in her skill and she could see Eula attacking two Mitachurls and Amber shooting the archer Hilichurls. Lisa is currently helping bring the survivors to Mondstadt while Noelle helps the injured ones and bandaging some of them before carrying them by the shoulder.

"CAPTAIN KAEYA IS COMING WITH MASTER DILUC!!"

"AND THE HONORARY KNIGHT?!"

"WE COULDN'T FIND HIM!!

'Thank Barbatos but where's the Honorary Knight?!' Jean thought as she threw the hilirchurls away before attacking them.

"Jean!" She heard Lisa call her, "Venti is gonna unleash his burst!"

Jean nodded as she unleashed another Dandelion breeze before calling her knights to retreat.

"Everyone fall back now!"

"Time for take-off!"

Just like that, a large circle of Anemo appeared on the army of Hilichurls as Jean made all her knights return to Mondstadt with the Springvale citizens as Kaeya and Diluc just arrived on the scene with their weapons ready. Venti glided down beside Jean as all Vision users except Lisa and Noelle who are with the Knights carrying and helping some survivors to bring them to Barbara for healing.

"It doesn't seem any of these Hilichurls were the culprits of this destruction" Eula commented, "After all we all know no Hilichurl can make a bomb or use one to make this happen"

"So who caused this?" Amber asked as she carried a bucket of water and threw it at the fire.

"I had an idea who caused this but" Kaeya saw something moving in his sight.

"Something wrong Kaeya?"

"It looks like we have a little survivor over there" He pointed as everyone turned their attention to where he is pointing at.

Almost all the Hilichurls were defeated except one injured Geo Samachurl who is usually found in Liyue and is now getting up with their staff.

"Looks like this one is not giving up" Kaeya stated as he walked towards with his weapon ready until-

"Lights out"

The Geo Samachurl was picked up by someone as they threw down an ice-made spear which Kaeya dodged before his eyes narrowed. Diluc got his weapon ready along with Eula while the rest of them gasped when they saw who stopped Kaeya from killing the Hilichurl.

"It can't be?!" Amber spluttered in shock, "Sister Rosaria?!"

"Guess she was right that you guys take the bait," Rosaria said as she placed the Geo Samachurl down who thanked her before running away.

"So you decided to betray Mondstadt," Kaeya said as he watched the sister chuckle darkly before picking up their spear.

"More like you guys betrayed Mondstadt in the first place in killing those people who had tried to show you the truth" She blunted retorted them back where it stings the most.

Everyone knew what she meant and it was a reminder of their greatest mistake and sin of killing and betraying the people who they had thought would realize the truth.

"But at least you took the bait"

Diluc raised an eyebrow hearing that, "Bait?"

The sister just stared at them coldly, "Should have been suspicious or aware why there was a reason why Springvale was bombed"

It was then Venti realize what she meant, "WAIT YOUR SAYING-

BOOOM!!

BOOM!!

Jean gasped before turning around and seeing something go flying in the air as the walls of Mondstadt were destroyed.

"MONDSTADT!" Jean cried out getting everyone's attention as they saw the smoke and holes along with four buildings on fire, especially one building that is one fire is their headquarters.

"Looks like I'll take my leave" Rosaria turned around and held something that looked familiar, "It's a shame I couldn't stay long but at least the bait worked and the Honorary Knight didn't follow you guys"

"Wait-"

But none of them could stop Rosaria who suddenly disappeared after throwing that strange item in their hands.

"Jean! We have to head back to Mondstadt now!" Eula told her as she ran towards Mondstadt with Amber in tow.

Jean looked back to where Rosaria is before following them with Diluc and Kaeya.

However, no one noticed a strange look from Kaeya that disappeared after Rosaria nodded at him but Diluc was able to catch it on time as he glanced at Kaeya who was 'focused' on Mondstadt. He narrowed his crimson eyes at him before looking back at the city reminding himself that he will ask Kaeya about that look that he was quick to catch.

What was that look you made Kaeya…

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

"Everyone head to the plaza where Barbatos statue is held!"

"Barbara there's an injured Citizen!"

"I'm coming!"

"Sucrose pass some healing potions to the citizens and the Springvale survivors!"

"On it Mister Albedo!"

"There you are cutie!" Lisa said spotting the injured Traveler and exhausted Paimon, "Where were you, and what happened to you?"

"Got injured in a fight with Andrius" Aether grunted in pain while holding his left aching arm.

"And we got there after chasing someone who must have placed some bombs in Springvale!" Paimon added.

'That person was Lumine…' Aether thought recalling when he was about to go with the Knights to Springvale he instantly saw his sister who had appeared beside Kathryne’s desk looking at him before making a gesture to follow him as she ran towards the second exit of Mondstadt.

He then followed her with Paimon until he was too late to realize his sister lead him or rather make him appear in Wolvendom and was tricked into fighting Andrius who looked enraged to see him. He saw his sister on top of the walls of Andrius’ lair looking at him as he struggled to hinder the rage of the Wolf of the North. She only mouths him a 'sorry' before turning around and entering the abyss portal.

He got betrayed by his sister again as he fought and was angry with Andrius who was furious with him for not saving Razor. Aether was lucky he escaped yet when he arrived at Mondstadt only for everything to suddenly start blowing up, especially on the Favonius Headquarters that is damaged and blown up like the walls. The third explosion happen to be in the church and luckily the sisters were alright along with the people who are in there yet some got injured. Even the Creator's shrine is destroyed.

Currently, everyone is now at Barbatos statue with children crying in fear while their parents try to calm them down. Other citizens were sitting down with their faces covered by their hands as they just witnessed their homes bombed. Survivors, injured citizens, and injured knights are being bandaged, healed, and given healing potions by Albedo, Sucrose, and Timaeus.

No one knows who bombed their home.

They cannot point fingers when everyone was busy praying for a second chance and forgiveness for their creator.

"Honorary Knight!"

Aether turned around as he saw the rest of the knights including Diluc arriving in the Plaza of Barbatos. Aether just sat down and held his arm in pain while Lisa went to Jean to explain what has happened when they were away to help Springvale. Paimon plopped down in his lap in exhaustion and he patted her head before looking at the Knights who then started explaining some stuff he couldn't hear. Albedo and Sucrose joined along with Barbara but Aether noticed the quick glances of Diluc to Kaeya who just remained calm yet the outlander thinks Kaeya is ignoring it or didn't realize the look that the red-haired noble gave him.

The sky above them began to darken from the clouds covering the sun as crows that are around Mondstadt began to fly towards the Barbatos statue while others started cawing loudly.

"Paimon is getting a bad feeling of this" Paimon spoke, "First Xinyan's sudden appearance of being the messenger of the true creator then Mona leaving Mondstadt, Crows being spotted all over Mondstadt, Springvale getting bombed and now your sister suddenly appears again and leading you to Andrius who did not give us a warm welcome or normal battle he gave us instead aggressively attacking us?!"

"Paimon your voice is getting higher" Aether said as he grabbed a bottle of water from his inventory to give to his companion who thanked him and drank all of it.

"Thanks for that Aether!" She gave him the bottle of water, "But seriously Paimon thinks this is not a good sign and now Mondstadt getting bombed after we arrived and have no idea who the culprit is?! Paimon is already have a feeling this could be the true creator's wrath on Mondstadt"

"Indeed you are right" A familiar voice replied to Paimon beside them.

"How could say that when you don't know where the creator is Albedo!?" Paimon yelled at the alchemist who said that she was right.

Wait...Albedo?

Aether glanced to his left before he felt his heart drop when he realized who Paimon was talking to when in reality it is not the Geo alchemist. Albedo is with the knights discussing the plans of what has happened to the city today and yet the voice that answered Paimon sounded like Albedo.

Then this person is-

"Plus you sound like you knew this happen-"

"Paimon shut up and look who you are talking" Aether yelled at his companion cutting her sentence off before jumping back and summoning his weapon.

"Huh?" Paimon looked up to her friend, "What do you mean-GAHHHHH WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

Paimon's screech caught everyone's attention as they turned towards her and saw what she was screaming about and Albedo quickly summoned his weapon when he saw who it was Paimon screaming about.

"I almost forgot how loud you are" Rubedo smiled as he started flipping an unknown black skull.

"What are you doing here?!" Albedo glared at his 'brother'.

But the other synthetic being merely glance at him before looking at everyone as he caught the skull. Suddenly he had some kind of brown block and take a few steps back where there is a roof before rapidly placing the blocks that suddenly show a face in one of them into a T sign and placed two skulls on each side but not on the middle.

"What the hell…?!"

"What is that?…"

"What did you just make?!" Paimon shouted but you could hear the crack of fear in her voice seeing what Rubedo did.

"Something you will fear forever" He replied cooly as he stood next to it.

"But it looks like they are now groveling for your attention right (Y/n)" He said before jumping into the roofs.

"Honestly…" A huge flapping noise was heard above them, "I am pissed off they are just now asking forgiveness because I'm their God when I don't remember controlling them?"

Barbara looked up and saw a familiar figure in Barbatos' hands, "I-it's your G-Grace!?!"

Indeed the person who landed on the statue is you who wore a very fluffy dark black cloak as you stared at them down coldly. Golden scars are still visible on your neck that stopped under your chin indicating that the totem of undying after effect is there on your body.

You hummed before flying down gracefully before turning to the right and pulling up a middle finger to the right On the crows that are beside Rubedo who is just chuckling while your chat is just vibing in chaos or cackling at you.

"Fuck off Chat and don't start simping one of these pricks" You cursed and glared at them to which the chat just laughed at you.

Venti stepped forward and was about to run to you only you glare at him in anger.

"Don't even think about little bard" You glared at him who bow at you in fear as you turned and looked at the guilty crowd, "Don't think I can accept your forgiveness when you basically just almost killed"

Y-Your Grace p-please-" Venti tried to talk to you only for your eyes to turn red making him whine at that look.

"Excuse my language but can you shut the fuck up?"

The atmosphere became tense as everyone became quiet much to your relief as you rubbed your forehead in irritation and exhaustion.

"Firstly I want to clarify this," You spoke, "If I was a normal person who had died from what happened. Do you still think I would suddenly accept your forgiveness?"

"…"

"That's what I thought. I wouldn't. Why? Because in a realistic way I would be traumatized and in pain. I would be scared of you guys and then try to kill myself many times but Teyvat stopped me. Why? Because I'm your so-called 'God' or 'Creator' when here's the thing"

Your wings flapped down as you turn around and started building two familiar T sign that looks exactly like Albedo's as you continued explaining.

"I don't have memories nor do I know what this world is about and finding out it is full of idiotic or blindly simps who are in love with a being who doesn't even appear before you guys and then you guys start simping on a person who says they are your creator when in reality they are not especially there are signs you guys could realize sooner that they are not your creator"

Venti started crying but was not sobbing. The citizens were also crying but not sobbing loudly while the knights stared down in shame along with Aether and Paimon. Rubedo just snorted at them realizing how true your words are before smirkingly looking at Albedo who glared at him.

"You just let it happen and that's your fault. You can blame anyone or even the imposter herself but in reality. You could have been then one to stop Mallory from killing or making her tyranny over yet you just acted obliviously and ignored the signs because she is your fucking God you all love"

Everyone flinched, shivered and winced at your tone as you just finished placing each T sign on with the unknown skull on each side yet left the middle one empty and you then turned around with no emotion.

"Especially you Aether" You looked at him who flinched, "You hate the creator yet you stick by an imposter who is obsessed with you? What a hypocrite you are"

"No wonder Bennett, Diona, Razor, XiangLing, Sayu, Xingqiu, and Chongyun died by Mallory thanks to you"

You hit the nail in the coffin as you watched Aether grimace at the truth of his actions.

"It hurts right? Good, that's your fault for not realizing your actions despite it being understandable you hate the creator but siding in Mallory's tyranny and letting the people who you know or befriended die in her acolyte's hands under her order and act like you didn't see anything? Lumine is right to be ashamed of you"

"Oof" Rubedo added when you basically threw them a hammer of what they had done especially at Aether who looked even more in pain.

You sighed, "I'll not waste my time ranting and hurting you guys the truth when I'm trying to remove all governments of all nations except Sumeru and Snezhnaya"

You pulled another black skull and looked at it.

"Aether," You spoke, "Let me tell you a story"

"A story of a man called Thesus, his country, well a city-state technically, was in danger, and he sent himself forward into enemy lines, he slew the minotaur and saved his city. "

Your story caught everyone's attention and looked you interested in hearing the sudden story you just spoke.

"You know what they did to him Aether?"

Aether gulped, "T-They m-made him a hero?"

You just chuckled as you showed the skull in front of everyone as you stared at Aether with a sardonic smile.

"They exiled him, he died in disgrace, despised by his people, that´s what happens to Heroes Aether!"

"But he saved everyone!" Paimon added.

"He did but unfortunately his people knew the score of what he did"

You opened your other hand as another skull appeared in your palm.

A flash of Mondstadt suddenly became a familiar nation called L'Manburg that is now in a new era but the destruction was seen there. In your place, a tall man with pink hair and a big mask was holding a sword and skull while the people in front of him were the citizens of L'Manburg. The tall pink-haired man gave the same speech you just spoke to Mondstadt as he watched the people he knew suddenly make another government which he despise seeing it.

Guess both of you and Techno are the same.

"Do you want to be a hero again Aether?" You asked him as your eyes flashed red before going back to (e/c).

Aether tried to speak but for some reason, his body couldn't move or his voice couldn't calm out. Everyone saw Rubedo standing up with the skull in his grip.

That wasn't a good sign at all especially how the crows keep saying 'RELEASE THE WITHER!!'

"Y-Your g-grace please s-stop!" Barbara tried to stop what yet you merely looked at her and she hesitantly stepped back in fear.

In the blink of an eye, you turned around and placed the skulls in the middle of the two T signs and suddenly they turn blue, and then a three head creatures appeared that no one knows what it is. Rubedo did the same to his T sign and it also became the unknown creature that stood beside you. You then turned around to look at them before putting your right hand on your forehead in a salute and yelling out those words that will haunt them forever:

"THEN DIE LIKE ONE!!"

Three withers appeared and the screaming began.

No one could save Mondstadt.

No one could save the City of Freedom.

This was the destruction of Mondstadt.

This…is the end of Mondstadt.

And the signal to all nations.

That they will lose their home and their lives.

In the hands of the next Elytrian who is the daughter who the last Elytrian of the Minecraft world.

She is now following in her father's footsteps.

In becoming-

The next Angel of Death.

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

*Flops in exhaustion*

FINALLYYYYYY I FINISHED PART 2 OF MY PROLOGUE!!!

*Then realizes I have to make Part 3 and Part four soon along with a Interlude of the aftermath of Mondstadt*

Imma make Prologue part 3 next month cause this month I will make an interlude after Finals of my story cause I definitely went overboard of this story 😅😅😭😭😂😂

ALSO TYYYYY GUYS FOR ENJOYING PROLOGUE 1 I REALLY APPRECIATE IT AND ALSO FOR THOSE WHO ARE EXCITED OF HIS CROSSOVER BUT NOT AWARE THIS A GENSHIN AU CROSSOVER OF DSMP OR SBI READER.

THIS AU IS CALL "SELF AWARE GENSHIN IMPACT ALTERNATE UNIVERSE" OR THE SAGAU THAT IS BASICALLY WHERE CHARACTER ARE SLEF AWARE THEY ARE A GAME AND ARE INTERESTED IN YOU BT IM TOO LAZY TO EXPLAIN SINCE I JUST FINISHED THIS PROLOGUE PART 2 DX

But don't worry you'll see Prologue part 3 which is gonna be more destruction and Prologue part 4 is the last prologue mixed with an interlude as well. It's basically the aftermath of all that has happened and then we will get to the Chapters however three chapters will be focusing on three characters that are the people who are very close to the reader and then in the fourth chapter we will go to Reader's past and the DSMP story.

Also, I'm sure you guys noticed the changes and yes this is similar to the preview but it is changed and added for this Prologue and I might have gone overboard so I apologize if it's long since I like reading stuff very long 😅

Also, I apologize to the people who think Aether will be a good guy here so please don't attack me because I will say almost all characters will have slow-burn redemption and by slow burn, it will take time for the reader to forgive them. Please don't expect reader to forgive them right away when if she was a regular person who toke her place she would have been Traumatized for life and Trauma is not easy to heal okay. Remember now every trauma can heal right away. They are lucky reader here who is already desensitized to death yet she cannot forgive them cause they almost killed her and started asking for her forgiveness? No reader will not forgive these people right away. They need to give her time or find the right way to get her forgiveness.

But Anyways what do you guys think of Prologue part 2? Please follow me, comment, like and reblog my story! ^^

Also Prologue part 1 has major changes so idk if you guys saw it XD

So yeah Imma rest and wait on what do you guys think of today's Part 2 Prologue! ^^

Also this is the song I used to keep me going in making this prologue! 👇

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Taglist: (If you see a tag of your name and not notifying you then the tag, unfortunately, did not work : ( )

@rea-can-yeet @chocogi @ayamvirus @greenteaanon @yunadxd @leafanonsforest @g3n0dtt @tokyosimp @persephone-kore-law @ryokuu @sweet-seraphim @creation-magician @mappleleaf893 @rampantparadox @romireblogss @campanula-rotundifolia @loser-loalo @moon--kitty @abyssmal-skies

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