#I don't think anyone would REALLY care that much

[yanderedrabbles]

Speaking of the yandere outlaws, how would “the boy” behave when he finally earned the right to have the girl fully? Maybe after he catches her trying to escape and brings her back like you said.

Yandere Outlaws- The Boy/Betrayal

The boy exists in this in-between sort of space where I think he can be easily influenced.

He realises just as well as the others that holding you hostage is an awful, terrible thing. He recognises that you don't want this. And I think he's the only one who's truly guilty about it.

The gunslingers shrug it off. They wanted you, so they took you. Easy as that. The boss has done much worse in his life. What difference does one missing girl make? Even the wrangler and the second in command go against their better instincts with only a flicker of guilt.

The boy though? There's still a little innocence in him. A sense of justice stronger than the others. The question is - can he hold onto it?

I see the two of you getting along at first, maybe even getting friendly. You pity him - he's a victim too, a kid who got roped into something much bigger than he could handle.

He's the one who brings you most of your meals. Head down, sneaking glances at you from under his hair. He doesn't talk much at first, doesn't even stick around to watch you eat. Just leaves the plate on your vanity and hurries out of the room.

Maybe one day it gets too much for you. Maybe one day you ask him to stay.

He freezes, hand already on the doorknob.

"You want me to stay? Why?"

You shrug, not sure how to articulate it. Not sure if you want to address the ugly truth that both of you feel hovering. Eventually, "I guess I just want someone to talk to."

"Oh."

Maybe he comes a little closer, sits on the edge of your bed. Still not looking at you.

You push the food around on your plate.

"This is good. Who made it?"

"Oh, umm, I did."

"You're the one who does the cooking?"

"Mm-hmm. The others are too busy with work I guess. And you don't want them to cook for you."

"Why's that?"

He wrinkles his nose. "Their cooking is awful."

And that's how it goes. Snippets of conversation really. A few moments stolen between wrangling horses and learning to shoot straight. A few moments where he sits on the edge of your bed and you both pretend that your thighs aren't bruised with fingerprints.

Maybe you come to trust him. Maybe you think that just because he doesn't look at you like the other outlaws, that he doesn't want what they want.

A mistake. But you're too naive to realise it.

I think things finally change on one of those icy, stormy nights. Most of the outlaws are out on a job, and it's just the boy, the boss and you.

It's a cold night, devil cold, the rain sheeting down so hard you can barely hear anything over it.

Maybe one of the outlaws leaves your door unlocked or maybe you manage to climb out the window, rain soaking straight through your chemise. Either way, you make it to the stables without anyone seeing you.

You're shivering, your chemise clinging to your waist and practically see-through from the water. But you don't care. This is the closest you've come to escape and you aren't going to let the chance slip by.

There are only two horses in the stable. The boss's mean old mustang, and the boy's chestnut colt. Between the two of them, it's hardly a choice. You've got the bridle on the boy's horse and you're just about to reach for the saddle when someone grabs you.

They yank you backwards, startling out a short scream. Your back thuds against the wall and a hand slaps across your mouth.

"Shhh," the boy hisses, "The boss will hear you."

He's warmer than you and still dry.

"You're running away."

You nod hesitantly, his hand still pressed against your mouth. His face is blank. You can't read anything in his eyes.

"You're cold. You aren't dressed for the weather. You'll die of exposure before you make it home."

You shake your head. Anything is better than being a stress doll for a bunch of outlaws, how can't he see that?

He stays like that for a long while, his hand on your mouth keeping you pinned against the wall. The lantern light makes his eyes seem darker - the pupils wide, black as oil.

He sighs, and you realise he's made the decision for you. You're not escaping tonight.

"I know you hate it here, but you'll die if you try and ride out tonight."

He doesn't give you time to reply. Just grabs your wrist and drags you out and across the yard. You plead with him. Beg. Say that anything in the world is better than this.

But the rain is coming down heavy and he doesn't hear you. Or at least that's what he tells himself.

The kitchen door slams open and he pulls you in, both of you soaking wet. You might have said more, tried to reason with him again.

But the boss is waiting for you.

Standing in the half-dark between the kitchen and the hall, his revolver gleaming dully.

"Thought you mighta done something reeaall stupid, boy."

His voice is low, rough around the edges. A wolf learning to speak.

The boy is just as frozen as you are. It takes a few false starts before he can spit the words out.

"No, sir."

"You caught our filly right before she slipped the lasso I see."

"Yes, sir."

The boss moves toward you then, the light finally showing his eyes. That cool blue about as bright and dangerous as lightning.

He grabs your jaw, hard. Pulls you up on your toes so your lips almost brush his.

"Awful big storm for such a little girl."

The boy is still holding your wrist and looking at the floor, his hair blocking his face. He doesn't intervene.

"You coulda broken your neck, tryin' to ride in weather like this."

The boss leans closer, warm lips brushing your cheek. His voice is low enough for just you to hear.

"I'd be real heartbroken to lose you darlin'. You ain't gonna put an old man through such pain, are you?"

His grip tightens on your jaw, fingers digging into your cheeks. You know instinctively that the next time he comes to visit your room, he isn't going to be quite so nice. He isn't going to keep holding himself back.

"No, sir." Your voice is less than a whisper.

"Good."

He pulls back and smiles at you. Pats your cheek with small, rough smacks. He calls back to the kid, never looking away from you.

"Our girl is chilled straight through, boy. Why don't you warm her up?"

The boy is tense. You can feel it in the way he holds you, can see it in the set of his shoulders.

"Yes, sir."

He starts walking again, pulling you along behind him.

You wait until you're out of earshot, about halfway up the stairs. You say the boy's name, and maybe he hears some of the fear in your voice because he stops. One hand on the bannister and one still around your wrist.

"The boss is going to -"

"You shouldn't have tried running then."

His voice is harder than you've ever heard it.

"You're...you're my only real friend," he continues. "The only person I can really talk to. Some of the others aren't so bad, but they still think of me as just a kid."

His grip tightens on your wrist.

"You were going to leave without even saying goodbye to me."

He starts walking again, dragging you behind him. The door to your room is ajar, and all you can see is a crack of darkness, broken by the occasional flash of lightning.

"The gunslingers were right," he says, half to himself. "If you want something, you should take it."

Your heart stutters. What does he mean by that?

He stops in front of your bedroom, one hand on the doorknob. He turns to you and you finally get to see his face. His hair is dripping water down his temples and between his brows, making him look as bristly as a coyote.

There's something different about his eyes, about the way he looks at you. Like something in him has finally worn away.

You feel your whole body going cold.

He looks at you just like the other outlaws do. That spark of lust, mixed with a callous cruelty.

He doesn't seem like a boy anymore. Doesn't seem like a colt just growing into its legs, eyes all wide and sweet.

It doesn't matter that he's younger than you. In the half-dark, with the rainwater dripping off your clothes, he finally seems like a man. A man just like the others. With the strength and the will to take what he wants, regardless of whether or not you say yes.

A man who will take what he wants. Who's going to take it tonight.

And as he pulls you into the room, grip like iron around your wrist, you realise exactly what the boss was implying when he told the kid to warm you up. 

[samnoahalov]

WHO CARES I'LL DO IT MYSELF!!

0- tbh idk 😅. It's been like.... seven-ish years since I last checked it soooo... next!

1-Currently de 16, be 17 soon (I feel so old alredy)

2-Oh.. well, idk how shoe sizes work for english-speakers(and it varies from contry to contry) so I'll put the number in MY contry :D 29/30.

3- No >:(

4- Nah, I don't like the taste of most of them. Also I'm very happy with juice, water, soda, etc...

5- No.

7- from 25 to 29. Though sometimes people mistake me for 30ish. (I can't blame them tho, I have the spirit of a old lady)

7- Nop.

8- Not really. May change mind one day, but for now, no.

9- Nope and

10- Nope.

11- Every friend is best friend for me. No hierarqy(?? Dunno, you get it)

12- Well I'm not married.

13- I'm aego, but still, none.

14- None. (I mean, if we're talking about anything besides sexual, someone toxis is literally the only type that can turn me off and make me wanna go away)

15- uuuhhhhhh... Megamind? Idk, one of Barbie's??? I DON'T KNOW OKAY I LOVE THEM ALL EQUALLY.

16- Listen to me, give me food(optional) and be kind and my heart is (platonicaly) yours.

17- My late dad.

18- Ugh.. that's hard... when I almost got killed count? I guess. I wouldn't call it "traumatic", but like, I was in a lot of fear so.

19- . . . . Uh.... I'm... sensitive to people's rejection??? Does that count? I mean, I'm also senstive to their affection but-.

20- My body- and I mean it not by gender or anything, neither for beauty stuff, my body just is all wrong and it gives me pain and sometimes I just hate it a lot.

21- uh, I guess my curiosity? I love learning and love to be able to see so much stuff.

22- either related to art, theology or science(biology). Voice actor, veterinarian, neurologist, etc...

23- Older sis(Distant, but not bad.), younger Half-sis(Distant too, but we chat sometimes about silly stuff), youngest half-sis(very close and very good).

24-Dad's dead, but he was a nice dad!, my mother is a narcissist so we don't get along.

25- Be with the person and have a good time. Maybe have something specially funny to remember about it would be nice :)

26- people that don't close the door properly when I ask them to.

27- Pretty and lovable, goofy and silly. Also have very dark eyes that just capture your soul, and a simple yet beautiful smile that signal to you "I Love you, please keep talking I can't barely think when I look at you" or "I hate you so much I wish to kill you but my nugget don't allow me to because we don't want to clean the body later"... so yeah. Also I'm talking about my girlfriend, but like, people are so pretty, wanna put them in a museon ✨

28- a face that scream hipocrisy and lies, filled with the marks of her sucess in drowning her victims in self hate and depression. (That's mommy btw :>)

29- I was sick but didn't want them to feel worried because I'm always so fucked up...

30- Noises&Smells of regular people.

31- "luv u :)"

32- Angry and Sad. (Or derived)

33- Thanks. (With a weird-nice emoji)

34-Hair, clothes, eyes and nails.

(I also like earrings and other acessories :D, they're nice)

35- Hair, some type of beards, clothes, eyes and nails.

36- In a calm place, not cold for at least 3 seasons and that let me see greeeny green of plants.

37- My voice... I think? I mean, I like my voice and all, but sometimes I just get the wrong tone at the wrong time in conversation so-

38- Farmer and Writer 😅 (I also once wished to be a Biologist)

39-Mint with chocolate chips! :)

40- Myself? I don't wish to be anyone other than myself.

41- In a very comfy bed.

42- Rice.

43- sorry, no sexual attraction. But I think the prettiest person I can think of is..........ugh...wait, I CAN do this! Just- uh... gimme some time...... my sister! Is the prettiest I can think of right now 🤔

44- If a cat is raised with another animal it will not see it(or it's especies I don't remember) as "something else" but rather think of it as a cat... I think I may be wrong, I don't remember exacly and neither were I get this from. But I guess it counts!

nosy anons let's go

0: Height

1: Age

2: Shoe size

3: Do you smoke?

4: Do you drink?

5: Do you take drugs?

6: Age you get mistaken for

7: Have tattoos?

8: Want any tattoos?

9: Got any piercings?

10: Want any piercings?

11: Best friend?

12: Relationship status

13: Biggest turn ons

14: Biggest turn offs

15: Favorite movie

16: I’ll love you if…

17: Someone you miss

18: Most traumatic experience

19: A fact about your personality

20: What I hate most about myself

21: What I love most about myself

22: What I want to be when I get older

23: My relationship with my sibling(s)

24: My relationship with my parent(s)

25: My idea of a perfect date

26: My biggest pet peeves

27: A description of the girl/boy I like

28: A description of the person I dislike the most

29: A reason I’ve lied to a friend

30: What I hate the most about work/school

31: What my last text message says

32: What words upset me the most

33: What words make me feel the best about myself

34: What I find attractive in women

35: What I find attractive in men

36: Where I would like to live

37: One of my insecurities

38: My childhood career choice

39: My favorite ice cream flavor

40: Who I wish I could be

41: Where I want to be right now

42: The last thing I ate

43: Sexiest person that comes to my mind immediately

44: A random fact about anything

[i-messed-up-big-time]

Lonely Birthday - Caleb

Caleb x Non Mc/Reader

divider creds: @/cafekitsune

a/n: ok this is my longest fic yet (can you tell he's my fav), chat i think i cooked with this one. this will be the last part in my lonely birthday series, i really hope you guys enjoyed it!!

Tags: angst, happy ending, female pronouns, reader is not MC, female pronouns, cursing, reader is childhood friends w/ caleb and MC, MC is a bit of a spoiled brat here (pls dkm), this is set in a timeline where there are no evols and caleb does not die in an explosion, this one acc has a backstory in comparison to the other parts I wrote, just cause jumping right into it with caleb just didnt feel right without a proper backstory, use of pet names (sadly he's not calling you pip-squeak in this one but he does call you baby), mentions of self harm (nothing happens its just a thought that passes), lmk if i missed smth

word count: 5.3k

masterlist

Xavier Rafayel Zayne Sylus

taglist: @rcvcgers

You were always overshadowed by her, from childhood to adulthood.

To make matters worse, your birthdays were only a couple of days apart, yours coming before hers, because they were so close together your birthdays were always celebrated with her on her birthday.

It was like killing two birds with one stone. Every time you complained about wanting to celebrate your birthday on your actual date you were told it would be unfair for MC.

Your own family favoured her more than you, sometimes you wondered whether they even considered you their daughter at all.

But then there was Caleb. Him and MC were inseparable when you first met her, always there whenever you two hung out. Eventually, you got close to him as well and began to hang outside of your meet ups with MC.

He always made you feel like you were your own person, not a shadow of someone else.

Maybe that's why you fell for him.

Over the course of your childhood leading into your teenage years you were head over heels for him. Anyone could see it was obvious, and to certain people it bothered them, and you never noticed it until it was too late.

●・○・●・○・●・

Despite being the same age as MC, there was one thing you had that she didn't. You were far smarter than those your age, that gave you the ability to skip ahead a couple of grades so that you were at a level that was more to your capabilities.

But your brain could only get you so far in certain circumstances.

You were in the same class as Caleb, so naturally you ended up being closer to him than you were before. It also made admiring him much more easier.

But nothing was ever easy for you. All throughout your school years MC would always barge in on your study time with Caleb, always needing help with her assignments.

Normally, it wouldn't be a problem if it was a one off thing, but anytime you were over at their place to study with Caleb, it became a tutoring session for MC. It was even more annoying when she would constantly brush off your help, only wanting Caleb to help her.

"I don't understand it when you explain it. You're always using difficult words."

MC whined whenever you would offer to help, and each time Caleb would laugh and ruffle her hair.

"It's okay pip-squeak, I'll explain it in simpler terms."

Whenever he would say that, you could feel a pang in your chest.

It was during that time you and MC started to drift apart. You never really understood until that day.

●・○・●・○・●・

The day before graduation you finally chalked up the courage to confess to Caleb, and to your surprise he had accepted.

You had anticipated a rejection, knowing that he was busy with prepping to go to Skyhaven to attend the DAA, and unfortunately a lot of his free time was spent with MC.

He had always been protective of her, he also extended that to you as well. Although the way he treated you was different than the way he treated her.

The fleeting glances, the lingering touches, the nights he would spend with you when things were bad. How could you not fall for a man who cared for you like that.

You thought it was just your delusions that there was something between the two of you, but him accepting your confession made those delusions become reality.

●・○・●・○・●・

Everyone found you guys to be an unexpected couple, they always expected Caleb to be with MC with how good their chemistry was, but he viewed her simply as his little sister. One that he was a little too protective of but you never found that to be a sense of insecurity.

Or so you thought.

You and Caleb had been dating for almost 4 years now. It was a bit rough with both of you pursuing your academics and not having much time to spend together, but you guys always made it work.

Sometimes Caleb would bail on your dates because something came up with his studies, and you believed him. Who knew it was because someone felt a little jealous of you guys spending time together.

You had never realized that the dates Caleb bailed were because someone back in Linkon wanted attention, and who better to ask than Caleb!

You and MC and drifted apart, and after your graduation you barely ever saw her unless you were home for the holidays with Caleb. You chose to be the bigger person whenever she tried to monopolize Caleb's time, knowing he saw you more often than her, you let it slide.

Although, deep down it bothered you that she would always try to be the sole focus of his attention or when you guys went out on a date she just so happened to be there too, turning it into a group hangout where you felt like the third wheel.

Crazy right? Being a third wheel in your own relationship, guess you could cross that off on your bingo card.

It was your birthday tomorrow, you and Caleb had planned a nice day in with him cooking your favourites and then baking a cake together. Both of your schedules had finally managed to align and you guys had a week off, so you planned on crashing at his place for some much needed quality time.

With it being your final year, you guys were buried in back to back assignments and exams, the stress was high. Having the week off let you guys finally have a moment to breathe.

You packed your bags for the week before making your way over to Caleb's place, it wasn't too far of a drive. You made a quick stop at the grocery store, grabbing your favourite snacks and some groceries so you can make him some food while you're at his place.

By the time you got to Caleb's place the sun was just starting to set. You walked into his place, unlocking it with the spare keys he gave you.

It was quiet in his home.

"Hmm seems like Caleb isn't back from his classes yet."

You thought out loud. Putting away your stuff in his room you made your way to the kitchen, wanting to cook Caleb some dinner.

Like magic, as soon as you were done adding the finishing touches to dinner, Caleb walked in.

"Hi baby, it smells good in here."

Caleb greeted you, coming closer to place a kiss on your lips.

You quickly sent him away to go wash up while you set the table. Dinner was nice and peaceful, it was moments like these that made you feel happy. No distractions, just you and Caleb.

You guys spent most of dinner just catching up about all the stuff that happened while you guys were apart. Caleb insisted on cleaning up since you had cooked dinner, so you were sitting on the counter next to the sink as he washed the dishes.

You chatted away mindlessly, he listened with a smile on his face, throwing in a response here and there.

Once he was done, you were about to jump off the counter when Caleb slotted himself between your legs, hands coming to rest on your hips.

You immediately went quiet, the mood shifting to something more intimate. He leaned forward and pressed his forehead against yours, nuzzling your nose with his.

You guys stayed in that position for a little bit, enjoying the moment. The rest of the evening was spent with you guys just lounging around and catching up.

As you were getting ready for bed you could feel your stomach drop with anxiety for no reason, you brushed it off as just your nerves about sharing the same bed with Caleb after a while.

You shouldn't have brushed it off.

You got changed into one of his t-shirts and got into bed, Caleb slid in not too long after, wrapping his arms around your waist to pull you in closer to his chest.

“Goodnight.”

He said as he placed a kiss on the top of your head.

“Goodnight.”

You replied back, snuggling closer into his chest.

●・○・●・○・●・

It was around 4 am when you woke up to feeling an empty bed next to you.

It’s still warm, Caleb must have just gotten up.

You got out of bed to go look for him. The moment you stepped out the your room you spotted him in the living room dressed to go outside.

The alarm bells in your head were going off.

“Hey, where are you going this late at night?”

It was just a simple question, one that didn’t warrant the reaction you were about to receive.

“Out.”

Caleb replied in an oddly cold tone.

What’s with that tone?

“Okay, but that’s not what I asked. Where are you going?”

You asked again, something in your gut was telling you that you were not going to like the answer.

Caleb sighed out in frustration before replying.

“MC called and needed me, so I’m going to Linkon right now. You know how she gets.”

Normally you wouldn’t say anything, but this was supposed to be your time with Caleb, no distractions.

“Why do you always go at the drop of a hat whenever she calls? You’re supposed to be spending time with me, not running to her whenever something doesn’t go her way.”

Years of frustration were finally bubbling to the surface, you didn’t want it to come out but you had to set your boundaries.

“It’s not fair to me as your girlfriend if you keep putting her above me.”

Your voiced raised a bit as you spoke, you didn’t mean for it to but having to constantly deal with MC barging in on your time with Caleb, whether she knew he was with you or not, was beyond irritating.

“I’m not putting her above you, she just requires a bit more care and attention than you do.”

That did it, if you weren’t mad before you definitely were now.

“Excuse me? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It’s exactly as I said it. MC always feels insecure, even more so when you skipped grades and left her alone. I can’t just ignore her when she calls me asking for help.”

Every explanation that came out of his mouth had you seeing red, you weren’t gonna back down either.

“Don’t you dare try to pin this on me? Just because we were friends didn’t mean that I had to be stuck to her hip 24/7. I skipped those grades cause it benefited me for my future, and if she really was my friend she would’ve been happy for me instead of sulking around like a child.”

That lit a fuse in Caleb, if there was one thing he didn’t tolerate it was anyone saying something about MC, even if it was you.

“You better watch what you say, I won’t tolerate it even it it’s you.”

His tone had you taking a step back, it was a whole different level of cold. You should’ve taken that as your sign to back off and come back to this when you guys were less heated, but who were you if not stubborn.

“Omg how could I ever insult your precious MC. You need to let go of that overprotectiveness you have when it comes to her, it puts me in a tough spot when you go running to her like a dog when its owner calls.”

You probably took it too far with that but you were past the point of no return.

“You’re so infuriating! What do you not understand that MC needs me right now, every moment I spend here on this useless conversation is more time she’s alone.”

He spat back.

I’m infuriating?

That hit a nerve, but you couldn’t let him see that, not until you got all your feelings out.

“I’m infuriating?! What about MC? Every time we get some time together she always fucking ruins it! Can’t I just have all of your attention and time without her trying to barge in? It’s like she’s trying to make it so we don’t spend any time together!”

“God you’re so fucking clingy! I knew I should have listened to MC when she warned me not to date you!”

He yelled that at you, and for the first time since the conversation started you were speechless.

“What?”

Your voice was low and filled with hurt. You couldn’t believe your ears that he would say something like that.

“You heard me. I should have never dated you. I ignored MC when she warned me, I gave you the benefit of the doubt but I should’ve fucking known. MC would have been a better girlfriend than you.”

You could hear your heart breaking, you don’t know if you’d ever recover from this.

Caleb took your silence as an opportunity to walk around you to the door, slamming it behind him.

You felt your knees give out, the tears were streaming down your face in silent pain. You didn’t know he thought of you that way, you didn’t want to think that way but a part of you felt like MC was talking bad about you behind your back. It makes no sense he would say all of that on his own.

Will I always be in her shadow? Is that all I’m worth?

You thought to yourself.

●・○・●・○・●・

God knows how long you were in that position for, no sign of Caleb coming back or any calls or texts. You picked yourself up off the floor and gathered all your things, you’d be damned if you spent another minute in this house where you clearly had no worth.

Throwing on a pair of sweatpants, you made sure to clear everything you had at Caleb’s place, not leaving a single thing behind.

You put everything in your car and drove yourself home. It was 6 in the morning so the roads were starting to get busy but it was quiet enough for you to be lost in thought, a dangerous action while driving. You were so lost in thought you didn’t notice that you were approaching a red light until it was too late.

A car had crashed into your drivers side, and everything went black.

●・○・●・○・●・

*In Linkon*

Caleb had made it outside of MC’s dorm, the argument he had with you weighing heavy on his mind but his first priority was MC.

Who knew that argument would cost him everything.

It didn’t take long before MC threw open the door and jumped into his arms. He returned the hug by patting her on the head before heading inside.

“What happened? Why did you call?”

He asked, although his mind wasn’t entirely present in the moment, it kept drifting back to you.

“Oh no reason, I was just thinking about you and decided to call you. You know it’s my birthday in a couple of days so I wanted you to spend some time with me this weekend.”

For the first time ever, Caleb felt a spark of annoyance at MC’s reasoning. She had called him earlier in tears and said he needed to come quick, he even fought with you before coming here.

Pushing that feeling aside he simply smiled.

“You know I can’t do that pip squeak, I already promised Y/N I would spend my week off with her. We had a bit of an argument before I came here, so I have to go back in a bit to make sure she’s fine.”

He said.

She’ll probably be calmed down by the time I come back.

He thought to himself, boy was he wrong.

MC pouted, not liking how things weren’t playing in her favour, but she planned on trying to come up with another excuse later to get him to stay longer.

●・○・●・○・●・

A couple of hours had passed when he got that heart stopping call.

“Hello is this Caleb Xia? This is Skyhaven Hospital calling about Miss Y/N.”

The nurse spoke in a hurried tone, tt was like someone had knocked the wind out of him.

“Speaking, what happened.”

His anxiety went through the roof, what happened after he left? Did you hurt yourself? But he never say any signs of depression, was he actually putting MC above you so much that he was ignoring your feelings?

His mind was running a mil a minute with each thought progressively getting worse, the guilt from what he said to you when you guys fought was finally kicking in.

“She was involved in a car accident and needs surgery, we require a signature from her guardian to proceed. Are you able to come in right now? It’s urgent.”

“Can I give you my consent over the phone? I’m currently in Linkon and it would take me some time to get back, I don’t want to delay the procedure.”

Although Caleb sounded composed, on the inside he was breaking.

“The surgeon said that should be fine, please do make sure to be here as soon as possible as you need to fill out some forms. We’ll get started on the surgery. Thank you.”

The nurse promptly hung up, leaving Caleb to his thoughts.

Without wasting a moment he got up and made his way to the door. MC had been trying to listen to what was being said on the phone, unable to decipher what was happening based on Caleb’s words alone. Seeing Caleb getting ready to leave she jumped up, trying to stop him.

“Where are you going? You can’t just leave, you basically just got here!”

She grabbed ahold of his arm, trying to physically stop him but it was of no use, he pulled his arm out of her grasp and tried to leave again before she spoke up.

“What excuse did she come up with this time? She does this all the time whenever you and I spend time together.”

Something in him had just snapped, it was like a fog had been lifted. Never in his life did he think he would be here getting upset at MC, but life has a funny way of proving you wrong.

“What are you even talking about, when has she ever done that?”

MC was taken aback, Caleb never questioned her whenever she said anything like this before, he would just spend some time comforting her.

“I don’t have time for this, I’m leaving. I’ll talk to you about this later.”

He said in a curt tone, leaving no room for discussion.

●・○・●・○・●・

Caleb had booked it to Skyhaven, not wanting to waste a single moment.

By the time he made it, the surgery was still ongoing. Grabbing the nearest nurse he asked for an update, unfortunately they didn’t have much of an update to give him aside from the fact that your condition was really bad when you were brought in. You had ran a red light and were hit on the drivers side by oncoming traffic, the other driver made it out with minor injuries and a concussion.

Unfortunately, you weren’t so lucky. You had been brought in with internal bleeding, a broken arm and head trauma. Your recovery period was going to be lengthy, which in turn would also hinder your ability to graduate this year like you had planned, but that was a problem for next time.

Caleb slumped onto on the chairs outside the OR, the time passed by excruciatingly slow.

●・○・●・○・●・

A couple of hours later the operation was finally completed.

Seeing you in that condition physically hurt him, his chest feeling constricted.

“We were able to stop the bleeding but she’s still unconscious, because the head trauma was severe it’ll take some time before she will wake up.”

Caleb nodded, listening to the doctor’s words intently. He followed the nurses to the room where you were going to be recovering, taking a seat next to the bed he held your hand in his.

“I’m sorry, please. Please just wake up soon.”

Sadly you wouldn’t wake up for another two months.

Everyday Caleb would come to take care of you, making sure to change the flowers before they began to wilt, taking responsibility to wash you and take care of your hair, hell he would even do your skincare at night so you’d wake up in perfect condition.

Although he knew deep down inside that nothing he could do could ever make up for the things he said and how he made you feel. Caleb and MC had also grown apart during this time, constantly wishing that he had never went to see her that night, if he didn’t then maybe you’d be awake and smiling next to him instead of lying still on that bed in this lifeless hospital room.

Caleb came in with a fresh bouquet of your favourite flowers, silently he replaced the old ones, making sure to get some fresh water before putting in the new bouquet. Once that was done he made his way to his usual spot, right next to your bed.

Earlier the doctor said you were recovering well, although it would take some time and rehab for you to use your arm again. You’d also be weak from the extended period of time that was spent in bed, but Caleb was nothing if not determined to make sure he was there for you every step of the way.

“Hey baby, it’s me Caleb. You’re probably tired of hearing my voice everyday huh? The doctor says you’re recovering well, you’ll just need some rehab to help you get back into the groove of things when you wake up.”

Caleb kept getting choked up the more he spoke, he just wanted you to wake up, even if you don’t want him anymore, he’d be fine with that.

“I miss you, your voice, your sweet smile, everything. If I could trade spots with you I would. So please, please just wake up. I’m sorry for everything, I’m such a shitty boyfriend aren’t I? I can’t believe I said all of that, on your birthday no less.”

At this point the tears he tried so hard to hold back started streaming down his face. It was hard to keep up that strong front, but he tried because he felt that he didn’t deserve to be sad, not when he’s to blame for you being in this state.

He grabbed a hold of your hand, bringing it to his face hoping to feel something. Anything.

He nuzzled his face in to your hand as he silently cried. It wasn’t long before he was passed out in that chair, still holding your hand to his face.

He felt it in the middle of the night, always the light sleeper he was awake at the slightest of movements. He knew he wasn’t mistaken, he felt your hand twitch for this first time in two months.

He was now wide awake and sitting upright in his seat, watching you closely. That’s when he say it, your hand twitched in his hold, a slight groan escaping your lips, but your eyes had still yet to open.

Caleb had already pressed the call button, the nurses and doctor filling the room in a matter of minutes, that’s when you had finally opened your eyes.

●・○・●・○・●・

A series of tests had been conducted and the doctor had caught you up to speed with everything before you were left alone with Caleb. You avoided looking at him the entire time, it stung, but he couldn’t complain.

You cleared your throat uncomfortably, the dryness getting to you, but before you could even get the water, Caleb had already poured a glass and was holding it out to you.

You silently took it from him and drank it slowly, not wanting to shock your system. It was a struggle, your grip on the glass was weak. It almost slipped out of your hands if not for Caleb holding the bottom of the cup.

Once you were done, Caleb put the glass on the side, reaching out to grab your hands. You pulled them back before he could touch you.

“Why are you here Caleb? Doesn’t MC need you?”

Were you being petty? Yes, the fight that you guys had may have been two months ago for him, but for you it was like it was yesterday. The wounds from his words were still fresh.

You missed the look of hurt that flashed across his face, but it disappeared as quickly as it came.

"You don't get to come in here and think that everything will be fine. I just wanted one week with you, no distractions. All I got in return? You leaving me alone on the morning of my birthday after telling me you should've listened to MC when she told you not to date me?!"

You had tears in your eyes, but you refused to let them escape. You didn't want to let him see just how broken you were about this.

Caleb had nothing to say, how could he? He was the one who put you in this position, he's the reason you ended up in the hospital.

"Please just leave."

Your voice sounded so broken, all he could do was listen to your request even though every cell in his being told him to stay by your side. He chose to just wait outside your room, not wanting to be too far away from you but still wanting to respect your request.

As soon as soon Caleb left the room you let the tears you were holding back fall, your body shook with sobs as everything came crashing down on you.

Even with the morphine you could feel the lingering bits of pain all throughout your body.

You eventually ended up crying yourself to sleep. The silence had Caleb worried, so he had decided to check in on you, seeing that you were asleep he was able to calm himself down a little.

But the sight of your tear stricken face had him clutching his chest in pain, all he wanted to do was take away your pain.

For now, he was just going to try his best to be by your side, no matter how much you pushed him away. He was determined to make things right.

●・○・●・○・●・

A couple of weeks had passed before you were finally released from the hospital.

During that time Caleb was as stubborn as ever, never leaving your side unless it was for classes, he spent the nights next to your bed, watching over you. He was always one step ahead, if you were thinking about food or water, the next second he would have it in front of you.

You didn't want to admit it, you enjoyed having him wait on you hand and foot. But you still weren't ready to forgive him, not yet. You still needed to talk to him about what happened before you could decide where this relationship was headed.

You wanted to give him another chance, seeing how tirelessly he's been taking care of you these past few weeks. You could only assume he was doing the same those two months where you were unconscious.

In the meantime, you decided his punishment would be your silence, not speaking to him unless it was absolutely necessary. Even then you only spoke a few words.

Caleb was currently in class, it was a Friday so that meant he'd home earlier than the other days.

You didn't have much of a choice as to where you'd be staying, Caleb wanted to make sure you were taking all your medication as well as doing the exercises you were assigned for your rehab, he knew how forgetful you could be, and you were in no condition to be staying on your own. So his solution was to have you stay at his place.

Being there brought back bad memories, but you had made up your mind to talk to him about it. If you were going to be staying here you needed to know where you guys stood in each others lives.

You were currently in his room, wanting to take a nap but your mind was too active for you to relax.

It wasn't long before Caleb came home, not seeing you in the living room he immediately made his way towards his room.

The moment he walked in he relaxed, seeing that you were alright. You saw him and thought,

It's now or never.

"We need to talk."

Caleb's heart dropped, his mind went crazy thinking you were about to break up with him. Although he couldn't blame you for wanting to, but he refused to let you go, you were the only good thing he had in his life, he couldn't afford to lose you. Not before he had a chance to make things right.

"Okay."

He said as calmly as possible, not wanting to give away the immense anxiety he was feeling from this situation.

He walked towards you, kneeling on the ground next to you.

"I'm giving you one chance to explain yourself for that night."

That was all he needed to go on tangent about that night, from the call from MC where she was crying to going to her house and finding out she had been lying to him to get him to spend more time with her instead of you to him and MC having a falling out because of the things she said about you.

He laid it all out, he wasn't proud of the fact that he was so easily fooled by her. He had known her far longer than he had known you, and thought she would never lie to him, boy was he wrong.

"I admit that I have absolutely no excuse for letting myself believe her words. I can't forgive myself for the things I said that night and how I just left you there. It was all my fault."

He took your hands in his, you would've pulled them out of his reach but this time you let him hold them. You could see in his actions and in his eyes how much he regretted that night and how he had been trying everyday to make things right.

"I blame myself for your accident, if I had just stayed with you, if i had never said those words you wouldn't have ended up in this condition."

You had never really seen Caleb cry, so seeing him now in tears as his brain recounted the feeling of seeing you on that hospital bed, had your mind coming to a conclusion.

You were going to give him another chance, his one and only chance. If anything like that happens again you won't stick around, you had enough self respect to not tolerate that.

You removed yours hands from his, Caleb had a look of hurt when you did that, but it didn't last long before you cupped his face, wiping away his tears.

"You get one chance only. Mess up and you'll never see or hear from me again, got it?"

He nodded his head like a child before pulling you to the floor and onto his lap.

He hid his face in the crook of your neck as silent sobs raked his body. You ran a soothing hand through his hair to help him calm down.

It hurt to see him like this, but he also deserved it. Even if it was a fraction of the pain you went through.

"I promise I'll make it up to you. Anything you want, I'll do it."

His voice came out muffled, but you could feel the sincerity in it.

"I'll hold you to that."

[casscainmainly]

A lot of debates have been going around on what is Cassandra's sexuality, some people said that she is a lesbian, others claims that she's asexual, but some said that she's bisexual.

What do you think her sexuality is based on previous love interests or previous runs of the early years from 1999 and early 2000 to today along with the out-of-continuity story?

Questions on Cass' sexuality are highly dependent on the person! For Cass in particular, the majority of takes about her sexuality come from Horrocks' run in Batgirl (2000), which is ambiguous and open-ended. There are multiple amazing readings that see her as aro/ace, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, questioning etc. So I'm not going to give a definitive answer here, and these thoughts are all my own - nothing I say here is meant to invalidate anyone else's interpretation.

Preamble aside, I don't think of Cass in a specific label tbh. I don't think she would have such an identitarian view of sexuality - that is, she wouldn't think of herself as 'a lesbian', even if she exclusively likes girls. That's not to say people can't call her a lesbian, or that she will never call herself a lesbian. I just think her sexuality is more fluid, and more exploratory, than a single category.

She does experience heteronormativity. Despite her upbringing being what it was, as soon as she entered the world she would've been exposed to heteronormative ideals, compounded by her love for reality TV, her main romantic ideal being DickBabs, and being around TimSteph. This heteronormativity of course influences the way she falls in love with men, in particular the whole Kon situation, which I read (as most people do) as comphet. The Cass-Kon thing though is also about Cass parsing out friendship from romantic feelings, so it's not really that straightforward. Meaning that while I don't think Cass ever felt anything for Kon, the comphet-ness of that relationship does not invalidate (to me) her feelings for other men.

I think that Cass has been legitimately attracted to men before, though really only Tai'Darshan. Tai is really important to Cass' awakening sexuality, so I like to think that she did love and care for him. Do I think they would've dated? Probably not. But there was something there that's not present for Cass-Kon, or other minor crushes like Cass-Sal, Cass-Javier, Cass-Dr. Shin etc. Thinking of out-of-cont texts, her relationship with Erik in Shadow of the Batgirl is also genuine to me. Also also I see the man in Batgirl (2000) #2 as Cass first 'crush', so I think she is genuinely attracted to men, but not frequently and in highly specific circumstances.

As for women, obviously as a StephCass lover I see Cass as being head over heels for Steph. I also think lesbian!Cass readings are popular because she has so much chemistry with every woman she meets: Rose, Brenda, Harper, Christine, Cela, literally every one of them has fun romantic undertones. (HarperCass, in particular, feels very romantic in B&R: E). She also has a fun ship with Xanthe who's non-binary. So Cass for me is Not Straight, and experiences attraction to other genders besides men. These are non-canon but there's only so many times you can hallucinate your best friend caressing you platonically okay?? Even though I think she can be attracted to men, I believe she's more attracted to other genders on the whole, particularly women.

All this to say I enjoy discussions on Cass' sexuality, but I view them more as 'readings' of her than definitive conclusions. In other words, there are asexual readings of CassKon, bisexual readings of TaiCass, lesbian readings of StephCass etc. that are really valuable and can coexist. The most boring reading you could have is her being straight tbh, so any other reading I find highly fascinating. It really depends on what ships people like, how they interpret Cass' sexuality exploration in Horrocks, and sometimes what they personally identify as. And that's the fun of reading + interpretation!!

[akira-dulbar]

The life you left behind-

3/3: remember part 1 part 2

Summary: You remember how you met Jason.

Warnings: Character deaths, teen pregnancies, mentions of bullying, religion, mentions of violence (mild), mentions of sex (very mild), (I don't know how to write about sex, so no.)

note: Why did she seem so desperate in the previous one in case they didn't like her? Help haha

-------

The first time you saw him, you were 13, and it was on television, being introduced as the new adopted son of the infamous billionaire Bruce Wayne.

You remember your first thought of him being that he seemed both uncomfortable and nervous, perhaps unused to all the attention he was receiving.

But that was it, and you didn't really think about him for much longer afterward.

-------

The second time was also on television, where he appeared in a video showing him attacking other teenagers in a somewhat brutal manner. Because of this, journalists dubbed him the black sheep of the Wayne family.

Although it later came to light that he was bullied by the other children in the video and that he grew so tired of beating them up that way. You could only imagine all the bullying he endured; after all, there are spoiled rich kids out there, so you couldn't really blame him for lashing out at them.

-------

The third time was also in another video of him hitting a journalist at a charity gala. That time, you could also understand it: journalists will do anything to get a front page.

-------

The fourth was different and took place at your school, in your classroom. Apparently, they had moved him here because of the bullying he suffered at the rich school.

Although you didn't talk to him, neither did the rest of the class, since everyone knew his reputation for hitting anyone who bothered him.

Although there were some brave ones who tried to talk to him, they were quickly chased away by him after a while.

He was an example of "a dog that barks, bites," although you thought the saying wasn't true, who knows. That was all.

--------

The fifth grade was also different. It had been about a year since he'd been in school.

He was always alone, reading a book at recess. This time it was a book that said "Little Women." He didn't seem to care about his surroundings, but you felt curious about him, you didn't know why. Maybe because all your friends couldn't be with you that day, and you felt lonely, wanting to talk to someone.

But everyone already had their groups, and he seemed to be the only one you could talk to. So without thinking much, you approached him, not knowing what to say. Although, as you had always been impulsive, you knew something would come to you when you were in front of him.

"What's your name?" You saw Jason look up from his book and look at you with confusion and disbelief, perhaps confused by the thought of someone speaking to him.

"What?…"

"What's your name?" You repeated, sure you could see the gears in his head turning.

"No… do you know who I am?" He seemed puzzled. It made sense; everyone knew who he was and his reputation.

"I know who you are… I just want you to tell me who you are," you were trying not to laugh when his face scrunched up in confusion.

"Do you want me to tell you who I am… Even though you already know who I am?"

You just asked, nodding.

"Is this a joke?" He was getting angry.

You denied.

"Why?" Now he was so bewildered that you could only smile and try to laugh at the face he was making, because you knew it would make him angry.

"I want to meet you… But not because of television or the rumors about you," you paused to see him remain silent and continued.

"But because you tell me who you are." You finished speaking. You saw how speechless and bewildered he was, so you decided to let him process the information.

.

..

...

Okay, enough processing.

You waved your hand in his face, noticing that he was startled, and you were slightly startled, taking a step back.

"Sorry!… I…" You composed yourself and looked at him, his head down, perhaps trying to decide what to say.

Suddenly, he stood up from his seat and took a step toward you, holding your hand. "I'm Jason…"

You could only smile.

You told him your name.

"Nice to meet you, Jason," shaking his hand, seeing him smile back.

"A pleasure," you felt him squeeze your hand.

That was the fifth time you saw him and the first time you met Jason.

--------

From then on, things went downhill. You talked all the time about everything and nothing, you ate together at every break, he recommended books he'd read, and even though you didn't really like reading, you made the effort for him and read them, and you ended up liking many of them.

The book you liked the most was "Little Women," which was also the book Jason had the day you met. When he discovered you liked it, Jason always carried it with him when he met you to read it to you. Although you could already say you both knew it by heart, you decided not to tell him because you thought the effort he made for you was really sweet.

Although everyone was fine with each other, not many liked their closeness. Your friends quickly tried to get you to stop talking to Jason or hanging out with him, telling you about the rumors that were spreading about him and how dangerous he was, and how they didn't understand why Bruce Wayne was still with him. This comment made you angry and you stopped talking to them for two weeks.

You were able to understand them to a certain extent; Jason didn't have the best reputation, and they wanted to protect you, but that still wasn't the way to treat someone.

And although they apologized to you, you decided not to talk about Jason to your friends, and vice versa. After all, neither side liked each other. Jason didn't feel comfortable around your friends, and your friends were afraid of Jason, so you decided it was okay if you didn't hang out.

That's why, when you and Jason started dating half a year later, it wasn't to everyone's liking, and that was okay. You knew that sometimes people have to hate other people to feel good about their own lives.

The people at school just glanced at them as they passed by, the teachers only seemed bewildered, and your friends just told you to be careful because with Jason, anything was possible. You think they just said that and nothing more because they were tired of trying to convince you otherwise.

Even so, it wasn't something they shouted from the rooftops, and they hadn't even met their respective parents yet; they wanted to take it slow but steady.

-------

It was a new year for everyone, and it was already starting off with some stumbling blocks. Jason seemed to be angry with his father. He didn't say why, which wasn't unusual. He never spoke about what bothered him about his father. But from what you could understand, they disagreed on some things, causing Jason to be grumpy most of the time.

And you, well… you were just a little depressed. Your aunt, who was your best friend, had been sick for months, getting worse every day, and the doctors still didn't know what was wrong with her and she was hospitalized for investigation.

But other than that, everything else was fine, sort of. Some of your friends started talking bad about Jason again after seeing him almost constantly with that "if he sees me, he'll punch you" look on his face. Although Jason didn't really do anything to anyone; he was just quiet and glared. That only caused the rumors to spread even more. Even some of your own friends started making some. And since they were friends of the girlfriend, those rumors were believed more, which was driving you crazy.

You tried not to let it bother you, and with what was happening to your aunt and Jason seeming more withdrawn, you really couldn't think of anything else.

Even studying became a real churning in your stomach, but you still tried to manage.

-------

Jason was never mean to you, although if he kept things to himself, it wasn't really a problem. He always treated you well, talking to you about his past and telling you stories about his life at the mansion, about Alfred and his father, but only certain things. He never spoke about his brother Dick, although he himself said he wasn't his brother. You didn't ask. You were an only child, so you didn't really understand what sibling interactions were like.

You were able to meet Alfred several times, when you went on outings/dates, when he came to pick Jason up or drop him off at school, and so on. He was kind to you and well-behaved, a true gentleman. In any case, you didn't know much about him either; they were just short conversations, but you knew he viewed you favorably.

Well, Jason told you that after you expressed your concern about his grandfather not liking you… and he just stood up and told him that Alfred thought you were a good girl, which made you smile and relieved you.

Even so, Jason was never mean to you. He was polite to you, treated you well, and told you many things, though maybe not everything, but it was okay. He also always told you how much he loved you. You thought it was because you never told him you loved him… that's why you tried to show him that you loved him, not only with words but also with actions.

You thought that Jason would somehow open up to you about the things he didn't say, but that wasn't the case. In fact, he became more reserved, but you didn't think much about it since you were also fighting your own demons.

------

Do you remember that day when it all began and ended?

When the doctors had said your aunt had breast cancer, and that they detected it too late, that she probably only had a few months left, you became extremely depressed. You stopped going to school for a few weeks because of the stress of the whole situation, and you really just wanted to cry.

I was hiding you in your room in your aunt's apartment, and you were locked in, devastated…

You don't really remember how much time passed, but you remember someone ringing the doorbell, and when they realized it, Jason was with you lying in bed reading "Little Women"… Well, Jason was reading, while you were just lying on his chest listening to him read aloud. For some reason, you knew he'd had a bad day too and that he needed that too.

You don't really remember how things went from reading to kissing. You don't remember what they said, but you do remember that you were both hugging and saying much-needed words of comfort, him holding you and looking at you as if it were only you and no one else. You also remember that he was gentle and warm, holding you firmly and without much hesitation, as if he was saying, "I'm here, I'm real, I won't leave you." You felt good, loved, and worry-free. Everything was warm, and you couldn't help but feel comforted.

From then on, you didn't remember anything else. Not the following days, not the weeks after. It was as if you were on autopilot. All those memories were a blur, filled with worries, missing school, arguments between his family members about your aunt's situation, Jason's anger and reserve…

------

But everything became clear a month later, as if your brain stopped going on autopilot after hearing the news you'd dreaded so much…

Your aunt died…

And everything went down the drain…

Jason stopped showing up a few days later…

A few days later, you realized you were pregnant…

It was as if you couldn't process the news… one bad piece of news would come out, and before you could even process what was happening, another would come and slap you hard…

You were terrified. You texted Jason about what was happening, your condition, and how you were feeling, but there was no response. You tried other methods, social media, email, and even sent several letters to Wayne Manor. That was the bravest thing you did because you were afraid of what the people there might think. They were rich people, after all. Who could imagine what those people thought and decide you were just a crazy fan who made things up? Even with all your efforts, there was no response. None…

And a few weeks later, she collapsed. You don't remember crying like that day. It was the first time you'd ever cried like that, and you really couldn't blame yourself. You felt stupid, tired, depressed, desolate, alone…

All she wanted was your aunt… who combed your hair while telling you stories from her youth, who gossiped about your family in the past… you wanted her comforting hugs… her warm kisses on your head, and her way of comforting you. You wanted your second mother.

And Jason… you wanted him to read to you while you lay on top of him, while he combed your hair with one arm and held the book with the other… you wanted to hear his sarcasm about his classmates and teachers again… and the stories he had about Alfred and his father…

You cried more after thinking about how much you missed them both…

"Please…" you could only sob while praying.

"Please… I'm begging you… please," you were choking on your own sobs.

"I'm begging you… Let me see one of them again."

"At least… let Jason show up… I'm begging you… please, I'm begging you…" you held your hands tightly clasped together as you said those words, looking up....

You are not religious, but in desperation everything counts.

--------

The next day, Jason Todd-Wayne's death was announced.

You cried like never before.

---------

You don't really remember what your aunt's funeral was like…

You felt empty and on automatic…

It was like everything was a lie and nothing was real…

Now at least you could think that you could attend, because you couldn't at Jason's funeral… You didn't know if Bruce Wayne knew about you and if he would let you in to see him… Probably not…

Now, you didn't know if Alfred remembered you, but whether he did or not, you really had no way of finding out.

------

A few months later, you realized you didn't know what to do with the child growing in your womb. You'd been hiding it until now, but the time for a definitive abortion was almost over, and you were running out of excuses for what was happening to you. It was all a matter of time…

It was like someone had thrown a bucket of cold water over you, very cold water.

That day, you locked yourself in your aunt's apartment, thinking about everything and nothing, about everything that had happened to get you to where you were now.

On the one hand, you were 15 years old and still had a future ahead of you. The child growing inside you would be a huge responsibility, and when you told your parents, they would choose the most obvious option… which would be abortion…

But on the other hand, your aunt had always told you to be responsible, to take responsibility for things… but you didn't know if that also applied in this situation; you weren't sure.

When you lowered your head, you found something that surprised you…

It was the "Little Women" book…

Jason must have forgotten it later that day…

You picked it up and settled in so you could read it. When he did, tears nearly came to his eyes… On the first page of the book, it said…

"From Jason to……, we're going through some tough times. Maybe giving you this book won't magically fix the problems we're having, but I want you to have it so that every time you open it, you'll realize you're not alone in this. Maybe you'll hit rock bottom, and maybe I won't be of any help, but I'm here. I'll support you. And even though I'm a mess, sometimes I just want to tell you… I love you. I loved you, and I always will. Please don't forget that."

You could only sob as you finished reading.

--------

That day you went to your aunt's grave. After all, you didn't know where Jason's was, and you didn't want to look for it in case you raised suspicions and then someone else investigated, and you ended up on the front page of the newspaper as "A pregnant girl is in front of Jason Wayne's grave… Who could this girl be?" You really didn't feel like doing that right now.

"Forgive me, Aunt…" You saw your aunt's grave full of flowers.

"I really wasn't coming to visit you…" You placed your hand on your slightly swollen belly.

"(Well, partly yes… You'll have another niece… She's Jason's, yes, the boy I told you about.)" You just closed your eyes as he smiled.

"(The same boy you said was like an angry cat soaked in the rain…)" You stopped smiling because of what you would say next.

"(Forgive me… I wasn't a good girl for not protecting myself.)" You opened your eyes again, staring straight at the grave.

"(I know I'm just a child, but I'm stubborn… like you.)" You paused for a moment as you decided what to say next.

"(But I want to care for, love, and protect this child… My parents won't agree… But I know they won't kick me out of the house… Please forgive me, but I want this child.)" You looked at the other graves, then looked up.

"Jason… I will love this child as I loved you… he will not lack love… he will not go hungry at night, and I will hold him so he never feels cold… he will have your name, and I will tell him about you. I assure you, he will be loved." You continued, still with your hand on your belly.

"You shouldn't worry about me. I'll tell him about you too. He's in good hands." You smiled as you returned to your aunt's grave.

"You shouldn't either. I'll be fine. I love you, Aunt. Rest in peace." You walked away from your aunt's grave.

"Rest in peace, Alexandra… May God bless her in her eternal rest."

------

Months later, Peter Alexander was born …….

and secretly Peter Alexander Todd

-----------

A few years ago, you read "Little Women" to your son, who made it his favorite book, both because of the story and because it was his father's, taking it everywhere…

Even reading it that day when an older boy stared at him from a car on the other side of the garden fence where he was reading the words his father wrote for his mother.

When he got tired of being stared at, he looked up to confront him for ruining his reading of his favorite moment, only to see the stranger drive away with a puzzled expression.

"Older kids are weird…" Peter returned his attention to his reading.

------

Jason's middle name is Peter, nothing more to say.

In any case, I think some things were translated poorly. If anything, please let me know.

Of the three parts, this wasn't my favorite. I feel like I missed some things, but I'm satisfied with what I wrote.

Anyway, I don't know much English.

@salvatt1 @1abi

Will they realize that I can't label myself?

[carn4g3]

hello! do you have any crumbs for eyeless jack x fem!proxy reader that got hurt on a mission? thank u!!

Accident Prone | Eyeless Jack x Fem Proxy Reader

Summary: Getting injured frequently isn't always a bad thing. Sometimes, it lets you get closer to one mysterious medic.

TWs: Mentions of violence, injuries & medical equipment (IVs)

Word Count: 1.5k

A/N: I'm still trying to figure how I want to write Jack dialogue wise (in the Night Shift I tended to make him more reserved in the sort of shy way, but I'm not sure I like that characterization fully) so pls lmk what y'all think :)

General

I tend to follow the idea that Jack was sacrificed by a cult-like group to their demonic deity as a human vessel--leading to his appearance today. His involvement with the group was passive, at first. As a first year med student in a relatively small program, he didn't know many people and found it easy to befriend his surprisingly talkative lab partner. Much of the cult activity probably flew under Jack's radar until a cold, harsh blade was quite literally ripping through him.

That being said, Jack at least managed a bachelor's degree, probably on some sort of pre-med track, before his normal life came to an end. He holds a bit more technical knowledge than the average person, but he's by no means an expert.

Slender hardly sought out Jack for his medical prowess. It's practically a given that a pawn of the creature knows how to stop themself from dying. Proxies in particular are expected to know anything from basic first aid to treating bullet wounds. Admittedly, trying to stop yourself from bleeding out while in the depths of the woods with only the clothes on your back doesn't lead to many sanitary situations. Amongst other things, Jack does wonders in preventing infection, and Slender would be the last to object to that.

As a proxy, you don't get too many opportunities to interact with anyone who isn't also a proxy. The breaks you get between missions are often only a few days long at most, and there's no telling what you'll have to get done during that time as well.

Similarly, Jack doesn't spend much time with others, but that is much more a conscious choice of his. If you're not under his direct care, it's pretty hard to properly pin his schedule or whereabouts. So, there's really only one way to become close to the demon given: get injured.

You had been a proxy for a few years now. Still considered the newest in technical terms, you were far from that initial probationary-training period. Despite that, your almost permanent residency in Jack's infirmary was as strong as ever-- only rivaled by Toby.

An almost sheepish grin had spread over your face as Jack just considered you silently. Like clock-work, you would appear at his door at the beginning of the week with some sort of injury to be patched or checked. This time, you had all but dragged yourself to Jack's cabin, ankle throbbing from inside your hunting boot. "What happened this time?" If you could see his face, you're sure he would be raising an eyebrow skeptically. "Target tried to break my ankle..." You replied. "Really?" He asked, something like worry in his tone. "No," You admitted, "Just fell..." Jack sighed, less than surprised by the reality of your situation, "Alright, come in."

Your first few visits with the demon medic were certainly a bit intimidating. Seeing his inhuman features for the first time was jarring, and it didn't help that Tim would stand disapprovingly at your side. Too focused on disappointing your mentor or Slender itself, you hadn't really thought to talk to Jack more than a brief explanation of your injury.

As your visits became unaccompanied, you took a bit more care in the person treating your frequent injuries. Letting random topics fall from your lips on a whim, it seemed to work-- occasionally eliciting a chuckle or even a brief response. Now, he seemed a bit more talkative during your visits. Checking if he wrapped any bandages too tight or pausing when you hissed in pain, you always saw Jack as quite the skilled medic.

"If it hurts that bad, just go get pain meds from Jack." You huffed in annoyance. No matter how many times you found yourself having to work with Jeff, you managed to be shocked by his sheer skill at being an asshole each and every time. Despite the gauze pad on your cheek, which hardly covered the bruise that spread out underneath it, the other killer had been whining on and on about his own recent injury. You certainly weren't apathetic towards the stab wound that had taken him out for a week, but was it really still that relevant almost a month later? "Go to EJ?" Jeff barked in disbelief, "That dick would just call me a waste of resources." "Not if you were actually in pain, now get back to work." You scoffed at the exaggeration. "Are we talking about the same guy? He acts like we're running on scraps or some shit." He disregarded your words, as was expected. While you were intent to ignore him this time, Jeff clearly had other plans, " No seriously, does he just give you shit whenever you ask for it?" "Well, yeah. "Maybe if you weren't such a bitch he'd do the same for you." You looked at him in confusion. "Watch it," He snapped, "What'd you do to get him do that, suck his dick or--" "If you don't shut the fuck up, I'll give you a real reason to be bitching about pain meds." You threatened, raising your weapon to emphasize it. "Holy shit, no need to get your panties in a twist." Jeff rolled his eyes but quieted down anyway. After a few moments, he piped up once more, "Ask around sometime. You'll see what I mean."

Imagine

Sleep pulled heavy at your eyelids as they begrudgingly drew open. Even in your haze, you realized the room around you was both familiar and unfamiliar all the same; how poetic. You knew Jack's cabin well, at this point. It was pretty bare-- any decorations being whatever the last tenant "left" around. Each room looked essentially the same, and your suspicion was only confirmed when you took note of the nose burning cleaning chemicals in the air.

You weren't left pondering in the silence for very long, though. As soon as you registered your location, the devil himself stepped in. Maneuvering with ease, his boots seemed to strategically miss the parts of the floor that creaked the loudest. He shut the door quietly, one hand on the door handle, and the other holding some sort of item. Your eyes hadn't fully adjusted to the dark enough to discern it.

"You're awake." Jack spoke without you having to say a word.

He'd briefly explained his enhanced senses to you before, something about breathing being especially amplified to his ears, "If I wasn't you would look real stupid right now."

"To who?" He asked, "The dust?"

"Good one." Despite the sarcasm, you appreciated his dry humor.

Moving closer, he practically towered over the short bed frame. From this angle and lighting, you could see how those dark, soulless eyes could strike fear in the average person. Although, you couldn't quite imagine the role of a victim for long given the plate of food grasped in his left and-- as opposed to a scalpel. With his free hand, he swiftly moved to turn on the small table-lamp beside you. The yellow glow was dim compared to a normal light source, but it still stung your unadjusted eyes.

"If you're hungry," He explained as he placed the plate down, "you're fine to eat solids."

"I'd hope so," You muttered, "I don't think I've lost that many teeth."

His outward appearance didn't change, but you could tell he was amused by the comment, "The healthy amount would be zero."

Oh right, you weren't just in here for fun. Shuffling to the other side of the bed, Jack gently inspected the IV solution hanging up just beside you. Seeming satisfied with his gentle prodding, he regarded you once more.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

"Fine," You shrugged, "You're a miracle worker like always."

Jack scoffed gently, "The medicine is, not me."

You rolled your eyes at his response, but he wasn't keen on letting you get in the final word on that matter, "What happened?"

Hearing the question, you took a pause. Despite the aforementioned pain-meds coursing through your system, you could still feel a dull throb around your calf. It didn't take much for missions to go wrong. Just a split second too long and suddenly you were in the midst of a police chase, K-9 units released along your path like you were some sort of heathen like Jeff.

"Dogs." You answered bitterly.

Averting your gaze to the plate of food beside you, you noted the small wafts of steam still leaving the dish, "Did you just make this?"

"Yes," Jack let you maintain the subject change, "Why?"

"Were you just going to leave it there if I wasn't awake? Seems like a pretty lousy gift" You noted.

"I could tell you were waking up." He attempted to defend himself.

"You can tell through the walls?" You asked skeptically.

"I had to check your vitals." Jack explained once more.

"Why didn't you check the IV then?" A smirk edged its way onto your face as you noticed you had caught him in his lie.

Jack would never admit to that, though, "Eat the food if you want it. I have other things to do."

Stuffing his hands into his hoodie pockets, he headed quickly for the door. He never left quicker than when you managed to fluster him, a fact you tended to tease him for whenever the opportunity would arise.

"Sure thing, Jack." You called after him sarcastically.

"Don't let it get to your head," Jack bit back, "Sherlock."

[rekino2114]

can you do soft yandere Monika x depressed male reader who is very affectionate and loves to cuddle

Monika with a depressed and clingy reader

M/n:sometimes I just wish I could hug every one of my fans who feels down

A/n:awww that's really sweet

M/n:and kill whatever made them sad

A/n:.....sometimes I forget you're canonically a yandere

Monika would very literally do anything for you, more specifically anything to make you happy. She knows depression is tough, but she will do everything she can to be with you through it and try to make it easier

She's always there for you. If you're feeling down and need her or just anyone, text her, and she will drop literally anything she might be doing for you, most of the times that's not even necessarily as she is already there since she rarely leaves your side

Monika absolutely adores how clingy and cuddly you are. She's pretty clingy herself and really loves to hold you in her arms and kiss you and just really do any type of physical affection. She gives some amazing hugs, so whenever you feel like you need one she will always be there to deliver

Cuddles with her are the best, monika loves cuddling, so there is not a night where you don't fall asleep wrapped around her arms with your head on her chest. She's incredibly comfy and warm and just great at cuddling in general you basically instantly fall asleep

Even during the day, cuddles with her are a must. She'll just hug you while you're on the couch, and you do whatever you want and just ask about how your day went and comfort you, she sometimes makes you lay on her lap and have a little nap to recharge.

Monika will never judge or shame you for not doing something if you don't feel like it, if you just want to spend the day in bed she'll understand and stay with you so you can be together, if you don't want to do some domestic some domestic tasks she'll simply do them for you, she will never make you feel like a burden for it or like you're alone, monika loves you with all of her heart and more so she will never make you do something if you don't want it

That being said, she will also never let tendencies like that become self-destructive, she loves you too much to see you hurt yourself, even unintentionally. She will do her best to convince you to go out or take care of yourself, praising and helping you every step of the way but she will still never force you if you really don't want to

Monika loves you so so so much, so she hates seeing you sad. She knows that sometimes it's inevitable, but she will still try her best to cheer you up whenever she can, telling you that she's there for you and that whatever you were thinking about doesn't matter

But if it's someone in particular who made you sad, then she'll very quickly go to deal with them. She makes it quick as she wants to get back to you as soon as possible. She doesn't even try to hide it that much. She just wants you to know that she will do anything to make you happy, and especially dealing with people who make her darling sweet boyfriend sad, they don't deserve to live anymore after they do something like that anyway

"Darling, just remember that I'm here for you. If you need me, just call me, and I'll be there, and if you need anything at all, just tell me, I'd do anything for you, and I mean anything"

[callme-holly]

hiii!

can u pls do hcs for dallas winston with a soc??? and he has like a majorrr soft spot for her

also like how the gang feels about her

love ur work btw!!

𝐝𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐱 𝐬𝐨𝐜!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

a/n: might be patchy bc my birthday is coming up and i have shit tonnes planned!! but im trying y'all <33

You seem to be an exception to every rule Dallas has ever set. He’s always vowed that he hates socs and wants absolutely nothing to do with them, but somehow you managed to worm your way into his life.

He will try to push you away first, trying to shrug off your love for him. He won't believe that you actually like him and refuses to accept anything that shows that.

But after a while, and after you actually stick around and he sees how much you care, he’ll soften up a bit. You steadily become the only girl Dally has ever really trusted and while he’d never admit it out loud, anyone who knows him can see it.

He’ll treat you so differently from how he treats everyone else; he’s softer with you, a lot gentler in the way he handles you and speaks to you. His voice will go quieter compared to when he’s talking with the guys, and he’ll let you sit close to him without pushing you away.

If you’re ever upset, he tries his hardest to comfort you even if he’s not the greatest at it. He’s insanely protective of you—you’re the first girl he’s ever truly let himself fall for and he doesn’t want to ruin it.

How the gang feels:

Darry is skeptical as hell. It’s incredibly rare for Dallas to settle down with anyone, let alone a soc, and he doesn’t want to see his friend get hurt by some uptight soc. He’s convinced for a while that you’ll ditch Dallas when things get rough, but when you stick with him through more and more rough patches, he realises you genuinely care about him and he respects you for that.

Sodapop adores you and thinks it’s hilarious how soft Dallas is for you. He’ll tease you both about it, calling Dallas soft, and you find that Soda is just comfortable to be around. He doesn’t judge and he sure as hell isn’t rude to you.

Ponyboy doesn’t really understand at first. He knows Dally isn’t a good guy and just can’t understand why a girl like you would like a guy like Dallas Winston. It will take him a long time to realise that the two of you actually have something and when he does finally notice, he just lets it go and doens’t really interfere.

Johnny is pretty surprised but he doesn’t judge. He’s just glad Dally has someone who cares about him and whom he feels comfortable enough to be loose around. He finds that he quite likes you and warms up to you incredibly fast because of how nice you are to him.

Steve and Two-Bit hate it at first and don't trust you one bit. They’re constantly reminding Dallas that you’re a soc and how unreliable socs are and how high your expectations are. But as time passes and you keep hanging around more and more, they just let it go and don’t stick their noses in any more. 

[mendessi]

things i say when you sleep | chapter fourteen

multi chapter bodhi durran x fem!oc

word count: 7.5k

chapter summary: After returning to Basgiath, Ania and Bodhi explore their free time together.

content warning: iron flame spoilers

AO3 masterlist

twelve | thirteen | fourteen | fifteen | sixteen

Xaden spends the better half of the day warding my door. I wish I knew how to show my gratitude because I know he'd rather spend his last hours at Basgiath with Violet. 

"Things are going to be different without me and Garrick here," Xaden says, entering my room. Only he and Bodhi have free access. Everyone else would need to be pulled through.

This morning, I'd been sure we were going to die. It's not every day you hear your own name read off the death roll. I'd just been thankful that Xaden's plan had worked through and through. 

"We'll be in charge of drops, I know," I reply. "Thank you. I know you'd rather be with Violet." 

"You're important to me too," He assures me as he closes my door behind him. "I wouldn't be here if you weren't." 

It feels wrong, finally being on better terms with him just for him to leave later tonight. He swears he'll write to me, but I wish I would have just made use of our time together here. I know I needed the space to grow into who I am today, but there's still so much that could've been different if I'd just listened to them in the first place. 

"I want to apologize," I say, but nothing else follows. 

He leans against the door, waiting for me to finish. "You don't have to apologize for anything." 

"I should," I reply. "You did your best with what I gave you this year. I made it really hard. I guess I should also say thank you. For caring enough to make sure I lived." I'm rambling at this point, but I've never been good at expressing my emotions. Which I suppose is why I ended up an empath. 

"Regardless of whether our relationship was on better terms or not, at this moment, I would've done whatever I could within my power to ensure you remained safe." He folds his arms over his chest and the corner of his mouth lifts. "But it is on better terms." 

"Yeah, I guess it is." I smile a little. 

"Are you still cut off?" He means by Gleigeal. 

"Until further notice," I reply, standing up.

"What happens if they pull you for interrogation? If Dain gets his hands-" 

"Dain is taken care of. I don't think he'll come for any of us after you embarrassed him this morning," I tell him. 

That surely was a sight to see. I didn't expect Xaden to make such a spectacle out of it, but I guess he had a point to make. 

"You can't shield with no power," Xaden says. 

"I know. I'm already decent at shielding, and as soon as I'm not cut off anymore, I'll practice with Bodhi." I reassure him. "Gleigeal would never put me in a position where I couldn't shield if I needed to." 

"I know he wouldn't." He nods curtly. "I just..."

"You worry." I finish for him. "You have plenty of other things to worry about. Don't add me to the list." 

"It's impossible not to add you to the list." He sighs. "The celebrations are starting soon. You should get ready." 

I cross my room and open the door. "Thank you for warding my door." 

"Anytime, little Alistair." He exits, and I follow him into the hallway. I have nowhere else to be, but being locked up in my room doesn't sound pleasant. "I'll see you soon."

He'll be back for the occasional weekend with Sgayel to visit Tairn. Luckily, that would take a lot of weight off our shoulders. 

We stand in front of my door, and I fold my hands behind my back. I stare up at Xaden, taking in the man in front of me. The person he's grown into is somebody that, in the best way, I don't recognize. He doesn't have to carry Fen's legacy, but he does. He carries the revolution on his back without anything to show for it. One day, when this is all over, there's a chance that nobody will know it was possible because of him. 

"What's wrong?" He asks. 

"I don't know if anyone has told you, but I'm proud of you," I say softly. 

He shakes his head briefly, and before I can think, I wrap my arms around his torso. He tenses under me, but I don't let go. Within the next second his arms are around me, squeezing me tightly. Tears threaten to spill from my eyes, but I hold them back. 

Xaden and I have shared countless hugs in our lifetime, but this one might be my favorite. This one, I know, is the most important. 

At this point in our lives, as adults, we share the weight of what we know about the world. The weight of knowing what we just went through in Resson is something only a select few can understand. But also, I'm realizing now that Xaden is and has always been a brother to me. Accepting the reality that he fought for me to welcome him back into my life and what that means moving forward. 

"Take care of yourself, Ania." He says when I pull away. 

"You too," I whisper.

Watching him walk away hurts in a way I didn't expect it to. 

The sun is beginning to set, and the end-of-year celebrations are kicking off, but I can't be bothered by celebrating tonight. It wasn't just my name that I heard on the death roll this morning; it was Solei's and Liam's. Two people that should be here celebrating with us. 

Liam hurts the most. His death is something I'm sure I will never get over. Knowing that his pain is something I'll carry with me is devastating. As I pass the gathering hall, I see the remainder of my squad sitting together at a table. At least Violet can bring herself to drink tonight. Maybe it wouldn't hurt if I had a few. 

"I've been looking for you." Garrick steadies me when I nearly collide with his chest. "Let's take a walk." 

I catch Ridoc's eye just as we walk away from the gathering hall. I barely spoke to any of my squadmates in formation, let alone after. 

"Why aren't you with them?" He asks once we make it into the courtyard. After eighteen hours on Gleigeal's back, I have an undeniable limp. 

I shrug, "Just wanted to be alone, I guess." 

"You shouldn't cut yourself off from your squad." He says. "You need them now more than ever." 

"I'm not," I argue. 

"Then why aren't you celebrating with them?" He says, gesturing back toward the gathering hall. 

"I don't see what there is to celebrate. You and Xaden are flying off to combat while I'm stuck here." I shrug. 

It's deflection. Something I've grown to be extremely good at over the years. It's not that I don't want to have these conversations; it's just that sometimes I can't. Xaden and Garrick are leaving. Liam is dead. Venin are real. I almost died. And I'm supposed to just proceed through my second year lying to the people I've unfortunately grown to care about. 

"Do us both a favor and keep yourself surrounded by the people who care about you." He rests a hand on my shoulder and offers me a smile. 

"I like this one," I fight the urge to roll my eyes as Gleigeal's voice enters my head. "He makes a lot of sense."

"I'll try." It is the best I can do. 

"I'll see you sooner than you think, little Alistair." He shoots me a wink before hiking the strap of his rucksack high up on his shoulder. 

"Take care of yourself," I call after him as he walks away. "I mean it, Tavis! Stay out of trouble!" 

"I know you do." His laugh echoes off the stone walls, but he doesn't turn to look back at me. 

Seeing him head for the flight field leaves me with a sense of sadness. It really was just me and Bodhi now. What happens when he graduates and I'm left here by myself? The thought is shoved to the back of my head, another thing I can't bear to think about right now. 

Taking Garrick's advice, I make my way back to the gathering hall. Violet is exiting, and by the look of the shadows, I'm sure she's on her way to meet Xaden.

"Hey," I say in passing. 

"You look like you need a drink," She replies, barely giving me a second look. Her time with Xaden is limited, and even though they're not on the greatest of terms, I know she still wants to see him off. 

"Look who decided to join us," Sawyer grins when I take a seat next to Imogen. 

"I was convinced you'd stay locked up in your room for the rest of the night," Rhiannon says. 

Imogen slides me her mug of wine, and I don't even hesitate before taking a sip. The taste is sweeter than I expected, but I don't mind. I quietly thank her. She looks at me like I'm as fragile as the pitchers the wine rests in and I'll break if dropped at any moment. 

It's apparent upon further observation that everyone in the gathering hall is either entirely wasted or on their way to it. I suppose this is what the next five days will look like while we prepare for the next Conscription Day. Maybe I should take advantage of the time being placed in front of me and use it to forget. 

"Imogen left the battle with a split lip. How did you get your limp?" The question from Nadine catches me off guard, and the way I recoil is visibly noticeable. 

"Maybe I've had it all along." I ignore her and down the rest of the wine from Imogen. She pours me another glass to the brim with ale this time, and I'm eternally thankful. 

There's no telling how many glasses of ale, wine, lemonade, you name it, I've downed within the hour. I'm positive that I've never drunk this much in my life, and I'm colossally regretting it when I try to get back to my room and stumble into the wall. The alcohol was supposed to numb the ache of what I've felt since leaving Resson, but all it's done is amplify it. All I can think of is the life leaving Liam's eyes while I drained the pain from him. 

"Woah, Ania." It takes a second for my vision to focus, but eventually, Ridoc's face comes into view. He's got my face in his hands, and he's saying something, but his words sound muffled. It takes everything in me to listen to what he's saying. "Come on, I'll take you to your room." 

He lifts my arm over his shoulder and helps me to my room. How I somehow managed to drink more than Ridoc Gamlyn astounds me. Once we're in, he lies me down on my bed and takes my shoes off for me. 

"What is it?" I feel the bed dip next to me with his weight as he pulls the blanket over me. His thumb brushes my cheek, and it's then that I realize I'm crying. 

I shake my head, knowing there isn't anything I could tell him that wouldn't give away the full story. "I don't know why I'm crying."

"I know why," He says quietly. "We don't have to talk about it now. But I'm always gonna be here for you, Ania." 

He's a good friend, and it hurts that I can't be honest with him. All he knows is that we saw battle. He'll never know the true extent of what we went through in Resson, and there's a chance I'll never be able to tell him. It's just another thing I'll have to carry. 

"I had to dismount Gleigeal," I whisper, unable to stop the word vomit threatening to spill out of me. "That's why I have a limp. It should go away soon."

His eyes narrow as he tries to process my words. It seems like he realizes that I'm circling back to Nadine's question from earlier because he brushes the hair that's fallen onto my face. The interaction is sobering. 

"I'm sorry," He says. 

The tears flow uncontrollably at that point, and the weight of everything from the past week comes crashing down on me like a landslide. Everything I've forced myself to not feel is overwhelming me all at once, and the sobs that rack my chest are something I've never felt before. I've had panic attacks and anxiety attacks but the way I'm crying now isn't from either. 

It's grief. 

Something I don't think I've ever allowed myself to feel in its pure form. Not since my parents and Beckett. The weight of Resson sitting on my chest. Soleil. Liam. 

I will be grieving him for the rest of my life. Grieving the time I should've spent more with him. Grieving the time I should've had left with him. He was so young. He had so much life in front of him. 

My heart fucking aches and throbs and refuses to stop. It genuinely feels like its being split in two, tendon by tendon. 

It could just be me finally coming to terms with what I went through the past week, but I know it's so much more than that. Going home to Aretia might've been the cherry on top of it all, but the way it hits me all at once leaves me gasping for air. I can't even reach into my head where the Riorson House library is to try and control my own emotions considering I've been shut off from my dragon's power. 

"What can I do, Ania?" Ridoc asks, slightly panicked. I'd feel embarrassed if I had half the mind. He climbs onto the bed, pulling me into his arms allowing me the breakdown I should've given myself years ago. 

My eyes are stinging, my cheeks wet from the nonstop flow of tears spilling from my eyes. My throat is so tight that it hurts to breathe and all I can do is cling to Ridoc's tunic for some sort of semblance that he's still here with me. 

"It's okay," He strokes my hair and it dawns on me that he's not the person I want here. "You're okay."

I'm eternally grateful that he's here to steady me as much as he can in this moment, but he isn't who I want. He's not who should be holding me. 

I've nearly cried myself to sleep, hiccuping, and barely any tears are left with Ridoc gently rubbing my back. The door swings open and I know better that only a select few have the privilege of doing so. 

"Get out." My head turns, and the broad figure filling the doorway gives me a sigh of relief. 

Ridoc doesn't hesitate, standing from my bed after gently removing me from his arms. I grab his hand just before he's far enough and he turns to look at me.

"Thank you," I whisper. It shouldn't go unnoticed that he was here for me. 

"Of course, Ania." He gives me a small smile before making his way toward the door. He and Bodhi seemingly size each other up before Ridoc whispers something that I can't hear. He's barely into the corridor before Bodhi slams the door shut behind him. 

He kicks off his shoes quickly and climbs into bed with me and I immediately wrap myself around him. My body fits perfectly into his and he smells of vetiver, sandalwood, and home and he's everything I need. His arms slide around my waist, pulling me tightly into his chest and the sobs force themselves out of me once more. 

"I'm sorry," I cry, keeping my face pressed into his shoulder. 

"Don't be sorry. It's okay. It's alright, sunshine." His voice is soft as he pulls my face away to look at me. He brushes the present tears off my cheek. 

"Sunshine," The word conjures so many emotions within me when I repeat his nickname for me. "How did you know?"

"Gleigeal told Cuir that you needed me," He says quietly. His fingers trace patterns up and down my spine, easing me back into a calm state.

I feel pathetic. Riders are supposed to be strong. Yet I'm crying the most I've let myself in years. Not once since I entered the quadrant have I seen a single tear shed by anybody in public. 

"Never feel ashamed for what you feel. If you must cry, then cry. I warned you that shielding yourself from your emotions wasn't healthy." Gleigeal's voice startles me. "I've told you several times, that you were chosen to be my rider for a reason. I knew the person you'd grow to be."

"Why was Ridoc here?" He asks me after a few moments of silence. It's not accusatory in the slightest.

"I drank too much and he helped me back," I reply. "Nothing happened." 

"He worries that Cadet Gamlyn has different intentions," Gleigeal says. 

"What? Ridoc and I already tested those waters and trust me. They're cold." I say down my bond.

"Does he know that?" He's referring to Ridoc. I have the urge to hide myself from the embarrassment at the memory of me kissing him after Threshing. But we both agreed that wasn't a path we should go down. We're better as friends and that's not something I'd ever be willing to put at risk.

"I know," He smiles down at me, kissing my nose. 

"And I never slept with him." I finally admit. "Ridoc is just a good friend." 

"Oh, I know." He says matter of factly. 

"What do you mean 'you know'? You made such a big deal out of it last year." I'm on the defense now. 

I had been so angry with him for assuming Ridoc and I had slept together. Sure, I know it didn't look the best to have him scrambling out of my room without his shirt or the handful of times I'd left his room in the mornings after we platonically shared a bed, but he never even asked. 

"I mean I know you, Ani." A light laugh leaves his lips at the disbelief on my face. "If you slept with him, you would've just said so. The way you danced around it told me you weren't telling the whole truth. You forget we grew up together." 

"I implied it." I scoff. 

"And I saw through the implication," He smiles. "Feel better?" 

"Yeah, I just..." I sigh and try to form the words. Even though things are the way they are between us, opening up still seems like a chore and it draws a lot from me. 

"Take your time," His thumb brushes against my cheek. I realized then that his arm, previously in a sling, was now in a cast. He was supposed to be getting it mended today, that's why I didn't see him at all. 

"Um..." I take a deep breath and sit up, folding my hands in my lap. I'm just now getting the feeling back into my fingertips, I can't imagine how long it'd take if Brennan hadn't mended the nerve damage. He sits up with me, his hand reassuringly resting on my knee, reminding me that he's here for me. "I was thinking about Liam. Then my parents and Beckett. And Resson. I think I just cracked under its weight." 

"I want to be here for you," His thumb circles gently on my thigh, "You don't have to carry this alone. Let me help." 

When I turn to look at him, there's a shift in everything I've been feeling. Just the sight of him eases the intensity of every emotion I've gone through tonight. The simple way his eyes scan mine for any certainty that what he's doing is helping. The gentle brush of his fingertips against my skin. The warmth of his body enveloping mine, making everything better. As a rider, nothing will ever be perfect again in my life, but as long as he's here, I have all I need.

The idea of it scares me, needing him more than he'd ever need me. There's a chance that one day this will all disappear. He could decide he doesn't feel the same way, or worse considering the line of work we're entering, I could unimaginably lose him.

There are not enough years left in my life to make up for the time I deserve to spend with him. He's been there for as long as I can remember, since before I could walk. There isn't a world where he's not irrevocably mine. And I his. This had been in the cards for us all along, whether we'd been betrothed or not. Our paths had been set to intertwine since our childhoods. 

"Come here," He cups my jaw between his thumb and forefinger and pulls my lips to his in a gentle kiss. 

My fingers instinctively tangle into the dark curls at the base of his neck. He somehow manages to pull me closer, his arms sliding back around my waist. He pulls me down onto his chest as he falls backward into my mattress. I laugh softly against his lips, pulling away so I can look at him. 

He pushes my hair over my shoulder so it's out of my face and pecks my lips, "We have so much free time over the next five days and I intend to spend just about every second of it with you." 

"Is that a threat?" I tease, running my fingers through his curls. 

"That's a promise, Cadet Alistair," He tilts his head up, kissing me again. He flips us over and presses his weight onto me. "Hey." 

"Hey." I smile softly, unable to keep myself from sniffling. My eyes feel puffy in the aftermath of my breakdown, but he doesn't seem to notice or care. 

"I love you." He says and the way his eyes flicker down to my lips is unmistakable. 

"Tell me you mean it," The words come out barely above a whisper as I trace his jawline with my finger. He takes my hand into his and kisses the soft skin of my palm.

"I've never meant anything more," His eyes don't leave mine.

The next morning Bodhi and I wake up before the first bell, my bare chest pressed against his, the sun just peeking through the windows. I reach my fingertips out and watch the light stream through my fingers, sighing when I feel nothing from it. How long does Gleigeal expect me to live without my power?

"He's not punishing you, you know," Bodhi says, sleep laced through his tone. His morning voice is too attractive to put into words. He reaches his hand up and laces his fingers through mine, bringing the back of my hand to his lips. 

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"You feel like Gleigeal is punishing you by taking your power. The reality is that he's protecting you," Bodhi tells me. He sits up before I can argue and kisses my forehead. 

I use the sheet to cover my chest as I lean against the headboard and watch him gather his clothes off the ground, redressing himself. "It feels like punishment." 

"I promise you, it's not." He winks at me, glancing at himself in the mirror before he makes his way toward the door. "I'll see you tonight. Meet me in the gathering hall when the party starts." 

Preparing for the first years might be more annoying than the chore duty I had before Threshing. However, having the rest of the day to do whatever I please is quite nice. I utilize most of my free time hidden away in my room, catching up on sleep. You'd think a week after burnout I would be feeling like my normal self again, but sleep is the easiest thing to find. 

It's my last official free day before Orientation and I want to take advantage of it. 

I'm halfway back to my room from the flight field when Ridoc stops me in the courtyard. 

"Are you gonna avoid us forever?" There's a slight annoyance in his tone, one I've never heard before. 

"I'm not avoiding anyone," I fold my arms across my chest and lean against the wall. 

"You haven't come to any of the parties this week except after graduation. You haven't eaten with us. You're not meeting us in the gym. What's going on?" He lists off the number of things I've intentionally done this week and I can't help but sigh. "Look, Ania. Whatever you're going through, whatever you went through, we want to help you and be there for you. But we can't if you keep shutting us out." 

"I just need space right now to sort through my shit. That's all." My guard has been set in stone since we got back to Basgiath. I haven't even so much as had a chance to talk to Violet which is who I probably need to see the most. 

"Space? That's bullshit, Ania, you know it." He laughs in disbelief, shaking his head. "Don't say you need space when the Section Leader has spent every night in your room since you got back." 

"I'm not doing this with you," I push my back off the wall. Bodhi will not be a part of this argument.

This is not an argument I'm even willing to have. Not when there's no way for me to ensure I won't say something I regret. Ridoc is pissed and I'm on my way to being equally as pissed as he is, but not once since I've met him have I ever seen him angry. 

"Look," He grabs my wrist and I immediately pull away, "I will never understand what you and Violet went through. But I want to try. I want to be there for you. You're one of my best friends and when you didn't return on time, I was so worried that I lost you guys. Please, just let us be there for you." 

I run a hand through my hair and watch the way hurt flashes across his eyes. Guilt rattles me to my core. Keeping the truth from those who want to do nothing but care for me is ridiculously hard. Not only are they my squad mates, they're my friends. I can't avoid them and shut them out forever. 

"I'm sorry," I say truthfully. "I'm just having a hard time processing everything." 

"I know you may not be ready to talk about it and that's one hundred percent fine, but don't shut me out." He rests his hands on his hips. 

"I burnt out," I tell him. "After I dismounted Gleigeal, I burnt out. And I almost died. Bodhi... he was there for me and made sure I lived."

That part feels freeing to say. He doesn't need to know how or why, but it's just a sliver of the truth that will hold him over and make it easier for me to move through my day-to-day. 

"I had no idea," He whispers. He hesitates before pulling me into a hug and I allow it after tensing for a moment. 

Ridoc was easily one of the first people I considered a friend in the quadrant and he may be one of the best I have. It's not fair to him for me to not reciprocate what he's giving. Not when he's doing his best to make it work. 

"Then I should thank him. For bringing you back safe." He says when he pulls away. 

I wrap an arm around my midsection and then pinch the bridge of my nose with a sigh. 

"Bodhi and I... well Xaden and Garrick too, we all grew up together," I tell him. Hopefully, he takes the news better than Violet did, but that was a completely different circumstance. 

"Oh." Is all he says.

"I'm sorry for keeping that from you. I honestly wanted nothing to do with them when I got here, but things changed." I explain. 

"No, no. I don't blame you. It's just... it makes a lot of sense now." He nods. "So, you and Bodhi are like a thing now, then?" 

"It seems that way," I don't know how to say it with Gleigeal's words replaying in my head. 

"As long as he treats you right," Ridoc says and I immediately nod.

"He does. I swear." 

Realization settles in his gaze and it makes my heart pound. I don't want to think about the way that this could've possibly hurt him. I always just assumed the night of Threshing we both agreed and felt the same way that friendship suited us. 

"Okay," He nods once more. 

Ridoc walks me back to my room and I'm grateful when Violet is exiting her's. 

"Hey, do you have a second?" I ask before she can turn away from me. She nods and I grab her hand pulling her into my room. "I'll see you later, Ridoc."

"See you later," He smiles. "That's pretty cool, by the way. Who did that?" He gestures to the door. 

 "Xaden," I reply. His lips form into an O shape and he nods. 

"Right." 

With that he's turning on his heel and down the hall. Violet sits in the chair at my desk and I sit on the bed. I almost don't know where to start with her. We barely spoke in Aretia and on top of that prior to Resson I'm convinced she hated me and considered me a liar. 

"How are you doing?" The words awkwardly tumble out of my mouth. 

"Good, I think. You? You kind of just keep hiding in here." She says, folding her hands in her lap. It's slightly comforting to know she feels just as awkward as I do. 

"I'm tired," I answer honestly and then pause. "But hiding in here makes it easier to lie to them."

"They don't exactly have an instruction manual on lying to the people you care about. 'Selective truths' is what Xaden said to me before he left," She says. 

Selective truths. 

Exactly what I just gave Ridoc. That's all we can give our friends until further notice. The chance that they never accept the truth doesn't sit right with me. 

"Are you fully recovered?" She asks and I laugh lightly. 

"My hip is fucked up, but I think it's just about healed. I also don't feel as tired as I did when we got back. Normal, I guess. Slowly getting back to normal," I don't know why it feels so hard to talk to her after what we just went through together. 

"After Liam," she swallows and I understand, "I saw you and Gleigeal with the wyvern. Then when I saw you and that venin, Gleigeal was nowhere to be seen and I was rightfully terrified. When I woke up and remembered everything, I was scared Xaden would tell me he buried you too. I knew that was something he wouldn't survive." 

Words refuse to come out, mostly because I simply can't arrange them into a proper sentence. I do my best and even though it takes a moment, they eventually materialize. 

"Well, I'm told we survived because of you and Xaden," I offer a small smile. "So thank you." 

"We'll get through this, Ania," She tells me, "There's no right way to navigate it, but we'll figure it out. Together."

"Together." I nod.

"Where are we going?" I laugh as Bodhi drags me through the forest. There are a few hours til curfew and I can barely see in front of my feet with the sun dipping below the horizon. There's a small amount of natural light left. "I'm not gonna be able to light the way once it's dark, you know." 

"Just be patient. You've never been patient, Ani. It might be your fatal flaw." He glances back at me and my lips part in a dramatic gasp.

"I am too patient," I argue. "I might be the most patient out of all you boys." 

"You know who was the most impatient?" He asks.

"Beckett," We answer at the same time with a laugh. 

Remembering him these days is an easier thing to do. His memory no longer brings me to anger. I can simply remember him and be grateful that I got to have him as a brother. 

He leads me through a clearing next to the lake and I have to stop in my tracks when I see a circle of dimly lit mage lights surrounding a blanket with a small basket that seemingly is filled with food. 

"What is this?" I ask, looking at him. 

"I figured it was about time I took you on a date," He smiles cheekily. 

"Bodhi," His name is just above a whisper off my lips and I let him pull me to the blanket. 

"Ani," He mimics my tone, his hands sliding around my waist as he kisses me. 

My arms wrap around his neck as I stand on my toes to deepen the kiss. My fingers brush through his dark curls as his tongue slips past my lips and glides against mine. Gods, he's perfect. 

"This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done," I say, observing the scene in front of me. 

"My lady," He teases, gesturing me to sit down. I sit next to him with my knees tucked to the side as he pulls the basket toward us. "You should've seen me trying to sneak this out of the kitchen."

"I can only imagine," I smile as he opens a small pack of fruit. "Bodhi, I'm serious. This is... I don't even know what to say." 

The way he feeds me the piece of fruit is cliche but I don't mind. Once the sun fully sets and the only light besides the mage lights gifted to us is the moon, and after we're full from the fruit and bread he's brought, he tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. 

"I love when you wear your hair down," He tells me. We're laid out, both of us propped up on our elbows as we face each other. 

"Enjoy it now because after tomorrow it'll be up for most of the year," I tell him. "Speaking of... Orientation was today. RSC?" 

He takes a deep breath, "It's tough, I won't lie to you. But, your squad is ridiculously tight-knit, more than any that I've seen in my time here. You guys are going to be fine." 

The warmth of the July air clings to my skin and I annoyingly tug at the collar of my long sleeve tunic I've been forced to wear since our return. Bodhi stands up and tugs his shirt off, followed by his boots and pants, til he's left in nothing but his briefs. 

"What are you doing?" I laugh as he pulls me to my feet. His hands slide under the hem of my tunic and he slowly pulls it over my head. 

"We're going for a dip," He tells me, his fingers deftly unbuttoning my pants. He tugs them down my thighs and helps me step out of them, taking a moment to kiss the scar where Fionn had stabbed me at Threshing. 

The water is at a comfortable temperature and is so refreshing that I vocalize a sigh once the water reaches our necks. He pulls me to him and I wrap my legs around his waist, resting my chin on his shoulder. 

"Thank you for tonight. It was really special," I say quietly as I watch the reflection of the moon ripple with our movement. 

After the Apostasy I never imagined that I'd find myself this comfortable with someone again. Let alone Bodhi Durran. Yet, here we are. He's everything to me and more. 

"Does this mean I can call you my girlfriend?" He pulls back slightly so that I can look at him. 

The question makes my cheeks heat up. I'd been a girlfriend one other time in my life and I hated the person I called my boyfriend. I'd dated him out of spite and boredom and we broke it off after four months. The sex hadn't even been good. The mere idea of being a girlfriend to Bodhi Durran has my stomach tied in knots but in the best way. 

The way the moonlight softly illuminates his features is nothing more than picturesque and I want the image ingrained into my memory forever. Paint it on my tombstone if one must. I trail my finger down the bridge of his nose, a feature of his I remember him being insecure about as a preteen, though it's one of my favorites. 

"Hmm, let me think about it," I can't help the cheesy smile that plasters my face. 

"It's settled." He shakes his head and leans in to kiss me right before he holds my body flush against his and dunks us both under the water. 

"Vile. Just vile," I laugh when we resurface as he uses his thumbs to brush the water from my face. 

I try to pull away but he grips my hands and pulls me back to him. He holds my wrists under the moonlight and I jerk backward. The discoloration didn't take long to become my least favorite thing about myself. 

He notices my discomfort and lets my wrists go, his hands finding my waist once more. He holds me under the moonlight and a comfortable silence settles over us. 

Conscription Day has already been slightly more brutal than the last. Between Liam's sister, Sloane, hating Violet and me, and picking unnecessary fights with my new wingleader, Dain fucking Aetos, it feels impossible to get through the rest of the day without anyone getting on my Gods damned nerves more than they already have. 

"You're one step away from the anger issues that plagued you last year," Gleigeal says and I roll my eyes.

"Oh, is that why I'm still cut off?" I reply annoyance laced through my tone."Being bitter with me will not aid you in getting your way," He grumbles. 

I'm placed between Ridoc and Violet in formation as Panchek's voice fills the courtyard like nails on a chalkboard. The day hasn't been that bad when you think about it, I'm just irritatingly on edge today for some reason. Watching Dain try to fill the role that Xaden had last year is almost laughable, but I can't help but wish Xaden were still up there. 

When the wingleader's dragons join us in the courtyard, I hardly pay attention. The reaction of some of the first years pushes me farther past the point of agitation that I'm already sitting at. I just want us to be dismissed so I can find myself in bed for the rest of the night. 

"Are you okay?" Ridoc asks, glancing at me. 

"I'm fine," I sigh. My fingers dig into my palms and I realize that one of the reasons I'm so pissed off is because of how fucking hot I am. I'd be surprised if this long sleeve didn't have sweat stains down my back. It just reminds me why I have to wear it and the memories of Resson flood my mind. Catching sight of Sloane in the corner of my eye nearly pushes me over the edge. She looks so much like Liam. I tug at the collar and force myself to take a deep breath.

Control it. Don't let it control you.

"You don't seem fine, Ania," He whispers. 

"Ania, calm down." Violet's voice is quiet but firm as she grips my wrist into her hand. 

Now is not the time for a fucking panic attack. What the hell has gotten into me over the past couple of days?

"Show me you can ground without magic and then we'll discuss reopening the channel," Gleigeal says. 

Anger shakes me to my core. No way he's using this as a lesson. My breaths are deep but shaky and I hyper-fixate on the way that Violet has my wrist in a death grip. I cannot do this in formation, not in front of the entire quadrant. 

My focus is pulled when a group of first-year scrams by. That just pisses me off more, knowing that they're seconds away from being torched. 

"Eyes forward," Gleigeal's voice is filled with panic. My head snaps to the front of the formation and my eyes land on a large Orange that I don't recognize. I let my gaze drop for a second and notice Bodhi, who shakes his head slightly. It's hard to tell from this distance but he looks worried. 

Bodhi's eyes widen as he takes off in a run just as Violet's scream fills my ears. He's forced to stop when the Orange curls his tongue.

"Get down!" She lunges for Sloane and before I can even think to move, Ridoc pulls my chest to his, throwing us both to the ground. 

I cling to him tightly as he does his best to keep his arms around my head. I squeeze my eyes shut tightly doing my best to drown out the screams around us. My breath is hitched in my throat and I refuse to let it go, knowing if I do, it'll be my last. The blaze against my back is scorching and I'm grateful that Ridoc protects my head. 

I finally let myself breathe when Ridoc helps me to my feet. I don't even want to look at the remnants of what just happened behind us. I wince when Ridoc turns me to look at my back. I watch as Violet pulls her shirt off in her hand and wish I had the scales she does. 

"Gods, Ania," He sucks in a breath and I don't even want to know what it looks like.

"Ania!" Gleigeal shouts. 

"I'm fine. I think," I reply down our bond. My eyes find Bodhi who is in the same place I last saw him in, relief written over his face when he sees me standing. My skin feels nothing short of melting and I have to hold on to Ridoc to steady myself. I'm thankful when I see that the sleeves of my uniform are still intact hiding the gray prints pressed permanently into my skin. The cool air against my skin tells me the back of it is no longer there.

"Get back in formation! Riders do not balk at fire!" Panchek screams over the chaos. 

Violet steps toward me, pulling Imogen with her as we fall back in line. 

"Ciaran is dead," Imogen whispers, and my stomach hits my feet. 

I let my eyes find the pile of ash where I know he'd previously been standing and nausea takes over. 

"Conspiratize later. I need your focus at one hundred," Gleigeal snaps, knowing where my brain is headed. 

Bodhi finds me immediately after formation is dismissed and I'm grateful when I think that Tairn might've bought our squad some sort of protection after his conflict with Solas, the orange who torched a large chunk of the quadrant. 

His hands cup my cheeks and he looks me over. "Your back, Ani." 

"It's fine. Violet's too." I say, looking around for her but she's already disappeared, likely to the healers where I want to be. 

"Violet has scales." He tells me as if I don't already know. He turns to Ridoc who hasn't left my side. "Thank you. For protecting her."

"No need to thank me," He shakes his head once. "She needs a healer." The way Bodhi's jaw tightens tells me he's doing his best to not roll his eyes at Ridoc.

That night, after three hours in the healer's quadrant, Bodhi is sitting criss-cross on my bed, gently spreading healing ointment into my skin. I can barely feel his touch with the way the pain meds they gave me have me feeling nearly entirely numb. I sit up when he finishes and take a deep breath when I study his face. 

"Something is going on, something we don't know about," He finally says, reaching for my hand. "With you being cut off, I don't think it's a good idea for you to come on drops." 

"What?" I raise my voice. "That's not fair."

"It is fair and it's not an argument. Until you have your power back, you're not coming. I'm not fighting with you about this." He snaps and I close my mouth. "You and Violet stay here. Stay out of trouble and don't draw attention to yourselves." 

"What happened today was intentional," I say quietly. Saying it out loud makes it real. 

"I don't want to say that's what happened, but it seems that way." He replies, cupping my cheek. 

Surviving second year just got a lot harder.

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[inkshadow]

"was once enough for you?" what he wants in this realm doesn't matter much — she'll either answer in a way that would benefit them both or... well, he's not going to think of alternative. if she doesn't consider him an asshole then he certainly feels scummy knowing cora would have sex with him on their own time. does his best not to falter in the way he looks at her right this second, to make sure that she doesn't suspect the cogs in his head are turning. thankfully, there's plenty of other information — pertinent information — for him to replace those worries with, each more fascinating and eye-opening than the last. "that sounds like a lot for you to juggle at once... this is, like, advanced choreography. and you have to do that on your own, you don't even have any dancers or producers to pad you. fuck, that's way too much. you officially have the biggest brain i've ever met." and her parents really aren't impressed by any of this? that is the most baffling part of it all; there was no way in hell that anyone sensible could brush this off as something any layman can do. "n-no, you can keep talking about it all you want. it's amazing, for lack of a better word," though maybe it sums it up quite well, given how strongly he means it. so much so that jesper doesn't care to respond in any other way but to shower her with kisses, open-mouthed, his tongue eagerly seeking hers. "i mean, i won't complain if this is all you wanted to do tonight..." breathes out softly once their lips finally do part again, lithe fingers stroking up and down every knob of her spine. "if you're hungry i can order in, or we can just watch tv so you can catch your breath." a humorous suggestion at best, as if she could ever grow tired of talking about ice skating. "video games, we can cook... i didn't even realize how much time has passed already."

she absolutely should’ve predicted that one, yet it isn’t until the words leave his mouth that este realises she accidentally gave him the perfect set-up. the urge to laugh is a strong one, but she bites down into her lip to hold it back and is betrayed by the sudden hitch in her breath. “yeah, i bet. once wasn’t enough for you?” if he feels even half of what she does, it never could be. all it took was one little taste to ensure she couldn't possibly dream of letting it end there. “usually music would come first, but there’s a lot of stuff to consider for that — how long it is and if i’ll be able to stand listening to it over and over again while i practice are both big ones. with competitions, there are required elements, like certain types of jumps and spins that need to be included, so the music has to make sense to fit those in too. you’re given points based on how difficult each move is and how well you do it which means they’re pretty important… feel free to cut me off anytime, by the way.” she doesn’t often get asked questions about skating or have any reason to talk about it at length with someone who isn’t already a part of that world, and she can feel the exact moment when explaining turns into rambling. it’s probably smart to not immediately overwhelm him. “sounds like chaos, but i’m in... this will give you enough time to start thinking up potential duets.” at least the combination of drinking and singing will be a decent distraction from worrying about making a good impression on his friends. then again, maybe it doesn’t matter so much. who knows if she’ll ever see them again after that? “i am heroic, aren’t i?” her voice is equally as quiet; more of an afterthought as she continues with the affectionate brushes of her mouth to his. once one ends, the gap is closed again before either of them are able to miss the feeling. “lucky for you, i’m happy to accept this form of payment.”

[sadcupcake]

Mikaelson's Gilbert

Elena and Jeremy Gilbert have been the center of attention in Mystic Falls for as long as anyone can remember, so much so most people don't even realise they have a sister, Another Gilbert. The Mikaelsons how ever when they meet her, they can never forget her.

Part 1

My sister was always the center of attention, for as long as I can remember it’s always been Elena this, Elena that. I’ve lived my life always in the room never really being seen. I never thought that would be a good thing until today. I resented the fact that no one saw me, Always too focused on Elena. Even when she wasn’t in the room with me I still wouldn’t be seen, everyone was always too concerned with where she was and what she was doing. Now that vampires and werewolves and witches have entered our lives it has become a danger to my life, but it has given me access to a lot of information that I shouldn’t have, like the fact that Damon and Elena are conspiring to kill Klaus behind everyone’s back.

Elena and Elijah had come to a peace agreement which for the most part had worked, but now she’s breaking that agreement with the help of Damon to work with Esther to kill her children and ultimately Klaus. If you had told me when I first found out about the Originals that I would be considering saving their lives I’d have told you that you were crazy, but here I am about to knock on the Mikaelson’s front door and tell them that their mother wants them dead.

I know that they won’t want to hear it but I have to at least try right? I mean there’s no real reason why I should be doing this, they’ve done nothing but torture and try to kill my sister and her friends. But why should I care about that? What has Elena ever done for me but forget I exist? I mean when we were kids she wanted something of mine and I said no so she pushed me and I ended up at the bottom of the stairs with a broken arm and she ended up with whatever toy it was she wanted and forgot I was even there. No matter how much I screamed for help she never came. It wasn’t until our parents got home that I was taken to the hospital and Elena swore up and down that she didn’t know I ‘fell’ and she couldn’t hear my screams for help.

Before I can second guess myself anymore the front door opens and Elijah is standing in front of me. He’s the most reasonable original from what I’ve seen and always sticks to his word, even if it means finding loopholes in those agreements to get what he truly wants in the end. When I look up at him I feel a sense of calm wash over me, like in this moment this is the exact place I need to be. The sense of calm confirms my choice for me.

“And who exactly are you?” Elijah says smoothly almost like he didn't even speak the word.

“ Who I am isn’t important. It never is. I need to talk to you about your peace deal you have with Elena” All of a sudden I’m full of nerves. I didn’t think this through. He could kill me for what I’m about to say, but for whatever reason when I look into his eyes I don’t care, all I care about is saving his life.

“Please follow me inside” He says moving to the side and extending his hand almost effortlessly in one swift motion.

As I follow him into the Mikaelson mansion my heart is pounding in my chest, I’m sure all the vampires who reside here can hear it from wherever they are. It should make me terrified but it doesn’t. This mansion already feels like home to me and I can’t help but feel guilty for feeling this way. This isn’t my home and I definitely shouldn’t be feeling so comfortable here.

We enter a room off to the side and Elijah guides me to a chair, his hand on my back gently. Somehow to me he does seem the gentlest of the Mikaelsons, but I can tell that underneath that guise of the gentle noblemen there is a beast waiting to be unleashed. Once we are both sat I start

“I’m here to save your lives, your mother wants you dead and Elena is helping her” Once it’s off my chest I brace myself for the inevitable, my death. But it never comes. 

The look on Elijah’s face is hard to read at first. He looks calm, almost too calm. But underneath it all I can see the hurt. They all thought she was really back to be a big happy family again, all they wanted was their mother’s love after a thousand years.

“How do you know of this, and why would you warn us? What motive could you possibly have?” Elijah says, still trying to determine who I am, if I’m a threat to his family he’s protected for so long no matter how many times they’ve hurt him.

“I know this because I heard my sister plan it. Esther wants to meet with her at the ball to get rid of Klaus once and for all, but unlike my sister I’m not stupid the only way to get rid of Klaus is for the rest of you to go as well. There is no more white oak that any of us know of and why would Esther waste the last white oak on just one of you when she could link all of you together and be rid of the curse she unleashed on the planet a thousand years ago” I say quickly trying to justify myself to avoid a slow death. “Oh and Damon is in on it” I add in quickly trying to direct his anger onto someone other than the very fragile human sitting in front of him.

“Your sister? I can only assume you mean Elena from the information you’ve given me. We didn't know of the existence of another Gilbert” He says not even addressing the death threat. He’s acting as if it doesn’t even matter 

“ Yeah, that's me, the other Gilbert, You probably didn’t know about me because no one ever sees me. That’s how I knew about what Elena and Damon were up to, they never see me in the room before they talk about their plans” I say wondering why I’m not dead yet.

“Well miss Gilbert, thank you for your warning” Elijah says while standing up and buttoning his suit. If it weren’t for the fact that I know he’s been alive for a thousand years I’d wonder what career he had to afford a suit like that.

Taking that as my que to leave I take the chance while I still have it. While walking back to the front door the way we came I can feel someone watching me, multiple someones. Despite the eyes on me I don’t feel threatened, I feel protected almost. It’s strange really, going unnoticed all my life I tend to feel anxious and uncomfortable when I am noticed, but here in the Mikaelson mansion with the eyes of who I can only assume are the rest of the Originals I feel protected and calm, which makes absolutely no sense.

[pyre-of-pages]

TES Crushes

I'd really like to get to know people in the fandom space, so here's an open invite to discuss something fun!

Which NPCs in TES (all games included!) do you crush on, and why? They don't have to be marriage candidates (in vanilla), just people you find yourself blushing around. Hell, it could be a Deadric Prince if that's what you're into. Name them and say what about them you find appealing! Then feel free to tag a friend or two!

Don't be afraid to reiterate what someone else has said if you happen to like the same characters.

I'll start off by tagging some really cool-looking people I've seen around: @skyrim-forever @mareenavee @changelingsandothernonsense @ladytanithia

Mine? Well, they'll go below so this intro page isn't all about me and mine. ;)

((So far I've only played Skyrim, so my NPC crushes are all from TES: V. And I haven't met every single NPC there is in the game so my list may expand with time, lol.))

Male Crushes:

Onmund - He's just a sweet, nerdy Nord doofus who tries his best at the College despite feeling like a fish out of water. As a spouse, he's always supportive and loving. As a follower, his AI immediately picks up on threats (usually before I do) and it gives the impression of his character being protective. First spouse I ever chose (also it just makes perfect sense for Elur, my first LDB, to fall for him as far as her character goes).

Enthir - Shady but undeniably charismatic in the fact he gives zero shits what anyone thinks of him. There was always an undertone of odd genuineness to his personality in the College quests that made him fun to be around -- and that came full circle when we realize just how much he genuinely cares for members of the Nightingales. I love characters who act shallow but think and feel deeply.

Female Crushes:

Niranye - I crushed on this merchant the second I saw her because I just thought she was beautiful (her eyes got me for some reason). I also find her voice type the most attractive. I have no idea why, but I usually end up enjoying the uppity tone her voice actress pulls off for everyone she voices. Such a fun and charming mix of pleasant and passive-aggresive, lol. Then Niranye reveals she's a fence and her appeal to me became stronger because now she's more than just a pretty merchant, she's got a cunning little personality. She's a smart businesswoman and she knows it well. Used a cheat code to marry her to my second LDB (who is a Thalmor sympathizer who would only fall for another Altmer, and Taarie is too old for her). Luckily she has voiced romance/marriage dialogue. Since I really like the sound of her voice, my sappy ass melted to bits hearing it when my Altmer LDB proposed.

Jenassa - Hired her randomly because I needed extra pockets and was shocked to discover that she has a personality (was not expecting that of the sell-swords in this game). Took her to a Dwemer ruin and girl laid out paragraphs of lore that I hadn't heard before -- which gives the impression that she's rather book smart for a mercenary. Helping this is that every time I make camp with her, the first thing she does is read a book -- which in my mind, is something she keeps with her at all times because she enjoys reading in her spare time. I enjoy how excited she gets when she sees a hidey-hole she could ambush someone from and how she'll comment on the DB's strong ability to fight. I like that she's a suave, confident, capable fighter that comes to enjoy your company beyond the fact you're paying her. I plan to have my third LDB marry her because she's won my heart as far as the mercenaries I've come across.

Astrid - She's a murder-happy bitch who loves what she does and I'd be happy to let her stab me. . . . Shut up. Also, she's the only member of the OG Dark Brotherhood to have a full-blown character arch and in this house we are SLUTS for good character development. Absolute SLUTS for it.

[sweetnerrose]

Wattpad : sweetnerrose

SUNKISSED

Mia's move to the wealthy side of the island drives a wedge between her and her friends. She insists she's still the same, but when a certain Kook boy enters the picture, she can't ignore the shift in her perspective.

a snippet from my new rafe fanfic! go check it out!

The next day was the same as the first, taking our old things out of boxes and finding a spot for them. Today we focused on the downstairs, the living room and kitchen. The two biggest places in the house. But Mom wouldn't let me do much, she had a 'system' that I apparently didn't conform to.

Everytime I put something somewhere she would complain, "No not there, move it over here." or "Just let me do it." She did practically everything.

After a while I got fed up and walked outside, stumbling upon my Dad and a faintly familiar man in the driveway, shaking hands.

I turned around to go back inside, not feeling like I needed to be introduced to anyone right now, but my Dad caught me before I could sneak away.

"And there's my oldest, Mia." He pointed to me, so I had to walk over.

The middle aged man standing across from my Dad smiled friendly and held out his hand. "Nice to meet you. Are you..Sarah's age maybe?"

I took his hand and tried to be friendly back, "Sarah?"

"Sarah Cameron, my daughter?" He clarified.

Then the information clicked in my head. This was Ward Cameron, one of the most powerful men on the island. Even the pogues knew about him. And Sarah, the Kook princess, was widely known too. Her brother Rafe didn't come around the pogues often, so I didn't know much about him other than his better than everyone attitude.

"Oh! Yes, Sarah. We're the same age." I nodded my head, feeling stupid for not catching on sooner.

My Dad put his arm around me and continued talking to Ward. Why was he here? There had to be a reason for him to come and say hello, Kooks never did something just for the hell of it. They always had a purpose. Ecspecially when it came to pogues, and technically, in all the ways that matter, my family were still pogues.

"Well, I just wanted to welcome the new neighbors."

Neighbors?

"We're heading to the country club, do you play golf?" He gestures to the black truck behind him, talking to my dad.

I peek around Wards frame to find his son in the front seat. He's looking the other way, not paying attention to the conversation going on. It gives me a chance to look at him, Rafe who I've barely been around and don't plan to be around now either.

He has broad shoulders and light hair, tan skin that's darker than most, and he fills out the seat of the car. He must be tall. He has a backwards cap on, too. Looking very frat boy.

Then he turns around, looking our way. His eyes land on mine and I know I've made a mistake.

He thinks I was checking him out.

A slight smile starts to spread across his face but I make myself look away from him. I don't care if I look guilty. I don't need this attention from the one kook I should stay away from.

Ward starts to retreat back to the car and I listen back into the conversation. Blocking out Rafes stare.

"We should play sometime, then." Ward suggests, stepping off of the pavement and onto the road.

"That would be great." My Dad waves to the stranger.

"I'll see ya." Ward opens the door and Rafe shifts gears, placing both hands on the wheel.

He gives one last look my way. I can feel my cheeks heat but I pretend not to notice him.

"See ya." My Dad says his last goodbye and turns around toward the house.

I hear the truck drive off but I don't turn around. I force myself not to.

That was so weird.

"Who knew we were neighbors with the Cameron's?" Dad jokes, opening the door for me.

"Funny." I cross my arms and head back inside.

Mom finished the whole kitchen by 2:00. Then she gave me and her a new assignment, one I really didn't want to do.

"Why do we need a country club membership, though?" I sigh, twisting my bracelets around my wrist in the front seat of the car.

"Because, your brother can play tennis or golf there. You can too! And the events held there are invite only, if we want to fit in we have to play our part." She reasons as we pull into the packed parking lot.

We were going here just to a buy a membership and show that we were embracing our new lifestyle, I wasn't dumb. My Mom cared more about public opinion than she cared to admit. I couldn't blame her though.

I would be lying if I said I never thought about it either.

I walk in behind my Mom, who automatically blends in. She knows so many kooks because she works at one of the more popular boutiques in town. Where my Dad is a construction worker, my Mom knows how to sell expensive things to rich people.

I get a few dirty looks from passing girls in tennis skirts, whispering under their breath. While my Mom has the longest conversation in the world with the front desk worker, I get anxious standing in front of all the judgmental eyes.

How can they even tell I'm a pogue?

"I'm going to the bathroom," I tell my Mom and she nods.

I don't even know where the bathroom is but after wandering down a hall that is definitely not the bathrooms, I give up on finding them at all. When one of the doors opens I get ready for another mean look and stare down at my phone.

Except it wasn't another mean girl.

"Hey, new girl." The voice is deep and laced with amusement.

I look up to find Rafe Cameron staring down at me.

Shit.

"I'm not new." Is all I can think to say.

"No?" He cocks his head to the side, sticking his tongue against his cheek.

"I've lived here my whole life." I was getting nervous.

"Not on this side of the island. Need me to show you around?" He leans down a bit and smiles.

Is he flirting with me?

Doesn't he know I'm a pogue?

I crack a small smile, just at the absurdity of Rafe acting like this towards me.

"Do you want to?" I play along and he smiles wider.

"I'll do whatever you want me to." His voice gets deeper and makes my stomach churn with nerves.

Why was I nervous?

Why was I even talking to him?

"Do you even know my name?" I drop the act but he doesn't seem to realize.

"Of course I do." He crosses his arms, making his biceps grow bigger.

I don't look at them though. At least I try not to.

I smile, "Then what is my name?"

Rafe straightens and starts to laugh. He doesn't seem thrown off that I'm a pogue. He's not giving me mean stares like the other people in here, he's actually trying to flirt with me.

Somehow, it's surprising.

Or maybe he is a bigger player than I thought?

He grabs the phone out of my hand and I'm not fast enough to stop him.

I faintly murmur, "Don't.." but he doesn't listen.

Once he's done typing, he hands it back to me with a smile. "There you go."

I don't have the chance to say anything before someone calls his name. He looks down the hallway but I don't follow the motion, my eyes stay on his.

What the hell is this?

"Bye, Mia." He says before side stepping me and walking down the hallway.

I stay frozen in place. So, he did know my name.

I turn on my phone and go to my contact list. Sure enough, his number is in there under his name.

I can't help but wonder what my friends would think about this. But it's not like I'm the one who was flirting with him, he started it.

Boys have never shown a big interest in me before. Ive only kissed one other guy at a party once. I've never been one to flirt with someone. That's more of Kiara's thing.

She tells me all the time that if I would just give someone a chance then things might be different.

But I definitely was not giving Rafe a chance. No matter how good he looked.

I was in my room, freshly showered and watching The OC when a text chimes. I thought it might be the pogues because they haven't called with any updates on the compass thing. When I excitedly turn over my phone to see the notification, my stomach twists.

It's Rafe.

Mia

Is all that he says, so I respond.

Rafe.

You ever been to a kook party?

I respond : Are you inviting me?

It's at Toppers place.

You should come.

I think about it then type:

Maybe I will.

For some reason I'm feeling brave. This whole Rafe thing has me curious, no matter how much he intimidates me. Plus, I do want to at least try to get along with my new neighbors. If I show the other kooks that I'm willing to go to parties with them, they might be more inclined to at least pretend to like me.

I don't think I can handle all the mean glares for the rest of my life.

I debate on texting Kie about it but she's probably busy. And I know she will say it's a bad idea.

Kie isn't the type of person to give second chances so freely. Once her opinion is made up, it's hard to change it. She's already written off all kooks, even though she is one herself.

But I want to try to make this work for my Mom. I don't want to feel so out of place. So I jump out of bed and get changed.

[chloe-skywalker]

Love Beyond Limits - Chapter 3

Mob!Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader

Wanda Maximoff x Friend!Fem!Reader

Pietro Maximoff x Friend!Fem!Reader

Warnings: SOA , Mob! Bucky

(Don't think any of these warnings are in this chapter but there in the over all theme)

Word Count: 1,790

Summary: Y/n spills tea on a very handsome stranger who in return for ruining his suit just wants to get to know her.

Authors Note: They finally meet ! The reader and Bucky finally meet in this chapter! Now from here on out they won't be separated much. Check out the series masterlist for all the chapters.

Main Masterlist

Series Masterlist

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Y/n was headed back home after getting some tea and dropping off some supplies off for Aunt May had asked her to get for an odd lunch rush that had happened at the restaurant.

“Oh! I’m so sorry.” Y/n immediately started apologizing as she felt herself run into a hard body dumping her tea all over. She knew she should’ve double checked the lid, at least it wasn’t hot tea.

“It’s okay.” Bucky said holding onto her waist which he had grabbed onto to keep her from falling after she had ran into him. He couldn’t help but smile as he looked at the women that ran into him and really took in how beautiful she is. If anyone were to run into him Bucky felt very blessed to have it be this woman.

 “That’s an expensive suit isn't it?” Y/n grimaced as she looked over his suit and could tell it was very well made. Of course she had to run into and spill her tea all over some rich guy’s suit, staining it. 

“It’s okay, Doll.” Bucky smiled, waving her off with one hand as he let go of her waist. Looking her in the eye’s Bucky thought she was the most beautiful woman he had the pleasure of laying eyes on. He could care less about the suit. God knows he has enough of them. “Truly. To be honest I hated this suit so you just gave me a viable reason to trash it.”

“Promise?” Y/n raised an unsure brow at the man, he was being very understanding and not yelling at her which Y/n appreciated. But she was confused as to why he was so okay with her having stained his obviously expensive suit, on the obviously wealthy man.

“I wouldn’t lie to you, Doll.” Bucky laughed smiling at her concern for his clothes, it was amusing. Bucky really did hate this suit and now he had a good enough reason to actually trash it. It was endearing to him though how this woman was so concerned about his clothes being ruined. He was trying to assure her that he wasn’t upset at her at all.

“You don’t know me.” Y/n stated, he didn’t know her so why should she trust him to not lie to her. Y/n knew not to trust just anybody, even if they were as handsome as the man in front of her.

“How about we change that?” He raised a brow, he hoped she’d agree. Bucky really didn’t want to let her go without getting to know her. If he did there was the chance he’d never run into her again.

“I don’t know you.” She squinted at him, suspicious of the stranger in front of her. Sure he seemed like a nice guy but that didn’t mean anything.

“Bucky Barnes.” Bucky held his hand out for her to shake introducing himself so he’s less of a stranger to her. It was a start and really all he could do.

“Bucky?” Y/n was surprised at the odd name, her voice rang with confusion as she repeated it.

“It’s a nickname, it comes from my middle name. James Buchanan Barnes.” He explained with a shrug knowing it could sound odd.

“Y/n Winston.” Y/n shook his hand and in return told him her name.

“Y/n. Well, Y/n getting to know you and you getting to know me would be all I need in exchange for you ruining my suit.” Bucky told her, smiling as he put his hand in his pant’s pocket. He was hopeful that she would take the bait and repay him for ruining his suit with letting them get to know each other.

“Well played Mr. Barnes.” Y/n smirked at his cleverness. Enjoying his response and what he wanted as repayment, she found it amusing.

“Please call me Bucky. My friends do.” He shook his head with a laugh, Bucky wanted her to feel comfortable around him.

“So we’re friends now?” She raised a brow at his boldness.

“I’d like to become friends. At first.” Bucky smirked as he nodded at her question. She was to beautiful to not want to be more than friends and her personality seemed to match.

“Got big plans for us already, Bucky?” Y/n teased but she was curious. It was obvious to her that he was flirting and she thought why not flirt back? No harm in it, besides he seemed like a nice guy.

“Possibly.” he winked, she was bold with him and didn’t shake with fear when she heard his name. It was very clear that she didn’t know who exactly he was. Which Bucky was curious and happy about. “Do you like coffee?” Bucky asked, wanting to continue to talk to her but not on the side of the street.

“No, but most coffee places tend to have tea, which I do like. So where to?” Y/n linked her arm with Bucky’s for him to lead the way.

Bucky led them to a little coffee and tea bistro that happened to be around the corner. When they ordered Y/n went to pay for her’s but Bucky gently pushed her hand away and reminded her that getting to know each other was his repayment for ruining his suit and that he offered to get drink’s so he was paying.

“So you're not a coffee drinker. Noted.” Bucky said as they sat down at a table in a far corner where no one was really around.

“Are you storing these note’s for later use?” Y/n teased inquired with a quirked up brow in curiosity.

“Well I want to know and remember everything about you. So yes.” Bucky nodded confidently as he answered her.

“If we’re getting to know each other, that works both ways.” Y/n told him taking a sip of her tea.

“What do you wanna know?” Bucky gestured for her to ask whatever she liked he’d be an open book to her questions.

“Everything.” Y/n smiled, shaking her head amused.

“That goes both ways.” Bucky smirked, throwing her word’s back at her playfully.

The two spent 3 hours sitting there and talking getting to know each other. Enjoying each other’s company. They shared a bunch of laughs, smiles and even jokes with each other. They never even felt the time go by, luckily for both of them when they did notice it wasn’t to late in the day yet.

“I had a delightful time.” Bucky told her honestly as they exited the bistro, smiling at her.

“Me too.” Y/n smiled up at him. She hadn’t had that much fun in a very long time.

“Can I have your number?” He asked looking at her with hope that he made a good enough impression to earn her phone number.

“From how big of a CEO you are and how many businesses you own, you're a powerful man. I'm sure you could just get my number.” Y/n smirked playing with the fact that he had moderately told her about all his company’s and etc…

“Its less creepy if you give it to me.” Bucky glanced down at her teasing and then shyly back up at her hoping he could in fact get her number and know everything about her in a snap of his fingers, but that's not how he wanted to do things with her.

“Agreed.” Y/n gave him a nod agreeing with his statement, that two exchanged numbers.

“I’ll see you soon, Y/n.” Bucky smiled genuinely at her as he walked over to his car waiting for him as Sam and Steve stood by the driver's side pretending not to be listening in on the two’s conversation.

“Bye, Bucky.” Y/n waved as she started to walk back on her way home. It wasn’t a very long walk but the whole time including walking up the stairs her thoughts were on the business man she just kinda had a date with.

“You took longer than expected.” Wanda said as Y/n entered the apartment.

“I ran into someone.” Y/n spoke, taking off her jacket and shoes.

“Is this person of the opposite sex?” Pietro teased from the kitchen as he heard her answer his sister.

“Yes, in fact he is.” Y/n nodded as she sat down on the couch with a smile on her lips.

“Ooooh, tell us more.” Wanda ran over to sit in the chair across from Y/n. Excited for her friend's new ‘friend’.

“He was handsome, sweet, confident but not overly. . .” She smiled even wider and bit her lip thinking back to her time with Bucky. “CEO of some businesses and owns a ton of them and others.” Y/n looked down knowing it sounded nut’s.

“Holy Shit!” Wanda’s eyes widened to the size of saucers.

“How’d you meet this guy?” Pietro asked, coming over to sit on the loveseat, very intrigued by the event’s that had apparently happened today.

“Spilled my tea on him, completely ruined his suit.” Y/n winced recalling that movement.

“What’d you do?” Wanda questioned worriedly if he was rich that had to be an expensive suit to dry clean.

“Apologized, but he said he hated the suit anyway so I did him a favour really. Then he wanted to get to know me so we got tea. Chatted for a few hours.” Y/n explained the short version to sum things up.

“Did you get his number? Please tell me you got his number.” Wanda was on the edge of her seat hoping her friend did not pass up the opportunity to get a cute and interested man’s number.

And in that second Y/n’s phone dinged, as she glanced down to check it happened to be the very man they were talking about.

(Texts:)

Just wanted to make sure you gave me a real number. - Bucky

Don’t worry it’s really me. Although if I had given you a fake number you still would’ve gotten my real one somehow. - Y/n

Well I appreciate that you didn’t make me go through all that trouble. - Bucky

Your Welcome - Y/n

Can I see you tomorrow? - Bucky

What’d you have in mind? - Y/n

“By the look on her face I’d say they diffidently exchanged numbers.” Pietro smirked as he and his sister watched their friend blush as she read her newest text’s that had come in.

They both thought this could be good for Y/n. Move on from Charming and maybe if it leads to more she would be able to move on from a certain teller. Maybe she could mend her heart in New York.

Series Masterlist

Taglist: @padawancat97 @maryvibess @gruffle1 @starkleila @bonnyclydecat @bruher @vicmc624

[goldenlionprince]

Sign your name across my heart

Following @sorenphelps art and story "Good morning, Sleeping Beauty" in The Bodyguard AU, let's see how James handles this brand new information of Sirius' real name.

if you want to check out previous parts of mine, I have a collection on AO3 for all of them. tags for @neverenoughmarauders @lovelymasks

.

“Sirius,” James says, enjoying the way the name rolls off his tongue. It feels like it has always been there and not like James has only said that name for like fifteen times in all his life.

“James,” Sirius says, sitting down on the couch that is almost too small for two people, a flicker of amusement in his eyes. He looks a lot better now after the sleep he got. James likes to think the dino nuggets he made did their magic as well. “Should I already regret telling you my name since you're overusing it just a tiny little bit?”

James grins and walks over to the couch. He doesn't care about it being so small since it gives him the perfect excuse to straddle Sirius' lap instead. “Don't worry, I will go back to sprinkle in Soldier Boy again eventually, I would miss it otherwise. But for now you will just have to deal with me saying your name as many times as I can, Sirius.”

Sirius sighs but there is a smile on his lips and James is pretty proud of that. “You're impossible.”

“I take that as a compliment,” James says and tugs Sirius' hair free of its bun so he can run his fingers through it.

“Of course you would,” Sirius says, his hands sliding underneath the faded purple fabric of the dino shirt James is wearing.

James hums contently, wrapping the silky strands around his fingers and tugging slightly. “You know what's even more offensive than your pantry?”

Sirius leans his head back against the couch and closes his eyes. “What?”

Using his chance, James leans in to brush his lips along Sirius' neck as he speaks. “The lack of condoms and lube in this flat, unless you hid them somewhere very well.”

Sirius laughs and it sends a surge of warmth through James' body. He could listen to that sound forever. “Yeah, sorry. I wasn't expecting to host anyone here.”

“Outrageous, really,” James says, nipping at Sirius' collar bone. “I expect better from my boyfriend.”

Sirius opens his eyes to look at him. “Your boyfriend, hmm?”

James sits back up again in Sirius' lap so he can look into his eyes. “Didn't I make it clear that I won't let you go anytime soon?”

“I don't know,” Sirius teases, his fingertips brushing along James' sides, making him shiver. “It kind of sounded like you were about to send me out to buy condoms.”

“And vegetables,” James says, leaning into the touch. “Unrelated to condoms.”

“Anything else you want?” Sirius asks.

James just leans in and kisses him.

****

It takes them more than two hours to get ready to leave the flat. James has to borrow a pair of Sirius' cargo pants, seeing that he only has his sweatpants as an option and he really doesn't fancy wearing them again, plus the blood on them might pull a little too much attention. He's actually feeling pretty cool in cargo pants. It's probably worth looking into getting a pair of his own, although stealing Sirius' clothes feels pretty nice too.

His boyfriend's clothes. James can't do anything against the goofy smile that thought brings to his face.

Sirius unlocks the three locks on the door and unhooks the chain. James leans against the wall next to the door, waiting until every lock is undone and Sirius finally opens the door – and pauses.

Concerned, James looks past him, but all he sees is a big basket on their doorstep.

Lie low for a while. Text me if you need anything.

There is a little dinosaur drawn at the end of the note attached to it.

The basket is full of groceries. James can see vegetables, bread and milk. But the best items are tugged right beneath Remus' note. James can't help but laugh as he leans over and plucks out the package of condoms. “Seems like we don't have to go anywhere after all.”

“How nice,” Sirius says and there is a fire in his eyes that makes James shiver.

A grin spreads on James' lips. “Get the groceries in, Soldier Boy. Then we can see how quickly we need to text Remus for some more of these.”

[nogenderbee]

♡˗ˏ✎*ೃ˚ ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪? 𝕄𝕖? ₊˚ˑ༄

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ anon request: Hmmm akito and toya (separate) x reader who has a crush on them but thinks doesnt have a chance with them and refuses to confess even they liked them for a long time? But with buying them expensive gifts such as on valentines day with a big bouquet so obviously and says “were just friends.( lie ) Toya/Akito doesnt like me… its always nice to treat your friends.” In the end akito toya made the first move first

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ Awwwh of course!! I know, I took my sweet time ToT

But I still really hope you'll like it!!

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ angst -> fluff, TW: swear in Akito's part

You were always Akito's "best buddy" even if there were people who doubted that. Both of you were treating yourself like siblings you wished you had! Well... that's on the outside... on the inside, you actually were havign a big crush on him! But it was just you...

One day, you got your hopes up... it was a day before valentine's!

"Hey, do you have someone you wanna give present tomorrow?"

"Hm? No, not really."

Did I mention your hopes got crushed next second?

"You?"

"I don't know..."

"Well you better make up your mind then. There's not much time left."

And that's where your conversation ended that day... you even decided to skip the bit event after that! But maybe that's for the better? Because when you came back, your friend told you that...

"I told him you like him too."

You literally froze in tracks. How could they do that and then come tell you that so proudly?! Stopping yourself from throwing a tantrum, you shortly after realized.. "too"?

"What do you mean-"

"You'll see~"

And this.. is how it began~ After school you got grabbed to the side by Akito with flowers/chocolates in his hand and surprisingly flustered face... No wonder he wanted it to be alone conversation!

"I... listen, your friend told me you liked me.. and I just wanted to know if it's not bunch of bullshit."

Blushing you gathered your courage to speak up, even tho you couldn't look at him in shane and fear you'll loose him forever...

"Yeah..."

That was the only thing you muttered. And it kept silent for a while after that... before he finally decided to speak again. Or more like handed you item he was holding all this time..

"For you. Don't look for anyone else now."

You took the gift in pure confusion. You wanted to ask him what did he even mean by all that but the moment you got the hang of reality, he was already gone... most likely he walked away when you were amongst the clouds!

"Did he... c-confess?!!"

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@bleachtheidiot @akitosheart @yulikesminori @miya-akane @hayillaaaaaaa @hakulivesformusic @luhvashh @akiritoz @sucodelaranja86 @aluvslink - come get your pancakes lover~

Toya was your crush basically since you met him! He was like everything anyone could possibly want in a guy! He had his rules, he was gentle and polite, not to mention caring and knew what he wants... everyone knew you were head over heels for him except for one person... him.

But the same situation happened to him! Ironic, isn't it?

Take this situation for example...

"Hey, Toya! I made some lunch for both of us.. hope you like it!"

"I'm sure it's as lovely as always~ So don't worry."

Both of you were giving each other sheepish looks and none of you even noticed... both of you thought it was simply being nice.

But you were a lot blunt than he was! His friend gave him advice to flirt more... so he did only thing he somehow knew from that category. And gave you compliments! Yet, you always thought he was just being friendly and tried to make you feel good about yourself...

Finally, he decides (with Akito's and An's help) that it's enough of you not seeing things! After very VERY long time, as he himself thought you were missing things on purpose...

"Y/N. Would you mind if we had a talk now?"

He asked at lunch break, while looking at you with innocent look.

"Oh-! Sure... What is it?"

You were honestly scared what he may want to talk about... Did you do anything? Is this the end? Only bad things spread through your head...

"I've noticed you never really took my flirts into account... and I wanted to know, if you truly think of me as your friend alone?"

"F-Flirts?!"

You were absolutely shocked!! He was FLIRTING with you?!! How in hell did you miss THAT?!! Maybe because he was way too subtle and you way too blunt...

"Yes."

"I- I didn't even.. know..."

"I really thought I was being obvious with that..."

You were surprised a lot... But it slowly all made sense to you! The random compliments about how great you are, how he carried only your bags, and so on...

As you were deep in your thoughts, he seemed to took your pause as a sign of refusement!

"I'm taking it you're only interested in me as a friend?"

"Huh-?! Oh, no, no!! I like you! A lot! I-"

You stopped when you realized how many things you said in so little time just because you were panicked..!

"You do..?"

He smiled gently at you, his eyes sparkling with joy, as you were thinking it all through with a blushy face. But it's now sure this is the beginning of your story~

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@bleachtheidiot @akitosheart @yulikesminori @kuzzz0ya @miya-akane @toyaslove @sucodelaranja86 - come get your cookie lover~