#I love the way he delivers 'drain' in that sentence

[huntersapprentice]

actually, screw it, I'm showing a particular VT clip I've been really obsessed with lately

lalalalalala

[seokminkisser]

11:42 PM

seungcheol is a bit of a toxic ass in here, this is not how i see him he’s my baby boy <3333 but also i just needed to write something angsty so please enjoy and leave some feedback!!!

seungcheol didn’t know how it had gotten this far.

he wholeheartedly did not even believe he was a jealous person but something about mingyu’s hand on your arm made him see red.

he was a lucky man, he knew that for a fact and everyday spent with you reinforced the love he held for you. he trusted you, he really did. and yet, his jealousy seemed to always get the best of him.

on his left, he heard you giggle at something one of the boys said and although your hand was intertwined with his, the fact that you were giving someone your beautiful smile that should be only his made him want to claw his heart out.

you must have noticed that seungcheol was not really present in the gathering, your thumb making slow circles on his hand as he knocks back a few more shots. seungcheol squeezes your hand and leans down to whisper into your ear: “can we go, please.”

minutes later after saying your goodbyes, you were walking to your apartment, hands still clasped tight. seungcheol is quiet and he knows it’s bothering you but he also knows that if he opens his mouth he might say something he regrets.

reaching your door you turn to him and you give him a soft smile and seungcheol feels his heart bursting and he can’t keep it in anymore.

“why do you always do this.”

you frown a little and tilt your head to the side as you look at your boyfriend and seungcheol feels small under your gaze but the alcohol is spurring him on.

“do what?”

“you know exactly what i’m talking about, you seem to always be so happy to flirt with my friends.” seungcheol says, and he feels in the back of his mind that the words he is using are wrong, he is saying everything all wrong and when you abruptly let go of his hand he can feel the dread already settling in.

“what the fuck are you trying to say seungcheol?”

you used his full name. you rarely use his full name. he knows he should take it back, apologize, explain his feelings in a rational manner and yet his soju filled mind takes over and he cannot stop talking.

“you and mingyu were so close together tonight. don’t you know he likes you? are you that naive that you can’t see it? do you just have no respect for our relationship, because you seem to have no problem embarrassing me like that in front of my friends.”

“what—“

“i bet if i hadn’t been there you would have just fucked him wouldn’t you.”

the minute the words leave his mouth his heart plummets and he wants to take it back and he wants to apologize and wipe away the tears softly falling down your cheeks. he wants to get on his knees and beg for your forgiveness, he wants to do so many things to make you feel better and yet his feet stay rooted on the ground. staring at you as you hug yourself looking at him with so much pain in your tear filled eyes.

“why would you say that.”

“because you keep fucking flirting with him right in front of my eyes? if you can do that in front of me i don’t even want to know what you would do when i’m not around.”

the slap you deliver on his left cheek comes before he finishes his sentence. he knows that he deserves it and he thinks now it’s time to apologize, beg for your forgiveness, put the nonsense he just spouted behind you.

“fuck you seungcheol. i am so sick and fucking tired of you not trusting me.” you say and turn your back to him, shaky hands trying to unlock your door.

“and yet you’re not answering me, i must have hit a nerve right?”

someone should just fucking shoot me at this point.

you turn around, the pain in your eyes filled with anger, anger so burning it seems to drain all the alcohol fogging seungcheol’s brain.

“we’re done.” you say, fingers fumbling as you pry your silver promise ring off your left hand. seungcheol watches you with wide eyes and suddenly everything is clear. what the fuck was he doing?

“wait, what? baby wait—“

“no, seungcheol you wait. i cannot do this anymore. at first i thought your jealousy and possessiveness was cute and all but now it’s making me rip my hair out. your mistrust in me shows that you don’t respect me as a partner and frankly i care too much about my well being to let you talk down to me the way you do. i don’t even know who you are right now.”

the tears are still falling down your face as you take seungcheols hand and drop your ring in his palm. his eyes are searching yours as he scrambles to collect himself and the string of apologies resting on his tongue. he moves to speak but you interrupt him as you finally press your door open.

“do not contact me. ever. i will leave your things outside my door tomorrow so you can pick them up. i never want to see you again.”

with that you slam the door shut in his face and seungcheol falls to his knees in front of your door, forehead pressed against the wood.

he fucked up.

[iamdarkness]

Nexus

Lif x Summoner, Lif x reader / Implied platonic Alfonse x Summoner, Alfonse x reader.

NSFW from first sentence.

Lif and the summoner find each other thanks to an unlikely person and Lif's questionable decisions.

Also a look into Embla's hidden night life and secrets. Set before and after the siege to Veronica's castle in book 5.

May do a second part. I know I should be working on the other ones but I swear I had this one sitting there for like a year and I was debating whether to post it of not. Hope you like it.

  Nexus

   -Say my name! Say it!- The husky voice says on the woman’s ears. He is taking her from behind. It comes muffled by the white and gold embroidered hood that covers all of her head and most of the face. She can hardly hear it over her own moans too. His trusts are relentless and rhythmic, his length reaching deeper than anyone she had ever been with. Between moans she manages to breath and utter the name he desperately wanted to hear.

  -Alfonse! Alfonse! Ahh!!

  -NO! Not Alfonse! Say it!

  Not confused by the request, the woman remembers the other times he had done this to her. She switches to his other name.

  -Lif! Oh God Lif! I… please!!- She pleads even though there is no god she believes in. This is what he wants and so she will deliver.

  A few more rough trusts on his part and she reaches her limit. When he feels her release, he takes his final trust then she feels him withdraw. After a short moment he kisses the top of her hooded head. She stays unmoving and knowing full well why he does not kiss her instead.

  - _______….My ______. My dear summoner.- She hears him come in his hand like all the other times he has done this. She does not dare to look back at his ruby red eyes. She feels drained of all energy after such a energetic session, but she stays put. A moment later she feels him lean on her back and rest his head on hers. She hears him whisper something and can make out some words he repeats like a prayer.

  -Soon my love….I will return you to me. Soon…- He sighs, a sigh she knows he does not need and remembering it, makes her shiver. This must have brought him back to reality, because he raises himself from the bed and she hears him start to dress up.

  -Take it off.- His monotone voice reach her still hazy mind. She knows what he meant and she complies. She starts taking off the hooded coat and turning a little so she can do it faster and catches a glimpse of him standing near the door.

  -Turn around. I don’t want to see your face. -He says in a rough voice. Such a different tone that some moments ago. She takes the garment off. She was wearing a night gown underneath without underwear.

  -I…You can come inside me…I am ready for this…I assure y…

  -Do I not pay you enough for your silence?

  -Yes… I just wanted to serve you better.

  -Then keep quiet. I will be back next month…here.- He lets some gold coins fall on her bed. She does not turn around but takes the coins. It is much more than she would do in a month by herself. He takes the coat and folds it neatly to place it inside a travel bag. Done this, he opens the door and leaves without a further word.

  The woman starts crying. She is not sure why her heart feels so heavy. The first time he had come to her, he had scared her, but she needed the money. He had made requests and offered a lot of money for it. The following times he had learned a lot about him even if he did not talked to her. He was dead and had been brought back to life it was obvious, but he looked like he had been a very handsome man in life. He was a great lover too. Sometimes he was gentle and loving and sometimes he was rough but not in a bad way.

He loved that woman and she knew who that woman was. She was the summoner of the Askran Kingdom. She wondered then if this warrior was one of the fallen heroes the Summoner used in the war. Her lover perhaps. If that was so, then…it meant he loved her when he was alive and his love endured after death.

  And then she understood her feelings. She was sad. Not only for him, who had died loving someone and was probably afraid to bee seen the way he was, but for his summoner as well. Did she even know he still walked the living world? Does she love him back? Did she grieve his death?….Then there was Her… She was here in the Emblian South city of Renar ; a whore not by choice, living this sad life. If only someone would love her the way this man did his Summoner…even if he was dead…

  =NO!….Do not even think about this…this is just a job…Soon we will be able to leave the city and my sister will never have to suffer what I have. We will have a house of our own and some cows…And this will be in the past and forgotten… I will forget him…just like he will forget me….but…what about the Summoner?…=

[line break]

It was almost dawn when she heard the silent footfalls of Lif’s booted feet. Her scarlet eyes did not move from her target. The Emblian Castle so much like her own home stood right in front of her. She stood on the roof of the tallest building in the South City. He was late, but she would not say anything. It was not that she feared his anger. He seldom was cross at her. She knew it was all a facade to keep others at bay and enemies afraid anyway. Besides, he new she disapproved of his monthly escapades. They not only were risky and a waste of time but she considered them … how would she word it? Oh yeah…cheating.

For all the indifference he voiced so loudly against the Summoner, she knew how he felt. He could deny it all he wanted, but he had stolen that jacket from the castle the last time he had entered it to spy on that Summoner…. err The Order of Heroes or so he had said. So if he loved that Summoner so much why visit not only other women but a common whore, only because she had the same height and constitution of the Summoner. Thrasir had never fallen in love, but she knew that if her lover where to do this kind of action she would surely dismember them…and then brake up with them.

  - Any news from Zacharias? - He asks avoiding her eyes. She looks sideways at him and does not answer.-Let it go Veronica. - He says tiredly. He had enough with his own disgust and self hatred to be judged by her as well.

  -He has not returned yet, but…Loki was telling Veronica there are rumors of war from another realm. The target may be Askr, but she said to be ready just in case. It is just as we were told. We should ask Thorr for more information. - She said as neither of them trusted Loki. Not that they trusted Thorr to begin with but at least the Goddess did not lie for fun.

  -Mmm. It may be wise. It also may be a good chance to find out more about the Alfather and his plan. Come, let us go to the base. - Their base being an abandoned country home the Askran Royal Family did not use any more. It was too close to the border and had been partly destroyed. They used the hidden bunker in the basement.

 [line break]

  - Please help my sister.- Had been Bruno’s plea and it would be answered.

[line break]

  -Reginn! Take the left side and let Dagr take the right! Takumi shoot the sniper in the clock tower please! It’s attacking the Emblian front lines! Take Claude with you and scan the other tall buildings! BE CAREFUL! Guinevere back Zelgius up! Micaiah tell the wyvern riders to take each an archer not mounted, to the roofs, when the ninjas give the go ahead. Naesala and Henry… you know what to do.

Naesala looked down to his best friend Henry and lifted him off the ground. Henry gave one of his little laughs. They were in charge of the aerial attack.

 Bruno watched you give orders to the heroes behind his golden mask with a small smile, but you knew that deep down; he was very anxious for his sister. He knew she could handle herself, but against Nidavellir, she was untested and so he was afraid. Now that he had his friends by his side; it was an easier burden to carry, and he wished he could count on you to help him on his quest, but the war started by the bad blood of Embla and his fear of harming you all was enough to dispelled those wishes from his mind. Now he was waiting for your instruction on when to strike.

 -King Dimitri, Ike lead the front lines. Savior Dimitri, Alm And King Marth will be following with their squads. Bruno Sharena and Alfonse, be ready to go when they make way. Kaze and Saizo will be waiting for you to make your way into the palace unseen.

  -You will stay? -Asks Bruno.

  -It is better I stay and lead the heroes with Commander Anna.

  - I would feel better if you were to come with us. I do not belittle your heroes’ abilities to guard you but… You have been kidnapped before.- Said Bruno with furrowed brows.

  -It was all Alfonse’s idea. Besides (M) Byleth, F Dimitri and Grima are here to protect me…just…take care of each others.- Bruno looked at Alfonse and the younger man averted his eyes, blushing a little.

  -Alfonse… a word if I may.- Says Bruno. They both retreat a little way away and even though you can’t hear what they are saying you knew what Alfonse was telling him. He was afraid of getting you hurt after being kidnapped and then sent by Commander Anna on a solo mission to fight for days without his consent. Of course you preferred to go with him, but you also did not want to worry him. You knew who would win the argument. Alfonse was stubborn once he made up his mind. Alfonse had also expressed his mistrust of Bruno’s sanity. He was not afraid for himself or Sharena but he could not trust him with you and did not want you to be near him for longer than necessary. He held his friend dearly, but what was happening to him was of great concern to him and he need to take action just in case of him being overpowered by his blood.

  -I still do not agree. -Says Bruno looking sideways at his friend, while coming back after a while. - But I trust your judgment. It has been right previous times. - Alfonse’s little scowl dissipated at this remark. Bruno did not know you would be their back up.

  - Be careful Summoner. - Was all Bruno said and turned to get ready to leave. Alfonse turned to you and gave you a small smile you returned and winked at him, which made him blush.

  - You too guys. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!

  -Well now I am concerned.- Says Fjorm smiling, with a pink tint to her pale cheeks.

  - Wow thanks. Any way, it’s great you are here. Fjorm I am a little concerned for Reginn. She looks…not her usual and well, I don’t blame her for it; but I am afraid she may have an accident or something. I don’t think she is focused.

  -I will keep an eye on her if you wish.

  - Eir can take you and if Reginn asks just tell her you are back up.- Fjorm nodded and turned to search for Eir.- And Fjorm…have I mentioned how great you are and how grateful I am you are with us? Because You are and I am.- She turns beet red at that.

  -Umm…I could hear it more often.- She says bashfully. That woman loves you and ever since Alfonse had had to accept the arranged marriage to his third cousin, she has not left your side. Alfonse does not like it but he can not say much about it.

 Kagero lands soundlessly behind you from Beruka’s wyvern and as usual she scares you a bit when she starts talking.

  -Summoner. The others give it a “clear”. Kaze and Saizo are waiting for the Prince’s group. - Says Kagero. You thank her and signal Alfonse for them to leave.- Kaze wanted to stay with you and is a bit annoyed he had to stay.

  -We’ll see him in a bit anyway.- You tell her while seeing Alfonse retreating back, his white cape being swallowed by the darkness of the night. You offer her a smile after his image is lost. -Come. Let us check how things are going.- You take your spyglass from your coat and take a look at the front lines. They are approaching the castle and while the Order attack the invading army on all fronts and surround them, Prince Alfonse and his team reach the inside by a “secret” entrance, Bruno had told you about. It was actually an old supply entrance no longer used that Bruno used to come and go whenever he came in secret to keep an eye on his sister. It had been sealed and he was the only one who could open it.

  -Look at Norne go. She is always so reliable and enthusiastic. Ike is falling behind…I wonder what’s the hold up.- Kagero takes the offered spyglass.

  It took you less than half an hour to follow Alfonse. You left the heroes to Anna who was aided by Micaiah and Robin’s capable hands. Soren would have been there too but he had joined Ike in the front lines when he noticed Ike had fallen into a standstill. The advance had flowed as expected after that.

  You were half way to rendezvous with Alfonse, making your way to the secret entrance when you hear a a woman half shouting angrily and half crying.

  -NO! Don’t you dare touch my sister! She’s just a child! Take my money but leave her alone!!

  There were shouting of men as well. Most of them were curses.

  You look around a nearby corner despite Fallen Dimitri’s warning of not getting involved and see a woman of about twenty years of age fighting off five Nidavellirian soldiers intent on taking a small girl of about 6 years of age. This enraged you to no end and turning to tell F Dimitri the number of enemies; he nodded that it was not a problem and Kagero takes to the roof of the building to take them from behind or warn you about others. You look around the corner and aim your shot at the nearest soldier. He falls in a flash of light. Confused the rest of the soldiers look around only to be met with a shadow so fast and strong they never even made a sound of alarm.

  When you get there you find the woman kicking one of the soldiers even though he’s already out cold…or dead…most probably dead given the wide gaping hole you could now see in his stomach, done by Dimitri’s lance. The rest of the men were in the same shape, even the one you had stunned. Dimitri was looking at the young woman with an arched eyebrow.

  -Hey hey! Calm down you are safe now. Did they hurt you?- You ask the woman and her angry face turn towards you about to respond and her eyes widen in surprise. She looks you over and says in a whisper. -_______….- You were surprised by her recognition, since you had really never been to Embla, so this meant she was a member of the army or something.

  -You know me? Have we met in battle?- You ask.

  -No…I mean…I have just heard about you.- Her red face is still visible even with the low light of the fires set to some buildings or the random torch or lamp on the ransacked street. This place looked like the bad side of town to be honest. -Thank you so much for saving us!

  -We need to keep moving.- Says Kagero landing soundlessly behind the woman and child.  

-Wait! You are going to enter the castle?- Ask the woman.

  -Yes but we came to help, so don’t worry. We are not trying to invade or anything.- You say.

  - We should invade them now that they are weak. It would end this stupid war.- Says F Dimitri gruffly.

  The woman gave a small smile at that but did not comment.

  - Are you taking the back alleys to get to the secret entrance?- She asks again and you nod surprised at her knowledge. She bites her lower lip nervously weighting her next move.

  -I guess it is not so secret if you know about it.- Says Dimitri with a searching look on his eyes.Then asks. -Do you work at the palace?

  -I have gone and I know things. I know of a faster and safer way to get there. I owe you my life and most importantly, I owe you Vera’s life. She is my dear sister. I need to repay you. Would you trust me to take you to that entrance?

  Confident that the your guard were with you and your skills were not too shabby either, You turn to them and agree to follow her. Grima and M Byleth already waiting for you.

  The woman who introduced herself as Zorine and asked you to call her Zoe, took you to a building down the street, apparently she had been working there when the attack started and had come to her small rented room to look for her sister as soon as she could go outside. They had waited for the people to flee and were going to a safe spot by the time they were spotted by the enemy soldiers.

  The building was a three story tavern that looked like it was a bit rundown on purpose, because when Zoe opened the door you were met with quite a different building. It looked too fancy to be a regular tavern for this side of town. Zoe looked uncomfortable and red.

  - Are you a bar maid?- Asks Byleth blankly but polite.

  -I thought I smelled something. It stinks of coupling… and vice…- Said Grima in a low voice and wrinkling his nose. Zoe’s face was scarlet eyeing her little sister.

  - My sister is a healer for the people who gets hurt in the tavern! Not a maid!- Said the little girl.- Zoe! You said I should never come here!

  ==Oh Fiddlesticks! Is she a sex worker?==

  - Hey Miss Vera. How would you like for my friend Prince Dimitri to carry you while we are inside the tavern and that way you will be safe. Maybe hide your face in his furry cape and that way you will not be scared.- You turn to Dimitri and he is a little stiff but understood your reasons. The girl looks at Dimitri and widens her eyes. You do not blame her, Dimitri is very tall and intimidating. Not a moment later her eyes shine with wonder and she smiles and agrees to it. When he has her safely in his arms she giggles at the fluffiness of the fur cloak. Dimitri reddens. Zoe now sure of her sister’s safety proceeds to show you to the basement of the establishment. While explaining in a low voice so as to hear if there is someone hiding that should not be here.

  - This place is a “tavern” for high ranking members of the empire and so they made a tunnel from the castle to the establishment. It is said the late King had a lover here that he wanted no one to know about, but the truth is that the tunnel is very old and has been here probably for centuries. The tunnel connects some other places like the High Temple of Embla and it goes all the way to the mountains and others to the South.

  - Ironic but not unexpected.- She looks puzzled at your comment and little laugh. - The temple…Well it connects the most important places right? If the rich people are at any of these places there is always a way to escape safely…but it being a church and a bro…a tavern is a little ironic, but we know rich people’s priorities…at least in my world it is that way. No offence to anyone.

  -We don’t have those in Faergus. At least no tunnels from the castle to a tavern that I know of…but we do not need them. There are enough…healers in the castle…- Dimitri says gruffly

  - Let us check if it is unlocked. The patrons of the tavern and the owner left through it, but I do not know if they locked it. There is another key in the Owner’s rooms.- The trapdoor to the tunnel was blocked as if someone had hastily piled the most rubbish they could find on top of it. It took you all less than three minutes to unblock and the trapdoor was luckily unlocked. When you get into the tunnel you think the woman and child will get away but she does not.

  -You do not know the city like I do and even less the tunnel. I had to come down here to lead costumers away safely or to serve in the castle and since the tunnel forks out you may get lost. I will lead you. The tunnel goes all the way to the entrance prince Bruno may be using to get to the castle. His is the old servant entrance on the East side. I heard they closed it when the war started. Currently only one of the servant entrances remain open… and the tunnel. There is of course another way that leads directly into the castle if you need me to lead you there as well.

  -I think that the entrance would be better. We already have a plan on where we will meet. Also I would not like you to be in danger because of us. - You look at her and she is looking at her sister. The girl apparently was so exhausted by what the situation that had fallen asleep on Dimitri’s arms.

  - We still need to remain in the city. I need to repay someone, the money I owe them…I can not leave without paying the debt.

  -Is that why you are working as a….healer?-

  -I do not do it for fun!- She retorts a little too loud and it is amplified by the tunnel’s acoustics. She turns to her sister again, but the girls is soundly asleep.- …I… I apologize…

  -No no! Don’t apologize. Also I understood your position from the beginning but I was curious about the reason. You are very young. I’m sorry if I offended you. I have to say I truly respect the workers. Not many people understand the real weight they bear and the extent of the service they provide to society in general but mostly to other women and children.

  -What do you mean?- Asks Dimitri.

  -You see at court they may do it for free to gain power and other selfish reasons but it is not the same with workers like her who are not here by choice. Some like her are extortioned and others kidnapped. Whatever the reason and situations, they keep people’s lowest of instincts in check. Many of them die because of them and…well…it is in a way a protection for many… it is … a complicated situation.

  - You understand! All the people I know look down on us, like we are the vilest and dirtiest of beings.

  -I bet you the first ones to judge are the clients.- You comment.

  - Yes!… Not all of them, but most of them. There is one client…- She pauses unsure of what to say next.- He is…a little rough around the edges, but he is…he seeks companionship…

  -He is in love with you? -you ask.

  -No! He is is in love with someone else, but I think he thinks it is a lost cause or a forbidden love…he loves her so much…and I understand why…-She says quietly.-It is thanks to him I have the money to pay off our debt.

  -Is that the money you were offering the soldiers? - Asks Byleth.

  -Yes.

  -Well if he is such a great person he could have just given you the money…You know what…never mind… I am not going to judge any one here…Why do you even have a debt to pay?- You ask.

  -My father owned a lot of land close to the border, but when the fire giant came, he burned the villages and lands. We lost all the cattle and the other animals. He had already asked a Lord friend of his for a loan and hoped to sell the cattle to pay him.- She takes a moment to point to the right direction when you come to a fork in the tunnel. The light from your crystal lanterns give off a ghostly blue light that makes her look sick.- When he learned we had lost everything in the fire but the lands, his friend came to seize the lands in payment and wanted even more, so he tried to make my father give him my hand. After some talks, the friend gave him more time, but then the war and the drought prevented us from paying up the debt. Finally last year my father’s friend came and demanded his money and my hand. He took everything we owned and ran us off of our lands and house. My father was not only heartbroken, but also furious. He tried to duel him like a good gentleman does, but his friend killed him before the duel was to take place. He kidnapped me and my sister and when we managed to escape…he sold us to the owner of the tavern. I had until the end of this year to pay off my debt or my sister would join me as a ….healer.

  -Son of a bitch! Seriously? Can you tell me the names of those ass…er…really horrible men…-You end the tirade when you see her blinking face starting at you like you had suddenly sprout horns.- They kind of deserve it don’t they though?I mean, I only do it when I am really angry…sorry…- You hear Grima snicker at the back.

  -The Prince is not going to like it. - Grima chimes is.

  -He is not going to know is he? I got candy! Oh here have some for you and your sister when she wakes up and please forget I cursed. It is very natural do do it where I come from, but being part of the Order, it is a big “No”.

  The Woman takes the candy with a surprised face and then gave you a look that you could not interpret, but it looked between bewilderment and endearment.

  - I have never met anyone like you Summoner. Thank you. Umm why do you carry candy around to a battlefield?

  - For energy bursts and….the truth is because I like to treat the kids in the Order and some of the heroes who like them a lot. Some like cheese or fish but I can’t carry those around.- You hear Byleth and Dimitri laugh silently.- But seriously, tell me more about those creeps. You think we can do something, without repercussions to you?

  The talk lasted until you arrived at the tunnel’s exit. Zoe gave you instructions on where to go. She was going to stay inside the tunnel by the entrance to wait out the battle. Dimitri left them his cloak to keep Vera warm and Kagero was instructed to stay with the two. She wholeheartedly agreed to it. Before you took off you noticed Zoe was trying to say something and looked nervous.

  - Summoner…there is something you should know…no, don’t worry it is nothing to do with this battle…it is something very important you need to know, but I can’t tell you around them. I know I am not important enough for you to take the time to hear me out, but please it is not about me. It is about you and someone you may know. It is the reason I know who you are. Can you meet me after this?

  -Can you not tell me now though?

  -I am afraid it would be too long of an explanation and you need to hear all of it.

  -Ok. We will return because Dimitri can’t live without his cloak anyway.

  -Please be careful Summoner! And thank you!

  -We will!

  When you leave and before she closes the trapdoor to the tunnel Kagero can hear her whisper and it intrigues her.

  -There is someone who would suffer a lot if harm came to you…I do not think he could take loosing you…again.

  You joined Alfonse and Bruno even before the time marked and you told Alfonse how helping out the two girls had ended with you finding a safer and faster way. Alfonse was worried at first but seemed to be very happy you were safe. He was very conflicted by the past situations. He did not want you to participate in battles anymore than necessary, but could not function well if he could not keep an eye on you or was far from you. Your kidnapping had left a scar unwilling to heal and he wondered what would happen if something more final would befall you…would he be able to get past it? Would he end up turning into someone like Lif? Of course it would not be entirely that way. It had taken the trauma of losing every loved one Alfonse had held dear, but also his entire Kingdom dying as well; to turn him into Lif. Nothing could compare to that pain when you had abandonment issues in the first place and Alfonse had more than enough of those.

  The plans went better than expected. Your group came inside first and you were able to get to where Princess Veronica and her ward were keeping the rest of the court safe. She was seemingly not as happy to see you all as much as she was to see her brother alive and well, but it was understandable, even a little funny. Soon enough Reginn, her group and Fjorm came to your side to fight as well. As in per the plan Ike and Marth had opened a way for her to get inside.

  When the battle was over it was almost dawn. It had taken almost ten hours to run them off the palace and the battle had gone well into midday for them to leave the city in a call of retreat.

  When everything was done Reginn collapsed. She had a high fever caused by the stress and how hard she had driven her mental and physical limits. Princess Veronica had begrudgingly allowed you all to stay in the palace until Reginn got better with a sour expression, until you reminded her of how she got to spend more time with her brother. She had indeed proceeded to go talk to her brother and try to take him away from your group. You felt a little bad for Alfonse, who would have wanted to spend time with his old friend, but it was understandable that the time he had should be spend with his sister. Who knows how long he had been away from home this time.

  Finally after resting a bit and eating a hasty breakfast; F Dimitri had come to let you know he was going back for his cloak and wanted to know if you were going to meet up with the woman. You took some food with you and followed Dimitri.

Alfonse not wanting to let you out of his sight on enemy territory followed behind with Savior King Dimitri Byleth and Grima. Together you all had explained to him how everything had taken place in all detail, since last night you had only told him the basics and did not want Bruno to know you had knowledge of the secret tunnel. He had been a little worried when you told him about how you all had gone to help the two girls, but agreed that it had been a blessing as well. He was more than angry when you explained her situation and and reasons for them. He had already planed on giving the woman something for helping you out, but listening to your story he backtracked and decided to give the two girls a bag of gold, so that when they left the city they could have a place to stay. He also came with the idea that they should come with them to Askr in case someone found out they had lead them through the secret tunnel and incarcerated them for treason.

  -I wonder what she wants to talk to you about. She said it was about you and someone you know?- Asked Alfonse pensively.

  -Yes and I thought right away about Bruno. I mean who else can she know that I know except him and Princess Veronica…or Loki…

  -Loki…That is troublesome. I was surprised she was not at Veronica’s side.

  -Yeah! I mean, I don’t understand why Veronica still lets her be around in the first place! I would never trust her after all the crap she has done…but I guess that if I don’t trust her and she wants to hang around; I would probably want to keep her on close watch as well…

  -Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

  -By that logic, she should give us our own room at the palace…oh wait…- You say laughing. Alfonse laughs quietly as well. He has gotten used to your silly jokes and strange sense of humor.

Finally you get to the place where Kagero is waiting for you. The battle had been close to the place but no one had found the tunnel.

As soon as Vera saw you; she ran to meet you hugging Dimitri’s fury cloak. She hugged you and thanked you for the candy and then went to give Dimitri his cloak, except she ran into S K Dimitri first. He looked down to her a little startled.

 -That’s the wrong Dimitri!- You called out to her smiling- We have four of them!- You tell Zoe who came to stand by your side.- All of them different age, but just as wonderful in every way.- Vera looked around the man and spotted F Dimitri behind and ran to him.

-That is my Prince! Here I took great care of your cape your highness! -And after he took his cloak she hugged him. This made both Dimitri blush.

 -Hey Alfonse. This is Lady Zorine who so graciously helped us last night. Zoe this is Prince Alfonse of Askr.- Zoe bristled at the name. Her face blanched and looked like she had seen a ghost when his smiling face turned to you and then to her. His bright deep blue eyes looked at you warmly and when he looked at Zoe; she felt like the ground would come to meet her at any moment. She felt sick. It was HIS face. but different. And that name…how could she forget that name. She knew the prince of Askr was named Alfonse but she had never seen him or even knew how he looked like. What did all of this mean? She was so confused.

-Whoa there. Are you all right? You look like you have seen a ghost!- You ask Zoe. She lowered her face and avoided looking at Alfonse. - I know he looks a little stern but he is a great guy! Alfonse I think you scared her!- You say jokingly but holding Zoe’s arm in case she needed support. You figured it may be because she had not eaten well and the excitement of the day had exhausted her. Alfonse blushed.

-Summoner!- He said flustered, but Zoe could still feel those intelligent eyes watching her. It was like he was trying to find something inside her.

-Oh here, I got you some food and drinks. I bet you are hungry. You may feel better after you eat something.- Byleth then took a satchel he was holding in his back and started taking out food from it.-  It may be better if you eat something. I am no healer but I can see what I can do if you are not feeling well.- Said Byleth standing by Zoe’s side with an apple in his hand.

-I…thank you Professor I think I will have a drink and the apple. I am just a little tired…and I have just been hiding. How thoughtless of me. You must be exhausted after such a long fight and here you are worrying about me and my sister.- She can’t help but cry about that.- You really are and angel Summoner ______…and your heroes..

- Prince Alfonse can attest to it being the other way around when it comes to me.

-She does get in trouble quite a lot.-Alfonse says jokingly because he understands you are trying to cheer her up. He smiles warmly but keen eyes analyse the woman.

-I got kidnapped two weeks ago. Gave them all a scare.- You say laughing and Alfonse pulls a face.- It was not my fault tho. I swear!

-What? Who kidnapped you?- She panicked. Had it been HIM? Had she been helping some sick kidnapper’s fantasy?

-Prince Ótr. The brother of the guy that came to attack you and a creepy lady that looks like a possessed doll.-You giggle. Alfonse gives you another look.- Sorry. I am sleep deprived and I find everything funny right now; but I almost crapped my pants at the time.- Zoe can’t help but smile at the statement and she can see the effect you have on Alfonse when you turn to his furrowed face and mouth “Sorry” while taking his hand. His face changes to one of deep fondness and devotion. He loves you, just as much as HIM. And by the look on your face, she knew you loved him just as much…she was having second thoughts about telling you about Lif.

==…What if it is important? What if something happens to her and you could have saved her? I need to tell her.==

You let her eat something and after that Alfonse who is very intrigued by what she has said she knows speaks first.

-Miss Zorine. I thank you for keeping my Summoner and my men safe.- She listened to his words, that sounded in that instant so much like HIS. The way HE said “My Summoner” like there was nothing more precious in the world.- I have heard of your plight and I want to contribute to your cause. Here. I hope this is enough for you to get a place to stay while you journey out of the city.-He hands her the bag of gold. Zoe looks at it and you motion for her to take it.

- I could not…I did not do it for money.

-I know, still I would like you to have it. Do it for your sister. I am sure _____ wants you two to be safe. In fact. We are journeying back to Askr in some days and some of our people will be leaving every day. If for some reason you feel you are not safe in Embla, you can come with us to Askr and take one of the houses that have been vacated by our losses of war. There are many of those throughout the land.

-That is a lot of money. ..-She looks to her sister. She is ashamed to accept it, but she knows she would do whatever it takes for her sister to be safe. She looks at you.- I need to talk to you and if after that, you still feel like I deserve the money. I will take it and maybe the offer too…

== …but not alongside you… I will not be able to look you in the eyes after that…==

  With furrowed brows and worry painting his face, Alfonse watched as you made your way to a place far enough not to be heard but close enough to still be safe. He felt dread pool in the pit of his stomach and waited with trepidation for whatever sign of distress you may give. He felt that whatever that woman was about to tell you, was not exactly good and it involved him as well. The way she had looked at him with recognition and fear. He wondered if it was just that the people of Embla generally thought him some horrible person. After all they were enemies. Still he had not met with that show of fear from other people in Embla, and this woman looked like they had met and was afraid of him in particular. He would understand if the woman was a soldier and they had come close in battle, but she was a prostitute. There was no way for them to know each other. Another point was that she also was way too familiar with you. Also like she knew you personally. So what did this mean?

  ==If only I had thought of bringing Beruka.==

  Now that you were away from the rest Zoe looked restlessly around as if trying hard for a way to start. She looked at Alfonse and then asked.

  -Summoner. It is not my place, but it is relevant to what I am about to tell you. Are you and the Prince…sweethearts?

  You sigh a little asking yourself why this was relevant and remembering the reason why you two could not be together answered.

  -No. He is dear to me and…but we can not…

  -I see…I do not know yet why this may matter but…I must thank you for coming back to talk to me Summoner. I thought about what I was going to tell you and how to do so, for a long time last night and I do not see an easy way to do it. So I will ask you a question instead. Do you know…is one of your heroes called Lif? - As expected, your eyes full of emotion widen at the name. Your relaxed posture changes and with this change comes the prince’s as well. With a quick side glance to where the Prince is standing near the other heroes she sees his posture now even more tense than when you had left. She noticed he was waiting for bad news but now he looked like he was worried about you.

  -Lif? Yes…how? How do you know about him? Have you seen him? Is he well?

  -Please my Lady. Listen to me. I will explain how I know of him, but you need to listen to all of it before asking questions or leaving. I swear I will tell you everything and in…detail if you wish it. It all started almost nine months ago. I was very new to the tavern and I was tasked to accompany one of the other women to the entrance to the palace. By now I was familiar with the destination of the tunnel. I was told to leave her and then go get her in the morning…she…was new to this as well and had never gone to the palace. When I was coming back by myself I noticed a light coming from the distant South side of the tunnel. It was the main branch that passes by the tavern and I had to go that same way. The light looked blue and as soon as I got near it, it disappeared, but not the glowing red ones. The red lights were smaller but I saw them perfectly when I covered my lamp. The tunnel is relatively safe since it was made for the upper class , no thieves or ruffians know about it so I thought it had been a client. I had never met a client in the tunnel but I had no idea other people may use it for other reasons, so I called out to him and told him if he needed help getting to the tavern. In no way did I wanted to have a client, but if the owner knew I did not help a client I would be fined and I did not need to pile more debt on my back. He got closer and he was covered from head to toe with a black traveling cloak and the only thing visible were his eyes. He…put a mean looking sword on my throat and asked me who I was and what I was doing in the tunnel. His voice was deep and chilly and I got so scared I thought I was going to faint. I managed to tell him who I was and where I was working. It never crossed my mind that it may be a spy or or something.

 - “There is an entrance to a brothel here? I don’t believe you. It is not on the map.”- his eyes narrowed while he spat that at me.

 -”It is a little way up from here . I passed it trying to help you to it…You…you did not come for the…service?”- And now I was scared.

  -”NO!”- He said almost offended and taking a step back.

  -”Oh…please do not kill me. I do not have money on me. I was only told to take a worker to the palace secret entrance!”

  -”I don’t want your money.”- He said angrily- “You said you know where this tunnel leads? I will let you go if you help me get around. This map is incomplete and I need it to be accurate.”

  -”I yes of course! I will…I can tell the matron I have a client and I will be back. Otherwise they will  punish me and fine me…I don’t mind the punishment but…I just …I can’t owe her more…

  -”You are a …you work in the brothel then?” I nodded at him. I was so ashamed for some reason after he had the care not to call me a whore…it may seem like a small blessing but it means the world to me you see.” I will pay you what you make in a night for you to help me.When we are done, I will be sure your matron will not punish you.”

 -I agreed to this and we took off without reporting back. You see, they don’t care if we do not come back. They will not look for us, but when we do come back, it meas we were not killed and then we need to be punished for loosing them money. I showed him the way to the palace and on the way where the tunnel branched I told him where the different ways led. I asked him if he had no need to write it down but he shock his head.

  -”I will remember it.” He said very confident of his memory. It took a long time to walk all the way to the palace and to some of the branches he was interested in. Like the Scholar’s Library. That one was a strange one. I was surprised when he actually asked me if I had ever gone inside it. I replied that  I was was not allowed to go inside. I felt like a fool when he said I could enter through the tunnel’s entrance…He stayed there looking at the entrance for a long while. Who knows what he was thinking.. although now that I know you, I understand him a little and he was probably thinking of you.- She paused for a bit then sighted.

  -Do you like reading Summoner? Did you spend a lot of time with him reading?-Zoe asks you and you nod yes. Because now you too are remembering the time spent together reading and drinking tea in the library. His favorite place in the palace. She keeps going.

-I was so distracted by this I slipped on a small slimy puddle of water when I shifted my feet and almost broke my head on a stone. He was very fast and held me by the arm.

  “Careful ______. Don’t hurt yourself…” It was the first time he called me by that name…by your name. His tone was… so different as well as his voice and when I looked at him questioning myself what was happening I saw him. I had noticed his crimson eyes were not like those some Emblan families have. His were …so bright they seemed to glow, but now that he was close to me and he had let go of his cloak that was covering him entirely, I could see his body. That is when I learned he was not of this world. His eyes widened when he saw my face and saw me looking at him. He let go of me and almost shoved me away…but he took his sword out again and pointed it at me.

  ”You will tell no one or you die!”

  ”I will tell no one I swear to you! Please I have a small sister I need to protect!”-I told him. Pleading for my safety. This seemed to do the trick. He lowered his weapon and told me still angry not to look at him again. So I avoided looking at him from then on. -Summoner I do not know how he looked like when you knew him but he…he

  -Lif is dead. He was one of the army of the dead . I know how he looks.

  -So you knew he was dead…

  -It is complicated. I know him from when he was alive and then I saw him dead, I did not recognized him…I lost my memories of him…he disappeared after and I have been looking for him for a long time…wondering if he was still around or if he was lost to me for ever.- You tell her. She nodded and kept going.

  -When we entered the establishment he came in with me and gave me my money. He then asked me to tell him where the matron was so he would be sure I was not to be punished. I did what he told me and went home. I suppose he did talk to the matron. She did not punish me and she looked like she had been threatened. She looked at me strangely after that. Then a week after, the matron came to me and told me that I needed to be ready that night. I was going to have a special guest…- Zoe lowered her face in shame.-Summoner…did you two love each other?- Zoe asks.

  -Yes…once, long ago…in another life…we were…we made a promise. We had a ceremony with one of the priests of the Divine Dragon Askr in one of the villages we were visiting…but it was never made official.

  -Summoner…. I did not know …I was scared and not even scared of him…just scared to have my sister pulled into the work and she merely a child of six! I was told to bathe and be prepared. They gave me the best room and was told that one night every month I would have this guest. No one else was to touch me. He paid enough for the month… The whole month.-She takes a pause when she hears you crying. - Please I am so sorry! Please do not go, you need to hear the rest. I swear on my sister…she is my only treasure …that you…please do not think badly of him…You…you have nothing to fear. I swear!- You nod for her to go on and turn around to motion for the others to stay back. They had rushed to you when they heard you crying. Alfonse looked livid and even more worried than before, but he held back. She sighs and goes on.- When I enter the room he is already there. I was scared but he told me that I can say no to him if I want to. He says he will pay a lot and I just needed to do what he asks of me. One of those things is…he does not wish to see my face, nor hear my voice. He said I was the right height and skin color…I did not know what he meant. He gave me something from a satchel he had and it was a white coat embellished with gold trimmings. He said to wear it, with the hood on and to not speak at all. I found out later he had stolen it from your castle.- She pause while you weep. Her face is downcast, unable to meet yours.

 -He did not want me Summoner. He wanted you…from the first time. He never saw my face after. I wore the coat he lent me every time. I talked when he wanted and said what he wanted..the way he wanted…and what he wanted was for you to tell him that you loved him… He loves you so deeply…He loves you still…after death. I am nothing to him, he comes because I barely look like you in the dark…

  You start crying harder and hold on to her. It was not her fault and you can’t be angry at him for seeking companionship. She is surprised by this and for a second does not know what to do. She had gotten used to people being repulsed by her, that she had forgotten how it felt to be treated like a human being by other people besides her sister. Zoe started crying too. She had her own reason and seeing you like this had made her let go of the negative feelings that she had been holding back for so long.

  -Summoner…He is…not …he is not like the other clients. They only look for pleasure and to fulfil their sick fantasies. They mistreat us and harm us. He only looks for your love and this saved me and my sister. It is thanks to him I have enough money to pay off my debt…but Summoner. There is something else.- You look up to her face.- He also goes by Alfonse…-She looks at the Prince and then back to you. -I know he looks different but his voice when he talks to you is so much like…

  -Alfonse…- You look back at him and motion for him to come.

  -Are you going to tell him?

  -It is …important to him as well.

  Alfonse comes walking fast and his confused face looks to you and Zoe questioningly. He can’t figure out why Zoe would know something about you that would make you cry except that Zoe may know someone important to you from the World of steel and… There was a knot in his stomach…

  ==Did she tell _____ something that may want to make her go back home? What if she wants to leave…Oh Askr no…I could not live without her please!==

  - Alfonse…Zoe met Lif in the tunnel.- Alfonse who was looking almost green, widened his eyes at the name. If Zoe had been looking at him she would have noticed the change. It was as if a great weight had been lifted off of him. He still looked worried but it was not the same. Lif…Lif he could deal with…even if it meant…

  -Lif! What was he doing? Is he spying on Embla now?

  -She doesn’t know. She says he had an old map and he paid her to show him around the tunnel and where it all led. If Thrasir had been with him I would suspect they were maybe spying on Veronica.- Zoe noticed Alfonse was thinking about it. Trying to

figure things out.

  -He has been here with another woman he calls Veronica.- Zoe says and is surprised by the both of you turning to look at her so fast.- she is like him, but she does not glow….she …she calls him Alfonse too.- Alfonse stiffens and you look worriedly at him.

  -When was this?- He asks when he recovers.

  -Three months after the first visit. I wanted to know what he was doing. I followed him after… you know…He met up with her.- Alfonse widens his eyes. This tells him all he needs to hear to understand why you ere crying, the way she would not look at him in the eyes. He reddens and pinches the bridge of his nose.

  ==First visit?…Great…he’s been consorting with a prostitute of Embla…how low can he get? Although, this may be a blessing in disguise…No. Do not lose focus. I can not make her stay by my side…not the way I need her to be…I can’t deny her happiness just because it is not I making her happy…Even if it kills me inside…The Kingdom is above everything…even me.==

  -Alfonse?

  - It was probably Veronica who told him about the tunnel…Although…I wonder if Zacharias know about it? Maybe he does not trust us with the knowledge.- Alfonse brows furrow even harder. It pains him to learn his friend do not fully trust him.

  -Maybe he doesn’t know about it. Remember he was exiled and well…he spend a lot of time with you in the Order. Even Princess Veronica may not know about it yet.

  -You may be right. I may be reading too much into it. Still…if he…they are spying on Embla then they may be spying on us.

  - They are.- You say.- He even got into the castle unseen. He has one of my coats.

  -What? Why?- He turns to Zoe not wanting to meet her eyes but finding her looking down in shame.- How do you know about it?

  -Memento. He uses it on her Alfonse.- He gave you a questioning look. As intelligent as this man was he was sometimes too innocent for his own good.

  -Why would he dress her up as a Summoner? It’s not like she can use the sacred weapon.

  -Sex Alfonse. He uses it for sex.- You say quietly in his ear.There really was no other way to say it. - He pretends she is…me.- Zoe glances up at him incredulously. Alfonse covers his red face with his hands and turns around. He just wants to go home and lay down to sleep for a week strait and forget about Lif and whatever he has been doing since he disappeared. And why did he not stay dead? He knew what would follow… and he did not like the prospect.

  - Great. Just when I thought this could not get more embarrassing. Do you know anything of what they do here?- He asks with a pinched expression.- Besides…

  - No. The day I followed them I stopped because I was scared they would notice me and I was very cold. I had only my nightgown on and…but I heard them saying something about her brother. I think she wants to see him. She was scolding him for wasting her time she could spend looking for her brother and he answered that she could just go by herself and let him do what he wanted. He said “ Veronica you are not a baby. You can go by your self without me holding your hand.” -Zoe shifted uneasy.

  -Whoa! I’m surprised he still had his…erm… Still ballsy as ever…-You giggle. Alfonse rubs at his face.

  - Well she told him “ Who wants to touch your hand? Who knows what you touched with it. If I was the Summoner I would never let you touch me. ”

  -Oh…that was worst than a blow to the groin for sure.

  -Can we focus on what is important here?- Asks Alfonse impatiently.- Is there something else we need to know?

  -Only that he comes tomorrow night and I will not be here anymore if I can help it. I promised him I would not talk and …I am afraid he may retaliate if he knows I told you. I would have took this to my grave but you saved me and my sister and he …you needed to know. I owe you everything. I was concerned your safety Summoner___.- Alfonse is looking at you pleadingly almost asking you to let it go, but he knows he can’t ask this of you and he turns his face away, anger and pain visible in his eyes. Zoe feels conflicted, seeing the pain in both of you and the way Alfonse was behaving it reminded her of Lif once again.

  -Are they related?- Zoe asks to no one in articular. Alfonse looks at her alarmed and then to you. You held his gaze a moment and said.

  - It is up to you.

  -No…you do not owe me an explanation. I was just wondering aloud. It’s just…he is called Alfonse as well and you …pardon my boldness Your Highness, but you look alike and the way you reacted just now and your voice…Also the way you are talking about that woman Veronica as if she was related to Princess Veronica.

  Alfonse sighs.-This time no matter what happens and for your own good…You must keep your silence and your thoughts to your self. This situation may get you and your sister killed. Remember that by helping us you are already in trouble. If someone knows about it, they may charge you with treason. This is why we are going to help you get away before someone knows about this. Also for this reason. We will tell you the truth. You too deserve to know. I will tell you sou you know who you are dealing with. Lif…may not show you mercy if if he thinks you are a danger to his plans or desires.- Says Alfonse sternly.Alfonse did not say this lightly. He knew that as much as he wanted to deny it, he was not much unlike Lif. In fact. The thought had flashed in his head that, had he met Zoe first, this situation would not be happening and HIS Summoner would not be thinking of….- Three years ago the Goddess of death Hel came to invade the world of the living. Do you remember?

  -Yes. Her army attacked close to the border and we were very scared.

  -Lif was one of the the two generals. The other is Thrasir as she wants to be called. They chose the names of the first king and first Queen of Askr and Embla.

  -Wait…you are saying this is the same person? I have heard so many tales about him!They say he was ruthless in battle and that he was not afraid of anyone! They say he could kill a whole battalion by himself! At first people thought they were on our side because it was said he wanted to kill …well…you two.The Prince and the Summoner of Askr…but then they attacked us and…It can not be the same man…They say he was a demon.- Zoe says. Her voice trembles as she shakes visibly with fear.

  -Perhaps that is what he became for a time…- Said Alfonse.- His real name is Alfonse. Prince Alfonse of Askr.- Zoe gasped.-Thrasir is Princess Veronica of Embla. They both hail from another world that would have been our future. In his world Hel came and attacked and… every person…every living thing died. His world is empty. To bring his people back, Hel told him to bring her the lives of another world like his, so he went back in time to a world in the past where he was still human, to help her kill us. We were able to convince him to help us destroy Hel instead. He did.

  -He is the reason we are standing here alive and still talking. He sacrificed himself and his world…- You tell her so that she does not think so horribly of him.

  -So…there are two of Your Highness and two Princess Veronicas?- Asks Zoe and then she looks at you.- Are there two of you too?

  -No. I died in his world and I was summoned by the sacred weapon to Askr again or…It is complicated. You can say I returned to the body of my earlier self. He does not know this because I lost my memory and I did not know it at the time either. I wanted to tell him the truth but I did not know if he had gone back to the world of the dead this time for real or…he may be looking for a way to bring back our people. It is difficult to explain…it gives me a headache every time  I think about it.

  -You died for him and for his people…that is why he keeps on saying he will come for you soon. He is looking for a way to save you them? But he does not know you are alive! And he tried to kill you.

  -Good times…No. If he had wanted to kill me he would have. He had like three chances and did not do it.

  -He…would not have been able to. No matter how twisted he may have become by his pain…He would not hurt you or Sharena.

  -How about you, Your Highness? Would he harm you?

  -He hates me…- Alfonse said turning his face away. That is all Zoe need to hear to understand.- We need to leave. We have been here in the open too long. It may be dangerous to you and your sister.

  After that Zoe took the gold offered and took her sister with her. About to say her farewells. You on the other hand had another idea. Alfonse knew this and although he said nothing about this he left the site followed by S K Dimitri with a sour expression. Kagero offered to guard Zoe and Vera. It was a lot of money she was carrying and you told Zoe your plan.

  Preparations were made and Zoe was going to leave the city the morning after with a group of Askr soldiers and other people. F Dimitri had asked to leave with her and the child he wanted to protect. You let him go and sent other heroes home so that it would not look suspicious for the two of them to be around the two girls.

   ~*~

  A barn owl cried in the night and perched on the rail of the balcony of a dark and half ruined manor house. Moments later a hand reaches for the owl and takes a note it bears on its leg. Blue light floods the owl’s vision and irritated by it, it turns its face away into the night, but waits patiently for sign of another mission.

 Lif looks at the note and without turning his head say.

  - Nidavellir is at Veronica’s South City Castle. Alfonse has come to help Veronica. Bruno is with them.

  -We were told not to intervene.

  -Will you pass up the chance then? I have business in the city any way. With all the chaos no one will notice us.

  There was no answer from Thrasir, only her retreating footsteps echoing in the empty room.

  ==Business...You only want to see her don’t you?== The voice in his head chimed in in a very good imitation of Thrasir’s own voice and tone. He growled, but inside he knew and hope twisted his stomach in knots.

==She will be there…she will be there! ….and so will Alfonse…==

The pair of red eyes glow brighter and the ghostly breath comes out in venomous vapors. The Owl takes flight scared.

~*~

  After a long nap,(well as long as a Summoner of Askr is permitted to nap with everything going on in a war that is)you get up not wanting to wake up Sharena who had fallen asleep in the same bed as you. You think Alfonse is afraid of your safety and had asked Sharena to stay with you. If he did not trusted his friend, he trusted Princess Veronica even less. You go look out of the window. It looks down to the imperial city. It looked somber and dark after such an invasion.

Night had just fallen and the dying light of the sun bathed in purple and reds the sky in the west, but your eyes were set to the South where home lay. You were thinking of everything Zoe had told you and trying to make the best plan to get to talk to Lif and may be convince him to accept your help.

Wise people say that sometimes the best proof of love you can give someone is to leave and never come back and you were willing to do that if he told you to, but he did not know all the truth. If after knowing the truth he still wanted you to leave, it would break your heart, but you were willing to do so.

 On the Eastern side of the protruding balcony where the shadows are deeper a figure hides from your view. It waits for the perfect moment and as you lean on balcony’s railing; your face between your hands. The assassin moves to strike and a hand comes to his mouth from over his head where a wide ledge is located. The assassin tries to fight off the attack but another strong hand comes to grab his throat and start squeezing until he starts feeling lightheaded and his vision blurs. It felt to him like an eternity but it has taken seconds for his vision to turn to black and his limbs to loosen and drop the knife he was about to throw. It falls among the hydrangeas and camellias under the balcony. The shadow above the ledge carries the unconscious man up to the the ledge to better get a grip. He will extract information from him and that is the only reason the assassin is still alive. Skillfully a pair of gauntleted hands tie the assassin up and gag him with his own clothes. He is about to be carried off when the shadow hears you humming a melody you would often hum when working. He scans his surroundings with his intelligent red eyes and then after making sure the assassin is not going anywhere and there is no one to spy on him, he moves down to the spot the assassin has vacated.

You were so close to him, just like the times he has gotten inside the Askran castle and yet just like those times he was unable to touch you.

- My Alfonse…where are you? When will I see you again?- You emit a sigh and his heart breaks a little more at that. He feels the sting of jealousy crawl up his chest and anger at himself for seeking you out and…

==Wait…Is Alfonse not here with her? Why?==

Your humming stops again as the sound of footsteps grow louder.

- Oh hey Alfonse. Sharena is still sleeping. I did not want to wake her up.

- I was told the servants will be bringing you food in a while. Let her sleep meanwhile.- He says as he joins you outside.- You were thinking about him.- It is not a question. You hum in response and change the subject.

-Have you been able to talk to Zacharias?- Alfonse stares at you and gives a sigh.

-...No. Princess Veronica is not too keen on letting him out of her sight…_______ he is not going to listen to you and he is dangerous.

Lif is surprised by the conversation. Who was the person you were thinking about? Who were you talking about ?

== Could it be Zacharias. Is she trying to help him in his quest? Why? Could she be…No…it can not be…=

Unconsciously he got closer as he tried to process and make out the pieces of information.

  - Alfonse we talked about this. I have been wanting to help him for years and you agreed at some point. What changed?

  == I got engaged to a woman I despise and I am afraid to loose you for ever…== Thought Alfonse.

  -I…I am afraid. I thought I was over this when I got engaged. It has been a year and …it feels the same as it felt the day I signed the treaty.

  ==What?! He..== Lif’s mind was reeling.

  - It only got worse when Ótr kidnapped you.

  ==WHAT!? That bastard will pay for this! I stay away for a while and this happens?! What are you doing Alfonse?==

  - I am worried all the time and angry and you are not making this easy ________. I know I should not be telling you this, I know it is not my place to ask you to stay…but I can’t…

- Alfonse I will try to be more careful. I swear I do not want to burden you. I know you got enough problems. That is why I am here, to help you, not to add to them, but do not ask me not to seek him out at least once. I swore I would help you until the end of the war and I will. I will not leave. I swear it still… I need to make things right with him. I have tried to help you but we both tried to undo the engagement and we couldn’t. That woman really wants to be queen and unless we find a treasure bigger than her fortune we can’t do much about it…and then there is the other matter. Let me do this please. He deserves it.

-And so do you. He is your husband after all.- The word made his mouth taste bitter.- I apologize for being so selfish…You have sacrificed everything for us and to help us and I only want more out of you…-Alfonse sighs.- Do it. I will instruct the men to do what you need and keep you safe. But rem…- His words were cut off by the sound of someone coming inside the room.

-______. I got your food and Sharena’s.- Came Fjorm’s sweet voice. You get inside to greet her and Lif is left looking at Alfonse’s sour expression. He did not miss the whispered “Sometimes I hate that woman.”

==Husband…just when I thought Alfonse was not a threat…Grrr…Alfonse ! Who did you let her marry!?…”He is dangerous”…could it be Zacharias? Dimitri… NO!…Let her do what she wants…What do I care…she is not my ______. She never was…== He thought this as if he did not care, but inside the remainder of his heart was breaking. Who was he fooling?

He looked to the assassin. He was angry and someone would pay for it.

That night the matron of the “tavern” disappeared when she was coming back into the city. A low ranking Nobleman was found dead after he ran into a couple of shadows while coming back into the city as well. They blamed robbers at first, but he still had his money on him and he had bleed to death while trying to escape whoever was chasing him. The wound was on his lower abdomen. His penis and testicles were cut off.

~*~

   The next morning, Zoe was not able to leave the city. She could not find neither the brothel’s matron not the nobleman she owed money to. The other workers who had been with her when she had left the city, had said she had just gone to pee and never came back. Then when she went to pay her debt, she learned the man had been assassinated and was told how he had died. Kagero was with her and was able to communicate, what had happened, to you.

  You leave the castle to visit the soldiers and heroes who did not want to stay at the castle. Some of them were gathering info all around the city while they were here. You took F Dimitri, Marth, Beruka, M Byleth to where Kagero had left Zoe and Vera. When you find her she is a little afraid about what had happened, but offered to help you with your plan.

  You take off to the part of the city where the brothel is located, but it is sealed off. With a small distraction you all were able to sneak in unseen. When you get there the place is obviously deserted. Zoe went to prepare the room you will stay in and meanwhile you tell your heroes the truth. Who you were and who Lif was to you. It was difficult but you manage to explain.

  - Is this why it was so easy for Alfonse to accept the engagement with that horrible…with Lady Braam?-Asks Marth.

  -No. We tried everything, to get him off of it without upsetting the treaty, before he told you about it. It wasn’t easy at all. Even without me in the picture, it is not easy to sign your life away to a loveless marriage.- Marth nodded to this.

  - I don’t see why his mother would want her as a queen.-F Dimitri mutters.- She is clearly filth.- He finishes with disgust. Even in the bad mental state Dimitri had never said anything offending to any lady that was not his worst enemy so hearing talking this way about Lady Braam spoke volumes of the type of person she was.

  -We will come up with something to help him out. You’ll see. If not just for him…for the good of Askr.

  -If a marriage is “Until death do us part”. Does this not mean you are not married any more?- Leave it to Byleth to be direct and a little tactless but practical.

  -I suppose in a way, but I still feel as if I am still married to him, and he needs to know the whole truth.

  -That is so romantic…and sad…- Says Marth with his left hand on his heart.

  -How do you know he will be here? In this place?- Asks Dimitri looking around angrily and a little jealous.

  -Zoe met him in the tunnel when he was sneaking inside the city and she helped him map it out. She told him her story and he wanted to help her and her sister. She has seen him sneak in other nights too. Every month actually.

  -So he was the one who assassinated the matron and that nobleman last night?

  -We believe so.

  -Mmm…- was all F Dimitri said. You got the feeling he did not entirely believe you.

  -Does she know what he comes to do besides…visit?- Asks Byleth. You know he does not buy the whole story. Marth looks embarrassed.

  -Not really. We believe Thrasir just wants to know about her brother. She is going to be really happy to see him tonight.

  -Oh so Thrasir comes as well?- Says Marth sending the others a look that was a little chastising.

 After a while Zoe walks you up to the room after you have given the heroes their instructions. Some of them would stay in the first floor guarding the two entrances and trying to be out of sight but giving you plenty of privacy. They will take turns as guards while the rest go to rest with Zoe and Vera. Beruka would be guarding the tunnel entrance, just to be sure no one else but him enters.

  - Thank you for not telling them about me… -You smile at her.- I readied the room and cleaned it. It has not been used in a while so do not worry about…um… things. The room is sound proof for privacy. The sheets and blankets are new. I got them from the matron’s stores. Er…just in case… I…I apologize for being so forward but…he is your husband after all. I hope everything turns out right.

  -God I wish it too. I miss him.

  -How long has it been, since you were together?

  - Last time I saw him was more than three years ago, when I still didn’t remember anything about him… More than six years for me since we were together…for him…who knows how long he has been alone with only Thrasir to keep him company. I always wondered if they were…together. I have been so jealous all this time.

  -I do not think so Summoner. If they had been together I do not think he would have…come here and she would have reacted differently as well. Well I better get going. I bet Lady Kagero must be tired of dealing with us by now. I will bring the heroes some food and then hide in one of the other houses just in case. Good luck Summoner!

  She leaves and you walk around the room looking at things. There are perfumed oils that smell very strong and kind of cheap, and bottles that look like wine. There are some things in the drawers that look like massage oils and ==Ugh! Are those toys???!!…Ugh I better not touch anything just in case…==

You sit on the bed, back to the door and ponder if you should have worn something better. The dark brown cloak you are wearing hides your garments. You are wearing only what other may call body armor and boots. A belt that houses a sword and a satchel with some items inside. You take off the belt and sword, then the satchel and open it to take out a small notebook where you have written some notes and ideas of what to do about different problems the heroes are facing. Time passes until you hear footsteps coming up the stairs and then approaching the door.

~*~

Lif went up the tunnel to the castle. He needed to see you again, at least one more time, before he stopped hurting himself this way. He needed to know who his precious Summoner had married.

 ==No! She is not my Summoner…she is just…Then why are you going to see her then…why do you want to know who it was she married and see how easy you can get rid of him… To see how it feels to break every bone in his body.==.

At the angry thought his hands made a fist, his eyes shone a bright red and he imagined all the ways he could get rid of a body without you ever finding out it had been him. He was also making a list of the probable heroes and friends that could be the offending recipient of…who was he fooling. If it was Zacharias, he was unsure if he could ever hurt his friend and he would never hurt Thrasir this way. Besides, Zacharias was a good man at the core.

When he came to where the entrance to the brothel was he stopped. There was a candle burning at the entrance. He had assumed the woman had left the city, but by this sigh he thought she must be there thinking he would be coming. He thought for a minute whether he should go inside. He spied a note by the candle. It read “ Please come up.”He thought he should go and tell that woman she was free to go now and so he entered the brothel thinking that even if it was empty, he knew full well where the woman lived down the street.

  He opened the door to find candles lit in a kind of pathway. Why was that woman here still waiting for him? Maybe she was afraid he would go out to seek her out at her house. He sighted. Sometimes being scary was very useful, but sometimes it was just annoying. He followed the path upstairs until he finally was outside the room. He opened the door to find candles burning. The room did not smell of perfume as much as other times. He took a small bag of coins from his belt and let it fall on the top of the drawer by the door. The figure in the bed did not move. She looked scared stiff. He sighted again. It was not like he ever hurt her and he had asked for her permission too. He closed the door behind him. Thinking she may need an explanation. She might have come to the conclusion that it had been him who had gotten rid of her two captors. He gave a step forward.

  -The people that own you are gone. You are free to go. You don’t have to be scared any…- There was something odd about the situation. The figure moved her head to the side a little at his faltering. For all the gold he had given her for her silence, that woman would have said something by now,she always had something to say and that smell. The smell was not one of those awful perfumes the woman always had to use…it felt familiar…it was… he found himself unsheathing his sword, but oddly enough it felt like he was warding off a demon out to get his soul, instead of trying to attack it. - Who are you?! What are you doing here?

  -Is this how you greet me now Alfonse?- You say to him and take off the hood of the cloak. You turn around to see him widen his eyes.

  He takes a step back and comes into contact with the door he had closed. He is still holding his sword up to you but his other hand is searching for the doorknob.

  -Summoner…What are you doing here? ==Of all the people who could find out I come here, it had to be you? I really am cursed!==

  -I came looking for you. I need to tell you something important…are you going to hold that sword up at me all night?

  -There is nothing to talk about Summoner.- He says, sheaths his sword and turns to leave.- You are a married woman Summoner. You shouldn’t go around looking for men in brothels, people may talk.- He says suddenly angry and jealous of this unknown husband of yours.

  ==The nerve!==

  -Well a woman just might have to go into brothels if their husband is the one visiting it! I am looking for my husband Alfonse… I heard he comes here every month.

  Lif turns around faster than he intended and looks angrily at you.-So you really married Zacharias? and he comes here every month? Do you not keep him satisfied enough Summoner? I took you for a more passionate woman, if not borderline perverted ==Marrying my best friend!==… but your marital problems are of no consequence to me. And don’t call me Alfonse.- He says angrily and steps closer to you.

  ==It has to be Zacharias! Who else would come here often…and to think he was my friend! How could they?==

 -What?! First of all…What the FUCK!? …The Hell you mean Bruno? What does he have to do with this? I am looking for you Alfonse! If you let me talk then I would…

 - I heard you talking to Alfonse last night. You were talking about his engagement and then about your wedding. He said Princess Veronica was not going to let him out of her sight and then he said he was dangerous and you said he was your husband…and stop calling me Alfonse.

  - You were spying on me?…Alfonse...Lif.We were talking about you. Yes I started out talking about Bruno to change the subject, but he switched to you because he knew I was coming here to tell you the truth. Lif I am in no way married to Bruno. Next time you listen to someone else’s conversation get all the facts and stop assuming things.

  -Why were you talking about me and what truth are you talking about?

  -Lif. You disappeared after our fight with Hel and I thought you were gone… after a time I stated having these memories coming back to me and after talking to Alfonse we came to the conclusion that I had been summoned twice to Askr. Once for him but the first time for you. I have been looking for traces of you to tell you, but I could not find any traces of you until I found Zoe by mere luck. Umm…Lif? Are you listening?

  Lif could not move. He was rooted to the spot. He stopped listening when you said you had been summoned to his Askr first.

  ==Is she? Why didn’t she tell me?…how?==

  -You…You are my summoner…and you didn’t tell me…

  -Umm, I just said I tried to find you to tell you but…

  - Why? I have been looking for a way to save you! How could you leave me alone all this time? You promised! You promised you would never leave me!- He steps back again as if he is trying to leave.

  - I know. This is why I came to see you as soon as I found out where you would be.

  - It is because I look hideous isn’t it? You rather stay with him? It that it? You love him more don’t you? He is perfect! Your perfect prince!- He is pacing around the room now, his agitated breath coming out like poisonous miasma around him.

  -Lif you were gone! How was I suppose to tell you who I was, if I didn’t even know you survived? Are you even listening to me? I love you I wanted to find you as soon as I knew you were here!

  -You love me? You love me now that he is out of your reach? Now that he left you and is getting married?

  -There has not been anything between us since I told him we were married!- You reach out to him and he pulls away.

  -Don’t touch me!- His hand hits you on the chest when he turns around to leave and you stumble and hit yourself on the drawer by the door then fall to the floor.

  -Ofhh.- He looks sideways at you and watches as you fall down. He tries to take your arm but misses it as you flail your arms in an effort to find something to hold on to. In an instant he is by your side kneeling on the floor.

  -_______! Are you hurt? I did not mean for this to happen!- He says eyes wide in shock.

  -Ow it hurts…I just landed on my butt…

  -Your arm is bleeding. Really Summoner, getting hurt in a place like this! You will catch an infection! Or something worse…

  -If I can manage to talk to you; it will be worth it.- He looks into your eyes as he helps you up and sits you on the bed. He sighs again and sits next to you.

  -You really did tell Alfonse we were married?- He ask looking sideways at you while rummaging inside your satchel for something to cure you. He knows you always bring a first aid kit.

  -Were? I told him we ARE still married…unless you don’t want me anymore.- He looks away at that.

  -The cut isn’t deep. You should head out to the castle now. I am sure he will find a way to undo that engagement if you tell him you love him.- His ruby red eyes are avoiding looking at you.

  - No. I am not going back until we talk.

  -What is there to talk about? You are Askr’s summoner. You will only go back to him.

  -Not to him. I am going back for the whole Kingdom. I made a promise , like I did you. I served you and our Kingdom until I died. I failed you and our people…I will not do so again.

  -You didn’t fail anyone…It was all my fault. I should have done more research…I was so desperate…

  - We were all desperate…but at the end you did the right thing. She is gone…we paid a high price but she is gone for good. Imagine how many worlds she would have ended before someone else stopped her… if any one ever did.

  -My people should not have to pay the price for my mistakes.

  - We all lost and you were really not wrong…it is the payment…and that type of payment is the kind that is hidden until the deal is done…Like a contract with the devil. I have been doing some research during my free time. I still can’t find the payment as a result of the rite. I also have been researching for ways to help you…- He looks you in the eyes now.

  -Leave it to you to be working on your free time.

  -Well. I don’t go to picnics or long walks in the garden anymore so I go to the library. Every day we have new heroes, many of them we never met before and they contribute to our knowledge. The library keeps on growing. I managed to summon some heroes back from the dead Lif. Including Lord Freyr, the god of dreams and fertility.

  -You summoned Lord Freyr?… dead heroes…

  - I do not want to raise our hopes but maybe one of these times …and I can try it on our pedestal, back in our Askr, to see if it works.

  -Ours - He murmurs closing his eyes.-…But you need to save this Askr first.

  -Yes and this war just stretches on like it is just pilling one on top of another. But we will try won’t we?

   - Perhaps. ..You need to leave. Do not get yourself into so much trouble and much less for me. I can’t be there to save you all the time.

  -Lif…You really don’t love me any more?- You ask him and he lowers his eyes.

==Is it Thrasir Alfonse? Have you left me for Thrasir?==

  -Does it matter?

  -Have you not been listening? I love you! Of course it matters to me.

  - You don’t love me. I am not the man you loved once. He died the day you died…You have no idea what I have done for her…just look at what she turned me into…- He takes off his mask then and closes his eyes. He does not want to see the disgust in your face.- And if it were just my appearance…

  - I can understand you do not like the way you look and have negative feeling about it, but you have to know I do not mind at all what you look like. - he opens his eyes then and you can see his feelings bared for a second.- Please my Alfonse, Do not shut me out because of this. Why do you always have to be so difficult? Sometimes I feel like I am always running around trying to get to you and you always run away from your feelings and from me.Just like when we met.- You caress his face. You feel the lips you can not see and touch the line that unites his flesh and his glowing body with your thumb and see him get closer to you. You meet him halfway.

  The kiss was tentative and slow, like he was still waiting for you to shun him and push him away and when you tried to get closer and placed your arms around his neck, the noise he made was almost a whine of need. He deepens the kiss and circle your waist with one hand and cradle your head with his other.The need to be close to you is overwhelming and he wants to be as close to you as possible. You feel his tongue exploring inside you; drinking you up like lost man in a desert. Meanwhile you feel the same way, but with the added feeling of exploring this different body. You are fascinated by the smooth and soft feel of his skin. You though he would feel cold but there is a warmth to his body just like a regular body would feel. It was very inviting. You did not want to let go and yet you feel him retreat a little and bury his face in the crock of your neck and take a beep breath.

  -I missed you. I have been so lost without you… no one to ground me…or guide me.

  -I missed you too love…- You caress his head and card your fingers through his hair the way you used to when you spend the night together. His hair looked darker and almost colorless. His vibrant blue and gold faded to dark blue and silver, but the feel was the same. All of him was this way. He looked different but he felt the same. He raises his head and before he tries to leave, you take his lips and kiss him. He seems surprised, but complies and soon you are breathless against him again. You feel yourself being lowered to the bed, but all of a sudden he stops and let go.

  - Not here. I will not let this place stain you and this moment.

  - All is clean love. I made sure of this. No one has used the sheets and blankets. They are a gift.

  -She told you…

  - She felt she owed me her life and her sister’s. I am glad she did tell me. Do not be angry at her. She is also grateful to you and wants to see you happy. -He makes a face and turns away blushing.

  - She did not have to tell you any details…

  - She didn’t. …Well only about the coat…and my name.

  - I am sorry I was….. unfaithful…would you ever forgive me?

  -For all you knew I was dead. That wasn’t being unfaithful. You did not know who I was and you were thinking of me. Weren’t you?

  - All the time.- He closes his eyes then ads.-I don’t deserve you or your kindness.

  -You can still make it up to me.- You say and wink at him.

  -You…are sure about this?

  -Yes. Unless you do not want me…I suppose..

  -I do…Gods I do. - He says and kisses you again.- I…missed….you…so …much…- He says between kisses. He lays you down and he half lays on top of you and watches you for a minute intensely.- I can not believe you are here with me.- He says quietly. He lowers himself and kisses you again while you circle him to reach his back.

His armor is full of cutting edges and pointy horns. He worries about it and so he raises himself to stand and take it all off. He starts with his fur cloak and gloves.All the while watching your reaction. You have seen his face and torso, but he was worried you would not find him attractive after seeing all of his body. He took off his armor, which surprisingly he could do by himself as if it was just placed on his body without fastening. He was left with only his boots, which he was taking off and pants. You get up to start taking off your clothes, while you hear his voice. You could only take off the boots.

  -No. Let me. I want to do it.- He had dream of this for so long. Being with you again and fantasizing about it had been one of the things that had helped him keep the little sanity he had. He sighs out of nervousness. He used to be a very self conscious man when he was alive and his new form was so repulsive to him. How he wished he could have his old body back. He stands before you a second, unsure of what to do. He wanted to see your face but at the same time he did not. He stood looking down until he growled a little and berated himself for being a coward. He looked up to your face and caught you staring at him in fascination. Your lips parted in anticipation. It was enough for Lif to feel a heat inside him flare.

  ==She…likes me…Doesn’t she find me disgusting?=

  -Sir…MY clothes will not be taking themselves off. -You say flirting, because knowing him; that pause he had taken, meant he is insecure and having second thoughts.

  He gets closer to you and kisses you again. You can feel his hands working on your top clothes. You feel them being lifted and help him, by raising your arms for him to take them off. The brief pause in the kiss to get the top off ends with his mouth once again taking your lips. His arms reach behind you  to undo the fastenings on your bra and then caress your back, before laying you down.

He let go of your lips to kiss your neck while his hand reached your breast. He hummed in pleasure at the softness of your skin and when you moaned and reached for his hair, he lowered his head to lick at your nipple. The gasp you emitted makes him smile and he looks up at you when he feels you kiss the top of his head. He meets your eyes and the ruby irises darken with desire. Holding your stare he plays with your nipple with his tongue while his hand reaches down to your pants. He unfastens them and reaches inside. Nimble fingers searching for the price he so desires.

At this point you have melted in his arms. There are no coherent words coming from your mouth but his name. His fingers play you like the strings of a guitar and your music is more precious to him than the any notes he could conjure with his violin.

-Does he touch you the way I do? Tell me. Has he made love to you?

-No…we have never…Lif …please! My Alfonse…My Lif!

 How he had missed your voice calling his name. He thought he would have hated that you call him by his name, but now he knew, the Alfonse of this world had not touched you the way he has and he does not want you to call him Lif.

-Alfonse…Call me Alfonse.- He says in your ear.

-Alfonse! My Alfonse! My love!…I…I need …I Need…-He also could not wait any longer. He had waited for so long and the knowledge that it was you this time, not a mirage or a fantasy…it drove him insane to wait any longer. He rose to pull your pants and underwear off and once done, he opened your legs to position himself. He stayed there admiring your body a moment. The intensity of his stare made you blush. You were so vulnerable right now and he felt a wave or warmth to know that you still trusted him enough to let him see you this way. He took your left leg with his hand, to hold it up but he wanted so much to taste you as well.

He made up his mind and he lowered himself to plant a kiss on the inside of your thigh.He moved to your womanhood. Your smell had always turned him on, but your taste…he had never thought he would enjoy something so much. You tasted just as sweet as ever and he closed his eyes as he twirled his tongue over your clitoris. His eyes opened when he hears you moan loudly. It had been so long since he had done this, but the sweet sounds you were making told him he was doing things right.

It did not take long for his tongue to bring your release, It had been so long and the desire to have him was so strong. He smiled to himself as he saw you tremble with ecstasy by his hand and tongue alone. He climbed the bed and over your body until he was level with your face and buried his face in the crock of your neck to take a soft bite of the tender skin. He could not hold on for much longer but he wanted you to enjoy your self first. You turn your face to kiss his head and he gives you a grumble of satisfaction then he takes your lips and kisses you. It was a tender kiss that soon changed into a heated kiss. By this time you were ready to take him in.

He takes a second to look at your face as he slides himself inside you. When you move and moan with pleasure he smiles for a second and then closes his eyes in pleasure as well. You felt so right around him, so soft and warm. He moves slowly at first, taking in the feel and making it last. He opens his eyes to watch you in the same situation.

Your hands were holding on to his back and arched in ways that made him want to touch deeper inside you. He kisses you deeply to be closer to you. He can hear you moans partly silenced by his tongue and he grunts in return. It is slowly driving him insane and he wants more, much more. He moves faster and you adjust to his rhythm. You feel one of his hands cupping one of your breasts. Caressing the perked up nipple with his thumb. All the while he is not kissing you he is telling you sweet nothings in your ears.

 You wrap you legs around him when you feel that sweet spot being bombarded with waves of pleasure once again. You hear him grunt in that sexy low voice of his.

-I love you Alfonse!

He lets go and shares that moment with you. Your words brought him the final push he needed to reach ecstasy.

Moments later he holds you in his arms.

-How I love you my _______ . How I have missed you and these moments…I feel like we are one soul that have been apart for too long and finally has come together again.

You hear him sigh deeply and his hold tightens. There is a slight tremor in his chest and after a moment you hear a strangled sob. You try to see what is wrong but his hand on your head keeps you from moving.

-I…I don’t want to leave. I don’t want to return to that loneliness…I …I can not take it! Not when I know you are here, near him and…

-Don’t leave. Stay with me.

-I can’t…

-Why?

-I made a deal…with the gods…with Thorr specifically.

-Why?

-She…came to us and said they could return our people if we helped them.

-Help them? With what?…wait…Alfonse?...Love how could you?

-I was not thinking strait… I have been so lost in the shadows…I thought it was a good option…and…I…I want to destroy the gods too. I need time and information on how to do it…

-That is a very dangerous game Alfonse.

-I know. I had nothing to lose at the time…or at least I did not know I had something to lose at the time. Come with me! Together we can do this!

-You are going to help them destroy my Askr and want me to help you? I gave them my word. To this people…including Sharena.

-No. Of course not…I… I don’t want him to die anymore…I have been so jealous of him, I was willing to do anything…

- I have been jealous of Thrasir.- You say. Lif looks at you and makes a face.

-Why? She is like a sister to me…a more exasperating sister.- He says under his breath. He sighs and hides his face in your hair and the crock of your neck.

  -It would not work and the power of summoning is the least the gods need…I would never help them destroy another Askr.

  -I know. I would never let them use your power either. I… just want you near me.

  -Oh…You have been spying on me…you can still do it and well they don’t need to know what you do when you spy on me. I can give pieces of useless information that may sound interesting to them.

  -And I can give you what I find out…

  -Alfonse…I don’t like it…I don’t want to lose you again.

  -Nor I you _______…Marry me again ______.

- Marry you…bejond death… Is there a way to marry souls without the Gods knowing?

-Marry our souls?- You feel him take your face in his hands and turn it upward for him to look at you.-Bind our souls …for all eternity…so we will be together even in death.Is that what you want?- He asks hopefully. His eyes shine like they have not shined since he was alive. His lips part and his breathing deepens.

-Yes. Do you?

-It is what I most desire…for you and I to be together always…no matter what…to belong to you and for you to belong to me.

- Then let’s find a way to do it.- You say smiling. You know he will find a way.

-I…I know how to do it…I never told you because…I never thought you wanted to bind yourself to me in such an intimate and final way.

- Why didn’t you say this before? It would have saved us a lot of time and problems and…God I love you Alfonse!- You give him a peck on the nose and then look at him again.- Let’s do it then.

-Let me just prepare the ritual.- This surprises you because you thought the ritual may require items not available to you at the moment; but you say nothing because you know Lif would take this as hesitation on your part.

He gets up and rummages for something inside his clothes that are scattered on the floor, while you sit on the bed looking at his magnificent body. He takes a deep breath and reaches for the dagger he carries in his belt and returns to sit by your side. He is unsure if the spell will work if he uses his hand so he cuts his cheek instead , where he still have regular skin. Blood comes out of the small cut. He takes your hand and cuts your palm until a little blood comes out. He puts your hand over his cheek and covers it with his own. He closes his eyes to relish in the warmth of your hand on his human flesh.

 Slowly he starts to speak.There are some words in the beloved ancient tongue of his people that you can not make out. Then his eyes open. Lif’s eyes shine brighter than you have ever seen them shine before, when he next speaks.

- By the power given to me and you by Lord Askr, I give myself entirely to you. I give myself to you so my soul can bind to yours for all eternity. Do you give yourself to me completely so your soul can bind to mine?

-By the power given to me and you by Lord Askr, I give myself entirely to you as you are giving yourself entirely to me so that my soul can bind to yours.

-Let our souls bind to each other for eternity.- He says and kisses you.

There is a feeling of something being pulled away from your body and a sense of togetherness you have never felt even when at the height of ecstasy while making love to him. The pleasure was beyond carnal pleasure and so clean it felt holy. For a moment it was as if you did not know where you ended and he began and the feeling of closeness was so compelling you wanted to stay this way for ever.

  The strength of the spell drained you both and you open your eyes to see his eyes shining a bright blue. You were not even aware of the moment you had closed you eyes since you could still see him. His eyes widen when he sees the same blue light shining in yours. The light fades and he knows the spell worked and Lord Askr has blessed the union. Perhaps it was foolish of him to still have faith in Askr, but his blessing had never left him and even if his Lord had not come to his aid in his darkest of times he understood every god had a different power and different use. Askr was the only God so far that had been good to his people and so he still held respect for him.

  - I feels so happy Alfonse!- You say and it was true. You may even cry of happiness at this moment.

  -So do I.- He gives a sigh of contentment and buries his face in the crock of your neck again and embraces you tightly. This man who is almost seven feet tall manages to make himself smaller by almost wrapping himself around you protectively. - Mmm…Mine…

 There is almost a purr to his voice that makes you giggle a little. He is like a big cat that just wants to be petted and be given love. It is such a contrast to when you had first met. You think back to that time. Of course the hunger for touch had always been there but he had been hurt and so he was cautious and he was also shy so it had taken moths for his trust in you to grow enough to let you into his heart. Touching had not been his love language until he had learned from you and that is when he discovered he craved it. And now you were finally here with him; he was drinking in every touch and every word like the sands of the desert; taking them all inside himself and hiding them like a treasure.

  Lif did not need to sleep but could do it if he so wanted. He did it when he felt his mind needed the rest but sleep would bring nightmares so he slept seldom. He did not sleep while he held you into sleep. It had taken you with a smile on your face and his name on your lips.

  For some moments he would be afraid this happiness would have been only a dream and worse yet that this happiness would end in tragedy somehow and he would bury his face again in your hair until that fear would die down and he willed himself to not think those dark thoughts. Your warmth and your smell would reassure him and he would be content again.

  -Who is Alfonse engaged to?- He asks suddenly out of the blue, a while after he felt you wake up.

  -Your third cousin Elanor Braam.

  -What would possessed him to agree to an arranged marriage with her? Of all my family…Unless we count cousin Damian…Still she is the worst kind of person.

  -She knows about Sharena…and how you…handled the situation.- He knew the situation right away. Sharena being the friendly girls she was, had made friends with many nobles. Among them was a Baron’s third son, called Ambrose Von Becker, whom she came to idolize for his musical abilities. In his efforts to gain social status he had befriended the friendly girl. Knowing he had no chance in courting her, because of his status, he planned to lure her into running away with him. The plan was to make her think she was going to go on a trip with him and his sister as chaperone but planned on going the two of them by themselves. Luckily Sharena had confided her plans to Alfonse and Zacharias who was at the time still training Sharena. Together they both had made her see the truth. Zacharias told her he knew Almbrose’s sister was away on a trip to the far South as she had insisted on him accompanying her.

However the damage was already done since she had sent him letters making plans and alluding to secret meetings that although were innocent in nature, could be viewed as something entirely different. Ambrose had told no one yet but tried to blackmail Alfonse into making him help accept an arranged marriage or he would tell everyone that it had been her idea to run away and that their meetings were more than innocent. Alfonse who was still young and did not want his parents to know took matters into his owns hands. Together with the help of his best friend Zacharias and his retainer Erland, they arranged a hunt where Ambrose suffered a disastrous accident that killed him. Sharena was but 13 years of age and Ambrose 25. And now the most greedy and hateful of the courtesans had gotten hold of the few reminding letters to blackmail Alfonse herself.

  -How?- You hear anger in his voice.

  - One of the servants told her husband. The husband sold the information. Elanor went to your…to the Queen and blackmailed her into arranging the marriage or she would make the whole situation known.

  -Does she have proof?

  -The servant and her husband…they helped her get some of the letters Sharena sent Ambrose. In one of them she mentions…the meetings and…they found the woodsman who helped you set the trap that got Ambrose killed. She has him hidden somewhere…until they get married. Sharena doesn’t know. She thinks…her mother is doing it for her money.

  -Do not worry about ti. I am sure there will be a way to help him.

  -How can I not worry…- You start but he moves to hug you closer.

  -Come here.- He says and kisses you.

  Dawn came and with it the voice of one Prince Marth of Altea.

  -Summoner. Dawn comes. We need to leave before sentinels come and we are wanted in the castle. Remember we leave at midday.

  -Thank you your Highness. I will be down in…(sigh) ten minutes.

  -You have to go…

  -Mmm…five more minutes…

  -I wish we had that luxury…Love…-He was so tempted to kidnap you away and keep you for himself and away from all dangers that awaited you. But he knew not only that you would not fall for such temptation, but that it was counterproductive to both your missions. So he settles for your accord on stolen moments every once in a while. It was a huge leap from being alone…well with Thrasir.

  ==Oh FUCK! Veronica!! She is going to kill …Well…Whatever...==

  He gets up faster than he wanted to and started to dress up. You followed halfheartedly and grumbling a little.

  It took you less than five minutes to dress and it took him even less time. Lif spent the rest of the time waiting for you to dress, looking out of the window. He made a point of not looking at you or he would lose his composure and pull you down on the bed once again. Once he heard you were making the bed and tiding up the place, he turned around and pulled you into a final kiss that lasted more than he thought he could without undressing you again.

  Strangely enough he felt content and hopeful when he finally left and not the endless emptiness and hopelessness that always followed him. By the time he reached the door to the tunnel he even felt like smiling at a bewildered Dimitri. Not like the man could see his smile under the mask and light but he did so non the less.

  Still he knew he could not say anything about his plans even to Thrasir so he tried to fake shame when he met with her.

  -Do we have another ally in our plans to take down the gods?- Thrasir asked as soon as he got near and not even looking at him. Silence met her inquiry while taken aback by the question Lif had stayed silent.- I talked to Bruno. Alfonse helped me have a moment with him. I told him about the assassin. He told me about your meeting. Strange how he trusts me more than you.

  -I just got here…

  -Hmmp… You forgot to tell her about the assassination tempt I assume.

  -Err…

  -Of course…How she forgave you I don’t understand… You can tell her when we go back to Askr to “spy’ on them. And erase that stupid smile off your face. We don’t want Thorr to suspect anything.

  -Yes…of course…how?…

  - You even walk different. Also you stayed all night.

  -Oh…

- Do us a favor.Do try to give off that miasma of doom and hopelessness you always carry with you.- There was a strange sound coming from her that Lif had never heard before. It sounded like a giggle but instead of making him smile he felt awkwardly creeped out.Talking to her brother for so long had done wonders for her. She felt so happy.- Come before we give our entire mission away.

-Veronica…Thank you…

-Shut up.- Veronica never took a compliment or a thanks right and an apology much less.

-Veronica…

-What do you want.

-Don’t giggle while I am present again…

-Umm….Now I know how to get your attention…

-Fuck…

[line break ]

  It took time but eventually you could summon Bruno, Thrasir’s brother. The next time they came and found out Thrasir had smiled. The good part was that death had freed him from the curse too.

It was strange to see her smile. But it was also regarding. The more you talked to her the more you liked her.

 [Line break]

The news came two weeks before the Winter festival. A tragedy for the royal family had occurred. The Crowned Prince’s fiance had died in a fire in which her Winter residence had burned down along with many of her servants.

There was no need for an investigation. A servant confessed to have killed and then burned down the Villa with her mistress, her husband and a couple of the servants inside. Her motives were never knows as she seemed to have lost her mind after and was never able to talk again.

She had been sentenced to death but Alfonse was merciful and decided to let her live the rest of her life in prison since she had been a servant in his own household when he was younger.

On the day of the Winter Festival Alfonse found a parcel with a bow waiting for him when he woke up. It contained the missing letters that almost cost him his freedom. A single note written in his own fancy script read:

“Watch them burn.”

And Alfonse did. Smiling at the dark joke Lif had written in the note; he threw the bundle of incriminating letters immediately into the fire in the chimney. At last they were free.

[agoddamn]

I sat down and pounded out several chapters of Engage to try and recruit Mauvier so I could see his birthday lines and missed the window by about two hours. </3

I really do not know how this dude is convincing himself he's helping Veyle through all this brainwashing. I had thought that maybe none of them ever really spoke to her (which seems to be the case with Marni) but Mauvier is supposed to be her actual knight who cares about her as a person and it's not until chapter 21 that he finally says, "I think the repeated brainmelting might be kind of bad for her"? With the mildest dissent possible, too. He is so mild about his dissent that he will even happily deliver another soldier back to the cause of brainmelting Veyle!

So far Mauvier seems like the kind of guy who's genuinely so stupid that you could convince him to suck your dick by telling him a bee stung you and you need his help getting the venom out.

As tired as waif mind-controlled to villainy is as a trope, Veyle's (JP) voice actor does an amazing job with the switching back and forth. I was enjoying just listening to her.

Got the DLC for my birthday and the way they present the 3H characters as having a "friendly rivalry" dynamic lmaooooo that's literally the name of the skill! I don't know what game these characters are from but it's not 3H

Lindon get! The average age of my army is slowly creeping up. Love that he's just...a guy. "Yeah idk I'm not vibing with this Fell Dragon thing any more, can I bounce with you?"

I can tell that the devs are having him constantly mention his wife in order to dissuade me personally, but that ain't gonna work

Got my very first A-rank support! Diamant and Alcryst. Definitely did not play naturally for it, took a lot of forcing them onto each other.

I had intended to use Rosado, but after his first map I realized how bad his shitty build score was crippling him. Bench juice.

I don't understand the economy in this game. It feels like there was supposed to be a money DLC grinding map like Fates--there's so many huge money sinks. The country donations? The gifts? The ingots showing up at the flea market? Weapon refining? Hell, the costumes? Absolutely fucking deranged of someone to make a dress cost a silver bar. And that's before getting into traditional FE money drains like staves and Master Seals! Makes me suspect a money grinding DLC might drop...

Me realizing the reinforcements on 21 aren't going to stop: I AM BEGGING YOU TO GET OFF MY DICK

Two break bars revival stones are stressful. Although... I'm this far in the game and I don't actually know what the "running wild" state does lmfao every time I see revival stones I set up my team to be able to end things in one round. At this point, enemies on the map are doing so much damage that it's a death sentence to try and tank hits.

Framme fell off and got benched :( this really is Fire Emblem: Bases

And with Saphir, the average age of my army climbs yet higher!

Weird, though--in English she's Saphir but the JP sounds a lot more like Zephaia, and Lady Badguy is Zephia in English but Sepia in Japanese.

"Why the fuck would you send ONE soldier as backup--oh. Her. Carry on."

She's afraid of heights...m-moe

She bullied the absolute shit out of Griss 😂 dance brave axe dance brave axe die

I gave her Lyn and much like Diamant, she's getting scary with an actual speed stat. I'm getting her to double with her brave axe on enemy phase.

Lindon...lends himself very well to the "dirty researcher" archetype, huh...

--Panette and Pandreo are siblings?? I guess they do have the same hair color...come to think of it, I think I remember hearing about this pre-release. I learned this from the ally notebook because Panette is another one who joined and went directly to the bench

So Lindon wants to do research with Mauvier, huh...

[munsonmadness]

ten years (e.m)

pairing: eddie munson x fem!reader summary: y/n breaks things off with eddie I've been obsessed with this song and decided to write a loosely based one-shot. I hope you enjoy it, as this is my first time posting anything I've written. word count: 1.3k

"It's funny 'cause I've always dreamed of me & you, now here we are, staring at the stars." Y/n breathed out after what seemed like an eternity of silence for Eddie.

"You just broke my heart even though you promised you'd never do that from the start… but I guess we can only make it so far."

"No, please, y/n it wasn't what it looked like I-"

"Look, time wasn't in our favor. This isn't goodbye, this is simply see you later." Y/n chokes out, sitting up from her spot on Eddie's van floor.

"Y/n. princess. Please don't do this. She meant nothing." Eddie pleaded, clutching onto her shirt.

"Let me know when it's time to come back. Maybe when your life is on track and you don't have to hesitate."

"Hopefully, it isn't too late," Eddie mutters tearfully.

"Luckily for you, I'm patient. I'm okay with your making me wait, and as long as you're near, I'll be here." Y/n says standing at the back of Eddie's van, wiping away the stray tears.

"Even if it takes ten years?"

*1 year later*

"Hey Dustin, Mike!" Y/n called, jogging to catch up to the pair.

"Hey y/n!" Dustin called excitedly, nudging mike who just nodded in response.

"Did you guys want to hang out tonight? I could order a pizza!" Y/n asked hopefully.

" We actually have the finale to our campaign with Eddie," Mike finally spoke, trailing off at the mention of Eddie.

"But we need a sub for Lucas! He has his championship game tonight!" Dustin cut in.

" I don't think so dustbin. It doesn't sound like the best-"

"It's been a year y/n. Just think about it. Please?" Mike said, cutting y/n's sentence short.

"I'll think about it. No promises Wheeler."

"I can't believe you're actually going to go to the campaign! Eddie freaking Munson's campaign!" Robin exclaimed in disbelief, Steve nodding in agreement.

"It is one night and I'm only going for the kids!" Y/n said pointedly, pulling her old hellfire shirt out of its box.

"Just be safe and please promise me that you'll call if anything is wrong," Steve said, looking at y/n sternly.

"I promise, dad," Y/n said, holding her pinky up.

"Thank you y/n! thank you, thank you!" Dustin yelled, getting onto his knees dramatically.

"We really owe you one y/n. Eddie was going to kill us if we didn't find a sub." Mike added with a smile.

"That you do, Wheeler, but I have a feeling he's going to want to kill you more once he finds out who the sub is," Y/n said as the three of them made their way to the clubroom.

As the door opened, there was silence except for the soft sound of Eddie's music playing over the speakers.

"Absolutely not," Eddie stated with an icy demeanor as his eyes met hers.

" You asked for a sub and we delivered!" Mike said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"A damn good one at that!" Dustin added with a nod, making Eddie furrow his brow in annoyance.

Because let's face it - Dustin was right and everyone knew it. Especially Eddie. He was the one who taught her, for christ's sake.

"Are we going to sit here and chit-chat all night or are we gonna play Eds?" Y/n spoke up, making Eddie look back to her, expression still hard.

"Let's see if you still have what it takes, sweetheart." Eddie bit, holding his hands out towards the empty chairs, making y/n's heart flutter slightly.

-

"Bada bada boom!" Dustin giggled when y/n rolled a 20 draining Vecna completely.

"I didn't think you still had it in you y/n," Gareth spoke as he made his way out of the room with the rest of the club members, leaving y/n and Eddie behind.

"How are you and Steve "the hair" Harrington?" Eddie says, jealousy dripping in every word.

"I'm not with Steve for the one-hundredth time, because I can't fall in love when I already found the one. how am I supposed to move on?" Y/n said, her eyes finally making their way into Eddie's shocked ones.

"The memories won't go away. I feel pain every time I hear your name. But I always think of you the same." y/n added, wiping away a stray tear.

"It's time to come back. I promise my life is on track," Eddie speaks up softly, making his way towards y/n.

"I never meant to hurt you. What Chrissy and I did meant nothing to me and I'm sorry I didn't realize that what I wanted was right in front of me the entire time." Eddie said, pulling her into his chest.

"You broke me Eds. You crushed me when I saw you two in the woods." Y/n said with a soft sob.

"I know, princess. I'm so sorry, I've cursed myself every single day since. If there is anything I can do. Please, please tell me." Eddie said, cupping y/n's face in both of his hands.

"I sure will Eds. it's going to take a lot for me to trust you." Y/n said, leaning her face more into Eddie's grasp.

"I completely understand. How about we go back to mine?" He suggests quietly, moving from his spot.

"I would love that,"

-

"You still haven't changed this place one bit." Y/n laughed quietly, plopping herself onto Eddie's bed.

"Not at all. Didn't want you to forget where anything was." He mumbled with a smile, pulling her to his side when he sat.

"Did you know that I was made for loving you, baby?" Eddie spoke, hugging y/n tighter.

"You are not quoting KISS to me right now," Y/n said in a fit of giggles.

"And if I was?" Eddie challenged with a raised brow, looking down at her.

"Well, I might just have to marry you," Y/n said, making Eddie's eyes glimmer.

"Then do it. Marry me."

"You're joking Eds. We can't." Y/n spoke up, sitting up from her spot on the bed.

"As serious as a heart attack. Marry me y/f/n y/l/n." Eddie pleaded quietly, sitting up with her.

"Baby steps Ed. I'm not saying no, just not now." Y/n mumbled, running her fingers through his hair earning an appreciative hum.

" Give me a timeline, sweetheart,"

"I don't know! I-" Y/n started to answer before being cut short by the phone ringing.

"I got it. you stay your pretty self right here." Eddie said, walking towards the phone.

"… Hey Harrington!" Eddie spoke into the phone, making y/n perk up.

Y/n starts to move off the bed, earning a look of disapproval from Eddie.

"Yeah man, she's right here." He mumbled, holding the phone out to her.

"Y/n. you scared the shit out of me kid!" Steve said frantically into the phone.

"I'm sorry Steve, truly. I lost track of time when Eddie and I got to talking, then we came back to his." Y/n spoke quickly, not tearing her eyes away from her feet.

"As long as you're okay, that's all that matters. Do you need me to come to get you?" He sighed into the phone, making y/n look up to Eddie's concerned gaze.

Y/n shook her head before responding quickly. "No dad, I'm okay. I promise that I will give you a call if anything changes, though."

As y/n and Steve bid their goodbyes, Eddie starts to make his way closer to y/n.

"You're staying?" Eddie asks softly, barely reaching out for her.

"As long as you'll have me, Mr. Munson," Y/n said, closing the gap between the two of them.

" I want you forever."

"And ever?"

"Yes, sweetheart."

"I'm glad it didn't take you ten years."

the end. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[iguana-eyanna]

The Blood Within Us Chapter 12

Pairing: Bruce Wayne x Pregnant! Reader

Summary: Will the reader do whatever it takes to protect the ones she loves when tragedy hits the Wayne family? How far will the truth be tested when she realizes she’s not the only one with secrets of her own?

Warning: abusive parent, drug overdose, death of family members (not the reader)

It felt like last night was a blur. From the sudden pain to Bruce helping you through in the nice warm bathtub, you must have fallen asleep. You don't remember Bruce draining out the water and carefully take care of you as he dried you off and slipped on a comfortable pair of undergarments on you.

You stirred in your sleep, feeling a bit sore from the other night. But what almost woke you up was a voice speaking softly.

"You gave us quite a scare last night." a gruff voice said.

You realized that it was Bruce, who placed himself beside your legs, talking to your belly. You decide not to open your eyes and listen to his conversation with your little girl.

"I swear I swallowed my heart when I saw your mother in pain. I thought I almost had to deliver you, and you're not quite done growing yet." Bruce said, referring that you were nearing your second trimester.

"But I can't wait to meet you. I'd never been more excited for anything. I thank your mom for giving me this, a second chance to be in your life. I know I'm far from being forgiven for missing so much but, I'm here for you and your brothers... I promise to stay for all of you."

He pauses for a moment, grinning to himself as he could visibly see that you weren't sleeping anymore as your breathing changed.

His silence makes you realize that you're caught red-handed, so you fluttered your eyes open, contently smiling at your fiance.

"You're really sweet, you know that right?" you murmured as sleep was escaping you. Bruce rolled his eyes playfully and climbed his way behind you, taking in the faded scent of lavender from your bath.

"You're feeling better?" He asks. You nod your head yes as both of your hands cradle your belly, looking at how the bruise has faded over the past days.

"I love being here, I haven't enjoyed such a peaceful time." you said out loud.

"But?" Bruce said, looking at you.

You twist around to face him, placing a hand on his burly chest.

"I think it's time to go home. Not that it's a bad thing, but I'm so scared that these past days would just..." You don't finish your sentence, too afraid of what Bruce may think.

"You think that this is like a honeymoon stage." You nod again, softly biting the bottom of your lip.

Bruce releases a sigh as he brings you closer as he could with your belly in the way.

"I will not stop loving you, darling. You're all I ever wanted and even more. You've given my kids a mother and you're going to be even a great one once our little girl is born." He said, touching your belly softly.

"And I'll remind you why I love you for infinity and little after that." You sniffled for a bit, as Bruce kissed the top of your head, then the tip of your nose, then at your lips.

His kiss was blissful, making you feel warm inside. He pulls away, seeing how all of your worries washed away.

You push away strands of hair away from his face.

"Let's go home?" you ask.

"Let's go home." he says.

You both get out of the bed to start packing. Once you were done, Bruce took all of the things in the back of the car and helped you walk down the stairs. Bruce quickly pulls out the phone and calls Dick to say that both of you are arriving soon. After the call, he helps you in the car and starts the ignition. Once he pulls out of the dirt driveway, you look back to the cabin and smile to yourself at all the happy memories you've made. You look back to Bruce and silently agreed that you'll come back here again, but with all of your family.

Later on, you realized that you have entered Gotham as the country skies turned into a dull gray. It wasn't far on till you reach the manor, where you see Alfred and the boys standing by the entrance of the manor.

Once you pull in, you immediately get out of your side and your sons raced down the steps to hug you.

"I missed you, boys." You murmured to all of them.

"We missed you more." Dick said.

You let them go, but Damian is still hugging you from the side. You ruffle his hair softly and smile at him, not minding he doesn't want to let go yet.

Jason and Tim were already taking out your luggage as Dick and Bruce were lightly talking. Dami let you go as Alfred greeted you, taking you by the arm as you head inside. “How was your vacation, Alfred?” You ask.

“Quite refreshing, but I was ready to go home.” He said, agreeing with him.

Alfred had to excuse himself as you made your way to upstairs to the study room.

You sit on the couch, breathing steadily as you see Bruce who’s leaning on the door frame.

“You know we can wait for a little bit.” Bruce said, as he could see you're eager to talk to your family.

“I’m done waiting, Bruce. It’s time that they know.” You said.

Bruce calls your sons as they make their way upstairs and he sits by you, kissing the top of your head.

“They’ll be fine, you don’t have to worry about anything.” He murmured.

All you could give him was a nervous smile as the boys started to flood in.

“Are you guys okay?” Dick asked.

You take a deep breath as Bruce holds your hand in support.

“We’re fine, but um… we wanted to talk to you about some things. It’s time that you know about my past.”

“Ma, you don’t need to tell us.” Jason said, not wanting to make you uncomfortable.

“I want to, Jason.” You reassured as you begin to talk about what you’ve been avoiding for so long.

“I don’t know how my birth parents met, but somehow they had me. My uh, my birth mother…” You started to tear up, nearly choking till Bruce wrapped an arm around you for support.

“My birth mother was very abusive. She would sometimes lock me in the apartment where we lived. I would starve sometimes and I had to make myself meals by the time I was five. There was this jam jar that was one the top shelf that I wanted to eat and I almost grabbed it and it shattered on the floor. She came and saw it happening and she… she would hit me and scream that I was a mistake.”

The boys were silent, looking at you with wet eyes.

You found your inner strength and continued your story.

“I just turned 9 and I woke up to see my mom on the couch, still like a statue. I told her to wake up and I knew something was wrong. I walked out of the apartment and knocked on my neighbor's door and told them what happened. Soon, the police came and the morgue took the body away, all I could hear was that she had an overdose. I was in the system for a few weeks until my great aunt heard of me and took me in. Life became better.

It wasn’t until junior high when I started to wonder who my dad was. One night when my great aunt was sleeping, I looked in all of my files about myself in a folder she received from the police. My birth certificate didn’t have his name and I just thought he was dead or long gone. It wasn’t until I saw a bank statement under my name and saw who’s been transferring money since I was born: Harvey Dent.

Everyone knew who he was, he was Gotham’s best attorney. He had a recognition like no other. Then without thinking, I sent him a letter to his office. I told him everything about me and how I think he may be my father. I sent him so many letters but he never wrote back. I soon stopped after my great aunt passed before I graduated high school.

From then on, I was alone. All I could focus on was my education and finding my calling. It wasn’t until I was at a part time job at a vintage store that I realized I wanted to make clothes. So I moved on with my life. I never looked back because I knew there would be better things to come. And I found four amazing boys, the love of my life, and a little girl on the way.”

The room was silent for a moment until someone repressed a sob. Your vision focused and saw Tim muffling his cries. “Oh baby.” You said, slowly standing up as he launched himself in your arms.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” he muffles in your chest. All you could do was hug him as close as you could with your stomach in the way.

A minute pass and you two let go, and all eyes are on you.

“I didn’t realize all that pain you went through, if I knew before-” Tim stuttered out.

You place a hand on his shoulder.

“A true mother doesn’t give her children her burdens.” You said.

Dick looks at Bruce who looked solemn in his seat.

“Did you know about this?” Your eldest son asked.

“No, all I knew was about the bank account. Your mother wanted to share with all of you first.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, but how did you start visiting your dad?” Jason asks, not wanting to dehumanize your living parent with his villain name.

“When Dick voiced his concern about the nightmares I’ve been having, I realized I needed to confront all of my anger to someone. One night, I just decided to go to Arkham and see him for the first time.” You said, thinking back.

You were sitting in front of a glass panel with a telephone on your right. Your hands began to sweat as your nausea was building up. But you repressed the feeling and you hear a door swing and see the man you’ve waited your whole life sit down in front of you.

You don't even know what to say. This man has caused so much havoc and death to this city, this was the man who killed your son’s biological father.

Why are you here?

You hear a buzzer in the air as you see uniformed people sitting behind the glass.

And you saw him right in front of you.

He takes the phone off the wall and speaks through it.

“If you’re some news reporter wanting a headline, I’m not giving a statement of any kind.” He says in a grouchy tone.

“I’m not here to interview you.” You said through the phone.

He leans in closer to get a proper look at you, and you could visibly see a shift in his mood.

“Who are you?” he says, almost in a whisper.

“I think you know who I am, dad.”

He shushes you quickly, looking side to side.

“Are you trying to get yourself killed?” He says.

“Why do you care? You never even met me.” You spit back, rage in your eyes.

He huffs and purses his lips.

“What are you doing here?” he asks, almost genuinely.

You were about to open your mouth, but the words don’t come out.

“I- don’t know. You’re the last person I ever wanted to see. I just, needed to go somewhere without feeling like i’m falling apart.” You whispered.

The whole city knows about what happened in the museum, how your family is still mourning the loss of your late fiance. Even the people in Arkhum are up to date with the news. But he doesn’t reply, knowing that you were probably not there for sympathy.

“You look like you’ve been through hell.” He says.

You laugh bitterly, shaking your head.

“Thanks.” You said sarcastically.

He gives you a small grin as he seems almost relaxed, this was the first time he has ever had a real conversation without being viewed as some sort of monster.

“You’re here for a punching bag, to take out all of the nasty things that you’ve gone through.”

You sniffled a bit, folding your lips inward.

“Something like that.” You admitted.

He shakes his head up and down, thinking.

“Does anyone know that you’re here?” He asks, referring your family.

You look down in your lap, avoiding eye contact.

“I’m guessing that’s a no.” He says.

“Look, I’m not here to reconcile. But what I want is answers: why did you leave and if you ever gave a damn about me.” You said.

“Do you play chess?” He says out of the blue.

You were speechless for a moment.

“Yeah.” You said with hesitance

“Let’s play. I’ll tell you whatever you want after every match.”

“I don’t understand-”

He cuts you off as a dangerous look is in his eyes.

“Imma be frank, I need complete focus in order to keep myself in control. And it looks like you need something to distract yourself from what you’re going through. It’s killing two birds with one stone.”

A guard comes to collect him and he stands up, looking at you.

“Come on Tuesday nights, biweekly. I don’t want anyone to be suspicious.” He says as he departs from the visiting booth, leaving you alone with your thoughts.

“...and so I did. We only talked if I had a question but we mainly just played. I haven’t seen him since your father came back.” You said, turning to Bruce.

“Will you ever visit him again?” Damian asks quietly.

You shook your head no.

“It was a mistake to visit him in the first place, I was in a state of grief and I thought that was my way of coping.”

The boys don’t interfere with your statement.

“But he’s the only family you have.” Bruce spoke up, taking you all off guard.

“You can’t be serious.” Jason said, confused.

“I get we’re all being more compassionate about things, but he’s in Arkham for a reason.” Dick joined as all he wanted was to protect you.

“I’m the one who put him in there, and the one who originated his path to Two Face. If anything, I’m to blame for the mess we’re all in.”

Bruce gets up and stands in front of you.

“If I ever got the chance to talk to my dad one more time, I would take it. And don’t you still want him to answer why he left?”

You look down on the ground, but Bruce takes your hands for you to lock eyes with him.

“You took a chance on me, why not give a chance on him?”

“I’ll think about it, okay? I don’t want to make any promises.” You said. Bruce nods his head and you both envelop in a tight hug, letting go of all of the turmoil you have faced in your life.

“Mother, what’s on your left hand?” Damian asked out loud.

You lightly chuckle and you look at Bruce had a sly smile.

“Why don’t you tell them?” you murmur with jest.

Bruce looks at his sons with pride. “I proposed to your mother again, and she said yes.”

The boys seemed to change their solemn state into a joyous environment, smiling.

“Congrats you two! When’s the wedding?” Dick said.

“I’m thinking in November? We want to get married before Lily makes her debut.” You said, now attached to Bruce’s hip.

“Wait, that’s what you're naming the baby?” Jason asks.

Bruce smiles and looks down, rubbing your belly.

“Yeah, we’re naming her Lily. But her full name will be Lilith Robin Wayne.” He said.

All of the boys gasp, hearing the middle name.

“You don’t mean…” Tim whispered, as the news was still settling in.

You muffle a laugh but you give a wide smile.

“You boys have given me so much these past years, I only sought it fit that your little sister is named after four amazing brothers.” You said.

And with that, all of the boys hug you and Bruce, never feeling so happy in their lives. All of you squeal in delight as you enjoyed the sweet moment.

“I think it’s time to show you guys something.” Dick said, looking at you and Bruce.

You and him share a confused look but your youngest son takes your hand and out of the study.

“Come! We’ve been waiting impatiently.” Damian said like a kid in excitement (which he was rarely was at times) as Tim and Jason joined in tow. Bruce chuckles and says he’ll join, but he turns to his eldest son.

“I want to talk to you briefly, it that’s okay.” Bruce said.

Dick nods his head and stands in front of his father.

“Your mother told me that you wanted to join the police academy.” Bruce said.

Dick’s mouth is suddenly dry, but he stands his ground.

“I know that kind of gets in the way of night patrol but-”

Bruce places a comforting hand on Dick’s shoulder.

“I want you to do it.” Bruce said, giving a small smile.

“Wha-what?” Dick asks.

“I shouldn’t have put you in the cowl when I left. I see so much of myself in you, but it’s not true at all. You’re better. And the fact you want to protect this city without hiding in a mask makes it more admirable. I’m proud of you Dick, and I want you to follow your dreams.”

Dick’s eyes begin to water and he hugs his father tightly.

The two men stand there for a moment, feeling that they are no longer at odds with the other.

Bruce lets his eldest go and pats him on the back.

“Let’s see you and your brother’s surprise.” Bruce said as Dick lead him to the guest room.

Once they enter, Bruce was at a lost of words.

The room was a forest theme nursery.

You were in the middle of the room, hand on your mouth as you were overwhelmed by your sons’ surprise.

“You did all this?” Bruce asked, joining you at your side.

“Yeah, Tim found what we needed as Jay and I moved the equipment in here. Damian painted the mural of the animals.” Dick said, watching his parents take in the room.

You walk closer to the ivory crib and started bawling as you saw the mobile on top.

“We asked Alfred to find this when he traveled back home. That way, her brothers will always look after her.” Tim said as you stared at the four robins that hung over where your baby will sleep.

“This is so wonderful. Thank you boys.” You said as your still crying. All of your sons began to hug you again, happy that you love it.

Bruce stood at the corner, smiling at the scene. You open your eyes and look at him, whispering to come closer. He obliged and join the hug.

A second later, Bruce gets a buzz in his phone. He looks down on the screen and feels grim.

“I’m sorry, but there’s an emergency in Arkham. Someone escaped.”

All of the boys let go and stare at their father, then to you.

“Go.” You said urgently as the boys headed down to the Batcave.

Bruce kisses you softly and puts a hand on your belly.

“Will you be alright?” He asks.

You nod your head and he leaves you standing the in the middle of the room, feeling your nerves build up and start to wonder.

Who has escaped?

Taglist:

@elizamalfoyy

@mikariell95

@edgycatx

[anakinisvaderisanakin]

Impasse - A Vaderdala Oneshot

“You forget something, Lord Vader.”

Vader flinched, the voice as clear as a bell yet as foreign as the icy vacuum of space. He found himself frozen in place, the bulk of his hefty frame suddenly unbearable. Inside his chest, he felt the searing fingers of remorse and the scalding flames of rage warring for control. 

Against better judgment, he shifted to turn around. Against better judgment, he let down his guard and ignored unclipping his lightsaber. He knew the face he would find before he saw it, but he was still not prepared for the wave of emotion that spilled forth as he came face to face with his own ghosts. This one, he had expected long dead and buried.

“Padmé,” he gasped, but the voice that came out was blunt and deep and void of affection.

Still, the shock bled through. Padmé was as beautiful as the day he’d last seen her. Eyes fierce and determined, dark hair coming loose from her neatly tied bun. Her face was set in a scowl, blaster drawn and aiming straight for the chest panel on Vader’s chest as if it were a marked target meant for practice and precision fire. The air had shifted, the tension thick and heavy and oppressive as they stared each other down. No, more accurately Padmé’s intense, fiery glare was bearing down on Vader. Vader felt his anger dissipate the moment he met that stare; the ice cold regret and guilt crippling him inside out as it won the impasse.

“You said you had come to destroy the Rebellion. I am the last leader standing here. I alone. Will you destroy me now?” Padmé hissed through a clenched jaw, cheeks flushed but her hands steady.

Vader was familiar with the vow he had made, but now it seemed an impossible lie. Before his mind’s eye, he had envisioned old men and snot nosed kids. Politicians and traitors and cowards, incapable of accepting the Emperor’s grand design and his expert vision. The future was bright, the Sith had reclaimed their natural state in the circle of life - atop the ladder. Only fools and children would oppose such an evident supply of unlimited power. Yet, Padmé seemed to care for none of these things. Time had not slowed her down, it had not thawed the ice built in her heart - the ice Vader himself had put there.

“Well?” she pressed, voice tight, calm and collected.

The words escaped before Vader had any chance to rein himself in. Perhaps he never intended to.

“No.”

“No?” she repeated, as if mocking him but her expression revealed surprise and disbelief.

“Aren’t you here to execute your Rebel traitors?”

Vader said nothing, instead he reached for the saber strapped to his belt. He watched Padmé tense, watched her shoulder come up and the finger on the trigger twitch. In what might have been a gesture of surrender, he simply tossed his weapon between them. The gesture was barely a flick of his wrist, but it sent the hilt skidding across the smooth floors until it came to an premeditated gentle stop at Padmé’s feet. She glanced down to regard the token, an unreadable tinge of something somber gleaming in her eyes for a split second. When she looked back up, Vader had not moved. He stood with his hands at his sides, the bombardment outside the underground bunker shaking its hull; straining the already flickering lights.

“I will not fight you,” said Vader finally, as if that would be enough to soothe the woman’s stubborn spirits.

She furrowed her brow, the corner of her lips curling into a half sneer of disgust. It stung, and Vader might have recoiled from that alone had he not been the man he was. Changed, remolded and retooled. His heart had been ripped out once, and still Padmé’s presence willed its withered carcass to beat and blossom. At the same time, she tore it to shreds once more with the disdain her face held for him. He sensed it inside her, swirling and expanding into a palpable loathing. It cloaked her, surrounded her like a cloud. It reeked of pain, sorrow, and betrayal.

“You don’t know me. If you won’t fight, I will,” she said, every word calculated and sincere.

“‘Aggressive negotiations’.”

It was merely a statement, but its meaning rang true. Padmé straightened up, eyes suddenly wide as a ghost of horrified recognition filtered past her defenses. it was gone in the blink of an eye, but the colour that had drained from her already pale face was harder to conceal.

“Who told you?” she snarled, shifting the aim of her blaster towards Vader’s heart - knowing it would do no harm, but the gesture hit him like a slap across the face either way.

She was questioning how he had learned about her and The Jedi. Anakin Skywalker, her husband. Perhaps she had her sneaking suspicions, she must. But her aura betrayed none of it, it remained outraged and unsettled and adamant in her quest.

“You did.”

Padmé opened her mouth to deliver another scathing retort, but she snapped it close again. A tremor passed her slight frame, and it did not go unnoticed. Her resolve was faltering and waning, the lie she had convinced herself to believe no less a stretch of the imagination than the mental gymnastics Vader himself had been performing for the past four years. Ever since Mustafar, ever since he lost everything. Now, that very everything lost stood before him. Now, she was once more within his reach.

“I’m sorry. I tried,” he heard himself say, a feeble apology not nearly sufficient to excuse the heinous acts he had committed.

The voice was still not his own, but the words were earnest. Padmé lowered her blaster in slow, jerky motions but her eyes were transfixed on his. At the very least, Vader felt their gaze burn straight into his soul; into the furnace of his heart that had frozen over a million times. 

“You’re safe.”

It was a ridiculous profession, Padmé’s very existence as part of the Rebellion was a death sentence. But she was alive, she was well and healthy and stable and here. She had not died. He had failed her, but she had lived. He took one step towards her, feeling just as wary and insecure as she looked. She blinked rapidly, shaking her head in a tiny micromovement. She mouthed something, but there was no sound accompanying the motion. Vader understood her fear, yet it pained him to no end. He was unrecognizable, locked within this jettblack prison of durasteel, cybernetics and synth flesh. There was so little left of his physical body, and even less of the man Padmé had once loved.

“It can’t be…” she whispered, hoarse as the tendons at the sides of her neck strained.

Vader felt the urge to cry, an urge so overpowering. An urge that had not found him since Mustafar, since the fall of the Jedi and the Republic. He had no tears to cry, no measure to shed tears by. His retinas, his tear ducts were long since eaten away by flames and embers. Still, his eyes stung. A warmth pressed behind them, a heaviness bearing down on his chest like a fist squeezing the air out of his lungs. Lungs he no longer had.

“Do what you must. I am not afraid to die.”

Padmé’s eyes widened, mouth falling open as realization dawned upon her. She understood. Vader expected her to back away, expected her to cry, to yell, to fire. Anything. Instead, she stood stone faced. As frail as porcelain, yet as sturdy as the brightest star in the Galaxy. Now, she took a step towards him. Then another. Closing the gap, inch by inch, foot by foot. She tipped her head back, never once drawing her eyes from the opaque crimson lenses of Vader’s eyes that substituted eyes. They served for the damaged, half blind eyes hidden behind.

“What have they done to you?” Padmé’s resolute voice murmured; full of compassion and love, emotions that seemed to have sprung out of the ether.

Yet, what she really meant was; what have you done to yourself?

Vader did not falter as she stopped but a breath away. Her trembling, slender fingers reached for his face plate. Her tiny hand brushed over the mouthpiece, running over the sharp angles and the netted grill. A breath was forced through it, with a loud hiss and the smell of sanitizer and bacta fluids followed it. Padmé’s eyes were round, warm, and mournful. They were glassy, her cheeks flushed but it was Vader who wished more than ever that he might shed a tear. If she were to strike him down, he deserved it. He would allow it. He would let her.

“Anakin.”

It was not a question. She knew, it was evident in the pitiful, feeble smile of shock and relief alike that grazed her lips. It was gone in an instant, but it had said enough. So used to denouncing his name, denouncing himself and all he was and had been - Vader found himself unable to deflect her. She was right. He had been wrong for so long, choosing to live in darkness and denial. No more.

“Yes.”

Anakin meant it.

****

Have a short Vaderdala AU.

[thatfanficstuff]

Impossible - 23

Pairing Grouping: Eric x Reader x Godric

Warnings: discussion of unwanted pregnancy, killing people, and Nan Flanagan

A/N: The moment has come to discover your origins. Finally.

***

You were behind the bar at Fangtasiataking inventory while Godric sat on a stool keeping you company. Pam and Eric were in the office going over payroll. Both were tasks normally left to others but after the issue with Longshadow, Eric was taking a more hands on approach. You wondered how long it would last.

You were crouched behind the bar counting glasses when the front door opened and shut.

“Sorry, we’re closed,” Godric said.

“I’m actually looking for someone,” a familiar voice answered.

In an instant, you were on your feet. Your father’s attention turned to you and he smiled. You couldn’t help the little squeal that left you as you hopped the counter and threw yourself into his waiting arms. It had been months since you’d seen him last, and you hadn’t parted on the best of terms. And, while you’d made amends since then, it wasn’t the same as one of his hugs. “I missed you,” you said into the shoulder you had your face pressed into.

“I’ve missed you too, angel.”

When you finally released him, you stepped back and looked him over. Not that he would look any different. He was a vampire, after all. “You’re early.” He wasn’t due to arrive until the next day.

He grinned. “Like I said, I missed you.”

You took his hand and turned to find Godric, Pam, and Eric all standing behind you. “Dad, this is Godric, Pam and Eric. Everyone, this is my dad, Roman.”

Eric stepped forward and offered his hand. “It’s an honor to meet you, sir.”

Roman shook his hand but simply hummed in acknowledgment instead of saying anything in return. You nudged him in the ribs with your elbow. “It’s nice to finally meet you,” he said, amusement in his tone. He’d stayed silent just to irritate you. Jerk.

“Do you have an entourage with you?” you asked.

He looked down at you with a lifted brow.

“If you do, you’re staying at the hotel. Otherwise, you can stay with us,” you explained.

“We also have a loft that you can use as well,” Eric was quick to offer.

“We can discuss my lodgings later. But first, dinner. My treat.”

***

When you arrived at the overpriced restaurant, you’d been shown to a private room so any conversation wouldn’t be overheard. You left Pam at the club but brought Godric with you. Your father kept shooting glances in his direction but had yet to ask outright who he was to you. Idle conversation filled the first half of the meal. As expected, it was your father who turned the focus to more serious topics.

“Nan is displeased over the incident in Dallas. She believes that we set her up,” he said with a glance at you.

“Nan is displeased because she got called out on her shit,” you countered.

Roman frowned. He had tried to make you a proper lady and he so hated be reminded that you were not. Unless he was using it to his advantage, of course. “I’ve explained to you before that she is a necessary evil.”

You sighed and leaned back in your chair. “No. She’s a bitch. I get the PR stuff, but she does you no favors amongst the vampire community. She’s not asserting your authority, she’s giving people another reason to dislike you.”

His eyes shifted to look at the other two men at the table who both nodded in agreement with your words. “I’ll take it under consideration. In the meantime, she has been assured that she doesn’t have to be in your vicinity for the foreseeable future.”

“Thanks, daddy,” you said with a grin.

He smiled as he shook his head. “I am entirely too indulgent where you are concerned. It is pointed out to me frequently.”

You hummed in agreement. “I assume these are the same people that are the first to recommend hiring me when needed.”

“That they are,” he said with a chuckle. His attention turned to Godric. “And who is he exactly?”

“That’s Godric. I already introduced him. Pay attention, Pop.” You were being deliberately obtuse. That wasn’t what he’d meant at all.

“Who is he to you?”

A slow smile slid onto your face. “He’s my boyfriend.”

His gaze flicked to Eric. “And you are okay with your mate claiming another?”

Your mate’s smile mirrored your own as he gave a little shrug. “He is my boyfriend as well, so I fail to see the problem.”

Roman leaned against the back of his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Eric and your daughter were made for each other. It was evident from their first meeting. I would never dream of coming between them. But if they wish to make room for me in their relationship, who am I to refuse them? I am no fool.” They were the first words Godric had spoken all evening. You didn’t know if they made any sort of impact with your father, but they had you grinning from ear to ear.

“You are aware that I am a vampire and you can’t actually give me a heart attack, correct?” Roman asked you.

“I can keep trying.”

He took a deep breath. “I don’t know why I would expect anything else.”

“Since we’re covering all the heavy topics, why exactly is it that you can still feel me as strongly as if we’d exchanged blood yesterday when it’s been months? Especially since I’ve fed from both of them?” you asked.

Your father went very still. “I’m not sure what you’re getting at.”

Eric crossed his arms over his chest and you knew he was dying to say something. Wisely, he was leaving the interrogation of your father up to you.

“Oh, I think you do. I also think you know the answer,” you said.

He pressed the button on the table that called a waiter. “Fine. But not here. Your place would be best. Somewhere there is no chance of being overheard.”

Well…that was unsettling.

***

Once you arrived home, Eric poured drinks for all of you. You settled in the living room and watched your father as he stood. His fingers nervously tapped the glass in his hand.

“There was a woman. An informant before the Great Revelation. An ally. She proved invaluable. When she was discovered and her usefulness exhausted, I offered to change her rather than kill her. She’d earned it.” He drained his glass. Eric was quick to get to his feet and refill it. “She accepted provided we proceed immediately.”

“You didn’t find that odd?” Godric asked.

“Not really. I figured she must have feared losing her nerve. It happens.” Roman shrugged. “Truth be told, I had a soft spot for the woman. She was beautiful and sweet. Compassionate. I changed her myself.”

You shifted uneasily. You had never met this woman, nor had she been mentioned before tonight. Something told you that you weren’t going to like where this story was headed.

“As I worked with her, taught her how to be a vampire, I noticed a change in her appearance. Her stomach was growing.” He licked his lips. “Upon questioning, I discovered that she wished be turned quickly to terminate an unwanted pregnancy. It should have worked, but miraculously she was still pregnant. The baby was still growing.”

“That is impossible,” Eric breathed.

“Improbable,” Godric corrected with a glance in your direction.

“I was fascinated. I told no one and kept her locked away, afraid she would find a way to end the pregnancy as she’d wished in the first place. When the baby was born, there was an immediate connection between us. Almost like the bond between a sire and his progeny, but different somehow.”

Roman stood with his feet wide and his arms crossed over his chest as he looked down at you. Your heart raced in anticipation of his next words. “I killed the doctor and nurse that delivered the child. And when your mother insisted you were a monster that needed to die, I killed her as well.”

The casual way he told you that you were indeed the child in question and that he’d killed your mother in the same sentence rocked through you. Sent you off kilter. And, while you supposed you should be furious with him for doing it, you weren’t. After all, according to him, she wanted you dead so why should you be angry that it was her instead of you.

“For all intents and purposes, I amyour father. My blood runs through your veins.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” you finally found your voice to ask.

“At first, I feared you’d trust the wrong person. Your origins can never be discovered. There are too many that would fall to the temptation to experiment.”

“And later?” you prompted when he didn’t continue on his own.

“I was terrified I would lose you when you discovered the truth.” He ran a hand down his face and took a deep breath. “But I swore that I would tell you everything if you asked. So, I am.”

You stood then and hugged him. He gripped you tightly and sighed in contentment. “You’re not going to lose me, daddy. You saved me.”

When you pulled away, you frowned in irritation. “Though this does mean that we technically still don’t know what I am.”

“Of course we do, my love,” Godric said with a smirk. “You are what you have always been. An impossible thing.”

[five-rivers]

Changeling Chapter 1

A DP Fae Au fic. I've been promising you this for so long XD. I can hardly believe I'm finally delivering, even if it's only one chapter for now.

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Chapter 1: In the Beginning, There Was an Offer

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They studied legends. According to those legends, today, Beltane, was a time of renewal, of birth, of fertility.

It was not supposed to be… this. Their dreams weren’t supposed to be crushed today. Not under this sun, not under these blue skies and among softly blooming flowers.

This kind of news should have come with rain. It should have come with storms.

Maddie wiped tears out of her eyes and Jack patted her on the back. The air smelled sweet and dusty at the same time. The bench was uncomfortable.

“We could try adoption,” said Jack. He sounded shocked, too. Drained. His voice was pulled taught over a great hollowness. “Lots of people adopt. We can- can do some good in the world, maybe.”

Maddie sniffed and cried harder. She’d wanted her own children, and Jack knew it. Adoption was all very well and good, but at this point the suggestion felt like some consolation prize, and she felt terrible for even thinking it was, because Jack was right, it could be a good thing, and…

She wanted children. Her own children.

“Excuse me, I believe I can help.”

There was something about how he said that, about how the voice wound and slipped through her ears that had Maddie’s head snapping up. The man who stood to the side of the bench wore a long coat with a deep hood. Symbols, symbols that Maddie had spent hours, days, weeks, researching were stitched into the fabric. His eyes glittered in the shadows. The fingers of his hands, clasped in front of him, were too long, their coloring faintly lavender, as if they had been dipped in ink and retained the stain even after they’d been washed clean.

This was not a human.

“How?” asked Maddie, feeling hope drip back into her limbs even as Jack tensed behind her. “How can you help?”

.

“We shouldn’t have done that,” said Jack as they drove home. “We really shouldn’t have done that. Maddie, they’re evil, there’s always a catch and it’ll always be looking for a way to push us into it.”

“The catch is in the open,” said Maddie, leaning back against the seat of the car and closing her eyes. “It isn’t as if it’s in the fine print and we’re going to stumble into it. We have one, and then I get my tubes tied, or you get snipped, and we go on with our lives.”

“What if we have twins? Triplets? Maddie, we should have talked about this.”

“There wasn’t any time,” Maddie said defensively. “I had to decide right away.”

“What are we going to do if we have twins, Maddie?”

Maddie bit her lip, her eyes opening without her full permission as she thought. “We know how to deal with things like him.”

The car jerked just a little to the right as Jack failed to suppress his flinch. “Do you remember our work on motivations? On why they take artists, musicians, children?” he asked. He forged on without waiting for an answer. “Creative sterility, we called it. For this one to be able to cure sterility, he has to be powerful. I don’t think nails in pockets and inside-out clothing is going to stop him.”

Such protections were hit and miss to begin with. One faerie might hate bread, another might love it. The sound of bells would drive off one, and another would wear them in their hair. Even cold iron was no guarantee against them.

“We’ll have to find something better, then,” she said, firmly.

.

Maddie laughed. Not a twin. A single child showed on the ultrasound monitor. A girl. A beautiful baby girl. Perfect.

On the other side of the bed, Jack sunk into a chair, obviously relieved. “She’s healthy?” he asked the OB/GYN.

“Completely,” she said. “This is quite the miracle the two of you put together here.” She shook her head. “We must have gotten something wrong during our examination. I can’t even begin to tell you how sorry I am to have put you through all that, and I won’t blame you if you wanted to find a new doctor.”

“It’s fine,” said Maddie, patting the woman’s arm. “It happens.” Yes, being approached by a powerful fae just ‘happened.’ “The important thing now is to make sure there aren’t any complications.”

.

They made sure Jazz was born on a Sunday, with two middle names, one of which Maddie made sure to forget. They scheduled her baptism for as early a date as possible, even though both Jack and Maddie were as lapsed as it was possible to be.

Precautions.

Jack had his surgery only a month later.

They were safe. They had won.

The family of three snuggled together on the couch. Well, Jazz snuggled inasmuch as a newborn was able. They watched TV.

“Jack, dear,” said Maddie, roused to awareness by a news story about a rising young businessman. “Is that our Vlad?”

Jack blinked at the screen. “I think you’re right,” said Jack. “I haven’t seen him since college. I don’t think we’ve talked to him since college.” He frowned. “Did something happen? The three of us used to be so close… He was the only one in the whole folklore department that would put up with our theories, do you remember?”

“I don’t know,” said Maddie, trying to remember. “It was like he was there one day, gone the next.”

“Do you think he’ll mind us getting back in touch?”

“Only one way to find out.”

.

(As it turned out, Vlad did not particularly care to get back in touch.)

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Jazz was not a normal child.

She saw too much. She understood too much. Her teeth grew in early. She learned how to get the milk out of the fridge at about the same time she learned how to walk. Her eyes were too large, even for her age. She didn’t start talking until she was almost two, and when she did, it was in complete sentences. She took to responsibility like a duck to water. No, she demanded responsibility, from waking up the family in the morning to answering the door. She loved rules and games, and the rules of games.

But they had never raised a child before. Perhaps this was simply how they were. Perhaps this was within the expected variety of humanity.

Most importantly, Jazz was theirs. Completely.

.

Maddie was not terribly concerned when her period missed a few days, or even when it was late by a week. But when it started pushing two…

She bought a test.

It came back positive.

.

Danny’s birth was different from Jazz’s in almost every particular. Instead of being infused with a sense of joy, proceedings were overshadowed by dread. Jazz had been born in a hospital. Danny would be born at home, behind every ward and protection Jack and Maddie could conceive of. The midwife they hired was more than used to odd belief systems and threw a few of her own traditions in as well.

It couldn’t hurt.

.

It didn’t help.

After the birth, Maddie held Danny in her arms. He’d been born in a caul, which had been slightly alarming, even though Maddie had known that it was a thing that happened regularly, and that, by most accounts, it was lucky.

He was such a tiny little thing. Smaller than Jazz. Which made sense, he was a little premature.

“I won’t let anything happen to you,” she promised him, whispering into the silky, wispy curls on top of his head.

Someone knocked on the door. Maddie jerked her head up, even though the front door wasn’t at all visible from the basement. Jack flinched hard enough to drop the towels he was holding. The midwife froze.

“Hospitality,” croaked Maddie. Those rules were always humanity’s first defense against the uncanny. Don’t want something in your house? In your life? Don’t invite it in.

Although, she had arguably already invited in the fae they were worried about. Hence all the other contingencies.

The knock came again. And again, louder.

Jack let out a sigh of relief. “It can’t get in,” he murmured. Then he smiled, broad and bright. “We just have to wait it out.”

Maddie nodded, tears in her eyes. The knocking continued. This was far from ideal, obviously, but she’d been half expecting the fae to simply rip through the wards like tissue paper.

Perhaps the theory that more powerful fae were more bound by custom, more vulnerable to their weaknesses, held water? She and Jack had always dismissed it as fanciful, but they’d never been able to gather evidence before.

Then, a sound that made her heart stop.

“I’ll get it!” called Jazz, childish voice muffled by distance and the obstacle of the floors above. She’d been told not to answer the door when Danny was being born, to wait patiently in her room, but for all her unusual maturity, she was only three.

Faster than she’d ever seen him move, Jack bolted for the stairs, pushing aside several pieces of furniture and medical equipment in his haste. He took the stairs four at a time and nearly taking the door off the hinges.

He wasn’t fast enough.

“Who are you, mister?”

“Me?” said a voice Maddie had prayed against ever hearing again. “I am your uncle, my dear. Did your parents not tell you about me?”

.

Jazz tipped her head to one side and stared up at the man, making her eyes extra big. She knew it made a lot of people uncomfortable when she looked at them like that, so she treated it as a kind of test.

The man smiled, kind and patient. He was kind of funny looking, but in a good way.

“No,” she said finally. “Are you Mommy’s brother or Daddy’s brother?”

“Ah, you already know about uncles, then. I was worried I’d have to explain. May I come in? I would like to greet your little brother, as your parents promised I could. I have gifts for both of you.”

Jazz liked gifts. “Okay,” she said. “But I dunno if Danny’s been born yet. Mommy said it can take a while. And I dunno if he can have gifts, yet. He’s gonna be really little. That’s what all my books say, and also the internet.”

“Jazz! Don’t!”

Jazz turned to see her Daddy skid around the corner, just as her uncle stepped across the threshold.

“Not quite on time, I fear,” said uncle. “Young Jazz has already let me in.” He patted Jazz on the head. She ducked away and stuck her tongue out, like she always did when Daddy did that. “Having greeted my niece, I would like to see my nephew.”

.

The fae did walk past the rest of the wards as if they weren’t even there. It didn’t even break them, just ignored them. Some of them he even commented on, as if approving.

He gazed down at Danny with his otherworldly eyes. The midwife had retreated to the corner of the room, refusing to look at what was happening. Jack had attempted to attack the fae with his bare hands, only to be pushed away with something approaching gentleness by an invisible wall. Maddie didn’t know where Jazz was. Upstairs, somewhere, hopefully.

“So beautiful,” the fae said, brushing Danny’s forehead with his off-color fingers. Faster than Maddie could react, he had a pair of scissors in his hand and was cutting off a lock of hair. “A lovely child.” The lock of Danny’s hair disappeared into the fae’s coat.

If Maddie didn’t know better, she’d call the expression on the fae’s face love. But she did know better. Love was as incomprehensible to the fae as fae laws were to humans, so she’d call it by its true name: avarice.

She tightened her grip on Danny, as if she could keep the fae from plucking him from her arms.

“Not now,” said the fae, after another moment. “Soon, I should think.” It ran a hand over Danny’s head. “Soon.” The fae looked up, meeting Maddie’s eyes. “I will return,” he said, “in one year.”

“For what?” demanded Maddie, unwilling to get her hopes up.

The fae blinked slowly. “For his birthday.” He tilted his head. “To determine whether or not he is ready. Perhaps, also, to visit my niece.”

“You stay away from Jazz!” snarled Maddie. “You have no claim on her.”

The fae merely shrugged, then smiled, slyly. “She does, however, have a claim on me. I promised her gifts, before your husband whisked her away.”

“Gifts,” repeated Maddie, hoarsely.

“For the sister of my child, yes,” said the fae, voice and face as calm and even as ever. “Would you ask me to forswear myself?”

“Then,” said Maddie, “you can leave them here, with us.”

“You will give them to her?”

“Yes,” said Maddie, through her teeth. She did not say how long she would let Jazz be in the presence of these ‘gifts.’

“Very well, then,” said the fae, pulling a number of boxes out from beneath his coat. “One year. Be prepared.”

And, with that, the fae faded from view, as if he had been an illusion all along.

Danny was still with them. Their son was still with them. Still theirs.

“One year,” she said, breathless. “Only one year.”

“One whole year,” corrected Jack, rushing to her side. “You’ll see, Maddie. Next time, that fae won’t know what hit him!”

“One whole year,” echoed Maddie, weakly.

“One year to prepare,” said Jack. “Look what we did with half that time! We’re Fentons! We can do it!”

“We can do it,” breathed Maddie. “One year. We’ll be ready.”

Jack nodded, firmly. “We’ll be ready.”

[cheelduh]

How to tie up a cute boy

(Highschool Au)

Pairing: Childe x fem!reader

Parts: 1  2  3

Word count: 4K

Warnings: Swearing, Scaramouche abuse, no Signora slander this time, shit humour.

Synopsis: "Why are you doing homework?" Childe groans, rolling off to the side and kicking off the blanket to expose himself in nothing but a pair of boxers. "I'm literally right here, naked and defenseless. Why aren't you taking advantage of me?"

Note: Unedited yet again besties. Tysm for reading :) I got Childe after losing him to mf MONA, istg it was the most stressful moment of my life.

The clock ticks with its pendulum, ridiculing you as it holds the time. The gentle whirring of the air conditioning in the background serves as the icing on the cake to your pent up aggression.

You try not to glare at your phone too much after receiving a text from Childe that told you not to worry, that his dad picked him up and that he was in the comfort of his home, letting the flu blow over.

It took a lot of convincing from his part earlier that morning to get you to go back and actually attend the rest of your classes, making sure to check up on him every break plus the additional "bathroom breaks" you usually never take while in class.

"I can't let you get in trouble for me." He murmured with a small smile that pumped your blood a little faster than usual. "I'm fine, really. Don't worry your pretty little head."

You do exactly that.

You don't even know why you're so worried. He's sick, not dying. Not to mention, you aren't even his girlfriend let alone his friend to care so much. 

Your intrusive thoughts don't waste any time. You latch onto the one thought that takes over. He's probably dead. Lying in his bed in a heap of pillows, passing peacefully while his parents are in the other room. He's dead.

Okay, he's not dead. You intrusive thoughts sure do one hell of a job. He'll be fine, and in no time he'll go back to being a reckless distraction in your life that you need to surpass. Just another obstacle to add onto the list of things life has thrown at you.

But for an obstacle, he sure is kind of cute.

You refrain from bashing your head on the desk. School isn't really a preferred environment on your list of top ten places to shrivel up and die.

Speaking of death and all that is evil, why is Childe always on your mind? He takes up every nook and cranny of your day, constantly, and truth be told it's starting to boil your piss.

Every time you close your eyes you see his smug smile, and hear his stupid laugh. He's an annoying little prick who gets a rise out of exasperating you. Yet here you are, terrified by the warmth that blossoms in your heart when you so much as hear his name.

The final bell rings at long last, conveniently before you bite your tongue to avoid screaming, and not another second is wasted once you launch yourself out the door. You dodge through the crowd of students in the hall that are buzzing in excitement from it being a Friday afternoon, and you would be too if you weren't so damn hung up over a ginger with a battlekink.

Locker in view, you make a beeline and spend the next two minutes fumbling with the lock in your hands.

"Woah there cutie," Lisa speaks up playfully. "At this rate you'll break the poor lock with your bare hands."

For a moment you're surprised at her sudden appearance, but then remember that it's normal for her to worm her way anywhere.

"It's just—this lock is being dumb okay? It has no reason being a pain in my ass but it wakes up every day and chooses violence." You hiss through your teeth, a sharp metallic ring invading your ears when you lose it and jostle the combination lock against the door of your locker.

Lisa winces, but smiles teasingly nonetheless. "Want me to give it a try?"

"Please."

Lisa has the door open at record speed.

"I love you Lisa." You confess wholeheartedly, gripping at your chest. "I love you so much—"

"Yeah yeah," She waves you off with a grin. "Now hurry up and go save your boyfriend from the common flu. Archons knows he won't make the night."

You flush at the word "boyfriend" and don't give much thought to the insinuation that lies within the rest of her sentence.

Sliding your skateboard under an arm, you spin on your heel just to bump straight into Scaramouche, who's won the scowl of the century on his face. He's the last person you want to see right now, but apparently the universe wants to have a pissing match with you.

"Give this homework to that idiot Ginger." He shoves a stack of papers into you. "Tell him that once he's done circling the drain, I'm gonna kick his ass." He then leans in, murderous glint in his eyes. "And if you ever touch me again I'll take a shit in your cereal. That's not a threat, it's a promise."

You shiver at the thought of him squatting on your Cheerios, hands becoming clammy as you try and justify yourself. "It was an accident."

Your pitiful excuse earns you nothing from the navy haired boy. "It'll be an accident when I murder your entire family, three generations over."

"Hi Mona!" You wave excitedly over his shoulder at the body of students that are totally not Mona. With elation he fails to conceal, Scaramouche turns to look at the speed of light.

You take the chance to make your escape—not before waving to Lisa, chuckling to yourself. He's down bad.

With great expertise you file your way through the flock of students chattering near the entrance. , you confidently place your skateboard down on the sidewalk, ready to—

Wait—where does he live again?

You sigh heavily, ignoring the sadness as you thank the universe internally for pulling the reigns on your disastrous plan. Checking up on Childe at his house? With his family present? Making a complete fool out of yourself? What are you thinking? The possibilities are horrendous. He probably doesn't even think of you like that, he just likes a challenge and you pose as one.

You turn away to make a run for it in the direction of your home, all the while ignoring the nagging worry in your chest for Childe. He's probably fine anyways, you don't need to check up on him, and if you did he'd likely find a way to spin it and tease you relentlessly.

Although somehow, the thought of being teased by him isn't as dreadful as you'd like it to be.

Suddenly, an idea graces you, one that guarantees your misery by sating your obligation to check up on Childe. A litany of curses escape your mouth. Genius really, the amount of ways you can think of doing something that'll end in your demise.

"Adeptus Xiao." You whisper apprehensively, already regretting your decision. "Adeptus Xiao." Glancing around your surroundings, you barely notice the shadow that looms over you at your backside.

"What do you want mortal?" Unbeknownst to you, he strikes out of nowhere, making you jump back several meters. You manage to muffle a surprised shriek.

Xiao is Venti's -6 ft boyfriend, the vicious epitome of an eboy. He has a scaled tattoo covering up the majority of an arm, a few piercing holes in his ears, all matched up with a disinterested look. Somehow, he always appears out of nowhere if you call out his name. It's sort of disturbing in a way.

His amber eyes pierce through you, forcing a shudder of fear and dread to lace your blood, almost as if he can sense you shittalking him in your head.

With shaky hands, you ask, "Can you tell me where—"

"No."

"You didn't even hear me ou—"

"No."

"Please?"

He refuses to at least pretend to think about it for a moment.

"No."

"Why?" You frown, stomping your foot on the ground childishly.

"Because." He retorts with a lack of interest, but doesn't further explain his point. English teachers must love this kid.

"Okay," You say slowly, casually inspecting his form as you come up with an idea, briefly remembering Lumine mentioning it to you. "How about I give you my share on almond tofu Tuesday."

The lack of interest on his face wavers slightly. Bingo.

"What do you want mortal?" Xiao mutters gruffly, arms crossed, face morphing into subtle annoyance.

You wrack your brain for a proper answer. You can't just outright ask him or it'll seem like you have a thing for Childe, which you unfortunately do, but you'd like to keep a semblance of integrity. Ah yes, the homework!

"I gotta deliver these to Childe." You outstretch the pile of worksheets in your hands. "Except I don't know where he lives. Can you tell me?"

Xiao's eyes glint with danger. "Did you summon me for the trivial task of giving you an address?"

You nod furiously.

"Do humans have no shame?" Its rhetorical. Expressionlessly, he closes his eyes with intent focus, doing what you assume to be locating Childe's exact location.

He blinks an eye open, reaches a hand out. "Give me your phone." Palm waiting.

You hand it over to him almost desperately.

One glance at your bubbly phone case and he doesn't even try to hide his distaste. He taps a few times, then hands it back to you almost immediately.

On the screen is maps, and Childe's home is about a fifteen minute walk away.

Your jaw drops in disbelief. "How did you do that?"

"Easy," He mutters, leaning back against the school gate as the remainder of students walk past the two of you. "Locating demons that need subjugating is but a simple task."

There's a pregnant pause. Demon.

"Childe's a demon?" You gasp, even though you've always had your suspicions. Hence the reason you invest so much in demon-cancelling charms.

"What? No." He mutters with a roll of his eyes, and you note that his irritation grows the more questions you ask. "I had a physics project with him last semester."

That's why the charms don't work.

Your mouth forms an o, in fear that if you keep this conversation going on any longer, he'll snap at you. Especially when your next line of interrogation involves how he's able to appear and disappear into thin air.

It's a magic trick you'll want to master whenever Il Dottore has another conniption fit in the middle of the hallways after Kaeya tells him he looks like he has skid marks.

"Thank you." You say instead, trying to preserve his regard, but by the time you meet his gaze he's already gone with the wind.

—

Childe's home is surprisingly humble, considering the amount of fat stacks of cash he carries around in his fanny pack so care-freely. It's a normal suburban home from what you can tell, a little bigger than normal with a double garage, neatly mowed lawn and a few forgotten decorations from the windblume festival. A series of water guns lay forgotten near the entrance, making their presence known when you stumbled upon them.

It's hard to remain unphased. Especially since such a normal looking home has bred someone as ruthless as Childe.

Maybe it not the home, you think. Maybe it's the way he was raised. You recall a few glimpses of his mother in middle school, but because of your worse for wear memory retention, you can't ballpark her personality type.

As your thoughts wander further down to his parents and early childhood, villain origin story and what not, you're pulled out of your concentration when the door opens. The possible implications of being here are most definitely not in your favor.

Childe's mother is a stunning woman in her mid-forties who sure as hell doesn't show it in that jaw-dropping sapphire dress, topped off with a brilliant smile that makes your knees weak. Like mother like son, you suppose.

With her sudden appearance, strangely enough, you can remember how good her tiramisu bites are.

You take a moment to respond, swallowing thickly, only to stare at her stupidly.

His mother doesn't waste another second before ushering you in, oblivious to your star-struck expression. "Y/N? L/N Y/N? My have you grown. I remember when you were only this tall." She lifts her hand up a little above her waist, the jewels on her fingers dazzling with every movement. "How is your mother doing?"

"She's doing alright, busy with the clinic." You're able to find your words, smiling back at her, able to get somewhat familiar with her warmth. "I hope I'm not intruding. Childe forgot some homework." You say, heaving the short stack up.

"Ajax?" She laughs, shaking her head in disbelief. "I can't believe he's going by that now. I wonder when this phase will be over. He may act tough but he's such a softie, has the biggest heart."

You, in between concealed emotions and giggles that threaten to leak, try to hide the oncoming grin but it's impossible. "Well he's got you to thank for it."

"You flatter me too much Y/N," She fixes the up do, pinning back the blonde hair that deftly frame her familiar cerulean eyes. "I can see why he can't stop talking about you."

Her words make you waver momentarily. The fondness you've refused to share, the drawn out stares in the halls, the lingering touches, you don't want to acknowledge it but it's there. Whatever it is.

"I'm so sorry for cutting this short dear," His mother sighs, grabbing her keys off the counter and placing her wallet in an elegant handbag. "My niece is getting married and we're already late. I told Ajax I'd stay if he didn't feel too well but he said he could handle a headache. That boy, I swear, always tries to power through."

You nod in understanding, but wait a minute. A headache?

Scrunching up your face, eyebrows furrowed, you ask. "Headache?"

She frowns, applying another layer of her rouge lipstick hastily in a nearby mirror. "I know dear, how unfortunate. The school nurse said it's a migraine, and I shouldn't fret much, but a mother can't help but worry. If only he weren't so stubborn, like his father."

As if on cue, a loud honk comes from outside.

"That must be him!" She exclaims, hurriedly sliding in her heels, turning back to look at your awkward figure. "Ajax is in his room, it's the second door to the right upstairs. I've made some lasagna for the kids, you ought to have some as well, I'll be upset if you don't—" Another annoying honk cuts her off, to which she scoffs, shaking a fist. "That old man, I'll strangle him in his sleep. I must be going now, goodbye dear." She reveals a twinkling smile at you one last time, waving a slim hand before picking up her heels and making a run for it.

The door closes with an unceremonious thud, gust of wind in its trail, leaving a bewildered high schooler in its wake.

Snapping out of your haze, overwhelming tides threaten to drown you whole. Being in Childe's home, alone, with him a handful of stair steps and a wall or two away, your cheeks are set ablaze.

Now that his mother's gone, you take a second to really look. There are a few toys littered in front of the TV, home covered in with soft throws and coordinated cushions, a lazy sectional plopped right in the middle. The marks on the furniture with all the stories, the light hued mismatched frames hanging on the walls and on all the table, so many pictures of those that resemble him, his brothers, his sisters, his family. You can almost hear the echoing laughter in the halls, the childish squeals and pitter patter of tiny feet slapping the hardwood floor.

This is where he grew up. This is where he retires to after a long day full of gratifying fistfights. This is where he was raised to be who he is today, ambitious and reckless, with the absurd dream to one day rule the world. This is his home.

It's...like being wrapped in blanket, safe and cozy, surrounded by all the love in the world.

Absentmindedly, your fingers trace the outlines of a younger Childe, two missing teeth and eyes full of dreams, hugging the side of his father's shoulder because his small arms can't wrap around them. Not just yet.

You make your way over to the staircase, which has even more frames littered across the wall, one that falls short of hiding the marks of a green crayon—another slice of domesticity you aren't quite accustomed to.

The reality sets in, and you come to a conclusion. This home is definitely not an environment for growing psychopaths, Childe just beats the odds like he beats up kids on the daily.

Your fist hovers over his door as you contemplate abandoning the sheets on a nearby table, but his mother was so sweet and polite, so incredibly hospitable, you wouldn't have the heart to make a run for it.

"I can see why he can't stop talking about you."

Three consecutive knocks. If he doesn't answer, you'll leave them at the door.

"Mama," Childe's muffled groans stem from the other side, and oh, you want to revel in the grave undertone of his voice because it's certainly not a common occurrence. "I told you I'm fine. You can go okay? I don't want you to be late, just need to sleep it off."

You blink, lips curling, and then knock again.

"Mama," He whines again, and it has you grinning mischievously. He's a mommy's boy, he has to be. The thought envelopes your heart with a newfound fondness. "Just come in and hurry."

You eagerly take in the room once you slip in, eyes scanning over every little detail, until they zero in on the heap of sheets smack dab on the single bed, a pair of feet dangling off the edge, topped with a comforter thrown over leisurely.

Childe's facing away from you, head dipped in between his shoulders, probably trying to find a position that's more comfortable. He's shivering, sweating at the same time. His mother must've been too preoccupied to notice. This isn't the first time he's used his exceptional bullshitting finesse.

"I can't believe you lied to your mother," You cross your arms, leaning back against the door.

With a jerk, Childe flings into a sitting up position, wide awake and aware of everything that is going on, a stark contrast from nearly seconds ago.

He blinks at you in shock, once, twice, rubs his eyes a bit, relaxes, then leans back, out of it completely. "For a sleep paralysis monster, you sure are kind of cute."

"For and idiot you sure are an idiot." You snort back.

"Wait a minute," He mutters slowly, jaw dropping. "You're actually here?!"

Ignoring his question, you opt to slap the papers on his desk to ignore your clammy palms. "Homework."

"And here I thought you came here all this way to be my personal nurse." He smirks, recovering from his momentary shock fairly swiftly. Doesn't refrain from giving you that shit stain of a bad boy grin, even with a flushed face and concavity under his eyes.

"I can be your personal mortician instead."

"I didn't know you were into role play babe, but I'll take what I can get." He winks, but is punished by a sequence of coughs that earn a wince from you.

"Headache?" You tease after he quiets down, but he remains as cavalier as always.

He sighs, sides of his lips still arched upwards. "My parents barely have any time to themselves, it's so hectic with the kids. What kind of son would I be if I couldn't even give them this?"

He must've threatened Barbara.

"You're," You inhale, briefly letting the silence hang between you two, mulling over what you wish to convey. sweet.

"Irresistible? Hot? Sexy?" He starts casual, arrogant smirk widening.

"Kind of not a complete asshole, is what I was going to say."

"Careful girlie," He narrows his eyes on you, playful lilt in his tone. The comforter is allowed to slip past his shoulders to reveal the goods that lie underneath, the complete naked chest of a post-puberty highschool boy who sprays too much axe. Full pectorals are something to pay for, stringed with smooth muscles that ripple their way over his toned shoulders. "If you keep teasing me like this, I can't promise I'll be the nice guy."

"One more time from the top," You bite back, avoiding staring at him for too long. "Without the congested nose this time."

With great expertise, he weakly throws a pillow at you, and you watch it exceptionally land at your feet, barely grazing the tips of your socks.

"Impressive," You whistle, not impressed.

He pouts, shivers, then is dunking his head back into the welcoming embrace of his plush collection of pillows.

With a sigh, you plop down on his chair, grab a pen and begin calculating derivatives.

"What're you doing?" He doesn't even turn your way, voice muffled.

"Homework," You reply nonchalantly, trying to calm your nerves. "unless you want me to get you something to eat, considering you puked out your gogurt on Barbara's shoes earlier. Congrats by the way, you're hit listed by her fan club."

"Why are you doing homework?" He groans, rolling off to the side and kicking off the blanket to expose himself in nothing but a pair of boxers. "I'm literally right here, naked and defenseless. Why aren't you taking advantage of me?"

He really has an IQ below room temperature.

Burying the formidable obligation to clock him in the face on behalf of society, you slowly get up to approach his bed, to which he grins widely in disbelief.

Apprehensively, you climb onto his bed, and he scoots over, excitement as clear as day. His hair's a wild mess from all the shifting, almost makes you want to card a hand through it. Your heart nestles it's way in your throat at the sight of his blazing blue eyes.

You pity him for what you're about to do.

"Relax Childe," You lean over him with confidence you never knew you had to begin with, face hovering inches before his. Your fists strategically grip the comforter on either side of him. "We have all day after all."

Although you attempt to pay no heed to his quivering hand that snakes up to find solace on your hip, you momentarily shiver at the tenderness.

He's eating this up and leaving no crumbs. Closing his eyes in anticipation, his lips tremble when he tries to close in the distance.

Abruptly, you cross both handfuls of sheets over his body, tying them securely in place to keep him docile. He struggles in your grip, eyes snapping open in surprise. "Wuh-What."

"Did you really think you had a chance?" You cross your arms, stepping back to get a good look at your handiwork.

"Honestly?" Childe huffs, struggles some in his restraints. "I wasn't really thinking."

"Typical," You scrunch your nose up, unscrunch, and then exhale. "You stay here and I'll go make you some soup. Well, not that you can really move but you get the idea."

"You're really going to leave me here like this?" He pouts cutely, melting you, and the sick bastard knows of his power.

"Relax," You wave a hand, "I may be evil but I'm not Scaramouche."

Meanwhile, Scaramouche sneezes as he tries to ask Mona out, falling straight on his ass from the kick back, making a complete fool out of himself. Mona doesn't mind though, finds it endearing.

Back at Childe's room, he raises a brow, expectant.

Going through the five stages of grief, you do something you've been wanting to do for a while, succumbing to the immense feeling.

Closing in the distance between you two, you suck in a breath and gently tilt Childe's head to the side. He blinks quickly, not quite expecting your sudden forwardness, about to say something that doesn't matter as soon as you place a tender peck on the side of his cheek.

Time stops, the world coming to a halt completely. A moment made in history, one you won't ever forget, fresh in both your minds from forward on.

And then you stagger away as if you've been stabbed.

"Soup!" You squeak, appalled by the sheer boldness of your actions. "I'll go make soup while you rest."

Childe, frozen, stares at you incredibly confused, and then beams.

Dear Archons, what have you done.

[lovesanmotion]

ateez reacts: making up with their s/o

💌 This is: Requested | Alot of you have asked for a part 2 of the arguement reaction and now here I am to deliver all of you its part 2 

Hongjoong: 

A week. That’s what it took long for Hongjoong to go after you. After you had left the shared apartment, it was never the same for him again. Hee started coming to work hours late, work productivitiy low and once caused destruction on the coffee machine because the coffee didn’t taste the same just like how you’d do it. He was slightly thankful that he still has his job despite the mess he placed upon himself. 

Hongjoong knocked on the door to your parents’ house. A bouquet of flowers in his hand to let you know that he always has you on his mind. As the door opened, he was surprised to a new you. A new you wherein there was this certain glow in you, the wrinkles and tiredness away from your face. The sense knocked into Hongjoong: he was the cause of the problem. 

“W-What are you doing here?” You asked, staring at him and then eyeing the flowers in his hand. 

Hongjoong smiles and hands you to the bouquet, to which you accept. “I came here to apologize. You might still hate me and seeing my face right now is probably making your blood boil...but I’ll get into it. I’m sorry, and I miss you. Marrying you is the best thing I ever did. And I’m ready to give you all the children you and I wish to have. But, I’ll give you more time and space. It’s what you need right now. It was nice seeing you, Y/N.” As Hongjoong was about to leave the walkway, a hand gripped on his forearm. His heart raced inside his chest, as he turns around to face you, a soft smile paints your small lips. 

“Stay with me.” 

Seonghwa: 

After plates, knives and forks were thrown to one another, Seonghwa took a break on you and met up with other women. Going on dates and having drinks with them, he couldn’t even look at them the way he would look at you. It had been half a year since he lost contact with you. Until one day, while he was about to get ready to go on a date with this women who his friend set him up with, he received a phone call from an unregistered number. Nevertheless, he picked it up. 

“Hello?” 

“This is Park Seonghwa, right?” On the other line sounded like a voice of an older woman. 

“Who is this?” 

“I’m sorry for calling without notice. I’m Y/N’s mother. Y/N has been missing since last night.” Seonghwa couldn’t hear anything what your mother is saying, quickly taking his keys, phone and wallet before dashing out the door. 

“Where was she last seen ma’am?” He quickly gets inside his car, pressing the keys to start the engine. 

“Central Park in the city, the one called Seoul forest. We called for a search team earlier today but they couldn’t find her.” Your mother’s voice began to break, Seonghwa’s heart started to beat immensely. 

“I’ll bring her back to you” He says before ending the call and driving off. You see, Seonghwa didn’t used the word “try” in his sentence. It is because whether it takes him hours, he would thoroughly look for you all by himself. 

And deep within the forest, Seonghwa kept yelling your name, it was dark and cold and he’s all alone. His suit all covered up with sweat, dirt and leaves. As he went further, Seonghwa found an abandoned bus inside the forest, he didn’t know how could a bus fit in the forest’s narrow road but he went aboard it alas, found you in the middle row. 

He wanted to get mad at you, scold at you for getting your mother and him worried. But he couldn’t bring himself to do so, instead, he wrapped his arms around you and hugged you tightly, breaking into small sobs. 

“I didn’t think it would be you who’d find me” you whispered, burying your face on his shoulder. 

“I should’ve hugged you the last time I saw you” 

Yunho: 

You lifted your suitcase up and strolled it inside the airport. A week program in Jeju is exactly what you needed to get your life back together. Finally, it is you. No more hiding and pretending to be someone you’re not for Yunho. 

While waiting to be called in the immigration, you sat at the lounge area, scrolling through your phone when you heard a commotion and rushed footsteps, tilting your head, you saw a crowd of men, women and Yunho? You watched as Yunho moved his head right and left as if he was looking for someone, and when your eyes met his, he walked towards you. 

“Isn’t that Yunho? What’s he doing here?” 

“Who is that Yunho going to? Isn’t he and Nayoung together?” 

“Whoever she is, she’s ruining their relationship” 

“You’re leaving without saying goodbye?” He asks, you scoffed, closing your phone. “I’ve already said my goodbyes to everyone. Except you. Why should I?” Standing up, you grabbed the handle of your luggage and was about to wheel it away when Yunho caught its handle. 

“And you’re leaving, just like that?” You spun around, looking at Yunho in the eyes with your tears forming. 

“We tried to make it work right?” Despite the tears threatening to fall down and your nose turning red, you smiled to him. 

“Yunho, I’m tired.” You whispered as a tear slips out of your eye. “I looked for you in places I knew there would be you. But it was you who kept walking away, and I’m tired of chasing you.” small sobs finally broke out, but still, a crowd of women surrounded the two of you with camera’s pointing at you both.  

“I’m sorry.” Yunho says, head hung low. “I’m sorry if I made things worst for the both of us.” He pauses, catching a tear fall down on the floor. “But now I know, that you’re really for me. Even if its going against my family, I’d do anything for you to keep you in my life.” He finally lifted his head up, eyes red and tears streaming down his face. 

Yeosang: 

“The worst thing I ever did is that...I depended my happiness with you.” 

Yeosang and his other woman were caught redhanded by you last night. And you hated how he showed no mercy or remorse for you. 

“But I wanted to say thank you for you. Thank you for all the memories we’ve shared. Even if it was short, I’ll treasure them. The good and the bad. Goodbye, Yeosang.” And with that, you got up and left. 

San: 

There was no closure between the two of you. You and San separated paths together and have been doing everything you both wanted. And you think it’s better that way, because you were done and tired. Having to put up with him always was draining you emotionally and physically. As if its only you who cares about the relationship. Although he left you traumatized, you were slowly coping up before you could face the world again. 

Mingi: 

Red. That was all you could see. You trashed and threw everything in sight, causing a mess all over your room and it took about five people to stop you from destructing your whole room. You wondered if you really deserve love at all, because right now, all you ever feel is rage. 

Wooyoung: 

Woo took his sweet time and met with multiple women, hooking up with them on random nights before calling a cab to take them to the nearest hotel. But get this, Woo never kissed them. Not once. He never got off with them, and often time, he would get annoyed at how whiny and demanding they could get in bed. And one night when he couldn’t sleep, his thoughts drifted to you. He wondered if you were sleeping well right now, where you are and wondering how well you are. His thoughts brought him back to all the memories he shared with you. A small smile paints his lips until he groaned, lifting his head slightly as he sees his cock erected up. 

“You miss her too, huh?” 

Jongho: 

A day after you and Jongho fought, he started to become around at home more often. He would lightly scold you if you did house chores as he would always volunteer to do it for you and would tell you to just lay down and take a rest. Whenever the baby would cry in the middle of the night, Jongho would only tell you to go back to sleep as he could handle this. And you did, you went back to sleep, only to be awake a few minutes after about how cold the spot next to you is. 

Slowly you got up and went over to the baby room, your heart swelled at the sight of Jongho sleeping in the couch with your child laying down on top of his chest. 

[spencessmile]

Gone

Requested? Yes 

Pairing - Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader 

Summary - Hi! could I request a piece where the reader and team are solving a pretty tough case and you find out some bad news. Knowing that you have to finish the case, you don’t say anything but you just end up breaking down. Thanks. 

Warnings - None 

Word Count - 2k

And all imagines/fanfics/blurbs are written solely by me so please don't steal my work and/or post it without my consent. 

Feedback and Comments are welcome. Happy reading! 

Requests are CLOSED!

** 

“This feels weird,” You look up at Emily as she looks up from her paperwork. 

“It does feel a bit strange, doesn’t it?” You nod. 

“Are you sure it's been three weeks?” 

“Yup.” 

“Wow.” 

“I feel so fidgety sitting here and doing paperwork,” She said grabbing her empty cup and taking yours as well. 

“Me too,” You follow her to the kitchen, grabbing a granola bar. 

Spencer and Morgan walked into the kitchen as well. 

“What’s wrong with you?” Emily looks over at Morgan. “And what’s on your hands?” 

“It’s black ink,” Spencer answers before Morgan can. 

“Why do you have black ink all over your hands?” You ask. 

“We work for the FBI, we do a shit ton of paperwork for every case we ever work on, you’d think they would have a functioning printer. You would want them too, right?” He asks and you slowly nod. “Well, they don’t! Instead, they have the piece of crap in there that they call a printer. It doesn’t do shit!” 

“Morgan’s right,” Emily agrees. “That thing is garbage.” 

“Maybe try to not beating it up every time you print something and maybe it’ll start working better,” You suggest. “Then again I wouldn’t know because I have my mini printer,” You say, smirking. 

“Oh that was so well played with Hotch, I still can’t believe you got away with that bullshit and ended up getting a printer for your desk.” 

“I had a broken leg Morgs,” You reminded him. “Besides Hotch was the one who asked if I needed anything.” 

“Anything yet?” Reid asks, pouring coffee and handing a cup to Morgan. 

“Nope,” Emily sighs. 

“Are we this desperate to catch a serial killer?” You ask. 

“This is the longest we’ve ever gone without being called on a case. Hotch is probably in his office trying to figure out which case to take on," You chuckle at Morgan's response. 

Just then Garcia walks in, holding several files. 

“I’m giving this case file to Hotch but grab your go bags, the jet is running, brief on the jet.” 

“Oh,” Emily quickly grabs it. “Finally,” You all drop your cups and run to grab your bags and head towards the elevator. 

** 

It’s been almost two weeks and you all were nowhere near to solving this case. The victimology and MO of the unsub made no sense to any of you. 

Anytime you’d think you have something, you’d connected it with what you already have and it just wouldn’t make any sense. 

“It’s late,” Hotch said. “Let’s head back to the hotel, rest up and start again tomorrow morning.” 

“When I asked for a case I didn’t mean one that makes absolutely no sense,” Emily said, dropping her head down on the table. 

“No case is ever solved in a day,” Rossi says. 

“We've spent the last however many days in this boardroom and we haven’t got much Rossi,” You said pointing to the evidence board. “Our unsub killed two people before we got here in the strangest way and now has gone awol.” 

“We spent the last 336 hours going through this case,” Spencer corrects you as you chuckle. 

“They’ll strike again,” He responds. “They always do.” 

“Oh my god,” Emily groans. “What time is it?” 

“Almost 8 o’clock,” JJ says, looking down at her watch. 

“I need tequila!” 

“I’m so in,” Morgan said. 

“I’m in,” JJ said. 

“I’m buying. Aaron you in for a couple of drinks?” Rossi asked. 

“Sure,” Hotch replies. 

“What about you two love birds?” Morgan looks at you. 

“Nuh-uh, I’m so sleepy,” You said.

** 

As you and Spencer got ready for bed, you can’t help but have a strange feeling forming in your stomach. Something was nagging at you but you couldn’t tell what it was. 

It was making you feel sick, almost. 

“You okay?” Spencer asked. 

“Yeah, I miss sleeping in our bed. Hotel beds just aren’t that comfortable.” 

“Me too,” Spencer said, kissing your forehead. “Come on,” Spencer turns off the light and he pulls you closer. 

An hour passes as you twist and turn but you still couldn’t get that awful feeling in your stomach to pass. You carefully get up and pour yourself a glass of water. You pull at the blinds a little, which reveals the moon. You stare at it for a while until you hear shuffling. 

“Babe?” Spencer sits up rubbing his eyes. “What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing,” You responded. 

“Then why are you up?” 

You sigh, sitting down beside him. 

“I just can’t sleep tonight,” You tell Spencer honestly. 

Spencer could tell you were anxious about something. He turns on the lights and takes your hands in his. 

“Talk to me please,” He said softly. 

“I jus-” You take a deep breath before continuing. “I just have this bad feeling about something.” 

“Bad feeling about what?” He asks. 

“I don’t know.” 

“How long have you felt like this?” 

“Not long,” You reply. “It sort of started when we came back to the hotel and were getting ready for bed.” 

“You let me go to bed when you were feeling like this earlier?” Spencer asked, concerned. 

“I thought the feeling would go away but now it’s making me feel sick.” 

“Tell me how I can help you?” 

“I want to sleep.” 

Spencer lays back “Come here,” You lay down next to him as you place your head on his chest, you can hear his heartbeat as his hand moves to your back, softly rubbing your back. 

Before you realize it, you slip into slumber. 

** 

“How are you feeling?” Spencer asks the next morning as you're getting ready to head back to the station. 

“I’m better.” 

You lied. 

You didn’t feel good, if anything you felt worse than last tonight. The nagging feeling was eating at you even more. You were pushing the feeling aside but the more you did the more you wanted to throw something at a wall or yell into a pillow. 

“Good,” Spencer said, kissing you. “Come on, the team is waiting for us downstairs.” 

**

As this case was getting nowhere you decided to step out aside and get some fresh air, outside. 

You quietly sat on the bench, closing your eyes as you took in the light breeze and warm sun. The moment didn’t last long until you jumped at the sound of your phone piercing through your ears. 

Your heart started racing when you looked at the caller ID. 

** 

“We need to re-deliver the profile,” Hotch says. 

“Alright,” Morgan replies as he realizes that you're not in the room with them. “Pretty boy, where is y/n?”

Spencer turns to face Morgan as he realizes that you weren’t in the room. Spencer wouldn’t be concerned when he doesn’t hear from you in a while because often when the wheels in your brain were turning you tended to be quiet and focus on your thoughts. 

“I thought sh-” 

“I’m here,” You say, gripping your jacket with your hands. “So-sorry, I went out fo-for some air. Where are we?” You ask, walking past Emily to stand next to Spencer. 

“We’re about to re-deliver the profile,” Your hands were shaking, no matter how much you tried to control your breathing, you couldn’t. 

You felt like you might pass out but you quickly grabbed Spencer’s hand as he put his hand over yours. 

“You okay?” He whispered and you nod. 

“Absolutely,” You flash him your fakest smile, as you and him both know that it didn’t reach your eyes. 

** 

No matter how much you tried to drain your thoughts with the voice of Hotch speaking your mind wouldn’t let you. 

You had no control over how your body was reacting; your hands were shaking, you kept fidgeting, all your body height was on your left foot and you were swaying side to side. Your eyes were glued to looking out the window on your left-hand side. 

You don’t how long passed until you realized the room was quiet, as you peel your eyes away, all the officers and the team were looking your way. 

“Agent Y/n,” You looked down at your feet not wanting to look at Hotch but you felt someone’s hand on your back.

“What’s wrong?” 

Rossi. 

No, no, you can’t do this here. You're doing your damn job this can’t be happening right now. 

No, please. 

You felt Rossi pull you aside. “Kid, what’s going on?” You felt the tears pressing your eyes as your breathing was picking up again. 

It was happening; you were starting to feel it. 

You looked up at Rossi, as water threatened to spill out of your eyes and you shook your head. 

“I jus-” You couldn’t even finish your sentence without wanting to fall into pieces. “I don’t kn-” 

“It’s okay,” He reassures you. 

You look past Rossi’s shoulder and see Spencer standing there and that completely did it for you. 

“I’m sor-sorry, I can’t,” You push past Rossi, Spencer, and the team, heading back into the conference room. 

You shut the door, leaning against the table as you feel an overwhelming sense of emotions. You try to hold back the tears but the more you did, the worse you felt. So you let them fall and you let yourself feel weak and hurt. 

**

“Y/n,” There was knocking on the door but you didn’t flinch, or turn around to see who it was. “Can I come in?” 

Without turning around, you nod. You hear the door open and close. 

Spencer. 

“Please talk to me,” Spencer didn’t come near you but he stood by the chair. He patiently waited for you to say something. Spencer being in the room once again made your tears fall and made your insides yearn for someone you’ll never see again. 

You turn around to face him and his face softens seeing your tear-stained face. He walks up to you but stops enough to see your face. 

“What’s wrong?” Spencer’s voice made you crumble more inside. 

You all you did was look at Spencer and it was almost like he knew what you were going to say. 

You know you had to say it.

Say it. 

Say it.

Say it so you can be okay with it. 

“He’s dead.” 

As soon as Spencer’s arms wrapped around you, you completely broke down. You gripped his sweater with your hands and dug your head into his shoulder as you held onto him tightly. 

“He’s dead,” You repeated, feeling yourself falling apart. Spencer supported you by holding you close as he let you fall apart in his arms. 

“It’s okay.” He whispers coddling your head. 

** 

The next couple of hours were a blur to you. Spencer and you made it back to the hotel. Spencer helped you change into comfier clothes, ordered some food, and quietly sat with you until you were ready to talk. 

“I’ll never be able to go back to that park,” You spoke up. “It’ll remind me of him too much.” Spencer squeezes her hand. “I’ll never be able to tell him that I love him or we’ll never be able to go and get ice cream ever again. I won’t ever be able to call him and ask him for advice, and that I’ll never hear him crack one of his lame jokes. I’ll never be able to hug him again.” 

Spencer knew you were hurting and he wanted to say something to soothe your pain but nothing he would say, would ease your pain. 

“He’s gone Spencer,” You started tearing up again. “My brother is dead.” 

“Hey, look at me,” Spencer wipes your tears. “He may not psychically be here anymore but now he’s always watching down on you. He’s your guardian angel.” 

“I never told you but he’s been calling me for the past two weeks and been asking when I would introduce you to him. He was so excited to meet you. He had this huge list of things he wanted to do with you. He was so ecstatic when I told him about you,” You turn to face Spencer, laying your head in his lap. You looked up at him as his fingers ran through your hair. 

“I guess it wasn’t meant to be.” 

You hated that it wasn’t mean to be, you wanted your brother to meet the man that pulled you out of your darkness and pushed you towards the light. 

“You would have loved him, Spence,” A single tear rolls down your face. “He just had so much life to him. He has always up for a challenge and the love he had for books is just insane. He would've loved to share his books with you. He once told me that he so excited to play a game of chess with you and absolutely crush you.” 

Spencer lightly gasps. “Nobody can beat me in chess.” 

“Oh, he would have ended you in five moves.” 

There was a long pause, as Spencer just stared down at your features. “I believe you.” 

“I played so many games with him but I never found a way to beat him.” 

Spencer loved the way you talked about your brother, the way your eyes would shine, and the way your smile would light up your whole face. 

“This is exactly how your brother would want you to remember him, by all his good memories. He wouldn’t want you to be upset.” 

“I know,” You sigh, rubbing Spencer’s hand. “I love you and thank you for being so patient with me.” 

“I’ll always be here for you. I love you.” 

** 

To live in hearts 

We leave behind 

Is not to die - Thomas Campbell 

[pucksnsticksnhockeyboys]

there for you

summary: your best friend Bowen can’t help but draw some connections between you and your favorite show. 

word count: 2k

warnings: heavy spoilers for New Girl. like, its basically the premise of the fic

note from the writer: here’s a link to a tweet with the scene im talking about in this fic, its from the episode “Oregon” (season 4 ep 16). shoutout to @bqstqnbruin​ for finding it for me

Bowen had long since stopped asking to come over before showing up on your doorstep. Usually, he’d send a ‘are you home?’ text to make sure you were around, before heading to your apartment for whatever reason he had in mind.

The latest text had come in twenty minutes ago, so you knew he was going to show up soon.

Like clockwork, you heard a knock on your front door and Bowen greeting your roommates before your bedroom door opened. He was grinning, wide as ever, and you opened your arms for a hug from your position laying in bed, under the covers and in the middle of a New Girl marathon.

“Scoot over.” Bowen grins, barely giving you enough time to react before dropping on top of you, arms wrapped around your middle and his head nuzzled into the crook of your neck. You paused the show, not wanting to miss anything despite being on your third rewatch.

You wondered if he could feel how fast your heart was beating. If he knew just how much his touch affected you, how many feelings you were harboring from him.

“What’s up?” You asked, pushing away any thoughts about your massive crush on your best friend as you tried to get to the bottom of why he showed up out of the blue. It wasn’t the first time he had done so, but he always had a reason.

“I wanted to see you. Practice was rough.” He mumbled in the crook of your neck. Your heart skipped a beat at his words, how they fell past his lips so easily. Those words made you think that maybe your feelings weren’t so one sided, that there was a chance for you to be even happier than you already were with your best friend.

“You’re going to make me blush.” You teased, downplaying the fact that he really did manage to fluster you. Bowen snorted, squeezing you tightly once more instead of responding to your comment. An easy moment of silence passed, one that wasn’t stifling or awkward and it reminded you once more just how much you enjoyed being around Bowen. Subconsciously, one of your hands threaded through his hair. “I like it when your hair is longer like this.”

Your words were punctuated by a tug on his roots and though he didn’t say anything, he hummed contentedly. You worried that maybe he’d be able to hear the hammering of your heart or he’d know that the smile on your face wasn’t because of your platonic love for him. You feared that he would know—know how much you loved him and know that you had been hiding your feelings for so long. But you couldn’t let yourself think too much about that, you couldn’t let yourself overthink and ruin one of your closest friendships, so you tactfully changed the subject.

“Are we napping or watching my show?” You asked, though you had a pretty good idea what his answer would be.

“Nap, please.” He mumbled, and you could never deny him, especially when he was acting so sleepy and adorable, so you agreed easily. You both shifted your positions slightly, you trying to find the comfiest spot and him climbing under the covers with you, but eventually you both melted into your mattress, Bowen’s head still buried in the crook of your neck.

Bowen tried to stay awake a little longer; to tell you about his morning and the practice he had just come from that had drained his energy completely. But before long, his words were slurring together and when he stopped mid sentence, you knew he had fallen asleep with his arms wrapped around you and your fingers carding through his hair.

You tried to stay up too, to relish in the feeling of being in his arms. But you knew that pretending like it meant something more than it did was only going to break your heart more, so soon after he dozed off you closed your eyes and followed suit.

You were the first one to wake up, a combinatin of Bowen’s weight on you becoming slightly uncomfortable and the need to use the bathroom, so you did your best to climb out from underneath him without waking him. You thought you had made it out clear, but the moment your feet hit the floor Bowen was stirring from behind you.

“Where are you going?” He mumbled, causing you to halt your movements. It was far from the first time you had heard his gravelly voice just after he woke up, but it never failed to make your heart race. You swore you could listen to him talk forever, which was a good thing, since he never seemed to be able to stop talking.  

“Bathroom. I’ll be right back.” You told him, finally standing to your feet. When you turned back around, Bowen was already watching you with tired eyes that made your heart clench. God, you were so gone for him.

You slipped out of the room without saying anything more, not trusting yourself to not blurt out just exactly how his smile made you feel. When you returned, he was sitting up against your headboard, your laptop open on his lap as he queued up the episode you had been watching before he arrived.

“New Girl again?” Bowen teased when he spotted you enter the room. You playfully rolled your eyes at him, climbing back into your spot beside him on the bed. You mirrored his position, though you dropped your head against his shoulder.

“It’s a good show. Plus, Jess and Nick’s relationship is my favorite.” You told him decidedly, like you had a dozen times before. The relationship between Jess and Nick truly was somehting you strived for—friends that were always in love with each other, no matter the problems that arised and even when they were broken up they did their best to keep the other happy.

“Fair enough.” He chuckled, shifting slightly so that his arm was around you and he could hold you closer to his side. “What episode are we on?”

“Oregon.” You started, knowing you’d have to catch him up on more than just the episode name. “Jess, Cece, and the guys go to Portland because Jess’ dad is getting married. Jess’ boyfriend, Ryan, was supposed to show up but since he lives in England he said it wouldn’t make sense for him to be there. So, Nick’s trying to make Jess feel better because he secretly loves her and I just need them to get back together.”

“Don’t they end up together though?” Bowen asks, trying to recall as much about the show as he could. It might not have been one of his personal favorites, but he knew you loved it, so that was enough for him to try and follow along.

“Yeah, but they aren’t right now.” You confirm. Before Bowen could ask anymore questions, you pressed play on your laptop and continued where you left off. Jess and the group had just arrived at her childhood home, only to find her mom ready to greet Ryan, who wasn’t there. The scene played on, with Nick telling Jess the hard truth that Ryan bailing wasn’t okay.

You could feel Bowen’s eyes on you as the scene changed to Nick comforting Jess in her room. Giggling at the Jordan Catalano joke, you tried your best to focus on the screen and not the piercing blue eyed gaze that seemed to be studying your face. And, like you always did when you got to this scene, you bit your lip to supress a grin as Nick delivered his next line.

“The only thing that matters is that the guy is there for you when you need him. Otherwise, you’re dating a wall.”

“Are you even paying attention, Bow? That’s like, my favorite line. What I wouldn’t give to have someone love me the way Nick loves Jess.” You sighed, settling further against Bowen as the episode continued on. He didn’t say anything in response, other than a quiet hum, but for the rest of the episode you could practically hear the gears turning inside his head as he turned his attention to the screen.

Netflix automatically continued on to the next episode, but as soon as the intro started Bowen’s hand shot out and paused the show. You looked at him curiously; the two of you usually got through at least a couple of episodes whenever you hung out like you were then.

“You know…” Bowen started, trailing off before he finished his thought. He wasn’t meeting your gaze, and it was clear that what he wanted to say was on the tip of his tongue so you stayed silent while he found his words. “I’m always there for you.”

You felt your heart stop beating and skip three beats all at once. You weren’t sure where he was going with his train of thought, but if you had to guess you would be getting your hopes up. Because there was absolutely no way that he felt the same for you that Nick does for Jess.

“Yeah, you are…” You breathed, trying to get him to meet your gaze but instead he stayed focused on your comforter pulled over both of your laps. The hand that wasn’t around your shoulders was toying with the fabric, and in a bid to calm him down enough to get him to say what he needed you slipped your hand into his. Bowen drew in a steadying breath and finally met your gaze, a dozen and one emotions swirling behind his eyes.

“I love you, you know.” He said firmly, like there was no question about it in the slightest and not the very words you had been dying to hear from him for years. You nodded, unable to form words but not wanting to leave him hanging.

You supposed you did know that he loved you. He showed it in his blatant affection and the frequent texts about how his life was going. He cared for you, there was no doubt about it, but you had never let yourself believe that he meant anything more than friendship. And now he was offereing everything you’d ever wanted on a silver platter.

“Bowen,” You started, but you couldn’t find the words to tell him just how much you loved him back. Instead, you moved the hand that wasn’t wrapped up in his to rest on Bowen’s jaw, turning his head just slightly so that you could press your lips to yours in a long awaited kiss that stole your breath.

Kissing Bowen felt so much better than what you imagined. The angle was a little odd and your neck was craned to face him, but you wouldn’t trade it for the world. You’d share a thousand more awkwardly positioned kisses if it meant you got to be with Bowen.

You were the first to pull away, but you didn’t move far, wide grins on both of your faces as you took in the events of the past few moments. Your friendship was definitely changed, and in place was a relationship that you had been hoping for.

“I love you, too.” You finally mumbled. You wanted to tell him how you had loved him from the moment you met, how he made you fall in love with him with each and every day, but for the moment all that mattered was he knew you loved him just the same as he loved you.

“I hope, or else this is going to be awkward.” He mumbled playfully, leaning in again to close the distance between the two of you. You couldn’t help but chuckle against him, your hand slipping from his jaw to curve around the back of his neck in order to deepen the kiss.

Bowen was the Nick to your Jess, and not a day went by that you weren’t greatful for him.

[get-lost-in-fanfiction]

if you still do requests for ben-centric stuff, could you do reader/oc time travels and meets baby ben in the 70s? or something similar >//> thank you! -❄️

Second Meeting - Oneshot

Paring: Ben Linus x Reader

Word Count: 1.8k

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There’s something to be said about how quickly three years can go by. You can still remember how bad your headache was during the flashes. You still remember clinging tightly to Ben’s shirt before he descended into the Orchid. You didn’t know what was going to happen or if you were ever going to see him again. But the last 3 years have been a blur, full of everything DHARMA Initiative, and yet he still hasn’t left your mind.

You miss Ben terribly. Despite the many date offers by the Initiative members, you never allowed yourself to go on any of them. Juliet had tried to encourage you to go on some, even set them up for you. She knew it was pointless, and that even after three years you still held strong feelings for her old leader.

When Jack, Kate, and Hurley showed up you felt a shred of hope. You went with James to meet them, heart full of joy. It all sank when Kate never mentioned Ben at all, and you were too afraid to ask if he had come along. You were even more shocked to learn Locke had died, and were desperate to know how. You didn’t want to push it though, and your heart and brain was so full of shock you could barely get a sentence out.

You rode in silence with James back to the Barracks. You both had a silence agreement to not ask each other how you felt. That was how your friendship worked, and that’s how it always worked. From day one to now, it’s a silence agreement that neither of you two are okay but you won’t press for information.

You two are back at James and Juliet's house, rummaging through his wardrobe, grabbing shirts from hangers quickly. Juliet enters and you don’t hear her until she speaks.

“Hey,” She says and you look up while James keeps looking.

“You seen my baggy sweatshirt, the one with the bulldog on it?” He asks, still frantically pulling clothes together. You just stand there, looking at the shirt in your hands.

“It's in the laundry. James... what's going on?” Juliet asks, and James finally turns around. He gives a pained look to you, and you know exactly why.

“They're back,” You half whisper, and Juliet looks between the both of you in disbelief.

“I'm sorry. Who's back?” She asks.

“Jack, Hurley, Kate,” James replies, and Juliet has so many emotions on her face it’s hard for you to decode them all.

You tune out the conversation. Juliet’s expression did something to you. It shoved some sharp in between the cracks that were already there and threatened to shatter you. You were shaken from your thoughts as James drops the bag of clothes and sits on the bed beside Juliet. You realize you’ve been standing still for a while now and drop down beside him.

James sighs, “I don’t understand it any more than you do. But they're here, and I gotta find a way to bring 'em in before somebody else finds 'em and they screw up everything we got here.”

That's when it hits you, “There's a sub coming in this afternoon,” you say with your voice raised slightly and a sliver of hope comes back.

The next hours are a blur of trying to get Jack, Kate, and Hurley into the Initiative without raising any red flags. You think it seems to go smoothly enough, but nothing is ever simple. Especially not when Jack, Kate, and James are back involved with one another again. You watch Juliet very carefully throughout the day, and her expressions. You realize as you watch, that life as you know it has come to an end. God, planes do so much emotional damage.

When you get word there’s someone out in the jungle, some part of you screams that it’s Ben. They’ve taken him as a Hostile, which is not good. Your mind is already spinning with ideas on how to get him out. But then James gets word on his walkie that it’s Sayid, and your heart deflates. You’re not upset that Sayid is here, you just desperately wished it was Ben. So you volunteer to ride out with James to the Flame to see what’s going on.

Just as you expected, James turns you down. He says you need to keep an eye on Jack, Kate, and Hurley and he says he’ll take care of Sayid. You find yourself nodding, feeling numb. There was no one else with Sayid. You can almost feel hope draining out of your body and onto the grass beneath your feet.

You stand next to Phil in silence through the whole Orientation and picture taking. Everything seems like a blur and you’re not really present in your own head. Stuck in 1977 without the man you love.

“Okay,” Phil says and he claps his hands, shaking your from your thoughts, “Right on. So you guys have the rest of the day to get acquainted with your security protocol handbooks waitin' in your new digs. Now some of it may seem a little scary, but I promise you all, we are perfectly safe here, okay? So make yourselves at home. Come on. We got hamburgers. We got punch.”

Phil’s walkie goes off and you hear James’s voice through the other end “You there, Phil? We're coming in with a 14-J.”

“Roger that, Mr. LaFleur,” Phil’s replies and turns to you. He nods and you nod back, preparing to see your friend again

A DHARMA van stops and Phil speaks up again, “Okay, if I could get everyone to hold back, please, we have a minor security situation.”

James, Jin and Radzinsky step out with Sayid. You watch them all, and you and Sayid make eye contact. You’re surprised to see his eyes widen slightly at the sight of you. You don’t nod or make any acknowledgement that you know him, Phil is too close.

“Move,” Radzinsky says and you can’t help but flinch as they march him away.

“I guess we found Sayid,” You can hear Hurley say and you privately think that this is going to end up being a horrible shit show.

You follow the group despite Phil’s protests as you tag along while they march Sayid down the stairs of the security office and into a prison cell.

“All right, you can hang out here until we can figure out what the hell to do with you,” James says to Sayid and you have to remind yourself his tone is just for appearances sake. You don’t understand why you’re so sensitive

“What are we gonna do with him?” Phil asks James, giving you a sidelong glance. You and Phil have never gotten along. He didn’t like a woman working on the security team, but James insisted.

James sighs deeply before answering, “Bring the man some damn food. We're not savages.” James turns and locks the cell and gives Sayid a glance before walking away.

You want to stay and talk to Sayid. You want to ask him about Ben. Is he still on the mainland in 2007? Is he alive? Did he come with them on the plane? You’re torn and want to stand up for yourself, but Phil tells you to “come along” with a firm grip on your elbow and to have to comply. You give Sayid a tortured look behind Phil’s back and Sayid responds with a sad look and a bowed head.

You win by getting Phil to allow you to watch the security cameras. He sits at his desk, pretending to do work, but you know he's watching you. You sit in one of the chairs facing the screens and just start at Sayid feeling forlorn.

You hear the door open but don't bother to look up. You've been sulking this whole time feeling sorry for yourself. Your ears perk up when you hear a young boy’s voice

“Hey, Phil,” the boy says and you turn around, “I'm just gonna go in there and deliver him a sandwich.”

“All right”, Phil replies, nodding at you to keep an eye out. Your eyes widen as you watch the boy. He looks at you and your eyes lock.

Your heart explodes in familiarity at his eyes and you're in disbelief. The boy turns and walks away, obviously oblivious to what just happened with you. You scramble to your feet despite Phil’s protests and tag along with the boy.

You two enter the cell room. Sayid looks between you and the boy. The boy doesn’t seem to notice

“Hello. I brought you a sandwich,” the boy says and holds a bag through the bars, “I didn't put mustard on it, but if you'd like some, I could get some.”

“This will be fine. Thank you,” Sayid replies. The paper bag crinkles and your throat is dry. The boy looks up at you and you smile apprehensively at him. It’s meant to be reassuring but you don’t think it comes off that way.

“Are you a Hostile?” The boy whispers, looking at you with a terrified expression. You’re unable to say anything.

“Do you think I am?” Sayid shoots back, flicking his eyes over to you every few seconds.

“What's your name?” The boy replies, and it’s a game of questions. You squat down next to the boy, ready to pull him away if Sayid gives away too much information.

“Sayid. What's yours?”

“I'm Ben.”

Suddenly your ears are ringing. You almost fall over but catch yourself on the wall. Sayid is looking at you funny, seemingly shocked as well but more shocked at your reaction.

“It's nice to meet you, Ben,” Sayid replies with his eyes on you.

It’s Ben. It’s young Ben. You had no idea he was with the Initiative. Was he the one who started the Purge? ‘Oh my god’ you think. Young Ben leaves, giving you a weird look. He doesn’t recognize you, but how could he? Time is so fucked up, and you’re not even sure if this is the same Ben that you fell in love with. Will they grow up to be the same?

You press your back up against the nearest wall and slide down onto the floor. Your heart is pounding a bruise into your ribcage and you're lightheaded. Sayid looks at you, seemingly nervous to speak. You wouldn’t know what to say to him anyway. You're feeling way too many things at once to even be able to think about anything but oxygen to your deprived lungs.

Eventually, Phil comes storming in, pulling your shocked form off the floor, and sending you home. It's dark and chilly outside. All the lights of the houses are out except for James and Juliet’s. You don't go see them, you have to go home and process this whole day.

You make it home, barely flicking on a lamp before collapsing into bed in your jumpsuit. You manage to kick off your shoes and shimmy under your bed blankets. Maybe you don't have your Ben back, but at least you have a Ben.

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Please let me know if you’d like to be tagged for oneshots!

[winchesterxxi]

Come Back (Obi Wan x Reader) | Part 2/2

Rating: T (Teen and Up Audiences)

Type: Angst

Summary:  About a year later since Reader was last seen, word comes to the Jedis that there is a new Sith Lord that has been building a reputation on killing Jedi Masters. Obi Wan is sent to investigate.

Word Count: 2.1k

Warnings: Swearing, deviations from canon, descriptions of violence, death.

A/N: Really poorly written, I apologize but my mind is all over with uni work

MASTERPOST | REQUEST HERE | KO-FI

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Dagobah.

A new Sith Lord had been tormenting the galaxy for the past few months, taking villages at a time in search of Jedi Masters, or so the word ran. As it had been made known by the Council, this Sith hasn’t taken a single civilian life but rather targeted the Jedis that would come to defend them. Almost as if luring them to their deaths.

Mace Wu managed to detect a pattern in the planets this Sith Lord visited and deduced that Dagobah was the logical subsequent destination.

It was a rupture in the path of civilian planets the Sith had visited: Dagobah was one of the purest locations in the galaxy, one of the strongest with the Force, Qui-Gon had taught him once, only ever visited by Jedis – the perfect trap.

Obi-Wan felt a dutiful need to be the one to fly out to this planet and be the one fighting with the Sith and, hopefully, bring an end to their destruction.

Dagobah’s ground was hard to walk in, the mud and soft soil pulling at each of Obi-Wan’s steps made his expedition all the harder and slower. He was alone, only accompanied by trees and the animal lifeforms that inhabited the planet, but there was something else.

Just as he had expected the Force was strong on this location, both Living and Cosmic. All of his senses were enhanced and his head felt in a state between euphoria and bliss, and he had to focus harder in the task in hand and not let the Force have that sort of effect in him.

Then, from his right side, he felt the quick passing of a presence, no voice, no sound of running, just a passing presence – he stayed still, looking around him with his blue eyes, ready in anticipation of the presence returning.

And sure enough, it did. He felt it on his left side, then behind him and finally at his front, where it stayed beaming through the atmosphere as if beckoning him closer.

Igniting his lightsaber, Obi-Wan uses its light to guide him through the bushes and hung plants that fell in front of his face. The energy growing stronger with each step he carefully took forward until a faint red gleam starting to show through the thick mist.

The closer he got, the easier it was to make up a shape ahead of him, a human one. A cloak draped over your head and shoulders cast a shadow over your features that prevented him from making out the face of the person that he was about to oppose. They had dark leather knee-high boots with absolutely no scratches, a clear indicator that no one had managed to strike them there, what was normally the part most people forgot to protect – they were experienced.

“I must say, your reputation precedes you.” He shouts over so that his voice can cross the safety distance between the both of them. The Sith remains stoic, in a wide leg stance facing the Jedi General, no answer to be heard.

“You’ve killed plenty of Jedi Masters, on your own. I have to say, I’m impressed.” He tries to make conversation with the person in front of them in hopes of at least hearing their voice but they are giving him nothing, so he steps closer, slowly, gripping his lightsaber tighter.

“Don’t you have anything to say for yours-“ he doesn’t even finish the sentence as the Sith raises their arms and brings it down almost striking Obi-Wan weren’t it for his fast reflexes. The blades clash and sparks fly between them and the Sith forces their path forward continuously attempting to strike his upper body. He deviates every hit quickly as he keeps stepping back.

The clashes and sparks that fly let some light reach the Sith’s face but it’s still not enough to see their faces completely.

Then, Obi-Wan quickly charges forward at the Sith, but they beat him to the punch and block his swing towards their neck. The Sith shoved him off and backed away from him, keeping their defence up, waiting for Obi-Wan to make the next move. He swings at the Sith’s torso, but their attack is quickly deflected it and he is shoved back once more.

He goes in on the Sith once more, rotating the lightsaber behind his back before going in for their right side, an attack that always proved itself to be efficient as the swing was unexpected most of the time but he is beyond shocked as his torso is struck on his left side just as his blade swings over his head.

He lets out a grunt of pain, stumbling back, looking up at the Sith with wide eyes.

It can’t be. Only 3 people, besides himself, are familiar with this move.

It can’t be.

Looking down at the blood that gushes trails out of his wound he forces a two handgrip of the handle of his lightsaber before charging ahead at the Sith. They mimic their actions, weapons gripped on opposites side as they clash forward and stay there, trying to push the other away, and that’s when he sees it.

The light irradiating from the contact of the blades irradiates the Sith’s face from below the cloak’s hood and weren’t it for his rational mind and the possibility of dying then and there, Obi-Wan would’ve dropped the lightsaber to the floor.

“Y/N.” He whispers, looking you in the eyes through the blades. He is angry, any softness in his face and heart gone and instead replaced by the rage of knowing that you, of all people, a Jedi yourself would’ve done all this.

Pushes you back with more force than you were expecting and you fall back into the floor, hood leaving your head and revealing you in all of your glory.

Obi-Wan looks down at you, blade at your throat, illuminating your features. Your face was thinner, sharper than before, eyes darker and heavier on their sockets. Not that you’d lost weight but rather as if the life and brightness that you once sported had been drained out of you, leaving you a shell of what you once were.

“I knew they’d send you, eventually.” You hiss up at him, face challenging, breathing heavily “They were running out of Masters, it was only a matter of time before they sent the almighty General.”

“What the hell do you want?” he asks desperately down at you. His heart aching at the situation.

“What I want, General Kenobi… is to end the Jedis. Starting with you.” With a swift movement, you strike your lightsaber up and jump to your feet, delivering blow after blow to the Jedi’s blade.

“There is no reason for you to do this Y/N.” he speaks between clashes.

“NO REASON?” You shout over your own attack “You Jedis sent me to die away from your precious temple!”

“We didn’t send you to die, it was what was necessary.” your blade stops a blow of Obi-Wan’s coming from above.

“Necessary?” you push him away with brutal force. “How fucking dare you?”

That notion of his, that it was a necessary measure to send you away with not even a goodbye and rather a cold shoulder struck a nerve in you, raising your hand and flicking it at Obi-Wan, his lightsaber flying from his hand and before he even has time to react your raise your hand and the Force pins him to the tree right behind him.

He is struggling to breathe and holds his throat as a way to try and alleviate some kind of pressure. You weren’t this powerful the last time he saw you. Sure you were a magnificent Jedi Master, one of the best, but your use of the force had grown stronger and sharper – deadlier.

Your voice is coarse, bubbling with rage, and your hand unmovable as you step towards him.

“Have you ever been in an exile pod? Have you ever been throw to the ends of the galaxy with no means to ever get back? I reached out to the Sith Order where I landed. They gave me everything the Jedis couldn’t. They made me stronger, and they aren’t blinded by a code as ridiculous as the one of the Jedis.”

“They made you deadlier.” He mutters

“Is that supposed to be a bad thing? The Jedi Order spent their time limiting our abilities. No emotion, no passion, no chaos, no death? That’s bullshit.”

“Y/N…” Your rage rises as you speak and your grip on his throat grows tighter, the Force shrinking his airways.

“How many creatures have you killed General Kenobi?” you snap at him, your hair rustling with the movement “In all of your years as a Jedi, how many creatures have you killed? Because my guess is pretty fucking high.”

Obi-Wan doesn’t answer, rather averting your daring gaze.

“Jedis are just Siths with a God complex, and it was only a matter of time before I realized it.”

With a sudden movement of his legs, Obi-Wan kicks you in your stomach, sending you tumbling back and the grip on his throat dissolves away. In a split second, you both reach for your lightsabers and stand in a fighting stance in front of each other, just a few feet away.

“Don’t make me kill you.” He grunts, looking you in the eye.

“You’ll die trying.”

You charge at him, swinging with all your might hoping to hit him in all the places that hurt the most, despite a silver of love for him still remaining in your subconscious, holding you back from delivering the ultimate blow just yet.

One of your swings was unsuccessful and Obi-Wan ends up delivering a deep cut in your shoulder, lightsaber falling down on the mud. On the following second, he moved and cut you in your calf, right through the leather, making you collapse to the ground in pain. 

It’s his turn to raise his hand in the direction of your body, holding you still to the ground, the bright blue blade of his weapon disappearing, remaining only the handle.

With his steady hand, he gets close to you, kneeling one knee close to your body.

“I did love you, you know.” he huffed out, his injury and the tiredness that the fight had caused weighing down on him.

Below his hand, you were still trying to fight his hold, unsuccessful as the strength that you are trying to conjure rather turns into pain once it contracts your injured muscles and you wince in pain.

“I was supposed to tell you that morning but then we got called in and you know what happened. It wasn’t right to say it back.”

“Always following the fucking Code.” You throw your head back the pain starting to be too much. You couldn’t be bothered with this soft talk right now. Maybe once you did, maybe once you yearned for it. But that you died a year ago.

“You were such an amazing girl.” His free knuckle brushed a stray hair out of your forehead, tainted with sweat. “Y/N, come back. Remember who you were.”

“A Jedi puppet, that’s who I was. I’m free now and I will take down every single one of you, you can’t stop me.” Your growl at him, face hard and challenging despite the pain that you hid behind your eyes.

“Don’t make me kill you.” He bites down his lip and you swear you saw a tear glisten at the corner of his eyes “Please.”

“It’s only a matter of time before the Republic falls, General Kenobi.”

“You leave me no choice.” Trying to keep the hold of his strong facade, Obi-Wans shaky breathing betrayed him as it exited his body when he reached for the handle of his lightsaber and pressed it against your stomach, but he hesitates.

“Do it, you coward.” You mutter, a sentence that could be confused for a plea by the way it was said.

“I will…” he takes a dry gulp, fearing his next action and the ultimate consequence he knows it’ll bring. “do what I must.”

And then, in that moment, the blade in his lightsaber ignites, trespassing you from how close it was to your stomach, practically pressed against you, delivering you a quick and painless death, the one act of love Obi-Wan could possibly carry out at that moment.

Your soul left your body not with a scream but with a slow breath, your frame relaxing beneath him, your eyes falling lifeless. Finally falling to both of his knees, all the pent of emotions of this encounter and the pain that he had lived with since the day you were sent to exile come rushing up and he succumbs to the tears that he was trying to hold back.

Silently sobbing, he gently pulls your head on top of his knees, gently stroking your wet cheeks and the face that he once adored so much, now forever cold under his touch. Leaning down, a few stray strands of hair falling from his head, Obi-Wan closes his eyes as he lays a long and warm kiss on your forehead, before his own connecting with yours.

And there he laid for a few hours, holding the only person who ever managed to come the closest to his heart now dead in his arms having destroyed herself and the people he owed his life too.

A broken Pietá, that could make any romantic weep, had they known their story.

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[devildom-dedicated-daydreams]

Cheating Bastard and Puppy Brother (Cheater!Lucifer x Reader x Mammon) Part 5

Part 4

“Mammon, you stupid idiot!” 

Asmodeus, Satan and Leviathan surrounded Mammon in the living room. The victim of a surprise smacking, Mammon rubbed the back of his head and sent a glare at the three.

“The hell is your problem?” He demanded.

“What’re you doing taking advantage of MC?” Asmodeus leaned over with narrow eyes. “She just broke up with Lucifer!”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, I--” Before Mammon could finish, he was soon facing the news article with a picture of him and MC. 

“What’s this?”

“You tell me,” Asmodeus said as he almost threw the D.D.D. at him. “This is an all-time low, even for you. I can’t believe you would do this to MC--hey! We’re not finished!” 

The brothers tried to catch the fleeing Mammon but he was too fast for anyone that wasn’t Lucifer. In an instant he was banging on your door.

You opened up frenzied, wondering if there was some fire or other emergency. Mammon clamped down on your shoulders and pushed himself inside, “I swear I didn’t know!”

“Huh?”

“I was trying to help!”

“Mammon--”

“If I knew this was going to happen I would’ve been more careful, I’m sorry, MC! I’m really sorry!”

“Wait a moment, Mammon,” you sighed, holding onto his hands. He shut his mouth and took deep breaths. “Now,” you said, “explain everything carefully. From top to finish.” 

He described what happened but when you opened your D.D.D. you found the article has already been blocked through orders from the student council. You chuckled, “Oh, so it’s like this.”

“You’re not … mad?”

“Of course not. If anything, I’m amused. I’ve been here for some time now but it didn’t really occur to me how similar demons are with humans when it comes to gossip.” You gave him a reassuring smile.

“Y-you’re serious?”

“Yes, so you can stop worrying now.”

Mammon was relieved, but then he saw the ashen look on your face and he quickly spun around to meet his older brother’s rigid form.

Lucifer stood outside your bedroom door still in his R.A.D. uniform, presumably having just arrived from his meeting with Diavolo. Ignoring Mammon, he called out your name as he stepped inside, but then he paused and his eyes fell over. You realized that Mammon had grabbed your hand. Embarrassed, you gently shook him off. Mammon bit his cheek in an attempt to hide his hurt. 

“So it’s true …” Lucifer mumbled but it was too low for you to hear.

You wanted this over with so you cut to the chase and asked, “Did you need something, Lucifer?”

Lucifer stared at Mammon’s lonesome hand for a few seconds more before looking back at you. “We need to talk.” With his tone, the words sounded more like a command than the plea a cheater should have said. However, you were more or less used to it. 

Calmly and with your eyes meeting his, you replied: “Unless it’s an emergency, which I doubt, I’m afraid I have time to spare.” Your choice of words were polite but the two demons were taken aback by the mocking way they were delivered. 

Lucifer’s fists clenched by his sides. Mammon’s golden gaze stayed on his brother, his own limbs itching with anticipation. He couldn’t win against Lucifer but he could still protect you. 

Meanwhile, on the other side of the House of Lamentation, the other five brothers waited with bated breaths. 

No one expected Lucifer to actually cut his meeting with Diavolo early, way too early for them to prepare reinforcement spells to keep the house in one piece. Just remembering Lucifer’s dark face and his silence when greeted nervously by the others had them shaking inside. Moreover, Mammon was with you in your bedroom right now. If it were days ago that would’ve been fine but now …

Satan rubbed his temples. Who didn’t know about Mammon’s feelings? That was a rhetorical question. Everyone knew. Well, everyone but the one person Mammon desperately wanted to know. You were too in love with Lucifer and Mammon never did make a move when he found out. Mammon was many things but he still cared for his family, Satan begrudgingly admitted. 

But now the situation has changed and their torpe brother decided to make a move at the wrong time, in the wrong place. 

“Can you hear them?” Belphegor asked Levi, who had been trying to listen in on the conversation with his magic.

However, the otaku shook his head. “Either Lucifer or Mammon is blocking me.” 

Beelzebub tore open a new bag of chips. He’d devoured all five boxes of Honey Buddha chips you brought from the human realm. Satan noticed that after Lucifer’s affair, your alleged breakup, and now Mammon’s “scandalous courtship,” served to increase Beel’s appetite to record-breaking levels. 

On the other hand, another person was nibbling relentlessly. Satan reached for Asmo’s wrist to stop him from eating more of his proudly painted nails. Satan thrust his thumb at Beel and said to Asmo, “If you want to bite on something do it on food.”

Asmo’s normally glowing face was drained of color and he said nothing as he took a seat next to Beel. 

The air around them was heavy and what’s worse was that they didn’t know what exactly they were afraid of. Brotherly quarrels were normal but with you in the picture … Satan sighed and flipped through his book of spells. They should start chanting protection spells on themselves and on the house. 

After a gruelling wait, footsteps were heard and you entered the living room with Mammon behind you. There were no signs of Lucifer, or a fight. The five breathed a collective sigh of relief. 

You cleared your throat. “I forgot to buy the ingredients for tonight. I’m sorry but you’ll have to wait a little longer for dinner, Beel.” 

Beel almost choked. Belphegor quickly stepped in and said, “It’s fine, MC. We can order something.”

“Or eat out,” Asmo suggested.

You strained a smile. “Don’t be silly. I thought everyone’s been tight on cash this week?”

Yes, because Lucifer has become twice--no--ten thousand times the Devil after your breakup, was what each brother thought.

“I’ll go buy groceries now.” You turned on your heel before they could protest. Mammon, as always, pratted after you. 

However, you stopped him as you reached the door. “I’ll be okay, Mammon.” The sentence had the underlying implication of: Don’t come with me.

“But it’s already dark out.”

“Thanks for the concern but … ” You tilted your head to face him, “I’ll be fine.”

He wanted to protest some more, but seeing the sheen of tears on your eyes, he relented and you left the house on your own.

You stuffed your hands into your coat, free to think without any distractions. But no more than two meters away from the estate, you stopped walking. You shouted upward, “I know you’re there.”

A strong, chilling wind blew past, almost knocking you off your feet. But you balanced yourself before you hit a familiar chest. You looked up at Lucifer.

His lips were a straight line but his eyes were drowning in all sorts of emotions. You sighed. You figured it would take more than a simple “no” and a biting retort to get someone like him off your tail.

“Let me talk, MC. Let me explain,” He said and you wanted to laugh, because for a long time now, all he’s ever done was tell you what to do. At first it was appealing but now his tone just grated you.

“Okay.” You stared straight at him before adding, “but I’m not doing this for you. I deserve an explanation. But first, I deserve an apology.” 

“MC--”

“I deserve an apology,” you repeated firmly.

He looked at you with those clouded red eyes. You used to think that you could read him well, but now you weren’t so sure. 

Well, that wasn’t entirely true, because as minutes passed in complete silence, you realized one irrefutable truth: you weren’t important. Maybe on some level you were, but not as a lover. Maybe you two would have been better off friends. 

Seeing that he wasn’t going to talk, you sighed and stepped forward.

“MC, wait,” he grabbed your arm. “I … that night I … I didn’t sleep with her on my own.” When he realized that you didn’t understand he explained: “She slipped me an aphrodisiac. I didn’t do it because I wanted to.”

Your heart dropped. But for different reasons than you expected.

“Is that true?”

“Oh.” You were speechless and you truly didn’t know what to feel. 

“I didn’t do it on purpose. I would never sleep with anyone who wasn’t my spouse, that’s a complete dishonor. Believe me.” His hold on you was almost painful but you had a difficult time paying attention.

“Lucifer, I … ” You choked. “I’m sorry that happened to you, I don’t know what to say.”

He exhaled, “Don’t fret, love. I’m all right.” He pulled you into his embrace. “But now that this issue has been cleared can we please make up?”

You were sorry about what happened truly but now that he was asking you to get back together, you were completely lost.

You stayed in his arms, motionless, before pulling away and meeting his gaze again. “I’m sorry, but we can’t.”

Lucifer’s entire body stiffened.

“We can’t get back together.”

“I deserve an apology.” When you spoke those words you weren’t thinking about the affair. You thought back to those lonely nights spent waiting for him only to fall asleep and wake up alone, you thought about sitting in a restaurant alone for hours on end only to go home hungry and with literal demons shooting you looks of pity. You recalled the myriad of excuses you thought of for him when he never even bothered to apologize or explain himself. 

You wiped your nose and said with the softest smile, “Goodbye, Lucifer.” And with that you walked away. 

Lucifer was too shocked to move. 

*

You paid the cashier and carried two heavy bags worth of groceries out the store, but surprisingly you felt like skipping. Your chest felt lighter than it ever had been for the past few months. Earlier you hid inside a the store’s public toilet and cried everything out. And truthfully, shopping was a good way to distract yourself. 

You were humming on the way back home when two serpents, both thick as tree bark and longer than 20 feet blocked your path. One of them, with beet-red scales slapped your bags away.

You wanted to cry out at the injustice. I splurged on those ice creams!

to be continued ...

Author’s note: Lucifer was raped but I didn’t focus too much on the implications of the assault, now that’s not to say that I think female-on-male rape is not serious, however, do remember the setting and the characters themselves. Canonically, it’s been implied that Mammon has been forced to serve witches in unsavory ways but it’s never given much depth and it’s almost played for laughs, but again remember: this is fiction and the characters are demons. Whatever the gender of the victim and/or attacker, rape is never okay. Please don’t think that because I didn’t delve in Lamia’s scheme that I take rape lightly.