#I miss snow I need snow I haven’t seen it this winter yet

[little-lynx]

Happy Holidays!

Hello guys! It’s Christmas Eve here in Russia so here I am with my annual winter Everlark for you all!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you, my dear friends! I miss you so much!

P.S. hope to be here tomorrow and check all the news and asks and messages! I’m sooooo sorry, my life is still such a mess 😩

[steppin-on-the-last-train]

A House in Nebraska

Natasha Romanoff x Reader

Summary: Natalia Romanova was not sculpted for love. But out in the middle of nowhere, safe in the place where time stops, she thinks she knows why the world is obsessed with capturing it.

Based on the song by Ethel Cain.

Warnings: Red Room.

A/N: Pretty sure I haven’t written in like a year and a half. Don’t be surprised if this post disappears in the next twelve hours. BUT... i would much rather this be the start of the revival of this blog. Stay cool.

Natalia shivered and pressed herself closer into your warm embrace. In this place, in your arms was the only place she felt safe. There she breathed easier. The beat of your strong heart against her back always made her eyes grow heavy. 

The winter had been long this year, too long. An extra few weeks of dark days and nights accompanied by breath stealing wind had almost frozen the Red Room in time, and had made trips outside unthinkable. The instructors even kept the younger girls inside in lieu of elemental training; a luxury Natalia herself was not afforded. But time moved as time seemed to do and as soon as the last late snow had begun to melt away you’d shaken her awake and dragged her out here.

She let herself fall onto her back when you got up. Wind gusts pushed through the hole in the wall and blew loose strands of hair against the back of her neck. She wished you’d come back to block it out.

“We need to go back,” you said. She couldn’t see well, dawn hadn’t yet broken, but she knew you were putting your shirt back on.

“Five more minutes,” she protested. She didn’t want to face what horrors would confront her for the day, and the day after that. She wanted to stay here. To rot away in the place she’d begrudgingly learned to dream. “The sun won’t be up for another couple of hours at least.”

“Yeah. And we have an hour’s walk back to the Red Room. Unless you want to start the day off with a shoeless run we have to leave now.” The floorboards creaked in protest as you slid back down onto the floor next to Natalia. You ran a hand through her hair and she swore she could touch the sun. She kissed your cheek, then your chin and your neck before you abruptly pulled away and threw her shirt at her. “Get up.” Your tone had taken on a sharp edge.

Her feet ached from a particularly grueling rehearsal as she trudged down the stairs, skipping the ones with missing or rotting planks. You stood in the doorway staring up at the night sky. A half moon struggled to bring light to the black horizon. The small farmhouse was nothing but a hulking shadow behind her. She still hadn’t seen it without the midnight blanketing its entirety. Old fencing guarded it on two sides and a plot of land lay abandoned on the westside. Grass had never managed to regrow there, when she walked over it she could feel the crumbles of dirt underfoot. Beyond you and the house and the dried land was a yawning expanse of field. The void called to her sometimes, begging her to run into it until she was no more. To set foot where no man had gone before. Freedom. True freedom is what it promised. 

Instead she tore her gaze away from the false promise and nestled into your side. She intertwined her fingers with yours and held tight to what was real.

“We can’t come out here anymore,” you said.

“What do you mean? Did something happen?” Natalia’s mind raced. Had the two of you been found out? This would mark the third spring you’ve made your way out to this little house that felt more like home than the Red Room ever had. The things she would do to protect it.

“No. No nothing like that.” Your voice was quiet as if the day was ending instead of beginning. “But it will. If we keep doing this, I mean. I’ve been thinking real hard about it all winter and–” You went silent then. “You know we have graduation soon and things will change. This,” you gestured in a sweeping motion back toward the farmhouse and toward Natalia. “This is a weakness that won’t be tolerated. It’ll kill us both if we don’t stop.” You started to walk in the direction of the Red Room. 

“I’d rather die than live the rest of my life for them,” she said, catching up with you.

“Don’t say that Natalia.”

“Well it’s true.” She remembered a time when she’d been the one begging to go back for fear of getting caught. You’d said that even if you were killed right there that she would die yours. That thought had comforted her everytime death whispered in her ear since. Where had that girl gone?

“Why now? I know it’s not because you’re scared of the ceremony,” she said, calling your bluff. You ignored her, apparently determined to get back quickly. “Oh, come on. Don’t do this. You can’t just leave me out here and not tell me the reason why.” She shoved you against your chest, halting you but failing to stagger you backward.

“Just drop it.”

“Don’t talk to me like that. You don’t get to give me this place, give me you, and then take it all back because you decide to. You don’t think I understand exactly what you’re going through? Things have gotten harder every single day of our lives but that didn’t stop you from sneaking out here. Then you decided to make this place ours. Ours,” she stressed. “So you tell me what the hell is going on. How can you turn your back on me?”

“Because I am scared!” She was taken aback by the outburst. “Everytime they hit you or look at you the wrong way I want to crush their skulls in. I would burn this entire country down if you asked me to and I don’t know why. It’s against everything I should be and I’m terrified. I shouldn’t even be allowed to see you, much less have you under me all night.” You shouldered past her and doubled your pace. “That’s why we have to forget this place ever existed.”

“Maybe having feelings isn’t such a bad thing,” she said. 

“It is if you want to survive. The new girls they bring in. The ones they can’t wean off from crying.” Natalia felt the weight of a five year old body in her arms. Damn you. And you weren’t done. “Remember when you got back from that mission in Ohio?” Oh she remembered. “When you wouldn’t stop lashing out at the guards?” She shuddered at the thought, even if she didn’t consciously remember much. Reassimilation after three years in America had been rough to say the least. The only clear event from ages twelve to fifteen (more or less) was from the first time you brought her out here. Your hands on her face had woken her up after years of sleeping upright.

“Enough. I get it. You’re giving up.” It was her turn to stalk away. “Go ahead. See if I care.”

“I’m not giving up. Tell me you understand,” you said. “I’d rather lose this place than lose you.”

But you were the one who didn’t understand. Out here all alone with no one but the stars to bear witness was the only place Natalia felt like half a person. The farmhouse, haunted and filthy as it was, had never been just a place to her. It was where she was able to cling to what humanity she had left.  Inside the Red Room the Widow took over and guided her actions with silken webbing. Every night it became harder and harder to untangle herself. She was beginning to question if there was a difference between her and the monster anymore. 

The rest of the walk back was silent save for the crickets chirping their night calls in the grassy sea. Natalia thought about her first trip out to the farmhouse. You’d woken her up the very first night you’d been moved into a two-person room instead of being housed in the dorm with thirty beds crammed into neat rows. She let herself be led outside without protest even as she was convinced you’d brought her away with orders to execute her. She had no place in the world.

Then the house loomed over her and you sat her on a mattress on the second floor that seemed more like an attic and showed her the stars.

“One day I’m leaving here and going to America,” you had proclaimed.

“No,” she murmured.  It was the first word she’d spoken in a very long while. She hadn’t truly been listening but she knew America was no place to go. The West was the enemy.

“She speaks,” you said, looking over at her moon-bathed profile. You tried nudging her with your shoulder but she slid farther away in response. “You want to know how I found this place?” When she didn’t deny the question you continued on. “Well, it’s actually not a very good story, I’m sorry. But, maybe it could be.” She could still feel your eyes on her. Oddly enough she didn’t mind. It was refreshing in a way. To be watched without being scrutinized.

“Well I had to go to the pit to burn some trash and other things,” you said, picking fuzz out of a small hole in the mattress. “And I got my directions mixed up on the way back. I found this place and sat up here for a few days. I thought maybe everything from before was a bad dream and there was no Red Room at all. That maybe I really lived here and some nice people would come back and take me to a real town.” She had thought you were a fool. “But no one came,” you said softly. “I was cold and lonely and hungry. There’s nothing out here, you know. So I went back just cause there was nowhere else to go. But I still come here sometimes, only for the night though. I like the loneliness in small parts.”

Rain had begun to pelt the already beaten roof. Natalia hadn’t noticed the clouds. Water seeped through the rotten wood, landing on the two kids grasping for shelter. A cold raindrop landed on her cheek and she jumped. Beside her, you layed across the mattress and watched the rain through a hole in the wall. It came in a steady drizzle. Pit, pat, pit at a spot near her foot. A sleepy symphony outside with no drumming thunder or cracking lightning. 

After some time, she spoke again. She had missed the intimacy of just sitting alone with another person without outside expectations. She always had to be mindful of herself. Where she looked, the position of her hands, the bend in her knees, her breathing. She brought her knees to her chest and asked. “You said you wanted to see America. Do you want to go to New York?”

 You startled slightly before lifting your head and looking lazily over at her. She supposed you had fallen asleep. “What?” You asked.

“I didn’t mean to wake you,” she said. All she seemed capable of doing was messing things up.

“I wasn’t even sleeping,” you protested even though you clearly had been. “I just missed what you said.”

“When you get to America, where will you go? New York City is the most populated city there.”

You smiled and a broken part of Natalia fixed itself. No one had smiled around her since Ohio. Only Dreykov smiled. Except when he showed his teeth her stomach would twist itself into knots and bile would burn her throat. That didn’t count, she decided. 

“Not New York. It’s too busy there. I will go further west.”

Natalia raised an eyebrow. “California is awfully crowded too, you know.”

“No, not that far, smartass.” You flicked water off your hand in her direction. “Like in the middle. Like, hmm.” You thought for a moment. “Just, in the middle. Someplace where I can live like it is here.” You gestured about the attic and its half missing roof. “Except it’s not so cold and everything isn’t dead. I’ll have a dog and a horse and some cows.”

“Somewhere in the middle?”

“Yeah.”

“Nebraska is pretty close to the middle.”

“Nebraska,” you said, ennunciating the syllables slowly. “Sounds made up.”

“Well, it’s not.” She had studied all fifty American states in her class. Natasha could identify them all on a blank map. She knew the capitals too. Too bad Natalia could not recall even a quarter of them now.

“Alright. Nebraska it is then. Although,” you trailed off. “I don’t want to go alone. It’d be better if there were two of us. You and me. We could both go. We should.”

“I don’t want to wreck your fantasy.” A voice nagged at the back of her mind. She had no place in the world. She had no business running off. The Red Room had given her so much. The thought of turning her back on it made her heart pound against her ribcage.

“You wouldn’t. I’m offering. You’re not so bad. I always thought you were kind of weird. You just show up one day and you don’t talk. You sit away from the rest of us and you’re perfect at everything you do.” Natalia opened her mouth to defend herself but you were quicker. “But I like your hair. And you haven’t killed me yet so everything’s alright. I know at least half of them back there would have tried the moment we got out of sight from the big house. So you can come with me. In fact, I won’t go without you.”

Natalia didn’t ask if you had a plan or tell you off for being ludicrous. She found herself content with the world you had made for yourself and shared with her. That night she had closed her eyes and dreamt of a small house in rural America. Where Dreykov couldn’t touch her and Madame B couldn’t chastise her. She’d wake up and watch the sunrise and forget that she had ever been a killer.

Now, three years later she still saw that picture when she closed her eyes. It was faded and the edges were blood tinged but it was enough. The two of you were now only a half mile from the Red Room, pulled back each night by some invisible rope around your necks.

Suddenly, a flash of light caught Natalia’s attention. A sweeping pinprick off in the distance. A second and a third joined it until there was a line of searching light waving in her direction. You, a dozen paces ahead of her, ducked down and flattened yourself in the tall grass. She followed, not a second behind you and began crawling up toward where you had stopped.

“No. It can’t be,” you whispered. Disbelief stained the words.

“What are we going to do?” Natalia asked. She wracked her mind for ideas. There was nothing out here. No dense wood or deep valley to duck into and hide. No village to seek refuge. They’d never looked before. They couldn’t. The night had been an invisibility cloak the pair of you had hidden under for so long. You’d forgotten that no armor was impenetrable forever.

“When they get closer I’ll run and bait them back northeast,” you said, jerking your head back over your right shoulder. “If you stay down and circle around the westside of the building you can get back in without them noticing.”

“No. I won’t leave you. We can face them. We can fight and then–” For once Natalia didn’t know what came next. “I won’t let you go.”

“Natalia, look at me,” you hissed. She did, paying more attention to the way your lips moved than the words you spoke. “This isn’t up for discussion.” The way your hair fell around your face when it was down. “It doesn’t make sense for both of us to be caught out here.” The moonlight reflected in your eyes. “And you’re— I’m the reason you’re here. I brought you into this and I made you break the rules. I knew the risk and kept taking it anyway.” Your breath fanning across her face. “Now I have to pay the price. I’m sorry.”

Natalia looked back at the pin pricked horizon and the silhouettes now about three hundred yards off. A half dozen people and something else. Smaller shadows moving quicker and closer to the ground than their handlers. One stopped, lifted its head, and howled. Sweat lined her palms then and she became more acutely aware of every rise and fall of her chest. They’d brought the dogs out. And one had caught your scents.

“Oh god,” you said, grabbing Natalia’s hand. “Come on!”

You yanked her up from the ground and took off sprinting straight away from the hound. She stole a glance back but realized she had lost the dog to the shadows of the barren countryside. With a sharp pinch of dread she realized you were rabbits without a burrow. Running only because adrenaline told you to.

At some point you had let go of her and she pumped her arms as fast as she could. Her heavy breaths mixed with yours as you ran side by side. She swept the expanse for something, anything that wasn’t desolate yellow grass or winking starlight that taunted from above. I see you. It seemed to say. And I know how this ends.

A rustling sound was close on her heels. She looked back again and saw it, a hulking beast born from night not fifty yards away. They’d made the girls go down to the kennels once and watch the dogs at feeding time. The handlers threw down whole animal parts. Natalia could never forget the smell of recently slaughtered pig. A leg, a bucket of intestines, an entire lamb head were thrown carelessly down where the dogs paced. There were ten of them, giant monsters with sleek black fur and lolling tongues. A fight had broken out between two of them and chunks of fur went flying as they snarled and tore at each other’s throats. She’d never been told what exactly they were kept around for. Now she knew. 

Natalia prayed as it got closer and closer. For what besides something impossible she didn’t know. The hellhound seemed to gain multiple yards on her with each stride. She could hear its claws tearing up the earth behind her, its gnashing teeth desperate for the taste of blood. Five, four, three, two. She counted but she didn’t get to one. A strong hand found her lower back. She flinched as it shoved her forward, propelling her an extra few steps.

A ferocious growl that tore through the air as a torpedo cuts through water. A scream like none she had ever heard before. She dug her heels, skidding in the brittle dirt as she whipped around. 

There you were on the ground struggling against the black wolf that had finally caught up to its prey. “Get off!” You yelled, smacking the thing with your left hand, hoping to jab an eye or a soft spot on its throat. Natalia cringed as she heard flesh tearing and the squelch of fluid between teeth.

Crack. She knew the sound of a bone snapping well. It was disgusting and wrong but quickly drowned out by waves of growls and agonized screams. The dog threw its head from side to side in pursuit of destroying its prize to the fullest. Splatters of gore flew into the night air like tiny bugs taking flight.

Natalia ran forward to tackle the hound, trying to ignore the awful finality of meat being torn from bone. She and the creature went tumbling away from you. Natalia wrestled with all her strength to maneuver herself on top with the dog belly-up and vulnerable beneath her, but it was stronger. She rolled onto her back in the cold grass, spit and bloody bits flecking her face. Sharp teeth bared and eyes glowing the color of flame hearts loomed over her. She stared back into death’s blazing hand. I will not die a coward, she thought.

Just as the beast snarled for her throat a sharp whistle flew through the air. High and strong it sang the song of purgatory. At once the dog leapt off of her and padded away, following the whistle. For a moment she watched it go, devoured by the night from which it came.

“Natalia.” You groaned. She scrambled to get up and kneel in the dirt by your side.

She checked you over, fearing the worst. Your right forearm was mangled, blood gushing from it and staining her hands. Other than that you seemed to be alright, if she ignored how pale you’d become. “Come on. Get up,” she said, grabbing you under your armpits and hauling you to your feet. What was left of your arm swung limply and smacked against her shirt, painting it a shade darker.

“No, no,” you protested. You cradled the strings of sinew and branches of bone hanging from your elbow as best you could. She wasn’t one to let the sight of blood deter her but looking at you made her stomach turn. “Natalia.” Your gaze burned into her. “You need to get out of here.” Your breath pushed through in ragged little puffs. “There’s still time.”

She grabbed at your good wrist. She’d drag you to the end of the earth if she had to. Shouts rang out, searchlights mounted on automatic rifles lighting the sides of your faces. Natalia was scared in the way she hadn’t been since she’d been hauled back to the Red Room nearly seven years ago. That night she had lost Yelena. Her kid sister’s tiny hand pulled from her own desperate grasp. She squeezed your hand a little harder and you held on because it was all you could do. She memorized your face. In the next life, maybe. When you caught her staring, the tight grimace you wore evaporated into a painful grin.

The yelling was loud now, mere tens of yards away but Natalia refused to give them her attention. They commanded she get to her knees and put her hands behind her head. But didn’t they know it was doomsday? Didn’t they know Natalia Romanova would die with her chest high?

Sweaty and shaky you began to sway in your place next to her. She draped your arm around her shoulder, feeling somewhat comforted being blanketed by your body. She looked up at you even if you could no longer meet her eyes. The guards were on top of the two of you now, lights bright enough to blind and overlapping shouts all clamoring for attention. The sound crashed and broke against Natalia’s crumbling fortress in one big wave. She could not separate the individual commands.

Prick. A tiny dart found its home in her neck. She turned away from the light and buried her face in your shirt. Breathe in. A modest house in the American state of Nebraska. Breathe out. You on top of her in your own bed. Breathe in. Warm sunlight peeking through window slats and bathing her golden. She let herself fall into you.

—

Natalia woke, startled. She felt she had been dreaming of something important, but heavy sleep clouded the memory in fog. Cautious dawn light dribbled in through the windows. They’d be coming for wake up call soon. She looked over at you, still fast asleep in the bed up against the opposite wall. Your arm was handcuffed and chained to the bedpost as usual. Nausea pooled in Natalia’s stomach. She shut her eyes and tried to remember her dream but found it had winked away for the time being. 

Soon enough the door opened and a guard walked in to grant her freedom. She rubbed her sore wrist and began to change into a fresh set of clothes. “Good morning,” she said. It was a small habit the two of you started years ago. Conversation beyond a greeting was too dangerous. Anything less than machine-like obedience during the daytime earned some creative punishment. So this little exchange had to be enough.

When there was no response she looked up at you. She blinked and her stomach plummeted like it had turned to stone. The girl tying her hair up across the room from her was not you. She stared back at Natalia like she had an extra limb and ignored the previous exchange.

In a dizzying rush she realized her dream had not been a dream at all. It had not even been a nightmare. Her fingers hitched as she was tying a shoe. Panicked, she tugged at the knot she’d created and started again. Ghostly shrieks and a growl that hungered for death rang in her ears. Her shirt stank with the mirage of hot blood. 

She looked around the room, searching. It was empty and quiet now, the door left ajar. She knew if she didn’t hurry she’d be late.

Through the old hallway that smelled more like blood and bleach than whatever wood it had originally been. Down the stairs that poured out into the foyer. Taking her place at the end, she swept the line of girls waiting at the front door to be dismissed for the morning run. You weren’t there. Fifteen Widows where there were usually sixteen. No matter how many times she counted, the number did not budge.

“Romanova.” Natalia looked back at the nasally voice of Ivan Petrovich. The man in charge of strength and conditioning grinned. Yellowed teeth heralded a rotten surprise. He laid a bony hand on her shoulder. “Welcome back,” he said.

Natalia wanted to scream. How long had it been since that night? What had they done to you? Instead she kept her mask of neutrality firmly in place and dipped her head in reverence. 

He hummed in that inspective way of his and clapped his hands. “Fiften minutes. Two miles, then report to the dining hall.” Natalia turned away from him and tried to ignore the way her stomach ate at itself. “Oh, and I almost forgot. As I’m sure you’ve noticed, a member has been removed from your class.” Her heart stuttered against her ribs. “Due to unusual circumstances she has been terminated from the program. There will be a tournament among the 18-B class the day following the next as well as a test among 18-A for you. I trust none of you will slip this time.” He waved his hand dismissively. “Now go.”

Natalia tried to grab at the pieces of her shattered soul. The line of girls streamed outside, fanning out two by two. A perfect unit, each individual capable of single-handedly crippling an entire government. Except at the tail end where one piece had been defective and was removed. In a few days time a replacement would appear, but for now the girl with crimson hair ran alone.

Silently but for the sound of her lungs pumping the morning air, Natalia Romanova stopped fighting.

The Widow cheered as it was finally allowed to complete its web. 

An abandoned farmhouse in northern Russia, approximately halfway between Igarka and Vilyuysk waited for wayward visitors that would never return. A ghost was all that remained, guarding its home. If one were to happen upon the house and pick their way up the dusty, dilapidated stairs they’d find an attic. Cobwebs and a holey mattress were all that seemed to stick around. And, if they hadn’t become disinterested or thoroughly disturbed, on the wall, just above the floor they might notice a crude little carving. Jagged as they were, a pair of initials had been stamped there, meaningless but to the artists themselves. Neither had believed in love. Both believed in the other infinitely more than they believed in themselves.

The wind blew. The grass stirred. And time would come to steal this memory like water dissolved stone.

[kaiijo]

WINTER ACTIVITIES — [GENSHIN IMPACT]

characters: kamisato ayato, diluc ragnvindr, tighnari, arataki itto, childe content: fem! reader, minor spoilers for ayato and childe’s backgrounds notes: happy 2023 and here’s to the revival of the blog!

kamisato ayato — building snowmen

ayato didn’t get much of a chance to have a childhood, given that he not only began training to take over the kamisato clan at a fairly young age but had to actually assume the role as head of the clan and restore it to its former glory not long after

so you weren’t super shocked when thoma told you that ayato never really participated in any of the winter fun when it snowed in inazuma. “milord always had a meeting to attend or paperwork to do,” thoma said. “all that, coupled with the fact that inazuma doesn’t get a lot of snow, he just never really had the chance”

well, this winter, inazuma saw the most snowfall it had in a long time, and you were determined to help ayato makeup for those lost moments of childhood

You were a little confused when you woke up to an unusually cold room. Usually, the estate was the perfect temperature in the winter, but today, it seemed like the few blankets you and Ayato slept under were no match for the chill air. You glanced over and saw that Ayato wasn’t beside you, which only added to your befuddlement. Wrapping yourself in one of your thicker sweaters, you slid on your slippers and shuffled out of the room, nearly smacking right into Thoma. “Whoops!” he said as he just barely avoided you. “Apologies about that. I’m just about to turn up the heat more.”

“It’s not usually this cold,” you said.

Thoma chuckled, “I guess you haven’t looked outside yet.” You raised a questioning eyebrow before you caught your husband at the end of the hall, gazing out the window. You quickly bid Thoma farewell, moving to stand beside Ayato.

A grin spread across your face at the white blanket of pillowy snow that covered the Kamisato estate from roof to ground. “Wow,” you said, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen snow here.”

Ayato hummed, “The last time it was like this was the year my father began training me to become clan leader.”

You said, “Thoma mentioned that to me before. He also said that you never played with the other kids in the snow.”

“No,” Ayato said, “I suppose I didn’t. I don’t think I missed out on much.” Though he said this, you caught the wistful way he eyed the snow.

You glanced at the clock on the wall, which read just past seven in the morning. In about an half an hour, your husband would get himself ready for a long day of work. “Well, that won’t do,” you said. You tapped Ayato’s arm and said, “Get your coat on, we’re going outside.”

“Really? Right now?”

“Yes, right now.” He didn’t say anything further as you both returned to your room to grab your coats and slip on winter boots, making your way outside. You asked, “Was there any particular thing you really wanted to try in the snow?”

Ayato thought for a moment and replied, “Hmm, I was always rather fond of snowmen. I remember some of Father’s retainer’s children constructing them when it last snowed.”

You clapped your hands. “Perfect! Well, let’s get started then!” You showed Ayato how to pack together the snow and roll it forward, gathering more and more of the icy crystals on it until it turned into the large base of the snowman. Naturally, Ayato was a swift learner, easily creating the torso and head. You relished in the small, proud smile you caught on his face as he placed the head on top of the body.

“It needs its facial features,” Ayato said. “As well as a hat and arms, if I’m not mistaken.” You hummed in agreement and before you could go back inside to grab some of the things, Ayato was calling Thoma over to fetch them for you.

“I can do it,” you told Thoma.

He shook his head. “It’s my job, I don’t mind.” He returned with a carrot and an old top hat, handing them to Ayato while you found some pebbles on the estate. You handed some to Ayato, who carefully placed them to form eyes and a mouth before sticking the carrot in the middle of the snowman’s face, giving it a nose. He let you place the hat and arms and the two of you stepped back to review your creation.

Ayato smiled, wrapping an arm around your waist. “We should name him,” you said. Ayato nodded and finally answered, “Kenzo. That was my father’s name.” He motioned to the hat on the snowman. “That was his so I think it’s only appropriate to name it after him.”

“I think that’s perfect.”

There was a moment of silence before Ayato said, “That was rather enjoyable. Would you like to make another?”

You checked your own watch for the time and said, “I would but unfortunately, you’ll be called away for work soon.”

Ayato replied, “All those things can wait. I’d rather be out here with you today.”

diluc ragnvindr — shopping the winter market

every winter, an open air market took over the streets of mondstadt, bringing sellers and buyers from all across teyvat

diluc hadn’t gone in a while since he saw no need to wade through large crowds for wares he could easily obtain and had little use for, but since he started dating you, adelinde had dropped very un-subtle hints that he should take you there as it would be your first time experiencing it. “you can also get her a nice gift there,” adelinde said. “i remember that the jewels from liyue and sumeru were particularly beautiful.”

while he wasn’t a fan of the crowd or all the noise and chaos, he found that it was a bit more tolerable with you holding onto his arm with eyes sparkling with wonder

“Look, look, Diluc!” you said, pointing at a merchant’s stand to your left. The table was piled high with Inazuman delicacies like sandwiches and noodle dishes and a meal that was shaped to look like a cat, which, in Diluc’s opinion, was a little too nauseatingly cute. You tugged him over to the stall and asked, “Have you ever tried dango before?” you asked him, pointing at the skewers with tri-colored balls on them.

“I can’t say I have, no.”

You smiled at the merchant, an elderly lady who was looking fondly at the pair of you. “We’ll take two dango, please.”

“Of course, dear,” she handed them over to you and as Diluc got his wallet out to pay, she shook her head. “On the house today.”

“I insist,” Diluc said but she shook her head again.

“I won’t hear any of that young man. It’s on me, honest. You two just remind me so much of me and my husband when we were young. So, take it as a thank you for reminding an old woman of a nice memory.”

Diluc blushed and your smile only grew as you thanked her, taking the skewers and continuing through Mondstadt. The streets were packed with people and you held on a little tighter to Diluc as you chewed on your dango. “This is good,” Diluc said.

You nodded. “I know! I tried them when I visited Inazuma as soon as the Sakoku Decree was lifted.”

Diluc smiled warmly at you before another stall caught his eye — a seller from Liyue hawking intricately carved and decorated jade jewelry. He led you towards it, delighting in the way your eyes brightened at the pieces laid out on display. Your eyes drifted over a particularly lovely bracelet; it wasn’t overly intricate or as detailed as some of the other pieces but there was a phoenix carved into it that reminded you of your boyfriend.

“Do you like that one?” Diluc asked you.

“Yeah, it makes me think of you,” you said, pointing to the phoenix design. You laughed a little as Diluc’s face went pink and he handed the merchant his Mora.

tighnari — winter nature walk

given that sumeru was mostly rainforest and desert, it was expected that tighnari had never really seen or experienced snow. he was very curious to know what it was like though and he readily accepted your invitation to accompany you to dragonspine on a commission

on the way to the mountains, you two bought some wool-lined coats from a traveling snezhnayan merchant and tighnari was ever so grateful that you did since, the moment you two began approaching dragonspine, he immediately felt the blustering winds against his ears.

you finished the commission rather quickly and, rather than just leaving the mountains, you two decided to take a stroll to through one of the less monster and fatui infested areas

Tighnari blew out another long breath, watching as it hung in the air in a cloud of smoke. He looked up at the sky, awed by the dark gray of the clouds and the tallest peak of the mountain. You tapped his shoulder gently and he saw you holding a gray-blue shard of rock out to him. “It’s Starsilver,” you told him. “It’s only found here.”

“Fascinating,” he said. “I remember reading a book in the Akademiya that talked about the usage of Starsilver in Warming Bottles, which are supposed to mimic the effects of Warming Seelies.”

You nodded and he tucked it into a pocket in his coat, electing instead to take your hand in his. As you ventured through the mountains, you grinned at the way Tighnari’s ears would flick with every new sound they picked up. You loved the way he studied the new flora and fauna he found there. He looked over a mint sprig that poked out the snow, musing, “How can something like this survive in such a harsh climate?”

You two came to a clearing and found a fairly dry log to sit and rest on. Tighnari looked over at you and motioned for you to come closer. He reached out and brushed some of the snowflakes out of your hair and you laughed, shaking your head out. “Better?” you asked.

He chuckled and patted your head again. You leaned it against his shoulder and he stacked his atop yours. “Thank you,” he said, “for bringing me to such a beautiful place.”

arataki itto — snowball fight

you and itto were on your way to meet up with the gang for some meeting itto called, though you were almost certain it was more of a hangout than a formal meeting (as if there ever were any in the arataki gang)

it snowed for the first time in a long time on narukami island, so you and itto were taking your time making your way through inazuma city to go to hanamizaka. well, you were taking your time, your boyfriend was busy drawing caricatures of himself on every surface powdered in snow. suddenly out of the corner of your eye, you saw a white mass flying towards you and you moved out of the way just in time, letting it hit itto squarely in the back as he worked on another snow drawing

it wasn’t hard to figure out that it was one of the arataki gang members from the sounds of rustling and snickering and itto yelled, “you’ll pay for that!”

“Whaddaya think?” Itto asked proudly, turning away from the wall to reveal the newest stick figure he’d drawn of himself. You could make out the horns growing from the drawing’s head as well as his claymore sword but otherwise, it really didn’t look like Itto at all.

Still, you said, “Looks great, Itto!”

“Aww, you say that about all my drawings,” he said, slinging an arm around your shoulder and guiding you through the street. “Must mean I’m pretty good!”

You rolled your eyes playfully and said, “Sure.”

He scoffed, “What do you mean ‘sure’? Look, watch this!” He quickly broke away from you again and made his way over to one of the low stone walls, scribbling another cartoon with his finger. As he was bent over working on it, there was a small commotion that caught your attention. You glanced over your shoulder but didn’t see anything. Shrugging, you looked back to where Itto was still concentrated on whatever he was doodling but you kept your guard up. Just in case.

You were glad you did as you saw a white ball zooming towards you. You swiftly stepped back, the snowball missing you by a narrow margin and hitting your boyfriend’s back instead. He jumped up and whirled around, immediately catching his fellow Arataki Gang members hidden poor;ly behind shrubbery and suppressing their laughter. “You’ll all pay for that!” he yelled, lunging towards them and prompting the three to scramble away.

They weren’t fortunate enough, however, with Itto easily catching up to them. “We’re sorry, Boss!” Mamoru said as he struggled through peels of laughter. “We really a—” He was cut off when Itto launched a much larger snowball towards Mamoru. Mamoru ducked and the ball hit Genta instead.

“Oh, it’s on, Boss!” Genta hurled a snowball towards Itto, who retaliated with another two aimed at Genta and Akira.

You stood off to the side, watching the chaos unfold while shaking your head. Your boyfriend could be a lot but at the end of the day, you couldn’t deny the way your heart swelled as he laughed victoriously when he nailed Mamoru in the neck.

He packed another snowball together, wound his arm back, and threw it, though it wildly missed its intended target (Akira) and hit someone else instead: you. You wiped the cold snow off your face and your expression immediately dropped from affectionate to something more sinister. “I’ll give you three seconds, boys,” you said as you slowly crouched down, gathering snow in your hands.

Itto yelped and called to his members, “Retreat, guys, retreat!”

Beside the heavy snowfall, it was a pretty normal day in Inazuma City, the locals watching on in amusement as the men of the Arataki Gang sprinting towards Hanamizaka with you hot on their heels.

childe — ice skating

since getting engaged, childe decided it was time to finally bring you to snezhnaya to formally meet his family. he had gushed about you in letters to them already and you’ve even written a few yourself to them, but you never met them face to face though it felt like you all knew each other well already

as expected, childe’s family welcomed you with open arms and childe’s younger siblings were already begging you and childe to play with them and skate with them on the frozen lake a little ways away from the family home

you and childe gave in pretty quickly (as if there was any resistance at all) and you found yourself lacing up an old pair of skates childe’s mother gave you and wobbling on the ice with your fiance and his siblings

“Ouch!” you huffed as you tumbled onto the ice for what felt like the umpteenth time, and Childe had the audacity to laugh as he helped you up.

“I take it you don’t have a lot of skating experience.”

“Really?” you asked him dryly. “How could you tell?”

He just laughed again and took both of your hands in his, sliding to a stop in front of you and turning so he faced you. “Show off.”

“It’s easy when you get the hang of it, promise,” he said, starting to slowly skate backwards and pull you along with him. Tonia, Teucer, and Anthon whizzed by, the force of their speedy skating nearly knocking you off balance. You tripped into your fiance’s arms and he said, “Well, it seems like you’ve fallen for me.”

You made a face and said, “Get out of here.”

He grinned at you and started his slow backwards skate again as he guided you along the perimeter of the lake. “Just like that,” he said as you mimicked his movements. Gradually, he loosened his grip on your hands until he completely let go, skating further from you and opening his arms up. “Skate towards me,” he said.

“I would if you stopped moving!”

“That’s kind of the point!”

You pouted at him before focusing on your own movements, falling into the hypnotizing rhythm of skating and gliding. Before you knew it, you were sliding easily into Childe’s open arms, which he folded around your waist. “You’re a natural,” he said.

“I had a good teacher,” you replied, smiling at him. He leaned in and kissed you, which earned disgusted whining from Teucer and Anthon, and a squeal from Tonia.

When you broke apart, Childe stroked your cheek with a cold hand and said, “I’m glad you’re here.”

You pressed your face into his hand. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

[alexendria-rose]

Years Down The Line~ Sebastian Sallow X Reader

Summary- It's been years since Y/n has set foot in Hogwarts, since she's been anywhere near where she lived, she's been on adventures, discovering new places, but she knew she needed to come back, for a certain reason, but maybe that certain reason turned into two reasons when she see's Sebastian Sallow once again after years or not talking, what will happen? will they rekindle? or will Y/n let the fear of hurting people around her get in the way of knowing where she truly belongs.

Y/n

I scan the area around me, my eyes darting to the buildings. The beautiful buildings around me. This place. The way it still made my heart still feel at peace. Hogsmeade. I couldn’t believe I was really walking around this place I swore I would never come back too. The place I escaped after Hogwarts. I decided to travel around the world, see different places. To not be just a witch for once but just someone that nobody knew about. I wanted to be free from being the “Hogwarts Hero” it’s been 10 years since my fifth year. I just left without telling anybody where I was going, I didn’t want anything holding me back or trying to keep me from going cause I knew if He would’ve said something, I would’ve stayed. Even though we were nothing more than just friends. Well, even though I was secretly in love with him for years. Everyone always thought of us as an item, Ominis swore up and down that we were just keeping our relationship a secret, especially with all the flirting we were doing. But it never made it past the flirting, he just saw me as just merely a friend, someone to confide in, someone to distract him from his own pain. I wasn’t upset about it, he was someone there for me too, but just a little more then I was too him.

I walk into the Three Broomsticks, ruffling my hair to get the snow out of it. It was winter time here, and it was my favorite part of living here when I was younger, I would constantly run outside to be in the snow, whether that was making snow angels, just enjoying the nice crispy weather or the view. It was a sort of peace being here. I decided to come back for one reason, for Fig. It was his tenth anniversary of his death, I wanted to visit him for the holidays, to talk to him. I haven’t talked to his grave since the year he passed. God did I miss that man, the only man I looked up too, the man who basically looked at me as his own, and yet again I lost someone close to me. I see Sirona making conversations with the people around her, her smile still was as bright as the sun. The way she had this aurora around her. Sirona looks over to where I walked in, her eyes widening at the sight.

“If that isn’t Y/n L/n?” She grins swiftly moving her way towards me. I break out into a grin engulfing her into a hug.

“Sirona, oh how I missed you.” She pulls back slightly scanning me from head to toe, her eyes soften softly.

“Oh my child, you’ve grown to be such a beautiful woman.” She grabs my hand and examines the one on my left hand. “Hm no ring?” She lifts an eyebrow in question directing my way. “I would’ve thought someone swept you up by now, especially that Sebastian Sallow who kept following you around like a lost puppy.” She smirks. I roll my eyes pulling my left hand from her grip.

“No, I do not have anyone in my life at the moment, just me myself and I, Sirona.” I tease looking down at my empty ring finger tracing my finger, hopefully one day someone would take that honor, but I couldn’t knowing Sebastian didn’t. But of course once again my fault in that.

“Have you seen Sebastian, Y/n?” I dart my eyes towards her question ruffling my eyes brows in confusion.

“No, I haven’t seen him since my last year at Hogwarts, I didn’t tell anyone I was leaving…” I whisper looking down at my shoes. “I’m sorry I didn’t bid you goodbye properly.” She looks at me with a soft expression on her face but also a pained one. Oh how I didn’t realize how much people I’ve left behind, all the people who supported me, but they didn’t need me, all I did was cause damage to these amazing people.

“Oh none-sense honey, I knew I would see you again.” She smiles brightly once again ushering me over to the bar. “Come on dear drink on me tonight, butterbeer?” I laugh lightly sitting down on the bar stool taking off my scarf.

“Yes please!” I hear the door open behind me, I look back seeing a certain girl entering the three broomsticks. “Anne?” I shout. The girl looks at me, her hazel eyes exactly like his.

“Y/n!” She exclaims, she drops the bags she recently purchased on the floor running over to me before giving me a welcoming hug. “I didn’t know you were back!” I scan the girl, her smile was bright, she didn’t look pale as the last time I saw her my fifth year, her eyes were shinning. She looked so happy, so strong.

“I didn’t tell anyone, I just missed it here and thought I would visit.” She looks at my tired eyes also doing the same thing I just did to her a minute ago.

“Please tell me you have somewhere decent to stay?” She cocks her head slightly her eyebrows raised waiting for my reply.

“Oh well… not really but at least it’s somewhere rather than no where.” I giggle at her puzzled face when I answer her question.

“No absolutely not, you’re staying with me, just recently moved near here, come on!” She grips my hand, I gulp down my butterbear before hopping down the bar stool.

“You really don’t need to do that Anne, the Holidays are in a couple of days, I don’t wanna be a bother, I’m just here for a certain reason.” Anne furrows her eyebrows.

“No you’re staying with me, I will not take no as an answer.” She replies stubbornly. Just like her brother. I glance at Sirona her eyes already on mine.

“I’ll see you another time, please be sure to stop by before you leave.” She pleads. I laugh lightly nodding my head at her comment.

“Of course I will, Sirona, I promise.”

“Or we’ll just keep her here and there will never be a goodbye in place.” Anne hums softly before taking my hand and leaving the Three Broomsticks grabbing her bags with her other hand, her hand wrapped around my wrist dragging me across Hogsmeade, going the other side of town. I look across from where she was headed to see a small little cottage, smoke coming up from the chimney. Did she live with someone? She smiles up at me opening up the door.

“Guess who’s here!” She shouts into the house. I look ahead to a see a back to me, the person had blonde hair- Ominis.

“Ominis?” I whisper gently walking towards him, he turns around a wide smile on his face.

“Y/n, I knew it was you.” He smiles widely bringing me in for a warm welcomed hug. “I can never forget about you.” I giggle at his soft side my eyes darting from Anne to Ominis.

“So you two?” I scrunch my eyebrows, my eyes still darting between the two with confusion. Ominis smirks wrapping an arm around Anna.

“We’re married.” He looks down at the girl with a gentle look on his face, never in the years that I’ve noticed Ominis did I see such a soft side and Anne brought that out of him.

“What! Anne you couldn’t of told me on the way here!” I pout bringing them both into a hug. I feel a tug at my sweater that was snuggly wrapped around me looking down to see a small little girl with freckles and blonde hair, grey eyes just like Ominis. I look down at the child with wide eyes.

“Y/n, meet Noctua Gaunt.” Anne says with a lovely grin to her face, covering her mouth to escape any giggles coming out. My face must’ve been hysterical, my eyes I swear were going to pop out of my head, as I continue to look at the child, but also cry to see the makings of sweet Ominis and sweet Anne.

“She’s beautiful.” I get down to her level. “Hi Noctua.” I smile at the name once again, Ominis aunt, the only family he looked up too, and here she was but as his daughter. She couldn’t be older than one, all she did was babble and wave with her small little hands. I hear the door slam open.

“Okay I did splurge a little more for Noctua than I liked but I couldn’t help it for my favorite little girl.” I look up to see butt loads of presents covering the face, until the person sets it down and they look straight down at me. Sebastian. I sit up from my kneeling position slowly standing up locking eyes with his. Oh Merlin beard he grew up to be even more handsome. He had a slight stubble, his hair seemed to be more fluffier, his built was filled out, the shirt he was wearing was rolled up to his elbows and the muscles were certainly popping out.

“Sebastian.” I freeze in my spot, as so does he.

“Isn’t this wonderful! I ran into Y/n on the way back home from the Three Broomsticks!” Anne exclaims, so oblivious to what was going on in front of her.

“Come on dear, that’s let them talk- they have a lot to talk about.” Ominis mumbles picking up Noctua with them before heading into the kitchen. Sebastian walks up to me eyeing me up and down.

“Are you real?” I laugh at his comment, Merlin I just might being going hysterical, really. I cover my mouth to stop the laughing fit I just created.

“Come on Sebastian, of course I’m real.” I reply back laughing a bit more before finally settling down. I turn my back on him looking over the whole house, the photos of Ominis and Anne's wedding, photos of Noctua, of Sebastian. I was somewhat jealous of the fact that I didn’t have this but once again it was my fault I didn’t have this beautiful life.

“You left me Y/n.” I freeze in my spot at his comment, shutting my eyes tightly. I knew he was going to bring that up at some point, but only if he knew I did it for him.

“Yes, I did do that…” I trace my fingers on the photo frame of Sebastian in his Auror suit. Probably his first day I’m assuming. “Didn’t know you were Auror.” I try digressing the conversation holding the frame in my hand looking back at him with a small smile. “Honestly imagined you working for the library or becoming a writer honestly.” Sebastian looks at me with soft eyes, a small smirk coming up to his face walking closer to me, he looks down at me grabbing the frame out of my hands softly grazing my fingers as he does so. There it was. All the feelings I was holding back and forgetting came alive again; as I felt his touch and looked into those hazel eyes once again.

“I wanted to write, but something about adventure and going out and helping people is who I want to be, I learned that from the best of course.” He says softly his eyes still latched on my own. I hitch a breath to realize how close we are I can feel his breath on my skin, and the way he looked at me was different then any of our years together.

“I’m sorry I didn’t say goodbye.” I blurt out setting the photo down on the counter facing my body fully to look at him. He looks down at the ground stepping away from me. Sebastian turns his back at me running a hand throw his wild hair.

“I waited for you at the Great Hall, to say goodbye, I was going to ask you to travel with me, I was going to ask you to live with me Y/n.” His back still turned on me his hands now gripping his hair.

“Sebastian, I couldn’t stay here even longer, I knew if I talked to you, you would've convince me to stay.” I reply walking over to him placing a delicate hand to his shoulder, he flinches at the contact turning around to face me again tears welled up in those beautiful hazel eyes.

“Damn right I would’ve convinced you to stay, you have no idea how much I wrote to you, asking you to come back to me, I care about you that I’m still waiting for you.” He grabs my hand rubbing his thumb on the back of it softly.

“Sebastian, I can’t… I can’t do this.” Curse me. This man was about to make me feel things I shoved away so long ago. “Anne, Ominis it was nice seeing you, I-I can’t.” I rip my hand away from his grasps my body already missing the way he held me.

“No Y/n wait.” I grab my wand appariting far from their little cottage thinking about the one place I came here for. I open my eyes tears rolling down my cheek looking in front of me to see Professor Figs headstone next to his wife, I crumble down to my knees sobbing.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” I grip onto his headstone my eyes not stopping the unbelievable amount of tears erupting my face. “I couldn’t be here anymore, without you, I couldn’t bring Sebastian down my path, I couldn’t even help him when he was going through his own dark path I just decided to go along with him, I’m no Hogwarts Hero. I killed you, I’m the reason you were killed. I looked up to you, you were the only one who I thought of as a father.” I sob uncomfortably laying my head down on his gravestone. “I miss you, I’m sorry I haven’t visited, I’m scared of being back here, I’m scared of hurting those around me….” I lean my head back looking up at the sky, the snow was falling barely but it still was beautiful. I think about how the way Sebastian looked at me, he looked at me as if he had seen ghost. The way he touched me gently like he was scared at any moment I was going to crack, and yet I did. I was so weak for letting my emotions get the better of me yet again. I start to rest my eyes all this crying made me exhausted before you know it darkness is surrounding me.

Sebastian

She disappeared again, right in front of my eyes this time. I’m just an idiot to let my emotions get the better of me but just seeing her again. The way she grew up, more mature, she was gorgeous and of course I checked her left hand to see if anyone had taken her side but nobody hadn’t. She has indeed been alone this entire time? Why? Ominis and Anne come rushing in.

“What the bloody hell did you do Sebastian?” Ominis says crossing his arms over his chest

“I almost confessed to her… seeing her after all these years, Merlin Ominis you should’ve saw her, she looked so beautiful but yet so broken, so long gone.” I respond pacing back and fourth the room running my hand through my hair trying to wrap my mind on to what just happened.

“Well if I could've seen her Sebastian, but once again blind nitwit.” Ominis scoffs but seeing me in this state his eyes soften and makes his way towards me lightly putting a hand on my shoulder. “Come let’s go find her.” I stop in my tracks and look towards Ominis.

“You’re telling me to go after her? Wow Ominis I think we’ve spent too much time together, usually your the rational one.” I say with a slying smirk coming to my lips.

“Shut up, I just don’t wanna hear your pouting and whining again, that lasted for five years, I can’t do that again.” “No please go get her.” He pushes my shoulder. “There’s only one reason why she would be here, and you know it.” My eyes widen.

fig

Why of course. I look at Anne and Ominis giving them a small smile. “I’m not letting her go again, I’ll be back.” I apparate to figs grave looking to see a small figure hugging onto the stone, her under eyes looking red and puffy and she was definitely freezing. “Y/n.” I gasp out grabbing her small body carrying her bridal style before apparating back to my own cottage. It was small, but it was something to get by. I take her to my room laying her slowly down to the bed. I cover her up to keep her warm conjuring a heating spell to warm her up. She mumbles softly before her eyes slowly open up.

“Sebastian?”

Y/n

I feel warmth hug my body, mumbling softly about how good it feels. I blink my eyes open looking around my surroundings before my eyes landing on a certain brute. “Sebastian?” I ask raspy. That crying might’ve been the death of me.

“Y/n.” He places his hand on my cheek rubbing his thumb gently across it looking up and down my body probably to make sure I wasn’t hurt.

“Why am I here?” I look around the room about to sit myself up when he pushes me down gently.

“No you’re not getting up, you need to rest, it’s been a long day for you.” He moves his hand from my cheek. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to push you today.” He looks brightly at me. “Now please get some rest.” He goes to walk out when I grab his hand before he leaves stopping him. He looks back at me confusion written across his face.

“Please don’t go.” I look up at him with a desperate look on my face, mostly begging him not to leave me alone after my uncontrollable crying on Figs gravestone. Sebastian kneels down on the side of the bed next to me with a worrisome look on my face.

"Do you still get those nightmares?" He asks softly his thumbing rubbing circles around the back of my hand in a comforting manner. I squeeze my eyes shut, breathing out a shaky breath. I look at him with tears forming into my eyes, how do I tell him I've been having nightmares every day for the past 10 years. How I do tell him all the dreams are about losing him and everyone else around me but especially him.

"All the time Sebastian, they never leave me, I'm scared." I hiccup. "I'm scared me just being here is going to hurt everyone I love and care about. I lost Fig, the only male role model in my life, someone I loved as a parental role. Merlin the fact, I dream about losing you especially. What if someone takes you away to torture me." I breath out. I let go of his hand to cover my face with mine, the tears streaming down my face. I wasn't emotionally ready to have all the thoughts in my head with him right now, otherwise I would be a bloody mess.

"Don't say anymore, I'll stay Y/n, I'll always stay." He leans foreword to kiss the top of my head leaving his lips a lot longer then I expected. I look up at him through my lashes the tears still streaming down my face. He wipes my tears away with his thumb looking at me with such a loving way, something I wasn't use to Sebastian doing.

"Sebastian...." His eyes never leave my face.

"Come on my love, I know you just wanna rest, and I promise I'll stay the whole time." He rolls into bed next to me spooning me, tightly bringing me to my chest as though I could never leave his grip. I trace his arm that was under my head.

"I'm sorry Sebastian." I mumble before drifting into a slumber.

I wake up from a dreamless sleep, I didn't dream once last night, not a happy dream nor a nightmare. I somehow felt peace, but I remember where I was. I remember all that happened the event before, the days coming back to me. I furrow my eyebrows not feeling the other body next to me, I sit up abruptly looking to my side to see Sebastian not there. I panic a bit, jumping out of the bed running into the main room.

"Sebastian!?" I yell, I look over to see him in the kitchen cooking, and I inhale deeply, as he turns his body around to look at me with wide eyes.

"What, what happened?" He rushes over to me grabbing onto my face scanning my body from head to toe. "Are you okay?" I sigh rubbing my arms in embarassment.

"I-I just thought something happened to you." I stammer looking down at the ground at my feet. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you." Sebastian moves closer to me lifting my head to look at him.

"Never apologize for something you didn't do." He whispers with a small smile planted on his face. "Now come, I made us breakfast and I want to take you somewhere." I cock my head to the side and beaming slightly at him.

"You cooked? Should I be scared?" I question giggling lightly as he brings me to the table pulling out my chair for me, I sit down as he pushes me in.

"Oh hush, living by myself have given me the chance to practice." He smirks bringing over some food to my plate. I glance up at him.

"So no girlfriend in the picture?" I ask sipping on the pumpkin juice he poured for me, he sits across from me shaking his head.

"No, too in love with someone else to be in a relationship." He states taking a bite of the food. I stop the cup to my lips freezing in place. He's in love with someone? I should've known all these years he would find someone that he would eventually love, but how I silly that I thought maybe that could change, it wouldn't matter anyways I was going to leave tomorrow anyways.

"Oh, I bet she's amazing." I whisper eating the food Sebastian set in front of me, he doesn't say another word but a smirk was planted on his smug little face. We finish our breakfast, and I stand up to do the dishes when he stops me.

"No, I've got this, why don't you change and get ready, the bathroom is right around the corner." He takes the plates from my hands, tucking the loose hair behind my ear. "I'm taking you somewhere special." I blush turning my head the opposite direction to make sure he doesn't catch it. I nod giving him a grin before walking away to the bathroom with my bag. I look around the bathroom, nothing so special to it until I caught a photo on the bathroom counter noticing it was a photo of Sebastian and I, it was one that moved to capture the moment and I remember the day we took it, us near the lake happy go lucky, nothing phasing us in that moment. I smile at the memory, I can't believe he had this here. I shake away the feeling that crept back into my head. I change into black pants, and knee high boots, with a baggy green sweater, hopefully to keep me from the cold, I use magic to fix my hair and makeup from the previous night before. I sigh softly looking at myself in the mirror looking at the scar that Ragnok caused, right across my eyebrow, all of those memories are now a scar, still there but slowly healing.

I walk out of the bathroom seeing Sebastian with a black button up with his Slytherin scarf wrapped around him, and his black pants. I observe more in this moment. He wasn't the same Sebastian, he held more confidence, he grew into his features fairly well, he was handsome, he was so so handsome, and so much taller. He was towering over me, and god how I wish I can call him mine.

"You ready?" He takes out his hand, and I gently grab it as he apparates us Merlin knows where. I look around us, grass surrounding us but there was an edge we were close to.

"Where are we?" I ask walking closer to the edge, Sebastian right near my heels, and that's when I saw it. Hogwarts. I gasp in the beauty, we were over looking the giant castle. It was beautiful but it brought back all the emotions.

"I remember when I first saw you, you walked into the sorting ceremony our fifth year, and I remember thinking that was the most gorgeous woman I have ever seen in my life." He mumbles playing with his fingers looking down at them. "Merlin's beard Y/n, you came into my life and it flipped, you helped me even though I was going through a path I know you didn't fully support but you did anyways, you stuck through me years after that, I know I hurt yo-"

"No Sebastian, I hurt you." I breath out the air I was holding onto hearing him say the things he did, I couldn't let him think I was this amazing person when I know I wasn't. "I have almost got you killed multiple times, because of my stupid ancient magic, because of stupid goblins, I would've died to help Anne but I didn't know how, I'm a coward." I turn away from the castle my arms holding onto me. "But it doesn't matter cause I'm leaving so I don't hurt anymore, I have to leave tomorrow Sebastian I just have too." Sebastian's eyes widen.

"No you don't get to leave me again!" He raises his voice slightly moving his way in front of me with sadden eyes. "You do not get to decide to come into my life and make me fall in love with you all over again, I mean Merlin's beard I've never stopped loving you, you left me and I left with you, my heart did, I've been in love with you since the moment you stepped into that great hall, the moment you came up to me in that bloody common room. You've never hurt me, you hurt me by walking away from this, from us, and I know I never told you I was in love with you but that last time I really was going to ask you to be mine forever." He reaches into his pocket and grabs a box opening it containing a emerald green ring that had his initials on the side of it. I widen my eyes at his confession, my heart pounding, warm butterfly's fluttering all over in my stomach.

"Sebastian, I left because I was scared of my own feelings for you, I knew you would follow me anywhere I went and that scared me, I was scared, I'm scared now, I've been in love with you since the day I met you, I would literally die for you, I've had nightmares everyday for ten years and every single one you're in, but every single one you're being taken away from me and that hurts me way more then the dreams I end up dying in, or being tortured because if something happened to you I would never forgive myself." I gasp out tears trickling out of my eyes, his eyes are boring into mine-he moves closer to me leaning foreword catching my lips onto his gripping the back of my hair gently, I bring him closer by grabbing his scarf as we passionately kiss he moves his hands down to my waist gripping onto them gently, we pull back to catch our breaths our foreheads pressed against each others.

"I've been waiting for that for ten years my love." He breaths out tucking the loose hair behind my ear his eyes searching for mine. "I'm so in love with you."

"And I with you Sebastian Sallow." He brings my forehead to his lips placing a chaste kiss on it, I wrap my arms around his waist his chin on the top of my head. I didn't want this moment to end, I didn't want to let him go, not now, not ever. He pulls back the ring box still placed in his hand.

"Y/n... I know we haven't dated, haven't even been with each others life for years, but all I think about is being with you and only you. I want you to have this ring as a sort of a hold until I can actually propose to you, cause I want you and only you." I giggle softly, the tears once again in my eyes, I only nod bringing my left hand out for him to place ring on that certain finger.

"I wish to one day be Mrs Sallow, Sebastian, I want you and only you." I whisper wiping my tears with my right hand as he slides the ring on my finger, it fitting perfectly on my finger. "I cannot believe this is happening." I breath out looking at the beautiful ring placed on my finger, smiling at the way I first arrived thinking that I would only want Sebastian to have this finger.

"Should we go to Ominis and Anne to tell them the good news? That you're here to stay." He smirks lightly.

"Oh Merlin their going to literally kill us for taking this damn long." I chuckle at the thought of Ominis telling us he told us so.

"Yes, but I cannot wait to hear Anne literally scream at the both of us for being idiots." I laugh placing a small kiss onto his lips. We later tell Anne and Ominis what happened in the day we were gone and we were both right Ominis telling us he told us so, and Anne calling us idiots. I knew this is who I wanted to be near, who I needed to be surrounded by. They were my home. Professor Fig would've been proud....

AHHHHHHHHHHH THIS IS MY FAVORITE ONE THAT I WROTE IM OBSESSED! MIGHT WRITE A PART TWO WITH WEDDING AND FAMILY IDKKKK -A/N

[it-happened-one-fic]

Hello, I've done this before, and I'm not exactly sure how it works, but here!

Twisted wonderland ,green tea, and angel food cake!

Thank you<3

Hi, thanks for the request! And no worries, you did everything exactly correct. I hope you enjoy your Green Tea and Angel Food Cake fic!

Cozy - Azul

Type: Gender-neutral reader/ fluff/ romantic/ Green Tea and Angel Food Cake Prompt

Word Count: 1834

I watched as the snow continued to fall just through the diamond-paned window as I sat curled up in the ancient blanket I’d dug out of the closet. My calm demeanor was totally at odds with Azul’s frustration. He'd been pacing around ever since he’d finished getting the fire in the stove started via magic.

“How long do you suppose it’ll be before they can get the roads cleaned up?” Azul at last stopped his pacing to peer out the window. A frown on his face as he gazed out at the pristine winter wonderland.

“Well, they can’t start that until the snow stops falling, so who knows.” I shrugged inelegantly before twisting to look up at the young man.

I could understand his irritation. What had been supposed to be a PE game had resulted in us being snowed in at a little cottage in the woods around the campus. In fact, it was the same cottage that was just outside the mine where me, Deuce, and Ace had encountered our first blot monster.

To make matters worse, our phones had lost signal, implying something had gone haywire at the school proper yet again.

At least Grim had snuck off and gone back to Ramshackle earlier in the day. The ghosts would take care of him, so I didn’t have to worry.

Azul, on the other hand, was doubtless concerned about a myriad of things, including his beloved Mostro Lounge.

“I’m sure everyone is out and looking for us. At the very least, Floyd and Jade will be looking for you.” I reassured him gently, reaching out and patting his arm and, in doing so, earning myself a sideways glance.

“Yes. And I’m sure your friends will be searching for you as soon as they notice you’re missing.” His lips twitched into a brief smile before he looked back out the window. Frowning once more as he gazed at the blanket of pure white that now covered the campus. 

I nodded, agreeing with him, as I smiled to myself slightly before I reached down and patted the cushion next to me and held up the edge of the blanket in a silent offer.

“Come on, sit down. Pacing around won’t accomplish anything anyway,” My voice took on a teasing lilt that had him frowning at me even as he followed my suggestion and plopped down next to me.

We wiggled around briefly, getting the blanket stretched over the two of us even though it meant pressing in close together. I didn’t complain, though, as I cuddled up to his side. Noting  his slight inhale as I shifted over closer to him and adjusted the ancient fabric. 

It took him a little bit, but he finally relaxed. Shifting his arm so it was wrapped around me rather than pressed firmly to his side.

“I suppose it could be worse; at least we found a reasonably decent shelter. Though old, this cottage is no worse than Ramshackle and even has a fireplace.” He looked towards the fire that crackled away as merrily as you pleased.

I let out a soft laugh, nodding in agreement as I recalled the moments when the snow had first started to fall, “Yeah, I thought you were going to stare up at the sky forever when the snow first started. It was like you’d never seen it before.”

“I haven’t.” His tone was so matter-of-fact that I had to pause for a moment. I stared at him in surprise before it finally hit me. 

He’d lived most of his life under the sea. Of course, he’d never seen snow before.

“I guess that was sort of a magical experience for you then. I honestly can’t remember the first time I saw snow…. I’m sorry for rushing you.”

He frowned at my words, shaking his head slightly, “No, at the very least we needed to get you indoors. Though I may be capable of handling more extreme temperatures, the same can’t be said for you.”

I smiled at his kindness, which, when I’d first met him, would have seemed dubious at best. But since then, I’d gotten to know Azul and the tweels better, and their benevolence had become more genuine. Though it still wasn’t exactly odd for them to ask to be repaid for any kind acts they did.

We fell into a silence that wasn’t uncomfortable, even as I realized that this might be the first time I’d ever been totally alone with just Azul. Every other time we’d been together, the tweels or someone else had been present.

Azul shifted slightly before glancing my way with only the slightest twist of his head, and watching as I pulled the blanket just a bit closer to me than it had been, “Are you still cold?”

I blinked at him, caught slightly off-guard, and before I could even consider responding, he was continuing, “Wait here, I’ll go get another blanket.”

He started to stand, slipping out from under the blanket as I speedily reached out and snatched his wrist, “No, I’m fine! Really, Azul, I was just getting more comfortable.”

He looked down at me, his pale blue eyes wide, before he slowly recovered, “Oh, I see. I suppose that’s fine then.”

He awkwardly sat back down next to me, his fingers beginning to toy with the edge of the frayed blanket, “I suppose we need to plan for being here for the long haul.”

I shook my head, halfway amused by his words, “If you’re thinking about spending the night, I don’t think that’ll be necessary. At the very least, the staff will have to step up since you're stuck here with me and you’re a housewarden.

He frowned at my words, “You don’t think they’d search if it were just you?”

I snorted, “They would eventually. I just think they’ll be a bit faster about it since you’re here.”

He let out a hum, his fingers beginning to tap some sort of beat on his leg, “Even if it were just you, someone would come quickly. There are your friends, and then I wouldn’t let you stay out here and freeze to death on your own.”

I looked at him with widening eyes, staring at him in slight surprise. Because though it wasn’t an odd thought that he’d offer to help, it was odd that he’d admit it in quite such a fashion.”

He looked down, his eyes going as wide as mine as he realized what he’d just said, “Of course, I’d ask for payment for my services.”

It was a sloppy save, with the way it had been delivered with a far too flustered expression, but I didn’t call him out on it.

“Of course,” I looked away, lacing my fingers together under the blanket and looking away from Azul as I noted exactly how close we actually were.

I didn’t mind being cuddled up to Azul by any means, but… Well, I supposed I hadn’t realized that we were quite so cuddled up until we were looking at each other, face to face.

He shifted, tugging up one sleeve to reveal a watch that he frowned at, “Either way, Floyd and Jade should have been here by now. They knew which path we took when we left the spelldrive field.”

“Yeah, I remember them telling you to have fun,” I grinned at the memory of how their teasing calls had sent Azul into a slight tizzy. Fussing at them even as we walked away from the laughing twins.

“They also told us not to get too cozy,” At Azul’s dry words, we both looked down at the blanket wrapped around us.

I shook my head, smiling as I thought of their reactions if they could see us now, “I guess we didn't obey that one.”

“You’re cozy?” Azul sounded utterly incredulous, like he couldn’t believe what I was saying even as I was leaning up against him.

I laughed aloud at his shock even before nodding, “Yes, I’m cozy.” 

I paused, pondering his words just a little bit more before I twisted, suddenly concerned as I looked at him, “Are you?”

His eyes went wide once more, making the pale blue shade of his irises appear even brighter than it usually did as he stared down at me, “I…”

He faltered briefly before recovering with a uniquely determined look on his face as he tightened his grip on my shoulder, where his hand had just been resting loosely a few seconds ago, “Of course I am. I wouldn’t be sitting here if I weren’t.”

He looked away, making it far too easy for me to see the pink that slowly began to show on the edge of his ear, eliciting a grin from me. I couldn’t help it as I leaned just a little bit closer, “Really?”

He let out an exasperated sound at my teasing tone, “Yes, re-.”

He was cut off by the door bursting open, causing us to both jump, with me practically landing in his lap as he wrapped his arms around me. 

We both stared wide-eyed at the doorway, which was now shadowed by two far too familiar silhouettes.

“Well, he certainly does look cozy. Doesn’t he Jade?”

“Indeed. I’d say so.”

I felt myself droop against Azul as the adrenaline rapidly left my system, and he similarly relaxed, “Oh, it’s just you two.”

“Just us two? Would you rather we left and gave you two some more quality time?” Jade grinned down at us as both he and Floyd stepped into the room. Both of them looked far too pleased with themselves as they stared at us with obvious amusement.

Me and Azul both looked at each other, half confused until we were facing each other and realizing exactly what position we were now in. Me sitting on his lap with his arms still wrapped loosely around me from where we’d both been startled.

I don’t know which of us moved first. But either way, Azul jerked back as I scrambled backwards, sending the blanket akimbo as we both scurried away from each other.

“No!” Azul was the one who spoke, his rejection far too vehement as it only caused the twins' grins to spread in a way that promised more teasing.

“Shame we didn’t get a picture, hmm?” Jade tilted his head towards Floyd, who snickered.

“Yeah, they looked like they were having a good time before we came in.” He looked back towards where me and Azul looked towards each other in exasperation before Azul looked away a little bit too quickly, and his ears darkened further.

I smiled, despite myself, before getting up from the couch to follow the tweels out as Azul stood behind me.

At the very least, I could say I’d learned that the tweels were right. I could get quite cozy with Azul as long as we had time together. And I didn’t even think that snow would be necessary next time.

[neonacity]

IRIDESCENT | A LUCID SPECIAL CHAPTER [RENJUN VER.]

Iridescent - a reflection of luminous colors that changes when perceived at different angles. 

A/N: After almost a year of updating Lucid with Jaemin’s special chapter, I finally had the time and inspiration to write Renjun’s version. It has been a while since Lucid ended, but consider this a little gift from me for those who still remember the story. Note that this is is connected to my 00′ line series here so it will not make sense if this is read as a standalone. Renjun is also aged up in this chapter (27 yrs. old) since this is set in the future. I reserve all the rights to this work and I also do not claim any likenesses between the actual person and the character in this story. 

Read here for: LUCID SERIES | JENO’s VERSION | JAEMIN’s VERSION | HAECHAN's VERSION

“AND FINALLY, AFTER RUNNING FOR SO LONG, THEY FOUND A PLACE TO REST.”

“Miss? We apologize for keeping you waiting. You can meet the kids now if you are ready.”

You tore your eyes away from the painting you have been staring at to give the elderly woman by the door a kind smile. The pale glow of the winter sun bounced against the white walls of the small room you are in, illuminating the gold-framed artwork that was taking the center wall of the office. When you were first ushered into the school, you weren’t expecting to be welcomed to the principal’s office while the rest of your documents were being filed. Nevertheless, your initial nervousness was eased the moment your eyes set on the said centerpiece which was currently being kissed by the soft gentle light from the open window. You definitely needed it, especially with the usual jitters that comes with starting your first day on your new job.

“Oh, don’t worry about it. I wasn’t waiting for a long time,” you answered politely as you picked yourself up from your seat and reached out for your purse. The lady, who you assumed was the principal herself, gave you a kind, curious look before stepping further into the room. 

“Do you like the painting?”

You blinked at her, smile still frozen on your lips at her unexpected question. She gave you a knowing look before nodding towards the artwork.

“You were staring really hard at it,” she observed, causing your cheeks to heat up a little under her gaze. You cleared your throat softly but finally gave a small nod as you adjusted the strap of your bag on your shoulder.

“It’s very beautiful. I don’t know anything about art at all, but I think it’s amazing. It’s somehow calming to me,” you said as you glanced at the piece again. As you did, a cloud shifted outside, showering it with better light. The change in illumination seemed to make it glow and you saw details on it that you haven’t noticed before.

It was a very simple art piece—a view of a room with a wide window that opens to a snow-capped landscape outside. The main subject of it, however, was a girl overlooking the view, her gentle back on the viewer. You can't fully explain it, but her stance seemed lonely yet hopeful at the same time, like she was waiting for something... or someone. She felt familiar… almost like a dream you’ve seen before. 

“The head of the school is the artist behind it,” the woman shared behind you. The information made you look at her in mild shock.

“The Head? I thought you are…” 

“Oh, I am the Principal, but the school is owned and managed by someone else. This is his office.”

You quietly processed that. When you first saw the job post for a literature teacher here, your interest was immediately captured by the description of the place. After years of working for a larger academy, you decided to look for a job that is more peaceful to say the least. Raven Oaks is a smaller, private academy that also doubles as an orphanage housing abandoned and abused children in need. It was a fairly new school, too, and so you thought it was the perfect opportunity for you to go back to a life of teaching that is quieter but meaningful still.

Honestly, you didn’t expect you would even get a call back after taking your chances.

“I didn’t expect the school owner to be a talented painter,” you said now, mumbling more to yourself as you looked over the artwork again. “I would have thought it would be mentioned in your academy portfolio if he is this good.” 

“Ah, our founder is a very private person. I’m usually the one he asks to do all the public appearances, if you may have noticed in our profile. Sometimes, I even question it myself to be honest. What can an old woman like me do, right? But he is a very trusting man who has also saved a lot of kids, and so I thought I want to do whatever I can to help him out.”

You nodded slowly. “It is amazing. I have read some stories and I… felt inspired by them. It was honestly the reason why I decided to apply here.”

“And now you’re going to be a part of that help, too,” the woman said as she reached over to give your shoulder a squeeze. “Now, do you want to maybe meet some of the kids? They have their craft classes this morning. We have an amazing art program as part of our therapy sessions.”

At that, your smile warmed and you gave a nod. You shot one last look at the painting behind you before finally taking a step towards the door to follow the other. 

“Yes, I am. I can’t wait to learn more about everyone.” 

*******

“I think blue will look best if you use it on your drawing.”

You watched contently as the little boy took the tube of paint that you offered him from the supply box on the table. After the principal escorted you to the art room, you were tasked to observe the class which is currently in the middle of a mini painting session. The children were currently unsupervised because the teacher had to step out, so you temporarily took it upon yourself to watch over them yourself to help around. The child stared at the paint in his hands now before finally glancing at you with his big brown eyes. 

“Do we have yellow?”

“Oh, do you want yellow? Let me see if we have it here,” you said as you immediately sifted through the other tubes in the box. In your peripheral vision, you saw the kid sit on the small stool across from you to patiently wait.

“Are you a new teacher, Miss Mam?” 

You quickly looked at the boy and gave him a small smile. He looks no older than seven, with black hair that almost falls to his eyes. For some reason, the image of him looking at you so honestly with a curious gaze made a familiar but distant feeling throb fleetingly in your chest. 

“Yes, I am. I am going to teach literature here. Do you like that subject?” 

The boy’s eyes sparkled as he gave a small, shy nod. 

“Yes. I like books. They read us a lot of stories before we go to bed.”

“Oh, really? I promise we will read a lot of amazing books then. Do you have other classes here that you love?”

At that question, the child tucked his head down a little bit, like he was all of a sudden shy. You looked on curiously as he turned his head left and right to make sure that nobody is listening before he leaned over to whisper to you. 

“I really really like art class. I think Mr. Huang is super cool.” 

His words immediately made your hand freeze.  Smile dropping a little, you fought back the deluge of emotions that rushed to the surface of your consciousness at the mere sound of the name. It has been five years since you’ve last connected it with a face so hearing it now almost felt like a dream. You felt a dull throb from deep in your chest, and all of a sudden, you were brought back again to the days you’ve tried so hard to leave behind.

It felt like one of the longest winters of your life. You remember Jaehyun describing the whole thing as a nightmare, one that the pair of you tried so hard to survive. You remember waking up with no memories, and the brutal days that followed as you tried to put back the splintered pieces of yourself that your own mind was trying to shield you from. It was a long fight, one that left you with more wounds the more that you know. In the end, it wasn’t only you who was left scathed by the whole debacle, and you and Jaehyun finally decided to part ways as you tried to find yourself. 

It's been five years since then. Five years after and you’re still here, trying to do the same. 

Five years in, and the mention of a mere name still shatters what you’ve at least managed to fix. 

“Mr. Huang… Is he your teacher?”

The boy gave an excited nod. 

“Yes. He helps us a lot with our projects.”

Unconsciously, your fingers wrapped around the cold feel of the paint container in your palm. A part of you told you stop asking questions, but your lips have a mind of their own.

“Has he been teaching here for a long time?”

“Mm. I think so. He’s really nice. He also sometimes reads us stories.”

You could almost hear your blood rushing to your ears. It can’t be… After so long, it is too much of a coincidence to have the last person you’re expecting suddenly show up in your life.

“Would you… probably know what his first name is?”

“There’s no yellow in that box. Here’s a new one if you want it, Jiwon.”

The sound of a new voice from behind you immediately made your heart stop. Before you even had the chance to turn around, you saw a hand reach out to offer a paint tube to the boy. The latter took it happily, his face immediately brightening as he smiled at the person behind you. Your eyes, however, remained pasted on the gentle, long fingers in front of you… 

And the faint birth mark on his pale skin. 

When he stepped beside you, you felt your world freeze. The colors, the sound, even the air stilled. The only sound left was your own voice, saying the last name you wished Jiwon wouldn’t say in answer to your question. 

“Renjun.”

*******

It was like standing in the middle of a spiraling vacuum. 

You know the world is still spinning on its axis, but in that moment, nothing else mattered to you other than the vision of him and the space he was taking in your universe. He wasn’t looking at you, his eyes set on the boy, and yet even the lack of contact managed to take away the last breath of air in your lungs. When you saw  him smile, the stillness inside of you cracked, like a mirror finally breaking into a million pieces. 

“Sorry it took me too long to get the new supplies. Have you been working well?” 

Jiwon gave a proud nod. “Miss Teacher was helping us while you were gone. But can we have a break now, Mr. Huang? We want to eat snacks."

Renjun laughed softly as he reached out to ruffle the boy's hair. He sounded beautiful… gentle… and yet the sound made you internally flinch as it dragged you back to the rare nights years ago when he would let his walls down around you, his laughter just as soft as he kissed your skin. The memories were so stark that you actually had to take a step back from him to keep yourself from suffocating. You thought you saw him turn his head towards you at your movement, but by the time you looked at him, he was once again focused on Jiwon. 

"Sure. But only for a few minutes, okay? Why don't you bring your friends outside? You can play in the courtyard for a little bit."

The suggestion made the boy’s smile almost split his cheeks. 

"Yey! Thank you, Sir!"

The child gave a quick whoop of excitement before skipping towards his classmates. Numbly, you watched as the rest of the kids scrambled out of their seats as soon as he shared the news of playtime. It was the sound of the door closing that finally pinned you back to the present moment, your heartbeat picking up again as you realized the spot you were left in. 

The silence was so heavy you could almost feel the pressure on your head. All of a sudden, the spacious airy room became too small and you were fighting once again for your breath. You didn't realize that one of your hands resting on the edge of the table had started slightly shaking as you tried to keep yourself from losing your balance.

"Sit down... You need to relax or you'll black out." 

The gentleness of his voice pulled your eyes towards him again before you even had the mind to stop yourself. It was a bad move, because the moment you did, you felt something unravel inside of you. He still wasn't looking at you, but this time, you could see him much better, as if he was the only one you could focus on. 

He had definitely changed. The years have let him grow so much more into his features, the once boyish curves of his face now sharper and more defined. Even the set of his shoulders and the way he stood is different now, his stance steady and sure against the light streaming from the window. Despite that, there was still a gentleness that still remains on the way he carries himself and his eyes still hold the softness that he used to only reserve for you back in the days. 

Honestly, you wished they didn’t anymore.

"What are you doing here?"

Your voice came off so weak that it was surprising he still heard you. He briefly stopped from fixing the paints in front of him before he slowly, finally lifted his gaze to meet yours. When your eyes finally met, you felt torn between running towards him and running away from him. From the way the emotions in his face flickered, you could tell he feels the same. 

"I teach here."

It was the most sensible answer to your question, but for some reason, it was not enough to calm all the emotions consuming you piece by piece at the moment. You wanted to ask a million things, but you didn't know where to start.

Where have you been? 

What happened on the days after I lost my memory?

Where did you and your brothers go? 

Why... did you leave me? 

Renjun looked at you quietly, his eyes shadowed by a look that seemed so familiar yet so distant at the same time. For some reason, you knew that he could see right through you without you needing to say a single word. It has always been like that between the two of you. He has always kept to himself, but his answers are always clearly heard in his silence. 

"What… are you doing here?" You asked again, slowly this time. Renjun tightened his jaw before shifting his gaze, knowing full well the difference in your question despite using the same words.

"I wanted to see you." 

"Why now? Why just now?" 

The tightness in your voice was so raw that for a second, his mask almost broke down. You pushed on, not wanting to give him a chance to try and run away again. 

"I looked for you. For all of you. I looked everywhere and couldn't find a single trace of your family," you said, feeling the words start to bubble up from your chest. "I thought—I thought I was going crazy. It was so painful when I couldn't remember anything, and when I did," you paused, finding the need to compose yourself. 

"When I did, all of you were already gone." 

He kept quiet, though you can already see the strain that he was trying so hard to hold back beneath his front. You wished he would reach out to you, or that you could have the courage to do it yourself, but you felt so breakable at the moment and you doubt he is any different. 

"Renjun—"

"You weren't supposed to see any of us again," he finally said before you could let out another word. "None of us were good for you so we had to disappear from your life. I—," he paused, his Adam's apple bobbing. 

"I had to go before I can hurt you even more."

You looked at him silently, torn between the emotions that were pulling you into different directions all at the same time. You would be lying if you say you haven't wished for this moment to come or how you've rehashed again and again in your head what you've wanted to say to any of them in years. You were angry. Hurt. Lonely. He and his family ruined your life and stole your peace, then left you hanging. You hate how things turned out to be... but most of all you loathe yourself for not being to hate them. Him. 

"If I can, I would have let you go if that's what's really going to make you happy…" 

You internally flinched as the last words he said that day came rushing to your memories. It sounded so clear in your head that it felt like it only happened yesterday. 

"Then why?" You asked in a whisper. "Why did you have to come back now… After so long?"

The look of pain and guilt that crossed his face was undeniable. When he glanced away, you were sure that it was a question he was also fighting with himself. 

"I wanted to just… See you," his voice, though strained, was honest and raw. "It was wrong of me, I know that. It has been so long and I just wanted to have you close again, even for just a bit." 

You let his answer sink in. Oddly, the erratic beating of your heart has started to slow down just as soon as it started, as if his admission has taken off a weight in your chest that you have been carrying for years. There was one question resting on the tip of your tongue that you needed to say, or else, you feel like he’ll slip through your fingers again. 

"Do you like me?"

Renjun paused before slowly raising his eyes to meet yours again. For a second he looked scared, but the expression slowly morphed into that of resolution as he saw the look on your face. At that moment, it truly hit you just how much he’s changed in the years that have passed. This was no longer the boy you once knew, but the man he was always meant to be. 

"No. I don't. I love you.” 

“Even after all these years."

"Even from a distance." 

The way your heart jumped to your throat left you at a loss for words. It was like the ground beneath you and everything else around you dissolved, leaving you and him pinned in a slice of time that none of you really wanted to escape. 

“It took me years to try and see you again because I know how much I've hurt you. But it's not just that," he continued, his eyes telling of the words he can't phrase. "I was broken. I thought for a time that I must only want you because of how I am, but I was wrong. If there's one thing I realized, it's that I love you… Both in my brokenness and wholeness."

"If you do, then why did you run away from me?"

"I didn't want to mess up your life anymore."

"You didn't really make it better by not being beside me for the last five years."

This time, it was him who looked taken aback. Slowly, his eyes lowered, only to rest for the first time on your vacant ring finger. 

"You were wrong… for what you and your brothers did to me…" you said, your gaze still on him as he seemed to process things. "All of you messed up my life. I did try to go back to living it, but I couldn't anymore no matter how much I tried. I didn't deserve any of it, even if none of you knew better back then. I hate what you did to me."

"But I also hate how you're not with me." 

Renjun's face was pale as his eyes remained plastered on your hand. You could almost hear the gears working in his head, but you didn't wait for him to say anything. He didn’t have to. Silently, you took a step back to put more distance between the two of you. 

"You are right. Maybe it is better for us to not cross paths again," you said as you reached out for your bag. "I'll talk to the owner of the school and the principal to retract my application. I… don't want to be in the way. It was nice seeing you again, Renjun."

You have already started walking towards the door when you suddenly felt a warm, strong hand grab yours. Turning around, you looked at him, surprised by the unexpected contact.

"You're not married?"

You had to process his question again before finally replying.

"No. My fiance and I went our separate ways years ago."

The way his eyes glazed over before darkening a little left you feeling increasingly more torn. When you tried to pull your hand away, his fingers only gently tightened around yours.

"Don't go."

"What?" 

"Don't go. The school head won't just cut your signed contract." 

"You don't know that—"

"I do. Because I won't let you." 

Your eyes widened. Slowly, the pieces started fitting in your head. The orphanage… the kids…

The painting in his office.

"You… own Raven Oaks…"

Renjun's gaze dropped to your hand that he was still holding. 

"I started it because I wanted to save other kids from what me and my brothers suffered from before. It was my way of repenting for what our family did to everyone… and to you," he said, his eyes moving upwards to roam your face. You felt your throat start to close up as you listened. 

"When I saw your file in my office, I thought I was dreaming. I was supposed to let you go… but I couldn't stop myself. I just wanted to see you again quickly before letting you live your life again free of me."

Your heart had started thundering in your chest once more. You wanted to look away from the intensity of his gaze but couldn't find it in yourself to do it. No. This time, you want to match his fire with yours. 

"And now? Did you change your mind?"

Instead of answering, Renjun fixed you with a look that made you feel like he was looking through your soul. Slowly, he pulled you in, his hold on you gentle but firm as his other hand moved to wrap around your waist. You were surprised by the fact that instead of freezing in his arms, you melted against him immediately, like you've always been meant to be there.

"Do you like me?" He asked in a low voice as he looked down on you. The way his gaze touched your face made you feel so vulnerable in front of him that you knew lies have no place in this moment. You felt open... bare... 

You were iridescent in his eyes. 

And so was he in yours. 

"I don't know…"

"Do you want to be with me?" He asked a different question, his voice softer this time. You knew he was trying to help you figure out your answer, his hand cupping your cheek gently. You didn’t even need to think twice before giving an answer.

"Yes." 

Your voice, steady and clear, made him finally smile. Renjun had changed so much, but in that moment, you can still see the boy who had loved you in the past in the only way he knew how. Your feelings for him are complicated—changing from different angles—but as he held you now, lips only a few inches from yours, there was one thing you can be sure of. 

You finally being here with him makes all the sense in the world. 

"That's fine. We have time to figure it out…” he said, giving you a smile that you’ve dreamt so many times before. You returned it, slowly and full of hope.

"Together?" 

You asked. 

"Together." 

He promised. 

*******

Taglist [CLOSED]: @negincho, @jhornytrash, @jaeminhyuckiii, @jungwoosswhore, @jsturkey, @aj-7, @pukupukupawpau, @tomiesgirlfren, @vsszn, @those-winternights, @xsnelly, @lihyuck, @haoshitt, @mindofthescattered, @huangberryyy, @d1nne, @choppedupcactus, @neokat, @yutasnabi, @mirathe2002, @artemisblues, @ryu-naa, @aaasteroidsky, @strawbunnyjaem , @floweronacloud, @cottonniebunnie, @sknyuz, @furryllamas, @grandmasterslickfox​, @dreamisfelix

[samariumdays]

first post

I knew it rains a lot here, but I haven’t seen the sun in days and im feeling the effects of it. I think of buying vitamin d, god knows my mom has told me to SO MANY TIMES, but I know its not really the sun a I crave. We are midway through December and the temperatures have not dropped below 0 yet. This time last year it was snowing steadily but only once this year and it didn’t even stick. maybe it’s a blessing and a curse. Because on one hand it seems as if the weather is mocking the houses with Christmas lawn decorations and fairy lights but on the other hand we are in the thick of finals and the moment we step out of the last exam the ground will be coated in the most magnificent snow, as if to say here you go, you earned it.

 Ultimately I think what I really miss is not the sun or even snow, but snow days. Those magical school days when you enter first period with grey clouds and by lunchtime everybody is pelting snowballs at each other. Maybe its childish to reminisce about school only two years out of it, but there was something about snow days right before winter break (preferably after exams have passed) when melancholy and excitement permeated the air that even the teachers could no longer pretend to care about teaching anything and would simply go ok, how about we watch a movie instead. And there was a Christmas tree (!) in the lobby and candy grams being delivered and secret santa gifts sneaked into lockers. and now im trying to understand the difference between a jones reagent and pcc, but id rather be planning my new years outfit and stressing over gifts still needed to buy. Oh but im still doing that only its no longer pleasant and im no longer in high school and snow days are just an inconvenience to commuters.

[zeldaelmo]

This is a sequel to last year’s advent calendar! It’s a fake dating bakery AU called Flour, Water, Salt, Yeast, Love and you should read it if you haven’t already because you won’t understand a word if you don’t. 😆

My friend @keikbird made two very cute pieces of art for this story!

Royal Icing

Zelda escaped the cold rain by slipping through the back door of Link's bakery. This winter was odd; it was already the beginning of Hylia's month but they hadn't seen snow yet.

She changed her cloak into a white work coat and secured a baker's hat on her bun with enough bobby pins to rival a formal updo. Finally, the shoe cover and she was ready to go. 

"Oh, hi!" Link greeted her with a big grin, wiping his hands on his apron. "Miss I'll-try-to-come-in-early-but-no-guarantees finally arrived!" 

"Hey!" Zelda laughed. "It's my day off, ok? Not everyone has an inner alarm clock ringing in the middle of the night like you."

She wrapped her arms around him and he answered her peck by holding her tighter and properly kissing her. Humming into the kiss, she dug her fingers into his back and he broke off, chuckling. "Bad news, I didn't ask you to come around for a make out session but because I need your help."

[evilasiangenius]

And then gradually the voices of the actors seemed to dull, to be blunted, and a quiet, ringing silence fell over the entire theater, the little coughs and murmurs of the crowd dissipating into nothingness.

“What? What do you want?” Aziraphale snapped, turning to the Prince of Hell, irritated that the show had been interrupted. Asmodeus had dropped all pretenses of disguise and the appearance of the Prince of Hell’s actual form made Aziraphale flinch. For a moment he remembered Crowley’s warning about this particular demon’s dangers but then all that was forgotten because he was missing out on the Bacchae.

"What did you do to her?" Asmodeus demanded.

“Her? Who are you talking about?” Aziraphale asked, dumbstruck, genuinely confused.

“What did you do to Crowley?”

“Oh, Crowley? I’ve done nothing to Crowley. Why would I do anything to Crowley? What did you do to Crowley?” Aziraphale demanded.

Asmodeus was suddenly taken aback. “Nothing, of course.”

“Oh, I’m sure,” Aziraphale sneered. “I’m so certain you’ve never done anything to Crowley.”

“How dare you speak to me like this?” Asmodeus hissed. “You might be the Representative on Earth for Upstairs but I am Management.”

“First of all,” Aziraphale began, clinging to his wineskin. “This is the Dionysia. And I don’t care if it’s the City Dionysia, we didn’t have a proper Rural one this year and as far as I’m concerned, we’re going to do both at once and holding to custom, even slaves are free during the Dionysia and all the social order is disrupted, and even though I’m not a slave it doesn’t matter to me right now if you are a Prince of Hell or even Satan himself, so you’re just going to have to put up with-”

“What's wrong with you?” Asmodeus snarled, with barely-suppressed rage.

“What’s wrong with you?” Aziraphale shot back. “There's nothing wrong with me. I am just drunk.”

“How...shameful. You’re an Angel.” Asmodeus was almost too shocked for words.

“Excuse me, I am drunk because it is polite to be drunk! It is in fact not just polite to be drunk, it is pious and holy! To be drunk! In public! During the Dionysia! It is criminal to stay sober at a time like this! And if you don’t mind, I am trying to watch this tragedy! And sure, Neoptolemos lives here in Pella now but it’s not like he’s on stage all the time and it is a rare treat to see such a famous tragedian. I haven’t seen a decent show since the Lenaia and even then-”

“Principality-”

“And even then, the seats were terrible and it was snowing the entire time to the point where the snow was piling up on stage and had to be shoved off and all the costumes got wet and I think half the chorus caught the flu and the other half caught the plague and one of the principals almost died of pneumonia and you know who had to go heal all these people and their families and the backstage crew and their families and all the people watching who got sick as well, oh no, it wasn’t a demon who went to make sure they didn’t die and take half the city with them in the dead of winter, oh, it was-”

“Representative-”

“Me, that’s who. The Representative on Earth. Doing all the dirty work of going into Every! Single! Little! Hovel! And house! to make sure the plague didn’t spread. And I have my own actual job too that takes up nearly every waking hour of the day! I had to do it because we needed them to live to sing another day and look, there they are not dying (not dying yet, no wait, that’s just Pentheus and that’s much later in the play) and singing quite nicely except I can’t hear anything you horrid demon because you have done something very annoying to reality and I literally cannot even hear the aulos which should be the most obvious instrument that you can hear-”

“Aziraphale.”

“Huh?”

“Are you quite done?” Asmodeus snarled.

“No. Never. Not until I find a proper insult wagon upon which to better hurl invective, and let me tell you that is where the humans have it right, to get up on a mobile platform for the express purpose of insulting people who deserve it.”

“Hm. I see that your...commitment to appearing as the humans do is commendable, if unusual,” Asmodeus said, conceding in a grudging manner, intentionally ignoring the fact that Aziraphale had unleashed a mountain of vitriol upon him. “However, if you will shut up for a minute, I have a real problem.”

“What do I have to do with your problems?” Aziraphale snapped. “You’ve caused me so many problems and now you dare ask me to deal with yours? Solve them yourself!”

“It may concern you as well. Crowley is missing.”

“So? He’s a big demon, he can take care of himself,” Aziraphale said, waving off Asmodeus’ concerns with nonchalance. “Besides, I just met with him and he was fine…” And then Aziraphale remembered their last conversation about the queen. “Oh wait, no. Did he do something stupid?”

x

[hnmusings]

MINI WRITING PROJECT: #002

INSPIRATION  - ` ✧ ´ -  A WINTER STORY by SONNET SON (originally by THE ONE)

──────── ──────── ────────

the sun glistens despite the sharp crisp air. yes, it was winter. and he hated it. 

somehow, the blue pavilion shifted into a choate white bed of snow. “what are your plans, oppa?” ahreum mused, prompting the silence. somehow, deep down he thought the quietude had been getting to her. it had been too eerily calm, and the first son had not appreciate that—at all. as if something was there, waylaying for the very specific moment. though, he tried not to indulge in such perception. with a slight bob on the head, soohyuk altered the span of attention towards his younger sibling, “nothing, anastasia.” and proceeded to fidget with the device on his hand. wanting to look that he was busy. “oh, really, now? don’t you have something better to do?” the petite framed girl chimed again. this time, she was unamused by his attempt to which the latter directed his gaze. fixating onto those big brown eyes of hers. trying, (read: aiming) to look dead serious. “you already know well of my schedule, and yet, you’re still asking me?” raising an eyebrow to her, that incited a pout onwards and breathed out her English accent. “geez, I was asking nicely, grayson. no need to let out an attitude”. then she got up and chose to waltz away. “no, ahreum, I have no plans whatsoever!”. he mused, with a grin intact. yes, the twenty two year old had a multitude of tasks to sought out but he felt that he wanted a break. 

and that he missed her, so much that it was beginning to drive him up the wall. 

if there was one thing, ryu soohyuk had this firm love-hate relationship with the winter holidays. yes, he appreciated that it was that one time where all of them could spend some time together. though at the same time, he despised the very fact that it still kept them apart in some way. “it’s winter for bloody sake”, accursing under his breath afore finding the secretary of his father’s gliding nearby. what is it, this time. the staff designated a bow as the boy awaited, finding uttermost curiosity to what had been in store for him. “the president requests for you to be on standby and not leave the premises, at least not until he arrives from his trip.” ah, classic. is that what it is? and he thought worse. the scoff had been almost evident if it weren’t for him masking it with an “alright,” and an act out of formality until the figure departed. 

with a few light and quick steps, he ushered to a corner. a blind spot, some say. no cameras, no nothing and pressed a number. 

“jae, I need you to do something for me,“

bit by bit, time passed. that good friend of his had already graced him with his presence.

”what?”

“cover for me while I’m out”.

“sure—wait, what?”.

“it’ll only take a few hours, they won’t know I’m gone”.

“are you crazy? what if someone asks for you? or worse, ahreum finds out“.

“I’ll just make an excuse that I’m sick and request for privacy, simple as that”.

“dude, what if your doctor checks up on you?”.

“I’ll just say that I’m stressed out and rest, they’ll understand“.

as the friend of his gave him a hesitant look, “I’m not sure, man. won’t you get into trouble for this?”.

“it’s only for a few hours, jae. at most, an hour if you’re that worried. I haven’t seen her in quite a long time“. eyeing his friend, as if soohyuk had was pleading. difference is, they were now engaging in a non-verbal communication.

a sigh was exerted, “alright, alright, you owe me for this one“.

there it was, a grin plastered out for display. “sure thing, and you can request anything if you want to. just make sure to not get caught”.

“cool! I get to be the first son for a few hours“. and that resulted a sudden burst of laughter.

“just try your best to not get caught, and if ahreum knows, let me know. I’ll explain it to her“

“okay, I’ll try my best“

“you better“, as he fished out his cellphone, fingers swiftly typing away.

“what are you doing?“

“informing them to not disturb me for the rest of the day, but if you need something, you can always ask the housekeepers okay? and put on my hoodie or something, at least they won’t notice that much,“ his cellphone chimed, indicating a reply. “looks like I’m good to go“

“goodluck man, I’ll do my best to not get caught“, a chuckled accompanied along that statement.

“thanks! and you better be, bro“ soohyuk moved towards the closet, changing his attire.

“dude, do you have to do this?“

“yeah, you do know that I have to climb to get pass through the gates don’t you?“. it was merely a query, it had been more of an affirmation.

“oh yeah, I kinda forgot about that“.

“well, I’ll be gone in a few hours“.

“goodluck!“

“likewise.“ with that, the taller drifted out into the grounds. unceasingly after years residing at the residence, it didn’t take him much time to be rather accustomed with the layout. as one of the first few things he (also ahreum) done after moving in was pursuing the grounds, within a week, it was etched on the back of his head. including blind spots, of course. seemingly, the blue house had been infamous for its tight security. though, he managed to trace and surpass.

let’s just say it wasn’t his first time.

after surpassing ‘hurdles’, as he had liked to refer them. high walls, surveillance cameras, security guards—you name it, he was already outside the compounds. total estimation: ten minutes, give or take. careful is an surely an understatement.

moments later and soohyuk was on his way, to see her. and only her. the one he longs, the one he cherishes, and most importantly, the one he’s enchanted by. truth be told, in a way, they resembled one another. which served as a strong factor for him to protect her, even if it cost him his life.

no one, and no one could come close to her.

the people there could have sworn they saw him sprint after reaching his stop. “kid must be in a hurry”, they mused. and there he was, actually running towards the one who held the key to his heart. a smile ruptured when she came into view.

soohyuk pulled her into an embrace, “I’m sorry I’m late“. placing a deep smooch on her forehead, “I miss you”.

with just that, he had been home.

[blueheartedmayor]

“You’ve met with a terrible fate, haven’t you?”

@wolfvirago

-

The man who stands before you is a far cry from the Mayor you once thought so fondly of. There is no elegance and class, no awkwardness of him being 'better' than others. He had wanted to be seen as a 'normal' person. You are sure this is not what he meant.

Is this the man who was willing to fight for a just and fair world, or the man that snatched freedom when the option was there? Can you trust him?

Is his slumped stance simply from exhaustion from the work before him, or is it more akin to a puppet on slacked strings, a toy who isn't needed for a story just yet?

You hardly recognise him. He had once admitted to you that he hated the feeling of stubble on his face, yet he had a full beard. His hair, once kept short and neat, now reached his chin. It doesn't look right.

Had you once wondered how he would look if he let his hair fall naturally instead of constantly keeping it styled back?

His brown eyes look at you, and you see the exhaustion. He looks like he hasn't slept in weeks-

Just how long has he been here for anyway?

-nor has taken a break from this gruelling task. You are reminded of a tale you heard on your travels of a man forced to spend centuries rebuilding a machine to travel through dimensions a man punished to spend eternity rolling a boulder up a hill.

But he doesn't recognise you. Maybe you, too, have changed since the days of making light banter in a sunlit office, of going in circles and avoiding asking the questions that seemed so obvious in hindsight. Maybe your optimism and hope had been snuffed out too. Maybe fate has been equally terrible to you as it has to him.

Do you pity him? Do you think this is justified?

Is any of this justified?

How does an eternal winter fare in the world of those chosen by the sun? How does it feel for that warmth to be swallowed up by the white expanse? How does it feel to not see that warmth shining in his eyes, to not have that smile that could light up a room the moment he spotted you?

Do you miss him?

Your spoken question, whether rhetorical or seeking a response, is acknowledged by him. The axe is lowered until it disappears into the makeshift sled. He knows you aren't someone to be scared of..

"Winter won't last forever," he answers. His voice is weaker than you remember. Tired. Lost. "Then it will be spring. Everything will be alright when I... When we..."

He doesn't remember you.

Does he remember anything outside of this moment?

But yet.

He smiles.

"When we are able to leave once the snow clears."

He trusts you.

He corrected himself to say 'we'.

He is nothing more than a husk of the man he should have been... But something in him wants you to be there.

Because, in his mind with no memories outside of this frozen hellscape, you being there is right.

[zorkaya-moved]

genshin impact — voicelines.

BANNER NAME: SERPENT’S ODE TO WINTER MOON. UNIT NAME: NOCTURNAL LULLABY. CONSTELLATION: LUNA GELIDA. WEAPON: MORANA’S LAMENT.

HELLO:  Traveler, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? Easy there, I’ve told you before: there is no need to fear nor there is no need to flee. I am in full control of the energy you’ve come across, there is nothing that will take over me so easily. Aw, don’t look at me like that, we’ve yet to discover the true depth of the Abyss. Together. Haven’t your mysterious guardian from Khaenri’ah tell you? Haha, oh, ‘tis alright. You’ve no need to worry.

GOOD MORNING:  Good morning, Traveler. Have you slept well? You must not forget that rest is essential for adventurers. So it is for hunters like I am. Shall we? 

GOOD AFTERNOON:  Don’t be late for a very important date~ Arriving on time is essential for scholars like myself. Imagine if I missed a discovery and the blood transfusion never happened. So many would’ve died. Ha. You’re welcome.

GOOD EVENING:  It’s finally getting cooler. I cannot wait for the Sun to set so I can see the night sky. I miss the Northern Lights of Snezhnaya... I wonder if my family is watching them now. I’ve not seen them in the Abyss.

GOOD NIGHT:  I won’t touch you nor attack you, rest assured. There is no need to be so wary of me. You are an experiment in the making, I wouldn’t stop it in the middle of discovery. Haha, go to sleep, child of wonder. 

CHAT (IDLINESS): *sings to herself* 

CHAT (KNOWLEDGE):  Humanity was given the ability to evolve, reach their hidden potential with enough push forward. What we do not know, we wish to control ourselves yet the Akademiya denies this notion, this innate desire. Humans are greedy, hungry, never satisfied, always moving forward. For reasons so different, for meanings so colorful. Aren’t you the same, too? Without knowledge, you cannot find who you are searching for. No, you know those who have fallen because they were too ambitious. Their fate just might reach em as well, but... I look forward to it. 

CHAT (ABYSS):  The study of the Abyss is seen as my peak of insanity, a forbidden trove of knowledge no one dared to look into. They say if you look into the Abyss, the Abyss will stare right back at you. So let it stare back at me, I do not fear the unknown; I’m eager to explore it. No matter what, I will control it. You saw it already, didn’t you? The beasts feared me... Haha, perhaps, my humanity has always been questioned. Don’t worry, I won’t use it against any of the nations... as long as you don’t get in my way or harm my family. So be good for me. 

CHAT (AKASHA TERMINAL):  The Akasha is a fascinating device, but even it can be altered, fooled, and avoided. I’ve learned that I stopped having dreams the moment I put this device on, but the moment I took it off and continued to do so? Let me tell you, the information can be faked. The terminal does not have free will to judge reality apart from imagination, everything it reads and everything it brings? It’s so disappointing that the Akademiya relied on this. They’ve lost sight of what’s truly important. Or was an Archon’s plan to prevent humanity from truly reaching out towards their potential? The catastrophe... Ha, ha. It just might be as I thought.

*unlocked only after the first story quest.

CHAT (SAGES): Men and their lust for power, is it not the most common tale of corruption? You’ve learned what I’ve done yet you do not seem to be angry. You are correct, I only pushed what was already growing inside of them. My experiment certainly was a success, but... Ah, Azar was such an idiot to try and extract knowledge from me. He paid his price and I was allowed to do whatever I pleased for he knew that the beast will come to get him if he does something stupid. Did I threaten him? Wouldn’t you like to know. Ah, but they knew nothing of what I’ve done to them. 

WHEN IT RAINS:  Be careful. You can slip in the mud if you aren’t careful. I will not be dragging you out of it. 

WHEN IT SNOWS: I missed this, ah, I missed this... The sights, the chilling air, the snow falling from above. It feels like home. 

WHEN THE SUN IS OUT (SUMERU):  The heat in Sumeru is quite powerful, isn’t it? Drink water, Traveler, Tighnari will never let me hear the end of it if you collapse.  WHEN THE SUN IS OUT (OTHER):  I enjoy this weather more than within the rainforests. I don’t need to take a swim in the lake to avoid getting a heatstroke. 

WHEN THE WIND IS BLOWING:  How nice, but my hair is getting in my face now. I should braid it. 

ABOUT ZARINA (THE SERPENT):  It was a magnificent creature, wasn’t it? Ancient, powerful, intelligent. It spoke to me, to Skirk, to the denizens of the Abyss. And yet, it was arrogant. Of course, without that woman’s help I wouldn’t have been able to weaken it enough to lure it into my laboratory, but... Haha, look at it now, unable to regain control over this body and driven into a corner through fear and oppression. It still begs for your help, isn’t it funny? 

ANYTHING TO SHARE (BUSINESS):  My business? Well, let’s just say that I like to dabble in information, medicine, and, well, exchange. Not enough to satisfy your curiosity? Well, I do not care. My business is mine to do and you have no impact on it. There are countless who yearn for my attention, after all. 

ANYTHING TO SHARE (POTENTIAL):  Human potential is truly endless, so bright and so blinding. The tale of Khaenri’ah is an inspiration. The tale of “Gold,” Rhinedottir... I wish to know more of how humans have reached far greater heights to make Celestia bring down the judgement. But I won’t be a fool to create monsters, no. I will make them fear and obey, it’s my goal.

ABOUT US (TEAMWORK): I am only here because else Dendro Archon will confine me to the office work. It was either this or working as an Amurta Sage. At least, like this I can see how you develop and, just maybe, I’ll learn enough about you to change my opinion. Kidding, I’ll never forget how you destroyed my lab because your little companion couldn’t keep her mouth shut and her floating body from crushing into anything to awaken the serpent. 

ABOUT US (EXPERIMENT): Aw, my little monster, are you curious? I’m not Dottore to bring such devastating results. My curiosity is based more on stories and how this one will end. Will you reach your twin or will you have to fight them to death? Don’t give me that look, if all goes according to the cliche script, you just might have to choose between your sibling and Teyvat.  

ABOUT US (FEARS):  Ugh. I don’t feel comfortable with the thought of drowning. I know how it feels. The helplessness, the suffocation, the fear. In the Abyss, too, and in that suffocation from the Abyssal energy. I can still remember the pain. You fought Osial, didn’t you? Then you can imagine how suffocation on water feels like, but I know how dry suffocation feels as well.  

ABOUT VISION: I received my Vision when I was a kid. My youngest brother Aleksey got sick and my twin-brother Victor decided we need to bring him to the doctors. However, we didn’t have any doctors in the village at that time, so we wanted to journey through the forest to get there. The problem was... Hah, Traveler, humans are far crueler than you think. Hunters who lost their prey because of my twin-brother and I ambushed us, chased us, wanted to kill us while our parents were out. I made Victor and Aleksey hide in the hollow tree. It was snowing. I decided to act as a bait and ran for my life. I got caught, but not before dragging them into the beasts’ territory. A hard gamble, but then I had to face the beasts alone. It’s then when I... was blessed with the Vision from the Archon, when I saw Victor running to me and seeing how one of the wolves would run at him. It all happened in an instant. The snow was red that day, but it wasn’t our blood. We survived and got my brother to the doctor’s. 

MORE ABOUT ZARINA (I):  Do you wish to indulge me in a conversation, Traveler? After all, Akademiya allowed me to assist you as you are learning of the Abyss. Your brother/sister is with them, aren’t they? Aw, don’t look so tense, my little monster. I study the Abyss, including its organization. Do you really think I didn’t get the information on who leads them? Haha, no. I’m not a good person, I’m not going to give you anything. I want to see you reach for the truth yourself.

MORE ABOUT ZARINA (II):  Hmm, yes, I was performing at Snezhnayan festivals when I was a kid. Specifically, singing and ice skating. Well, more singing. I was actually called to sing before the Tsaritsa when I was but a little child, too smart for my own good even then. I was so proud, and so was my family. I miss those days of tranquility, but I would’ve been so bored if I did not choose this road.

MORE ABOUT ZARINA (III):  I am no hero, my little monster, nor do I ever wish to be considered one. People throw praises at me because they do not know the blood that coats my hands to reach such heights. I do not lie about willing to do anything to reach my goals, my desires, my wishes. I am not bound by morality because, haha, you’ve seen the Akademiya’s scholars, they won’t overstep the line in fear of being expelled. I do not care what they think of me or of my discovery, but you cannot deny that I saved thousands with my inventions. As long as they do not know, they are happy. But now? How fickle, disturbingly comedic even. I only do this to protect my family, I couldn’t care less about the world as a whole. So why do you care about this world if you are not from here?  

HOBBIES: Give me a guitar and I can sing to you, give me a stage and I will dance for you, give me both and I will start a festival. Music is what was used to share stories, legends, and knowledge. The songs, the folklore, the past. Is it not a beautiful thing? 

TROUBLES: I no longer feel the pain in my body from the poison training. Hm? Ah, what do I mean? I’ve been training my body to build up resistance for poison, but now? After the alchemical ritual? I no longer get drunk, I no longer feel sick, I no longer have to worry about my wounds. Am I... no longer human, I wonder? Should I be upset or happy? You say... I look unhappy? Yes. And I blame you and your companion for awakening the Serpent. 

FAVORITE FOOD:  I enjoy warm, fresh bread with butter and honey. It’s simple and sweet, but it reminds me of home. When we were younger, Victor and I always ran to the local baker to get the fresh bread. Uncle Volodya always gave us the excess dough that he baked, making something similar to tiny rabbits. Then, he gave us honey and butter to eat it with. We were so young.

LEAST FAVORITE FOOD:  I do not enjoy spicy food, it is why I do not particularly enjoy visiting the Wanmin restaurant for its spices. I wasn’t a lover of spicy foods before, but after uniting with the Serpent, I became even more sensitive to chili peppers. I do not enjoy how they make me feel. Ugh, just thinking about it makes me feel nauseous.

BIRTHDAY:  Is it the day of your birth? Happy Birthday. You look surprised. Don’t expect me to give you special treatment just because it is the day you were born, little monster. Enjoy your time with your friends and teammates. Hm? You have a request for your birthday? You did not hear what I said, did you? You want me to sing to you. Fine, since it is your birthday, I will sing to you. Only one time. I am quite busy.

FEELINGS ABOUT ASCENSION (INTRO): Ah, finally, I am more used to this change. Do not worry, I will never lose control over my abilities. You know it full well, don’t you? 

FEELINGS ABOUT ASCENSION (BUILDING UP): You’ve noticed it, didn’t you? The fear that strikes in the enemies’ gaze when their life disappears in an instant within my hold. Their energy, their life, their nutrition, their blood. I will use it all to become stronger, so make sure to not get stronger too, my little monster. 

FEELINGS ABOUT ASCENSION (CLIMAX): *sings to herself* I can hear their heartbeats, I can sense their blood, I can feel their presence. Is this what an Apex Predator can feel? The Serpent was able to hunt other beasts and come on top thanks to these sensations. The elemental energy, I can feel it so much stronger. The Ley Lines’ pulsations. How overwhelming, but it’s only the beginning. I wonder how much more can I control and how far can I go. For them... I must, I must remain ‘myself.’ 

FEELINGS ABOUT ASCENSION (CONCLUSION): I am no fool, little monster. This power will become my undoing when I accumulate enough to challenge the the depths. I am no hero, I simply want to protect those who I love. With this, I will not let the mistake of Rhinedottir to repeat. I will make them obey, I will rule over, I will become the villain to be defeated at the end. Once everything will be sealed inside [of me], the execution must take place. And my executioner will be... Hah, I’ll leave it to your imagination. 

[peterbarnes]

We’ll Say Hello Again

🚨*SPOILER WARNING DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN NWH*🚨

Word Count: 1.2k

A/N: This is gonna be a series bc nwh killed me and I need closure. And yes I stole this title from wandavision

Masterlist | Series Masterist

Summary: Post NWH. For the past few months, you’ve been consumed by loneliness. You felt like a piece of you was missing. But one day, you get an unexpected new neighbor: Peter Parker. And once he shows up, the puzzle slowly starts falling into place. 

Snow fell onto your hair as you walked down the streets of New York. It covered you in a beautiful white flurry, but a smile never fell upon your lips. Winter always came with cold weather and dread, but this winter was different. As holiday cheer pulsed through the streets, lighting up stores and children’s faces, you remained totally, utterly empty. It was an itch you couldn’t quite put your finger on. A tingling that told you something was missing. You just had no idea what. The mystery rang in your ears day after day after day, driving you mad. It almost felt like grief- but how can you grieve when you don’t know what you’ve lost?

Your old apartment had been destroyed, you don’t remember how, but you didn’t think much about it. There’s always incidents happening all over this city. Being in the center of the world means being in the center of the chaos. Sometimes it was like a war zone. 

You trudged up the stairs of the walk-up, panting once you reached the third floor. After fumbling to get the keys out of your jacket pocket, you finally managed to open the door. You sighed at the mess in front of you, the already small and cramped space cluttered with clothes and unopened boxes. You didn’t have the heart to open any of them yet, remnants of the before taunting you. High school photos of you, Ned, and MJ- the only friends you had that were now hundreds of miles away. And in each memento was an abnormally empty space where you swore someone had once been. You dropped your keys onto the nightstand and went to take off your jacket when you heard voices from the other side of the front door. You recognized one of them- Mr. Ditkovich, the landlord- but the other you didn’t know. It was like a melody from a song you’d listened to as a kid, a stinging familiarity but not enough to be identifiable. You slowly made your way to your door, opening it and peeking out.

It was a boy. Or a man? He had the body of a boy about your age, but his face was so worn and tired that it made him look at least a few years older. He was holding a box of his stuff as Mr. Ditkovich explained the rent situation with his signature abrasive tone.

“Ah! Perfect timing [Y/N]- meet your new neighbor!”

You and the boy turned to look at each other at the same time, locking eyes. The ringing in your ears was back and the stinging familiarity only grew. He was looking at you in shock, eyes wide, as if you were the last person he expected to find here. You cleared your throat before stepping forward to him and stretching out your hand. It dangled there for a good few seconds before he seemed to collect himself and took your hand in his. You both jumped slightly as an electric spark shocked both of your skin. You chuckled awkwardly, mumbling an apology. 

“It’s okay, [Y/N],” the boy spoke, smiling softly at you. The smile never reached his eyes.

His voice was both smooth and raspy, an evident mix of emotions that almost overwhelmed you.

“I didn’t catch your name,” you edged on.

“Uh, Peter,” he responded, his tone laced with a deep sadness. “My name’s Peter.”

“Peter,” you whispered back, trying it out. “Cute name. Cute boy.”

You saw Mr. Ditkovich roll his eyes as Peter’s skin tone faded to a rosy red. 

“[Y/N], enough flirting with my new tenant, help him with the boxes will you?”

“Oh, that’s really not necessary, sir-”

“No, it’s not a problem, really,” you chimed in, picking up one of the cardboard boxes from the rug. “This is really light- not a lot of stuff?”

“No,” Peter shook his head, shyly looking at you. “Fresh start.”

“Where’d you move from?” You asked, pushing his front door open with your back.

The apartment was small, just like yours, but it was completely bare other than the twin bed shoved against the wall. At least your apartment had some liveliness to it. You lay the box right beside the bed and turned back to Peter. 

“Uh,” he stumbled. You could see the gears turning in his head. “San Fransisco.”

“Wow,” you responded. You furrowed your eyebrows slightly, not fully believing him, but choosing to let it go anyway. “You’re pretty far from home, then.”

“You have no idea.”

An awkward silence fell over the two of you, like a thick blanket. This is usually the part where you would squeak out a goodbye and leave with whatever dignity you had left, but something was tugging at you, whispering for you to stay. So, you plopped down on his bed and tapped the spot next to you, signaling for him to sit down.

He hesitated, eyes clouded, before eventually taking a seat. The bed was so small that your knees were touching his. You didn’t get that electric shock again- this time you felt pure warmth. 

“Is it weird to say I feel like we’ve met before?” You finally blurted out. “I mean, I know it’s not possible and all with me being here and you in San Fransisco, but…”

He looked like a deer caught in headlights as he fiddled with the hem of the blue sweatshirt he wore. 

“Um, no. Definitely not…I would remember,” he told you, his widened eyes slacking and turning to stare at the floor. He was deep in his thoughts, you could tell. 

Probably homesick. 

“Well, it was nice to meet you Peter…” you trailed off.

“Parker.”

“Peter Parker.”

The melody danced on your tongue into a great crescendo as a smile came over you face for the first time in months. The warmth in your chest grew until your face started to heat up too. 

“Well, Peter Parker, I’m right next door if you ever need anything. I have utensils, food, or if you just need to talk,” you told him sincerely, smiling at him.

His eyes trailed up from the floor directly to your eyes. His gaze was intense, but not unwelcomed. You’d never had anyone look at you like that before- with such respect and adoration.  

“Thank you, [Y/N],” he said, voice breaking. 

“Anytime. Here.”

You took his phone that sat on the small, wooden nightstand and turned it towards Peter to put his password in. Once he did, you went to his contacts and put in your number.

Your Future Best Friend

He chuckled at the contact name and you mentally high-fived yourself for being able to get him to laugh, to make such a beautiful sound. 

“See you around, Peter,” you whispered softly before turning around and walking out of his apartment.

You could’ve sworn you heard a sniffle after you closed the door, but you didn’t want to come off too overbearing, so you left him to sit in his feelings. 

Peter Parker.

His name rang in your head as you made your way into your apartment. You crashed onto your bed, staring up at the ceiling with a bright smile and eyes filled with daydreams.  

Maybe you’re who I’ve been waiting for.

[diaphragmjellyfish]

Research

Finally wrote something again! Sorry it took so long. 

How exactly do you get a dog to lose your scent? Because avoiding your werewolf boyfriend Embry was proving a lot harder than you had anticipated. Last weekend was… eventful. You guys had finally done it. Gone all the way. After 6 months of dating and an imprint bond, you both finally decided you were ready to take that next step. And you’ve only had one thought since that night. 

That shit hurted. 

It was borderline unbearable. The pain was searing. You lied there until Embry was done, faking moans and even faking the Big O, and you were less than eager to do it again. Were you broken? He seemed to enjoy it, so obviously you were to blame. He’d been super clingy and lovey since that night, even more so than usual, and you didn’t have the heart to be around him knowing you had faked it like that. What if he found out? He’d be crushed. What if he wanted to do it again? You couldn’t take that pain another night. What if he faked it too and was going to break up with you the next time he saw you? Yeah, no. Avoidance was the way to go. 

He wanted to take you out to see a movie. You mysteriously came down with a case of allergies in the middle of winter. 

He wanted to pick you up after school and give you a ride home. You had the sudden urge to join a club that was meeting after school that day. 

He called, your phone was on silent. 

He texted, you suddenly became illiterate. 

But he kept trying. God, why was he making this so difficult?! Thoughts like this swirled through your head as you walked the long way home from school. He knew your usual route, so obviously that was out of the question. You took a path through the woods that would eventually spit you out right by the beach where you could sit and think. The forest had always felt like a second home to you. Peaceful, comfortable, private. You walked for some time before hearing twigs snapping in the distance. Probably a rabbit or something. Louder snapping. Bigger sticks. Definitely not a rabbit. You halted, waiting for the creature to pass, when a large gray wolf stalked out of the trees. 

Damn. 

He was wearing the softest, cutest, most “kicked puppy” look on his face that you had ever seen. Head bowed, he walked up to you slowly, whining. So he had noticed your avoidance. You held your hand out to him, petting the thick fur between his ears. He sniffed your hand, giving it a soft lick. 

“Hi,” you whispered. He whined louder at this. “Embry…” you started, before he crouched down, a silent cue for you to get on his back. He waited. 

Guess this was inevitable. And at least him showing up in wolf form gave you some time to think about how exactly you would explain what had happened. With another soft sigh, you climbed up on his back, holding the fur tightly as he trotted off into the trees. After about 5 minutes, you realized that he was taking you to Sam and Emily’s house. You weren’t in the mood to be around the rest of the pack right now. 

“Embry, I’m kind of busy today. I don’t really have time to hang out with the pack.” 

He ignored you, trotting along as if your statement was the buzz of a mosquito in his ear. When you reached the house, however, you quickly realized that no one else was there. They must all be out. It was a Friday afternoon, after all. 

When you reached the lawn, Embry stopped and crouched once more so you could dismount. When you did, he ran off behind the house, walking back out several minutes later as the inky-haired boy you had grown to love. His face was full of sadness, yours full of anxiety. 

“Let’s go for a walk,” he said. 

You silently followed him down the path that led to the cliffs, waiting for him to say something else. He never did, only kept walking. You struggled to keep up, but were too stubborn in your silence to ask him to slow down. You both finally reached the rocky cliffs jutting out over the frigid ocean. He stopped, staring out at the horizon. You paused next to him, waiting. After another several minutes of silence, you grew impatient. 

“It’s supposed to snow Monday,” you said. 

You waited. Silence. 

“The news said they might even cancel school.” 

A pause. Nothing. 

“I don’t know about you, but I could definitely use a three day weeken-”

“Is there something you want to tell me?” he cut you off, seeming agitated. For as long as you’d known Embry, he was never in a bad mood. Never anything but happy. Maybe sad on a few occasions, but never angry. Never frustrated. And it was making you nervous. 

And now it was your turn to be silent. Yes! You wanted to say. You hurt me! But you couldn’t. Wouldn’t. He didn’t do it on purpose, so why would you make him feel guilty about something that was your problem and your problem alone? 

“Because, if I’m counting correctly, it’s been 5 days since I’ve so much as heard from you. Barely a text back. Not a call, not a ‘hey! I’m super busy this week.’ Why are you avoiding me? I thought… after last weekend, we should be more in love than ever right?! Did it not mean anything to you?” 

You remained quiet, tears pooling in your eyes. You gave no sign that you were going to respond, so he kept going. 

“Just tell me where your fucking head is at, Y/N. You can’t keep brushing me off like this. Did I do something wrong? Do you regret what we did? Am I, like… not ripped enough for you or something?” 

“Embry, no,” you pleaded. You could see the insecurity behind his eyes. You had to tell him what was going on, but you knew it would crush him. “It’s not that at all.” 

He waited. “Then what?” 

You closed your eyes, a tear slipping down your face. You wiped it away quickly before taking a deep breath. “I have been avoiding you.” You looked up at his face at this, finding tears building up in his own eyes. “I love you, Embry. But last weekend, just… I can’t do that again.” 

He clenched his jaw, looking anywhere but your face and nodded. He was hurt. You definitely could have worded that better. 

“Let me explain,” you pleaded. He wouldn’t look at you still, but didn’t walk away, so you kept going. “I think I might be broken or something, because that… It didn’t feel right.” 

At this, he looked back at your face, switching from hurt to concerned almost immediately. 

“Why would you think you’re broken?” 

Another pause. “I know you would never hurt me on purpose…”

“You were in pain?” he panicked, fresh tears pricking in his eyes. 

“It’s not your fault,” you hurried. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that? Why would you let me keep going?!” 

“I’m sorry!” you cried, causing him to walk up and embrace you. You sobbed into his chest as he pet your hair, all signs of anger gone. “You were having a good time, and I didn’t wanna ruin it, but it hurt so bad…” 

“Shhhhh,” he cooed as he rocked you from side to side, letting you calm down. “It’s okay.” 

After several minutes, you finally stopped crying. He didn’t falter in his embrace, only left light kisses on your forehead and cheek. 

“Y/N, I am so sorry,” he whispered into your hair. 

“It’s not your fault,” you replied. 

“Yes, it is. I’m supposed to take care of you. It was my job to make you feel good, and you were hurting that bad and I didn’t even notice.” You sniffled, just enjoying being in his arms. A few more minutes passed as you both calmed down. 

“To be fair, I did take a drama class last semester. I’d say I put on a pretty convincing performance,” you added weakly, an attempt to lighten the mood. 

He huffed a laugh, if for no other reason than to make you feel better. “Had me fooled,” he added. 

You smiled, looking up at him. “I’m sorry for avoiding you.” 

“It’s okay. I just wish you would have told me as soon as it started to hurt that you wanted to stop.” 

“I know. I should have, I just got all in my head about it.” 

“And I’m sorry for hurting you. I’ll never forgive myself, and I understand if you don’t want to be with me anymore,” he answered, nervously awaiting your response. 

“I forgive you. And of course I still want to be with you, Embry. I love you. We just need to work on our communication skills a little bit,” you laughed. 

“We do. And I’ll start. I would really love another chance to make you feel good. If you promise to be honest about how you’re feeling, I know I can do a way better job. But I understand completely if you wanna wait a while… or if you never wanna do it again. You’re in charge here.” 

His words had your heart melting. He really did care about you, and you knew that if you had told him in the moment that you were in pain, he would have done anything to get you feeling good. You were always his first priority. 

“I’d be willing to try again, but what we did last time didn’t work. I think we need to think of some new techniques or something,” you mumbled shyly. 

“Tell you what. I’ll do some research, get some stuff, and you can come over tonight… if you want to. And we can maybe try again? And if you get there and aren’t feeling up to it, we can just watch a movie and cuddle. No pressure… I just miss you.” 

You thought for a second. Worst case scenario, you’d cuddle on the couch and eat junk food. You trusted Embry completely, and if you said stop, you knew he would. 

“Okay,” you replied. 

__________________________________

After a long shower, some fresh makeup, and a cute-yet-comfortable outfit, you were ready to go over to Embry’s. Sure, the nerves were kicking in, but you trusted him when he said he would do some research. When you pulled up, he was already standing in the doorway smiling. You ran out and gave him a giant bear hug (or wolf hug), and he picked you up and carried you into his room, kicking the door closed with his foot. 

“I missed you,” he said, face buried in your hair. 

“You saw me like 3 hours ago,” you giggled in response. 

“Yeah, but I haven’t seen you all week! Gotta get my Y/N fill or I might die!” 

You laughed loudly, hands threading up into his hair as he sat down on the bed with you seated in his lap. 

“Yeah, yeah, just try not to crowd me,” you cheekily replied. 

He raised an eyebrow before tackling you back onto the bed, tickling you like a maniac and placing playful kisses all over your face and neck. 

“Like this?! Don’t crowd you like this?” 

“Embry stop!” you laughed, trying to suck in a breath between his manic tickles. When he finally stopped, he was lying between your legs, one hand grasping both your wrists above your head, the other propped beside you so as to not crush you. He stared lovingly at your face before leaning down and placing a soft kiss on your lips. His grip on your arms loosened, as if to say You can stop me anytime, but you didn’t. You kissed him back, arms staying in place to tell him that you were okay. 

The kisses grew slightly more heated, but Embry kept them gentle. And every time you thought he was about to take things to the next step, he’d just kiss you some more. You were growing slightly impatient, breath labored and blood pumping fast. Your stomach became slightly warm, and every time you leaned up, he’d pull away. 

“You’re being mean,” you whimpered. 

He just looked at you and smirked before leaning down and capturing your lips once more. You could feel your blood heat in every part of your body. From your head to your toes, you felt warm and fuzzy, yet desperate for more,,, more touch, more pressure, more Embry. Growing frustrated, you hooked your legs around his waist and tried your best to pull him closer, unintentionally grinding your hips into his. When he brushed up against your core, you let out an involuntary sigh. It actually felt nice. He smiled into the kiss, pulling his lips away from yours and dragging them down to your jaw, and then your neck, suckling and sucking and leaving light red marks that made your head spin. The hand that was holding your wrists came down behind your back and up into your hair, firmly pulling your head back to give him better access to your neck. 

This movement made your entire back arch up into his body. His grip in your hair tightened slightly, lips sucking your skin up into his mouth as he nibbled, before soothing with his tongue. Your toes curled, legs pulling him impossibly closer. When he felt this, he ground his hips down into yours. The combination of his hands, lips, and weight on top of you made you let out a gasp. Your hands held onto his shoulders for dear life, pulling his shirt up in an attempt to take it off. He got the hint and sat up to remove it, being away from your body for far too long for your taste. He didn’t lower fully back down, however, instead sliding his warm hands under your shirt and onto your stomach. You sat up, taking your sweatshirt off and throwing it violently across the room. His eyes widened as they looked down at your bare chest in an almost feral fashion. He gripped your thighs, tugging you down the bed with ease, and resuming his position on top of you, hands roaming all over your torso. He cupped your breasts gently, rolling your nipples softly between his fingers. You shut your eyes and threw your head back, enjoying the sensations. His kisses trailed from your neck and down to your chest, softly. Lovingly. When he reached your nipples, his tongue poked out and licked around each of them, before taking them into his mouth and sucking. His hands continued to caress your back, and he took his sweet time switching from one breast to the other, and back again, until he felt your skin grow almost as hot as his. You were writhing underneath him, panting as your mind tried to comprehend the sensations. And his mouth, God it was so warm. You felt him kiss the undersides of your breasts, and then your stomach, and then lower… 

When he reached the waistband of your leggings, he brought his hands up as if to pull them off of you. He stopped, looking up at you for permission. You gave a lazy nod Yes, and lifted your hips to help him. He pulled your underwear off as well, spreading your legs and almost salivating at the sight of your soaking pussy. Not wanting to waste another second, he once again began placing kisses on your lower stomach, and then down to your hip bones, scraping his teeth lightly against the skin, which had you shuddering. He trailed lower, to where your thighs met your core, and began to suck lightly and the soft skin there. Your clit was throbbing by now, desperate for any sort of attention. You thrust your hips up, desperate for his mouth on the place you needed him, but he only pulled your legs over his shoulders and brought his arms across your stomach to hold you in place. Your hands went to his hair in an effort to control any aspect of this situation, but the boy was strong. He teased and teased and teased, until you thought you might very well crawl out of your own skin if he didn’t properly touch you soon. Embry brought his face right up to your center and licked into your entrance, making your toes curl once more. His hands gripped your hips as he brought you as far onto his tongue as he could, nose not quite brushing where you still needed him. 

“Embry…” you whimpered, about to tell him what you needed. 

“I know, baby. I got you,” he spoke, as he finally brought his warm tongue to lick a firm stripe up to your clit, swirling it around and sucking the swollen nub into his mouth. 

You let out a moan. A real one. Your first real one. And it only encouraged Embry, as he began to suck and lick with a steady rhythm that caused your legs to shake. You felt your stomach start to coil after several minutes of this, hands fisting Embry’s hair even tighter. It felt amazing, but that coil wouldn’t snap. He started to notice you coming down slightly, orgasm fading away, when he brought his index finger into your mouth. You sucked on instinct, before he pulled it out and brought it down to your entrance. He swirled the digit around a few times and began to push in slowly. One knuckle. Then two. And then he was fully in you. Sucking your clit into his mouth yet again, he rubbed his finger up into your front wall, massaging the ridges there. 

“Oh… Embry, oh my God,” you moaned. He used more pressure, and then brought his finger out and added another, slowly pushing them in together and resuming the ‘come-hither’ motion. You felt your muscles shake, losing all control, and the coil in your stomach tightened rapidly once again, only this time, it broke. Your back arched, eyes shut tight, mouth open in a silent scream as you came hard. Waves of pleasure drove through you, hands holding his head firmly onto your center. When you came down and opened your eyes, you looked down at his face to see an excited grin. 

“If you tell me that was fake, I think I’ll cry,” he chirped. 

You calmed your hard breathing enough to mutter a “That was real.” 

“Do you wanna keep going?” he asked. 

You nodded, taking note of the obvious tent in his shorts. You reached a hand down to grasp him, when he grabbed your wrist and said “Nuh-uh, I’m still making it up to you.” 

He stood up off the bed and went over to a plastic shopping bag on his desk. He opened it and pulled out a condom, some lube, and a small pink toy. Your eyes widened, and he cockily stated, “told you I’d do some research. Come here Sweetheart.” He held a hand out to help you up, and moved you so that you were on your hands and knees, bum facing him as he stood at the edge of the bed. He tore the condom packet open with his teeth and rolled it on, and then opened the bottle of lube and slathered it all over himself. He then brought what was left on his hand up to your sensitive core, distributing the substance gently. Throwing the bottle onto the floor, he lined himself up with your entrance. 

“You sure you wanna keep going?” he asked. You nodded in response. “I need you to say it, babe.” 

“Yes, I want to keep going, Em,” you almost cried. 

“Okay, but I need you to tell me if it hurts even a little. Promise?” 

“Promise.” 

He grasped your hip with one hand, guiding himself in with the other. Slowly, carefully, he became fully seated inside you, giving you a moment to adjust. You felt no pain, just a delicious stretch inside your walls. When Embry saw that you were relaxed, he pulled himself out a couple of inches and softly thrusted back in, looking for any signs of discomfort. He found none, and continued. He dragged himself in and out of you at a torturous pace that made your breathing pick up yet again. You needed more. You began rocking yourself back onto him, begging for a faster pace, and he complied. He pulled out several inches more this time, shoving back in at a quicker pace that had your toes curling and your moans going up in pitch. At this, he stopped holding back. Embry began pounding into you, hands gripping your hips tight enough to leave the good kind of bruise. You were moaning loudly, brain turning to mush. This is what sex was supposed to be like. What you’d always imagined it would be like. Passionate, loving, amazing. 

Embry found himself reaching the edge, but would not allow himself to finish before you. He reached down onto the bed for the small pink toy that you had forgotten about. He flicked it on, brought his other hand down and around your throat to pull you up against him, and held the small vibrator right onto your clit. The pounding pressure of his dick paired with the fervent vibrations had you seeing stars. You came. Hard. You didn’t know how long the orgasm had lasted. When you came to, you were lying on your back on the bed, breathing still labored, as Embry cleaned your thighs off with a damp towel. He noticed you looking up at him. 

“Hey, Sweetheart,” he cooed.

“Hey,” you responded weakly. 

“How ya doing?” 

“Really good,” you laughed. 

“Yeah?” he beamed at you as you nodded in response. “Good. I’m gonna get you some water and then we can cuddle, okay?” You only smiled in contentment as he walked off into the hallway, returning shortly with a cup of cold water. “Sit up for me?” 

“Can’t,” you answered, eliciting a laugh from him. 

“C’mon, I’ll help you,” he spoke as he gently held the back of your head, supporting you as you leaned up to drink from the cup he was holding up to your mouth. After you took a few sips, he seemed satisfied and placed the cup on the floor, lying down next to you and pulling you close. “If you start ignoring me after that, I might have to kill you,” he teased. 

“Don’t worry. I won’t ever ignore you again.” You sighed in contentment, listening to Embry’s soothing heartbeat, before you began to wonder. “By the way, what the heck kind of research did you do?” 

He huffed a laugh before responding, “Some guy on the internet called Owen Grey.” 

[ijustwant2write]

His Protector-Fred Weasley x Reader

(GIF credit to @winter-and-zombies​)

Masterlist

Prompts Lists

Summary: At the Battle of Hogwarts, Fred is saved by (Y/N), a close friend of the twins. Both have always had feelings for the other, and in true cliche fashion, neither have admitted this. Years after the battle (where things are somewhat back to normal), the twins have remained friends with her, but it’s only at a Weasley family party does (Y/N) finally say something.

Characters: Fred Weasley x Reader, George Weasley x Reader (platonic)

Meanings: (Y/N)=Your name

Warnings: Mentions of death, PTSD, injuries, blood, lots of fluff

(A/N: This is quite long! And also the first time I’ve written for Harry Potter, blame it on my FYP on Tik Tok)

                                     *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

There were no dry eyes from anyone gathered in the Great Hall. It was full of students, resting from the battle and treating injuries, or mourning over friends who didn't make it. Some were huddled together as they sobbed, others keeping to themselves as they tried to stop the horrifying images keep playing in their minds.

The Weasley’s were gathered around Fred, who was laid out on a makeshift stretcher, tears streaming down their faces as they waited for some sign of him waking up. He had dried blood on his face and partly in his hair. When he was first carried in, their immediate thoughts had been he was dead, because he seemed so lifeless. They were extremely grateful when they realised he was breathing, and he had a heartbeat.

Molly stroked back her son’s hair, trying to calm herself down as to not alarm her children. Never in her life did she think they would have to go through something like this, especially at such a young age. These were her babies, and she was going to protect them with her life like any mother would. George sat beside Fred opposite his mum, praying that his brother's eyes would soon open. Although it had been confirmed that he would be alright, albeit with a few injuries, seeing him lying there made it feel like he wasn’t with them anymore. Suddenly, Fred began to stir, scrunching up his eyes and moaning as he felt the pain throbbing through his body.

“How you feeling Freddie?” George quickly asked as the family got closer.

Fred mumbled something, but no one could understand. 

“What was that Fred?” Molly quietly said.

“(Y/N)...”

“Who? Who are you talking about?” Molly was sure she had heard the name before, perhaps when the boys were still at school. 

“(Y/N), where is she?” Fred moaned.

“I don’t know Freddie.” George replied.“I haven’t seen her since you were brought in.”

“Is..is sh-sh-she a-alive?” Fred was still weak, struggling to speak.

“Fred, please, just rest for now.” Molly begged, not wanting to see him in pain any longer.

“Sh-she’s d-dead?”

As the family struggled to keep Fred still and stop him from panicking, Ginny backed away, knowing the only way Fred would settle was if she found (Y/N). When Fred was carried in, (Y/N) had also been brought him right behind him, but they were separated. She was taken off towards her friends, and in the heat of the moment, Ginny hadn’t questioned if she was alright, making her feel awful.

Although (Y/N) had been close to the twins, she hadn’t been as mischievous as them, not wanting multiple detentions or to get in any trouble as much as they did. It was a surprising friendship between them, especially when (Y/N) was so nice to Ginny, despite the age difference; she was always surprised that the boys never invited her round to their home during the holidays. Because she saw how Fred would sneak glances at the girl, always rolling her eyes at how obvious he was being with his feelings, yet neither one did anything about it. 

Ginny ignored the calls from her dad when she set off in the hall to find (Y/N), bombarding her peers with questions, desperate to find her as quickly as possible. Luckily amongst everyone, she spotted (Y/N)’s friends huddled on the floor, holding onto the unconscious girl’s hands. Ginny startled them as she rushed over.

“Is she...” Ginny started.

“She’s alive. But she’s weak.” one of her friends sniffled.

“We need to move (Y/N).” Ginny demanded.

“What?” 

“She needs to be beside Fred.”

“Why?”

“She just does! Come on, help me move her. Please!”

The girls glanced between each other, and they knew Ginny wouldn’t be requesting such a thing for no reason. They struggled to navigate her body on the stretcher through the people, Ginny going ahead and commanding that they move out of the way. All eyes were on (Y/N), wondering why they were moving her. Ginny gently ushered George and her father out of the way, the men helping lay (Y/N) down on the floor. Fred also watched, slowly turning his head to look at her, expecting to see her beautiful eyes staring back. But when he saw they were shut, he panicked. He shakily reached out for her hand, struggling to find it as they were crossed over on her stomach. George took on her hands, placing it in Fred’s, smiling at the size difference.

Molly and Arthur looked at each other, wondering why this girl was so special to Fred and also why they hadn’t been told much about her.

“This is (Y/N). She saved Fred’s life.” Ginny explained to her parents."She's alive Fred."

Fred didn't reply, still staring at her and grasping onto her hand. His mind flashed back to seeing her save him, hearing how angry and upset she was as she shouted out her spell, somehow defending him from his death and saving herself. He had blacked out before he could see if she was safe. Although he heard Ginny, it didn't make him feel any better. He just wanted to see her eyes open. That was it.

"(Y/N)." he tried to raise his voice, but his throat was so hoarse that it came out as a whisper. He tried shaking her hand slightly, and again, he was too weak to even do that.

George held (Y/N)'s other hand, trying to help his brother wake up their friend. He too wanted her to wake up, and not just for his brother's sake. Her eyes fluttered open, then quickly shut again. Instinctively she was going to rub her eyes until she realised her hands were preoccupied.

"What's happening?" she breathed out, looking around at the Weasley family.

"You're safe dear." Molly reassured her.

"You're alive." Fred smiled, relief flooding through him.

(Y/N) only realised it was Fred talking beside her, breathlessly laughing as her head lulled to the side. There he was, alive just as she was.

"Fred? Oh my...Y-you're here."

"All thanks to you." George smiled, squeezing her hand.

"I'm so..." she gulped before continuing."I'm so happy you're both safe."

"Please don't do that again." Fred begged.

"Do what?"

"Put yourself in danger to save me."

"Don't be stupid Freddie. You can thank me later."

"Let me guess...lots and lots of chocolates."

"Exactly."

                                         *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

(Y/N) yawned as she packed up her things from work, tired after another long week. She passed co-workers, waving goodbye and smiling as she left the building. As she put on her hat, she looked up at the sky, smiling at the sight of snow falling. It was turning dark, and seeing the snowflakes illuminated by the street lights made the street she walked down everyday look beautiful. (Y/N) took her first few steps towards her route home, suddenly stopping for an unknown reason. Something was pulling her in the other direction, she wanted to take a different path today.

Following her instincts, she walked in the opposite direction, hypnotised by the weather around her. Once she reached the end of the street, she looked up at the sign post, and the only part of it not covered in snow was the one that said 'Diagon Alley'. She hadn't been down there for so long, she hadn't seen two certain men for so long.

Why was she headed there? And of all the times to go, why now? She hadn't seen the twins for months, not because she didn't want to, but because she was so busy, as were they. Continuing her walk, she thought back to how often they would spend time together, especially after what happened to Hogwarts. She needed solidarity, she needed to be reminded that Fred was still there, that she didn't dream saving him, it had to be real. (Y/N) would regularly visit them, or vice versa, trying to act like everything was normal and that they weren't effected by anything that had happened.

The shops were closed, she could see the owners locking up, beginning to tidy everything away. Lights were dim, signs now said 'closed' and she was one of the few people left in the street after a busy day of shopping. As (Y/N) approached 'Weasleys Wizard Wheezes', she grew nervous, wondering if this really was a good idea. She hadn't seen them for all this time and now she was suddenly turning up on their shop doorstep? Was it rude? Was she being stupid in thinking that they would be totally fine seeing her after a working day?

Mustering up as much courage as she could, (Y/N) forced herself to the front door, seeing that no last minute customers were left. She tried opening the door, luckily it was open, and let herself in.

"Sorry, we're closed!" a voice shouted out.

"Even for me?" she cheekily called back, giggling when a confused George poked his head around a pile of boxes.

He grinned, practically running towards (Y/N) with his arms open wide."Where have you been little miss?"

"I'm sorry, I know this is a random visit but...I don't know, I just thought of coming to see you and Freddie."

"You're welcome here any time of any day. You know that."

They pulled apart, still smiling."Thanks, I just feel bad that I've not made much effort."

"Hey, we're all busy now. Don't worry about it. I'll go get Fred, he's going to love this!"

George was ecstatic as he dashed off to find his brother. All of them were to blame for not catching up more often than they used to, and he had seen how it effected Fred. They had all been each others support system after the battle, but it was clear that Fred and (Y/N) hugged a little tighter than they used to, looked into each others eyes longer, and smiled as much as possible when together. George had always wanted to set them up (he would have preferred involving pranks somehow) and that old itch was back. These two were hopeless with their feelings for one another, he just had to give them a little push in the right direction...into each others arms.

"Freddie!" George exclaimed, laughing when his brother almost dropped a box out of fright.

"What?" Fred sighed as he recovered, placing the box on the floor. He just wanted to get the stock out for the next morning and go home.

"Come see who has paid us a visit."

George said no more, going back to the shop floor, leaving Fred rolling his eyes as he followed. He rolled up his shirt sleeves as they slid down his arms, not paying much attention to his surroundings. So when he looked up and he saw her, his mouth dropped open, shocked to see (Y/N) standing there.

"Would you just get over here and hug me?" (Y/N) joked, though not as boldly as she used to.

Fred just laughed as he did what she said, reaching down to wrap his long arms around her. She had miss how he held her, how tightly he clung onto her, as if it were their last hug ever. George just stood there, crossing his arms over his chest as he waited for them to finish.

"What are you doing here?" Fred asked.

"Just wanted to see you both." (Y/N) simply stated.

"Well I'm glad you did."

"How about we go for some drinks? It is the end of the week after all." George suggested.

(Y/N) nodded."Yeah, I'm up for that."

"Well then, let's get packed up Freddie."

(Y/N) offered to help, but the twins refused. They came in and out of the stock room, being as quick as they could. (Y/N) took the opportunity to walk around, see what items they were selling. There were some new products, but most were older classics. She reminisced over all the times the boys used pranks such as the ones in the shop, and how they could sometimes get a lighter punishment, just because everyone loved them. She took part in a few schemes here and there, but only the harmless ones, the ones that would only land her in detention if they got caught.

She came to a stand that held numerous love potions. She smiled as she remembered making Amortentia in her lessons. That had been an awkward class. No one wanted to be picked on and asked what theirs smelt like, not in front of their peers. (Y/N) knew who's hers smelt like as soon as the lid of the bottle popped off.

"No luck in the love department then?" George smirked as he put on his coat.

"Hm?" (Y/N) hadn't been paying attention, thinking back on old times.

"Still not found 'the one'?"

"Oh, no, I don't have time for any of that."

"Well, hopefully Mr Right just stumbles into your life." George was growing more excited by the second.

"Yeah, hopefully."

"Right, ready to go?" Fred appeared.

"Yes-Oh!" George startled them."Freddie, I just had a great idea."

"Oh here we go." (Y/N) joked.

"(Y/N) should come home with us, to the Burrow, for mum's party!"

"A party? Why is your mum throwing a party?"

"Dad got a little bonus at work, mum thinks it's something to celebrate. And it's an excuse for her to get the whole family back together."

"That is an amazing idea actually." Fred beamed.

"I can't impose on something like that. Especially since it's a family thing."

"Nonsense." the twins said in unison.

"Are you sure? I mean, I haven't seen your family for so long."

"Mum would love it." Fred reassured her.

"OK then!" (Y/N) grinned."I've always loved a Weasley party."

"That's settled then," George opened the door,"we'll discuss the details over those drinks that are waiting for us."

                                       *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Smoothing down her dress once again, (Y/N) checked her tights for any holes or ladders. She had planned her outfit a week before the party, changing her mind countless times before she finally decided on what she wanted to wear. All morning, her heart had been racing, stomach twisting into knots as nerves got the better of her. Why was she so nervous? She had met the Weasley’s many times, she even stayed the Burrow!

There was a knock at the door, meaning the boys were here to pick her up. Sighing, she checked herself one last time in the mirror before going to answer the door. As she opened it, she noticed it was only Fred standing there, no sign of George.

"Hi, where's George?" she asked as she let Fred inside the flat. She took a note of the smart-casual shirt he was wearing; thank god, she was dressed correctly.

"He's waiting downstairs. Said he can't be arsed to walk up all those stairs. Even though there is a lift..."

"Since when did he become so lazy?" (Y/N) giggled, grabbing her handbag and keys. Turning back around, she saw Fred staring at her.

"(Y/N), you look..." Fred was speechless, which was rare for him. He always had a witty remark, a joke or a flirty comment at the ready, but when he was around (Y/N), those words seemed to get stuck in his throat,"...beautiful."

(Y/N) smiled, ducking her head to hide her blush."Th-thanks Freddie. You look very handsome too."

There were so many more words that he wanted to use to compliment her. He wanted to slap himself for using such a basic word. (Y/N) was gorgeous, she was dazzling, he could believe such a smart, independant and caring woman was in his life. Why did he have to stutter or forget how to speak when he was around her? The real words he wanted to say were on the tip of his tongue, but they would never leave there.

Awkwardly laughing, they left the flat, meeting George outside. George noticed their pink cheeks but didn't mention it, knowing they had embarrassed themselves enough in front of each other.

The journey was full of banter and inside jokes, making it seem like they were students again at Hogwarts. (Y/N)'s nerves about seeing the Weasley’s again had disappeared, but new ones emerged. And they were all because of Fred. (Y/N) wasn't stupid, she had always had feelings for him. But after the battle, she hadn't snatched him up, something held her back, and she just couldn't bring herself to even talk to Fred about it, like any other normal adult would.

The Burrow was just ahead, now the nerves were taken over by excitement. Fred and George reminded (well, warned) (Y/N) how excited their mum was going to be, but she didn't mind. It would be great to receive such an inviting reception. She walked between the twins up to the house, letting them go in first, hesitating slightly as she took in how many people were there; they weren't joking when they said everyone would be there.

"Mum, look who else we brought." Fred struggled to say as he was smothered with kisses across his face.

Molly finally let him go, her smile turning into a shocked expression before letting out a scream, making everyone jump. She didn't waste time bringing (Y/N) into a bone crushing hug. (Y/N) would have laughed if she could breathe, but didn't complain.

"Oh, it's so good to see you dear! It's been too long since you've been back here." Molly held (Y/N)'s cheeks in her hands, looking at how the young girl she knew had turned into a beautiful woman.

“I couldn’t say no when Fred and George invited me.” (Y/N) said through squished lips. 

“Alright mum, give her some air.” George gently chuckled.

“Oh, this is so nice.” Molly beamed, glancing between (Y/N) and Fred, who was already looking at her. 

It took a good ten minutes for the twins and (Y/N) to greet everyone. She always forgot how many Weasley’s there were, some she had not seen for years. Homemade food was laid out on the table (far more than what was needed), everyone nibbling at anything they fancied as they spoke over drinks. There was a toast held for Arthur, who humbly thanked everyone, bashful over Molly’s speech; and she didn’t leave out mentioning how lovely it was that the family was extending, referring to (Y/N). She had blushed too much recently, avoiding eye contact with Fred as everyone stared at the pair who were stood together.

The day was moving on too quickly, it was becoming dark outside, and she didn’t want the night to end. The family had split into groups, still having much to talk about. (Y/N) decided to refill her drink, parting from the others to head to the kitchen. Just as she found another bottle to open, someone appeared beside her. Craning her neck upwards, she flinched back as Fred held out her coat to her, along with her hat, scarves and gloves.

“We’re not leaving are we?” (Y/N) frowned, not wanting to leave.

“Just popping out.” Fred smiled.

After getting wrapped up, (Y/N) followed Fred outside. Once again, it was lightly snowing, starting to stick to the ground which was already frosty, the sound of grass crunching underneath their shoes. She nonchalantly looped her arm through his, snuggling into him (if he asked, she would blame it on the cold), her heart fluttering when Fred instead wrapped his arm around her shoulders, meaning they could be closer. They didn’t stray too far from the house, Fred casting Lumos to light the way. There was a crumbling stone wall which Fred confidently hopped onto. (Y/N) waited for some part of it to collapse, and when it didn't, she joined him, having to jump higher to reach the top. He laughed, forgetting how much advantage his height have him almost everyday.

"We've never sat here before." (Y/N) commented.

"Honestly, I didn't even know it was here."

"So we were just wandering around?" (Y/N) smiled.

"Yeah." Fred confessed.

“How come you wanted to get out of the house?”

“Uh...I wanted to, well, I thought we could talk.”

“About?” she dragged out the word.

“When I saw you again, after all this time, I realised what an idiot I’ve been.”

“What do you mean?”

“Obviously we’re busy, we’ve both got jobs and it’s always harder to meet up. But I regret that so much. After...what happened at Hogwarts, you were my rock, I always felt normal around you, as if nothing had happened. We were able to carry on with our lives like we had planned. When I didn’t see you, I would lie awake all night with that image of you beside me in the hall. It would never go away.”

“Why have you never told me any of this?” 

“I’ve been too scared to reveal anything. I didn’t want to bring anything up, because who would want to be with someone who is still stuck in the past?”

“I would. Fred, you’re not alone in this. I’ve always felt the same. I visited you all those times because my mind would make me think that I never saved you. And if I hadn’t....I don’t know how I would have gone on. Because if I didn’t have you in my life-”

“Don’t finish that sentence, please. We’ve been through so much that we shouldn’t have. But we’re here now, together again.”

Fred held her hand, slowly interlocking their fingers. They both looked down, butterflies erupting in their stomach. The pair glanced at each other, quickly looking away when they realised how close their faces were.

“Why are we acting like kids at school again?” (Y/N) laughed.

“You’re asking the guy who owns and runs a joke shop with his brother, I don’t think I’ve ever stopped being a kid.”

“We did, once.”

“(Y/N), we don’t have to think about that anymore. It’s in the past.”

“Freddie?”

“Yeah?”

“Remember the last time we were in a situation like this? When you actually had the courage to ask me to the Yule ball?”

“And we went as friends?”

She nodded.“Yep. You know, I was a little disappointed when you added that part.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I was sort of hoping you would ask me out as well. Then when you said that, and I just gave up trying. You never noticed me flirting anyway.”

“I never asked you because I never knew. And you also had guys after you so I didn’t think I had a chance.”

“Are you joking? Fred, no one else was wanting to date me.”

“Now you’re the one who is joking.”

“Well...”

“Well?”

“Let’s not make this more awkward than it already is.”

“Oh it’s awkward now?”

“Fred!” (Y/N) exclaimed but couldn’t help laughing along with him.

“No, no, I’m enjoying this.”

“Fred Weasley, after all this time being idiots and wasting time not being together...”

“What? Did you change your mind-”

(Y/N) didn’t know how to say it, instead closing the already small gap them and kissing him. Fred was shocked by how forward she was, but wasted no time kissing back. Her hands cupped his cheeks as Fred’s hands wound themselves around her waist. This had been long overdue. As they pulled away, breathless from the passionate kiss, Fred started to chuckle.

“What is it?” (Y/N) asked.

“Mum is gonna scream when she finds out about this.”

[aeoncryptic]

Hello, Aeon! For your fluffy IkeVamp requests... would you mind writing “I like the way your hand fits in mine” from the list, for Dazai, Arthur, or Comte? I’m sure I’ll love however you work it out! Thank you for opening these requests, and good luck with them! 🍀✨

Hello~! Thank you for requesting~! I actually ended up writing for all three, which is why it's taken me so long. ;-; Thank you for your patience~! I hope you like them! ;-;

I tried to do a seasonal thing... Arthur being Spring, Comte being Summer, and Dazai being Winter. I don't think I did it well, but I tried~!

@alby-rei who also requested this of Dazai

Word count: 1508

Characters: Dazai, Comte, Arthur, MC. With mentions of Leonardo and others.

Arthur:

The spring breeze tousled his hair a bit as he leaned against the wall of the store he was meeting his fiancee at. He’d known she would be late due to spring cleaning, but his excitement had gotten the best of him and he’d arrived before the agreed upon meeting time. The loneliness had been getting to him. He missed her laughter, her energy, everything about her. It wasn’t fair, he thought with a pout. Her time was currently shared amongst all of the residents, but he, greedy as he was, wanted her all to himself. If those thoughts ever reached her ears, she’d surely chastize him.

Lost in his thoughts, he almost missed the carriage as it pulled up before him. Moving away from the wall, his eyes searched the carriage as if willing her to appear. As her feet gingerly touched the ground, she searched for him, eyes lighting up upon spotting him, her steps quick as she ran towards him. But he swooped forward just as she tripped, his hand catching one of hers, his arm wrapped around her back, her face lifting from his chest to look up at the face of her savior.

His smile was a cheshire grin. He playfully pulled her closer, his hand not leaving hers. “What cheer~! Are you that excited to see me, luv~?” A scarlet hue colored her cheeks, she puffed up her cheeks in indignation.

“You know I am, Arthur.” Her honesty caught him off guard, causing him to blush as well. “After all, we haven’t seen much of each other lately…”

“You really know how to catch a man unawares, don’t you, bird?” Letting out a low chuckle, he reluctantly let go of her. “Shall we start our date~?”

Once she agreed, they began their walk towards the gardens. Arthur stopped in his tracks for a moment and turned to face her. “I’m quite worried you’ll trip again. Perhaps I should hold you hand, just in case?” His hopeful, yet playful expression caused her to laugh. She carefully placed her hand in his. “Ah. Much better. I- I quite like the way your hand fits in mine.”

Comte:

The music swayed through the room, a beautiful cascade on their ears. Comte de Saint Germain’s eyes focused on one woman tonight. He had no need to find his solace in other women, for she was what lulled him into security. However, she currently was in the arms of Leonardo who had whisked her away while Comte wasn’t looking. Leo was probably trying to get back at Le Comte for “convincing” him to come to this ball.

He watched for a moment more before deciding to strike. His shoes clicked across the ballroom floor as he walked up to his friend and his love. Each clack ringing loudly in their ears, Leonardo failing to hide his smug grin as Comte strode up to them. He smiled gracefully and extended his hand to her. “My apologies, ma cherie, it would seem I’ve left you alone too long. May I have this dance?” Both men exuded an overbearing confident aura that almost seemed like they were passive-aggressively fighting. The young woman shook her head, trying to hold back the laughter bubbling within her.

Concern that she wouldn’t take his hand bubbled in him, surrounded him. Afraid that she could possibly leave him for his friend. His eyes were glued to her hands as they slowly let go of Leonardo’s and were gently placed on his extended palm. A feeling of relief washed through him as he pulled her close, his other arm wrapping around her waist. He began to lead her in a graceful dance, bearing the weight for her so that she could glide across the dance floor without fear. His heart swelled at her brilliant smile. What he wouldn’t do to keep her smiling at him like that.

Shaking off his thoughts, he spun her around hoping a smile had stayed displayed on his face. Once her hand was back in his, he smiled at her and squeezed her hand. “I love the way your hand fits in mine, ma cherie.” A blush crossed her face and a soft chuckle let his throat. Out of a selfish desire to allow no one else to see her expression, he gently tugged her towards the balcony. He wanted to have her alone, if only for a moment. The warm summer air lazily whisked around them. As they reached the balcony, she gave him a quizzical look.

“I’m sorry, ma cherie, but I wanted a bit of your time to myself. Away from prying eyes.” He chuckled at the surprised look on her face. A tug of her hand in his, causing her to fall into his arms, he brushed his lips against hers. Not once did her hand leave his.

Dazai:

She didn’t know how she let Dazai convince her to go on a date in the middle of winter, but he had somehow managed to whisk her away from her duties. His sly smile and flamboyant nature could convince people of almost anything. She sighed inwardly at their current predicament. They were searching for shelter as the snow storm began. They wouldn’t be able to make it back to the mansion in time; it was already becoming hard to see. Dazai gave her a carefree smile and spoke in a sing-song tone. “The stables aren’t far from here, Toshiko-san~! We can take refuge there~!” Ah. That expression, that voice. She smiled to herself and shook her head.

“Alright, Dazai-san. Let's take shelter there until the storm ends.” She allowed him to lead her over to the stables, the snow starting to reach her ankles. The crunch crunch of snow under their feet was the only sound heard, all else was silent. Luckily they reached the stables before the snow got deep enough that opening the door would be difficult. Closing the door behind them, she began shivering. They hadn’t prepared for a snow storm.

Dazai’s eyes flicked around the room quickly, considering the options to keep her warm. He suddenly picked her up causing her to let out a squeal. Settling himself down next to Napoleon’s horse amongst the hay, he cradled her in his arms. “The best way to stay warm is to share company~! I’m sure the horse won’t mind keeping us warm, right, Toshiko-san~?” She was already beginning to feel the warmth from him and the horse and it began to ease her chill. She felt so warm and secure in his arms that her eyes began to close and she drifted off to sleep.

She felt a gentle hand brushing the hair out of her face and a sweet voice calling to her in an attempt to wake her from her slumber. “Umeko-san~? The snow has stopped for now~ If we don’t head back now, we may be stuck until morning.” Her eyes opened wide upon realizing she had fallen asleep, a deep blush settling across her face. Before she could apologize however, Dazai gently helped her up. “Off we go, Toshiko-san~!” He pulled her towards the doors again and she didn’t have the strength to argue. Once they got outside, she gasped as traveling through the snow would be difficult for them both. It had already gotten past her calves. Dazai held her hand tighter and pulled her behind him, allowing her to follow in his steps. She was surprised at the consideration he displayed to her.

The travel was slow going, but they managed to reach the mansion doors. As her boyfriend reached for the door and tried to push it open, they remembered what Theo had told them this morning in his fit of anger. Leonardo had decided to take the doors apart and reinstall them. Unfortunately, he had done so in order to mess with Le Comte. This meant the doors now opened outwards. The snow was too high and too thick for them to be able to pull the door open.

Her lover knew exactly how to deal with this situation, having a dislike for doors anyways. He led her to the window of the dining room where Sebastian just so happened to be cleaning and knocked on the window. The surprised look on Sebas’ face made (MC) giggle a little, while Dazai simply waved to him. Sebastian opened the window for them and Dazai climbed through first. Once he was inside, Dazai held his hand out to (MC) in an offer to assist her.

She clasped his hand and he gently helped her through the window. “Dazai-san, you’ve been holding my hand a lot today…” Squeezing his hand, she looked up at his face curiously. “Is there something wrong?”

He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it, his eyes staring into hers and a grin on his face. “I like the way your hand fits in mine~ So I’m not letting it go for the rest of the day~!” And so he tugged her away.