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pretend-theres-a-name-here · 5 months ago

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Little thing I wrote while procrastinating writing part 5 of Hide Your Heart.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Steve Harrington who knows his kid brother is obsessed with some niche, up and coming metal band. Steve Harrington who groans and grumbles and carries on about having to drive him around to shows and listen to him nerding out but does it anyway. Steve Harrington who doesn’t really pay attention because the lights on the stage are too bright and drown out whoever’s playing. Steve Harrington who is currently wading through a crowd making their way to the door, going against the current and stumbling as he searches for the mop of hair he promised to get home.

“Henderson!” He cups his hands around his mouth, “Where is that kid?”

He finds himself pushed to the outskirts of the mass of bodies, plastered to a wall but he still pitches forward when a particularly rowdy young woman rams into him. He thinks he’s going to go all the way to the floor when a hand snags his elbow, holding him up. He turns to rush out an apology, a few thanks for the save, but stops before he can get the words out because holy shit the guy is gorgeous.

And Steve—well Steve has been doing some thinking about himself. About how most guys don’t have to mentally prepare themselves to go into the locker room after pe class. About how most guys don’t let their friends paint their nails pretty colors. Robin told him that there was this thing called being bisexual and he thought some things were clicking into place. So he’s gotten used to going out and noticing more than just girls, it’s not uncommon, but this guy is hot, like really hot.

He’s dressed in leather pants and a cut off tank top that hangs around his sides. Tattoos, more doodles than actual designs, on full display for the world to see, running up his arms and peeking out from his ribs. His hair is in curly tangles, sweat sticking it to his forehead but he’s grinning. He has a jacket, leather, in his other hand.

He’s also still holding on to Steve’s arm. Warm rings press into the inside of his elbow as he rights himself.

“First time?” The man asks.

“Y-yeah.” Steve gets out, “I’m supposed to be here with my brother, he’s a huge fan of some band playing here. Molded Coffin or something.”

The guy’s face breaks out into a full on smile, humor sparking in his eyes but Steve doesn’t know if what he said was that funny.

“Yeah? Where’s he at?” The guy still hasn’t let go, leading Steve away from the crowd and further into the room where there were less people.

“I’m actually looking for him now. Left him alone for five minutes to get a drink and he disappears.”

“You need help? These things can get a little crazy.” The man offers.

“You do this a lot?” Steve asks, immediately mentally face palming. He practically asked the guy if he came here often, he was going to think he was flirting. Was he?

The man just smiled, “You could say that. Eddie.” He finally released Steve’s arm in favor of holding out his hand. They shook hands and Steve told the man—Eddie—his name.

They talked for a while, Eddie got them drinks and Steve told himself that Dustin was old enough to behave himself for 15 minutes. Eddie kept an arm around his shoulders the whole time, shielding him from the chaos of the dwindling crowd was his excuse. Steve would have told him he didn’t need an excuse if that didn’t seem too forward.

Eddie was just asking for his number when someone behind them called, “Ed! Quite flirting and get your ass over here! You’re helping us tear down this time!”

Eddie sighed, “Duty calls.” He scribbled something on to a napkin, patting it against Steve’s chest and backing away, “I’ll be waiting for yours, sweetheart.”

And Steve was either drunk or insane because he actually laughed at that. Laughed again when he looked at the napkin and saw numbers almost unreadable, a winking face below them.

“Steve! There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you—What’s that?” Dustin’s tone went from annoyed to prying as soon as he saw the napkin.

“None of your business.” He stuffed the napkin in his pocket, “Are you ready to go or what, kid, I’ve been waiting forever.” He poked Dustin’s shoulder until he got moving and then he poked it again when Dustin scowled at him.

In the car he was once again subjected to Dustin’s after show rant about how cool it was. The guitarist apparently broke two strings and flipped the crowd off with his bloody fingers—which they went wild for, which Dustin screeched along with them for. They played a new song, but it all sounded the same to Steve. That was as much as he heard, though, his mind kept wandering back to the man after the show. To the number in his pocket. He debated putting it to use, was the next day too soon? How long was too long until Eddie forgot about him? A guy like that probably had a mountain of napkins with numbers thrown at him every day. He decided to get over himself and call late the next day.

“Hi, this is Steve.” He suddenly felt very silly for calling but it was too late now.

“Steve, pretty boy from the show last night Steve?” And just like that he forgot why he hesitated to call.

“That would be me.” He cringed, “No, wait, that sounds so self centered.”

“Not self centered if it’s a compliment.” Eddie argued.

“If you say so.”

They talked, got 10 whole minutes of random conversations Steve never wanted to end before Eddie cursed.

“I’m sorry, I promised my uncle I’d help at the shop.” He muttered, “I’m gonna be late.”

“That’s fine, you should go help him.”

“I’ll call you later?” Eddie asked, and if Steve didn’t know any better he’d say it sounded hopeful.

“I’ll be here later.” He responded.

They called all the time after that, whenever they were both free. They even met up in person, it was just to the park because Eddie found out Steve had never fed ducks before, but it ended with another day scheduled to spend together and then another and then a month had passed and he could say they were officially dating. It was the best time Steve had had in a long time and he really didn’t want it to end. The realization came to him one night, after another day with Eddie, and it wasn’t as shocking as he thought it would be. It was a Friday night, Eddie was busy most Saturdays—something about going to shows with the guys—so a lot of their slow nights were Fridays. They were watching TV on the couch in Eddie’s trailer, which was quickly becoming Steve’s favorite place, when he found himself watching the way Eddie laughed and even jumped at whatever horror movie was on more than he was watching the movie itself.

“I love you.” He whispered.

Eddie’s head whipped around, eyes wide, movie forgotten, “I love you too!” And then Steve couldn’t be blamed for not watching the movie anymore when he was practically tackled to the couch, laughing the whole way down.

It was a month after that night that he was steeling himself outside of his front door.

“It’ll be fine.” He said to himself, “They’re going to love you.” He said to Eddie who was gripping his hand.

“It’ll be fine.” Eddie agreed and he almost sounded convinced.

Today was the one day that everyone could gather at Steve’s. The whole party had shown up, everyone he had folded into his makeshift family was in his living room waiting for him to get back with the new partner he told them he was introducing. Today was the day they decided to tell people about them.

Steve pushed the door open, taking a deep breath before leading Eddie to the living room. All of his friends sat scattered around the room. On the couch and floor and coffee table. He could do this.

“Uh. Hey.” He cleared his throat, “I’m back.” All eyes snapped to him, eager to know who this mystery person was.

Eddie tried for an awkward wave but their hands were still connected so they just shook between them.

The silence was getting unbearable until finally Robin shot up from the floor and tackled him in a hug, subsequently dragging Eddie along into it.

“I’m so happy for you, dingus.” She laughed as she pulled away, “Robin.” She stuck her hand out to Eddie who visibly relaxed, “Best friend, platonic soulmate, hurt him and I swear to god you’ll wake up with no kneecaps.”

“Eddie.” Eddie squeaked, shaking her hand hastily.

“Bobbin.” Steve only called her that when she was being particularly over the top because it annoyed her to no end and she knew this, “Tone it down, would you?”

The rest of the group chorused their hellos and introductions and a weight lifted off of Steve’s shoulders at the sight of all of his friends accepting the news without comment. Until he realized there was only one person who hadn’t spoken a word, standing in the middle of the room with a strange look on his face.

“Dustin?” Steve prompted, voice strained.

“Oh my God.” Dustin mumbles in disbelief.

“Dustin…” Steve shot him a warning glance, “If you’ve got a problem with it—”

But Dustin ignores him, he’s staring at Eddie in shock, “Oh my God!” He practically shouts, coming to life to jump and screech, “That’s—! You’re—! You’re Eddie Munson!”

Eddie grins, seemingly unfazed by this bizarre reaction to meeting your brother’s boyfriend, “I take it you’re a fan?”

“A fan of what?” Steve asks, pulling his hand out of Eddie’s to turn to him face to face.

At the same time, Dustin starts babbling hysterically, “A fan? Only the biggest CC fan in all of Hawkins! I have every song on vinyl, like three posters and—oh my god this is so embarrassing. Eddie Munson is in my house and I’m telling him I have his face on my wall.”

He keeps talking but it’s more to himself than anyone else in the room so Steve raises an eyebrow at Eddie, “What’s he talking about? Why are you on posters and why does he have them?”

Eddie, for the first time since Steve has known him, looks almost sheepish, “Oh…I guess I’m kind of, maybe the frontman of Corroded Coffin.” He might be blushing.

“You’re that nerd Dustin’s always going on about?!” Steve exclaims.

#Steve just sort of zones out whenever Dustin starts rambling about CC so he doesn’t know their names #He met the rest of the band on their third date but Eddie begged them to not tell him because he needed to be the one to do it #He was going to tell him after meeting the group but he didn’t expect any of them to know him because CC isn’t that big yet #Their most consistent audience is the regulars at the Hideout and Dustin #They’re brothers because I said so #stranger things #steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #dustin henderson #Pretend writes

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athenamikaelson · 7 months ago

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Klaus Mikaelson x Soulmate!Reader x Elijah Mikaelson Pt. 20

Word Count- 3.8k

Warnings- Swearing, injury, stick, Theo, Klaus, Theo and Klaus

“We’re going to go meet Bonnie’s birth mother. Want to join us?”

I blow out a low breath as Elena tells me her day plans over the phone. I ponder her question momentarily and then glance at Theo, who is currently curled into a sad ball on my bed.

“I would but…I’m on Theo watch duty. Gotta make sure he doesn’t have another mental breakdown,” I whisper the last part into the phone but Theo must’ve heard because I hear him mutter “bitch” at me.

“Yikes… How’s he doing,” Elena asks wearily.

I blow out another breath as Theo wails loudly, “You hear that?”

“Oh… definite yikes. Well, call us if you need anything ok? And, please stay inside, or don’t go anywhere near Stefan.”

I huff, “Ya trust me, I’m staying as far away from that bastard as I can.”

“You talking about Stefan,” I hear Theo growl out and I shush him.

“Tell Bonnie I’ll kick her mother’s ass if things go south,” I say into the phone and Elena’s voice gets muffled as she says something to someone near her.

“Bonnie says she will and she appreciates it,” Elena laughs.

We then say our goodbyes and I hang up the phone and remember the elephant in the room.

“You’ve really got to move on dude. It’s not like he’s dead,” I sit down on the edge of my bed and my brother sits up and glares at me. He’s wrapped up in a fluffy pink blanket so his glare is more pathetic than scary.

“Mind yourself, woman,” He bites, “What if your Gilbert left you?”

I begin to roll my eyes at him but stop and frown.

“SEE! You’d be in my position if your book buddy left you! So don’t come bitching at me because my SOULMATE left me,” He cries out and I let out a long breath.

“Can’t you have your mid-life crisis in your room?”

“The internet says you're not supposed to be alone in times of mourning,” He quickly responds.

“Ya well,” I rub my forehead, “You're giving me a fucking migraine.”

At the mention of my head, Theo frowns and leans closer to me inspecting my head, “How is your head? I swear to God as soon as I get my hands on that stupid bitchass motherfucking vampire imma kill him.”

I smile softly at him and sit back, “I’m fine now. And promise me if you see Stefan you will run the other way,” I say trying to hide the slight fear in my voice.

“Y/n he hurt you, I’m not going to just-”

“Theo! Please! Do you see how you are acting because Jeremy left you? If something were to happen to you…I’d be one hundred times worse than this. I couldn’t live in a world where you didn’t exist, alright? And Stefan he’s… not himself right now. He doesn't care about me and he definitely doesn’t care about you. So, promise me you’ll stay away from him.”

Theo nods and grabs my shoulders, bringing me in for a hug, “I’d lose my shit too if you weren’t here. That’s why it sucks I can’t defend you. Seeing you in the condition you were the other night was horrible.”

I think back to when Klaus dropped me off, and Theo was right at the front door to see it and also see the absolute wreck I was.

“I know and I’m sorry you had to see that,” I apologize.

Theo shakes his head, “You have nothing to apologize for,” Theo stops talking and then side-eyes me, “Also… would you like to explain to me why exactly Klaus, the Original hybrid, was on our front porch dropping you off?”

“Well…”

Flashback

The dark forest flies by me as Klaus drives down the dark road towards my house. An awkward silence fills Klaus’ expensive SUV as I stare at my fingers that are resting in my lap. You would think for someone who loves to hear himself talk so much he’d be yapping away but after he practically carried me to the car, and placed me into my seat, he hasn’t said a word.

After another moment I let out a sigh, “You didn’t have to take me home…I could’ve rode with Alastair.”

Klaus doesn’t move his eyes away from the road, “With Alastair’s track record of making sure you come to no harm…I decided I should start taking things into my own hands.”

I frown, “So what? You’re going to start stalking me now?”

Even in this poorly lit car, I can’t miss the small smirk on his face, “Hypothetically.”

“Great,” I say sarcastically.

Everything is silent for a moment until a car with its high beams on drives by us and I wince and let out a gasp of pain at the intrusion of light on my already pounding head.

“Here,” I hear Klaus’ voice and a biting sound and have to fight the urge to puke again when I see him bite into his wrist.

“Hell no,” I shake my head, “I’ll live with the headache.”

Klaus pretty much growls, “Sorry to burst your bubble, Princess. But, that little headache of yours is most likely a concussion. And I can’t have you falling asleep tonight and not waking up because of it. So just drink.”

I shake my head defiantly and watch his wrist heal itself, “I’ll live.”

Klaus turns and glares at me and if I was in a better state I would glare right back at the bitch but I’m so worn down that I just stare back at him. Klaus’ glare drops when he sees I’m not glaring back at him.

“Y/n, just drink…”

“What’s a mate?”

The car swerves and I quickly grab the closest thing to me which happens to be Klaus’ hand that is lying on the center console. Images of Stefan and the bridge flash in my mind and I feel like I’m on the verge of a panic attack. Or dying. I could definitely be dying too.

“Y/n! Y/n focus on me,” I hear Klaus’ voice in my head but I can’t seem to focus on anything or stop the panic attack that is building.

“Fuck it,” Is all I hear before the air is being taken out of my lungs and my face is being squished by Klaus’ large hands. It takes me a moment to register why I feel a pressure on my mouth but when I open my eyes and see Klaus’ face before mine I realize…Klaus is kissing me. Klaus whatever his last name is, is fucking kissing me. His lips are on my lips at this very moment. Holy shit.

I know I should push him off me but I’m going to blame it on my lack of consciousness right now because I’m leaning into him. I’m kissing him back.

Klaus pulls away from me a moment later and I stare at him wide-eyed. I bring my shaking hand up to my lips and trace my bottom lip with my finger, trying not to think about how right it felt to be that close to him.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that,” Klaus’ voice pulls me out of my stupor.

“Then…why did you?”

Klaus leans back and it seems like he’s trying to make as much distance between him and me as he possibly can, which sends a stabbing pain to my chest.

“You were having a panic attack. What I’ve learned over the years is that holding your breath will stop it.”

At Klaus’ reason, a wave of embarrassment flows through me. I can’t figure out why but, a sense of rejection fills me as well.

“Oh,” I softly say, “I’m sorry.”

I can feel Klaus’ stare as I look back down to my hands.

“Why are you apologizing?”

I shrug, “For freaking out. And for making you,” I point to my lips embarrassingly, “Y’know.”

A bigger wave of embarrassment runs through me at the sound of Klaus’ laugh.

“Trust me, Princess,” Klaus tugs on the end of my hair lightly to gain my attention, “Kissing you is the opposite of sorrowful.”

I look at Klaus’ who has a mix of a smirk and a smile on his face and I nod quickly before looking away, feeling a warmth build throughout me.

I notice now that we’ve pulled off to the side of the road.

“We can go now. I’m okay,” I gesture to the road ahead and try to catch a glimpse of Klaus out of the corner of my eye but he’s still staring at me.

“Not until you let me heal you.”

I shake my head, “You vampires keep trying to get me to drink your blood and it’s weird.”

Klaus’ eyes darken, “What other vampires?”

I shrug, “Just like Damon, and,” I pause, “Your brother.”

“You’ve drank Elijah’s blood but you won’t drink mine?”

Klaus’ harsh voice bites at me and I flinch back in my seat.

Klaus’ glare instantly drops as he runs a hand over his face, “You have no reason to flinch around me. I’d never… I’d never do anything like that to you.”

I frown at the man who has uprooted and ruined my friends’ lives over the past 4 months and shake my head, “Are you serious?!”

Klaus stares at me for a moment before leaning back in his seat again, “I’ve never laid a hand on you or your brother.”

At the mention of Theo I stiffen, “How do you know about him?”

Klaus looks at me with an “Are you serious” look.

“Alastair,” I say knowingly and growled.

“He’s not the best at protecting but he is great at getting information.”

I pause for a moment and then glare at him, “If you ever try anything against Theo, I swear to whatever Gods are out there I will-”

“Slow it, Princess,” Klaus raises a hand stopping me, “Your brother has nothing to fear from me. Hurting him is hurting you.”

“Why is not hurting me of importance to you? Because of what Stefan said in the car? We’re mates?”

My question has Klaus leaning forward and starting the car again.

“Seriously,” I exhale at him and he doesn’t spare me a glance.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I go to rub my hands over my face but Klaus’ hand grabs mine stopping me.

“You’re going to hit your wound. Put your hand down.”

“Why can’t I ever just know the truth? I’m so sick and tired of everyone hiding things from me like I’m so fucking kid! I haven’t been a kid in years and I can handle a lot more than you fuckers think I can.”

Klaus watches me for a moment and then shakes his head, “I don’t think you understand.”

“No, I understand you perfectly! I understand you’re just like the rest of them!”

“Y/n. Listen to me,” Klaus leans back over to me so my full attention is on him, “First of all, I’m nothing like anyone that you’ve ever met before, so don’t insult me. Second, I don’t think you’re a child. I can see it in your eyes, that look that mirrors my own. You and I are the same, Astin Min. And third, it’s not you that can’t handle it. It’s me.”

I stare at Klaus and he stares back at me.

“Why can’t you?”

Klaus runs his tongue over his teeth before letting out a sigh.

“Question for question,” He shakes his head slightly, “Correction. Question for a favor.”

I narrow my eyes at him and frown, “What kind of favor?”

Klaus smirks, “You drink my blood. I’ll answer your question.”

I groan as I stare at him. The idea of drinking his blood disgusts me but staying in the dark pisses me off.

“Fine. Let’s get the over with,” I lean over the console toward him and open my mouth.

Klaus seems to be almost surprised by my agreement as his eyebrows slightly raise. His eyes go towards my open mouth and for a moment in the dark car, I could swear a hint of red tints on his cheeks. But before I can stare too long Klaus bites into his wrist and presses it to my mouth. I think I’m about to vomit when the warm liquid hits my tongue but instead, I groan at the delicious taste. Embarrassment has me quickly pulling away and wiping my lips.

Klaus on the other hand is smirking like the fucking devil he is, “It’s better than Elijah’s, isn’t it.”

I glare at him, “I’m going to swing on you.”

Klaus releases a hearty laugh and I feel my upper lip twitch at the sound.

“It’s your turn Jackass,” I cut his laughing off and he rolls his eyes.

Klaus puts the car in drive and for a moment I think he’s going to back out of our deal but then he clears his throat.

“I’ve gone a thousand years without a weakness, Y/n. A thousand years with no one having any leverage over me, other than my father.,” He pauses at the mention of Mikael, “You threaten that. A thousand years, and now my biggest threat is an 18-year-old girl.”

He bitterly laughs out the last part as if he can’t believe it’s true.

“I’m no threat to you. You’re the great big bad hybrid. I can’t even run up a flight of stairs without getting winded. How could I ever harm you?”

Klaus turns to me and his eyes go towards my wounded head before turning back towards the road.

“You have no idea.”

—

“I’m not even going to ask how you knew how to get to my house without me telling you,” I say as I go to open my car door but Klaus speeds over to my side and opens it for me.

Maybe he and Elijah are related.

“You can ask, I can’t promise you’ll like the answer,” Klaus says as he helps me out of the car.

I get out and try to walk on my own but a wave of tiredness flows through me and I feel my knees buckle. Thankfully, I feel Klaus’ arm wrap around my waist to keep me up.

“What the hell?!”

Theo’s screeching voice has me cringing in pain and I can hear Klaus growl from beside me.

I open my eyes to see Theo running out of the front door and down the steps to me, wrapped in my fucking comforter.

“Unhand her you bitch,” Theo yells and points his finger at Klaus who looks entirely unimpressed with my younger brother’s antics.

“Theo, chill the fuck out and go back inside. I’ll be in in a moment,” I try to wave my brother away but he shushes me and grabs me out of Klaus’ arms.

“What kind of brother and manly protector would I be if I left you alone with this,” Theo glares at Klaus, who still has a hand on the bottom of my elbow, “thing.”

Klaus’ eyes go from my brother’s face to the giant lavender blanket wrapped around him, “I would insult you, but I know about your lack of male figures in your life. So this,” He gestures to the blanket, “Is not your fault. It appears your sister has just raised herself a sister.”

I swallow a laugh as Theo looks like he’s about to internally combust. He lets go of me and if it weren’t for Klaus’ hand on my elbow I probably would have fallen. Klaus narrows his eyes at my brother because of his actions.

“Who the fuck do you think you are,” Theo puts his fists up and I laugh at the amount of stupidness.

I look over to Klaus who’s standing next to me and he meets my eyes for a moment and then rolls his own.

“Klaus.”

“Well listen here Klau-”

Theo stops.

“Wait,” Theo’s eyes go from wide to wider as his mouth drops open when he realizes who he just tried fist fighting. Theo slowly drops his fists, “Did you just say Klaus?”

Klaus seems to be beside himself for getting this kind of reaction out of my brother and I glare at him, “The one and only.”

Theo stares wide-eyed at the Original for a moment before turning around towards our lawn. I think he’s going to make a run for it but he quickly leans down and then turns back. I watch in awe as he throws a fucking stick at Klaus, bonking the hybrid right in his pretty face.

“Quick, sister,” Theo yells as I feel him rip me out of Klaus’ arms and starts to drag me up the stairs.

“Theo! Hold the fuck on, you dumbass,” I pull away from my brother as we make it to the porch and he stares at me like I’ve grown two heads.

“What the fuck are you doing?!?!?”

“He’s not going to hurt us,” I tell my brother, “Or at least he wasn’t until you threw a fucking twig at his head.”

I look down at where Klaus is standing. I try to fight it but a loud laugh escapes my lips when I see him glaring up at us with the small twig breaking in his left hand.

“Luv, I know I made a promise about not hurting him, but I think I might have to break that,” He bites out and I instantly stiffen and move in front of my little brother.

“You’ll have to kill me first,” I threaten him and we glare back at each other.

“This sexual tension is freaking me out,” Theo’s voice takes my focus away from Klaus as I turn to glare at my brother instead.

“Shut up, Theo!”

“Oh, let the boy continue,” Klaus snarkily says and I turn back to glare at him. Thankfully the dark look from before has vanished and is now replaced by his usual smirk.

I feel Theo’s hand tug on mine and I squeeze his. Theo talks a tough game but I can feel the shaking coming from his hand.

“He hurt you Y/n,” Theo whispers to me as he stares wearily at my bloody head.

“Did not,” Klaus retorts.

Theo turns his attention back to the Original, “Did too!”

“Did no-”

“Jesus Christ stop you two,” I groan and rub my temple with my free hand, “Theo it was Stefan who hurt me. Klaus actually…helped me. I guess.”

I turn to see my brother’s confused face and can hear Klaus mutter “She guesses” under his breath.

“Stefan did this to you,” Theo questions, and as I nod his weary look turns to one of anger, “Fine. Then grab that stick we’re going to go stab Stefan instead.”

Theo begins to walk back down the steps and Klaus raises the stick up for him to take.

“I’ll join you, mate.”

I pull my brother back with a huff, “Theo go back inside. Now.”

Theo goes to argue but I glare at him. With one last huff and an “I’m watching you” gesture to Klaus, he walks back inside. But I can see the living room curtain push open slightly so I know he’s still watching.

“You two are definitely related,” Klaus growls as he looks up at me.

“Sadly,” I respond.

Klaus and I stand there for another moment just watching each other and I feel my face warm up.

“Well…um. Thank I guess,” I say awkwardly and turn to the front door.

“Y/n,” Klaus’ voice has me stopping and turning over my shoulder to look at him. He looks like he’s about to say something else but then clears his throat.

“Good night.”

—-

“YOU KISSED HIM?!?!?”

I roll my eyes as Theo stares wide-eyed at me.

“Technically, he kissed me,” I respond and Theo shakes his head.

“Nuh-uh you kissed him back,” He says and looks at me like I just committed the worst sin imaginable.

I look down at my hands as a wave of shame washes through me.

“You can’t tell anyone, Theo. Seriously. Not Jeremy, or Elena, or anyone,” I look at my brother worried.

Theo narrows his eyes, “Why not?”

I give him an “Are you serious” look.

Theo thinks for a moment and then nods, “Oh, ya. Crazy Pyshco that killed your best friend and is harassing all your friends now. Ya, secrets safe with me.”

I grab Theo’s hand, “Theo, I’m serious.”

Theo squeezes my hand, “I promise. Sibling pact and shit….Also,” Theo smirks, “Was it good?”

I frown, confused, “Was what good?”

“The kiss,” Theo smirks evilly.

I smile sweetly at my brother and then hit him upside the head with my hand.

“Ow, woman. Don’t be putting your filthy hands on my precious hair.”

“Your greasy hair,” I say back and he stares at me in shock.

“How dare you! It is not greasy,” He tries to fight back but when I raise an eyebrow at him he quickly stands up and runs to my mirror. The screech that leaves his mouth as he stares into the mirror has me rolling my eyes.

Theo quickly drops my blanket on the floor and runs out of the room. Not even 2 minutes later I hear the water from the shower turn on. I quickly stand up, shut my door, and then lock it.

—-

“Wait, so that means I can’t fist-fight Bonnie’s mother,” I ask Elena.

Elena called me as soon as she got home from her trip with Bonnie to meet Bonnie’s mother. I guess Bonnie’s mother ended up losing her magic when she did a spell to desecrate Mikael 16 years ago but is willing to try to get her magic back to help her daughter open the unopenable coffin or some shit. There’s so much going on in this town that everything’s starting to mesh together.

“No…I mean at least not right now,” Elena jokes and I huff.

“Fine. But if she hurts Bonnie I’m throwing my fist right into her throat,” I pretend to jab the air as I put the phone in between my shoulder and ear.

“Are you fighting the air right now,” Elena asks and I stop.

“No….”

Elena laughs, “Well, if you do need to fight her I’ll be there rooting for you.”

I smile, “Thanks, I appreciate it,” I pull up my towel that is wrapped around my body.

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay,” I tell Elena and she agrees and I hang up the phone.

My still-wet hair leaves shivers on my body as I open my bedroom door and walk inside. But when my Y/E/C eyes meet brown eyes I stop.

“Hello, Elskan. I think you and I are long overdue for a chat.”

638 notes · View notes

cupidologys · 2 months ago

Text

⸻ imprint.

pairing: grimmjow x reader

word count: 2.4k

synopsis: life becomes increasingly complicated after a seemingly one-night stand with grimmjow extends way past the one-night mark.

as it turns out, arrancars become very clingy, very fast.

Opening your eyes to an arrancar laid next to you in your bed was not your idea of a happy wake-up call. He was still asleep; his gentle snores break the silence as you spring up, scrambling to retrace last night’s memories. A soft groan leaves you as it all comes flooding back.

The break up. The violent sobbing. The tissues and excessive consumption of bottom shelf tequila. The violent puking. The rebound that was currently still in your bed.

Oh, you are so thoroughly, completely fucked.

You curse yourself. How could you be so stupid as to drunkenly hook up with—

Your thoughts stutter as your brain fully catches up to last night’s memories. You remember the screaming and anger when you found out about your ex’s infidelity, which led to a night of reckless abandonment at a nearby bar, which further led to your very worried friends picking you up and bringing you home. Grimmjow was there for reasons you can’t remember. What you can recall, definitively, is that you did not sleep with him. He had carried you up to your apartment, settled you in bed, and was about to leave when you dragged him into the sheets for cuddles, refusing to let go until he conceded.

Embarrassing? Yes. As bad as hooking up with him? Not by a long shot.

A shift in movement beside you jolts you out of your thoughts. Grimmjow mutters something, voice still groggy with sleep. You freeze and ignore him, pretending not to hear. You pray that he goes back to sleep. Your prayers go unheard.

“[Y/N]?”

Silence.

He blinks one strikingly blue eye open and settles it on you. With a roll of his neck, he stretches out—lazy and languid. You stare straight at your bedroom door, hoping to avoid eye contact—and his incredibly sculpted muscles.

Why the hell is he shirtless?!

“Good morning,” you say with as much casualness as you can muster. It isn’t a lot. Your words come out more strangled than you intended. You want to weep.

Grimmjow doesn’t seem to notice—or care. “Morning. You want coffee?”

“I…” you swallow, unsure of how to navigate this situation. You decide to blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. “I think you should go.”

Grimmjow opens his mouth to say something, but something in your expression stops him. He just gives you a slightly perplexed look before nodding slowly.

“You gonna be okay?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Are you serious?” He scoffs, unbelieving. “You realize the entire reason why I barely slept a wink last night was because you kept tossing, turning, and crying so hard I thought you’d shrivel up from dehydration?”

You feel your cheeks flame.

“You didn’t have to stay!”

Grimmjow moves closer to you, angling himself to face you directly. The proximity makes you dizzy among such tension.

“What was I supposed to do, sweetheart? Leave you to drown in your own tears? I’m not that cruel.”

You repeat yourself, quieter this time. “You still didn’t have to stay.”

“I chose to.”

He moves away, leaving you speechless and confused.

“Get dressed.”

“What?” You reply, still reeling from his words. “Why?”

“I’m taking you to breakfast.”

Dumbfounded, you can only manage another: “What?”

“Breakfast. To replenish all those fluids you lost.” Grimmjow swings his coat over his shoulders before tossing a hoodie on your head. “And to fuel up before killing that ex boyfriend of yours.”

He leaves the room before you can process his words. Once you do, you jump up from the bed with a wince—the hangover still piercing—and scramble after him in alarm.

“Grim! Don’t you fucking dare! Get back here, you overgrown lab rat!”

୨୧ · · ♡ · · ୨୧

“I need help.”

Ichigo barely looks up from the eggs benedict he’s scarfing down. If you didn’t know him any better, you’d be scared he’d choke.

“Wow. You must be desperate if you’re coming to me for relationship advice.”

“First of all, it's not a relationship. Second of all, I know enough embarrassing things about you to ruin the rest of your very long life if you ever decided to speak of this to someone else.”

He shoots you a sideways look. “Noted.”

You anxiously drum your fingers on the table. “It’s about Grimmjow.”

Ichigo wrinkles his nose. “What about him?”

“He’s been acting weird.”

The shinigami bites into a piece of bacon. You already regret bringing him to brunch to sort this out. Sadly, it was the only way to get him to bail on his college club meeting.

“Weird how?” He asks between chews.

You sigh. “I don’t even know. Ever since that night, something’s been different. He’s weirdly clingy—the other day, I was running errands and ended up with a six-foot-one tag-along for every single one. It made my bank visit and hair appointment interesting, to say the least. Does he have a crush on me now or something?”

“Oh that’s not new.”

You look at Ichigo in puzzlement. “What are you talking about?”

“The crush? That’s not new. Whatever this thing is, it’s worse,” he answers nonchalantly.

The news makes your head spin. Grimmjow has a crush on you? Why? How? Since when? Was it when he moved to the human world?

Ichigo’s voice pulls you from your spiral. “Have you watched any vampire or werewolf movies?”

You balk at the insinuation. “Are you saying he imprinted on me? Like some kind of giant freak baby duck?!”

“More like he’s simply gotten attached to you… maybe it’s some weird arrancar mating thing?” Ichigo offers.

You deflate. “That is so not better.”

He shrugs. “You’re the one that decided to get into bed with an arrancar.”

“We didn’t do anything!”

“...Would you want to?”

You open your mouth for a firm rejection, but for some reason the words lodge in your throat. Grimmjow is rough around the edges, without question. He’s stubborn, reckless, and a pain in your ass. Regardless, you’ve been privy to his genuinity firsthand. You can’t recall a single time he hadn’t been there for you when you needed him.

“I don’t know,” you sigh.

“You should figure that out then. It seems you both have some complicated feelings to sort out.”

୨୧ · · ♡ · · ୨୧

Your phone hasn’t stopped buzzing for the last twenty minutes. Your ex has found another number already—the last one was blocked only two days ago. You have half a mind to throw your phone into the pond in front of you. The koi fish probably wouldn’t be too happy about that, though—and neither would their owner. Out of respect for the wildlife—and Rukia—you settle for shutting the device off entirely. A temporary fix, yes, but at least you’ll have some peace and quiet for the rest of the night.

The party inside is in full swing—crowds of people mill around the house with drinks in hand and inhibitions loose. The music is so loud the bass shakes the foundations of the building; four stories of flashing lights, hazy vapours, and drunken stupors thrum a few hundred feet behind you. Rukia’s place is huge—perfect for a summer send off for a bunch of rowdy college students. You only hope Byakuya doesn’t find out about this one. The last time that happened… you cringe at the memory.

The garden is far enough from the main part of the house—mansion, more appropriately—that you only hear muffled beats of the blaring stereos and screaming students. A good thing too as you feel a headache coming on from the events of the night. You sit on a soft patch of grass a few metres from the edge of the water, watching as shining fish circle each other in colourful rhythms. The solo cup in your hand has long run dry. You prefer to stay sober from now on; you don’t need a repeat of what happened two months ago.

The moon is high against the dark canvas of the sky. It should be half past one by now. From your experience, the partygoers won’t filter out until hours later.

The sound of footsteps makes you turn. Grimmjow saunters towards you, a beer in hand. You aren’t sure how to act around him. You haven’t ever since you found out about his crush on you. You aren’t even sure you believe it to be true; it’s Grimmjow, for heaven’s sake. A crush? Romantic feelings? Such concepts don’t even exist in the lives of people like him.

Regardless, it’s been an awkward couple of weeks—for you, at least. It’s not easy trying to ignore an arrancar hellbent on pestering you every second of the day.

You’d be lying if you say you haven’t missed him though.

“Drink?” He holds out his bottle to you in offering.

You wince. “Better not. I have plans tomorrow morning.”

He takes a seat next to you in the grass. You shuffle over slightly, still wary of his closeness. The movement makes him frown, but surprisingly, he doesn’t comment on it.

“What plans?”

“I…” You hesitate. For reasons you don’t want to understand, it feels uncomfortable to tell him. “I have a date.”

Grimmjow’s beer bottle shatters in his hand, spraying him with alcohol. You jump up in alarm, panicking at the mess of glass and foaming liquid.

“Holy shit! Are you okay?! What the hell was that?!”

“I’m fine,” he grits out between clenched teeth.

You stare at him in bewilderment. The liquid drips down his forearm, pooling at his feet. Glass shards litter the grass around him as he wipes his hand on the front of his jeans.

“Let me see your hand.”

He pulls away from you as you try to take his hand in yours. “I said I’m fine.”

“Your hand, Grimmjow. Give it,” you insist.

He grumbles in annoyance but eventually relents. He was right—there’s no cut in sight. His skin is unbroken and… really, really warm. You yank your hand away, flustered at the heated contact.

“A date? Seriously?”

“Huh?” You look up, embarrassment forgotten. He’s looking straight ahead towards the pond and garden fixtures, avoiding direct eye contact with you.

He’s beautiful.

You startle yourself with that sudden thought. When did you start noticing the little things? Like the curve of his lips and the vibrance of his eyes. When did you start viewing him… differently? You ignore these dangerous thoughts—pushing them aside to maintain a semblance of control.

“What’s wrong with a date?”

He grunts in answer. He still hasn’t looked at you.

“It’s just this blind date thing I promised a friend I would try. It’s not like it’ll go anywhere,” you ramble. You’re not quite sure why you feel the need to explain yourself but you do it regardless. “Anyway, I’m still dealing with the break-up so it’s not like I have time or the mental capacity to actually date.”

“You still haven’t moved on?” He asks, disgust lacing his tone.

You shrug. From your asshole ex? Absolutely. From the emotional turmoil of the relationship’s aftermath? Not so much.

“I’m dealing with it.”

Grimmjow does not like that answer. “For fucks sake, [Y/N], how are you still hung up on him? How is he worth this? Any of this? That bastard hasn’t deserved you since the day he got you!”

Your jaw drops at his outburst.

“Why are you getting so worked up about this?”

“Because you’re being fucking stupid!” Grimmjow stands up and starts pacing. The unexpected argument sends you spiralling into a fit of anger matching his own.

“Excuse me?” You stand up too and narrow your eyes at the arrancar.

He whips around to you, all six-foot-one of him towering over your frame. The heat emanating off of him is palpable in the chilly night air. His gaze is sharp—cutting into your own with intense emotion.

“You’re stupid because you don’t realize you deserve better.”

“And what? Who the hell is better? You?” You’re pushing him for a reaction.

He gives it to you.

“Yes!”

The word makes you both freeze. Grimmjow looks shocked at his own response; his eyes are so wide you can see your own surprise reflected in their icy blue.

“So you do have feelings for me,” you whisper.

Grimmjow’s head drops, his gaze now boring into the ground. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think he was embarrassed.

“Was that not fucking obvious?” He grumbles.

“Apparently not to me.”

He rubs his neck and lets out a long breath. “Well…” His eyes focus on you. “Now you know.”

Your heart is beating so fast it feels like it’ll burst out of your chest.

“Are you gonna say anything?” Grimmjow asks uneasily. He fidgets with his hair, anxiously waiting for your reply.

“You’re one of my closest friends, Grim. I don’t like change. I’m not very good at it,” you note.

“But what if the change is good?”

You cough out a dry laugh. “Are you saying you’re good? You? Mr. Almighty Espada?”

“Depends who you ask.”

You pretend to think. “Hmm… how about Ichigo?”

“Who cares what that moron thinks.”

“Well, considering he’s my best friend—”

Grimmjow scowls. “Still not thrilled about that, by the way.”

You smile at his indignation.

“I’m not cancelling my date.”

“What?” Grimmjow’s face falls and you try not to giggle at how easily he resembles a kicked puppy.

“Tomorrow. 5pm. Pick me up then?”

It takes a second for him to register what you mean, but when he does, he smirks and throws an arm around you, pulling you in for a side-hug that nearly suffocates you. You don’t mind at all.

“Or we can just start the date now.”

You laugh. “Slow done, cowboy. I have to change my number first thing tomorrow morning. He hasn’t stopped blowing up my phone.”

Grimmjow growls. “You know, you shouldn’t have stopped me from killing him last time.”

“Sometimes, I don’t know if you’re joking.” You tilt your head in concern. “It’s worrying.”

He shoots you an irritated look. “Why would I be joking?”

You merely shake your head, looking at him in amusement. For the first time in a long while, you have a feeling that everything will work out just fine.

349 notes · View notes

kazumist · 10 months ago

Text

WHY DON'T WE FALL IN LOVE TONIGHT ?

✩ — in which you found yourself executing a ruse with the known duke of meropide, wriothesley. what could possibly go wrong? (many things, apparently.)

✩ — prompt: panache — you agree to a fake courtship with another. (for @xianyoon's "a night to remember" event (event two hehehe))

✩ — includes: wriothesley x f!reader. royalty!au. fluff, angst if you squint, hurt/comfort if you also squint, comedy squeezed in just a teensy bit. cw: alcohol consumption (reader ends up taking a shot or two) one crazy scene in the garden but it's nothing too explicit i swear they just get a little carried away OOPS. wc: 8001 yes you read that fucking right (i went insane). fake dating trope went a bit overboard my bad (heavily based by bridgerton season 1 minus the explicit scenes LMAO). one pride and prejudice and meme reference line sneaked in (if u get my reference then ilysm i need to kiss u). other fontaine characters make a cameo yipee!! full fic of this silly post i made back then but i changed things up. kinda

✩ — please reblog !! it wld help me tons :,)

love at first sight was a frivolous belief for a man like wriothesley.

romance, in general, was a frivolous belief for him in the first place. as much as his father pushes him into the marriage market for all of the women in the kingdom of fontaine, he would always find his way out of it. but he does admit—the nagging could get quite... overbearing sometimes. romance almost never crosses wriothesley’s mind. he shuns every vigorous mother that presents their daughter towards him in hopes that he’ll take an interest in them (which he never does; wriothesley believes that marriage is too big of a responsibility for him).

a ball is never uncommon in society at this age. and certainly it isn’t uncommon for his father to urge him to grace these balls with his presence on behalf of his former duke of a father. and tonight wasn’t so different from the other balls he previously attended. wriothesley holds back the urge to roll his eyes after he excuses himself (for the nth time, he thinks) from another mother who tried to offer her daughter up for his hand in marriage. it was exhausting, to say the least. wriothesley wants nothing more than to leave at the moment. however, to his dismay, the ball had just begun not too long ago.

it’s another long night for him.

sharing some conversations with queen furina’s royal advisor, neuvillette, wasn’t a bad way to pass the time. and it certainly was effective because people were far too nervous to approach him with the queen nearby. the friendship he shared with the royal advisor wasn’t new knowledge to society. almost everyone and their mothers had heard about the tale of the current duke meropide and the queen’s royal advisor being close friends during their early days of childhood and onwards. though wriothesley sometimes admits—he surely misses his youthful days.

it’s not like he's that old now. he’s currently thriving at the young age of twenty-five! not too young, not too old either. “and just how long are you going to stand by my side tonight, wriothesley?” neuvillette asks, his eyes focused on the crowd below him. there were pairs dancing gracefully in the middle of the venue as the quintet orchestra played by the side. wriothesley doesn’t glance at him as he answers. “just a bit longer, i suppose. i could still feel their eyes boring holes into me.” he mumbles the last part, leaning closer only for neuvillette to hear, as he refers to the mothers that attempted to make their advances on him earlier. neuvillette simply chuckles at his remark.

“still refusing marriage, i see?” he replies.

“i’m confident that you’re well aware of what my answer to that is going to be, neuvillette.”

wriothesley feels comfortable like this. but he’s aware that he couldn’t spend all of his time by his friend’s side. soon after, wriothesley decides to take his leave after making sure his coast is clear. he then exited nearby and found himself wandering into the garden. surely, the workers at the house of hearth had done a splendid job maintaining this garden. he reminds himself to commend duke arlecchino for this if he ever gets the chance.

the wind tonight was quite cold, yet it’s nothing wriothesley couldn’t handle. he stumbles upon what seemed to be the center of the garden, surprised to see a fountain there. the moonlight shines brightly in this area—but what actually made wriothesley curious was who was sitting by the fountain? he steadily approaches, careful not to make the wrong move and sits by the fountain as well. there was still some distance between the two of you—a lot of it. it would be indecent of him to burst into a woman’s personal space. his father did not raise him to be that sort of man.

“what brings you here tonight?” he suddenly finds himself asking. it was a poor attempt at small talk, he thinks (he could do much better than that, he swears). wriothesley doesn’t even dare steal a glance at you, as much as he wanted to. you hesitated before answering him, still sinking in the fact that you suddenly have company in this garden now. “avoiding society as usual, especially the members of society who cannot give up offering their hand of marriage towards me, i suppose,” he hears you sigh. huh, how ironic. did wriothesley just bump into someone who suffers from the same problem as him?

the answer was most definitely yes.

“oh, what a coincidence—i suffer from such a predicament as well.” he chuckles bitterly in reply—too bitter for his liking. he didn’t want to suddenly ruin the mood now; the conversation had barely even started. “is that so? i’m delighted to know that i’m not alone in this boat then.” the tone of your chuckle was different from the chuckle you got from wriothesley. a comfortable silence was then enveloped over the both of you, enjoying the scenery around. he takes this as his chance to steal a glance, and he quickly takes it back. yet he finds himself glancing again.

and again

and again.

he doesn’t quite understand it himself. however, there was something about you that had this alluring effect on him of some sort. he just couldn’t tear his eyes off of you for some reason. “enjoying the view much, duke?” you asked, meeting his gaze. wriothesley then turns away suddenly, embarrassed that he was caught red handed in the act of practically ogling at you. his father did not raise him to be like this at all. he did not spend his childhood and teenage years training how to be a proper gentleman for his debut in society just to be ogling at a lady he just met at a ball. he needs to snap out of it.

“my apologies, but how could i resist putting my attention on a stunning lady like you?” he tries to play it cool. (keyword: tries.) it was a strategy that he learned to adapt every since he made his debut into society. playing it cool always works for him—surely his old trick wouldn’t fail at him now of all times, right? but wriothesley soon snapped out of his thoughts, and he then asked another question. “wait, you know who i am?”

you were taken aback by his words. is he seriously asking you that? “who wouldn’t know you? you’re quite famous with the other ladies.” you asked him back. he simply replies with a short “fair point.” and silence takes over once again. but this time, it was a bit awkward. you decided to introduce yourself to him, stating your name and title. he nods in acknowledgement of your introduction. he has heard of you before, of course. your family has quite a reputation in society, making you get quite a bit of attention at formal parties as well.

wriothesley doesn’t dare steal a glance at you again, as he has seemed to learn his lesson from what happened earlier. you, on the other hand, took this as your chance to take your leave. “although your company has been quite interesting, duke meropide, i’m afraid that i must take my leave first. i seem to have forgotten that i excused myself from lord jackson earlier.” you got up from your seat, already walking away from the fountain—that is, until wriothesley speaks.

“lord jackson? you mean the lord jackson who’s known for his… awful history in relationships?”

“i don’t believe there’s any other lord jackson in this society, duke meropide.” you turn around to face him.

“what business do you have with him?” why am i even asking? he thinks.

“he’s simply another one of the men who my mother had decided to set me up with for marriage. i was told to accompany him for tonight but you see, his company isn’t really... the best.” you replied, choosing your word carefully. despite you not liking lord jackson at all, it would be informal for you to speak ill of him when he could be the man you’ll actually marry.

actually, scratch that. as if you’ll ever allow yourself to marry a man like him. lord jackson was a creep, to say the least. you were aware of the talk that goes around him. but your dear mother is still kept in the dark about these stories, and she decided to set you up with him without your prior knowledge. so by technicality, you really had no choice. “you can’t marry him.” the man in front of you suddenly says.

“i beg your pardon?” you asked, afraid that you misheard him the first time. “you... you can’t marry him.” he repeats and then he continues. “i mean, surely you have heard the news about him—his temper makes him vicious. your marriage with him wouldn’t prosper at all.” you held back the urge to scoff at him. “i appreciate your concern, my duke, but our society works in an unfair way at this age. i cannot just declare that i do not wish to marry, unlike you. that is a privilege that i cannot simply afford.” you shot back at him.

wriothesley suddenly feels like a light bulb in his head has switched on.

“we could pretend to form an attachment.” he then says. you were getting more baffled by the second this conversation held on longer. “whatever do you mean?” you weren’t stupid. but you refused to believe that what he’s hinting at is also the one you foolishly thought. “with you in my arm, people would think that i have finally found my duchess. as for you, your mother would raise her standards and find more suitable candidates for your hand in marriage. because although i could be wrong, but have you ever told your mother what traits you find in a man?” he replies, a small smile slowly tugging on his lips. he clearly enjoys this idea.

“i… i suppose not.” he got you there. “but this is an absurd idea.” you protested.

“i find it quite brilliant, if i do say so myself.”

“you do know the risks of what you’re proposing right now, am i correct?”

“i do. but you do not wish to marry me, and i do not wish to marry you, so whatever should you have to lose?” he’s insisting. he’s insisting like this plan would work perfectly fine for the both of your benefits (well, if you were to be completely honest, there is a chance for it to be successful. but you grew up to believe that you shouldn’t expect for things to go so smoothly in your life). “i…” a lost of words. that’s what you are. too many possibilities are running through your head at the moment.

however, the duke did have one hell of a good point.

“fine. you got yourself a deal.”

and that’s how you got roped into the situation you have now. with an arm interlocked with the duke meropide’s, all eyes were bound to set upon you both. wriothesley could see the amusement in neuvillette’s expression; the same goes for the hint of amusement in queen furina’s eyes as she spots them in the crowd. wriothesley slowly guides you towards the dance floor, just in time for another dance to begin. gracefully, you took his hand as you step onto the dance floor with him. a familiar song started to play, one that you remember memorizing as dance class was mandatory for being a debutante in society.

“are you bothered?” he then asks in a whisper as he twirls you around. “whatever for?” you ask him back. “the staring. i could feel all of them looking at us right now, honestly,” he chuckles lowly. “hm, i’m trying not to mind it that much. but i suppose you’re probably enjoying all of this attention now, aren’t you?” a simple tease on your part, and wriothesley smiled at that. “my, are we on casual terms now?”

“chemistry should be a major factor that we should have in this plan, yes? so we might as well start by being more casual with one another.”

“indeed. glad to know that you’re quick to pick up on things.” he says. “of course i am. what do you take me for, duke meropide?” you asked him, a slight pout forming on your lips. and wriothesley smiled at that again before replying. “nothing offensive, that i can assure you.”

“i’m delighted to know that the ever-so-famous duke of meropide doesn’t harbor any sour feelings towards me then.”

it was a bit suffocating, all of the staring. yet at the same time, you understood why they’re staring in the first place. wriothesley, the current duke of meropide, is suddenly on the dance floor with a young woman. and he seems to be quite interested in her as well. people would assume you’re the reason why the duke has rejected so many marriage offers up until now—because he already had you in the first place.

the other unwanted attention you’d get from that assumption alone was enough to make you distracted to the point where you almost stepped on wriothesley’s foot. “i—my apologies, duke.” you stammered. “it’s alright. just look at me,” he says. you scrunched your eyebrows at him in confusion. “pardon?”

“just look at me; don’t focus on anyone else. it will help ease your mind.”

with hesitance, you followed what he said and locked your eyes with his. the duke’s eyes were a fine shade of grey. a unique color, if you do say so yourself. and surely he was correct. shifting your focus and thoughts to him did ease you from all of the other eyes that are locked onto both of your figures that’s moving along with the music.

time felt like it had stopped, as it also felt like you were the only ones present in the room.

to wriothesley’s surprise, the night passed by faster when he was with you. because before he knew it, he was already accompanying you back to your carriage. a lot of things had happened in the span of just a few hours. but wriothesley does not regret a single second of it, now that he recalls everything again. he wonders why—was it because he encountered you in the garden tonight?

maybe. that’s where it all started anyway.

he quickly snapped out of his trail of thoughts as he heard you speak. “i suppose i’ll see you soon then?” you asked him. “mhm, i suppose so. safe travels, m’lady.” he bids you his farewell by gently grabbing ahold of your hand and pressing a soft kiss onto your knuckle, refusing to break his eye contact with you as the footman closed your carriage’s door.

“safe travels as well, my duke.”

— — — — — — — —

word spread fast about you and the duke of meropide. your mother was shocked at the news—yet happy that you finally became “independent on finding your match” as per her words. you had no specific agenda for the day, so, as you usually do whenever you are free, you decided to visit the modiste—where your good friend chiori resides.

the sound of the bell chiming as the door opened made chiori perk up to see who would possibly need help making a new dress. but when her eyes met yours, she just knew you weren’t here to ask for a new dress. “i heard about the commotion last night.” she says, setting down a cup of tea for you as she takes a sip from her own cup, waiting for your response. “commotion is a vulgar term for it, chiori. i prefer to call it a memorable event.”

“i suppose it’s memorable for you to enter with your arm wrapped around the duke meropide just like that. how did it even happen? i vividly recall you telling me that you had no intention of marriage.”

“it’s… a long story,” you sighed, taking a sip from your own cup of tea. “oh? are you implying that there’s more to this than meets the eye, then?”

“i guess you could say that.”

“well, then tell me all about it.”

“i… i can't. my apologies, chiori.” it's not like you didn't trust her. in fact, there are more secrets that are held within this fine modiste’s place than one could ever imagine. but it was a silent and automatic agreement between you and the duke that no one must know of your plan. (although you already hinted to chiori that there's more to it than meets the eye.) besides, chiori is a smart woman who has known you before she could even have her place built.

she doesn't need to be a genius to find out that there's something up. she'll pick up on it sooner or later.

“it's alright. there’s no need to feel pressure to tell me now, but do promise me one thing: you're not doing anything against the law, right?”

you couldn't help but burst out in laughter at her question. “chiori! do you take me as a criminal? of course, i’m not!” you replied, laughing in a fit of giggles in between your words. “thank goodness. well, how was i supposed to know? you almost never stop by so we rarely have the chance to catch up. every bit of news i hear from you is usually from the other ladies who sometimes talk about you.”

“don’t worry, my friend. i’ll stop by more often from now on, but seriously, are you still eavesdropping on your customers? i thought we were past that.”

“it isn't my fault some of them whisper way too loudly for my liking,” chiori scoffs.

as you two have a few more conversations, it is about time for you to take your leave, as the time has reached for the hour when chiori would usually have customers. “it was truly a pleasure to catch up with you, chiori.” you said as she escorted you to the door. “a pleasure indeed. do drop by more often, alright? it can get quite lonely here, you know.” a giggle leaves your lips at her response. “will do. i believe i might need a new dress soon for the upcoming firestone ball?” you say and you notice how chiori’s had some sort of sparkle at your mention of needing a new dress. she had always loved making dresses for you.

“is that so? i promise to suggest some designs that you might like once you return.”

— — — — — — — —

the fountain of lucine was a famous spot for a walk in the park type of day. every day, you’d see different individuals make their wish upon the fountain. whether that is a prosperous marriage, being blessed with a beloved child, or even gaining wealth, everyone wishes for all sorts of desires towards the fountain. but you never found yourself doing the same. it’s most probably because you've already been content with your life up until now. you never had any struggles when it came to growing up.

but again, that is up until now.

you took a step further towards the fountain, silently stating your wish and threw the coin into the fountain’s small pool of water. “penny for your wish?” you heard someone say beside you. quickly turning your head to the direction of the voice, you were surprised to see the duke there. “duke meropide! i—i didn’t expect that you were going to be here today.”

“i decided to go out for a stroll; the weather is quite nice today, is it not?”

“ah, yes, i suppose it is,” you replied, looking around. the weather was indeed nice today. perfect for a quick stroll around the area. “would you mind taking a stroll with me today? it would be a shame to waste this fine weather talking in the same spot.” he says, offering his arm for you to take. “i’d be delighted to.” your arm gets hooked on his.

“how are you faring lately? it has been quite a while since our last meeting,” wriothesley starts. he personally prefers his attempt at small talk today to his attempt at small talk the night he met you. it has been a few days since the ball held by the house of hearth. and within those few days, you haven’t spoken to the duke since. though, your house suddenly has suitors calling for you during your calling hour. all hopeful to gain your interest in them instead of the duke.

(however, you all shut them down politely. you found yourself repeating your apologies to the lords that have called upon you during those times.)

“i’ve been well. certainly, the stunt that we pulled during the ball held in the house of hearth did not go unnoticed. my social energy has been drained because of the suitors who called me.” a sigh leaves your lips. “oh? i apologize for that then. i hope that your social energy isn't at it’s lowest right now,” he chuckles. you gave him a playful glare at his remark. “are you making fun of my previous predicament, duke?”

“oh, heavens no. my apologies, did that offend you?” he says, holding back a smile at his words. he was definitely not apologetic. “you’re not that sorry for it, aren’t you?”

“perchance.”

“you cannot just say perchance!”

a laugh erupts from wriothesley at your response. it was the first time you heard him laugh like that. and in the public eye, you two would seem like a joyful couple spending some quality time walking around the fountain of lucine as a pastime. well, that was technically the goal. to show the public that you and the duke of meropide are madly in love with one another. what could possibly go wrong?

— — — — — — — —

by the time the firestone ball had taken place (which is nearly just a week after the ball from the house of hearth), you and the duke were on the dance floor once again.

“i believe we have yet to discuss our other terms and agreement for our plan, your grace.” you said, following his lead in the waltz. “ah, you’re right. well then, why don’t you start? ladies first.” he says. “i was hoping that you’d have some ideas on what terms we should have; after all, this was your idea, if i may remind you.”

you continue speaking as wriothesley continues to lead you through the dance. “i am starting to be convinced that this will be more than just a simple game of pretend just so we could fool the members of society, or my mother, or the women you have wanted to get away from every time you step foot in public. a life is at stake here, your grace, my life, and i just simply cannot have this go wrong. so if you are not in agreement with that, then you should tell me now.” the duke never broke his eye contact with you as you spoke.

“i shall agree… on one condition.”

“your grace, i believe that you do not understa—”

“you must call me wriothesley.”

there’s only one word to describe you at the moment: speechless. and wriothesley takes your silence as a chance to continue his words. “if we are truly to be courting, and if we are truly to prove that this is a match like no other, then you should call me by my name. after all, weren’t you the one who suggested that we should be more... casual with one another?”

he was right, and he had yet again another one hell of a good point. you mentally sighed, “very well then… wriothesley.” a laugh dares to escape your throat but this does not go unnoticed by the man who has his hand held in his at the moment. “is there something funny about my name?” he asks you, raising an eyebrow at your reaction. “no, no. it is a perfectly fine name. it is also quite unique, if i may add.” you replied, calming yourself down. laughing loudly while you’re in the middle of the dance floor would raise questions, after all.

“oh, perfectly fine? very well then… (name).” wriothesley’s voice seemed to have lowered itself an octave lower as he said your name with a slight rasp. your eyes looked away from his as you shifted your gaze to his collar instead. both of you went silent, yet you were still moving to the rhythm of the music.

wriothesley’s hand, that was supposedly at your waist, trailed upwards. just below the nape of your neck and also before your spine starts. your breath hitched at the contact of his cold finger tips there.

“i do hope that this plan will be successful.” you said, gaining your composure.

“have faith in us.”

— — — — — — — —

meetings with the duke of meropide became more frequent than you expected. whether that may be a coincidental meeting or a planned one—no one could really pinpoint it, much to their dismay.

it started off with a simple meal. then another walk. then an official invitation to accompany him to a ball or two. or three; in fact, he has invited you for a lot of them now. you haven’t thought much about the future as of late, always focusing on the present, where you’re definitely by wriothesley’s side. there was never a dull moment with the man. it was always entertaining to be with him. whenever another man (a man whose appeal is not to take interest in a sense) would approach you, wriothesley would pull some sort of stunt that’s connected to his “wild jealousy” of some sort. it’s a bit hard to hold back a laugh whenever this happens. there are times when he would talk to you about the other nobles present in the party and how he’s acquainted with them, and you’d admire the fact that he has many connections (something that a duke like him should have; he’s doing well in his duties, you’d note).

there are also times when you two will find yourselves alone, secluding yourselves from the crowd. these were, personally, your favorites. with the moonlight shining brightly upon you both once again, you’d always be reminded of the night you met. at these moments, this is when you and the duke would share… more personal things with one another. things that neither of you had expected to share with anyone else. like how he avoids marriage because of the huge responsibility that comes with it. or like how you doubt that others, especially men (minus the duke), would understand your struggles as a woman in this society.

wriothesley might have a lot of connections, but he was just the same as you. both of you kept your circle quite small (and by small, you both have only one person you truly trust to confide in). but even if you both wouldn’t admit it out loud, trust had also bloomed between the two of you.

(yet is trust the only thing that has actually bloomed?)

tonight, you found yourselves in yet another garden. “have you ever heard of why a flower wilts, wriothesley?” you decided to start this time. “hm? i suppose it’s because nothing good actually lasts long in life.”

“how… pessimistic of you to say.” you sweatdropped at his response. he chuckles yet again, you noticed that he always chuckles apologetically while looking away before he actually says his apologies. a habit of his, perhaps. “my apologies; i must repeat myself. the less a person sees of me, the happier their life is.”

“why so? i enjoy your company quite well.”

“oh? and are you sure those words aren’t forced because you’re stuck with me with this little ruse we have ongoing?” he asks back. these exchanges became frequent. one would ask a question, and the other would ask another in return. “i’m being quite honest, wriothesley. i really do enjoy your company quite well.”

“the feeling is likewise, (name).” there’s something satisfying about how your name rolls off of his tongue. he pronounces it the same as everyone else does yet how does it feel different when he says it? it’s baffling, that’s one thing for sure. “is it awful that i’m actually quite enjoying this?”

“you mean my wild jealousy?” he asks, playfully offended.

“fooling society.” you corrected. “there are some in the crowd who secretly know everything about everyone. yet we have them utterly convinced that we are mad for one another.”

“we are awfully clever then.” he says in amusement. “indeed we are.” you chuckled at his reply.

if there’s one thing you would always notice between the two of you, it would always be how you were glued to one another. like there’s some magnetic pull that automatically drags the other to their side.

this moment is no different because you could feel his knuckles grazing against yours ever so lightly. it starts with the hook of your pinkies, then slowly turns into you grabbing a hold of his other fingers. wriothesley could feel his heart beating fast at the contact. he glances at you, admiring your features underneath the moonlight once again. you glance at him as well. was he already this close to you when you started walking in this garden? because you swear your faces are inching even closer to each other. wriothesley’s other hand gently grabs your nape, guiding you as he gently pulls you in for a kiss.

his lips were soft against yours, something you didn’t expect from him. he kisses you like you were delicate (to which you were, delicate to him, at least), eyes closing themselves as he enjoys the sensation of your lips against his. you kiss him back in the same way, not really knowing what to do next—but you kiss him back. that’s all that matters. his lips leave yours as wriothesley latches his lips onto your neck, continuing the light kisses against it.

you let out a gasp at the contact as you lean your head back so you can give him more access. he intertwined his other hand with yours; it was quite scandalous. having a moment like this on someone else’s property. you extracted him from your neck, pulling him in for another kiss. this time it was a bit more rough—desperate, even.

well, that was until he pulled away from you abruptly. you looked at him in a daze yet you were confused. “we must return; we’ve been out long enough,” he says, letting go of your hand in the process as he fixes himself. he tries to catch his breath, processing what has just happened. did he really just kiss you? he supposes (or, in other terms, hopes) that it’s normal. ultimately, this should’ve been part of your agreement in the first place, right?

“i… you’re right. my mother could be looking for me any moment now.” what could possibly go wrong, you ask? well, apparently, many things could go wrong.

but if there’s one thing that got stitched into your mind tonight, it’s only one thing:

the duke of meropide is one good kisser.

however, what will become of your relationship now?

— — — — — — — —

you found yourself going to chiori again. the familiar sound of the bell chiming against the door notified chiori of someone entering her place. and once she saw you, she could just feel the distress radiating off of your body.

“what happened this time? i haven’t heard any good news about you two from last night’s party.” she says, pouring you a cup of tea. “good news? more like insane occurrences,” you sighed, watching the tea leave the teapot as it transfers onto your teacup. “ insane occurrences? what happened to ‘memorable event’?” she asked, confused with your choice of words.

you let out another sigh, finally revealing everything to chiori. luckily, today was her day off. with another ball just held last night, she would get at least a day or two of good rest before she opens up again. chiori takes in every detail of your story well, surprised that this is what you’ve been up to.

as soon as you were done talking, you decided to take a sip of your tea. “so you’re worried that you almost slept with the duke of meropide?” chiori states. and you choked on your drink once you heard her. “you didn’t have to word it like that! have some decency!” you exclaimed, embarrassment surging through you.

“i don’t get it, though. what are you so worried about? it’s almost as if… wait.” she pauses.

“it’s almost as if what, chiori?”

“do you love him?”

“huh? love who?”

“don’t play dumb with me, (name). do you or do you not love the duke of meropide?”

this time, it was your turn to pause. do you? well, certainly, he is nice company. and he treats you well despite neither of you having the wish to marry each other. he is also a good kisser (something that you don’t really feel like counting but it’s still a fact). recalling everything that has happened now, the only things that come into mind are the things you’ve noticed about wriothesley. how his eyes are the most remarkable shade of grey, his scar below his right eye. the feeling of the callouses on his hands as you held them on the dance floor.

it can’t be. there’s just no way. he’s a duke of all people—he’s out of your league in so many ways. he’s too far for you to reach. and besides, this is all just a game of pretend, is it not? surely that kiss would’ve meant nothing to him.

fuck.

“i do.” you replied to her in a whisper

“i’m glad that you’re not dense.” chiori says, flicking your forehead. you yelped in pain at the contact.

yes, you do love the duke of meropide.

and you stand by that.

meanwhile, on the other side of the coin, wriothesley had a crisis himself. “you’re quite lucky today, to ask for my presence while queen furina is occupied with duke arlecchino with her. so what assistance can i offer for you today, wriothesley?” neuvillette states, pulling his chair so he could take a seat before the man in front of him. wriothesley leans back on his seat, an elbow propped on top of the chair’s arm rest as his index finger is rested upon his lips.

wriothesley sighs. before spilling everything to neuvillette. his friend’s expression grew more amused as he continued on with the story, finding every detail unexpected for a man like his friend. “i see. so that’s how it is. well, let me ask you a simple question then, my friend.”

“shoot.”

“do you love her?”

wriothesley pauses. neuvillette’s questions echo repeatedly in his mind. do i love her? he then asks himself. he was not stupid. wriothesley did not need to become some sort of genius to find the answer to that question—because the answer is no. he doesn’t love you. yes, he has grown to trust you with things he would never even dare tell anyone else. but he’s scared. wriothesley is scared because he has never thought of commitment in this way before. romance was just a frivolous belief to him, after all. so surely, this would all just mean nothing.

he ponders about it for a few more moments. he’s too scarred—too damaged—to be loved by someone like you. he feels undeserving of it. he knows there’s another man out there who could be the man you want to be. someone who will make you happier than he does. someone who is willing to commit himself to you. someone who could love you with nothing holding him back.

“i don’t.” wriothesley firmly says.

no, wriothesley cannot be in love with you.

(neuvillette gives his friend a sigh as his friend takes his leave. he returns back to the room where queen furina is currently spending time with duke arlecchino. the duke had a habit of bringing the queen sweets from their travels abroad. the queen has excitement written all over her eyes as she makes eye contact with the pastries set in front of her.)

— — — — — — — —

it wasn’t hard to put two and two together to realize that wriothesley has been avoiding you.

it has been a few months since you decided to start your ruse. although he still accompanies you, once it’s quite crowded, he will deliberately avoid your presence like a plague, and you have no idea why. you first thought that may be he was just feeling unwell but it has occurred more frequent now and it just stings, really. it stings because you thought that you two had formed quite the bond over the past few months.

“wriothesley, is something wrong? you know you could always talk to me, right?” you asked him, finally cornering him as he had successfully avoided you for the past two hours ever since the party started. “it’s nothing of your concern,” was all he said before leaving you again. but that answer wasn’t enough—hell, it wasn’t even a proper answer for you. so you decided to follow him.

“where are you going?” you asked him. speeding your pace up to catch up to him. wriothesley doesn’t answer and just continues on walking. he ends up going into a secluded room, not even bothering to close the door. you followed him in and shut the door behind you as you faced him. he had his back facing you as you heard him take a deep breath. “wriothesley, what’s wrong? and don’t even dare say that it’s none of my concern because it is.”

wriothesley could feel himself going mad. he can’t do this tonight. what even caused him to behave this way?

ah, he remembers. it was that unbearable sight of you interacting with marquess lyney. he should’ve been happy that you finally seem interested in someone else because all you two have to do now is plan how you should end things. but that thought made wriothesley realize two things. one, he cannot bear the sight of you with another man (but why? it’s not like you’re actually his in the first place). and two, he doesn’t want things to end between the both of you. whether it's a ruse that feels too real for his own liking or whatnot, he doesn’t want to lose you in his life.

he loosens the buttons on his top so that he can breathe more properly. you got closer to him, but only if you knew that was a dangerous move on your part. you grabbed his arm in hopes of getting a view of wriothesley’s expression at the moment.

he then faces you, his eyes searching for something in yours but you just can’t find out what. it was silent; neither of you dared to speak a word. and wriothesley finds himself pulling you for a kiss. it was a bit rough how his lips crashed against yours. he then pulls away, his eyes widening at what he just did. “i… my most sincere apologies.”

and he leaves. just like that.

the familiar door to the modiste is presented at you as you knocked. it was late at night. the party you attended earlier with wriothesley was long over. but you knew your dear friend would still be up even at this late hour.

“(name)? what brings you here at this hour?” chiori asks, opening the door wider so you could enter.

“i need a goddamn drink.” you said.

— — — — — — — —

“so you’re telling me that he just… kissed you again, and then he left the party? just like that?” chiori repeats. you take another shot of the alcohol chiori provided for the both of you. “hey, calm down. this one is actually pretty strong, you idiot.” chiori warns you.

you lean back, slamming the shot glass against the table. “just like that, chiori. like what is wrong with him? is he perhaps sick in the head?”

“i honestly don’t know if i should be at least grateful that he apologized.” she says, taking a shot as well. you glare at her remark and she raises her hands in return. you sighed this time, “are men always this… complicated?”

“hm, i don’t think so. maybe it’s just the duke.”

“you’re not helping!”

“you never said you wanted help in the first place.”

— — — — — — — —

seven days.

seven days since you last spoke to wriothesley. seven days since you last heard of him. it has been seven days yet he hasn’t made any attempts to contact you since.

just what was up with him? he was fine before. did you do something wrong? did you accidentally say something that was offensive to him? everything has changed now. wriothesley is treating you like he treated you before he actually met you—cold.

your mother has decided to throw a ball this time—something about her not wanting to fall behind the other mothers. you complied, having to accept that society is nothing but competition against one another. and on the day of the ball, you found yourself lonely. if only chiori wasn’t busy with her other orders, then maybe this night would’ve been more entertaining.

wriothesley has yet to make his appearance (or perhaps he is already here yet he has decided to avoid you again). but you have decided on one thing tonight: you will talk things out with that stubborn man no matter what it takes. because you cannot just bear to stand idly by when wriothesley could be struggling alone. you once heard from your mother that love makes you do the craziest things and tonight was the night you realized that she was right. but isn’t it worth it if it’s all in the name of love?

the outdoor area of your home was also used for the ball, and decorations are displayed here and there to make the area look more eyecatching. to your family’s dismay, it has begun to rain. making all of the guests head inside to continue the festivities. but as you made your way to follow the crowd, you spotted someone too familiar—it was the man you’ve been looking for all evening, wriothesley.

looking around his surroundings, wriothesley spots you getting drenched in the rain. his eyes widen as he quickly makes his way towards you, removing his coat to drape it over you instead. “are you insane? you’re getting drenched!” he exclaims in worry. you scoff in return, pushing yourself away from his coat and allowing yourself to get wet by the rain.

“am i insane? i should be the one asking you that!” you said, glaring at him. “how… how could you? do you know how worried i have been because of you? you avoided me, then kissed me, then avoided me even more! i had no idea if you were okay because you didn’t even dare speak with me while i was here stuck waiting for you. why? because i didn’t want to pressure you into telling me what’s wrong!”

wriothesley is at a loss for words at your outburst. he just stares at you in return, guilt written all over him. he deserved your anger. but he didn’t mean for things to go this far, yet he also didn’t know how to handle things. you continued speaking, “wriothesley, i have no idea what’s clouding over your heart but i do know one thing: you musn’t keep it to yourself.”

“(name)...” he softly says—hesitantly, even. like he’s scared to even say your name in the first place. you take a step forward, both of your hands reaching out to hold his face. your touch was gentle on his skin, making sure you weren't making him uncomfortable. “tell me what’s wrong, wriothesley. i’ll listen.”

and tell you, he does. he voice shakes at first yet he begins to steady it as he unravels to you everything that has been bothering him up until now. his jealousy, his inner turmoil, and his insecurities. and you listen to him, understanding every word that escapes his lips as your hand never leaves his face, your fingers gently brushing over his scar below his right eye. and once he’s finished, you choose your next words carefully.

“there’s something that i realized in life that i believe you should know. just because something is not perfect does not make it any less worthy of love. you made yourself believe otherwise. you made yourself believe that you had to be without fault just so you could be loved but you’re wrong, wriothesley. should you need any proof of the matter, then look just here.” you weakly laugh at the last sentence, and wriothesley just stares at you. you couldn’t find out what’s going on in his head but you know that he’s listening.

your voice shakes as you continue. “i am tired of this sick game of pretending. i am tired of pretending—of acting as if i do not love you, because i do. i love you more than you could ever imagine. every scar, every flaw, every imperfection—i love all of you. you may think you’re too damaged or too scarred to allow yourself of happiness but you can choose differently, wriothesley. you can choose to love me as much as i love you. that should not be up to anyone else—that cannot be up to anyone else.”

“it can only be up to you.”

he was still silent as you slowly let go of his face but wriothesley was quick to catch them. he grabs ahold of your hands, and with his slight shaking, he takes a deep breath. he realizes something when you profess your love for him. he puts two things together: commitment and you. and the conclusion he draws from that is that he doesn’t mind commitment, as long as he’s committing himself to you. that’s how much of an impact you have on him. yes, he’s scared. and yes, this might not go like he hopes it will. but that doesn’t matter to him because he knows it will all be worth it for you. wriothesley is a coward when it comes to love and the like—that, he admits. but he isn’t allowing himself to be a coward for the rest of his life. why deprive himself of the serene type of happiness that he could only achieve when he has you by his side?

he kept his eyes on the hands he’s holding now as he began to speak. “i.. i do not wish to be alone. i know that now. but what i do not know is how to be the man you wish for me to be—the man you truly deserve. i do not know how to do any of this, but i do know another thing: i love you too. i love you. most ardently.” he then meets your eyes as he notices one thing in them. love.

“you stay. you stay and we’ll get through this. together. that’s where we’ll start. we have all the time in the world.”

“may i… kiss you?” he hesitates to ask. but you give him a nod of approval before you’re met with the familiar pleasure of his lips on yours. he relishes every second of the kiss, taking this as a chance to ground himself into reality—refusing to believe that this is some sick dream that his mind decided to play in his head. a hand slithers its way to the nape of his neck and wriothesley groans at the feeling as his hand grabs your waist tighter. wriothesley thanked his lucky stars for the night he met you because this wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for them.

love at first sight was a frivolous belief for a man like wriothesley.

but he knew otherwise the moment he laid his eyes upon you that night in the garden.

#( writings )#astronetwrk #genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact #genshin imagines #wriothesley x reader #wriothesley #x reader

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hangeswif3 · 1 year ago

Text

Somewhere safe

Pairing: Bonten!Rindou x Pregnant!reader

Warning: blood, mentions of pregnancy, cursing.

Summary: they needed a place to stay and just happens that Rindou knows someone who could help them.

Note: English isn’t my first language so be nice. I liked a lot how this turned out so maybe I could keep writing about Rindou’s little family. Anyways, I hope u like it and thanks for reading <3

“We need to go somewhere safe” said sanzu. “Mikey needs to rest”

They had been running from the police for a while now. Mike had recent stitches on his abdomen and they had been carrying him for about an hour or so. The 4 men were exhausted and they all knew Mikey couldn’t make it any longer by himself. They needed to rest.

“What the fuck are we supposed to do now?” Sanzu spoke again. Recharging his gun, almost preparing himself to fight a lost battle.

They could hear the police cars around them, while they were currently hidden in a dark alley, all of them panting and tired.

Ran looked at Rindou with question in his eyes. They were thinking the same thing. They needed a safe place to rest and wait for the police to go away. They were in Roppongi and just happened that someone close to the brothers lived close by.

Rindou was hesitant. Making eye contact with his brother who could almost read his mind. He couldn’t believe he was even considering going to the only person who never wanted to get involved in this.

“Fuck… fine” he said while putting his gun in his belt. “Follow me.”

Ran already knew the way but he left his brother walk alone for now. He wasn’t happy about this either.

“Where the fuck are we going?” Asked sanzu, who was in the back, holding onto an almost passed out Mikey. No one responded to him, instead they just kept walking in between apartments and houses.

It was a nice neighborhood. Without counting the fact that they were covered in blood and all disheveled, it could almost look like they were taking a walk tonight. It was dark though, the street light almost didn’t work and besides the sounds of sirens, it was completely quiet. They could only hear their footsteps.

They arrived to a nice house with a nice garden and a nice car parked outside. The 4 men stood at the front porch and Rindou looked at his brother, Ran only nodded once, trying to make him feel more confident.

Sanzu was the only one who didn’t know what was happening, since Mikey was too out of it to even notice.

“Hurry up and open, who the hell lives here anyway?” Said the pink-haired man, clearly frustrated to not know.

“Shut the fuck up and behave.” Responded Ran.

Rindou ringed the bell once, while trying to look decent by fixing his hair a little.

A moment passed before the front light turned on and they could hear someone managing to open the door.

It was 2:30 a.m. so you were obviously sleeping before someone knocked at your door. You opened the door, and everyone stared at you. You were wearing shorts and a white t shirt, your hair looked a little crazy since you had just gotten out of bed.

Rindou and Ran had seen you like this before. But sanzu couldn’t help but stare. He had never seen you before in his life. You were beautiful, your hair in a messy bun and strands of it adorning your face, your pretty freckles and your rosy lips. You were just perfect. But what surprised him the most was when he looked down at your belly. You were pregnant. But who the hell were you?

“What the actual fu-“ he started, but you interrupted him.

“You’re bleeding” was the only thing you said, walking towards Rindou and examining his arm.

They were all so surprised and nervous to see you that they almost forgot why they were there.

“It’s not mine. I’m fine, okay?” He said looking for your eyes, putting his hand on your cheek.

“Hey princess” said Ran. You smiled at him, and couldn’t help but look at Sanzu and the man he was holding. He looked bad. “We might need your help.”

“I’ll explain everything” said Rindou.

You nodded and entered the house with everyone following you.

“Make yourselves at home, and I’m sorry for the mess. I fell asleep while baby proofing the house.” You said, while taking the tools away, so they all could sit and relax.

Sanzu layed Mikey down on the couch and made sure he was still okay. His stitches were miraculously still okay and he was still breathing. But he couldn’t help but stare at you. There was certain tension in the room.

“Oi, shithead, stop staring or I’ll take your eyes out” suddenly said Rindou, walking towards you, placing a hand on your lower back and the other on your belly.

Ran laughed and you only smiled, handing out a hand for Sanzu to shake.

“Y/n L/n. Nice to meet you.” You said.

Sanzu was so surprised that he couldn’t help but shake your hand too.

“Sanzu Haruchiyo.” Was all he said.

“Now that we all know each other, would you all like some tea?” Ran accepted your offer and you went to the kitchen, followed by Rindou.

After you were gone, Sanzu finally could talk.

“What the actual fuck? Rindou? With her? And- and- a baby?” He blurted out all at once.

“Yup” was all that Ran said, laughing at him.

“Huh, who would’ve thought that asshole could pull someone like that” he said resting his head on the back of the couch, trying to make sense of everything he just witnessed.

In the kitchen, you were trying to make some tea, feeling Rindou’s presence at the counter. He still couldn’t speak.

“Are you okay?” You asked him.

“I’m sorry.” Was all he said.

You walked towards him and put a hand on his cheek, looking at him in the eye.

“It’s okay” you responded, pressing your forehead against his.

“No it’s not, I don’t wanna put you in danger.”

“You can take care of us, I know you can.” You tried to calm him down.

“We just need a place to stay for the night, I promise I will never bring someone else here.”

“This is your home too, we will be okay, you can stay and they can stay too. I can take care of myself, you know.”

Rindou kissed you, it was a sweet kiss.

“How’s our babygirl doing?” He said, caressing your belly.

“She’s a pain in the ass, just like her father” you said laughing. “Now let’s go back before that friend of yours loses his mind.”

“Too late for that” said Rindou.

“So, miss L/n. Care to explain how you know our dear Rin rin?” Asked Sanzu with a smile.

“Shut the fuck up, you psycho” snapped Rindou.

“Don’t be so rude, Rin rin” you said, mocking the nickname. “Well, mister Sanzu, we actually meet at an illegal car race, he saved me from getting robbed.” You replied laughing.

“Interesting woman.” Sanzu said.

It was true though. Your friend had dragged you to a race where a “friend” was going to participate. You looked so innocent but at the same time so relaxed that Rindou couldn’t help but stare at you. One thing led to another and he ended up saving your purse from being stolen. And now you were here, pregnant with his baby.

“And how far along are you, may I ask?” He continued.

“23 weeks, actually. Thanks for asking.” You responded.

“I can’t believe our little Rindou here is gonna be a father.”

“Okay, enough with the questions.” Rindou couldn’t help but interrupt. “Y/n, to our room.” He said without looking at you.

You looked at him, raising your eyebrow. He noticed this.

“Please.” Was all he said.

You knew he wasn’t happy so you decided to obey.

“Gentlemen.” You said, walking to your room.

“Goodnight dear.” Said Ran.

Once you were gone, Rindou walked towards Sanzu.

“Okay now you little shit, we’re gonna stay here for tonight. Only tonight. When we’re gone, you’re gonna forget this place. You’re gonna forget she even exists, she’s won’t ever get involved with you or any of this.” He said. “Understood?”

“Now now, Haitani.” Said Sanzu, raising his hands, with a smug smile on his face. “Calm down. I won’t do nothing to her, I like her actually.”

“If you ever lay a hand on her, we will kill you.” Now spoke Ran.

Sanzu didn’t say another word, just smiled and nodded.

Rindou walked to your room. Like hell he was gonna let you sleep alone with that psychopath in his house. You were already asleep. The pregnancy made you extremely sleepy sometimes and it was past your bedtime.

Rindou layed down next to you and fell asleep with a hand on your belly.

The 4 men left first time in the morning.

“Sleep well darling, I’ll be back later today.” Rindou whispered to you, since you were still half asleep. “I love you.”

“Love you too.” You said when he left.

“Congratulations.” Said Sanzu when they were walking towards their cars.

“What?” Asked Rindou, unsure on what he was talking about.

“For your baby, congratulations.” He replied, in a more serious tone. “I didn’t say that before.”

“Thank you.” Was all Rindou could say. He knew Sanzu was never going to say something about you to anyone.

If anything, Sanzu was loyal. And he knew how much you meant to Rindou. And who knows? Maybe your baby could actually grow up with a family.

#tokrev rindou #rindou headcanons #rindou x you #tr rindou #bonten rindou #rindou x reader #tokyo revengers rindou #rindou haitani #rindou x y/n #haitani brothers #ran haitani #haitani rindou x reader #haitani x reader #haitani rindou imagines #haitani rindou headcanons #tokyo revengers #bonten

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muletia · 2 months ago

Note

Jsiis the pocket spouse au 🥴 Can you imagine being put into a transport pod to be sent to the lucky miner sector that meet quota today. All wrapped up in a little bow too add to your cute aesthetic. You can hear commotion and hoards of voices signaling your arrival. And when your pod opens you can see billions of bright optics trying to catch a glimpse of you, and the thunderous coos and squeals when they do. Some try to reach in to pet your hair, only to be swat away by a pink femme who quickly took charge of the crowd. Making your introduction with your poly more bearable

And Shockwave being the one that ends up pregnant is new level of comedy 🤣 him informing Megatron he has confirmed a union with a human can create a sparkling. But it's the Cybertronian that has to carry and he knows because his currently pregnant and it's Y/n's. And Megatron is too concern about whether or not he should be the one that Shockwave transfer the sparkling to too punish Shockwave for his research ethics. Meanwhile if Optimus catch wind of these he'd be volunteering in a heart- ah sparkbeat 🤣

oh to be elita's pocket spouse sigh

I really like this idea! I think Elita would take on the temporary role of caretaker for all the humans assigned to the miners because she was the first in the entire sector to be given a human (btw the life of such a human would be hell for the first few weeks, with constant attempts at picking them up, touching, even stealing. You fall asleep in Elita’s berth, only to wake up with someone else. And I don’t think Elita would be keen on sharing her pocket spouse, as she worked so hard to earn you) She knows how to properly handle organics without hurting or scaring them. Protects them from the other curious and impatient miners and provides instructions on how to properly form a relationship with a pocket spouse.

And if you happen to end up with Orion and D-16, Elita will constantly have to smack them on their servos to keep them in line, because she hasn’t even finished reciting the protocol yet, and Orion is already trying to grab you and never let go. You’re too adorable for your own good — he just can’t help himself!

Damn, this blog has come a long way from "would you still love me if I was a worm" with Optimus to sparked-up Shockwave in a friends-with-benefits dynamic. I’m having a great time, and I hope y'all are too

Nah, Shockwave is definitely getting called into Megatron’s 'office' for being sparked up. They had agreed on exploring possibilities and methods, not actually going through with the task. And while Megs is furious (and won’t bother to hide it), deep down he’s also jealous, because it was supposed to be him! He was supposed to be the carrier, for Primus’s sake. And now you get grounded from further meetups with your bestie-with-benefits :(

Now imagine this: when the Autobots rescue you, you casually summarize everything that happened on the Nemesis, casually dropping the fact that, yes, humans and Cybertronians are compatible enough to have a kid together. And, well, there’s already one on the way. Ratchet’s face when you inform him that the first sparkling’s carrier is none other than Shockwave? Absolutely priceless

You get grounded again, this time from leaving the base. Permanently. Forever. Your humanussy is officially classified as too dangerous to roam freely

At least it gives Optimus plenty of time to question you in excruciating detail about how this all happened... Definitely not because he’d love to be sparked up by you himself. DEFINITELY not...

#be silly #transformers x reader #elita x reader #shockwave x reader #optimus x reader #megatron x reader #pocket spouse au

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oncasette · 5 months ago

Note

elfsong tavern — "why are you mad?" "i'm not mad, i just think you can choose better people to kiss." with our baby astarion ᰔ

𝗜 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗 𝗡𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗕𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗪𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡

spawn!astarion x fem!reader, very brief gale x fem!reader

summary: 1.2k

“I’m not angry,” he bites before his voice falls to a whisper. “I just think you have better options when it comes to choosing who to celebrate your heroic victory with, is all.”

You laugh. You honest to gods laugh and Astarion can’t fight the heat trailing up to the tips of his ears. “What?”

or the one where astarion gets a little jealous at the tiefling party.

a/n: i know this was supposed to be a blurb but i got a tad carried away. oops?

masterlist | join the sleepover!

Ugh, Gale.

Astarion honestly shouldn’t care, shouldn’t let this bother him to the degree at which it is. Watching the wizard schmooze you all evening should be the least of his worries, but his eyes ache under the force he’d used to roll them to the back of his head and his scowl is starting to become permanently etched into his face. He doesn’t care, he decides. Tells himself it’s the vinegary wine that’s marred his evening, not the way you’re hanging onto every cheesy word no doubt dripping from the wizard’s tongue.

Because, why would he care? Why would he have any feelings about the obnoxious flirting in front of him, lesser that, why would he have any feelings about you and your obviously poor courting choices. He bites his tongue as he watches Gale’s head tilt. The sharp twinge of blood, his own, this time, sparks through his mouth when he notices the way you’ve mirrored the other man’s posture. He scoffs inwardly, but he doesn’t make the inclination of turning away from the display. Instead, he watches the way your eyes twinkle just a bit. The way you seem to be holding in the breathiest of laughs, your fingers dancing up Gale’s robes to rest on his bicep. The blasted wizard’s hand beneath your chin.

Then, for a millisecond at best, your gaze flickering over toward him. Something hot flushes through him. His jaw clenches, teeth clanging together violently, as he watches your lips meet. This shouldn’t bother him the way it does. He has no claim over you, not even sure he has the true desire to, to own you in that way. Not yet, at least. Just because you’d been kind enough to lend him your neck on some evenings, that shouldn’t send something akin to fire seething through his bones.

He sets his goblet down on the table outside of his tent, suddenly far less in the mood for whatever celebration the refugees were hosting in your camp. He yanks the rope holding his tent flap open shut behind him as he retreats into solitude. His head is reeling, jaw sore, fangs prickly with the desire to bite down on something. He lies back on his bedroll and jams his fingers against his temples in an attempt to get the dull throbbing to subside. Astarion doesn’t notice his tent being opened until he hears your voice.

“Are you alright?” you ask delicately and he nearly snarls. He bites down on it before it has a chance to really present itself to you.

“Flap’s closed for a reason, darling,” he grunts. “But, please, disturb my brooding.”

He elects not to look at you, keeping his eyes firmly shut.

“Is the party that bad?” you ask as you continue to linger at the entrance. He can almost see you now, fingers twiddling with themselves and your posture hunched. He almost wants to laugh. He would have, had it not been for the other emotion currently clogging his system.

Astarion grunts in response.

“They’re celebrating you, too, you know,” you offer, shuffling until you’ve seated yourself at the edge of his bedroll.

“Are they now?” he gasps dramatically, fluttering his eyes open just enough to shoot a look at you. His eyes are hooded, brows furrowed. You nod in response and he thinks he wants to scream when you offer him one of those saccharine grins. He used to think those were reserved for him. How wrong he was.

“Why are you so upset?” you ask. Your brow stitches together in worry. “You seemed perfectly cheerful earlier.”

“You mean when we were in the throes of slaughtering our weight in goblins?” he chirps. You nod, reaching a hand out to graze his but deciding better of it halfway there.

“What is it? Why are you angry?” you ask after a beat of silence.

“I’m not angry,” he bites before his voice falls to a whisper. “I just think you have better options when it comes to choosing who to celebrate your heroic victory with, is all.”

You laugh. You honest to gods laugh and Astarion can’t fight the heat trailing up to the tips of his ears. “What?”

He sneers. The audacity.

“Spending your evening with Gale,” he huffs, the scowl returning to his lips. “Lots of other perfectly fine companions you could’ve chosen to spend your evening with. Hells, even the refugees were bidding for your time, but no. You chose to celebrate your victory with the wizard.”

Your fingers prod the tip of his inflamed ear and he wretches back with horror. His face flushes a deeper shade of burgundy.

“You’re jealous.”

“Ha! Of Gale? Hardly.”

“You could have come and talked to me yourself.”

“And ruin the wizard’s first attempt at getting laid?”

You look down at him, something stern attempting to mask the mirth dancing around in your eyes.

“He was just being friendly,” you huff.

“You are disastrously blind, darling,” he says, slowly sitting up on the bedroll and tucking his criss-crossing his legs. “That was not a kiss amongst friends.”

“So, you are upset about the kiss,” you say, nearly sounding victorious. You lean forward until your noses are nearly touching. Asterion's ears tilt down, something a little softer glinting through his crimson gaze.

This was not how this was supposed to go. He was supposed to seduce you, entrance you, lure you into the woods for something far more carnal than this. He was losing ground here, and fast.

“I-”

Something clicks into place in his brain.

His palm comes up to cup your jaw, tilting your face up as his posture lengthens. His eyes thin out, hooding his gaze under a haze of lust. He muffles the laugh that crawls up his throat as he watches your eyes seem to glaze just a bit. Yes.

“My sweet,” he purrs. “Was this all just a ploy for my attention? Did you play with the poor wizard’s feelings because you knew I was watching?”

He can taste the hesitation on your tongue. He inhales, body alight with something else now entirely. Your breath hitches and he licks the point of his fang in anticipation.

“Hm?” he taunts.

“N-no,” you stutter out. You feel off-balance, tossed about in the sudden change in the atmosphere.

“No?” he clicks his tongue. He leans in closer. His mouth is a hair's breadth away from yours and you taste utterly divine already. Eyes closing, he brushes his lips across yours, but never fully bridges the gap.

“No.”

“Then whyever are you sitting so prettily in my tent right now? Far, far away from the wizard’s precious kisses,” he sighs. His tongue peeks out. Just a taste, he decides. Your own eyes close, hands trembling in your lap. Your only response is a sharp gasp as Astarion kisses you fully, mouth slanting over yours in a way that has rational thought escaping you completely. His brow furrows as he presses in further.

Perfect, he thinks. Perfect, perfect, perfect. He’s got you right where he wants you.

You whine into him and he has to fight the urge of biting down into your plush bottom lip. He lets you lead, to an extent. Lets you pull away when you’re ready, lets you rest your forehead against his as you catch your breath. Lets your fingers find his as you lean in for another taste.

Yes, he’s got you exactly where he wants you. Though, he’s not entirely sure his motivations for keeping you there are the same as they were when he started.

#astarion #astarion x reader #astarion ancunin #astarion ancunin x reader #baldurs gate iii #baldurs gate 3 #bg3 #r's sleepover

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alotofpockets · 4 months ago

Text

Fun facts | Grace Clinton x Reader

5k celebration prompt: “Do you ever run out of fun facts?”

Woso masterlist | Words: 1.4k

-----

A knock on your door interrupted your thoughts. For the past hour you had been debating your outfit, switching between a top every five minutes. But, the knock on your door meant that Grace was here to pick you up for your first date, so the top you were currently wearing had to be the one.

You quickly make your way to the door, not wanting to leave her waiting for too long. When you opened it, Grace’s face lit up. “You look amazing.” You feel your cheeks flushing, already by even such a small compliment. “Thank you, so do you.”

Grace moved into your apartment building a few weeks ago. The thick Liverpool accent had caught your attention instantly when you were making your way downstairs. None of the neighbours that you knew had that accent, so your curiosity was instantly triggered.

What you hadn’t expected to find around the corner was the contents of a moving box scattered over the hallway floor. “A single cardboard box can be reused 5 to 7 times before it starts to break down and lose its strength, yet here I am on my first use with my stuff scattered all across the hall.”

You couldn’t help but laugh at the unexpected commentary as you stepped around the corner. “I think you might’ve gotten the one box that has a vendetta against moving. Clearly it wasn’t cut out for this life.”

The girl looked up, startled but amused. “Ah, so it is the box’s fault, is it? Not my fault for not using proper packing rules, and putting more weight in it than you’re supposed to?”

Within ten seconds of meeting this stranger, you already loved her humour. You crouched down to help her pick up the scattered items. “I mean, who am I to argue with a moving box expert?”

She laughed at your joke, the sound of her laughter like music to your ears. Never had you imagined you’d be able to fall for a stranger so quickly. The way she so effortlessly joked around with you, made you want to get to know her better.

“Oh, I’m full of fascinating facts about boxes, and well just random facts in general. Stick around long enough, and you’ll learn loads!” She stood with her hands now filled with her items.

“Well, if this is how you introduce yourself to your new neighbours, I am definitely interested in sticking around for more. I’m y/n, by the way. Your neighbour who now knows more about moving boxes than she ever planned to.”

The girl chuckled. “Grace, the neighbour who might’ve just exposed her weirdest talent way too early.” With a smile and a shake of your head you say, “I think it’s cute.” You noticed the light flush of her cheeks before she quickly turned her face away from you. “What floor are you on? I’ll help carry your stuff up.”

Since that day the two of you have been chatting every day, whether it was face to face or over text, the two of you were connecting. It was instantly clear to the both of you that it wasn’t just a neighbourly or even just friendly connection, and you wanted to explore it more.

So, Grace asked you out on a date and now here she is standing in front of your door. All your nerves faded away as you walked down together, and she started talking.

“Did you know that dates involving outdoor activities create stronger connections?” If you had learned one thing over the past few weeks is that Grace had a fun fact on just about every topic. “I didn’t, but it makes sense if you think about it.”

She agreed, “It’s why I wanted to grab some coffee to go and walk through the park on our way to what I have planned.”

“That sounds lovely, and also very adorable, telling me you want to have a stronger connection with me.” You smiled at her as you walked out of the apartment building.

Grace paid for your coffee, even if you told her that wasn’t fair because she was already paying for the rest of the date. “You can get them next time.”

“Oh, you already know that there will be a next time?” You said with an amused smile. “Around 66% of people say that they know within the first thirty minutes if they’re interested in a second date.”

You chuckled, of course she had a fun fact for that too. “Thirty minutes sounds doable for getting the vibe of a person, but Grace we’ve been out for like five minutes.” She smiles and shrugs, “I already knew before I knocked on your door.”

Gosh she was a smooth talker. “I think I may need the remaining twenty five minutes to decide.” You joked back, and the glint in her eyes was enough to make you cave in. “Fine, you got me. I was already thinking of what I could plan for our next date before you knocked on my door as well.”

You continued on your walk, sipping on your coffee, and talking with Grace. If you had only done this for the duration of the date, you would already have considered it a good date. Grace had more planned though, as she led you into town and you stopped in front of one of the buildings.

“Are we going to make pottery?” You asked as you took in the shop’s window. “Close, but no. We’re painting pottery.” Her smile grew when she saw the excitement on your face.

Once you were inside and you were all settled in at one of the tables, surrounded by a bunch of different pottery dishes, paints and brushes, Grace started speaking excitedly about pottery. “Did you know that pottery is one of the oldest human inventions, with the earliest known pieces dating back over 20,000 years?”

With a shake of your head you say, “Wow, that is so long. Isn’t it cool how some things stick around for so long?” She nodded, “Yeah, I love it.”

You decided on a mug for your first pottery piece, while Grace went for a bowl. You thought for a moment on what you wanted to paint on the mug, deciding on some tulips. After dipping your paint brush into the green paint, you fill the mug with the stems and leaves, leaving room to add the flowers in different colours.

“Did you know in the 17th century, tulips were so valuable in Holland that they were used as a currency?” At this point you weren’t even surprised by Grace’s random knowledge on all topics anymore. “That’s crazy, imagine getting coffee somewhere and just paying with tulips.”

“Yeah, it’s so weird to think about, right? They even named the period Tulip Mania.” With the new knowledge about tulips, you fill the already painted stems with red, orange, and pink tulip flowers.

When you looked over to Grace’s bowl, she had filled the outside with small watermelon pieces, and she was now working on painting the inside of the bowl like the inside of a watermelon.

“Yours looks so cool!” You say in awe. “Thank you! I love it, and yours too. Did you know that watermelons belong to the cucumber family? Technically they are classified as both a fruit and a vegetable!”

“Do you ever run out of fun facts?” You say with a soft chuckle. Amazed at her excitement over the classification of a watermelon.

“Oh, is it too much? I can stop.” She says taken back. You’re quick to reach out your hand and place it over hers. “Please never stop, I love it.” Her smile grew again. “Yeah?” You nod, “It’s so cool that you have all this random knowledge, and I love that you want to share it with me.”

The rest of the date was amazing, and like you had already said at the beginning of the date, a second date was definitely happening, and you couldn’t wait to plan something for her.

-----

💗 If you enjoyed this fic, please consider liking, commenting, and reblogging! You can also supporting me by leaving a tip 💗

#pockets 5k celebration #grace clinton #grace clinton x reader #man united women #manchester united women #muwfc #man united wfc #muwfc x reader #engwnt #engwnt x reader #lionesses #lionesses x reader #woso #woso x reader

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tmrwsuns · 4 months ago

Text

(❆⋆.˚) the secret ingredient !

✶⋆.˚꩜ .ᐟ [hirota riki x reader] ...୨♡୧... wc. 2.3k w. curse words! fluff ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 .ᐟ

maki was slightly upset.

well, slightly wasn’t the right word, but he would never admit how upset he was at the fact that his sister had somehow managed to be stuck in the middle of nowhere during christmas eve when they were supposed to carry out their tradition and make their infamous christmas cookies. had she no respect for the art of baking yummy cookies and decorating them like they were being judged by pierre hermé himself?

he scoffed as the thought crossed his head, his arms securely crossed against his chest as a sign of annoyance as he sat on his bed, a random show playing on his screen as he awaited for the only person who could cheer him up at the moment.

you.

maki believed you were some type of magical being, maybe an angel of some sorts. it was the only explanation his mortal little brain could come up with, really. there was nothing else that could make sense as to how much better he felt immediately after seeing you. no matter where he was, the cause of his annoyance of how upset he was, the moment you walked into the room everything banished. his world was suddenly tinted pink, he could only hear your voice and smell your exquisite cinnamon perfume that matched every single season of the year as if the world only changed in order to not be left behind by your constant, beautiful, evolution.

hell, even thinking about it had already made him feel better.

he hummed softly as he tried to erase the smile off of his lips, the image of your smile that wandered around his head almost making him forget why he was so upset in the first place. what was it about christmas cookies? oh, right! his stupid sister and her abandonment tendencies.

the boy tried to focus back on the show after checking the time on his phone for the eleventh time in the last five minutes as an excuse to look at the pretty picture of you that adorned his lockscreen. how much longer would it take you to get there? he was having withdrawals, and it was his fault for listening to you and not going to pick you up himself like he initially planned.

he should just text you, right? you always said you loved when he was clingy anyways.

just as he picked up his phone again, there was a knock on the door that could not be anyone by you. he stood up a little too fast than he should have, but still ran towards the door as fast as his socked feet allowed him too without slipping even if he was currently seeing colored dots in the air.

“hi babe” you laughed softly as his body practically slammed into yours, his arms enveloping you and pressing you to his chest in a bear hug. maki swore he could cry when his senses were filled with your scent and your hand tangled in his hair like it always did when he hugged you like that.

“hi, pretty” he smiled once he broke away from the hug, taking your face in his hands and peppering kisses all over, making sure not to leave a single centimetre unkissed.

“what’s up?” you asked after leaving a small peck on his lips, getting into the house and closing the door behind you. maki almost forgot to answer as he watched you slip off the various layers of clothing that were unnecessary in the heated ambiance of his apartment.

“my sister is still stuck, but outside of that everything is fine” he muttered, a lovesick smile on his face as he watched you.

“that sucks, i’m sorry” you sympathized as you took your hand up to his face to caress his cheek, feeling your heart melt at how adorable he was.

“it’s fine, i’m just annoyed that i can’t show you how good our christmas cookies are” he pouted, looking even more like a puppy than he always did.

“are you sure that’s what you’re upset about?” you asked, an endeared smile adorning your pretty lips.

“what else would it be?” he asked, genuinely confused as he furrowed his eyebrows.

“maybe, just perhaps, you’re upset because you might not spend christmas with your sister this year? you’ve never spent it without her and you have been missing her a lot, haven’t you?” you suggested, looking at him with that softness in your eyes that was characteristic of them when looking at your puppy like boyfriend.

maki thought your words over for a few seconds. you were right about him never spending christmas without his older sister before… also about missing her more lately….

“no, it’s about the cookies” he concluded, making you roll your eyes affectionately.

“you’re impossible” you commented, and he felt his heart race at the thought of being able to see the love your eyes harbored everytime they were looking at him.

“but you love me, don’t you?” he asked, even when he knew the answer.

“more than anything” you smiled and left a quick kiss on his cheek. “now, can we go watch a christmas movie? i’m thinking the grinch” you said after moving away from him and beginning to walk towards his bedroom.

maki stood there entranced by the way you walked around his house as if you owned it, as if it were your home, too. it made him think of the future, when his house would have you in it permanently and the aroma of cinnamon lingered naturally in every place you went, not only on the side of the bed you took every time you slept over.

he shook his head softly and followed you into his room, cooing at the sight of you already settled on his bed, remote in hand as you browsed through his tv.

“do i have to send you an invitation through mail or are you gonna join me already?” you asked as you raised your eyebrow, making the boy roll his eyes before jumping into the bed and tugging you close to his chest.

…

“no way you’re crying, we’ve watched that movie so many times” you laughed as maki wiped the tears that ran down his cheeks.

“it’s not my fault you’re heartless, you know” he complained, playfully pushing you from your shoulder, his strength making you fall on the bed with a laugh.

“aww, my baby is just sooo sensitive” you cooed teasingly while you moved up, grabbing his face and squeezing his cheeks together.

“you’re so annoying” he laughed affectionately as he let you squish him as you pleased.

“you love me” you smiled and kissed his nose “what do you want to do now, my love?”

maki thought about it for a few seconds, weighing his options in his head. “do you want to make cookies?”

you felt your heartstrings being pulled at the way his eyes softened slightly as he asked. maki was such a gentle soul, and even if he tried to mask it, the fact that his sister wasn’t there to continue their lifelong tradition was breaking his heart a little.

“of course” you smiled like what you hoped would be reassuring “i might not be as good as your sister, though”

“don’t even worry about that, i’m the secret to why our cookies are so good, she’s just there for moral support” he said cockily, making you roll your eyes humorously.

“sure, mister baker” you patted his head as you stood up, walking to the kitchen and knowing he would follow.

“i’m completely serious” he insisted, starting to prepare all the materials needed to bake as soon as he got to the kitchen. “the cookies would be nothing without me”

“whatever floats your boat, maki” you said, knowing that it annoyed him when you agreed with him like he was a little kid.

“whatever floats your boat, maki” he mimicked you with a stupidly high pitched voice and a silly tone, sticking his tongue out at you like the child he was.

“you’re so childish” you muttered, trying to bite back the smile that fought to take place on your lips.

“and what does that make you, huh?” he teased, looking at you with a raised eyebrow “i bet you didn’t think about that one”

you groaned lightly and decided to ignore him, partly because you had no comeback to that and partly because you were unable to act annoyed when even the slightest thing he did elicited a giant smile from your face.

“let’s start, do you have a recipe?” you asked as you tied your hair up to avoid its intrusion on your field of vision and possibly in the batter you were about to make. you were concentrated in your actions, which led you to miss the way maki looked at you, with a lovesick smile and shiny eyes.

“of course, first we need some flour…”

…

maybe baking wasn’t your strong suit as a couple.

you had never been very good at the art of baked goods. your skills were limited to measuring the ingredients and maybe cracking an egg that would most likely end up going into the mix with some eggshell along with it. your lack of talent was an issue for the given situation, but at least you had the decency to admit your own uselessness.

on the other hand, your boyfriend claimed he could make christmas cookies that would join armies, even without his sister being there to “aid him with the utensils”. there would be no issue with him recognizing his skill if he actually had one, but based on the current lack of perfectly shaped cookies and the dough that looked a little too gooey to be edible, maybe he was stretching it a little when he called himself a god.

“you have to trust the process, baby” he said, for what seemed to be the nine hundredth time in the past hour as he kneaded the slimy dough with his hands. “see, the flour is preventing it from sticking to my hands”

the flour wasn’t preventing jack shit, but who were you to tell him that?

“hmm, i see” you hummed as you watched the dough move along maki’s fingers as if it was store bought slime that had been overused. “and at what part does the dough actually form?”

maki glared at you playfully before sticking his tongue out to you, taking his hands out of the slimy mixture and heading straight for the sink to remove the rest of it off of his hands. “we just need to add more flour, that’s it” he assured.

once he finished with his hands he turned back around to face you, already aiming to try and salvage the cookies (along with his pride) when a splash of white powder landed on his chest.

“is that enough flour or should i add more?” you asked with a playful smile, and if maki wasn’t too thrown off by your action he would have probably taken his time to properly gush at how attractive you looked in that moment.

“no way you just did that” he breathed out, still shocked as he watched you with his mouth slightly agape.

“i’m sorry, mister baker, i misunderstood what you meant by putting more flour into the mixture” you played innocent, feeling way too smug at your own joke. if you hadn’t been so busy gloating, you would’ve predicted the fist full of flour that collided with your chest a few seconds later. “oh, you’re so on!” you exclaimed as you charged at your boyfriend at full strength, looking for things to throw at him without a single care in the world apart from beating him. the kitchen had already been a mess even before your little food fight had started, and the eggs and cocoa that began being thrown around didn’t help much either.

whatever, you would clean it up later.

…

“i’m sorry to say this, but those are the fugliest cookies i’ve ever seen in my life” you commented once maki had taken the batch out of the oven.

you both stood in front of it, staring wordlessly at the deformed, broken and slightly burnt cookies that rested on the pan.

“there is no way we did that bad” maki muttered, more to himself than to you as he reflected on what went wrong in the process. he had followed every single rule and instruction perfectly like he had done for years on end, and there wasn’t a single batch that ever end up like this one.

“i’m sorry to break it to you, but we did do that bad” you chuckled softly.

“maybe the decorations can salvage it?” the boy asked, pointing at the many different candies that stood waiting on the counter to be used as christmas decoration.

“i don’t think anything can salvage them at this point” you defended, your nose furrowed at the smell of the burnt cookies.

maki sighed in defeat when he heard your words. he knew there was nothing left to do, and now he had to accept that he was not in fact the secret master of the recipe.

“i´m sorry we couldn’t get them to be perfect." you mumbled, getting closer to him and hugging his torso.

“there’s nothing to say sorry about, baby” he smiled and hugged you by your shoulders, not caring how dirty your clothes were because of the earlier incident, placing a soft kiss on your forehead. “now we know baking isn’t our forte” he chuckled and leaned down to steal a quick peck from your lips.

“definitely not, imagine if we had agreed to do the stupid gingerbread house competition…” you giggled as you left a kiss on his shoulder, making maki laugh softly and shook his head.

that’s a disaster waiting to happen.

𐙚 blue's corner ;; my first ever andteam work ! i know many people follow me for xikers content and i promise i will keep it coming but still, the andteam boys deserve it too. this is a part of the love actually series that i'm doing with both my blogs, so be sure to check it out ! 𐙚 taglist ;; @tiramisumin @astrasng @chiiyuuvv @nicholasluvbot 𐙚 back to the masterlist. 𐙚 please do not copy, adapt or steal any of the content !!!

#maki #hirota riki #maki x reader #andteam maki #i love him #andteam #andteam drabbles #andteam x reader #maki drabbles #✶⋆.˚꩜ .ᐟ tmrwsunswrld #✶⋆.˚꩜ .ᐟ andteam #✶⋆.˚꩜ .ᐟ maki

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pressureplus · 8 months ago

Note

Chronically ill fan here! I’m currently having a costochondritis flare up because I overworked myself. (My sternum cartilage is inflamed and uncomfortable) All I want is cuddles and kisses and to be taken care of while I try to sleep it off. Could I possibly get romantic Sebastian and fem chronically ill reader where Sebastian cares for her during a costochondritis flare if that’s okay?

You don’t have to do any research on costochondritis either. At surface level it’s just inflammation and pain mainly in the sternum/rib area that can be aggravated by heavy lifting

Chronically ill representation in readers is rare and I’ve never seen costochondritis rep.

I hope this is okay! Thank you so much!

As someone who is also chronically ill, I felt this in my bones. I got you

Sensitive, Sensitive

Pairings: Sebastian Solace x Fem!Chronically ill!Reader

Au: Classic

Warnings: Pet Names (Sunshine, Love)

◞꒷◟ ͜ ͜ ◞ྀི◟୨୧◞ྀི◟ ͜ ͜ ◞꒷◟◞꒷◟ ͜ ͜ ◞ྀི◟୨୧◞ྀི◟ ͜ ͜ ◞꒷◟

“Please- watch your hands.” You whine as Sebastian goes to pick you up. The additional pushing from his palms making your bones feel like they’re going to crack under all that pressure. You already felt like you weren’t intaking enough air, though you’re sure you are. That and the pain that you’d once almost worried could’ve been a heart attack waiting to happen? Yeah you didn’t need any more pain. You knew about your flare ups, knew you shouldn’t push yourself too hard, and you’d gone and done it anyway. Was it a bad idea? Yes but you’ve got to survive down here somehow, you’re not gonna eat if you lay around all day.

Your boyfriend, Sebastian, on the other hand already looked concerned. His hands taking the heavy box you were carrying right out from your grasp. His gaze flicking around the multitude of snacks you’d ripped out from vending machines in your desperation. You must’ve brought in at least several boxes of the stuff and while he hadn’t been too worried at first, the pained breaths you made sure changed his mind now. Your hand came up to almost attempt to soothe the ache with gentle rubbing, and maybe it helped a little but not nearly enough. Still you turned, getting ready to go back out with a new box when Sebastian coiled his tail around your legs and hips.

“Not so fast.” He hums, placing the box to the side and leaning down to your height.

“And what do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m going back out? I’m not done emptying the-”

“You’re done now.”

“What?”

“I said, you’re done now. Come on, Sunshine, we’re laying down.” He’s careful to lift you up. This time avoiding the area causing you the most pain. He’s gentle, lifting you up by the hips and gently pressing you against his oddly comfortable body. His snake-like form slithering into the backroom and right up to your makeshift bed. Although it certainly wasn’t as comfortable as the ones at home, it would do. It always did. He was gentle when he laid you atop the mattress and tugged a thicker, comfortable blanket over top of you. His body sliding up against you, wrapping himself as close to you as possible. You attempt to wiggle out only the once before giving in, in far too much pain to wrestle yourself free this time.

“We’re going to lay in bed until you feel better.”

“It’s probably not going to go away for a while, and the pain isn’t going to fully subside anyway. You have to work- it’s all you do. You don’t have to lay here with me just because I’m hurting.”

“Y/N, I don’t mind laying with you at all. Why would I?” He softens and tilts your head to him. His lips pressing against yours as gently as he can, soft and sweet before pulling back from you. The fins on the sides of his head doing that cute little wiggle you’d grown so accustomed to seeing.

“I’m supposed to keep you safe, that includes from yourself. You’re not going to overwork yourself any further than you already have. What you are going to do though is rest.” An arm wraps around your waist, another combs through your hair and the third functions as a comfortable pillow for you.

“You’re sure I can just lay down here for a while?”

“You’re being an idiot, why would I be upset at you for resting?” He hits you with immediate sass and playfully nips at your jaw. His hand that lays over your hip rubs slow little circle against it.

“You don’t have to be a dick.”

“I’m not, I just know you aren’t always the brightest crayon in the box. I don’t want you hurting, Love. Now quiet down a bit and get some rest, hm? I’ll be right here when you wake up.”

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star-dust-no-name · 3 months ago

Text

꒰১𝓜𝔂 𝓼𝓪𝓿𝓲𝓸𝓻໒꒱

ᯓ✦

𝒦𝒾𝓃𝒾𝒸𝒽 𝓍 𝑔𝑒𝓃𝒹𝑒𝓇 𝓃𝑒𝓊𝓉𝓇𝒶𝓁 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒹𝑒𝓇

𝐼𝒩 𝒲𝐻𝐼𝒞𝐻: 𝒦𝒾𝓃𝒾𝒸𝒽 𝒻𝒾𝓃𝒹𝓈 𝒽𝒾𝓂𝓈𝑒𝓁𝒻 𝒾𝓃 𝒶 𝓅𝓇𝑒𝒹𝒾𝒸𝒶𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓉 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝒽𝑒 𝓃𝑒𝑒𝒹𝓈 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒 𝓈𝒶𝓋𝒾𝓃𝑔

Written with romance in mind but can also be read as platonic

ᯓ✦

In hindsight Kinich should’ve been careful, he realized that now as he was met face to face with the infamous Pyro fatui agent that constantly terrorized and threatened the local villagers

Nobody else was taking the commission to defeat him and the price was much higher to pass on

Balachko is what he named himself, he was easily one of the hardest enemies he’s ever encountered

“Is that all you’ve got?”

Kinich gasped as he was kicked right on the side of his stomach stumbling over as he gasped for air slightly wheezing

His claymore was long gone destroyed by the pyro agent a few moments ago and he knew his partner Ajaw would do anything to get him killed

As a last ditch attempt to somehow escape he summoned his grappling hook as he aimed towards the sky and shot out swinging through the air

But it failed as he was grabbed by his leg and quickly thrown to the ground

“Haha…to think that the oh so powerful member of the Huitztlan tribe is so easily defeated…what a joke”

Kinich underestimated him he should’ve just asked Mualani to help him and split the commission money with her 50/50

But he thought about that too late and now he was going to have to pay the price

Kinich let out a wheeze a desperate attempt to somehow breath as he stood up clutching his stomach

But when he looked up the pyro agent was turning his back on him

“It’s much more satisfying for me to prevent you from escaping and helping you meet your doom by your internal bleeding”

Kinich stumbled as he felt it…

His weak pulse

His pale skin

His cold skin

His lightheadedness

“I take it that 1 hour later you’ll be gone…”

The pyro agent let out a laugh as he watched Kinich try to escape by his grappling hook again

“Looking for this?”

The pyro agent let out another laugh as he watched the realization and horror in Kinich face as he realized his dendro vision was long gone and into the hands of the pyro agent

He was really going to die…

Before he lost consciousness forever he caught sight of a person rushing towards him along with Mualani

ᯓ✦

“Please tell me he’ll be okay”

Kachina said as she clutched the bedsheets that currently housed an unconscious Kinich

“He will be alright after all I’m not an experienced healer for nothing”

You said smiling at Kachina trying to comfort her

You were currently inside a makeshift tent a medical tent to be more specific in the middle of Natlan

Earlier in the morning Mualani and you were talking about random stuff when the topic of Kinich came up and his unusual commission that he took up

Knowing the rumors you were a little bit nervous of course you knew how powerful Kinich was but your mind couldn’t help but worry especially since your mind would also remind you of any injury he could receive due to the pyro fatui and him being a dendro user

Only to calm down your nerves Mualani and Kachina (who had overheard your conversation and wanted to join in since she had to collect some items near the area anyways) alongside yourself headed towards the area where the pyro agent was

It was supposed to be a quick trip to get Kachina’s materials and check up on Kinich and then you would leave (and possibly cheer him on from the sidelines)

But when in the distance you saw how he was getting beaten up you knew you had to step in

Being a hydro healer you had no abilities to fight so you quickly ran with a Mualani behind you and a Kachina ready to support you both if you needed it

Mualani distracted the pyro agent while you ran in and bridal style carried Kinich out of the cave he was trapped in and ran with your life while Mualani stole Kinich’s vision back and also ran away

Right now what was most important to you and your friends was to make sure Kinich was safe not a pyro agent

So here you were taking care of Kinich

ᯓ✦

“Ugh…my head”

Kinich tried to stand up

Only to have you appear quickly after hearing him and quickly rushing him to lay on his back again

“Calm yourself down buddy you just got attacked and lost a lot of blood not to mention internal bleeding as well”

You said as you handed him some medications to stop the bleeding for now

“I know you want to leave as soon as possible but right now what’s best for you is to rest a little bit at least until your body accepts the new blood”

You said as you looked at him

“My apologies but knowing your blood type I quickly made a transfer of blood with mine as you were loosing a lot”

“Right now it’s what I could do with my abilities we will be leaving in 2 days to head back and give you a proper check up”

Kinich nodded as he listened to your every word

But he couldn’t resist thinking about how amazing you were in your abilities on being able to heal quickly and effortlessly

You really are his savior

ᯓ✦

Authors Note: I should emphasize that in no way am I an expert in the medical field or anything like I just searched up stuff and symptoms like I am no expert so don’t take any of my writing as a professional diagnosis🙏😭

Also sorry for late update ment to post yesterday but I took a nap for way too long

-Stardust

#kinich #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact #platonic #gender neutral reader #wholesome #genshin x reader #kachina genshin #kinich genshin #mualani genshin #natlan #natlan genshin #platonic or romantic #romance #kinda wholesome #kinich x reader #kinich x you #kinich x y/n

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100vern · 3 months ago

Text

how to cancel your faustian bargain | wjh ✦ TEASER

FAUSTIAN BARGAIN 🔥 a pact whereby a person trades something of supreme moral or spiritual importance, such as personal values or the soul, for some worldly or material benefit, such as knowledge, power, or riches. faustian bargains are by their nature tragic or self-defeating for the person who makes them, because what is surrendered is ultimately far more valuable than what is obtained.

▏pairing: attorney!junhui x devil!reader ▏genre: enemies to lovers, lawyer au; crack, fluff, smut ▏summary: as the devil, you’re more than happy to grant favors in exchange for someone’s soul, and you’re known for having the most iron-clad contracts around. which is why wen junhui—the scene’s newest contract attorney hell-bent on returning all those souls you’ve acquired—is really starting to piss you off. ▏teaser rating: mature. however, the full fic will be explicit, and i ask that no minors interact with this or any of my work. ▏teaser warnings: member pov, reader is thee devil so needless to say there is a bunch of religious themes and topics here (as a person whose roman-catholic grandfather temporarily disowned her for stopping ccd classes i am qualified to write this dw), jihan as literal devil's advocates, swearing, mentions of a handjob. ▏teaser wordcount: 1.3k ▏release date: 25th february (tentative) ▏note: this will be apart of the don't hate, litigate! collab, hosted by my beloved @haologram. thank you so much for all your hard work and letting me participate! i have had so much fun writing this and am finally feeling like myself again. current wordcount is sitting at 7k, but i'm anticipating the full fic to double that, if not go over by a bit.

The thing is, Wen Junhui is not really supposed to be here.

Not, like, literally here—sitting across from you, the literal devil, at your desk, ass burning a little because it’s really hot here and he is, admittedly, not used to the heat—but metaphorically. Big picture-ly. This is not how I envisioned my life turning out…ly.

The thing is, Wen Junhui barely made it through law school. Barely passed his licensing exam. Watched his classmates score prestigious internships and receive exclusive offers and network and schmooze and, he thought at the time, all but sell their soul to graduate with jaw-dropping salaries awaiting them and no debt.

And it fucking sucked watching that, because he was about to become a lawyer, sure, but he’d gotten scarlet fever as a kid, swore he was going to die, swore he saw not only the light but Jesus himself (his mother called this a delusion, still insists to this day the prodigal son did not travel all the way to Shenzhen to visit him), and decided if he survived he was going to dedicate his life to the church and become a priest.

(He only decided on law school after he got a little carried away with his high school girlfriend, received an honestly mid handjob that had him crying for three straight days and contemplating confession before he decided to take it to his grave, and he’d announced the next night at dinner, weighed down by an impressive amount of guilt and religious trauma, that he was just going to go to university and major in business or finance instead.)

Anyway. Turns out that whole selling their soul thing wasn’t a joke, and where others would’ve seen a loophole, Wen Junhui had seen an opportunity.

Because he didn’t have the grades. Didn’t have the family name or even the drive, because in another life he’s at least a deacon, so he had to do something. Had to think outside the box, get a little creative, carve out a niche for himself that none of his classmates would also be trying to occupy because he had student loans.

“How did you even get in here?” you ask, doing one of those really cool pen flips Jun has never figured out how to do. “A human hasn’t just strolled into my office in at least a millennia.”

Jun swallows, tries not to let show how nervous he is. “I, uh—I’m not sure? I sort of just… walked in, I guess.”

You blink. Study him for a while, eyes narrowed, before you make a small ah! sound and snap your fingers. What the heck? Jun can’t do that, either. “I know who you are now.”

“You do?”

“Mmhm, sure do. You were pretty famous around here for about thirteen seconds when you got that handjob and changed the trajectory of your own life forever. Some of the lower demons had bet money on you eventually becoming the Pope, so you can imagine their heartbreak—and the amount of coin they lost.” You click your tongue, return your attention to the scroll in front of you. “I kept telling them not to bet on that kind of stuff. Teenagers are wildly unpredictable, especially hormonal teenage boys. One of my finest creations, if I do say so myself.”

Not that he had any expectation of privacy here, but to say he’s mortified would be an understatement.

“Oh. That’s… really embarrassing.”

You nod, distracted as you press a large red button on your desk. “Yeah, I imagine for you it would be.”

Two men immediately materialize on each side of you. One is all cheekbones and sharp, calculating edges. Looks like the personification of mischief or perhaps temptation. After that handjob and the subsequent mourning period, Jun had come to really, really appreciate women, but he’s secure enough in his sexuality to acknowledge that the man in front of him—with his long, dark hair and lithe figure; his nonchalant, blasé attitude—is very attractive.

And the other one is no slouch, either. Has what Jun presumes is meant to be a friendlier disposition, a foil of the other man, good-cop-bad-cop, and they must be quite successful, he figures. Can’t imagine a world in which there’s anything that’d be denied to either of them.

Still, they’re well-acquainted with you, because they barely blink as you say, “Please say hello to our intruder,” with a frightening amount of bite.

The dark-haired one offers up a sleazy grin as he leans back against the wall. “Hello, intruder. Do you have a name?”

It’s a predictable question, and yet Jun still startles. Goes slack-jawed as he fixes his posture, sits straighter in his seat. Has the first syllable of his name sitting on the tip of his tongue when the other man sighs and gestures for Jun to stay quiet. “Don’t tell him your name. Better yet, don’t tell him anything, just pretend he doesn’t exist.”

“That’s rich coming from a person who chose to call themselves Joshua.”

Joshua pouts. “I thought there was something to be said for the irony.” A snort tumbles out of him, and Jun realizes that he is not the foil of the other man: he is, in fact, just as impish and rogue. “God is deliverance.” The dark-haired one does not react. “Aw, c’mon, it’s funny!”

“If you have to convince someone it’s funny, it probably is not so.”

Joshua rolls his eyes. “Alright, Jeonghan. As if you didn’t do the same thing.”

“At least when I strive to be ironic, it actually is humorous—”

With an exasperated sigh, you return your attention to Jun, who has suddenly found a fascinating piece of lint on his trousers. Pointedly does not make eye contact with you, because you had been intimidating and hellacious on your own, but he’s extremely out of his element sitting across from the literal devil and two demons.

“So, Wen Junhui,” you say, tossing a pair of reading glasses onto your desk, “why are you here?”

(“Wen Junhui?” Joshua whispers to Jeonghan. “As in the Wen Junhui that got the handjob?”

“How the fuck am I supposed to know?” Jeonghan whispers back.)

And now it all feels a bit silly, because Jun had walked straight into hell thinking he’d be able to… what, exactly? Strike up a friendly conversation? Start making demands? Cut a deal that didn’t include handing over his mortal soul?

Maybe the whole becoming a priest thing hadn’t worked out but he’d still learned a thing or two, and he remembers all the words used to describe you, your original purpose. Meant to reflect God’s glory, anointed, given the highest seat at the table. They’d blamed your downfall on pride, on vanity and violence, and Wen Junhui from Shenzhen, China, who once had scarlet fever and got a bad handjob, was a fool to come here and think he could go toe-to-toe with you.

Overcome with nerves, all he can do is laugh as he toys with the hair at the nape of his neck. Considers saying something like you’re gonna think this is so silly before he decides against it. You’ve been accused of having a sense of humor, but Jun can’t imagine his harebrained scheme would make the cut.

Still—he wouldn’t be where he is if the bad ideas sitting on his shoulder had kept quiet, and they’re still whispering to him now, reminding him how he wound up here to begin with: less fortunate than his classmates, less connected, looked over for all those internships and opportunities because he wasn’t born with the proper credentials. Those god-forsaken student loans. Desperation forced him to do this, and it’d be a real shame if he got this far only to give up at the last second, wouldn’t it?

So, he does what he did best all those years of law school: he fakes it.

“Let’s say I’m interested in… a partnership, of sorts.”

Jeonghan and Joshua share a look.

“Ah,” you reply, hands folded in front of you. “And what kind of partnership would that be?”

#jun x reader #jun smut #seventeen smut #junhui smut #seventeen x reader #junhui x reader #seventeen imagines #seventeen scenarios #jun imagines #junhui imagines

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dixons-sunshine · 7 months ago

Text

Goat Sucker | Daryl Dixon x Fem!Reader

Summary: Daryl’s story of the mythical chupacabra back in the early days was believed to be just that—a story. So when you and a few others found yourselves running for your lives from a demonic, dog-like creature, you were beginning to believe that his story could have held some truth.

Era: Prison, pre season four.

Warnings: Swearing, near death, I don’t really know how else to tag this.

Word count: 1.7k

A/N: For week three of @lazyneonrabbitt’s Halloween challenge. I read ‘monster mash’ and my mind went here. I hope I didn’t mess up the theme because I’ll admit, I didn’t fully understand the prompt 😅. I hope this is still okay, though!

You could clearly remember the day you first locked eyes with the love of your life, Daryl Dixon. It had been nearly three weeks into the apocalypse, and everyone had gathered around the campfire to exchange stories about their lives. The Dixon brothers had surprisingly opted to join you all, and of everything you had expected the younger brother to share with the group, the fact that he had encountered a chupacabra had not been on the top of the list at all.

Despite the absolute seriousness the crossbow-wielding archer exuded whilst relaying the ominous tale of his supposed encounter with the mythical ‘goat sucker’, nobody had believed him. Everyone already had to accept that the dead could walk. Accepting that something like a chupacabra could potentially be real was just too much. Everybody had waved him off, and decided that his story was just that—a story.

However, as you, Daryl, Maggie, Glenn, and Rick sprinted through the woods as fast as each of your legs could carry you, something that resembled a dog but just wasn’t one chasing after you, you were beginning to realize that Daryl’s story could potentially hold some truth.

“Fuck!” Glenn exclaimed in a frustrated whisper as your small group pushed forward into the cabin that you all had miraculously stumbled upon whilst running away from the unknown creature. “What the fuck is that?!”

“It’s dead, as soon as I figure out how to kill it,” Rick said, his chest heaving as he tried to recapture his breath. He leaned forward and rested his hands on his knees, closing his eyes as he attempted to get his ducks in a row.

“Holy mother of fucking shit,” you mumbled hoarsely as you rushed towards the window, unofficially becoming the lookout to alert the others if you saw that thing. “Did you see the colour of that thing’s eyes?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I wasn’t aware I was supposed to be paying attention to its eyes,” Maggie started in a sarcastic tone of voice, although you could clearly note the small tremble in her words. “I was more focused on its fangs. Y’know, the same fangs that almost took a chunk from my leg!”

“My eyes were on its backbones,” Glenn whispered in disgust, a shiver rolling over his spine. “What kind of dog looks like that? Acts like that? Is it rabid or something?”

“Nah, it ain’t rabid,” Daryl finally spoke up, instantly gaining everyone’s attention. “Ain’t a dog, neither.”

Rick stepped forward, his blue eyes staring into those of his found brother, desperately seeking his expertise on your current predicament. “You know what that thing is?” When Daryl simply nodded, Rick continued. “What is it?”

Daryl hesitated for a moment. His eyes flickered over to you and Glenn for a split second, before he shook his head and exhaled deeply. “Ya remember that story I told y’all way back when? When we were all gathered ‘round the campfire?”

Recognition dawned on you. “You don’t think—”

“It can’t be,” Glenn cut you off, firmly shaking his head. “They aren’t real. They can’t be.”

Daryl scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, ya got a better explanation for what that thing is, Rhee?”

As Daryl and Glenn bickered back and forth, a quiet scratch on the door captured your attention. Frowning, you pushed yourself away from the window, and slowly made your way over to the door. Your heart was pounding against your ribcage as you approached the door, leaning your ear against the wood to attempt to decipher what had made the noise. You did not want to instantly assume the worst, but every instinct in your body was yelling at you to run, that the not-so-dog was beyond the door, waiting to pounce.

“What are y’all talking about?” Maggie chipped in, confusion lacing her tone of voice. “What is that thing? Or what isn’t it?”

“It ain’t a walker, that’s for damn sure,” Daryl muttered, his steely gaze flickering between Glenn, Maggie and Rick, before resting on you. His eyebrows furrowed as he regarded the terrified look on your face, every sense in his body on high alert. “Y/N? What—”

A loud crash came from the window, shards of glass littering across the floor. A loud yelp escaped Maggie as Glenn pulled her back from the threat that lurked a mere few feet away, and Daryl whipped around with his crossbow raised high. He shot an arrow towards the dog-like creature, the arrow hitting its mark in the creature’s head. However, despite what should have been a lethal shot, the creature was fine. If anything, the shot had simply served to piss the creature off, the dog-monster creeping towards all of you, low growls escaping its mouth as its crimson eyes glared up at all of you.

“Shit!” Daryl cursed loudly as he attempted to reload his crossbow. However, before Daryl’s fingertips could even graze against another arrow, the creature lunged towards him. Daryl fell over onto his back, the monster’s long, rotting fangs trying to bite into the archer, but the younger Dixon brother refused to go out without a fight. Daryl held the creature’s mouth away from him with his hands, but it was clear that he was fighting a battle he was sure to lose in the end.

In a desperate attempt to save Daryl, Glenn, Maggie and Rick each began firing shots towards the monster. You would have joined too, but you quickly realized that your gun was not on your person anymore. You must have dropped it somewhere in the forest while initially running away from the very creature that stood before you. However, you realized that even if you did have your gun on you, it would not have been of any help. Despite the multiple bullets that were being fired into its head, face, stomach, and its back, the creature’s relentless onslaught to take a bite from Daryl did not cease.

The dog-like creature appeared to be unkillable.

You were desperately trying to wrack your brain to find a solution. Daryl would not be able to keep the monster’s fangs away from him much longer. He had already been running on a mere two hours of sleep, and had taken quite the hit while fighting of walkers, so you knew the archer’s resistance was wearing thin.

One after the other, Rick, Glenn and Maggie’s weapons made their uselessness known with resounding clicks that filled the air. You knew that a solution needed to be found, and fast. Daryl’s life depended on it.

Grabbing the nearest object—an iron rod—you rushed forward and began striking the monster with all your might, completely disregarding your own safety. The need to help the archer overtook every ounce of survival instinct in you. You could not let Daryl die. That was out of the question.

Miraculously, the first blow with the iron rod sent the creature flying back. However, you did not stop there. You rushed forward and continued your relentless onslaught on the monster, delivering blow after blow to its body. Admittedly, the small, pained whimper it let out right before its ultimate demise had you feeling sorry for it, but the knowledge that this thing had tried to kill the man you loved drowned out any guilt you felt towards killing it. With one final sickening blow to its head, the creature fell silent, its last breath leaving its body before its death.

The iron rod fell out of your grasp and to the ground below with a loud clank. Your chest was heaving as you looked down at the dog-like monster with wide eyes, fully taking in its appearance. It indeed looked exactly like the archer had described it almost two years prior, and it dawned on you that what Daryl had said rung true; chupacabras exist. You had seen so with your own eyes.

The feeling of someone’s hand on your shoulder brought you back to reality. You raised your head and locked eyes with your partner, his ocean eyes holding a mix of gratitude, disbelief, and a slight mix of fear. He had just looked death right in the face, and only narrowly escaped its clutches.

Completely disregarding the fact that public displays of affection made him uncomfortable, he gathered you into his arms, holding you tightly in his embrace. You did not cry, not about to do so in front of your peers, but Daryl could feel the tremble in your body. You had been afraid for him, for your group, and for yourself. Had you not grabbed that iron rod, you all would have been doomed. Daryl had read somewhere that iron was one of the only things that could hurt and potentially kill a chupacabra, and that theory had proven to be correct.

Exhaling deeply, Daryl shifted his attention towards Glenn, Maggie and Rick. He could clearly note the fear and disbelief on their faces, but that was not his main concern. For almost two years, everyone had laughed at his chupacabra encounter, calling it a lie. Although you did not believe him either, you never outrightly laughed in his face and called him a liar, and he appreciated that.

“See? I told y’all that I saw a chupacabra back then, ya fucks,” he breathed out, before lowering his voice and whispering to you. “Not ya, Sweetheart. That didn’t include you.”

“I know,” you mumbled against his chest, before withdrawing from his embrace and looking up at him. It was only then that you noticed the gash on his shoulder, and you gasped. “Daryl—”

“M’fine,” he cut you off. “I’ll let ya check on it once we get back to the prison, alright?” he reassured you, knowing that you would continue to put up a fight otherwise.

You nodded, choosing to accept that for the time being. “Okay.”

“Well, what the actual hell are we waiting for?” Glenn spoke up, his voice higher pitched than normal to fully show his distress. “Let’s go! I don’t wanna find out if these things travel in packs or something.”

“I agree. Let’s get the fuck outta here,” Rick agreed, already heading towards the door. “Even if that thing was the only one here, those gunshots sure as hell attracted walkers. We need to get going.”

“Okay,” Daryl agreed with a nod, glancing towards you. “Let’s go.”1

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