#I wish they would’ve ran away with each other sigh

[audraswhore]

Hello Gelphie Nation 🤓❣️

[g0dlyunsub]

holding on.

the six times that spencer squeezed your hand, and the six times you fell for him even deeper.

pairing :: spencer x fem bau!reader

warnings :: mentions of bioweapons, undercover missions, injuries, blood, angst, fluff

word count :: 1.6k

author’s note :: my one brain cell has been occupied by protective!spencer as of late, so this is what we’re dealing with

accompanying song :: ugotme by omar apollo

the first time he squeezed your hand, it was during a handshake. 

you had just joined the bau, and as is customary in introductions, you held your hand out for a round of handshakes. with a tight-lipped smile, you looked into his face as you introduced yourself. 

“f/n l/n.”

his eyes — a charming shade of brown — stared right back at you. 

“i’m doctor spencer reid.”

he grasped your hand for only a fleeting second, but still gave it a gentle squeeze.

---

the second time he squeezed your hand, you were talking behind erin strauss’ back.

if it were hotch or any other member of the bau, spencer would’ve let everything play out and watched your panicked reaction with an amused smile. but it was erin strauss, and spencer could see that she was visibly agitated.

“a good section chief should have faith in the team’s decisions,” you pouted and looked up at spencer, who was chewing on a cookie and humming in agreement.

“she’s been telling me to call her every hour for an update on the case. last time, i was a minute late — a minute late, spence — and she just had to rub it in my face!”

you angrily rubbed the bridge of your nose, sighing as you vented to your colleague. his brows perked up, but you didn’t take note of it; in fact, you started to speak even louder as the rage continued to pile at the back of your throat.

spencer cleared his throat once, but you thought he was just trying to swallow his food. 

“honestly, spencer, do you think i should tell her?”

he blinked rapidly this time, hoping you would get the signal. but when you were still rambling by the time strauss was only a few feet away from your desk, spencer reached for your hand and squeezed it once.

you looked up in surprise, eyes widening as you waited for him to explain his gesture. 

but the voice that spoke up was strauss’.

“agent l/n, i would like to speak with you in private. now.”

you stood frozen for a few seconds, exchanging a panicked glance with spencer.

he gave you an apologetic grimace, but squeezed your hand once again, as if to wish you good luck.

---

the third time he squeezed your hand, it was during your first undercover mission. 

earlier that morning, swat had silently raided the home of two unsubs – a couple that went by the names of mr. and ms. stone – that were covertly collecting harmful biological agents.

after uncovering the news that they were planning to trade their bioweapons with a team of buyers, you and your team decided that the exchange would not fall through. the team revised the plan and decided that you and spencer would pose as the couple and intercept the trade.

so here you were, dressed in a dark green dress, the hem of the fabric flowing in the cool wind of the air-conditioned hotel lobby. spencer stood next to you in a black suit, hair falling in front of his eyes in the form of slick, wavy strands. 

time seemed to still when he reached behind you and squeezed your right hand four times – each to let you know how many possible targets were standing to your three o’clock.

that was all the signal you needed to get into character.

the two of you were a couple only for the night, but you put on a show that would’ve convinced any onlooker otherwise.

you snaked your hands around spencer’s neck before rising on your tiptoes and whispering, “are you ready, mister stone?”

he moved his hands to rest them around your hips, and ran his fingers through the smooth texture of your dress.

he dipped his lips near your ears, so close that his breath tickled your skin. 

“i am. are you, miss stone?” 

---

the fourth time he squeezed your hand, it was because you asked him to.

glass had struck your sides during the explosion, leaving a deep and dark gash in your flesh and surrounding it with a sticky stream of crimson red.

you tried to muster the strength to push yourself up, but it was too much. with a heavy sigh, you crashed back onto the ground.

thankfully, spencer was next to you in seconds.

he softly brushed over your cut skin, and when you flinched at the pain, he tried to console you by saying that the medics were almost here.

“almost?” you wheezed, struggling to keep your eyes open but still able to see that spencer had ripped a part of his dress shirt to wrap your split skin.

when he circled the fabric around your torso and started to apply pressure, you had to bite back a scream. you bit down on your bottom lip so hard that blood seeped through and filled your mouth with its metallic taste. 

“spencer- spence,” you gasped, and wrapped your hands around his.

“it’s okay, it’s okay,” he repeated, trying to reassure you as he continued to apply pressure to your sides.

“squeeze my hand.”

when he didn’t move his hand, you tried again. “please. i need a distraction.”

he furrowed his brows and gave you a hesitant look, but when he noticed the desperation flashing in your eyes, he complied. lifting his hands that were now stained with your blood, he gripped your hand and squeezed.

it felt like electricity coursing through your arm, but it didn’t hurt.

it felt oddly serene to have your blood sandwiched between your skin and his, to feel warmth amidst the draining cold.

---

the fifth time he squeezed your hand, you were on the verge of tears.

you and spencer were just about to regroup with the rest of the team to deliver the profile, but as the two of you were walking across the hallway, the victim’s mother leapt in front of you and yelled in a fit of rage.

“my daughter’s been gone for more than two days, and you haven’t done anything to find him!”

she pushed against your shoulders and you flailed your arms in an attempt to regain balance.

“you just sit around and pretend to work, but you don’t actually care. if anything happens to my monica, i’ll make sure you’ll never work this job ever again.”

that was the last strike that tipped spencer over the edge.

you didn’t even get an attempt to reason with her, because spencer grasped the fabric of her shirt around her shoulders and pushed her into the waiting room.

it wouldn’t be another five minutes before he stepped out, but you could see his face was flush with anger and disbelief.

yours was hot with shame.

approaching you with a concerned expression, spencer put his hand on top of your palm and squeezed. “that was completely inexcusable on her part-”

“it’s okay. i know.” you moved your hand away and forced a smile. 

you could see the words written all over his face — it’s not your fault, you did nothing wrong. yet you still couldn’t shake the feeling of guilt, of the terrible pain that comes with knowing that you’re doing everything you can but still failing miserably.

you walked as fast as you could to the nearest bathroom before spencer could stop you, tears already streaming down your face as you locked yourself up in the stall.

---

the sixth time he squeezed your hand, spencer showed a different side that you’d never seen before.

you and spencer were dating now, so showing affectionate gestures in public wasn’t a foreign concept to the two of you. however, the workplace was a different story. 

both of you did your best to adhere to professional conduct, as it was fundamental to being a federal agent. and although it took some willpower, you refrained from your usual hugs and playful nudges with spencer.

but the detective at the local p.d. was on your tail, unrelenting with his attempts to flirt with you.

“how does dinner at seven sound?”

he flashed his teeth at you and smiled, and it took everything you had within to not retch in front of him. 

“can we please focus on the case here?”

“can’t we talk about both at the same time?”

you sighed, your fingers itching to grab him by the collar and subdue him to a deathly hush.

“no, we cannot, and i’d appreciate it if you would stop-” you waved your hand in an annoyed gesture, “-stop whatever you’re trying to do.”

“you know you could’ve just said no.”

“i don’t think it would take any extra deductions to figure that she’s turning you down, detective.”

your shoulders lifted ever so slightly at the familiar voice, and you had to suppress a smile from surfacing on your lips when spencer took a seat beside you and squeezed your hand.

“it’s just friendly banter, agent. one that you’re not concerned with,” the detective spat back, his stare still fixed on you.

“doctor. it’s doctor,” spencer retaliated, “and i believe that i do have the right to be concerned when you’re making my team member uncomfortable.”

you were so fed up with listening to the detective ramble on and on, choosing to ignore your and spencer’s words. you stood up, braced spencer’s hand, and nodded your head towards a closed-off room.

“come on, babe, i’m tired of this. let’s talk about the case in private and grab dinner together later.”

spencer nodded, a proud gleam shining in his eyes as he stood and placed a hand behind your back. 

you felt your body warm up with fuzzy excitement when the detective tore his gaze away from you defeatedly and clamped his lips shut, and you smiled as spencer followed you out of the room with his grip lying on your hips.

---

every time spencer squeezes your hand, it’s a heartfelt reminder of how much he cares about you.

you don’t ever have to question it.

he knew he would care about you from the beginning, a fate decided by the stars when he locked hands with you for the very first time.

and he’ll prove it to you time and time again, all six reminders a testament to his dedication.

[psblooms]

and I would’ve married you, if you’d have stuck around

𓍯𓂃 angst lee heeseung x female reader works word count: 1148 non-idol au. the fall of a relationship and the period waiting for the end. contains: break ups, long distance relationship, flashbacks on italics

as people grow apart and new relationships start, sometimes old ones tend to die alone, with more questions than answers, without villains or heroes; relationships you expected to last long end up being the thing you now long. the moments spent together in rose color glasses become dull and full of hurt, and the wishes you made of never forgetting those moments of happiness come back remembering the promise; only this time, the person you shared them with is not with you anymore to reminiscence them.

growing out of relationships always tends to hurt, but the fact that this was a romantic relationship that had the build-up of your life meant that it was also going to ache for maybe as long as he was part of your life.

the worst part tends to be ending because of a fight and the feeling of regret for ever choosing to be with a person like that. Sadly, this was not the case; each other's personalities were the perfect match, you got along well, and you became friends with each other's friends. you always felt like your relationship was the closest thing to perfection.

until it wasn't.

trying to pinpoint the moment you knew this relationship was nearing its end was impossible for your mind. it was unknown to you if it was your subconscious trying to protect you or the fact that it really came out of the blue. as days went out and you went from crying all night to finally starting to go back to the routine you realized just how much was he a part of your life. the fact that you were living your life as if nothing happened was not the easiest thing when you remembered you could not call him at the end of the day.

saying his name hurt, thinking about him ached, and the fact that the place you still lived at was a graveyard of memories would not help you from thinking that maybe if you called his number, he would answer and come to you.

"what happened?" he asked while catching his breath after opening the door of your apartment.

"I just hurt my finger with the hammer," you said while running your hand through the cold water in the kitchen sink.

dried tears in your warm cheeks were apparent to him so while he ran for your first aid kit his voice echoed throughout the walls. "I told you to wait till I came to help, you were just so excited right?"  

and he told you about his day while bandaging up your finger and helping you finish assembling the new bookshelf  

and now that same bookshelf that holds some of your favorite framed photos with him seated empty in the living room. breakups are usual in people's lives, but maybe you would have more of a reason to be sad and depressed if he had been a shitty boyfriend, or if he had cheated, but instead, he had been the perfect boyfriend for all the two years you had been together.

he broke up with you. on a cold night in your daily facetime call, he was sad, and tired and it hurt you to see him hurting, the easiest way to make him hurt less was to accept his request between sighs.

"i think we should break up"  

the sinking feeling in your stomach was still there, you wanted to fix whatever there was to fix, but nothing would fix something that was not entirely broken, he was, and your relationship was suffering. even if you tried to reach out he was not trying to hold you any longer.

he was your everything. he was the only constant thing in your life for a long long time, he was your friend before he was your boyfriend. and now, as much as you hate to say it, he was gone and he continued his life miles away from you while you felt like everything around you was falling apart.

“It’s just going to be for a year okay? I’ll be back soon” heeseung said holding you closer while laying on his bed with you.

you were helping him pack, putting you feelings aside while he put his life away in suitcases.

“I’m going to miss you a lot” you whispered while holding back tears and hugging him harder.

“I’ll miss you too, but I’ll call you every night to tell you that I love you okay?” He reassured you with a kiss on you head and a warm pat on your back.

oh, how naive you were thinking thinking you’d be the exception to you friend group bad experiences with long distance.

what where you going to do now? where would you put all of his stuff that stayed at his place? where would you store all his gifts and photos? where would you hold all the love you felt for him?

what. comes. next?

your heart was broken, your tears were dry, you felt like everything was over and that felt out of character. he was yours for a while and you needed to move on since you were unable to turn back time, but why was it so hard?

is he hurting to? is he having a hard time falling asleep? did he threw away your gifts? you hoped you were not the only one feeling this way, but still, you were not brave enough to ask, scared of the sheer chance that he was better off.

you wanted to hold on a little longer to these selfish feelings you had, to hold onto the memories, to the kisses and the late night calls. to the hope that maybe this was a nightmare and you would wake up back in his arms, that this relationship was not over and that the issues could be fixed, you were dreaming that maybe you could save yourself from the doom of this heartbreak.

but every morning, as the morning came, doomsday came along reminding you of the fact that you were still miles away from him, with a numbness inside you and unable to move on from a love like his.

your life will go on, and so will his, there will come a time where lee heeseung will be a memory of your past, and maybe you’ll be okay with that; okay with not knowing what made him want to break up with you, okay with him finding someone new. one day that won’t be a big deal.

but for now you still have those questions, and they take away your sleep, you still love him and it will take a long time to unlearn how to do it, and you’ll watch him move on through pictures and post of his friends, and you’ll hope he’s happy. so much happier than how he was with you.

[thebestofoneshots]

Gilded Constellations | wolfstar x reader

Series Masterlist | Previous episode

Pairing: Wolfstar x Reader Word Count: 8.5 K Warnings: none Prompt: The divination classroom becomes an intriguing nexus for forging new friendships amidst revelations laden with enigmatic symbolism. Meanwhile, Defense Against the Dark Arts delves even deeper into the shadows as you struggle to grasp the imminence of the ever-looming wаr. This IS a wolfstar x reader fic, but it's incredibly slow burn. They won't start all dating each other until we're very deep into the story, but I promise the long wait will be worth it.

Chapter 9: The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroкe

September 24, 1976 - Friday

Your race with Sirius, Marlene and a couple of other students who decided to tag along and prove their worth would be next week. The broom race was basically the talk of town. James had talked to the other Quidditch Team Captains, Lyonel Aldridge, Delilah Moss and of course Dmitri Volkov, and they all reached to the conclusion that it would be a great way to boost their team’s morale before the first match.

You woke up early like you had been doing the past couple of weeks, but you and Sirius had gotten a lot more competitive, so competitive you’d already gotten on James’ nerves. Which was something pretty hard to do when you were talking about quidditch. Every day you’d go on mini races, inventing new challenges to fulfill and you always pestered James regarding who’d gotten there first.

“My hand reached the line first,” Sirius said.

“Yeah, but it’s not about hands, it’s about brooms, my broom reached the halo first.” You argued back. 

“It’s not about brooms, we said whoever gets there first, and clearly I did.” 

“Sirius you can’t bend the rules so you win all the time! Besides, if I had stretched my hand I would’ve reached first so it doesn’t count.” 

“It does because you didn’t!” 

“James tell him!” You said. 

“No James, tell her!”

James sighed exasperated and hit his head against the handle of his broom “Just fucк each other already,” he mumbled, not that either of you heard it. 

“What?” You asked with a frown. 

“You know what?" He snapped, sitting straight "Neither of you won! And your mini air races when practicing? They’re OVER! No more broom races until official race day and then you’ll admit the other is a faster flier and this bickering will be forgotten.” 

“But James!” Both you and Sirius argued. 

He gave you both a stern look, and you shot your mouth. “Fine then, till the race we’ll know.” 

Sirius nodded “Truce?” He said offering you his hand. You took a deep breath and shook it. 

Once you were back in the ground Sirius called you with a smirk “Hey (Y/N)! Bet I can get to the common room before you do.” He then started running. 

“You wish,” you said running behind him.

James sighed again “We said no races!” 

“You said no flying,” Sirius shouted back. 

You then turned to James with a smile as you ran “He’s right, this is running.” 

James rolled his eyes but took off running behind the two of you anyway. The only thing that sometimes shut the two of you up, was when someone else won, and he had the longest legs. In the end, he was indeed the first one to arrive, letting himself fall on the couch as you and Sirius fought your way inside. 

“Prongs, you’re here?” You said out of breath when you saw him laying on the couch, regaining his own breath. 

He frowned “Since when do you call me Prongs?” He asked amused. 

“Oh… um… sorry, it must have slipped,” You said as you sat down “I blame Sirius for it.” 

James laughed “No, it’s fine. You can call me Prongs.” He took a long breath, “But stop blaming Pads for everything.” 

“In my defence. It really is ALWAYS Sirius’ fault.” 

He made the face of a man that agreed with your statement. “James!” Sirius complained he noticed. 

James grimaced in return “For fucкs sake, take me away from these two,” he said grabbing a pillow and placing it over his head dramatically. 

You and Sirius exchanged a glance, yeah, you may be bickering all the time now, but it was all friendly banter, James was overreacting. 

“Morning,” you heard Remus say as he came down the stairs “Just got here from practice?” 

You nodded “And they’re getting on my nerves Moony,” James grumbled. 

Remus raised an eyebrow at the two of you “We just asked him to decide who’d been the winner of our mini race,” you said innocently.

 He nodded, understanding. “Leave poor James alone, he’s been doing so much to prepare your race that… he might actually be sick of quidditch by the end of it.” 

James instantly reacted to Remus’ words, removing the pillow from his head “I would never!” 

You were sweaty from so much running so you excused yourself and went for a short shower, Lily was preparing her backpack when you walked out of the bathroom, using your wand to dry your hair. “Today we’re picking the fluxweed together, right?” You asked her. 

She nodded “Just wait for me, will you? We’ll walk to the greenhouse together, don’t think of going by yourself.” 

“Of course, I’ll wait for you Lils, don’t worry about it,” you told her with a smile and finished both closing the buttons of your shirt, and shoving your stuff quickly in your bag "Ready for breakfast?"

Lily nodded and the two of you walked down to the common room together. The boys were secretly talking to each other on the corner close to the fire, looking all conspiratoriall as they did. "You coming for breakfast?" Lily asked them. Remus turned to look at her, his brown eyes seemed more golden than usual, you wondered if it was because of the lighting in the room.

"Yes, we’ll be down in a minute tho, we’re helping Peter finish his Divination essay.” 

You raised an eyebrow at that statement. Since when did they help Peter with essays? Well, Remus definitely would help Peter, he’d probably help anyone that asked nicely. But the rest? Sirius? That was a bit sus, to say the least. But Lily was already walking out of the common room, so after giving them one more look, you followed her. Maybe they were planning another prank like the rain on the main hall. 

Once you were downstairs, the two of you walked towards the great hall. Mary, Marlene, Beth and some others were already there, having breakfast. You greeted them all with a smile “Good morning!” You said as you sat down. 

“Morning,” responded Mary as she looked up from her copy of The Daily Prophet. 

“Anything new?” You asked her, nodding towards the paper. 

She shook her head “Just the wаr,” she replied somberly “Apparently some deatheaters went on a кiling spree. They’re trying to get the muggle-borns.” 

“An older lady was кiled,” Marlene continued “Marsha Allenty, she was a muggle-born auror.” 

You shuddered at the thought. Muggle-borns first, half-borns next, it wouldn’t take them too long to destroy half the wizarding population if they kept going. Someone had to stop them. You were about to say something when the owls started coming in.  

Your family owl, Barnaby, flew down, dropping a package in front of you. You looked at it. The (Y/LN) family seal was stamped over the elegant wrapping. It had to be from your mother. You opened the package, it contained several things. Some galleons, sweets from your favourite bakery back at home, which instantly told you they’d been travelling. A box filled with different potions, and some ingredients to brew shampoo and other beauty-related things. A special potions booklet and a small velvet box. 

You opened it and there was a ring inside, a thin metal piece with some engravings on it and a gem at the top, held by 4 small pieces of metal, two shaped like a star and two shaped like a moon. 

“What is it?” asked Beth, leaning into you from the side. 

“A gift from my parents,” you responded, taking the reins out of the box to show it to her. 

“It’s stunning,” she told you. “Do you know what that is?” She said pointing at the stone. 

“Moonstone, isn’t it?” You asked, Beth nodded. “Mom cares a lot about the magical properties of stones,” you explained. 

“And the metal is silver,” she said turning the ring around, taking a look at the little seal on the inside. 

“Silver?” You frowned, taking a closer look “You’re right, that’s different. She’s never given me a silver piece before.” 

“Maybe she thinks you’re old enough?” She asked with a shrug. 

You nodded, but it wasn’t that. Your mom always gave you gold things. She said the protective value of it was a lot higher than any other metal. Even the necklace Sirius had given you in the vacation, made of brass, was turned into gold with a special spell she had, a spell that would leave all the magical properties of the item intact. 

“Well, whatever the reason, she did pick a beautiful ring,” you said, finally sliding it through one of your fingers. 

“Do you know what magic it’s got?” 

You shook your head, looking through the box to see if your mom had written any kind of letter. You didn’t find any and shrugged it off “Maybe she just thought it was pretty…” 

“What was pretty?” Asked Peter, who appeared almost out of nowhere along with the boys. 

“(Y/N) was gifted a new ring,” said Mary before taking a bite from her eggs. 

You raised your hand so Peter could see it “Got it on a package from my mom.”

“Moon and stars, eh?” He asked with a raised eyebrow “Interesting choice of symbolism, isn’t it?” 

You looked at Peter and shrugged. He was right, it was an interesting choice of symbolism. Your mom, like you, had an affinity to divination. Maybe she knew something you didn’t “My mom loves that stuff,” you told him, and lowered your hand back to the table, taking your fork to dig into a sausage. 

The boys sat further down on the table. Just close enough to still be able to talk to everyone already sitting there. You left early to go check on the fireworms. Remus and you had decided to split the days in which you had to feed them, and today was your turn. When you arrived at the tunnel entrance you looked around to make sure no one had followed you and entered as quickly as possible. 

“Lumus,” You whispered, and your wand lit up, making the dark tunnel navigable. You looked through the pockets of your robe and found the scrap of parchment Remus had made for you. “Revelio,” you said as you moved your wand over it, revealing a tiny map of the tunnels. You were sure you’d learn the way soon enough, but for now, the little map was indispensable.

You used the map to navigate the tunnel until you arrived at the little nook in which you’d hidden your fireworms. You grabbed some of the food in your backpack and gently placed it on the food trays you’d created with a couple of pumpkin juice caps. You looked at the little fireworms satisfied when you noticed one of them was shining, like a firefly. But the light travelled from the end of the tail, all the way through his body and towards his head, then with a small little sound, almost like a fairy burp, the fireworm caused a small ball of fire to come from his mouth. You looked at it amazed, and quickly put the small fire out with your wand. 

You grabbed your backpack and took out your charms book, trying to find a flames stopper or fire preventive spell as soon as possible. Soon enough you found something that could work and cast it all over the little fireworm habitat you and Remus had been building. After the spell was ready, you stayed for a couple of minutes to make sure they wouldn’t cause a fire that’d burn the entire castle down and once you were certain you let out a long sigh, not even realizing you’d been holding your breath. 

You were thrilled, your fireworms were doing excellent, the way you and Remus had taken care of them allowed them to develop in less time than the standard, which would guarantee the two of you really good grades. You had to tell Remus about it. Maybe you could tell him in divination. Shiit, divination! You were supposed to be in divination. You ran out of the little nook and used the map to find a shortcut towards the divination tower. Once outside you knocked on the door a couple of times and waited. Professor Spellman opened the door, letting you inside with a displeased glance. 

“I’m sorry for being late,” you mumbled as fast as possible. You walked inside and started walking towards Remus, who luckily, hadn’t been paired with anyone yet. 

“Miss (Y/LN),” Professor Spellman called, you turned to him “You will be working with Sybil today,” he said, pointing towards the small Ravenclaw girl. You swallowed but nodded and walked towards her table. You knew who she was, Remus had told you about her, and her story, and you’d probably exchanged a couple of words with her in the past, but you’d never really talked to her. 

“Hey,” you waved as you sat next to her, she waved back, with a small smile, and absentmindedly nudged her glasses back to their place. You looked at her for a minute, her hair might be messy, and you heard she wasn’t very popular, but she was very pretty non the less. 

Professor Spellman started talking and with a flick of his wand opened some cabinets, floating a teapot in front of each table, Leaf reading. You and Sybil brew the tea together, using some of the herbs suggested by the book for more accurate readings. And started chatting to each other after you served your respective teas. 

“Do you like divination?” She asked you. 

“I… uh… not that much, I’ve had some experiences,” you stuttered. 

“Sad readings?” She asked, with a sympathetic expression. 

You nodded, taking a sip of your tea “It’s always negative stuff with me,” you explained “Accurate, but negative.” You shuddered, “What about you? With your legacy and all?” 

“I don’t dislike it,” she told you with a smile, “I don’t like getting sad readings either but it’s fun to know bits of the future, for example, the other day I had these feeling that it was going to rain, so I put on some rain boots before going to Care for Magical Creatures, some Hufflepuffs and even other kids from my year were throwing looks at me, but when it started raining and everyone’s shoes got ruined, but mine didn’t, it was completely worth it.”

You smiled at her story “I don’t get those kinds of feelings,” you said “But it’s nice to meet someone that enjoys it, maybe you could help me enjoy it too.” 

Eventually, you both finished your teas and exchanged teacups. You took a deep breath and eventually leaned over to look at her cup, hoping there would be something good in there. You exhaled when you saw a small little butterfly on the cup. Butterflies were good, they meant change, they meant personal growth, they meant… Images flashed through your eyes, and you breathed heavily a couple of times, trying to regain composure. 

Sybil knew exactly what was going on, she’d been through it several times before too. So she looked at you with concern. “What did you see?” She asked in a steady tone. 

“Nothing bad,” was the first thing you managed to muster, “just… you’ll give a prophecy soon. A very important one, I saw Professor Dumbledore, he seemed really interested in what you had to say.” She nodded at your words, writing everything you said down on a piece of paper, then you looked at her, placing a hand on her arm “Sybil, this prophecy… it looked like it was going to be dark,” you said “but it’s one of those that will change the world.” 

She nodded, taking in all the information you’d given her. She did not doubt a single word you said. And you were glad she did, sometimes visions as such were hard to comprehend, and that’s if the person even cared for it. 

“Are you ok?” She asked then. 

You nodded “I– uh…” you looked at her tea “You will have a period of transformation and positive change, like the metamorphosis of a butterfly,” you told her, making an effort to read the rest of her tea leaves “You should, uh… embrace the opportunities that’ll come your way and also let yourself spread your wings.” 

She laughed in response “That’s my fortune?” She asked motioning towards her tea cup. 

 “Yeah,” you nodded, sounding very certain about it “You must accept your uniqueness,” you added for good measure, after all, humor is one of the best ways to cope with such things “And me? What’s my destiny?” 

She adjusted her glasses and took a peak at your cup “I see… stars, the moon, they’re surrounding something,” she said “A small animal, maybe a hare, or… a wildcat?” 

You looked at her with a frown “Did you say the moon and stars?” 

She nodded, tilting the cup towards you. And she was right, the moon was there, the stars too, and… the small animal? That was a fox. You took a deep breath and showed her the ring your mom had given you “My mom sent me this,” you told her “also moon and stars symbolism.” 

Sybil raised an eyebrow “Does she have an affinity with divination?” She asked. You nodded in response “Then it must mean something…” she said, picking up her book and flipping through it “But I can’t find anything about the moon and stars in the book.” 

“Interpret it,” Said Professor Spellman as he walked by, looking at Sybil with a stern face. 

She nodded, sliding towards the back of the chair, Professor Spellman was imposing, to say the least. “I uh… I see the moon and the stars, they’re close, to a… it’s a–“ 

“It’s a fox,” you told her “The animal, it’s not a wild cat, it’s a fox.” 

“A fox, right!” she agreed, “and I– are those flowers?” She asked looking deeper into the cup. By then your little interaction had piqued the attention of some other students from the class, they were watching the two of you intently. “I– I may be getting things twisted but… according to your cup, the moon and the star will find a blossoming love with…” she hesitated “with the fox.” 

Everyone around the classroom laughed, but the professor raised a hand to quiet them, looking into the cup himself “Sybil’s reading is accurate.” He said, “Maybe (Y/N) has an idea what those symbols might mean?”

You sat straighter, looking at the professor “I seem to be surrounded by symbolism today,” you told him “But I’m sorry sir, I’ve got no idea what it may mean. Perhaps I’ll adopt a fox or something? Shower it with love and stuff,” You lied. While you may have not been able to understand the whole symbolism, there was one thing you knew for certain: you were the fox. 

The Professor nodded, even if he didn’t look convinced, and moved towards someone else’s table. You exhaled, only then realizing you’d been holding your breath. “He can be very intimidating, right?” Sybil asked you. 

You nodded “Definitely.” She looked like she wanted to tell you something else “What is it?” You asked her. 

“Just.. be careful, yeah? The moon, it– it looks a little mennacing on your cup. Like… like it could be dangerous.” 

You frowned “As in, maybe I shouldn’t go out tonight dangerous or…?” 

“No, no,” she shook her head “I don’t know how to explain it, just… keep that in mind, will ya?” 

You nodded, placing a hand on her arm to reassure her “And you’ll be a famous fortune teller soon,” you told her with a smile “How does that feel?” 

She shrugged “I always expected to end up as one, I guess it’s nice to get a prediction of what you’ll be, makes it a little more certain.” 

“And you trust my predictions?” You asked her with a shrug.

She nodded furiously “Of course I do! It’s not every day a fairy tells you your fortune.” 

“I’m sorry?!” You asked her, shocked. 

“I saw it in your cup,” she explained “I didn’t mean to pry, but it made sense… your divination affinity, your charm and magnetism, your talent while flying… You’re part fairy, aren’t you?”  

You looked at her mortified, your parents had done so many things to keep that hidden and now Sybil just guessed it, “You can’t tell anyone,” you told her in a very serious tone. 

She smiled at you “I wasn’t planning to, your secrets are safe with me.” You smiled at her after that, you trusted her. 

Once the class was over you stood up, but she stayed in her seat “You don’t have another class?” You asked her politely. 

She shook her head “I’ve got arithmancy next, I took it as an optative.” 

You hummed in response “Have fun then,” You told her with a smile “I’ve got Magical Theory.”

“Good luck, I heard Professor Pendragon, can be very strict.” 

“No worse than Spellman,” you whispered, so that the Professor in question, who was talking to some other students wouldn’t hear you. Sybil laughed and you finally pulled your backpack from your seat and started walking outside but you were stopped by Professor Spellman. 

“Miss (Y/LN),” he said, and you walked closer to him “Be very careful tonight,” he warned, “there was something odd on your cup, and as you may know, today is Full Moon.” 

You nodded “Thanks, Professor.” Clearly, he saw the same thing Sybil had seen, which was mildly disturbing, but alas, your day had to continue.

Once you were outside of the classroom you spotted the boys a few stairs down. Peter was walking with the girls, you assumed towards their Ancient Studies class, while James, Sirius and Remus walked together, they were walking towards the east wing, to Magical Theory, the class you shared. You had the intention to catch up with them, but they were looking as suspicious as they had looked earlier in the common room, talking in whispers to each other, heads so close they could easily bump together. You decided it was best to let them be, you’d been hanging out with them so much lately, they probably needed some space. So you slowed down your pace, just far enough so they could get their much-needed privacy. 

Eventually, you reached the Magical Theory classroom, and when you arrived you found James waiting at the door, he quickly pulled you towards him and said “She’s gonna be my team.”  

You looked at him with a shrug “Your team? for what?” 

Remus, who was close by responded “The teacher said we’ll be working on a team project, Sirius and I are working together, so James was waiting to claim you as his team.” 

“Besides, I really need your help,” James added. 

You frowned, and asked, a little confused “With the project?” 

“No, with Evans!” He whispered.

Realization down on you and you looked at Remus “He didn’t even ask you to be on his team, did he?” 

He shook his head in response, mouthing a “nope.” 

You laughed, “All right then, we’re a team,” you told James “You can ask me all you need when we–“ You cut yourself off “Wait, Remus! I’ve got to tell you something…” 

“All right, if you gave your teams, please take a seat, class will start.” You heard the teacher say. 

“Nevermind,” you  told him as you turned back since James was pulling you into a table near the back “You’re not planning to pay much attention then?” 

“Don’t scorn me like that,” he complained “We’ll pay attention, I just– really need your advice.” 

"In this project, you will embark on a captivating journey to craft your very own magical artifact. Channel your imagination, drawing inspiration from the likes of invisibility cloaks and rememberalls, as you fashion an extraordinary creation of your own making," the teacher commenced, igniting a spark of curiosity among the class, even James, who had been mortified about Lily just minutes earlier was paying attention.

"Each artifact should possess a distinct purpose, serving its intended function with finesse. You will delve into the depths of your creativity, meticulously designing a blueprint that brings your vision to life. Fear not, for guidance shall be provided, I will walk with you every step of the way“ the teacher reassured, yet a chorus of playful groans filled the air in response to the mention of project design papers.

"Ah, I understand your sentiment," the teacher chuckled, acknowledging the students' apprehension. "But worry not! The journey shall be as enchanting as the destination itself. These project design papers will serve as a canvas to weave together the threads of your imagination, showcasing the brilliance of your creation. Embrace the opportunity to bring your ideas to fruition, weaving magic into the tangible realm. Who knows, you may be the next creators to hold the rights to an incredibly useful device that will sell millions.“ With these words, a wave of anticipation and excitement rippled through the classroom, as students began envisioning the magical artifacts they would soon breathe life into.

“Well, that’s an interesting project,” you said as you started writing down some ideas in your notebook. 

“It’s brilliant, we could ask him to help us with the map!” 

“What map?” You asked while raising an eyebrow. 

“Oh… sorry,” he said “I thought for a minute that you– nevermind. You need to help me with Lily.” James had gotten so used to hanging around you and the boys at the same time for a moment he thought you already knew about the Marauders Map. 

You sighed “Of course James. Tell me what happened,” you said, turning to him “but please write some ideas down as you do.” 

He nodded, and started scribbling on his piece of paper “You see, since we kissed back at Marlene’s party–“

“–James that was a game, you can’t be hung up on that.” You interrupted. 

“No, you don’t understand, there was a connection.” 

You rolled your eyes, while you did think Lily maybe had a little bit of a crush on James, you also knew she wasn’t anywhere ready to admit it. Especially with James’ incessant flirting since like 4th year. Marlene had told you about it. “James, it sounds ridiculous. I kissed Remus then too, and I’m not hung up on it.” 

He narrowed his eyes at that “but you seemed to enjoy it.” 

You shrugged “Can’t say he’s a bad kisser.” And Remus is handsome, you thought “But that’s not the point anyway. What happened?” 

“Lily seems more willing to talk to me lately,” he explained.

“Well, that’s lovely, just give her enough space so you don’t make her feel pressured. Be kind and nice… and stuff.” 

“I was thinking of making this very grand gesture on the quidditch–“ 

You shook your head “James Potter,” you warned “If you so much as try something like that you will scare her away. She’s barely realizing she might like you, don’t do THAT!” 

“What did you just say?” 

“Don’t do it!” You insisted.

“No,” he shook his head, “before that.” 

“I said that she’s barely realizing she might have a c… fuck.” 

“You think… You think she likes me?” He asked, in a very small high pitched tone.

“I– wouldn’t go as far as to say that…” he looked so sad, “…yet.” 

“Yet?” He asked, perking up as a surge of excitement ran through his body.

You nodded “I… think she’s warming up to you,” you told him sincerely “Just don’t do anything that could scare her away, please.” 

“Like what?” 

“Like a scary grand gesture for example.” 

The professor walked toward you “Any ideas so far?” He said looking at James’ messy writing. 

James nodded “A confetti cannon that, after using it, leaves confetti wherever you go,” he said, and read another idea “a pair of shoes that make the wearer constantly trip, a teapot that won’t stop whistling, even without any tea on it, and a buble liquid that makes ticklish bubbles.” He said proudly. 

You stared dagger at him and covered his notes with your some parchment “It’s still a work in progress,” you told the teacher with the most charming smile you could muster, “James and I are still looking for better ideas.” 

The professor nodded and kept walking around the classroom. 

“Tripping shoes?” You asked in desbeilif “an ever whistling teapot? Are you for real–“

“–In my defence, I’m not great at multitasking.”

“No shiit Sherlock,” you told him.

“The tripping shoes could be funny tho.”

“Yeah, and the tickling bubbles are useful, for pranks, but Professor Pendragon wants us to invent the next invisibility cloak, I don’t think he’d be too satisfied with any of those options.” 

“What about a ring that’s also an invisibility cloak?” 

You rose your eyebrow at him “You mean like in the Lord of the Rings?” 

“What’s the Lord of the Rings?” 

You gasped, offended, you too had grown on a pure-blood wizard family but at least you knew the Lord of the Rings, “The hobbit?! Does not ring any bells?” He shook his head “It’s a very popular muggle book, you should really brush up on your muggle literature. Perhaps you should have taken muggle studies instead.”

“Hey!” He complained, “Don’t bash me for not being a literature genius like you and Remus.”

“I bet even Sirius would know about The Lord of the Rings.” 

“How much?” 

“10 sickles?” You asked. 

“Oh, I’m really, really sure Sirius won’t know either,” James said “Make it 20.” 

You rose your eyebrow at his challenge and nodded “Deal,” you said raising your hand to shake his, successfully closing the deal. 

“So… the magical ring’s off the table?” 

“No, I… I don’t think it’s a bad idea, maybe we can make a magical ring, just, with different powers instead.” 

“Like…?”

You shrugged in response “We could make two rings that always find each other.” 

“Ohhh, and I could give one to Lily!” James said excitedly, you threw him a look “Like… not now... When we start dating… obviously.” 

“Love the confidence of that statement,” you said with a smile, thinking of how James had used when instead of if. 

He winked “What about a bracelet that lets you communicate with someone else, like a… muggle telephone.” 

“Or a walkie talkie…” you agreed.

“A what?” He asked. 

“You’re joking, right?” 

“I- uh… yeah,” he replied, not confidently at all. 

“Damn it, James, you urgently need some muggle classes.” You said and started drawing a pair of walkie-talkies on the notebook, trying to explain their use, and how they worked, even if you weren’t entirely certain of how they did. “Can’t believe none of you thought it’d be useful to have some of them around. Especially for your pranks.” 

“Yeah, me neither,” he agreed “You know smoke signals aren’t really the most effective.” 

“Surely you didn’t try that,” You said confidently, his expression gave him away “You did?!?” 

He shook his head, letting out a long sigh “We were in detention for days.” 

You chuckled  at that “At least you have the little paper planes now,” you said, remembering the day Remus had sent one to the boys, same day he took you to the lake because you were feeling upset. 

“They’re useful, but they can be intercepted.” He explained, “Not very good for top secret plans.” 

You laughed, of course, James would consider his prank plans worthy of the Top Secret title. “What about a bracelet?” You asked then.

“A magical bracelet? Sounds good, also with walkie-talkie abilities?” 

“Could be more convenient than a ring…” you responded, “Not really sure about it tho."

“What about a pair of glasses that can help you see better in the dark?” He asked, “For those times where you can’t use lumos, maybe you lost your wand, or you wanna be inconspicuous.” 

“Night vision googles, I dig it.” 

“Exactly, but smaller, more practical to carry around.” 

“Well, I guess we’ve got a few solid ideas then,” you said as you started picking up your things, you and James had stayed brainstorming together for a little longer than you realized “Class is over?”

James nodded “Moony and Pads left already,” he said as he looked towards the table your friends had been sitting on, “probably to the great hall, we said we’d eat together.” 

“Peter too?” You asked him, he nodded.

“Wanna join us?” 

You shrugged in response, “though you were planning a prank or something,” you said as you walked towards the door with him by your side. 

He frowned “Why?” 

“All the secretive talks? You’ve been awfully suspicious today.” 

“What? No- that’s… it’s not. We’re not suspicious.” 

You gave him an incredulous look but nodded “No, not at all,” you added sarcastically. 

Once you were in the hall you spotted Remus and Sirius walking ahead of you and remembered you had to tell him about your fireworms so you picked up the pace. You walked behind him, for a minute, but he was so entertained in his conversation with Sirius you decided it’d be funny to tease him, so you extended your arms, and standing in your toes –because Remus was actually pretty tall– you decided to cover his eyes with your palms “Guess who–“ you started, but didn’t even get enough time to finish since Remus practically jumped out of your grasp in seconds, hissing as the silver of your new ring came into contact with his skin. It didn’t leave a mark but it did hurt him like hell. 

Sirius, being quick to figure the new ring you wore had silver on it, looked at you with panic, but you didn’t notice, you were too concerned over Remus’ reaction. “I– I’m sorry Rem, didn’t mean to scare you…” you stammered “I… I was just trying to tease.” James and Sirius finally relaxed when they noticed you’d thought Remus was just scared. 

“It’s ok…” he said with a forced smile as he extended his hand, a safe distance between your ring and himself “I wasn’t expecting you to come up from behind like that.” 

You didn’t seem convinced but nodded, concern still evident on your face. “I uhh… I was trying to catch up to actually,” You finally changed the subject. James had gotten in between you and Remus as you walked, so you leaned a little towards the front to see your friend better “It’s about our fireworms, they’re already breathing fire.” 

“What? I thought they wouldn’t do it until they were like a month old,” said Sirius. 

“Exactly!” You nodded excitedly “They weren’t, our caring must have been phenomenal. Our babies are overachievers.” 

“You’re keeping them together?” James asked. 

You nodded “Co-parenting,” you paused “We split tasks and that way we make sure we don’t burn down the school by accident.” 

Remus nodded in agreement “It’s easy to remember to feed them when it’s only a couple times a week instead of every single day.” 

“And we found an excellent spot to keep them too, away from stress and anything that could make them nervous.” 

“Well, the overachievers are not the worms,” Sirius said giving you and Remus a look. 

James agreed “We just gave ours to Peter, in exchange for some other homework.” 

“By the way (Y/N), mind taking care of them tomorrow too?” Remus asked politely.

“Sure thing,” you said, not thinking much of it. 

You had your lunch with the boys, the girls and Peter joined you a bit later and you all walked to Defense Against the Dark Arts together. Professor Nightshade was elegantly leaning on her desk when you arrived at her classroom. She looked a little tense. Like she wasn’t too excited about the class to come. 

Once most students were inside she shut the door with a wave of her wand “Today we will be going through the unforgivable curses.” She said, looking rather dejected “and while is not of my favourite classes to teach, we must delve into the subject, especially in dark times like these in which you might need to defend yourselves from one of them.” 

The entire class was silent, everyone was paying attention to every single one of her words. It wasn’t uncommon to hear about the war, it was on the paper every single day, but most students chose to avoid and ignore the subject, so even if the war was going on, it was outside, Hogwarts was safe. But being confronted with it, so upfront, felt, well, it felt eerie and scary. 

“Can someone name the unforgivable curses?” She asked. 

Lily raised her hand “The кilling course, Imperius curse and…” 

“The cruciatus curse,” Finished Sirius with a heavy breath. 

“Correct!” Seraphina said, “10 points for Gryffindor… Indeed those are the three unforgivable curses, and they are unforgivable because…”

“Because they violate the rights of whoever is being cursed by them,” you responded. 

“Can any of them be avoided?” 

You shook your head “Only very experienced wizards can resist Imperio.” 

“And countered?” 

“Physical barriers might block some of the curses, but there is no known spell that can do such a thing.” Said Remus. 

“No one has ever survived a кilling course either,” Imogen Potts added.  

“Seems like you’ve been doing all the readings accordingly,” the teacher said satisfied “Now, you know the theory, but today we will have a small demonstration.” The students gasped, but Seraphina nodded heavily “You must know what you’re up against,” she pulled out a box and opened it, a butterfly flew out of it, about the size of your palm. Seraphina let the small insect fly freely for a minute before pointing her wand straight at her and whispering “Imperio.”  

The butterfly started flying around, making circles around the class before landing on Marlene’s nose. She was sitting beside you, so you looked at her in awe as the butterfly batted its wings softly near her face. But then Seraphina changed the course, whispering “Cruicio.” The butterfly fell from Marlene’s nose and onto your table, right next to your book as it batted its wings helplessly. You looked at it with concern, Seraphina herself looked mortified as she inflicted pain on the small creature.

You gave her an imploring look, and that was all it took for her to stop. The small butterfly was released from the pain and started flying all around the classroom, desperately looking to get away from the place. Once the butterfly was close enough to her, she whispered the last curse and after a green flash came from her wand, the butterfly stopped flying, slowly falling to the ground, like a leaf from a tree. 

The whole classroom was quiet. You stood up and carefully picked up the small butterfly from the floor. Looking at it pitifully as you handed it over to Seraphina, who held the box out for you to place it inside. “As you’ve seen, these curses are not only lethal but terrifying as well. There is a reason why, whoever dares to infringe them, will never be forgiven.” 

“They will go to Azkaban,” whispered Peter. 

“What a pitiful destiny,” agreed Sirius. 

Professor Nightshade sighed heavily “I think this is enough for today, you may go.”

Students nodded and started placing their things into their backpacks. When you stood up, you walked towards her “I want to be in the duelling club.” You told her “I… I don’t want to end up like the butterfly.” 

Seraphina looked at you, a sorrowful look in her eyes, she understood the implications of what you’d said. She knew how heavy your statement was. And she nodded “Of course darling, you’ll be a brilliant addition to the club.” 

You nodded, satisfied and finally caught up with your friends. You went straight to Lily “At what time must we go get the fluxweed?” You asked. 

“It’s supposed to be when the moon it’s at its highest point,” she told you “I checked the astronomy section of the paper in the morning, apparently at around 11:30 pm.” 

“All right, we can totally hang out together till then, right? Do you have any plans?” 

She shook her head “We had study club, but we cancelled it today, I was thinking of maybe going to the library to get some stuff and then studying or just chilling back at the common room.” 

“It’s settled then,” you told her with a smile, walking alongside her towards the library. Since you had already finished most of your assignments you decided to walk through the long bookshelf to see if you found anything that caught your eye, while Lily looked for some more specific books. And as you walked over the edge of one of the bookshelves you bumped into Nina, the small Ravenclaw girl from the study grup that had a crush on Remus. “Hey love,” you said politely. 

“Hi,” she replied quietly. To be fair, Nina really wanted to dislike you when she first encountered you. She was jealous of how close you and Remus had gotten in such a short period of time, but you had always treated her with kindness, genuinely willing to help her, if she had any questions, or needed help with a particular spell; that, in the end, she couldn’t help but like you instead. In fact, she’d go as far as to say she admired you. She’d seen you practicing spells and she even went to one of the quidditch trainings, with the intention to ogle at Remus who had gone too, but she was far too entranced by you when you were flying that she almost completely forgot about her original reason for going. 

“You looking for Rem?” You asked her politely. 

She shook her head “He cancels study sessions at least once every couple of weeks,” she told you “Originally, only Lily held the sessions by herself but she got very stressed without him to help her with the younger students, so they decided it was best to cancel them altogether.” Remus cancelled them? You thought, that’s odd. “What about you? Are you looking for a book in particular?” 

You shook your head “Just something to entertain me while I hang out with Lily.” 

“Oh, I think I can help you with that,” she said with a smile, bringing her backpack in front of her and opening the zipper “I actually got my hands on this book out last week, I read it in days, it’s about a werewolf who falls in love with a wizard.” she explained “It’s not very accurate with the actual nature of werewolves, but the key points are there. It’s a very fun romantic novel If you’re into that kind of stuff.” She said taking a book out of her bag and placing it on the table. “Oh and this one,” she grabbed a smaller book “It’s filled with simple yet practical spells that we don’t have in the curriculum, such as ways to fix glasses and open locks. It’s fantastic if you want something a bit more educational.” 

You looked at her with a smile “These are fantastic Nina, thank you!” You said with genuine excitement.

She smiled at you, blushing just a little at your reaction “It’s nothing. I’m– I really like books,” she told you with a smile “If you ever need new recommendations, I’m down.” 

You smiled at her “You’re the best!” You told her picking the books up from where she left them “It was lovely seeing you.” 

She nodded, and was about to say something when Lily showed up, looking for you “I’ve got the books, ready to go?” She asked, and then noticed you weren’t alone “Oh, hey Nina! What’s up?” 

“She lent me a couple of books,” you said, raising the books you held in between your arms so Lily would notice.

Lily nodded “Oh, Nina is really good at picking out books, trust me.” Lily said, “Mind if I take (Y/N) with me now?” 

Nina shook her head “We were just doing some small talk.” She said, with a bit of a blush as both you and Lily waved your goodbyes. 

As you walked outside the library Lily gave you a look “So… you’re friends with Nina now?” 

You shrugged “She’s pretty nice actually. I don’t know when it happened, but she stopped hating me over Remus, and now she’s really kind, she even recommended books!” 

“You probably just charmed her with your personality and looks, like you did with pretty much everyone,” Lily teased with a smile. 

“Oi, shut up Evans, you’re probably more charming than I am,” you said nudging her in a friendly manner. She nudged you back and the two of you walked together towards the common room, chatting about your due assignments, and your favourite books. Since Lily was a muggle-born, she knew even more about muggle books than you, and it was fun hearing about all of them, from her favourites to those she didn’t like all that much.

Once you arrived at the common room you both found a comfortable place, she sat on the small round table by the stairs and you went straight for one of the couches, letting yourself comfortably lay on it while opening your backpack to pick one of the books Nina had recommended, you grabbed each on one hand, staring at the covers, trying to decide which one to go for first. After weighing both of them in your head, you decided to read the spell book and leave the romance novel on the side table. 

Nina hadn’t been lying, the book was indeed practical, and you tried casting some of the most complicated or useful spells as you read, practicing the wand movements and incantations as Lily focused on her homework.

At some point Mary and Marlene went in, they were giggling about something that happened so you decided to leave your book next to the others and join their conversation. 

“Oh my god, (Y/N)! You won’t believe what happened.” Mary said. 

You smiled “Oh, do tell” 

“We were talking to Moaning Myrtle, she said she overheard Holden talk about Marlene with some other boys, that she was an incredible beater and stuff.” 

“Really?” You said smiling wider “I mean, no doubt, she’s amazing!  But he said that?”

Mary nodded “According to Myrtle, that is… She also said some boys have been saying you’re part Veela because of your charm, be careful they may try and throw you into the water to see if you’re a good swimmer.” 

You laughed at that, you were a good swimmer, but they couldn’t have been more off with their guesses. “So… what are you waiting for Mars? You have to make your move!” 

“Make my move?” She gasped. 

You nodded “Well, at the party you seemed pretty close, admit you like him or–”

“–Kiss him unexpectedly,” completed Mary. 

“Yeah, that too.” You nodded.

“Well…” Marlene said taking a deep breath “I’m thinking I could– I wanted to invite him to Hogsmeade over the weekend, actually.” 

“That’s brilliant!” You told her “Isn’t that tomorrow?”

She nodded in response “You coming too? I heard Sirius and James mention they wanted to show you around.” 

“They haven’t told me anything about it, but I guess I’ll tag along with ya’ll anyway.”

At that point Lily stood up from her place and stretched, yawning softly “What time is it?”  

“10:30,” answered Marlene after looking at her wrist watch “You done?”

She nodded “But we have to stay up for at least an hour,” Lily complained.

“Why?” Mary asked. 

“We’re going to harvest some fluxweed,” you responded instead. 

“Oh… because it’s full moon,” Marlene acknowledged. 

You nodded “When are you getting yours?” 

“Marlene ordered them from a fancy potion supply store.” 

“That was allowed?” you asked, surprised.

Marlene shrugged “Not sure, but I highly doubt Slughorn will find out, if anything, we can say we picked them out with you.”

“Sure,” Lily said, sitting down on the sofa next to you, placing your feet on top offer lap to make some space. You made a move to bring your feet down but she shook her head “It’s alright, rest up, you’ve been awake since like 5 am, haven’t you?” You nodded, letting your feet on to lay over her lap “You should just tell James to screw off and sleep in, I can tell you’re not a morning person.” 

You laughed “I wish, but I want to be in top shape for the game and… to be honest, I’m still getting used to my new broom, that’s why I’ve been flying every morning.” Out of nowhere, a pillow was thrown towards your face “Oi, what was that for?” You asked looking at Marlene, who’d been responsible for it. 

“Show off,” she said “I need time to practice with my new broom,” she teased “and then she goes and flies like a professional every single damn time.” You opened your mouth to try to speak but closed it soon after, Marlene continued talking “James has been making the training even tougher so we keep up with her.” 

“Sorry,” you said then “I guess I just really like flying.” After all, it’s in my blood, you thought. You wondered if you’d ever trust them enough to tell them about it, the answer was pretty simple, you already did, and you wanted to, but you knew how dangerous it was.

You stayed talking with the girls for a while, Marlene told you about the time she got on the quidditch team, Lily talked about being exceptionally good at potions and being invited to an exclusive party with Slughorn and Mary told you about the private classes she had been taking with Madam Pomfrey, about all the new potions and spells she had learned. 

“It’s finally 11,” said Lily when Mars finished the story about the worst date she had gone on, she’d been invited to a magical restaurant, that had been jinxed by an angry customer the previous day, it had been absolute mayhem. 

You stood up, stretching yourself “We should probably get going,” you said with a smile. She nodded and picked her backpack up, taking out a piece of paper and handing it over. You looked at her puzzled.

“It’s a nigh pass, I asked McGonagall for it,” she told you “We can go out and Filnch won’t say a thing.” 

“Oh nice,” you said looking at the paper, boy, how easy would it be to make duplicates of it, with different dates. “Shall we?” You asked tilting your head towards the door. She nodded and the two of you walked towards the portrait of the fat lady. 

“Good luck girls!” You heard Marlene shout from behind.

“Yeah, we’ll be back in the bedroom.”

Series Masterlist | Next Chapter

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[cherr-22]

TNGDH 29

Plop. My body fell and rolled over the thick pile of sawdust. I sprawled out on the floor and sighed.

‘Thank god for the Summon.’

If it weren’t for this, I would’ve died. One unfortunate death was enough for an experience. Especially one where you’d fall and won’t be able to find the body.

―Squeak. (Sigh.)

More importantly, I was worried about Kyle.

He had a strong, yet affectionate personality, so he must’ve been quite heartbroken to lose a person he promised to protect right in front of his eyes. I did say I was going to come back, but it would’ve been difficult to believe in even it were myself.

That doesn’t mean I could open up the Nut Store and fall together. It was already too late to open the store and I didn’t wish for him to fall too.

It’s not just you who are protecting me, I’m also protecting you.

It couldn’t be helped.

Like that, the complicated feelings and inner turmoil never went away. I kept turning back and forth and scratched my sides.

But now that I was in a familiar place, I eventually dozed off to sleep. With so much that had happened in one day, my stamina must’ve ran low.

In the end, I couldn’t overcome the my tiredness and closed my eyes.

‘The first thing I’ll do when he comes back is apologize.’

To apologize for disappearing like that.

*

Bang.

The door opened more roughly than usual.

I jumped up in surprise, waking from my sleep. Be quiet will you! Don’t you know how small and fragile a hamster’s liver is!

“Your Highness.”

The people who entered the study were Kyle and his knights.

Kyle’s arm still looked uncomfortable, as if he hadn’t taken care of his injury yet. His clothes were stained with a mixture of dirt and blood, and his overall appearance was so messy that he looked a little terrifying.

Bam―!

Kyle strode in and slammed on the desk. Leaning forward on the table, he took a deep breath. A few knights stiffened upon seeing him fiercer than usual.

It certainly felt as if the temperature of the room fell by about 1 degree. I covered myself in the sawdust and watched Kyle.

“Your Highness. You haven’t rested for two days already. You should rest first and…….”

The knight at the door spoke cautiously. Kyle muttered lowly without even looking at him.

“Go back.”

The knights glanced at each other, bowed their heads, and left the study.

When the heavy door closed, silence filled the room. In the middle was Kyle, who spoke quietly.

“……It shouldn’t have been you.”

My heart hurt upon hearing that.

It was obvious, yet also surprising. He must’ve already suffered from the deaths of countless other people as he fought against the beasts just to survive in the harsh North. It was something I could not imagine myself, nor have I read about it in books.

The Serena’s first impression of Kyle in <Winter’s Heart> was like this: a poor man who carried countless deaths on his shoulders.

To be honest, I wasn’t aware of it because he was always fawning over and kissing me uncontrollably.

Why aren’t there many people around him who offers help and accepts help? How many people have he lost this way?

Wait a little more, Kyle.

Just a little more.

I will come for you soon.

*

In the meantime, I did everything I could as Cashew.

I gazed at him with both my paws up, gently rubbed my body against him, and even kissed him for the first time in my life.

Seeing him still look gloomy, I even brought out the macadamia nuts and nibbled on them in front of him. I wanted to throw them out and ask for meat, but I held back and ate five pieces.

Hey. If your hamster became a food fighter, at least pretend to look at it. See, I’m eating well.

When I sprawled out on his palm after eating to my fullest, Kyle finally showed a meaningful response. He stroked my head exactly twice with his fingers before putting me back into my hut.

Meaning, everything I did was useless. As Kyle turned off the lights and left the room, I pressed myself against the transparent wall.

―Squeak! (Hey!)

―Squeak squeak! (I acted cutely for you!)

But Kyle, as if he were dazed, didn’t hear my cries and just closed the door.

This was roughly an hour ago.

I contemplated before using  ‘Summon’. I dressed up and headed for Kyle’s room.

Originally, I was going to show up tomorrow morning, the day after Kyle returned to the castle. If a person who fell off the cliff returned to the territory first, it would’ve been suspicious. They would be questioned on how they survived and was able to come back so quickly.

So, I wanted to lighten the mood a bit in the form of Cashew.

“Phew.”

I let out a deep breath in front of his room. It was still too early for him to have fallen asleep so we should be able to meet up.

To be at another’s bedroom at this time of the night. I’d be labeled as a pervert, but then again I was already known as a pet pervert.

Knock knock.

I knocked out of respect and grabbed the doorknob when there was no response. The lights inside the room was already out and the inside was dark.

I cautiously entered. Fortunately, faint moonlight seeped in through the drawn curtains.

You’re already sleeping.

As expected I should’ve visited tomorrow, but then…

“Shu?”

Kyle appeared from the darkness and grabbed my wrist.

Surprised, I jolted and turned my head around. As if he had just came out from washing himself, he was wrapped in a bathrobe and water dripped down from his hair.

Hey, man. Make some sounds when you walk around. You scared me.

“Just how exactly…….”

His face was quite shocked, as if he had seen a ghost. He examined me to see if I was real.

Just when I thought when he would release my wrist―.

“You, what are you.”

Suddenly, I was grabbed by the collar.

‘Why is he being like this?’

With no other choice, I went along with him. I lifted both my hands up and made a gesture that said, ��I am harmless’.

“Do you not recognize your pet anymore?”

I spoke as calmly and jokingly as possible. But Kyle’s face still did not relax.

“Are you a magician? How did you return?”

“……What are you trying to say?”

“You disappeared when you fell from the stairs before. Just what kind of magic did you use to be able to disappear without a trace like that.”

I gaped for a moment. Then, the system window suddenly appeared before my eyes.

[A strange turn of events have been observed in the ‘Magic Tower of Frost’. Kyle has thought about striking negotiation with his long time nemesis, the Northwest Magicians.]

‘Northwest Magicians?’

Is Kyle suspecting me as a magician?

Well, to survive such a fall would’ve been either a miracle or due to magic. And to have no wounds whatsoever after returning. I should’ve asked the system to make some fake wounds for me…….

“Please calm down. First, let go of me.”

I lightly patted the hand holding onto my collar.

His pupils shook. Even though the whole situation was suspicious, he also seemed to look a little happy.

[Currently Possessing Hearts ｜ ❤×10]

……To be able to be happy even while holding onto my collar. Are you that happy that I came back alive?

“I know you have a lot of questions, but I will only answer three. I will answer them all. Oh, and to answer your question regarding if I am a magician or not, I am not a magician.”

He glared at me with sharp eyes for a moment. How pressuring.

“How did you survive and come back? The fall should’ve been so deep that you couldn’t even see the bottom. I searched for you after your fall, but I couldn’t find even a single trace of you. And then you return back without even a single scratch on you?”

“This.”

I lifted my right hand. The bracelet with a bright blue gem dangling from it sparkled in a soft color.

“It must truly be a lucky bracelet. Mid-fall, I got caught on a branch and landed on a bush. That was how I survived.”

Of course, it was a lie.

However, there was nothing else I could say or do. I couldn’t say that I was once a human who turned into a hamster and could change back and forth using a system item.

Kyle still looked at me with suspicious eyes. Still, he seemed to have been trying to convince himself.

“There is no reason for you to believe me, but I hope you do. After all, I am on Your Highness’s side.”

“Anyone can say whatever they want to say. That goes the same for beliefs.”

“Then would you believe me if I even put my life on the line?”

“What do you mean?”

Only then did his grip loosen. I gently took his hand off and opened my mouth.

“I put my life on the line for you. I am saying that your future is also my future.”

He gawked at me like I was some strange person.

I knew. I sounded like a fraud. I wanted to say it in a different way but couldn’t think of other word choices I could use. Besides, what I said was true.

“Is the last question still available?”

“Yes. Go ahead.”

Kyle was unusually hesitant. I waited patiently in his silence and it wasn’t long before I heard a softer voice coming from him.

“……Are you hurt anywhere?”

“…….”

I became speechless for a moment. It was such a strange question to ask to a person he doubted until now.

I cleared my throat and answered while rubbing the back of my neck.

“……Ahem. I’m not hurt anywhere. Just a few scratches. You know how fast I recover, right?”

So please stop searching all over my body, Your Highness.

I tried to ignore his gaze and looked at the system window.

After eating several Long-Lasting Acorn Cookies and the Panting Almond Financier, my Miracle Value hit an all time low. It decreased by 10%, so my Summon duration also decreased by an hour.

[‘Summon’ will be canceled in 15 minutes.]

“It’s quite late and you need to rest, so I will be going now. It’s my mistake for visiting you at this late time.”

I said while smiling and began to take a few steps back. I cleared up the misunderstandings and said everything I needed to say. The hour was spent well.

However, my retreat couldn’t reach the door. That was because Kyle kept holding onto my wrist tightly.

“……Should I just trap you in.”

Hmm, I don’t think that’s possible.

I pulled back my wrist and smiled.

“Unfortunately, I have a curfew.”

A one hour curfew.

“If you feel lonely, how about doing that?”

I gestured with my chin to the knitting set next to the bed. Kyle followed my movements with his eyes and pulled me into his arms.

……Hey, hey. What are you doing.

“You have no need to go all the way back to your room.”

My body tilted to the side and felt the soft bed supporting my shoulders.

15 minutes left!

[(/へ＼*) ]

Don’t act shy.

‘How do I get out of this situation…’

I struggled and pushed him away by the shoulders. Then I paused.

“…….”

He was already asleep.

It hasn’t even been a minute and yet he already fell asleep. He breathed in and exhaled softly and evenly with his eyes shut.

It must’ve been exhausting. To be concerned about me the whole day after an unexpected incident without taking care of his own injuries……

Even so, don’t you think it’s against the rules to fall asleep so suddenly with such a relaxed expression?

I gazed at his face quietly.

[‘Summon’ will be canceled in 10 seconds.]

“Sleep well, Kyle.”

I’m glad I returned back to your side.

--------------------------------------------------------

Previous Chapter / Next Chapter

[anystalker707]

Forgotten screens and messy covers

Pairing: Gerard x [gender neutral, afab] Reader Word count: ~ 2 200 Genre: Smut / Comfort Summary: A boring movie leads to interesting actions. Kind of content: Pegging / Dirty talk / Praising / Humiliation

Requested by anon "can you do a fic where reader and basement gee are watching a movie and then one thing leads to another and they fuck?? i want reader to (...)"

MASTERLIST

          Gerard came over to your place easily after an offer of a horror movie with candies and leftover pizza. It really didn’t take a lot to please any of you, really—you would’ve accepted the offer too if he were the one making it—because the most important thing was each other’s presence, after all. Some weekends were about asking the other over so you could continue to do nothing for the rest of the day, but with the other.

Jaws had been playing on the TV for quite a while now. You’d watched it so many times that the movie would already glitch; the DVD already showing its signs of age and the player wasn’t the best thing already by itself. Your eyes squinted at the TV on a scene of Martin fussing around—the screen was still frozen on the sea while his voice kept playing in the background, the faint blue light of the TV being the only thing illuminating your room at the moment. Boredom quickly started to take over; eyes darting away from the screen and heavy sighs cutting through the silence as you both sat under the covers.

You looked over at Gerard, seeing they were pouting a little while still looking at the screen with a little of hope, and your mind started to wander easily enough because... Why not? It was a matter of seconds before your lips met Gerard’s. It wasn’t the first time you’d done that—you and Gerard were more than friends, but still a little far from having anything established. It was enough to play around, though.

Gerard gasped softly, but did kiss back, finally finding something more entertaining than the glitching TV screen. He placed a hand on the back of your head to pull you closer, and you allowed them to, deepening the kiss as they wished.

Maybe, the kisses were never innocent. Maybe, they had a goal behind them the whole moment, but it still wasn’t something to be discussed. Gerard only kept kissing you back until the light kisses gained a new urgency that magnified their intensity and it was a matter of time before you were throwing the blankets out of the way and climbing between Gerard’s legs while you kept kissing them. The kisses would remain on that level if you didn’t feel something poking your lower stomach at the same time a soft sound escaped Gerard’s lips when you pushed your hips against his; the way they tugged on you with their arms around your back didn’t seem like he wanted you to stop either.

A moan escaped Gerard’s throat when your teeth ran against his bottom lip and, soon, he grasped on the hair on the back of your head to guide you down to their neck, leaving them squirming and moaning more under your lips. You knew the right spots, the right thing you had to do, so it wasn’t much of a hard task.

“Please,” Gerard said with a groan, voice tight in their chest.

Who were you to deny it to them? But it also didn’t mean you wouldn’t tease.

“Please what?” You grinned, nuzzling a spot under his jaw and mumbling against the skin. Gerard only pushed his hips up in response; you clicked your tongue. “Use your words or else I won’t know.”

Gerard’s throat moved under your touch with a harsh swallow, then vibrated with his curses. “Touch me. Anything. Anything works.” Something about how he was always so shy about it made a feeling stir inside your lower stomach; he would never meet your eyes, mostly keeping their eyes closed and would have their face hidden if you allowed.

A pleased smile stretched across your face at the same moment the proud feeling swelled inside your chest and you pulled to sit back on your legs, letting Gerard’s bottom over your lap. They already had his hair all messy, or messier than usual, better saying. Hazel eyes observed you past greasy dark strands of hair and his face was red, almost as brightly as his swollen lips. Heavy breaths escaped Gerard’s lips as his chest heaved up and down, coming to a halt when your hand landed right on the bulge between his legs.

“(Y/n),” he said breathly as his hands balled into fists around the blankets.

“Shhh...”

Fingers hooked around the waistband of their pants, you slowly pulled them down along with his underwear and smiled at the sight. His cock arched back against his lower stomach heavily, bright pink and with precum oozing from the tip already, and you wondered how sensitive he felt that day.

Your hands wrapped around his cock, feeling its warmth and weight in your hand for a moment before you started pumping it up and down—you leaned forward to spit down on the tip and let it trail down as a makeshift lube, which seemed to work quite well given how Gerard’s back arched.

“Goddamnit, Gerard...” You clicked your tongue in a not-so-genuine annoyance. “Look at you. So needy already and all I did was to barely touch you.” In response, they tried to stutter out a few curses, failing miserably, only working to make you chuckle. “Sensitive today, are we?” You sank your finger in their tip in a search for a response by yourself, and it was easy to find out given out he moaned loudly and arched their back, all a little more than the normal. “All pretty and just for me!”

The words had each touch intensified for Gerard, only making his want grow as you kept working your hand and spat down on your fingers once again, moving faster. You mumbled absentmindedly about how pretty he looked while you let your finger brush against that spot they liked under the tip of their cock. His face was mostly hidden by the messy hair, but there was just enough to know how much they enjoyed all of it. Gerard’s needy nature was something that you relished on.

A few gasps and the right twists of your wrist later, he was already cumming and the drops that escaped your fingers fell over his black shirt and stained yet another one of those.

Gerard still throbbed in your hand and his breaths were still ragged, but your hand continued there, using his own cum as lube so you could continue your motions, barely leaving time for his cock to soften before it was hard in your hand again and Gerard squirmed under you.

“W—Wait—” Gerard said almost incoherently, swallowing his words. The absence of the safeword and the way their hips pushed against your hand only encouraged you to keep going, your sloppy movements making their thighs tremble and threaten to close around you. Something that sounded like your name escaped his lips whiningly, and you finally stopped, watching Gerard arch their back and pant heavily whilst trying to grasp reality once again.

Just watching Gerard was enough to build something in you. You bit your lip, observing them with wide eyes and processing his little mannerisms before you climbed to the edge of the bed and reached for something under it.

“What you doing...” Gerard’s voice was almost nothing beyond a lousy whisper.

You glanced back at him, also moving to reach for something from the bedside table after you retrieved a box from under the bed. A smirk crossed your face and you almost chuckled from the excitement. “Pants and underwear off, hm?”

Just a few words without much context were enough for Gerard to know what was going on. Their eyes widened a little, but there was excitement behind his dark gaze when he quickly moved to do as said. They had the same rush you had while you got rid of your own clothes, messing a little with the strap-on due to the anticipation, but you already had it in by the time Gerard’s boxers were meeting the ground.

“All fours.” You had the lube in hand already when you were climbing back on the bed and kneeling your way over to between Gerard’s legs once he’d done what you asked for. He glanced back at you, seeming like they were about to say something, but their breath was wasted in a soft gasp when your hand met the back of his head to shove it against the pillow. “Being a good boy for me today, aren’t you? ‘Bet you were already anxious for a fuck once you left your house to come here,” you couldn’t help the words as you held onto his hips, not even bothering to know what his groans were about while you opened the lube.

The cold liquid met Gerard’s entrance and had him fluttering more than before, clenching around nothing in a silent request for something that you’d not give him yet, but it was enough to have them gasping against the pillow while the liquid trailed down to his balls and his cock. You observed him carefully, coating your fingers with the lube as well before you could dip two of them past the muscles of rings around their entrance.

Little resistance met you along with Gerard’s moans, your fingers welcomed by warm and wet walls that relaxed according to how you pushed in slowly until the last knuckle then clenched once you started to make the way back. Since Gerard was already sensitive, you didn’t use a lot of time in it, only making sure he was lubed properly before you coated the strap-on’s dildo with the lube as well.

“Ready?” One of your hands grasped onto Gerard’s hip and the other onto the base of the dildo while you looked over at them. The anticipation burned in your lower stomach, hopefully mirroring what they felt.

Only a groan came in response at first, followed by a muffled ‘yes’, then there were moans; Gerard already gasped just at the intrusion of the tip of the toy, pushing himself back at the same proportion you pushed into them. You let out a soft sound at how the back of the toy made a light pressure against your clit the moment your thighs met the back of theirs and the space between you two was closed. His skin was warm, rising under yours with a shiver when you rode his shirt far up his torso so you’d hold onto both of his hips now.

Gerard’s arms were folded in front of themself as he groaned softly, their sounds gaining a rhythm dictated by how your hips met his, first in experimental heavy and slow thrusts that soon gained a proper pace. You couldn’t help but moan softly as well whenever any motion had the right pressure over your clit, but even so, your own pleasure wasn’t the focus at the moment; you just wanted to please Gerard, each time more encouraged by how his moans would easily grew louder whenever your hips would meet theirs when he pushed them back and the toy pressed just against his prostate.

“P���Please...” You could catch the word among all the nonsense that Gerard spoke, motivating you to keep the rhythm that had the sound of skin against skin echoing through the room already.

Gerard’s hair was tangled in your fingers when you bent down while pausing your movements so you could bring their head up a little, whispering into his ear. “Please what?”

A whimper came from him, hips wriggling in an attempt to get you to move again. “M—More... ‘M almost there...” His dark, hazy orbs met yours from the corners of his eyes and you chuckled.

“There you go.”

Your hand held Gerard’s head down against the pillow, sideways, and the other held onto their hip to make a firm frame which you could fuck into, snapping your hips harshly to help Gerard reach their high.

“You look cute like this,” you mumbled breathlessly, voice shaking. “Being so good to me... You just like being a little slut to me, right? Coming to my house when none of us have anything to do just so I can fuck that pretty little ass of yours until I am satisfied...” The words spilled from your lips as easily as the moans left him, in a gentle rambling that had the knot in Gerard’s lower stomach growing tighter to the same point you could feel the want rushing through your veins. You wanted some touch, any sort of touch, but your focus was Gerard now.

Gerard gave up on pleading for anything, instead resorting to whines that sounded like music to your ears. Thankfully, it was a sign they were growing closer; your thighs and knees already burned with ache from the restrictive and repetitive motion, which got you more invested into the harsh and precise thrusts that had Gerard quivering and trembling under your touch.

It was a matter of time—one, two thrusts and Gerard was cumming, with a string of whiny moans and trembling legs while they stained your covers. His knuckles went white as their fingers wrapped around the pillow they held onto until his grip started to falter and your thrusts started to drive him into overstimulation; you decided not to go that path and instead stopped your movements slowly, pulling back away from Gerard. He complained a little at the absence of a body against his, but easily gave up against the mattress once you knelt away, sitting down on the bed so you could remove the strap-on and give your legs a break. Your hands trembled as you tried to do it fast so you could satisfy your own want as fast as possible.

 ‿̩͙‿ ༺ ♰ ༻ ‿̩͙‿

[loversj0y]

OMG THE SONG MINE FOR THE TAYLOR EVENT WOULD BE SO GOOD

congrats on 200 btw, you deserve it <3

mine

pairing: wilbur soot x gn! reader

tws: reader has parent issues pog

notes: this one probably took the longest bc of my brain not working, but i do like how it turned out :3

word count: 1.2k

taglist: @l0veb0mb1ng / @core-queen / @zooone / @lillylvjy

You weren’t afraid to admit that you were scared of love. It wasn’t love you were really scared of after all. No, you yearned for love, for something real. But you were scared of falling in love for a multitudes of reasons. You’d seen how quickly love can crash and burn, and how it could leave one person deserted in a whirlwind of heartbreak and loneliness. So you were afraid to fall in love, terrified of giving someone that power over you. You’d seen how it worked out for your parents.

The first time you met Wilbur, it was at a small restaurant on the outskirts of town where you’d go when you needed some quiet. He was your waiter, and since there was no one else, he was very attentive, joking and laughing with you. He wrote his number on the edge of your receipt, and ever since, you and him had been close friends.

You remembered your first date, and you thought about it often. At the time, you hadn’t even realized you were on a date. You and him went to the beach at night, sitting in the dark and staring out at the Brighton sea. You had been stunned when he wrapped his arm around your shoulders, but it was easy to fall into his embrace. He kept his arm around you the entire night, even when he walked you home. The only time he let go was when he dropped you off to press a gentle kiss to your cheek.

At first, you’d been terrified of loving him. But it came easily to you, as careful as you were. Before you knew it, the two of you were an almost inseparable duo, constantly around each other, joking and laughing. Your first kiss felt like a headrush, and you’d been addicted ever since.  

Things weren’t completely easy. As you got closer and your relationship got more serious, you ended up moving into Wilbur’s apartment. What started as a drawer in his closet of your things turned into sharing the closet equally. It was a big step, and it made you incredibly anxious, but Wilbur was always there to quiet your fears with the touch of his hand. As two struggling college students who knew nothing about life or how to live it, you did a pretty good job at making a comfortable life for yourselves. As more time went on, you always thought back to that first night, when you allowed your heart to overtake your fears, and you wondered if he thought back to that night too.

It was two years from then now. You hated to admit how shocked you were that the two of you had lasted this long. You ended up finding a house to rent together, now that both of you had full careers post-university. But more growth also meant more tension and more fights.

You dropped your bag off as you walked in, sighing softly. It was late, you had just closed at work, so it was nearly two AM. You went to the kitchen, opening the fridge. It was almost completely empty. You groaned softly.

You felt Wilbur’s arms wrap around your back as you stood up.

“Hi, darling,” he kissed the side of your head, “I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” you smiled slightly, “Did you go grocery shopping?”

“No, I didn’t have time. I ran late tonight.” You sighed, “I just wish you would’ve told me. I could’ve stopped on my way home.”

He laughed, “Darling, it’s two AM. I don’t even like you walking around this late, let alone going to the grocery on your own at this time.”

“Yeah, well, I haven’t eaten, so it would’ve at least been nice to know.” You didn’t mean to sound so upset, but you couldn’t help the tense edge that filled your voice.

He pulled his arms away, and you turned to look at him. 

“Love, you can’t possibly be blaming this on me. You’re not the only one who works a lot.”

“I’m not blaming you, Wilbur. I’m just annoyed right now.”

“Really? Because it sounds like you’re blaming me.” Wilbur was tense too. You knew that his job was making him more stressed as well, but honestly, you weren’t thinking straight.

“Wilbur. Let’s not do this right now-”

“No, we should. You know how much work has been pushing me lately,” Wilbur argued.

“I know that, Wilbur, but you’re not the only one! Work stresses me out too, but if you asked me to pick up the groceries, I would figure out a way to do it!”

“It’s not like I forgot! I had things to do!”

“So do I, and now, I’m home and all I was looking forward to was coming home and having a good meal! And now I can’t, so I’m allowed to be a bit pissed off!”

“I get that, but that doesn’t mean you come in acting like it’s my fault!”

“I’m just tired of feeling like the only one who does shit around here!” Tears sprung to your eyes as you yelled back. You hated this, the yelling, the fighting, all of it. It reminded you of your parents. “We wouldn’t even live here if it weren’t for me! I’m tired too!”

You couldn’t take it anymore. You stormed out the door, crying and running out into the empty street. At some point during your conversation, it had started raining, and you hadn’t even noticed it. You stood there in the street, letting the rain wash the anger out of you, and just felt upset. It was over. You knew it was over. This was how it ended for your parents. Screaming and fighting and walking out. And you just fulfilled the prophecy.

As you were bracing yourself for the goodbye, you were shocked to feel arms wrapping around you.

“Wilbur?”

He held you tightly, and you could hear slight sniffles from him, “I’m sorry,” he whispered, “I never wanted to make you cry, I just, I’ve been so stressed, but I never meant to take it out on you.”

You turned, hugging him back tightly, “I’m sorry, too. I just got overwhelmed, and work sucked today,” you admitted softly, relaxing in his arms.

After a few minutes of silence and just holding each other, you felt him kiss the top of your head. 

“Do you remember our first date? At the beach?”

You chuckled quietly, nodding, “Yeah. I think about it every day.”

He smiled, holding you closer, “I think about it a lot too. How much changed because I decided to just finally make a move. I remember how it felt, I was so scared you’d just push me off. Everytime I look at you, I remember how ecstatic I felt when you leaned into me.”

He pulled away, but only so he could lean down and kiss you gently. 

“I still don’t know if I deserve you. I’m shocked you ever fell for me, darling, but I’d be the biggest fool to ever do something that could jeapordize that. I don’t know how you’re mine, but you are. You are mine, and I am yours. And you are the best thing I’ve ever been so lucky to be able to call mine.”

You cried again, but these tears were happy ones, clinging onto him tightly.

“I love you so much.”

“I love you, too, darling. Now, let’s head in. Go shower and clean up, and I’ll order some food in, does that sound good?”

You nodded softly, “Yeah, thank you, Wilbur.”

He walked you in, and you had one thought on your mind. You were so lucky to be able to call him yours.

[bed-of-ashes]

Spring we need the gem and pearl soulmate meetinggggg it’s literally gempearl week! Or like literally any more updates on the nature lives au im a tad bit obsessed :D

IT'S GEMPEARL WEEK?? omg I have to get this out. Voilà gempearl being soulmates :D it's a little different from the other soulmate meetings but they're special like that. Thank you so much for the ask I'm so so glad you like the au!! You have no idea how excited this made me lol. I hope this works please please don't hesitate to request anything else :D

Pearl’s heart was out of her hands long before they began the game of soulmates.

She could have guessed who her soulmate would be the moment the universe rolled the dice. It wasn’t a question, more like an answer, a definite you are tied to this person that would confirm what Pearl already knew. She loved like she breathed, constantly and needily, and she did not need fate to tell her that.

When she took very little damage throughout the first day, she knew why. When the thud of a shield being hit reverberated through her body, she knew what was happening. When her chest felt light and her face tugged into a smile while she was mining alone, she knew who was offering bright grins to the world like she knew the back of her hand.

She and her soulmate were adventurous people, the both of them touring their walled-off world before starting to settle down. It was only a matter of time before they ran into each other and recognized their unified hearts.

Gem met her with a smile straight from heaven and a tight hug to match. “I was hoping we’d be soulmates!” she said, and even she looked surprised at the admission. Pearl gave her a shoulder bump and didn’t tell her that she knew, she knew they were paired from the first moment.

Pearl tried not to let her gaze wander to Gem’s barely contained curls bobbing in front of her sun-accented face. Her eyes slipped every now and then—she couldn’t help it, not when Gem’s cheeks were dusted pink for no apparent reason. The color suited her, and Pearl couldn’t help but wish she was the one making her that shade.

They were carving out a mine near their barebones base when Gem stopped swinging her pic and turned to watch Pearl. She continued mining a section of stone for a moment, self-conscious, before she gave up and faced Gem with a raised eyebrow. “You’re staring,” she noted. “What’s wrong?”

Gem glanced at the ground, chewing her lip. She met Pearl’s eyes again. “Pearl, can I ask you a question?”

“You’re starting to worry me, but shoot.” The back of her neck started to itch.

“You have to be honest.”

“I wouldn’t lie to you.”

Gem sighed, scuffing her feet on the cobble. “Do you– do you like me, Pearl?”

Pearl noticed suddenly how deeply Gem was blushing. Her face was tinted crimson, the darkest Pearl had ever seen on her. Pearl’s heart stuttered, and Gem smiled weakly. This wasn’t a fair question. It was still the question she had expected.

She didn’t answer right away. “Why do you ask?” she whispered. Her voice came out far quieter than she intended.

“I can feel your heartbeat, y’know. It–” Gem glanced away, as if admitting a secret that wasn’t hers to keep– “it speeds up when you’re looking at me. Which, I am so sorry if I misread it, I just thought I should clear the air, and–”

Pearl reached out and touched her arm softly. Gem fell silent, staring at her, pleading. Pearl took a breath. “Yeah. Yeah, I do.”

If possible, Gem turned even redder. A nervous smile bubbled up to her face as she rocked back on her heels. “Actually?”

Pearl laughed quietly. “I told you I wouldn’t lie.”

She was certain that if Gem was keeping track of her beating heart, she would’ve felt its drumbeat pattern in accelerando. As it was, neither of them commented on it, the both of them darting looks between each other and the ground, unsure how to proceed. They had matching grins and matching souls, and in that moment, it didn’t matter that they were in a death game. This was the only second that would count.

[shady-scripter]

Scars of Old

He was supposed to be listening. The boys had decided that they should get to know each other better. Share something that everyone was curious about.

It started with the Captain, the one who decided to orchestrate this team bonding time. “The hero sitting to his right was the one to ask the question,” the Captain said. The Smithy basically threw his question to the Captain away, asking about his scarf.

Time already knew the answer. He’d heard it so many times that it even plagued his dreams. He mouthed the words, not a peep exiting his throat. The two laughed after the Captain’s blush went down and Time rolled his eyes.

Next, the Captain got to ask the question and it was Wild’s time to share. The Captain dared to get personal, asking about the multitude of scars that littered the small hero’s body.

It wasn’t just the Hero of Twilight who sent a glare the Captain’s way. Even the Champion’s eyes widened at the bluntness of the Captain’s question. The Hero of Twilight gently pressed on the Champion’s thigh to get his attention. Time gathered that he was making sure the young hero didn’t fall into one of his “memories.” Though, from what he knew, they sounded like nightmares.

The Champion started his story with, “I don’t know too much but…” then proceeded to spill his guts about his scars. He was supposed to be listening, but Time just couldn’t focus on the Champion’s words.

He didn’t even notice that the Rancher had started talking. Not until he was poked. He jolted out of his mind and looked around.

Everyone was watching him. “What is it?”

“It’s your turn!” The Sailor pointed at him, an accusatory sneer on his face. It wasn’t like Time started this and he guessed that Wind didn’t want to participate either.

“I didn’t get a question, did I?” He said with a hint of hesitance. He looked to his right and pointed at the Rancher. “He didn’t-“

“I did, actually. Shared ‘bout my wolf form.”

“Oh.” Time pressed his lips in a thin line. “What was my question?”

“What’s your worst scar? And how’d you get it?” Time hummed with Twilight’s words.

“Well,” he began before the Veteran opened his mouth.

“No way your worst is that eye one!” The Veteran pointed at him, his face almost identical to the face that the Sailor was making only seconds ago.

“I know, I know.” Time let a chuckle escape his lips. “It isn’t my worst. Though, you’ll have to see the scar before you understand the story.”

Time grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it above his head. He folded his shirt and set it on his lap, doing his best to silence the trembling of his hands.

“This,” Time said, dragging his fingertips along jagged, darker skin tissue that ran from the left side of his neck to his shoulder. “This is my worst scar.”

No one spoke a word and, for only a moment, Time thought that he wouldn’t have to share.

A finger glided on the tender skin, sending an unwelcome jolt up Time’s spine. The hand receded quickly, followed by a squeak passing through the Hero of Hyrule’s lips. Time dropped his shoulders, trying to regain control of the situation.

He could’ve lied. Why didn’t he lie? It would’ve been a shame if he was the only one who lied out of the nine heroes.

“What happened?” The voice of the Skyloftian, his voice as soft as feathers of his Loftwing. Once upon a time, there was someone who talked to him like that. Though, that voice was reserved for moments like when he plunged into the well and faced that cursed beast.

Time sighed, trying to put on a smile while he told the story of the thing that nearly bit his head off. “It was during my first adventure.”

With a blink, he was in front of the Man of the Windmill, his ocarina still fresh in his hands. The man was panicking, saying that the mill was going too fast, but that was exactly what Link needed.

He practically waddled out of the mill, his sword and shield weighing heavy on his back. He jumped the fence that was right outside, his eagerness overflowing.

Time wished he could remember the last time he felt eager to go into a dungeon.

He leaned over the well, staring down into the tunnel of stone. He felt his companion bouncing under his hat and smiled. Part of him wanted to jump for joy, but he knew that he had a more important thing to do. He grabbed the handles and descended the side of the well and started downward.

“You went into a well?” The Smithy’s eyebrows raised. Though Time didn’t know why, it couldn’t have been the craziest thing he’d heard.

“I did, yes.” He saw many more mouths open and put a finger up, snuffing out any words that might have echoed over the fire. “Let me finish, then we can ask questions.”

The heroes around him nodded or hummed, their ears feasting on his story like hungry hawks. Time cleared his throat and closed his eyes. Again, the feeling of the cold stone of the rusty bars caressed his hands.

Turning away from the latter, there was a small hole. Though, it was big enough for him to crawl through. That, he did. He inched closer to a room that was also…empty.

He hummed in confusion before looking down and seeing another drop. With no ladder, he jumped down, breaking his fall with a roll.

He heard a skitter and was quick to draw his blade. A skulltula, an easy enemy. He waited until it turned around to slide its abdomen clean in half, its corpse soon dissipating.

A soft plop filled Link’s ears and he turned, seeing his emerald green hat flat on the floor. “Hey! Hey! Hey!” Link felt his eye slightly twitch, but he picked his hat up and jogged towards Navi.

Navi was hovering over something that stunk like dung. It looked to be covered in it too. Link pinched his nose, waving his hand as if trying to shoo it away.

“What that is?” His voice, still high with youth, whispered.

“It’s a skeleton, Link.” Navi always made it a point to say his name. It was probably the only constant in all of their conversations. That and Navi’s excessive use of the word, “Hey!”

“Skelton?”

“Skeleton, Link.”

“Like stalchildren?” His eyebrows furrowed and his fingers gripped his sword a little tighter.

“This one won’t hurt you. But I do feel…I hear spirits whispering in this room.” Little Link was no stranger to spirits. Not by this point at least.

Two false walls and a floating skull later, he saw two wooden beams that were crossed. And crimson red splatters on the floor in front of it.

There, Navi told Link to watch for monsters hanging from the ceiling.

“Is that what got you?” The Sailor spoke, his hands gripping the log for dear life. The other seven heroes glared at the boy, firmly shutting him up.

Through another false wall, Zelda’s lullaby, and another floating skull, he had to backtrack back to the crossed logs. Jumping down from a place that was once flooded in water, there was another narrow tunnel that he had to climb through.

On the other side of the tunnel was just another skulltula. He disposed of it quickly. Behind the skulltula was a wall he was conveniently about the climb.

One that platform where the climbable wall ended was a door. It was steel, much unlike the stone that made the rest of the bottom of Kakariko’s well.

Link pointed to the door, looking over to Navi who was perched on his shoulder.

“Big monster?”

Navi paused, staring down the door. She must’ve felt it too. The power of Ganondorf seemed to try to drag him away. But, this didn’t feel like Ganondorf’s evil, but he knew that behind this door was some type of evil.

He felt it in the way that his knees wobbled unsteadily and the trembling of his hand as it pointed to the door.

Link inched towards the door, the hesitance evident in his baby steps. When he finally touched the door, it rose, opening the way for him.

“Hands?” Raising from the dirt covered ground was…hands. They were as pale as the moon that would soon haunt his dreams.

He stepped into the room. As he figured, bars replaced the door. This couldn’t be a boss, right? All he had to do was chop the arms, right?

He pulled his sword out and creeped towards one of the outstretched arms. He readied for the slash, but the hand moved faster than he could dodge. He squeaked, the hand covering his face like a mask. He tried to wrestle it off, wriggling and writhing.

“Link! Behind you!”

“Can’t look!” Fear began to rise in Link’s chest as the hands around his face seemed to squeeze. It only got worse when he heard a dull sound, as if something was sliding behind him. The sound of the dirt grinding against itself was like rubbing sandpaper together.

“Link, you have to calm down! Cut its arm! You have to get away!” He wanted to say those “forbidden words” right now. He wanted to scream, but only tears fell from his face. His hands grasped his sword and cut through the pale arm. The hand let go of his face and he fell to his knees.

“Link!”

The boy turned around.

“I will never forget that thing,” Time sneered, scrunching his nose. “If I hadn’t known what horror was before, I had learned it then.”

Its eyes were sunken in like they had been gouged out. Its arms were more like spikes. And its mouth… it was just a deep black abyss. Its teeth were a red-orange and made its thick saliva the same horrid color.

“Link!” Navi’s voice wavered. He shot out of his daze and was only able to move an inch before a blinding pain overtook his shoulder. He screamed and screamed and-

He thrust his sword into the side of the thing’s head. Before dispersing the same way every other monster does, it pulled back, taking the boy’s flesh with it. Maybe Link was still running on adrenaline, but he could have sworn that it smiled.

The bars opened and a chest sat in the middle of the room. He stumbled toward the chest. Inside was a magnifying glass. He picked up and stumbled back. He had no idea how he did it, but he was able to climb the rusted ladder at the side of the entrance before, finally, falling to blood loss and shock.

Time pat the scar. “Only reason I survived is because Kaepora flew me to the Great Fairy at Death Mountain.” Even after finishing his story, no one spoke a word. A fair reaction. He turned to the Skyloftian. “What was the hardest thing you’ve fought, excluding the last enemy?”

“No, no, no!” The Smithy spoke first. “Can we ask questions now?” His head pivoted like a swivel.

“I said you could ask after I was done.” No one spoke. “I’m done.”

“Were the hands iron or something?”

“Did it really eat your shoulder?”

“I knew fairy healing was amazing, but enough to heal that?”

“I’m gonna have a nightmare,” Wind said, dragging his hand down his face.

Time let a small chuckle leave his lips. The surrounding heroes stared at him like cats who just spotted a mouse. “Now thinking about it,” Time scratched his chin. “I do remember the Captain saying one question…”

“Come on!”

[green-typewriterz]

Some hurt/comfort with sam please?

When the Sun Hits

Sam Winchester x gn!reader

summary: set in 2001, you and Sam finally get the chance to go to prom together

Ask: Some hurt/comfort with sam please?

Warnings: injury, mention of blood, sam is pining and awkward

Author Notes: thank you for this ask my love! Sorry for disappearing for so long, i got a new hyperfix im sure many of you can understand! Also I took what I had an ran with it so sorry if this wasn’t what you imagined!

word count: 2135

SOMETIME IN 2001 - FEBRUARY

Sam sat across the room from you, his chair far in the back and to the left whereas you sat to the front…you had pulled the short straw. You found yourself turning around every now and then, locking eyes across the room, trying to get him to laugh. He was in one of his bad moods today, hair in front of his eyes and hood up. You and Dean had pretty much accepted the fact that you’d be moving around alot, your families working together as hunters but Sam wasn’t as happy about it. He didn’t want to leave again.

“Y/N,” the teacher began and you spun back around, eyes wide. “Eyes on the front please, Sam doesn’t need you distracting him.” You nodded and got back to work, though you could feel Sam’s gaze burning on the back of your head.

You had known Sam for as long as you could remember, the two of you used to share toys while your parents were out hunting with John. He was always a shy kid, but this year seemed to be the worst of it. Maybe he was going through a phase.

Class finally ended and you packed up your books before heading to the back of the class, kneeling down and leaning against Sam’s desk. He looked up and smiled, muttering a quiet, “hi.” you grinned and grabbed his bag, watching as he pushed the hair away from his eyes (it had been longer than usual lately).

“Are you still upset about moving again?” You asked, walking alongside him, his hand gently holding yours. Sam sighed, shaking his head as you made your way out of the school and toward the same motel you had been staying for the past few months.

He ran his spare hand through his hair. “It’s just…we’ve just got comfortable here. I’ve actually made friends that aren’t you or Dean. I just wish we never-.” He stopped himself short. It was a stupid thing to wish.

“I know,” You replied. He wished his family weren’t hunters. You both stopped in front of his door, staring at each other silently. It wouldn’t be long before Dean got back and started his relentless teasing, so with one final goodbye, you went your separate ways.

That evening was wholly uneventful, an hour or two of homework, some research for your dad then the sweet and familiar feeling of zoning out while listening to Deftones on your hard motel bed. ‘Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want.’ had just faded out when there was a gentle knock on the door, one you recognised. You opened the door and took in the smiling sight of your best friend. He was wearing an oversized tee with a blue dog on it that you had given him and a pair of pyjama bottoms. He looked much more comfortable than he felt.

Sam had been building up his courage since the beginning of the year and, knowing the both of you would still be on the case when it rolled around, he wanted to ask you to prom. Even if it were just as a friend.

“Hey Sammy,” you smiled and stepped to the side to let him in, noticing how he was fiddling with the strings of his pyjamas. He was nervous. “You ok?” It was a simple question, but from the look on his face you would’ve assumed you had asked him to marry you.

He laughed slightly and scratched the back of his neck, replying, “all good, just wanted to come chat!” He smiled awkwardly. God, he thought, he was already blushing. He sat across from you, slightly wet hair brushed to the side and fluttering eyes locked on yours.

You laughed at his nerves but pressed play on your music again, turning the volume down so ‘when the sun hits’ could gently sit underneath your conversation.

“Y’know,” he began, hands fidgeting, “We’re gonna be in Oregon until spring, which means we’ll actually graduate this time.” he spoke, voice soft and wavering. “So um-”

He cut himself off, not knowing how to ask. He had wanted to do something nicer, get you flowers or something, but it hadn’t exactly gone to plan (that and Dean had told him to do it now before he got too nervous). You put your hand on his to stop it from shaking and urged him to keep talking and he smiled so softly you could’ve imagined it.

He breathed out before speaking again, “I was thinking we could go to prom? Together?” You went still. That’s what he had been nervous about.

“As friends?”

He seemed to shrink. “Uhm, yeah, if that’s what you’d want.” Sam was downtrodden, though he had expected you to take it this way, it still stung.

You smiled gently. “I’d love to go with you, but maybe not as just…friends.”

He looked up, confused for a moment. You had said yes. Blush bit at his ears as he fought the urge to get up and physically jump for joy. “I’d like that.” He managed to get out before standing again, you joining him by the door.

“I should probably head back, dad will be wondering where I am.” Though you both knew the statement wasn’t true at all, you agreed and let him walk out the door.

“Sam.”

He spun back around on his heel and you stepped closer, placing a kiss on his cheek. To him, it felt so gentle, like the breeze gently brushing his face, but it still brought up a blush so aggressive it felt like he was on fire.

SOMETIME IN 2001 - PROM

It was a few weeks before graduation, which meant it was prom night. You were sat in your motel room, in the nicest outfit you could find for cheap, waiting for Sam to finish getting ready. Since asking you to prom, the two of you had spent every waking moment together though you weren’t, as Dean would say, official yet (despite being only a label away from it).

Eventually, he walked out of the bathroom in a simple navy suit, one that matched your own outfit almost perfectly. You had both found them by chance in separate thrift stores and found yourself extremely lucky when they not only fit, but matched. “You look so handsome.” you said as he fiddled with his tie, trying to get it to sit right. Eventually, he gave up and gave you a look of desperation, asking you to do it for him with his eyes alone.

His gaze never left you as you fixed the tie, gentle hands righting the knot. Sam had planned tonight out to a tee: Dean was going to drive the both of you in their dad’s impala and then he’d get permission to take three (which was masterfully negotiated down from ten by Sam) photos. Then, he’d link his arm in yours like a gentleman and walk you into the gym. From there, his dancing skills took charge.

Each part of the plan went well and it was the middle of the night before either of you took a break to get a drink. There was a tired flush on both of your faces and a glint in Sam’s eyes you hadn’t seen since you were young. It was there, the two of you were sat when ‘your song’ came on. The song Sam had asked you to prom with (though it was more of a coincidence).

The boy took your hand gently and led you to the dancefloor again, his hands finding a place on your hips. You wrapped your arms around his neck and swayed gently, humming along to the song and staring into Sam’s eyes. The night was perfect.

Or would’ve been.

There was an impossibly loud crash and both you and Sam stared at each other in a split-second of recognition before the gymnasium went dark. Screams erupted from the crowd but the two of you stayed calm, quickly retrieving your respective silver blades that John had forced you to keep that night. Sam was furious. John had promised he would chase the monster in the opposite direction. The man had lied. In the panic, the two of you had been separated and you knew better than to call out for him in the dark school corridor.

You had prepared for this, trained. But you had never actually fought a monster before. Your hands shook from fear and tears glistened on your cheeks as you gingerly made your way down the hall. Your only lightsource was the large, dirty skylight that sat at the far end of the hallway and you found yourself glad - for the first time ever - that it was a full moon. Light trickled through the glass, fragmenting when a crack or some growing mould got in its path.

There was a growl from behind you and you stiffened, chills running down your spine. You turned slowly, eyes shut tight. You weren’t meant to be scared, you had been taught to not be afraid - so why couldn’t you find it in you to be brave. Your eyes opened and locked with the werewolf that was a mere centimetre from you now.

You gripped the blade with a sweaty palm and shoved it forward, piercing through the monster’s heart, though not before it could bring its claws down across your face. You both cried out and fell to the ground, you clutching your face and the werewolf growing still. “Y/N!” Sam called out as he sprinted over. Within a second, his hand was under your head and he was cradling you close to him.

Sam was hurt too, grazes littering his skin and a cut pulling at his lip - though he found that unimportant compared to the overwhelming amount of blood that seeped from your face.

“You’re ok.” He whispered, “You’ll be ok.”

THAT EVENING

You leaned against Sam as he got the first aid kit ready, having previously cleaned his own injuries as quickly as he could. Tears mixed with the blood on your face and Sam had to fight not to cry too, he hated seeing you hurt. “This is going to hurt, Y/n/n,” He began, eyes wrought with sympathy and a dusting of tears, “I’m so sorry.” he whispered and you nodded, preparing yourself. He moved his spare hand to the least injured part of your cheek for both control and comfort then gently let the alcohol John had provided trickle over your injuries.

You let your hand rest on his forearm, his mint breath fanning your face as you held in your tears with sharp breaths. “I killed them.” You whispered and Sam looked at you in empathy. He knew exactly how you felt. He didn’t want to shush you, (he didn’t know why people did that) he knew you needed to cry - but at the same time he didn’t want you to feel guilty.

“He was going to kill you. You did the right thing.”

You sighed, breathing shaky from the tears that stuck in your throat. “It doesn’t feel like that.” Sam stopped what he was doing and pulled away, eyes meeting yours.

He smiled gently. “You saved so many people, Y/n. no one in there would have been as brave as you.” Sam whispered and you nodded, finally finding it in yourself to agree with him. He gave you a break from cleaning the injury for a while and you got a better chance to look at him.

There were rips in his tux, some tinged with deep red stains and his previously white shirt was littered with mud stains. Cuts littered his arms and face while a particularly vicious bruise was slowly forming on his jawline. Despite all of this, he still looked handsome - you found it difficult to look away.

He knew what he was doing well enough, sanitise everything, clean the wound and then pray you didn’t need stitches - still, he couldn’t stop the anxiety from filling his mind. Sam was gentle, it was just who he was. Soft, caring hands worked quickly and lovingly while he muttered words of comfort. You were incredibly lucky, the wound was mostly superficial.

Both you and Sam sighed in relief as he placed the butterfly closure tape to each major point of the scratch mark. “See,” he whispered, “Told you you’d be ok.”

You smiled, careful not to tug at the cuts and leaned in, wrapping your arms around him. Sam’s hands found a home in your hair and he gently ran his hands through it as he sighed in comfort. “I’ll always be here for you, Y/n/n.” he whispered, voice strong, honest. You found it easy to believe him.

[writer-darling]

Are You Ever Dreaming of Me?

Chapter 8: Out of the Woods | Read Chapter 7: Style!

I NEVER USE Y/N OR ANYTHING LIKE IT THANK YOU SO MUCH :)

Rating: M - Mature (THE TIME HAS COME) (18+ MINORS DNI)

Pairing: Ezra (Prospect, 2018) x F!Reader

Warnings: Good old enemies-to-lovers trope. age gap (10 years). Nothing super descriptive for Reader but they are described as having hair. Tension, OF ALL KINDS, reaches an all-time high. Adult language. A LOT of feelings and things of that nature. Banter. Flirting. It’s E-to-L, you know where this is going. Feral Ezra (he starts at an 83.5% but ends up at about a 90.79% in this chapter). Mentions of smoking and cigarettes. Crude language. If there are any that I missed, please inbox me to let me know and I will add them in :)

Word Count: 4.3k

Summary!: Things are different, changed after last night. As you and Ezra both try to comes to terms with what's happened, there's a disruption.

******

“Are we in the clear yet?

In the clear yet, good

(Are we out of the woods?)”

Ezra sees the change in you instantly. You’ve always been hyperfocused, even when not on the job. It’s one of the first things he ever admired about you… before he admired everything else, of course. But today is not like any other day. No… it most certainly is not. You’re avoiding him, as he suspected, but you don’t seem upset about what happened. No, rather you seem… out of it. Like your mind is miles away… or perhaps more accurately: hours in the past. Your distraction is obvious as you try to go about your day, but your eyes have a dazed, glassiness to them and you curse under your breath repeatedly every time you almost drop the clean laundry you’re trying to remove from the clothesline, which is becoming a frequent occurrence this morning. 

He watches as he sits outside of his tent, spending the morning sitting on a stool shining his boots to perfection, and chainsmoking like he’s never smoked before. He’s meticulously changed the laces, wiped the leather clean, and buffed and conditioned them until he can practically see his reflection. He’s heard your frustrated mumbling all morning and it has worried him. While he wishes to help, his guilt stops him. 

He doesn’t regret what happened, not one damn bit. It was the catalyst of all the fantasies he’s had these last few months. No, he doesn’t regret it at all. The guilt comes from how he handled everything else that happened yesterday. The petty bickering, his stubbornness, how the catalyst started, and the fact that he practically ran out of your tent like a bat out of hell just to fuck his fist before he took things much, much further than either one of you would’ve been comfortable with.

He should’ve stayed. He should’ve finally told you everything he wanted to tell you. He should have held you and apologized for his earlier behavior and then he should have had that amazing dinner with you tonight where he would finally tell you what he really wanted. That catalyst should have come from a place of understanding, of harmony, of love - maybe. But, Kevva-be-damned, he just couldn’t help himself last night. He loved seeing that fire in your eyes, hearing that venom in your voice. It drove him damn near crazy, it always did. Which, admittedly, wasn't the healthiest thing. But, Ezra could admit he wasn’t perfect, and he had never claimed to be. Still, he can’t help the slight anxiety that rises in him each time that crinkle between your brows deepens. Like now,

“Kevvasake!” You whisper angrily to yourself, your gloved palm on your thigh as you yank a particularly stubborn shirt. He can almost picture the whites of your knuckles under the leather of your glove. You sigh once it finally falls, tossing it into the laundry basket with the rest of the clean clothes, which you then lean against your hip. You straighten up and meet his gaze as if you sensed his eyes on you. Your eyes meet his for only a microsecond before you look away and head into your tent, not even giving Ezra a chance to offer you a smile or a wave. 

He sighs as he exhales his latest drag, and debates with himself to call after you, but ultimately makes the decision not to. It’s clear he pushed you too far, and you deserve some modicum of respectful distance from him. Even if it stings like carrom acid in his chest. Denver’s voice interrupts his internal debate, and Ezra realizes he didn’t even hear him walk up. Denver’d also been keeping an eye on you, and on Ezra.

“The hell’s going on with you two?” Ezra cracks a smile, a brief one. His brow furrows as he thinks of how best to word this, throwing the bud on the ground and crushing it with his boot before he answers Denver.

“We had a bit of a situation last night, boss.”

“And I’m guessing you screwed everything up?” It’s not really a question. Ezra sighs before answering, setting his boots aside with a sharp nod,

“...Your assumption would be a fairly adequate estimate.” 

“Hm… how bad?” The question makes Ezra pause for a moment as he meets Denver’s green eyes.

“That remains to be seen.” Both men go silent for a few minutes. Denver looks pensively at the forest floor. Finally, he speaks,

“Fix it.” Ezra raises his eyes to Denver’s, who’s already looking right at him again. Ezra simply salutes and trudges off to find you. When he pauses at the entrance of your tent, he realizes you’re not inside after his call for you goes unanswered. 

You’re not anywhere in the camp. But eventually, he finds you, knowing where you’ve headed.

You sit by the pool's edge, staring into the dark but tranquil water, your gaze unfocused. It’s only upon seeing the area that he remembers. He remembers what you told him about the apprentice camp. Shit. He clears his throat and you turn to face him.

“Can I ask you somethin’?” He starts cautiously.

“I’m guessing you’re gonna ask either way.” You respond, but your tone isn’t harsh at all, which floods him with relief.

“Did last night… Did it trigger anythin’ for you?” Your brow furrows at the way he says that. He’s thrown you for a loop with that question.

“What do you mean?” You ask. He sighs, the guilt suddenly back and threatening to swallow him whole. He approaches but keeps his distance, a good ten feet away from you. He removes his helmet and runs a gloved hand through his hair.

“I mean… about your… previous experience with prospectors.” He says. “Is that why you’ve been off all mornin’?” You blink at him a few times. That was not at all what was on your mind. Now Ezra’s really tearing himself up inside. It all spills out in a rush now. “I’m so sorry, rook, I didn’t even think. I was such a goddamn, horned-up fuckmonger that I completely forgot about that and I never meant to cause you any further trauma. If you no longer wish to speak to me, I fully understand, please believe that. I’m such a damned idiot that I-”

“Ezra.” Your voice is firm and clear, but again not as harsh as he expected. He shuts up instantly and focuses all of his attention on what you say next. You wait until his undivided attention is on you before you continue with your response, “No. It didn’t. I reciprocated. I’m only… confused. That’s all.” You say. For a second it seems like he doesn’t believe you, but he nods anyway.

“That’s fair then.” He says. You sigh and run a hand through your hair next.

“Truth is, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. But I know what we agreed on, and so I’m gonna let it go.” You conclude.

“Let it go?” He asks. You nod and smile, though it doesn’t reach your eyes for long.

“Mhm, just pretend it never happened. Easier that way. I mean that’s what we agreed to do, right?” You ask, your tone far too nonchalant for this conversation. And even as Ezra’s brow furrows and he mumbles a quiet confirmation, you both know that’s the last thing either of you want.

Especially Ezra. It’s like your words have an effect on him. As he averts his eyes, all he can see, hear, feel, and think is last night. The way you looked at him with starry-eyed haziness. The soft whine of your voice as you begged him for more. The heat of you as he touched you over and over again. His trousers are suddenly uncomfortably tight and he turns his body away from you for a full minute as he tries his damned hardest to get himself under control.

“Look, I’m fine.” You insist, making him turn towards you again. “I was just… overreacting. We’re friends.” You say, your lie does little to convince either of you. But you don’t let that stop you. “C’mon,” You brighten up and smile again. “We gotta get back to camp.” You walk ahead without turning to see if he’s followed.

You’re committed to this ‘friends’ bit, Ezra will give you that. He gives you your space but it’s like you insist on proving his concern for you wrong. You smile and joke with him and are suddenly hyperfocused as usual, going from one extreme to another. And Ezra isn’t quite sure how to feel about it, but he plays along. As lunch rolls around, you invite him back to your tent for a round of cards. He agrees, even if his heart skips in his chest and a light flush takes his face. 

You stop by the dining hall and have a difficult time maneuvering your way around. You’re still distracted, painfully so, but you try your best to just power through it. Still, the hall seems stuffier than usual. Like there’s suddenly every prospecter on camp inside it. As you look around for Ezra, you realize it is packed to the brim. Damn, were there always this many men in here? 

“Rook,” Ezra’s voice catches your attention and you notice he has his pack on his shoulders. He smiles and leads you two out with ease. You both make light conversation as you walk back to your tent for the moment, but your mind is still on trying to let last night go. It’s not healthy for you to be so focused on the vents of last night. Ezra’s not acting any different, so why are you? 

That all flies out the window as you two enter the tent and the tension almost threatens to paralyze the both of you as you’re alone now, with not even the distractions of nature as a buffer. But, you smile and walk over to your ice chest, acting like nothing’s off.

“Want anything?” You ask as you grab a water bottle from inside. He grabs a chair and shakes his head.

"I'm absolutely fine, I brought my own snacks from the mess hall." He says with a chuckle, "You got any other fun ideas for today? Other than playin’ cards and me havin’ to serve you once again?" he asks. He’s well aware he’s pushing his luck with that little flirtation at the end, but he wants to know how you’ll react anyway. Hell, he needs to know. He’s tempted to ask if you two are still on for dinner but he has a feeling that if he even remotely brings it up, you’ll go running for the hills. So, for once, he wisely holds his tongue.

“Serve me, huh?” You ask, opening up your bottle and taking a big gulp. You smile a little as you sit on your cot, in front of him. “Now there’s an idea.” You say with a twinkle. “I could use a personal servant.” You laugh softly, clearly joking.

Ezra laughs a bit louder as his eyes light up at your words, and he can't help but smile as you speak. "Is that so?" He asks, taking an apple out from his pack and taking a big bite from it before he tosses you one. "That... actually sounds nice, don’t it? Me as your personal servant..." he says with playful sarcasm, enjoying every second of the teasing between you, even with this added tension from the last 24 hours still looming over your heads. "Just imagine all the fun things I could do for you. You could have me at your beck and call… completely at your mercy…" he suggests with a sly grin.

You can’t help it as you go red as red as the apple in your hands at that. Having him at your beck and call. You clear your throat after a moment, hiding your embarrassment as best you can as you take another sip of your water, suddenly feeling hot. Ezra notices your sudden blush as soon as he makes his joke, and he decides to play into it. 

"Does that sound nice to you?" he asks, and there’s almost a tinge of desperation in his voice, leaning in closer and playing along. He can't help but feel a bit of pride at the little red tinge that comes to your cheeks, and he's enjoying every moment of it. His teasing is obvious, but it's clear he's having a good time being able to be around you and be himself, even with this uncertainty.

You recover quickly with a light scoff, even as your blush deepens again. “Pfft, in your wildest dreams.” You say, pushing his chest playfully.

He leans back in his chair with an amused expression on his face, even as every ounce of his will wants to drop to his knees in front of you. "Well look at that, I almost had you there," he teases, his smile still bright. "I was beginnin’ to think you might enjoy that," he muses. "But, I do have to know... if you could have me at your beck and call, wouldya?" he asks, still playful but wanting to get a legitimate answer. He just needs to hear it from your own lips. He knows the answer already, but goddess above, he’s dying to hear you say it. All he needs is one confirmation and he can finally relax, finally breathe without feeling like he’s got Bakhroma spores in his lungs.

Your mind immediately fills with images that are not at all PG, but you clear your throat again, swallowing hard but you recover quickly, blinking a few times to dispel them from your mind before you answer. “Yeah totally… I could use the forced manual labor to help me carry those damn packs full of gems.” You try to joke but it doesn’t come across as easily as it did before. You’re still feeling very overheated as you tuck your hair behind your ear.

Ezra laughs at your words despite their sarcastic tone. His whole face lights up at your words and he enjoys this little game you're playing. The little slight nervous glance away just makes it all the better for him. 

"Well okay then, let's test it..." he continues, "Tell me somethin’... what do you need me to do right this moment for you? Just give me a task that you feel is worthy of having me at your disposal," he asks, the smirk returning to his face as his voice takes on a slightly playful tone. "Come on. Test me."

You see that he’s serious. He wants you to test him. “Alright, I’m game. If you really want me to ‘test you’,” you make sure to add air quotes to that. “You can um…” You glance around and spot your pack. “Oh, you can count my earnings for yesterday.”

That was... not what Ezra had expected, and he can't help but grin as you speak and give him his task. "You know what? Sure, why not?" he says with a shrug and an approving nod. He reaches under your cot and grabs the pack, bringing it out between you two as he counts the four suitcases full of gems. "I'll count it all up and tell you the final tally," he says with a smile, "let's get this test underway. Ya got a notebook?” You crack a small smile and lay a notebook and pen out in front of him. He removes the button-up he’s wearing, leaving him in a sleeveless shirt, similar to the one from last night. He wants the most freedom available to him to work. 

He gets to counting the earnings, and he's actually quite the little perfectionist when it comes to these things. He takes it seriously, even just a test such as this. He wants to make sure you're impressed.

You 100% are as you watch him work. At first, that’s all it is, you feeling greatly impressed as he suddenly shifts his playful demeanor and hyper focuses on the task before him, his grin dropping into a neutral expression. Only a slight furrow of his dark brows reveals his concentration. It’s sort of endearing how earnestly he’s approaching this. And that makes you unable to tear your eyes away from him. But then… 

You can’t help it as your mind is suddenly elsewhere as you watch him with his head bowed over his task. The way he takes each case and carefully opens it up, counting each gem and making a rough estimate based on size and quality, then recounting them for good measure. Your focus goes from what he’s doing to the way he looks while he’s doing it. There’s that same furrow that creased his brow last night. And then, your eyes focus on the muscles of his arms as they flex and shift when he brings out each case. Reminding you of what those same muscles looked like half-hidden in shadow and moonlight. His long, thick fingers hold each gem he inspects like they’re the most precious material on terra firma. Those same fingers that maintained such a good rhythm that you fell apart faster than you ever have with your own touch. His dark hair hangs in his eyes as he slightly hunches over the cases of aurelac. The same hair you ached to tug on last night.

 Fuckssake. You’re pretty much gawking at him by the end of it.

Ezra's not even realizing that you're watching. He's so focused on his test - in his eyes, every single gem counts. He's very careful and thorough as he lays out all the gems and counts them, making sure to not make even a single mistake as he writes it all down in the notebook in front of him, the pen cap between his teeth. There's just something incredibly attractive about the way he's so focused and determined to do this task. And the fact that you see him this way is just... well, you've just become totally infatuated.

As he finishes, Ezra looks up at you and smiles, "Alright, well the final tally is 142 gems, with the most valuable one bein’ worth 400 hecaton grade. How does that compare to your initial estimate?" He asks, looking over at you with a smile. His eyes are still bright and his tone is warm, the playful nature of your previous interaction having now faded as you two had gotten deep into this little test. His expression is a little confused when you don’t answer right away. "Did I pass?"

You’re very impressed and also suddenly very aroused. He did it. He managed to impress the hell out of you. And Kevvasake, did it all while looking attractive as hell. You clear your throat as what he asks snaps you out of your reverie.

“You-You’re right on the money.” You say.

Ezra smiles and he chuckles as he stands, his eyes sparkling. "Well good," he says with a playful smile, still seemingly unaware of the effect he's having on you. "How's that for a first test?" he says with a wink, and he crosses his arms, giving a little chuckle as his whole face lights up in happiness. "And if you don't want me to be your personal servant... well, how about we just keep bein’ friends?" he suggests with a small smile, "Sound reasonable?"

You nod, your eyes still fixated on his arms and the way they move. Again some very not parent-friendly images come to your mind. You can’t even say anything, just watching the way his shoulders move with each breath he takes.

Ezra finally realizes the full effect that he's having on you, and he seems to just take it all in for a moment before he steps a little closer to you. He's right in front of you and he has what appears to be a gentle, caring expression on his face. He speaks in a whisper when he talks next, his head lowered so he's speaking down slightly towards you, right at eye level. "Hey... can ask you somethin’?" he asks softly, the playfulness completely faded.

You’re taken aback as he approaches and force yourself to focus on what he’s saying. You blink a few times, his dark eyes making you dizzy. “Y-Yeah, what’s uh, what’s up… buddy?” You internally slap yourself for saying that. It sounds so inorganic, just further revealing your nervousness. But he still smiles a little, understanding. You clear your throat, trying very hard to seem nonchalant and failing miserably.

Ezra's face turns soft as you refer to him as your ‘buddy,’ and his whole demeanor becomes more gentle the closer he is to you. He reaches out and brushes your hair away from your face. His eyes lock with yours as he looks down at you. "I really like you, and I want you to be honest with me, yeah?" he says with a soft smile, his voice quiet and gentle. You can see the serious, honest emotion in his eyes and he looks so... peaceful? It's hard to explain. The playful nature is gone from his voice, and you can tell what he's about to say is really important to him.

“I-I like you too, Ezra.” You say, your eyes briefly glancing at the movement of his fingers as he brushes your hair back before meeting his eyes again. You offer him a small smile, still visibly nervous. “Why?”

The sigh he releases sounds troubled and his brows furrow. Your own brow furrows too. “Ezra, tell me.” You add when he hesitates to say what’s on his mind.

“Last night was… fuckin’ incredible.” He breathes suddenly and your heart stutters at the intensity in his eyes. “I just want to make sure I didn’t bring up any bad memories for you. I want to make sure you don’t regret it.”

“Ezra, we-”

“I know what we agreed.” He says firmly, cutting off your attempt to deflect. “But, please… I need to know how you feel about it.” His voice is so desperate. You feel a lump in your throat as you feel frozen in place by his gaze. There’s an electric moment, tense and charged as you think.

“It was amazing.” You finally say, your voice barely above a whisper.

Ezra’s smile is like the suns breaking through dark storm clouds. His shoulders almost sag with relief and he holds your gaze for a moment before pulling you into his arms and hugging you. 

It's the most gentle embrace, and you can feel his momentary hesitation, but it's the first time he's actually hugged you. He lets out a content sigh as he holds you tight for a moment before he looks back at you with the same soft, almost... dreamy expression from before. His hands come up to the side of your face before his thumb brushes against your cheek. "You can tell me anythin’, no matter how big or small, and I will be there for you. You got me, rook?"

You’re taken aback by the sudden hug, realizing it is indeed the first time you’ve ever hugged each other. If you’re honest, you were expecting a completely different reaction but you’re not mad about it at all. You hug him back slowly, your arms wrapping around him as you lay your head against his shoulder for a short moment, breathing in the scent of his cigarettes. His sigh makes you melt a little and when he brushes his thumb along your cheekbone you almost want to lean into his touch as soft thrills run down your spine.

You nod, suddenly feeling overwhelmed at the shift at the moment. There’s a vulnerability, an intimacy here you weren’t expecting.

“I got you.” You respond, growing a little misty-eyed. “And I hope you know I feel the same way. You can count on me for anything, Ez.” You say softly, sincerely. “I know things between us are… weird right now but I do trust you.”

Ezra's smile grows as you speak, and he puts his forehead against yours for a moment as his other hand rests against your lower back. You never expected this moment to come, but this feeling - this... connection - you two have formed is something special. He can tell you mean what you say... he can see it in your eyes and feel it when he embraces you once again. 

There’s something else in his eyes too, something that wasn’t there moments ago. Something you only saw a glimpse of last night. But then it’s gone as he smiles and lets you go, giving you your space again.

"Well then, partner," he says softly once again, the playfulness returning to his voice, "I guess we're friends now. Official, official friends. How's that sound?"

“Official, official friends.” You say softly, nodding and laughing gently at his cute terminology. But then your mind once again fills with the image of his obsidian eyes as he made you come on his fingers and your chest feels hollow.

It seems he’s about to say something else when suddenly you both notice a commotion outside; there’s the sudden sound of gunfire outside and screaming from your fellow prospectors.

Your eyes flash to Ezra with concern as you both drop immediately to crouched positions, the sounds of combat now in your ears as your adrenaline spikes.

******

Finally after 5 months, here is Chapter 8! Yes it's a cliffhanger BUT I WILL BE UPDATING CHAPTER 9 NEXT WEEK!! Happy holidays AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! &lt;3

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Read Chapter 9: The Great War!

[mcdynamite]

Dream

Little late posting this, but written for the @wolfstarmicrofic prompt for February 4th: Dream. Sort of failed miserably at the "micro"fic part, but here you go! 3.3k of Wolfstar! (CW for mention of The Prank, but the story takes place months after it actually happens. Happy/hopeful ending guaranteed!)

Now posted to AO3!

The Gryffindor Common Room is uncannily quiet late at night, long after its many residents have retreated to the safety of their beds. What is ordinarily a bustling, cacophonous space becomes one of stillness… of silence.

But Remus has never minded the quiet.

On the contrary, he quite likes it – the way he can hear the crackling of the hearth as it radiates warmth into the large, empty space. Sometimes, on nights when sleep is even more elusive than usual, he finds himself sitting on the plush couch nearest the fire, keeping the tower’s resident fire-dwelling salamanders company.

Tonight is one of those nights, and he’s only just turned to the next chapter in his novel when he hears the soft padding of footsteps coming down the stairwell from the boys’ dormitories.

He’s not terribly surprised to see that the boy who emerges from the shadows is one he knows quite well. Achingly well, if he’s honest.

Sirius looks exhausted and skittish when he steps into the firelight, and he jumps, slightly, when he lays eyes on Remus, who stares silently up at him from where he’s lounging on the couch. A year ago, one of them would have made a quip about not being able to sleep as they settled in comfortably beside each other, words long having ceased to be necessary.

But this isn’t a year ago. This is now, and even though Remus forgave Sirius for his ill-conceived “prank” on Severus Snape some time ago, things are still different. They’ve been different ever since that night, even after their reconciliation following James’s frantic Floo call to Remus’s cottage on the night Sirius ran away from home.

They’ve only been back at Hogwarts for a few weeks, and though Remus is loath to admit it, the two of them still seem to be finding their footing with each other.

This isn’t a year ago, and Remus knows that’s why Sirius stops short when he first enters the room.

“Remus,” Sirius says softly. His voice is hoarse from sleep, tainted with an edge of guilt Remus desperately wishes weren’t there.

“Hi,” Remus breathes. He closes his book – offers Sirius a small smile. “You’re up awfully late.”

Sirius smiles hesitantly, his eyes darting around the room like he’s waiting for something awful to come leaping out of the shadows. He’s like this often, now – ever since he ran away – and even after weeks of seeing him like this, it doesn’t break Remus’s heart any less. “I’m sorry,” Sirius mutters. “I didn’t know you’d be down here. I can go, if you-”

“No, don’t,” Remus interjects quickly, because even after everything, Remus craves Sirius’s presence like a sprout craves sunlight. Sirius still looks hesitant, so Remus pats the cushion beside him. “Really, Sirius, it’s okay.”

We’re okay, Remus wants to say, only he doesn’t, for fear of being proven wrong.

Still, Sirius flounders for a bit, and Remus wonders if the other boy is really going to flee back up the stairs, after all. But eventually, Sirius sighs and makes his way over, sitting a foot or so away on the other side of the couch.

It’s yet another thing that’s changed, in the last few months. A year ago, Sirius would’ve sat so close they’d be touching from ankle to shoulder – practically on Remus’s lap. Remus quickly pushes the thought away, because if he thinks about it for too long, he may do something terribly embarrassing like cry. Instead, he focuses on the much more important problem at hand, which is the fact that Sirius is still plenty close enough for Remus to notice the trembling in his hands.

Remus swallows and stares at his friend’s shaking fingers, feeling rather wrong-footed. He hates this – God, he fucking hates this. He hates that Sirius is hurting. He hates that things are so strange between them, nowadays. He hates that the strangeness does nothing but make Remus feel like he’s missing a limb – trying to walk without a leg – and that it makes him feel unable to comfort someone who means more to him than anyone could possibly imagine. More than Remus has even admitted to himself.

“Sirius,” Remus says, setting the book on the table beside the couch. “Are you alright?”

The question makes Sirius curl in on himself, and Remus waits patiently for a response, if he’s going to get one at all.

“I-” Sirius starts, then cuts himself off with a sigh. “Yeah, I… it’s fine, Rem. Just a bad dream. You know how it goes.”

Remus does know how it goes, is the thing. He knows better than anyone, because he and Sirius have been sharing the darkest hours of the nights for years after bad dreams – after visions of glowing yellow eyes and sharp teeth have Remus waking in a cold sweat, and memories of shouted curses do the same to Sirius. They’ve talked each other through the aftermath. Held each other at the worst of times, occasionally waking up the next morning so tangled together that Remus couldn’t tell where he ended and Sirius began.

But they don’t do that anymore. Not since…

Remus doesn’t want to think about that, right now.

“Yeah,” he says quietly. “I know.”

There’s a long pause before Sirius speaks again.

“You know…” Sirius says tiredly. “I’m not sure I can remember the last time I had a good dream.”

The statement takes Remus by surprise, not because he’s surprised to hear that Sirius feels this way, but because he’s surprise to hear Sirius say it. It feels dangerously close to opening up, and that’s something the two of them haven’t done with each other in a long, long time.

“There are nights where I don’t really dream, or at least, not that I remember, you know?” Sirius continues. “But I can’t remember the last time I dreamt about something that was good. Something that made me happy.”

Remus’s heart beats unsteadily in his chest, because this, strangely enough, is not something he can relate to. Remus does have good dreams, on occasion, and a great many of them feature the boy with whom he is currently sharing a couch. He’s done his best to shove them to the back of his mind, whenever he wakes up from them. He relegates them to that ever-expanding box of Sirius-related memories that would be better off forgotten and moves on, only now… Sirius is right beside him, prodding at the box with long, aristocratic fingers, and Remus can feel the lid beginning to slip.

But he’s been silent for too long, and he should know better, because Sirius Black has never been able to resist filling a silence. “Do you have good dreams, Moony?” he asks softly.

Remus won’t lie, but that doesn’t mean he has to tell the whole truth. “Sometimes,” he says noncommittally, praying that will be enough of an answer for Sirius.

It’s not. Of course, it’s not.

“Yeah?” Sirius asks, turning sideways to face him – one elbow propped up on the back of the couch and a knee resting on the cushions between them. “What about?”

“Mundane things, really,” Remus answer diplomatically. “Everything’s so awful, out there in the real world, for people like me. Sometimes I dream that I just… disappear. Get a little cottage somewhere off the beaten path, with a garden, and a crup or a kneazle, and I can just sort of… exist, you know?”

It’s all true, even if he’s leaving out the most important parts. The part about Sirius being there with him, cooking dinner together in a tiny kitchen. The part about the bed he shares with a boy with long, wavy black hair and shining grey eyes, that leave him waking up hard and aching with want.

He swallows, and Sirius studies him for what feels like an eternity. Remus is certain that his face must be giving something away. He’s never been particularly good at poker.

“Sounds lonely,” Sirius murmurs, and it cuts through Remus like a knife.

It is, he wants to say. It is, because at least before, I could trick myself into thinking that maybe I wasn’t so crazy. That maybe you could be there, after all.

Instead, he says, “It’s not. Not always, at least. Sometimes I’m not alone.”

There’s a flicker of something sad and haunted in Sirius’s eyes. “Good,” he whispers. “I don’t want you to be alone, Moony. You don’t deserve that.”

Remus blinks at him – barely even thinks before uttering, “Neither do you.”

He nearly chokes on all of the words left unsaid in the silence that follows. There’s a palpable tension in the air, and Remus wonders if perhaps it’s all in his head or if Sirius can feel it too – if Sirius can feel the crushing, all-consuming weight of Remus’s love for him, attempting to bully its way out of Remus’s throat and into the open, like water testing the integrity of an overburdened dam.

Sirius’s gaze is a weighty thing, when it finally settles on Remus again. “Your dream sounds nice,” Sirius says. Remus feels his eyes begin to sting. “Practical, but sort of cozy. Like you.” His ears turn crimson when he says the last, and Remus has to wonder whether he meant to say it at all.

“You could do it too, you know,” Remus says tightly. “There’s nothing stopping you.”

There’s another pause – a long one.

“We could do it together,” Sirius says.

He’s poking that box of memories, again, and this time, the lid goes tumbling off.

Remus laughs wetly and quickly brushes away a tear he never granted permission to fall. “Sometimes we do,” he confesses. “When I dream about it.”

He glances at Sirius, who’s looking at him with wide, teary eyes, and finds that he can’t stop now that the lid is off the box, now that the dam has begun to crack under the pressure.

“Sometimes you come with me,” he says, voice shaking. “And you laugh at me when I fuss over the garden. You bring that muggle record player you have and never turn it off. And sometimes we quarrel about dinner, or whose turn it is to feed the crup, but we’re-” Remus’s voice breaks, and he sniffles. “We’re happy.”

He feels a bit like he’s losing his mind when he finishes, and he can’t bring himself to look at Sirius. It’s as close to a full confession as Remus will ever get, and Sirius is an idiot, sometimes, but he’s not stupid. He’ll be able to put two and two together, and then Remus’s secret – the only one he’s kept closer to his chest than his lycanthropy – will be out. Exposed like a wound that will never fully heal.

Sirius’s voice is strained and soft, when he speaks again. “Remus,” he croaks. “Remus, I…”

He never finishes the thought, and Remus’s blood begins to burn with shame.

But then… Sirius murmurs something else. “Remus, I want that.”

They’re the words Remus has been longing to hear for years, but dismissing them is astonishingly easy.

“You don’t mean that,” Remus says flatly.

“I do, though.”

“No, Sirius, you don’t,” Remus snaps, rising to his feet. “You don’t know what you’re saying – what I’m saying. You don’t know what you’re agreeing to, it’s-”

���No, Remus, listen to me,” Sirius pleads. He reaches out, nimble fingers encircling Remus’s wrist, and Remus freezes. It’s the first time they’ve touched each other beyond an accidental bump in the halls since the night of the prank, and his skin suddenly feels too tight for his body. He’s so shocked, he can’t even bring himself to resist when Sirius pulls him back down to sit on the couch again, much closer this time. Their knees brush against each other, and the contact burns hot like a brand.

Remus looks at Sirius – meets his gaze properly – and is stunned to find that his grey eyes are filled with tears.

“I know what you mean,” Sirius insists. “And I mean what I’m saying, Remus, surely you know that.”

“Sirius, it’s just a dream,” Remus counters tearfully. His heart is dangerously close to cracking open right there inside his chest, and he’s not ready. God, he’s not ready to have his heart broken by the conversation he knows is coming. “And you’re not… you don’t feel that way about me. Not like I do for you.”

“Remus,” Sirius whispers, soft and urgent, like Remus is the one breaking his heart, and not the other way around. “Everyone knows. Everyone knows that I- that I-” He can’t seem to get the words out, but Remus knows what his imagination wants to fill in at the end of the sentence. Two words that simply cannot be true.

Until Sirius Black, unpredictable as ever, does what Remus has never, in four impossibly long years, been able to do.

“Everyone knows that I love you, Remus,” Sirius says, tears streaking down his alabaster cheeks. “Everyone except you.”

Remus forgets how to breathe. “What?”

Sirius sniffles and releases his grip on Remus’s wrist in favor of tangling their fingers together. “I have no right to say that, Moony, I know that. I do. Especially not after… what I did last year. But Gods, I- I can’t do this any longer. I’ve been disowned by my family, Remus, I haven’t talked to Reggie in months, and I’ve still never missed anyone as much as I’ve missed you.”

Remus shakes his head, unable to believe what he’s hearing with his own ears. “Sirius, we talk to each other every day-”

“But we don’t, do we?” Sirius argues, desperate. “Not like we used to. Not like I wish we did. It’s different, now.”

“Of course it’s different!” Remus hisses, his fingers tightening around Sirius’s, even as his own heart tries to pull away. “It’s- I can’t… I’m not…” He huffs in frustration and fails miserably at blinking back the tears that won’t stop coming. Sirius looks utterly devastated when Remus glances at him.

“I know,” Sirius mutters brokenly. “I know, Remus. You can say it.”

Remus takes a shaky breath, and he thinks of all the things he’s wanted to say to Sirius for the last few months – all the questions he’s never asked – but they’re questions he knows Sirius won’t have answers for. Sirius will never be able to tell him why he sold Remus out to Snape, that night, because Sirius doesn’t know why. That much has been clear from the moment it happened.

So Remus doesn’t ask. What he says, instead, is this:

“I don’t understand why it had to be you,” Remus whispers, and he can’t look at Sirius’s face, right now, so instead he looks at their joined hands. “That’s the most fucked up part of this whole mess, Sirius. When I think about it…” He pauses. “When I think about things that I wish were different, my first thought is never that I wish the whole prank never happened – it’s that I wish it had been someone, anyone, other than you who did it.”

Sirius is silent – head bowed and hand shaking in Remus’s grasp, despite how tightly they’re clinging to each other.

“I know it sounds mad, but it’s true,” Remus continues. “Because I love James, and Peter, and Lily – you know I do – but not…” He takes a deep breath and raises his eyes to meet Sirius’s. God, what a messy, tragic pair they make.

He squeezes Sirius’s hand.

“Not like I love you.”

Sirius’s breath hitches softly, his red-rimmed grey eyes flitting back and forth across Remus’s face while the words hang in the air between them. The silence is deafening, ringing with the truths that have finally been voiced after years of silence – that Remus and Sirius’s relationship has never been quite like the others. That it’s always been a different sort of love.

Of course, it’s Sirius who ultimately shatters the silence, and Remus hardly has time to register what’s happening before Sirius chokes out a sob and launches himself into Remus’s arms, clambering into Remus’s lap and wrapping around him like a koala. The broken apologies that emerge between sobs are the final blow to Remus’s fractured heart, and he feels the moment it cracks open, bleeding desperation into every cell in his body. He winds his arms around Sirius’s body and holds him close – just like he used to after their worst nightmares – and stops trying to fight the tears.

“I’m sorry, Remus, I’m so sorry,” Sirius pleads, breaths ghosting over the exposed skin of Remus’s neck. “Please, Remus, you have to believe me. I’m so sorry. Forgive me. Please.” I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.

Remus knows – he’s always known – and he forgave Sirius a long time ago, only because he knew Sirius would never forgive himself.

“I know,” Remus murmurs, holding Sirius so tightly he’s nearly surprised Sirius has any air left to speak. “And I do. It’s okay. We’re…” He pauses, because, he wants to tell Sirius that they’re okay, but they’re not. Not really. Not yet. “We’ll be okay, Sirius. We will. I swear it.”

He hears Sirius let out a shuddering breath, but he feels, more than hears, Sirius murmur into the skin of his neck, “I love you.”

“I know,” Remus says again, burying his face in the crook of Sirius’s neck, where the soft wool of his sweater gives way to smooth skin. Sirius’s arms tighten around his middle. “I love you, too.”

“I want-” Sirius starts, interrupted by a soft hiccup. “I want to have good dreams again, Moony.” His voice sounds so small – like that of a child – and it makes Remus ache.

Slowly, gently, Remus extricates himself from Sirius’s grasp so he can look Sirius in the eye. His hand hardly feels like his own when he lets it rest against Sirius’s flush cheek, brushing away the still-falling tears with a careful swipe of his thumb.

They’ve shared a bed dozens of times, before. Spent entire evenings on this very couch with Remus’s head in Sirius’s lap while they laughed with their friends. Sirius is straddling him right now, in this very moment, but this – Remus cradling Sirius’s face in his hand, stubbornly thumbing away tears while they stare at each other, gazes open and honest in a way they’ve never been, even before the prank – is undeniably the most intimate thing they’ve ever done.

And Remus knows, now, what he’s denied for so long – that there will always, always be a part of him that loves Sirius Black, and miraculously, he thinks Sirius may always love him, in return. It may not be tonight, but one day, Sirius will gather the shards of Remus’s heart and put it back together. Breathe love into it like oxygen. And Remus will do the same for him.

Maybe they can start right now.

“You will,” Remus says softly, a wobbly smile on his lips. “But for now, you can borrow mine, if you’d like.”

Sirius’s eyes widen with wonder, and God, Remus loves him. He loves him so much it hurts.

Remus doesn’t know this, yet, but in two years, the two of them will lay together in their bed and bicker teasingly about who kissed who first. Remus will claim that it was Sirius who first leaned in, and Sirius, ever the contrarian, will say the opposite. But they’ll smile through the playful disagreement, and sooner or later, the argument will end with one of them cheekily fitting their lips together in a successful attempt at distraction.

But this isn’t two years from now. Not yet. So for now, Remus doesn’t particularly care whether it’s him or Sirius who initiated it. His only cares in the world are that Sirius tastes like mint toothpaste, and his lips are soft and pliant against Remus’s own, and that their first kiss is a little wet with tears and a little devastating, but still perfect.

It’s perfect because it’s them – RemusandSirius – and for now, that’s enough.

For now, Remus Lupin kisses Sirius Black and smiles, because for the first time in a long time, he knows that his favorite dreams are finally, finally within reach.

[burningbridgesblacknblue]

A Little Jealousy

A/n: this is an old imagine from my Ao3 when Nolan played for the Flyers and I wanted to share it again. Please enjoy grumpy Patty.

You chuckled at the joke your best friend had told you as you unlocked the front door to get in. Honestly Adam’s joke was stupid but you couldn’t get over how stupid it was.

“Hey did you leave the lights on?” Adam asked you abruptly.

“I don’t think so.”

A rush of anxiety flooded your senses, what if you forgot to lock the door and someone broke in? Several worse case scenarios ran through your head at the same time, causing you to look back at Adam.

“I’ll go first.”

You nodded your head in agreement. Staying huddled close behind him, his much taller body shielding you from any danger. Slowly you staggered behind your friend, you heard the TV on in the bedroom and you know for sure you didn’t leave that on.

“I definitely turned that off…”

“Wait here.”

“Adam don’t leave me here to be killed!” You whispered-yelled harshly, “I’m easy to strangle!”

“Jesus Christ,” he mumbled with a chuckle, “Just wait here.”

As he proceeded on his own and left you standing in the living room, you heard a sound coming from the bathroom. Not wanting to die you jetted after your friend.

“Someone’s in the bathroom!”

“What?”

“Go check Adam!”

It was as you two were having a loud bickering match that you neglected to hear the footsteps coming toward you.

“Babe?”

You gasped at the deep voice you loved so dearly, with one dramatic hand on your chest and the other on your friend’s arm you let out a large sigh. “Nols you scared me halfway to hell I thought you weren’t going to be home until tomorrow…”

Patty stood there in just a pair of sweatpants it looked as if you two interrupted him getting in to the shower. He looked so good, all you really wanted to do was kiss him and welcome him home but when you noticed his expression you knew he wouldn’t receive you well.

Nolan’s gaze lingered in between you and Adam before he licked his lips, “If you had picked up your phone you would’ve known we were coming back a day earlier.”

Your boyfriend was notorious for being monotonous and deadpan in his delivery; most people who didn’t know him would miss the actual ice dripping from each word. You bristled at his comeback, Patty was easily annoyed couple that with his tendency to get jealous and you had yourself a square off that was explosive.

“I didn’t ignore you on purpose Nol,” you retorted calmly, “I was working all day.”

“Yeah working,” the way he said the second word as if he were mocking you was irritating beyond belief. You also couldn’t believe he was doing this in front of company.

“We’re not doing this again Pat…”

He brushed a hand through his growing blonde hair and you knew instantly how angry he was. Whether he was going to show your best friend was another story.

You weren’t too sure why Nolan had such huge insecurities where Adam was concerned, you two never crossed any boundaries. You never even liked each other that way. The only thing you could think of that made sense was Adam was around twenty-four seven while Patty was away.

Nolan smacked a hand against the doorframe before he turned away from you heading toward the living room.

Adam faced you quickly after your boyfriend’s departure, “I didn’t mean to make you guys argue.”

You waved your hand in a nonchalant gesture, “It’s not your fault he gets like this sometimes when he comes home from a roadie. He’s just tired.”

“Should I go?”

Chewing on your bottom lip you nodded affirmatively. Feeling terrible for kicking out your closest friend. It just wasn’t the best idea to let him hang around when your boyfriend’s mood was so poor. Nolan was really a great person and you didn’t want anyone to see him as anything else. So you walked your friend to the door and wished him a good night.

As soon as the door was closed and there were no unwanted visitors Nolan spoke from his position on the couch, “You know the only reason I left the car here was because you were going to give me a ride home, I had to catch one with TK.”

You refrained from showing any signs of agitation, “Nols I’m really sorry time just got the better of me today.”

“You had time to hang out with Adam.”

This time you did put a hand to your face, “We work together not to mention we live one block apart. We weren’t really hanging out.”

“Then why was I stranded at the airport?”

“Because I messed up after I saw your text this morning I got swamped at work I just forgot to text you back.”

“So you knew I was coming home but you left me there anyway?”

“Nolan I just told you it was an accident. I didn’t mean to forget you I’m sorry.”

He looked at you as if you had just insulted him, “Im going to shower.”

“I didn’t do it on purpose—” the shutting of the bathroom door cut off your defense.

You huffed, you knew he was hurt and of course you understood why. There was really only one thing to do and that was to give him space. You watched some TV for about ten minutes but you found it hard to concentrate, you hated when Nolan was mad at you. So you decided to take a shot in the dark.

Quietly you disrobed on your way to the bathroom easing your way behind the door that was miraculously unlocked. You slipped in behind him, threading your arms around him so that your hands rested on his shoulders. Gently you placed a kiss on his shoulder blade.

“I’m sorry,” you mumbled against his skin, “No excuses.”

Everything was so still except the water. You were so sure he was going to reject you but he surprised you, he took a hand of yours and squeezed it.

“I know.”

You knew he forgave you but you were kind of curious, “Were you jealous of Adam?”

“Should I be?”

You shook your head, “No you just seemed extra grumpy.”

“I had to ride home with TK anyone would be annoyed after traveling so long and then having to listen to him talk.”

You chuckled, “TK is your best friend yet you treat him like a bad crush.”

Nolan scoffed at you, “All he does is talk.”

“He’s a nice guy.”

“Then date him instead.”

You couldn’t help but let out a monstrous laugh, “Pat seriously, I love you stop trying to give me away.”

He shrugged his shoulders reaching for his soap shortly after, you knew Nolan always had an issue expressing his emotions and often it left him feeling unsure about himself. You were fine with the way he was, you gave enough affection for the two of you.

“I was jealous…”

He mumbled so quietly in his baritone you could barely hear him but you didn’t dare ask him to repeat himself.

You hugged him tight around his middle, “I love you Nols, no one else there’s no need to worry.”

He nodded his head for you and you knew that’s all that was going to be said on the matter. You placed on last kiss on his shoulder before you tapped it. “I’m starting to prune I’m out.”

“Babe...” Nolan grabbed your hand gently, “Love you.”

Your heart swelled as you leaned on your toes to place a kiss on his lips, “Love you too.”

[drabbles-mc]

Down in the 305

Steve Murphy x M!Reader

For @narcosfandomdiscord's Day of Gay: Create anything with a queer and/or trans original character or reader insert

Warnings: 18+, language, drinking, smoking, pining, angst if you squint, MiamiEra!Steve

Word Count: 2.3k

A/N: They're pining! They're idiots in love! I wanna smash their heads together like barbie dolls and make them kiss! Also @tofuwildcard i owe u my life for the suggestion. i had far too much fun writing these two 😌

Narcos Taglist: @garbinge @winchestershiresauce @sizzlingcloudmentality @panagiasikelia @616wilsons @hauntedforsst @mirabee @buckybarneshairpullingkink @boomclapxox @nessamc @supersanelyromantic @padbrookcottage @mysun-n-stars @raincoffeeandfandoms @justreblogginfics @ashlingnarcos @proceduralpassion @artemiseamoon @narcolini @hausofmamadas @cositapreciosa (If you want to be added to any of my taglists, please let me know!)

You had been too wrapped up in your phone call to notice him when he walked in. It was just as well, because he was too busy talking to your boss to notice you either. He was getting what your boss generously called the nickel tour, which was what he gave any new agent who transferred in. He’d show you your desk, the desk of your partner, where the coffee machine was, and that was about it. Everything else? You were all left to your own devices.

Setting the phone down on the receiver, you let out a sigh. The notes that you had weren’t much, but they were better than nothing. It all had to start somewhere. You tossed your pen down on the top of your desk and ran your hands down your face. It had hardly broken into the afternoon and you already wanted to go home.

You heard him before you saw him, a voice that you could’ve sworn sounded familiar. All types ended up making their way to Miami, but there was something distinct about the tone, the drawl. Turning to follow the sound, you found the source of it impossible to believe even though he was standing just a couple yards away from you. His hair was a little longer now, shaggier, and he could actually grow a mustache these days it seemed like, as opposed to the last time you saw him. But it was definitely him.

“Murphy?” you blurted out, a little louder than what was called for in your current setting.

Both he and your boss turned around to face you, each with slightly different brands of confusion on their faces. After a few seconds, Steve’s confusion switched right into recognition, mouth stretching into a grin.

“No shit?” he said with a laugh.

Your boss looked back and forth between the two of you. “You two know each other, then?”

“Went to high school together,” you answered with a nod.

Your boss nodded, clearly not as excited or invested as either of you were. “Hm. Well, then,” he looked at Steve before motioning for him to walk over to you, “I’ll hand you off. If you need anything, well,” he chuckled and clapped Steve on the shoulder, “looks like you’ve already got a friend you can ask.”

Once your boss started to walk away, Steve started crossing the room towards your desk. You shared a handshake that turned into a brief hug. Once the initial greeting was over, you found yourself trying to wrack your brain to figure out what to say to him. It’d been so long, it felt useless to try and figure out where to start.

“So when the hell did you get to Miami?” Steve asked, clearly not as off-kilter as you. At least one of you could manage a conversation.

“Um,” you laughed and shrugged, “couple years ago. Bounced around for a year or two—finally landed here.”

“Wish I would’a known,” he joked. “Would’ve told them I knew you. Might’ve gotten me down here a little faster.”

You shook your head. “It’s probably better they didn’t make the connection until after they hired you.” A beat passed before you spoke up again, your tone a little more serious than before, maybe a little more genuine than it should’ve been. “It’s real good to see you.”

He smiled, that same dopey grin he’d always had. “You too.”

You cleared your throat, trying to give yourself a second to get your act together. “Who’d they partner you with, anyway?”

“Um,” he glanced back over his shoulder towards his desk, “shit. What’d they…Austin? That sound right?”

You sighed, head dropping for a moment. “Fuckin’ Mason.”

“They gave me a real winner, huh?” Steve quipped, amused by your reaction.

“They’re puttin’ you through the gauntlet, for sure. Last your first stint with him, and you’ll be fine.”

“Greaaat,” he drawled, his faux annoyance breaking down into laughter the longer he dragged out the word.

The laughter that the two of you were sharing was cut short by Steve getting beckoned away. The first couple of days were going to be like that for him—getting shooed off from one person to the next while they figured out what they could trust him with.

He started to backpedal towards his desk, pointing at you as he spoke, “Grab a beer later? Catch me up?”

“I can’t,” the words came out before you could stop them. “Not tonight. Friday?”

Steve nodded with no hesitation, new enough to have an open schedule still. “Friday.”

You had no idea what you thought a couple extra days was going to get you. Whether it was in a few hours when your shifts were over, or in a few days when the week was over, it was still going to be Steve. It’d still be the two of you in a bar somewhere trying to see how much had changed since the last time you saw each other, and how much hadn’t.

The two of you didn’t get much time to talk over the next few days. You were busy with your caseload, and Steve was busy getting immersed and held under with all the things that were going to be thrown on his plate. You’d pass each other on the way in or out, maybe exchange a couple quick exchanges throughout the day when you were walking by the other’s desk, but nothing that really passed for real conversation.

All of that to say, that by the time you found yourself sitting across the small table from him at the bar on Friday night, you hadn’t prepared yourself any better for a real conversation. The few days of a buffer hadn’t given you anything, although you didn’t know what you were hoping to get from it anyway.

“So? First week in Miami,” you said as you set both glasses of beer down. “You’re still here.”

He laughed, nodding as he leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. “Still here, yeah.”

“Can’t lie,” you said before taking a sip of your beer, “I didn’t think you’d ever cross state lines outta there.”

Steve laughed and rolled his eyes. “Oh fuck off.”

“I’m serious!” you laughed.

“Just ‘cause you got the hell outta dodge as soon as you could doesn’t mean everyone was tryin’ to do that.”

“You should’ve. Maybe I wouldn’t have had to move down here alone.” There was a tiny lift to your lips as you said it, your tone almost making it sound like you were joking. But you weren’t. You both knew that you weren’t.

Whether Steve was taking pity on you or himself, you didn’t know, but either way he didn’t add more to the weight in your voice. “Nah, I just let you pinball around and find a good spot first.”

You relaxed a bit at that, at the look on his face. “’Course you did.”

“You gonna stay here?” he asked.

“What, one week and you’re already trying to get me to transfer?” you shot back with a chuckle.

He shook his head. “No, no. Just didn’t picture you in Miami.”

You shrugged. “Sun’s nice. Beaches are nice. Enough weed down here to keep me busy for awhile. Plus,” you took another sip of your beer, “it’s not like I can just ditch you now. That’d just be mean.”

“Yeah,” Steve said as he looked down at his glass, “might start takin’ it personally.”

He said it casually enough, but the fact that he wouldn’t look at you while he said it spoke volumes more than his words did. You drummed your fingers against the tabletop as you tried to figure out how you wanted to respond to that. You could divert, save the topic for another time, or you could finish opening the floodgates that he was toying with. Felt like a bit much for your first time having a real conversation in years, but then again it wasn’t like the last conversation you had before all this was exactly light-hearted. The two of you had always been horrible at finding that middle-ground.

“I told you to come with me,” you finally said.

He scoffed, a smile on his face only because there were enough years separating the two of you from that day to lessen the sting of it all. “Don’t, don’t fuckin’—” He stopped himself short, trying to figure out what he wanted to say and how. “Like it was that simple.”

Part of you wanted to argue. It would’ve made it feel just like old times. But you were different now, both of you. Hopefully you were both better, a little more grown up at least. You forced the sniping remarks to die on your tongue the way you probably should’ve all those years ago, too.

“I know it wasn’t,” you admitted, for the first time out loud, for the first time to him.

His eyebrows lifted, not expecting you to cave—he’d been ready for an argument too. “Shit.”

You laughed. “Don’t ruin it.”

“Sorry.” He chuckled and shook his head. “Wasn’t ready for that.”

The smile on your face came easily, something about the amused look on Steve’s face. You finished off your beer. “I’m just full of surprises.”

“What’s Miami done to you?” he joked.

You tapped your fingers on the outside of your empty glass. “Same thing it’ll end up doing to you if you stick around long enough.”

“Yeah, well,” he took a long drink from his glass, “I fuckin’ hate packing and unpacking so I’ll probably stay here for a bit.”

It got both of you to laugh, the tension that had been threatening to mount dissipating as you did. You were able to breathe a little easier after that. Talking and catching up felt so much more doable. You asked him about his family, how they felt about him leaving and taking off for Florida of all places. If they were anything like what you remembered, the news probably went over like a lead brick, but you still wanted to hear Steve’s rendition of it all. It was funnier now that he sounded so much more like his dad without even trying—you didn’t tell him that though, keeping that amusing factoid in your back pocket for a later date.

A few refills later and you the two of you were finally closing out your tab. After a brief debate you finally got to be the one to square up, but it didn’t stop Steve from insisting that the next one would be on him. You didn’t fight him on that, just glad to have some sort of a guarantee of a next one.

He was sparking up his lighter as the two of you walked through the parking lot. You watched him for a moment before taking up his wordless offer as he pointed his pack of cigarettes towards you. “So,” you spoke around the cigarette in your mouth, pausing just long enough to let him light it for you, “where’d you get put up, anyway?”

He sighed out an exhale, smoke visible even with the sparse lighting from the street lamps. “Some two-bedroom about ten minutes from here.”

“Ah,” you said knowingly, humor in your voice, “one for you, one for all your unpacked boxes?”

He chuckled, tapping ash onto the ground before leaning back against the side of his car. “Exactly.” There was a pause before he said, “Can I ask you somethin’?”

You nodded. “Shoot.”

“How long you think I’m gonna be stuck with Mason?”

You burst out laughing. “I dunno. Maybe he’ll get sick of you. Why? Already drafting up a request to switch?”

“I’d rather partner with someone I know.”

Stepping in a little closer, you said, “That’s a good pitch. That’s how you should try and sell that.”

“Think they’ll buy it?”

You shrugged, dropping and snubbing your cigarette out on the ground. “Only one way to find out.”

“You’d be alright with that?”

“What?” You feigned ignorance. “Oh, you meant, you meant you wanna partner with me?”

He rolled his eyes, smiling as he pulled one last drag off his smoke before flicking it away. “Cut the shit.”

“Why wouldn’t I be alright with it?”

It was the first time you saw real hesitation cross his face. “’Cause, I don’t, you know, if…” he trailed off.

“Would love it if you could finish at least one of those sentences, Murphy.”

He laughed, face darkening in embarrassment. “I’m tryin’, will you just give me a sec?” You nodded with a smile, tucking your hands into the front pockets of your jeans. A few beats of silence passed before he tried again. “I don’t know how different things are for you now, if, if it’d matter, you know? Working together. Or if you even still…”

You were smiling before you even felt it happen. “Things aren’t all that different for me now.” You paused, seeing the way he was still practically holding his breath. “I think we could figure it out.”

His entire body relaxed as the wave of relief washed over him. “Yeah?”

You nodded. “Yeah.”

He smiled, nodding. “Alright.”

You waited for what you assumed was coming next. Instead, though, it was just Steve standing there leaning against his car, looking at you with that same starry-eyed gaze, the one that meant his brain was about two switches from shutting off completely. Some things never changed.

“Steve?”

“What?”

You laughed and shook your head. “Oh my g—come here.”

Before he could sputter out another question, you stepped in and pressed your lips to his. It was just a little too easy to pin him between you and his car. Despite his previous cluelessness, he had no hesitation in taking everything that you were offering him, his hands finding purchase in the collar of your shirt.

When you pulled your lips off his, the cocky smirk was right back on his face again, like you hadn’t just done all the legwork for everything that just transpired. “Knew I should’ve made you go out on my first night here.”

You rolled your eyes, shaking your head. “Should’ve made you wait another week.”

[lynzishell]

Phoenix: G’morning gorgeous Greta: Mmmm…. Morning Phoenix: How are you feeling? Greta: Good, cozy Phoenix: Me too

Greta: It’s our last day. What should we do? Phoenix: Hmmm… stay in bed all day? Greta: That sounds lovely. Just one problem. Phoenix: What? Greta: I have to pee!

Greta jumps up from bed and runs to the bathroom while Phoenix groans and sits up. When Greta returns from the bathroom, she joins Phoenix back on the bed.

Phoenix: Better? Greta: Much! Phoenix: Good good. Alright, so what is it? What do you want to do today? Greta: I think we should go for a walk. They have a bunch of trails around here, and it’d be nice to get out for some fresh air. What do you think? Phoenix: I think a walk sounds great. Do you want to go just the two of us, or should we invite everyone? Greta: Is anyone else even awake yet? Phoenix: I have no idea. Greta: Hmm… Let’s sneak out and explore just the two of us. Phoenix: Perfect.

Stopping at the shrine, Phoenix grows quiet as he takes in his surroundings.

Greta cuddles up next to him, taking his hand. Greta: What are you thinking about? Phoenix looks over at her with a small smile, then looks back taking a deep breath. Phoenix: My mom. She would’ve really loved it here. She would’ve loved you too.

Greta: What was she like? Phoenix: She was kind and funny. And creative. She used to love telling stories. I think she dreamed of writing children’s books, but being a single mom and working multiple jobs… you know… When I was a kid and I couldn’t sleep she would make up elaborate stories, like so detailed. I would close my eyes to picture it and would fall right to sleep. Every time. Greta: Aw, I love that. She sounds like a really great mom. Phoenix: She was. Greta: How did she -- ?

Phoenix sighs and walks over to the steps, sitting down.

Greta walks over to join him.  

Greta: I’m sorry. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.   Phoenix: No, it’s okay. Um, she was hit… by a car… while she was walking to work one morning. Guy ran a red light, going too fast, not paying attention, I don’t know. He just… (stopping to wipe a tear from his eye) ahh… and then she was gone. Just like that. I still can’t make sense of it. Greta: Ohh Phoenix, I’m so sorry. That’s awful. Phoenix: Yeah. Grief grips at his throat, threatening to choke the life out of him… or so it feels. Emotion starts to well up in him, too intense for him to continue sitting. He gets up and starts walking away, pacing, trying to collect himself.

Greta follows him and pulls him to her, wrapping her arms around him. Greta: It’s okay.    Phoenix hugs her back, finally allowing the grief to wash over him, he begins to sob. Unsure what else to do, he buries his face in her shoulder and just lets it happen. They stand there for a while, holding each other, before Phoenix finally steps back, wiping his eyes. Phoenix: Ah fuck, I’m sorry. Greta: No, don’t be. Hey. I’m here okay. Anytime you need, I’m here.

He hugs her tight for a moment longer. Phoenix: Thank you.

Greta reaches up to kiss him. He kisses her back softly, wishing he could stay in this snowy paradise forever. He sighs, knowing they can’t. Phoenix: We should probably head back and get packed. Our bus will be here in a couple hours. And I can’t feel my feet. Greta: (laughs) You’re gonna need some actual hiking boots. Phoenix: Yeah, I guess so.

They head back to the house. Phoenix feels lighter than he has in months.

Prev // Next

[nirby-wirby]

I had to get this out of my system!! *Don’t read this if you haven’t watched season 5 episode 24, “Representation” because it has some spoilers!*

Rating: General Audiences

What to expect: Hurt No Comfort!!, Angst, that’s basically it

Summary:

He took a deep breath. “It’s just a nightmare,” he murmured to himself, closing his eyes and pushing down the rising panic within him. He was about to power-up when he heard the trapdoor open. He whirled around, expecting to find Marinette, only to come face-to-face with…Ladybug?

———— OR: What if Ladybug and Chat Noir ran into each other at the end of the episode?

(You can read this under the cut or on AO3!)

Chat Noir leaned against the railing of Marinette’s balcony, still reeling from the nightmare that flashed through his mind. He took a deep breath. “It’s just a nightmare,” he murmured to himself, closing his eyes and pushing down the rising panic within him. He was about to power-up when he heard the trapdoor open. He whirled around, expecting to find Marinette, only to come face-to-face with…Ladybug?

“What are you doing?” They asked at the same time.

“Uhhh, well, my— Marinette’s parents make really good pastries so sometimes I come by to get some,” Ladybug hurriedly explained. “And you?”

“Um, yeah, same here,” he lied.

Well, it wasn’t a total lie. The Dupain-Chengs had the best pastries in Paris and he would sometimes come by to have some. However, that wasn’t the reason he’d been there this time. He’d been about to tell Marinette who he was when his horrible akuma-induced nightmare struck him, and he’d decided against it.

An awkward silence stretched between them on Marinette’s balcony until Ladybug cleared her throat, “So, how was the akuma? I just heard about it. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help you.”

“It was sort of like Sand Boy?” Chat Noir explained. “But instead of the nightmare showing up in front of you it was mostly in your head.” Visions of a ruined Paris flashed through his mind. The sight of Ladybug disintegrating and blowing away from him wouldn’t leave his mind.

“I hope you didn’t have to fight me again, even if it was in your head,” Ladybug said, recalling his past nightmare of Ladybug hating him. He almost wished that had been his nightmare. It would’ve been easier to deal with. “At least it’s over now, right?”

Chat Noir shook his head. “Actually, since there was no miraculous cure, the nightmare…won’t go away.” He glanced at Ladybug, her brows furrowed as she frowned.

“That’s bad,” she stated matter-of-factly. “I’m…not too sure how to fix that.” She placed a hand on his shoulder, “I’m really sorry, Chat Noir. If you don’t mind me asking, how bad is it?”

Should he tell her? He didn’t want her to feel worse, but talking about it might help him. “Well,” he sighed, deciding to tell her the truth, “I sort of found Paris in ruins. My suit was white, the moon was ruined, and every one seemed to be a petrified statue. The worst part is you…disintegrated in my arms. You just— your ashes floated away.”

He felt tears pricking his eyes. He’d somehow killed Ladybug. Even if it was just a nightmare, there was a possibility of it happening if he got too out of control. Who knows how many others had died? Maybe even Marinette and all of his other friends and his family. He never wanted to see that nightmare become real.

It was then that Chat Noir noticed Ladybug had been very quiet. He turned to look at her, eyes wide and body frozen in fear. It must’ve been a shock to hear about her own death in his nightmare. He rushed to reassure her. “It’s just a nightmare, though. So, it’ll be alright.”

Slowly, she began shaking her head. “Not exactly,” she whispered, voice hoarse. What?

“…What do you mean by that?” What was she hiding from him? Did something like that happen? But how could it have?

Ladybug wiped at her eyes, getting rid of any tears that had begun forming. “Well,” she started, voice shaking, “there was a time when Bunnyx had taken me to a timeline where something very similar had happened. He called himself Chat Blanc and he knew who I was.”

She took a deep breath, “It’s part of the reason why I was even more adamant about not sharing our identities. I thought that if you never knew, then whatever happened couldn’t happen.”

So, it was possible. And it had happened in another timeline. He really could destroy all of Paris, and maybe even more. He could lose control and hurt the people he loved most. Chat Noir felt himself get lightheaded, taking a step back and steadying himself with a hand on the railing of Marinette’s balcony. “Oh,” was all he managed to say.

“I’m sorry I never told you,” Ladybug rushed to say, mistaking his response as him feeling hurt by her keeping this secret from him. Maybe he should’ve been a little hurt by it, but he couldn’t find it in himself to be. He sort of wished he never knew. “Chat Noir?”

“I-I have to go,” he heard himself say. Paris was in ruins because of him in another timeline. Everyone he knew and loved had died because of him. It was possible. It had happened. “There’s a jar with the akuma in it, I left you a voice message on where to find it.”

“Chat—“ Ladybug tried to say, but he left Marinette’s balcony before she could continue.

After some time of running mindlessly, he powered up and went back to London. He detransformed back in his hotel room, collapsing onto his bed. “Hey, kid, are you ok?” Plagg asked. Adrien ignored him, staring at the shadows on the ceiling.

The door to his hotel room opened and then he was ushered into a car. He sat down beside his father in the back seat, feeling everything and nothing all at once. When he was told to go into his new room, he did so without arguing.

His new room looked like he felt. Empty.

“Adrien,” Plagg tried again to talk to him, “please talk to me. How are you feeling?”

Like he was dangerous. Like he couldn’t breathe. Like he needed to stop rebelling because it could lead to mass destruction. Maybe his father had been akumatized when he’d said it, but he was right. That destruction he saw could happen if he couldn’t control his anger. If he kept disobeying him and causing trouble. It would all be his fault. If it happened in another timeline, it could happen again. He never wanted that to happen.

So, he wouldn’t let it happen. He’d keep his head down and do as told and control his anger. There was no way for him to leave his room anyway. No windows to escape from to help Ladybug. If he couldn’t transform, he couldn’t hurt anyone. Even if it hurt, it was better that way. It had to be.