#I’m going to die with this au I’ve been giggling the whole time I drew this…

[moominpopzz]

Definitely gonna be thinking about them for.. forever and ever..!!/pos

AU by @lesbianchipbastard !! ^^

Picture I used as ref beloww:3

[atinymommy]

𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒅𝒅𝒔 ༄ 𝒋𝒉𝒔

🍼 ⇢ ˗ˏˋ — JUNG HOSEOK; j-hope

☁️. . . ⇢ happy hobi day! i'm aware that this is a new years au but let's just not talk about it ok? difnfkskdkcj✧ ೃ༄

╰┈➤ cussing; MAJOR teasing;

nipple stim; hickeys; groping;

grinding; pegging;

fingering; slight exhibitionism;

degrading; aftercare;

petnames

(a/n: die is the plural of dice, just to avoid confusion lmao nobody dies in this story wodncnsjsj)

"i hope you're ready." you teased, smirking, as you shook the two cubes in your fist before rolling them over the table. both pairs of eyes hawked over each side the die rolled onto, until it came to a stop. it was hard to miss the smile that quivered at hoseok's lips.

both of you were intoxicated. the intention was only to celebrate being roommates for a year while it was moments before the clock struck into 2021. this had started two hours ago and ended up being a lot more than just two people rejoicing in abiding under the same roof.

hoseok had started talking about this game his friends had bought him for his birthday, with the biggest flush of red marking his cheeks and ears. you've always thought he was the cutest. he was the best roommate you could've ever asked for, and honestly a really good friend too.

which is how you both had ended up on the floor, snacking on some junk food and sipping on some alcoholic beverages. tonight you two had gotten as honest and open you probably ever will. hobi told you that he didn't date much because he didn't like the pressure of being the one to take charge. you nodded, agreeing with him about how frustrating the role men have to play in relationships are. two opposites ranting over the same topic.

"okay, got ahead." hoseok giggled as he removed his sock and wiggled his toes in your face. if you weren't under the influence, you would have found this less comedic and definitely wouldn't have popped one of his toes into your mouth for a mere millisecond. "that was by far the weirdest sensation i've ever felt." his face was red with laughter.

weakly you reached for the die and strewed them over the tabletop.

the laughter died out and the both of you just stared at each other - the die engendering a thick room as either of you processed the outcome. "w-we don't have to play anymore if you don't want to..." hobi's usually stentorian voice thinning at the end of his suggestion.

possibly it was his sudden shy behaviour around you or the lack of sincerity in his voice when he spoke those words but you drew closer to him, bringing your face directly in front of his. "why? are you scared, hobi?" you taunted, observing his eyes widen and the air caught in his throat. slowly you brought your lips to his ear, whispering, "unless you want to stop..."

hoseok closed his eyes and went for it. your taunting tone mocking him into acting on his true desires in that moment. he did as the die had dared him and he began nibbling on your neck, hearing you gasp lowly in his ear motivated him. when you ran your fingers through his hair was when he began to suck harshly, causing you to tug at his roots and moan as he brought blood up to the surface.

he pulled away, needing to refill his lungs and to evaluate the marks against your skin. you, yourself, wanted to see so you looked for your phone and opened your camera. smirking, you touched the area along your pulse. "not bad for someone who didn't want to play."

you put your phone away and hobi was already throwing the dice again.

the male gasped when he read them. lick + nipples.

"i-i don't kn-ow, y/n..." the male seemed unsure and fidgety, but the hard on in his pants betrayed him.

"i'll show you mine if you show me yours?" you suggested, to which he nodded in agreement to. both of you folded your fingers under the hems of your shirts, anticipating. "one.."

"two... three." you lifted your shirt over your head, throwing the clothing item aside, and looked over to hoseok. your eyes took him in for a moment. your heart was racing at the thought of him eating up every crevice and bump on your body but, thankfully, your mind was too fogged and occupied at the moment. instinctively you reached for him, feeling his heart beat under your hands as you roamed his chest slowly, and he just gazed up at you.

you took his face in your hands, locking eyes with him and seriously informed him, "if you want to stop, tell me." he only smiled at you and lightheartedly replied with, "don't ruin my fantasy now."

this ignited you. hobi openly admitting having sexual thoughts about you made you go feral.

hastily you pulled him down onto the floor until he was under you and you brought your lips down to his collarbone,  you littered kisses along it before making your way to his buds. your hand massaged his side as you flicked over his nipple. his made him gasp.

hoseok shut his eyes and allowed you to do as you wanted with him. he lay there, whimpering when your flattened your tongue against the sensitive nub. he bit his lip when you blew cold air over the now wet area before you teasingly kitten licked the other nipple. he moaned, throwing his head back and began squirming under you. you sat up, straddling him, with a smirk. "did you like it that much?"

"too bad it's over." he heaved, trying to catch his breath again.

smiling, you got off of hobi and found your way back to the die. you rolled them once again. you could sense the boy's relief with the probability that had played out as he went back to sitting on the couch.

massage + ass.

you crawled onto hoseok's lap, placing your knees on either side of him and he cupped your ass. he lightly rubbed over your jeans, feeling unsure of himself and slightly awkward.

"c-could you take your jeans off? you can s-say no." he looked away from you, glancing to the side at a low angle. his cheeks felt numb with all the blood rushing to them.

you stood, reaching for your button and removing the bottoms. he only stared at your feet, where you kicked away the clothing, and felt too shy to see you. just his imagination was enough to build this tent in his pants, he couldn't imagine how his body would react if he could eat up every inch of you.

unfortunately for him, you weren't having it. "look at me," you scowled, folding your arms and leaned onto your hip. hesitantly he obeyed and ran his eyes over your figure. hobi couldn't help himself when the whimper left his lips and his cock twitched. "shit..." he whispered lowly to himself in awe.

you inched onto his lap again, comfortably avoiding his boner, and his hands naturally traced up your thighs.

"this is by far the most uncomfortable thing i've done this year." he mentioned as he began to knead your ass. rolling your eyes, you leaned towards him and captured his lips with yours. while running your fingers over the nape of his neck, you pushed down onto his heat. hoseok moaned into you, squeezing you harder.

he felt a tingle in his body and your movements fogged his mind. his thoughts had left him. all the knew was you.

you waited until his eyes shut to pull away. smirking, you casually walked back to the table where the die lay. hobi groaned loudly, flexing his thighs in frustration, "you are the biggest fucking tease!"

chuckling, you threw the die. butterflies fluttered in your stomach when they land on suck + thigh.

"hmmm, i'm going to enjoy this." you taunted, watching him read over the two words etched into the plastic cubes. hoseok gulped, for the tenth time in the last half-hour.

his hands trembled as he took off the last item of his outfit — only leaving him in his underwear, just as you were. he only sat there, blushing aggressively, as you oogled over him. you appreciated his sculpted legs, softer tummy and broad shoulders. "so that's what you've been hiding under there this whole time, angel?" he was taken aback by the petname. it made him even more excited.

"p-please touch me, mommy." hobi pleaded, biting his lip to hold back tears. he was so overwhelmed. he just wanted to be yours in this very moment. all he could think was you.

slowly, you crawled over to him on the floor. "since you asked so nicely, i think i might." you could see the relief on hoseok's face.

you pushed his knees apart, getting a full view of the lewd sight before you. he mewled and tried to cover himself up but you swatted his hands away. "don't hide my property from me," you snapped. "this pathetic cock is mine. you are mine." the male felt weak; just from a few words he felt as though he could cum right then and there.

he moaned when you began placing hot kisses along his inner thigh, lightly brushing your nose against his heat before moving away again. hoseok's muscles contracted under your touch while you sucked on the inner most sensitive area and he let out a throaty moan as you massaged his bulge. "ah~ yesss- t-hank you-"

you removed his boxers. his cock straightened out and met his abdomen with a light slap. hobi pulsed between his legs, and you were about to lick his flared tip when he called out, "no! wait! ah~ i-i neeeeed you. let me f-eel you mommy! p-please! i've been a good boy!" he was whiny and desperate.

this was a sight you never thought you would have seen in a million years: your roommate spread out on the couch in front of you, naked, and begging you to fuck him. you weren't complaining either.

"stay here." you demanded while you made your way into your room and scratched for your strap in your drawer. the few minutes it took for you to put it on and return, the time felt twice as long for hoseok.

you spun the male around, pushing him forward and telling him to lean onto the back of the couch. obediently he got into position, rolling his hips back to show you his puckered hole. grabbing the lube, you lathered your strap and fingers in it before slowly sliding one finger into him. he sighed in bliss, wrapping himself around you as you reached your knuckle. "m-more!" he cried out to you.

adding another finger, you began to finger him. he moaned and hunched over the furniture. "yes~ ah- it feels so good mommy." he panted.

you scissored your fingers until you felt him stretched enough. he whimpered with how empty he felt without your fingers. it wasn't long until you eased your strap into his tight hole.

hoseok arched his back and curled his toes as he swallowed you up. you snapped your hips into him suddenly, resulting in the the loudest and most unholy sound to emit from hobi. his whole body fell forward as you pounded into him. he had to hold onto the couch as you railed him.

you felt sympathetic towards your neighbours since the walls weren't soundproof at all but that didn't bother hoseok. his moans filled the whole floor probably.

your nails dug into his hips as you pulled him back while your hips rocked forward. hobi felt so wonderfully out out control as he surrendered his body to you — to use, love and bruise.

out of the blue, his phone buzzed as namjoon's caller id popped up. smirking, you passed it to him without losing your pace and dared him, "you should answer it."

"y-you're lit-erally fucking railing m-me! no!"

"be a good boy and try not to let him know what a slut you are." you sneaked over his shoulder and tapped the answer button. alarmed, hoseok put the phone to his ear, trying to keep his breathing far from suspicion. he bit his lip in an attempt to hold back his moans.

"hello?"

"hey! look, the clock is about to turn into the new year and i just wanted to say i love you man..." hobi tried his best to focus but his body betrayed him as a knot began to form in his stomach. he wasn't listening to his friend anymore. he shut his eyes as his high approached, and moaned softly enough for it to not be picked up on the phone.

"i- i- fuck!" hobi tried to talk to him but his thighs were trembling as you continued to hammer his prostate. he unexpectedly moaned the loudest he had that evening, as his cock spewed all over the couch. "mommy!"

you leaned over and whispered into his ear. "you couldn't help but let everyone know who's fucking you this good, could you, kitten? couldn't even ask for permission?" he whined in reply, too weak to answer you.

"hello? j-hope are you okay? hey!" you snatched the phone from the lump of a man hobi had been turned into and pulled out of him gently as you walked away. "hey joon, hoseok isn't feeling too well. he had too much to drink. sorry about that."

"oh okay, i'll call again tomorrow. i mean later." you glanced at the clock and it was true. hoseok came into the new year.

(a/n: don't come for me��😭😭😭 that was an impeccable joke right there🤡😎)

"alright then, happy new year joons." you greeted.

"happy new year, 'mommy'." he teased before hanging up.

immediately you rushed to hoseok who was still in the same position you left him and carried him into his room. "shhh you did so good. i'm so proud to have an angel like you. what did i do to deserve you, hm? i didn't mean it when i called you those names. you mean so much to me."

hobi smiled at you, half asleep, and whined for you to cuddle him. and you did just that.

[heyyyharry]

Chapter 12: Shadow Man

(from ‘The Winter and The Crown’)

…in which they come home and so much has changed.

Word count: 5k

AU: queen!y/n, commander!harry

Description: Y/N and Harry set off on a new adventure to find ‘the cure’ for an ancient curse, meanwhile, the enemies are plotting to take her kingdom.

Wattpad link (Reyna as Y/N)

A/N: 

Did I just write 5k words in 2 days? Fuck yeah I did :) Sorry for being unproductive and depressed, that was very unsexy of me lmao. I’ve recovered from a long sleep. Don’t worry.

But hey, at least I finished this chapter before Nevada finished counting their votes :)

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"I remember everything."

Y/N had waited too long to hear this. She'd made up scenarios in her head of how this would happen. Yet standing in front of him now, she didn't know what to do. He leaned in with a broad expectant smile, and she shoved him away as hard as she could.

"What was that for?" he gasped.

"How do I know you're real?" she hissed, taking a step back only to realise she'd fall into the water if she'd gone further.

Harry cocked his head to the side and studied her like a swordsman with his opponent. She thought he was about to attack, but once she'd regained her composure, she realised he was waiting for her to recognise him.

He extended a hand and moved in. She froze, second-guessing his intentions. To her surprise, he lifted her hand by the wrist and placed it against his chest. It wasn't until now that she noticed the wind had died and the snow had stopped falling. The forest was so still, like it was holding its breath, waiting to see how this scene would unfold.

"How about this?" he asked, knowing she could feel his heartbeats, so alive, so human, against her palm. "Your hand is cold," he chuckled, his voice breathy. She didn't answer, knowing the fact that she missed him too much could blind her judgement.

Harry's nose scrunched up in disappointment as he let out a breath. "How about...this?" And he let her touch his face. His cheek was warm, or her hand was just too cold. "Better?"

She pursed her lips, feeling the beginning of a smile as Harry closed the distance between them. He pressed his forehead to hers. And when she silently gave him permission with a single look, he leaned in and captured her mouth with his own.

He tasted like memories, like winter, like the forest that nearly killed them. And when he drew back, her eyes stayed shut until she could finally breathe again.

"You believe me now?" he asked, brushing his thumbs over her flushed cheeks.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head, giggling. "You stupid bastard."

Harry started laughing, too. Then, he kissed her forehead and whispered in her ear, "Did you miss me?"

She wrapped her arms around his waist and gave a nod, her face buried into his wet shirt.

"Good. I missed you, too," he said, contently.

She pulled back. "Did you get your memory back when I kissed you on the cliff? Was that why you jumped?"

"No." He tucked her hair behind her ears. "I jumped because I loved you and couldn't bear the thought of losing you. I told you, didn't I? When you truly love someone, the love won't go away."

Y/N swore her heart grew so big her whole chest might explode. She smiled and pressed her fingers against his shoulder, his chest, touching all the places she'd missed. This was too good to be true. She needed to be reminded that he was real.

On her tiptoes, she kissed him softly at first, and then with an ache inside her, she pushed herself closer against him. His hands pressed against her ribs as if he wanted to leave little bruises everywhere his fingertips rested. Maybe for all the same reasons. To be certain that she was real.

"I'm sorry I hurt you," he said, his eyebrows sloped down at the edges. "I don't want to hurt you anymore."

"You won't," she said.

He shook his head; he didn't believe her, either. "I don't want you to be afraid of me."

"I'm not afraid. Never of you," she claimed despite a wretched knot of fear growing in her gut. She was afraid of so many things, and at one point, that fear would consume her. But until then, she could pretend it didn't exist.

She folded herself into him as his arms draped around her waist, his breath hot at her neck. He placed his lips at the soft place below her ear and ran his fingers through her dripping hair, warming her skin with his.

"So you remember everything?" she asked after a long hug.

"Yeah," he told her, pulling back. His eyebrow arched, reminding her of the playful side of him she hadn't seen in so long. "I also remember you telling me that you were in love with Lance."

"Did I?"

"You did, Your Majesty," he teased. "You said we went on this excursion because Lance was sick and you had to save him."

Y/N pressed her fist against her mouth and nose as she chortled. "We're doing this for you, stupid! You were going to die."

Harry blinked, taken aback. "What?"

"When Mary messed with your memories, she'd taken away many years of your life and hers. So we had to find the lake." Y/N's smile dropped as she looked over her shoulder. "This lake. It was the only chance to reverse the spell and save you."

When she turned back to him, a grateful smile had taken over his face. "You did that for me?"

She lifted her shoulders. "And for Isolde. This water could save lives."

Harry scoffed as he placed his hands on his hips. "Just lie and say you did it only for me."

Y/N rolled her eyes. "Fine. I did it only for you."

"As you should." He happily booped her nose. "Also, Lance?"

She knew he wouldn't let this topic go no matter how hard she tried to avoid it. So she sucked in a breath. "Promise you won't be mad?"

"I'll never get mad at you."

"Except for that one time you tried to kill me."

He lifted both of his hands. "That wasn't me, but good point."

Y/N laughed nervously before she thinned her lips, looking for the right words. This was much harder than she'd thought.

"I slept with Lance."

Harry's smile reduced to a firm line as soon as he heard the confession. The way he gaped at Y/N made her believe he could never trust her again. The ball of fear within her grew, fluttering inside her chest, becoming a hammer that could smash her apart.

"Oh, wow," was his response.

She took his hand and squeezed. "You promised you wouldn't be mad."

"I'm not," he told her. "I just...wasn't expecting that. I thought you were going to say you'd kissed him..."

"It was only once," she mumbled.

Harry regarded her with a sad look that made her wonder if he was feeling sorry for him, her, both of them, or Lance. She decided not to question as he cupped her cheeks again, lifting her face. "It's fine, darling. I understand how hard it must have been for you. I couldn't be there."

"I thought you were dead."

"I know."

His chest rose with each breath, his flat green eyes so wretchedly deep and dark that she could tell there was disquiet in him. There was more he wanted to say, questions he wanted to ask. She almost reached up on her tiptoes and forestalled him with her lips. She could blot out his thoughts, swallow down his worry and make it untrue. But right before she could find out what was on his mind, they were interrupted by a rustling sound coming from the trees. She clung onto his arms when the moonlight deer stepped out of the shadow.

Its eyes shone like two silver coins dropped into a black pool. It spoke with the melodic voice of a woman, "Come with me, Saviour. I'll show you the way out of here."

"Wait," Y/N said, stepping around Harry to get to the creature. "Are you the witch in the story? Did you die here?"

Silence.

"Please answer me. I need to have an explanation for these visions I've been having."

"Those are memories from your past life," said the deer. "You, my Queen, is a descendant of the first High King."

"I know."

"And blood calls to blood," the deer said. "King Lokesh. He was in love with the daughter of the moon."

The shadow man, Y/N thought. The witch's lover was the King.

"He failed her, though. His one true heir and one true love had died in this lake. Lokesh had cried for days on the lakeshore until one day, he drowned himself."

A chill coursed right through Y/N. She swore she could hear a distant cry. Or perhaps it was just the wind.

"And what did you mean when you said those were memories from my past life?"

The deer didn't answer this question. It turned quietly and trailed back into the forest.

Y/N returned her gaze to Harry, who was too baffled to make a sound. She gave him a reassuring smile and laced her fingers with his. "Let's go. We must get back to the castle."

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Lance shut the window and padded over to the fireplace where stood the young woman with the burned face.

Mary kept her head down, holding both hands against her stomach as Lance looked her up and down. It was hard to read her. She'd shown no emotions when she'd seen George Wallace's dead body lying in the snow. Now standing here alone with Lance in this room, she looked nothing more than a scared little girl.

"You must believe me, Your Majesty," she pleaded, her voice trembling. "I'm not dangerous."

"If I thought you were dangerous, we wouldn't be talking like this," he answered calmly. "I know you haven't been honest with me."

Silence.

"I have questions for you, Mary."

"Y-Yes, Your Majesty. You can ask me anything."

"Swear to me that you'll answer them honestly."

"I swear, Your Majesty. I swear on my life."

"And your sister's life."

"My sister's dead."

"Not both of them are dead."

Mary lifted her screwed up face. She seemed hesitant at first. Then, quietly, she said, "I swear."

"Good. Now tell me, did you kill George Wallace?"

"No," Mary answered without a pause. "But I know who did."

"Who?"

"Calanthe."

Lance raised an eyebrow. "Calanthe?"

"She must have sent someone here to kill him. She needed a reason to start the war."

"And so she sacrificed her most trusted advisor?"

Mary's eyes sharpened at once. "Her most trusted advisor is the Monks now. The rest of the court are just her pawns." She bit down on the words before they came out, bitter and clenched. "I'm one myself, Your Majesty."

Though Lance couldn't have guessed it, and he hated himself for that, he wasn't at all in shock to hear her confession. "Why did she send you here?" he asked, stunned by how calm he sounded even though his thoughts were all tangled.

"I must convince Queen Y/N to travel to the North Mountain to find the lake."

"Which doesn't exist?"

"It does exist, Your Majesty. But only Queen Y/N can find it."

"Blood calls to blood," Lance murmured to himself. Mary probably heard him, because she gave a quiet nod. "So Calanthe wanted Y/N to lead her to it?"

Mary bit her lip as she nodded again. "But the forest protected the Queen. Calanthe's people weren't able to find her. At least...that was what George Wallace had told me. I was supposed to see him before he..."

She never finished that sentence.

"So are Harry's life and yours really threatened or was it another lie?" Lance asked.

"It was not a lie, Your Majesty. All magic comes with a price."

Lance pinched the bridge of his nose as he took a deep breath. He settled into a chair by the fire and sat with his legs spread and hands on his knees. "I've been having these visions," he said.

Mary was quiet for a moment. "They're real," she then told him. "They're not visions. They're memories."

The final word grabbed Lance's attention. His eyes snapped up to Mary's.

The girl somehow found the courage to take two steps nearer, her whole wretched face was visible in the firelight. "When my sister said that Queen Y/N would be the saviour, she was talking about the war between the North and the South. She predicted that there would be a war as vicious and bloody as the one that had divided one hundred kingdoms into four high courts. King Lokesh had led the war. He made a deal with the Gods, to trade his firstborn for victory. But...he fell in love with a witch. And his selfishness had cost him her life."

"The witch in the story."

"Yes. Lokesh failed to fulfil his agreement so he died an unknown death, and the Gods punished the people with unchanged seasons. That's why the North is buried in snow all year round, and its ruler would always face a tragic death and have to carry a life full of regrets. Queen Y/N, however, is the exception. Lokesh started the war. And she's going to end it."

Lance pondered over those words for a long moment. "But...what did it have to do with me? It doesn't explain the things I've seen."

"Do you know...do you know about reincarnation?"

"What?"

"Reincarnation," Mary repeated. "It's the belief that the soul, upon death of the body, comes back to earth in another body or form. It's usually the ones with unfinished business in their previous lives. They're given a second chance to fix their mistakes. Don't you find it strange? This...pull between you two? Does it sometimes feel like...like...like you've known her forever?"

Lance went numb for a second, then he burst out laughing. Mary gaped at him, speechless and appalled.

"Why should I believe you after you just admitted to being a spy?" he asked.

She swallowed. "You don't have to believe me, Your Majesty. But...I decided to confess because I'd realised that I couldn't keep doing it anymore. I'd die no matter what. Calanthe doesn't care about me." Mary buried her face into her hands and took an exasperated inhale. "My fate is bound to the Monks by my fire tattoo. I must die when they die. And I want them to. I want Queen Y/N to win this war."

A knock on the door pulled their attention away from the conversation. Lance rose from the chair as soon as he told the person to come in.

The door creaked open, and there was Jo, who was surprised to see Mary. "Can I speak with you, Your Majesty?" she asked Lance.

Lance nodded and dismissed her with a wave, saying he'd be right out there. When she left and shut the door, he turned back to Mary, who was now as pale as a ghost.

"Please don't tell Jo," she begged.

"I'm not going to," he said, holding his hands together behind his back. "But take my advice. Never keep secrets from the people you care about."

She said nothing, just staring at her feet. So he walked out without giving her a second glance. A lot would have changed tonight, not only for the two of them, but for every single soul in this castle.

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Harry knew something had changed.

It wasn't the fact that the guards at the gate looked at him and Y/N as if they were two dead bodies washed in by the tides. It wasn't the fact that the servants whispered to each other in the corridor as he passed by. It wasn't the fact that he and Y/N were the ones in filthy clothes, and yet she still looked like a Queen while he had never felt more out of place.

Something had changed, because Y/N had changed.

He didn't expect her to be the same girl he'd fallen in love with after all the trauma she'd been through. But the change wasn't mental or physical. It was her heart. It was different now.

She'd saved him. But what if in saving him, she'd lost a piece of herself that she'd never get back?

The fear deepened inside Harry the moment the door burst open and Lance rushed into the room. Harry didn't have to be a mind reader to understand that look.

Without exchanging a word, Lance strode straight towards Y/N, who immediately crashed into his arms. Like two pieces of a broken heart, they held each other, scared that one or both of them might fade away as soon as they let go.

Y/N opened her mouth, about to say something, and suddenly Harry was terrified of what she was going to say. What she would admit in the heat of the moment.

But Lance didn't let her speak. He turned to a guard. "Call for the Russos and the Queen's lady-in-waiting," he ordered.

"Lance–" Y/N started.

Lance cut her off by telling Harry, "Welcome home," and took in Y/N's haggard appearance one last time before he left. Just as fast as he'd arrived.

Y/N clenched her fist against her heart. Devastated maybe. They'd been gone for two weeks which had felt like months. This wasn't the warm welcome she'd expected from someone she was going to marry.

"Y/N!"

Jo burst into the room, holding up her skirts as she ran towards Y/N and almost tackled the Queen to the floor. Kenny and Stefan were here, too. They were thrilled to hear that Harry had got his memories back and that they'd found the lake. All Y/N had to do was tell one guard at the gate and now the entire castle had found out.

She took her time answering their friends' questions and asked them questions about themselves. Harry knew she wanted to ask about Lance as well, but she didn't want to bring him up, or perhaps just not in front of Harry.

"We don't remember the way back to the lake," Y/N told Jo, Kenny and Stefan. "I tried to draw the map in my head as the deer led us back to the horses. I wanted to come back with our army to get the water, but as soon as we were out of the woods, neither of us could remember the directions. They probably don't want to be found."

"They?" asked Kenny.

Y/N didn't answer.

Harry knew she hadn't told him everything. After all, she was the only one who could communicate with the deer. He'd been too happy to be with her again to ask about it before. But after seeing her with Lance, it occurred to Harry that he might know much less than he'd thought he had.

Why was he anxious? They had returned home safely. There was no reason for him to feel like he was more likely to lose her now than before. Harry kept wondering to himself while watching Y/N laugh with the others.

She put her arms around his neck. He held her tightly, kissed her rose-shaped lips and pressed his nose into her hair. He didn't think she knew how much she upended him. The question he'd almost asked at the lake still lingered on his lips. He couldn't say it.

With her holding him, the dark of the forest felt so far away. Her fingertips blotted out the cold of the winter. She was the only thing that made him whole. It was better this way.

But Y/N, my love, how do you feel about him?

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.

Y/N could not believe it.

She was fuming. Her thoughts were racing. She marched straight to the meeting room and demanded the guards to let her in. A queen should not be excluded from a meeting with her own court.

All courtiers rose as she entered, while Lance stayed seated in his high chair at the end of the long table. He only acknowledged her with a single glance.

"An emissary was killed in my castle and I had to hear it from my lady-in-waiting?!" Y/N shouted at the men in the room. Silence ensued. Frantic looks were exchanged.

"I told everyone not to tell you," Lance spoke, his voice as calm as she remembered.

Suddenly, she hated him.

She hated him for his attitude. For how cold he'd been to her when he'd seen her earlier in the throne room. Perhaps he wasn't happy to see her alive. Perhaps he'd been hoping that she'd been dead so he could take the throne.

Deep down, unfortunately, she knew he wasn't like that.

Every single time she tried to make him the villain so she wouldn't feel bad about what she'd done with him, those memories would start creeping back into her mind. She couldn't make sense of her own feelings then, yet she knew at that moment, when he'd kissed and touched her, her feelings for him had been true.

"You'd just gone through hell and back, my love," Lance said. "How did you expect me to expect you to take that news?"

Y/N scoffed as she crossed her arms. "So instead you expected me to take my rest and leave the fate of my kingdom to you men?"

"No." He lifted his shoulders. "We were just going to help you make the final decision. However, I'm glad you could join us."

Y/N furiously flopped down into the other high chair as Lance flicked his fingers for a general to continue speaking. When they locked eyes for the second time, Lance's expression relented like a silent apology.

.

.

.

"Lance, wait!" Y/N called as she chased after him after the meeting.

A lot didn't sit right with her, but the one thing she cared the most at the moment was what had happened to Lance in the two weeks she'd been away. He didn't seem like an entirely different person. This was the same Lance she'd met. But now that she was more familiar with the one who would spend long nights in her chamber and chase away her nightmares, she couldn't bear seeing him this way.

"What do you think we should do with Mary?" she asked, falling into steps beside him.

"Nothing. She's still helpful, and we still have no proof that she did it," Lance said as he marched on with his hands behind his back.

Y/N thought about leaving him alone as he didn't seem to want to talk. The problem was she needed to talk to him. Despite what he thought was going through her mind right now, she did care about him a lot.

"How...how have you been?" she ventured.

He gave her a quick glance, his eyes distant and nonchalant. "Tired," he said. "Anxious. Angry."

"Oh..."

"Not because of you."

Y/N came to a halt at the same time Lance stopped and turned to face her. "Tired because I haven't slept for days. Anxious because George Wallace is dead, and the innocent people of Isolde would have to pay that price. And angry because..."

She waited for him to finish, but he hesitated. "Of Calanthe?" she asked.

His mouth twitched as he shook his head. "Not just Calanthe. But don't worry about it."

"So Calanthe...and me?"

"No."

Just as Y/N thought he wasn't going to continue, he did. "And me."

Y/N bit her lip. "I'm sorry."

Lance chuckled as he gave a wave of dismissal. "As I said, don't worry about it."

It was hard not to worry when he'd been acting strange ever since she returned. She'd thought he'd be happy to see her, because she knew for a fact that she'd almost burst into tears when she'd seen him.

"I wish you'd be honest with me for once." The words slipped out before she could think twice.

Slowly, Lance spun around, his grey eyes dark and troubled. "I have not lied to you," he claimed. "Not even once."

Y/N folded her arms over her chest. "Not lying isn't the same as being honest."

Lance let out a scoff, running his fingers through his raven hair. Y/N lifted her chin as he came closer. So close it unsettled her.

"If you need me to spell it out," he said roughly, "you're either a fool or a liar yourself."

She swallowed a lump in her throat, trying not to let her anxiety take control. "How about you tell me what's happening to you and I'll tell you what I am?"

Lance considered her, his mouth curled to its favoured side. "The reason I'm angry at myself," he said, slowly, "is because there's going to be a war, and I know for a fact that I'm going to trade my life for yours."

Y/N stiffened at the answer. She parted her lips, unable to make a sound. Her reaction seemed to have amused Lance more than it hurt him. He cocked his head to a side and smiled mischievously. "So what are you, Y/N? A liar or a fool?"

Y/N thinned her lips, still speechless. She was rearranging her thoughts, trying to form proper sentences that wouldn't leave her looking stupid, when suddenly, Lance lifted a hand and flicked a strand of hair over her shoulder. Her body grew tense as he breathed out a laugh. "And since you want the truth, well," he said, without looking at her. "I love you."

"What?"

"I love you," he repeated, this time, with confidence.

The lump in her throat grew bigger as she tried to gulp it down. When she spoke, she almost didn't recognise her own feeble voice. "But? Finish your sentence."

"That was my sentence, silly." He grinned tentatively.

"There's always the second half," she mumbled.

It was sad but true. Not many people had told her those words without something else to it.

A frown transformed Lance's face as he stood taller, his jawlines sharpened in the firelight. "I love you," he said. "I know you don't love me in return. But some people do love without conditions, Y/N." There was a pause before a shadow of a melancholic smile crossed his regal features. "Perhaps I broke your heart in a different life," he said, "and now it's your payback."

She wasn't sure what he meant, yet she didn't get a chance to ask. The pressure against her lungs made it hard for her to breathe let alone speak. Without waiting for her response, Lance spun on his heels and left, taking long strides until he disappeared into the shadow.

[theinfinitybucky]

Undercovers (Bucky Barnes x Reader) - Part 2

Part One

Masterlist

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader (Undercover AU)

Original Request: can you do an enemies to lover fic with bucky where the reader saves him or something and he’s all like “why’d you do it? i’m awful to you.” and she’s like “i would never let anyone die. You might drive me insane, but I see that there is good in you” thanks!

Author’s Note: I had waaaaaay too much fun writing this chapter.

Warnings: cussing

    A couple hours later, you arrived at the hotel in a black town car. Bucky tipped the driver which received protest from you because the driver was a freaking SHIELD agent. He didn’t take back the money with your objections which irked you even more. With an attempt to brush off the frustration that failed, you got out of the car and stalked into the hotel. Bucky followed behind your tracks as you hardly even noticed the beautiful tall and marble ceiling of the lobby where a fountain stood in the middle of the room. He certainly took in the scene with a smirk on his face because the whole thing was comical to him.

    “Check in for-.” You began yet the words caught in your throat.

    You felt Bucky come up behind you and slid his hand around your waist. Your body grew rigid the moment his hand gripped you. He finished the words coming off your lips, “-Mr. And Mrs. Christopher Altwell.”

    Get it together, Y/N. If you want to get this over faster, you need to get it together. Whether the words registered or not was a fantastic question. The manager finished checking you in and handed “Christopher” two room key cards. You dragged your suitcase, which had magically appeared beside you, away from the front desk and stopped in your tracks when you spotted Marcus holding his suitcase reading a bulletin. Bucky paused with his chest pressing to your back.

    “That’s him.” You whispered to him with your lips hardly moving. Bucky looked over to the tall golden haired man. You jumped in front of him quickly. “Don’t make it obvious!” You gasped at him in a hushed tone. The months that had been spent on tracking this man had ended. Here they were in a new ball game.

    “You’re making it more obvious by jumping around like that! We’re going to have to interact sometime. Now is better.” He hissed back. Before you could protect he was already walking towards Marcus and it was too late to stop him because it would be obvious. You followed closely behind, unhappy that Bucky was doing this so soon. You had been tailing Marcus for months and never spoken to him. Now Bucky was here to screw the whole mission up in a matter of minutes. 

You waited nervously a few steps away from Bucky and Marcus who were conversing animatedly for a second before deciding that it would be weird to not go and join your “husband”. You strolled up and set your hand light on Bucky’s back and his arm came around you. You resisted the urge to jerk away from him.

“Marcus, this is my beautiful wife.”

You glanced up at him as your eyes met for a split second.

“It’s nice to meet you, Marcus. My name is Sarah.” You reached out and shook his hand with a fake smile on your face.

“Sarah…” Marcus cooed your name making your skin crawl. His hand held yours for a second too long. “Do I know you from somewhere?” Your blood ran cold and Bucky tensed slightly. He must have remembered you from a restaurant.

“No, I don’t believe we have met. So what were you and my husband discussing?” You let his hand go and he let yours drop to your side. Bucky seemed relieved that the subject was changing. You still felt his eyes trained on you as you spoke.

“We were just talking about the dinner that is happening tonight. I believe we received that same table assignment at Marcus.”

“That’s great!” You exclaimed as Marcus’ phone rang with a jazzy and happy song. He picked it up and looked at who was calling. Awfully cheerful for someone who is going to attempt to murder a whole coninent. What a contrast of personality there can be even within a single person.

“Ah, I’ve got to take this. I’ll talk to you guys tonight.” 

Marcus turned away to answer the phone call as you waved to him. You were going to try and stay in the area all though Bucky slid his hand down your arm and pulled you away from the area. You pulled back for a second before Bucky shot you a look that said, ‘Come on, I’m pissed.’ You went ahead and followed behind him dragging your suitcase with you.

The hotel bustled with people going to and from the stores or restaurants within the fancy place. The sound of forks clicking on plates tinged over the soft rumble of chatter coming from one guest to another. Maids dragged their carts running to clean what they could before everyone checked into their rooms for the night. 

Bucky slipped his arm around your shoulder. The elevator rang as it arrived.

He mumbled in your ear, “You’re not making this believable.”

You stepped onto the elevator and the doors closed behind you. An elevator meant no cameras. No one was on the elevator with you either. You threw his arm off you immediately and snapped, “Excuse me!”

Bucky’s arm wasn’t even completely off you when your body was forced to the wall with a metallic bang. His face was so close to yours you could feel his hot breath. Your eyes locked with his blue frustrated filled orbs.

“You need to up your game or we are going to be found out and fast. You are my wife for the sake of this. Act like it.” He nearly sneered.

He pushed off you as the elevator dinged for your floor. Your jaw dropped with the elevator door opening. Bucky stepped off without saying anything further. It took you a second to run up to follow behind him. You did not say a word about what just happened. He was right even if the way he told you was frightening. You were too stubborn and Bucky thought that would be the only way to get it in your head that you needed to buck up for the mission.

Bucky scanned his keycard and held the door open for you to enter the hotel room. You didn’t meet his gaze as you rolled your suitcase in. Of course, Steve had said the hotel room was bugged so there was no breaking character now. The 2 second elevator ride would be the only moment of “peace”. The hotel room was not just a room, it was a full on suite courtesy of SHIELD. At least there was some upside to this. Or not... 

One fucking bed. I’m going to have to sleep in the same bed as him. Remind me to expose all of Rogers deepest darkest secrets when I get back. You noted in your mind. You should have thought of the sleeping arrangements when Steve told you the room was bugged. You should have thought of the sleep arrangements period. The situation just seemed to keep getting worse. Bucky rolled his suitcase into the corner then plopped down on the bed just to irritate you.

“I’m going to go begin getting ready for the dinner party, it starts in an hour.” You told him and Bucky nodded without meeting your eyes. You pulled your suitcase into the bathroom and shut the door.

After 30 minutes of getting ready, you heard a ding on your phone. You glanced down and saw that Steve had left you a text message. The text listed a time, date, and place that Marcus would be exchanging nuclear warfare codes with Eric Miller. You strolled out of the bathroom and found Bucky sitting on the white sofa with his back to you. An idea popped into your head on how to get Bucky to read the text without it being too obvious.

You strolled over to the back of the sofa and set your hand on Bucky’s shoulder. He jerked because you startled him and you grinned as the horrendous giggle escaped your lips. You continued with what you were doing and slid your hand down his chest and over his button down shirt. You wrapped your arms around his neck gently. Bucky felt the ends of your hair tickling his neck as you moved sensually. His body was completely frozen and he didn’t dare move. You brought your phone around and showed Bucky the text.

“Look at what Steve said.” You whispered into his ear with your lips brushing it. His skin crawled because of you touching him this way. Bucky noted what the text said and you pulled away from him. If Marcus had bugged the whole hotel and had a team monitoring the guests, you had to make this realistic. 

You slipped your arms off Bucky and strolled around to the front of the sofa and sat down beside him. His blue eyes watched you in curiosity about what had changed in you. Your actions were foreign to him.You touched his cheek and drew your fingers along his jawline. He tried to relax for a moment before your next movement shocked him even more. You leaned in slowly and paused for a split second as the bridges of Bucky’s nose brushed your own. Bucky did not move a millimeter as you continued to move. Your eyelashes fluttered as you glanced to his lips. Bucky thought he noticed a smirk on your lips before you pressed them to his and his eyes closed. Bucky’s arm wrapped tightly around your back to pull you to him as if it were a second nature.

He had said you weren’t making this believable enough. This is only a game. Checkmate.

Part three

Thank you for reading. Please give a like, reply, or reblog for more content in the future. I also am taking one shot requests go ahead and send your idea in to see it brought to life! I can also tag you in future installments of this if requested.

Tag List: @steveharrigntons @thebadassbitchqueen @farfromjustordinary @mela-noche @sstanbarnes 

[delicatelyherdreams]

Pragma(tic) 12: He Gets the Visit of His Life

Pairing: Persephone!Bucky Barnes x Hades!Reader

Summary: In a world where the old gods never truly died, you must learn to navigate your way through the ups and downs of immortality. And if living forever wasn’t hard enough, an ancient evil is now threatening to break free after centuries of silence. And as if that still wasn’t hard enough for you, now a pesky and infuriatingly handsome god is trying to wedge his way into your life. Gods, work, love, and conflict—what more could a goddess need? [Hades & Persephone AU]

Word Count: 4350

Warnings: Language

Pragma(tic) Masterlist

Previous 11: She Takes a Stand

Bucky had said that he’d give (y/n) a day at least to get back on her feet in terms of work, but he wasn’t sure exactly how much time she wanted. Was just one enough, or did she need more?

Eight days had passed since he’d left (y/n) at the border and, sappy and cliche as it might be, he missed her. He missed her smile and her laugh and even her sour glares she gave him when he said something stupid (which was often if he was being honest, but he only did it to get those damn glares from her).

He wondered how she was doing without him. Not that she needed him or anything—she was perfectly capable of living on her own—but she had told him she had a lot of work to do and he was curious to see how she was doing. He could only imagine how boring the paperwork was. He’d sat there and watched her do it one day and he nearly fell asleep. He felt so bad for her if that’s what she was stuck doing. Maybe he could rescue her and bring her to the island. Get her some sun. If there was one thing that was good about being in the Mediterranean, it was that it was sunny year-round.

Lying there in the grass under the shade of a tree to shield him from the sweltering sun, Bucky sighed and shut his eyes. He didn’t think it really mattered what (y/n) was doing at that moment and daydreaming about taking her out in the sun wasn’t doing any good.. The fact of the matter was that he missed her and he really wanted to see her. But he had to wait. Delayed gratification always paid out in the end and—

“Hey, Buck!” Sam’s voice called, pulling him from his thoughts. “You’ve got a visitor.”

Bucky groaned, keeping his eyes shut. “Tell my mother I’m sleeping.”

Sam laughed and Bucky felt him sit down beside him. “It’s not your mother. I think you’re going to want to go get them before Steve loses his mind.”

Bucky peeled an eye open and looked over at Sam. “What are you talking about?”

He nodded his head forward. “See for yourself.”

Bucky opened his eyes fully and sat up to look at the clearing. He couldn’t believe his eyes.

Standing in the clearing, talking to Steve, were two women and a large dog. He only just recognized the woman on the left as Peggy, the goddess of magic, but he would’ve known the woman on the right anywhere. 

(y/n) was dressed for a sunny day with a pair of loose black shorts hanging from her hips, a dark grey tank top hugging her torso, and a floppy black hat casting shade on her face. Cerberus stood by her side, nearly attached to her hip, as he sniffed Steve’s hand eagerly. (y/n) had her fingers tangled in his fur as she pet him absently, listening to whatever Steve was saying. A kind smile adorned her lips. When Bucky moved, he drew her attention and those striking eyes of hers landed on him. Her smile only widened when she saw him, and she raised her other hand in greeting.

He could only stare at her, his lips parted in awe. 

He’d never seen her venture out of the Underworld in the daytime and actually have time to appreciate her in the sun. The only time he’d seen her in the Mortal World like this was when she threw him out the first time. She was beautiful then, but it was a scary beautiful—the kind that came from radiating power and “I’ll kick your ass” energy. But now? She was stunning with the gentle glow that came with familiarity and sincerity. The sun kissed her skin, giving her a lively glow that seemed to send color to her flesh. She looked alive, and Bucky’s breath got caught in his throat.

He was on his feet and making long strides over to the quartet before he knew it.

(y/n)’s eyes never left him and her smile only grew brighter as he approached. “I thought you were going to come back later,” she said, her tone taking on a teasing tone. 

A smile to match hers covered Bucky’s face. “Oh, I was, Doll, but I wasn’t sure how much time you’d need to get caught up.” 

“Only a day or two. Eight was far too many.” She chuckled. “But time is irrelevant when you live forever.” She turned her gaze from him and looked back up at Steve. “Your friend here was kind enough to fill us in on all your moping over the past few days. Did you really miss me that much?”

“He did,” Steve confirmed, nudging Bucky with his elbow. 

Bucky hissed a “Hey” at Steve before rolling his eyes. “He’s exaggerating the whole thing. I was not moping.”

“Mhmm.”

He cleared his throat. “Anyways! Why are you guys up here? I’ve never seen you topside and dressed for,” he gestured vaguely, “leisure.”

(y/n) looked down at Cerberus. “Well, we needed a bit of fresh air, and Cerberus wanted to go on a walk, so we figured we’d pop up for a bit and see you. You’ve been going under for so long that I figured it was my turn to come up and see you.”

Bucky’s heart hammered in his chest. She wanted to come and see him. She left her kingdom to come to him. If that wasn’t dedication, he didn’t know what was. He smiled at her and offered her his hand. “Then shall we give your beloved pup a walk?”

She took it without hesitation and nodded. “Yes.” She turned her head back towards her companion. “Pegs?”

“You go on!” the other woman encouraged. “I’ll be here talking with Steve.” She shot a grin at the blond man, eliciting a blush to rise to his cheeks.

(y/n)’s eyebrows rose in acknowledgment, a smirk playing on her lips. “Alright then. Come on, Buck.” She squeezed his hand and pulled him towards the trees that led out of the clearing.

He followed her, tugging her too. “This way,” he coaxed as he led her through the trees. “I know a good path for walking. Mortals rarely travel it.”

“Perfect.” She let him take the lead.

Cerberus trotted just a bit ahead of them, sniffing down at every little leaf he came across. His tail was wagging rapidly at the excitement of new surroundings. Bucky supposed he hadn’t really seen anything living in, well, ever. 

As if thinking the same thing, (y/n) giggled at her dog. “He doesn’t get out much,” she admitted sheepishly. “He’s a busy dog.”

“Oh, I bet.” Bucky hummed and pulled her closer as they emerged from the trees onto the vacant path. “I still can’t believe you came up here.”

“Honestly? Me neither.” She looked down. “But I needed a small break. Things in the Underworld… Well, they’re not looking too hot right now.”

He frowned and ducked his head to see her. “How do you mean?”

Her lips had formed a thin line as she looked ahead. “Kronos’ cage is… It was weakened. Like, so weak he could’ve broken out at any moment.”

Bucky’s brow furrowed. “I thought that you went down every week to—”

“I did. We think that someone might’ve tampered with it. Our leading hypothesis is titans, but everyone’s been accounted for.” She growled under her breath and her hand squeezed his with frustration. “But we’ve quadrupled up on security and have spent countless hours strengthening the cage. Everyone is doing their best. Even my sisters have come down to help. At this rate, it looks like we’ll be back to normal within days and we can put this whole thing behind us as a fluke. But it’s just been so hectic down there and I needed a break.”

“So you came to me?”

“Exactly.” She rubbed small circles on the back of his hand with her thumb. “I feel calm with you, Buck. So when I needed a break to just chill out, the only place that came to my mind was by your side.” She shrugged as if it was no big deal, but the words made Bucky’s heart pound.

He cleared his throat and his eyes darted down to her. He was glad that he could put her at ease, and he thought to himself that he could help her by breaking the tension with a bit of comedic relief. So, with a teasing grin on his face, he asked, “Do you wear anything other than black?”

Her head snapped up to him, and she stared at him. “Pardon?”

He gestured at her outfit. “Screw me, I’m trying to make conversation and lighten the mood. You’re stressed.” He cleared his throat. “Anyways! I only see you in black. Do you wear anything else?” 

A skeptical smile crossed her lips, but she answered him, “Yes. Sometimes I wear greys or reds.”

“So only gloomy colors?”

“I suppose.” Her smile gave way to an amused chuckle.

“What about a nice yellow? I think you could pull off yellow.”

Her chuckle turned into a full roar of laughter. “Yellow! Bucky, the day I wear yellow will be the day I die.”

“So never. After all, gods can’t die.”

She turned to him, a coy smile on her lips. “Now that is where you’re wrong. It’s very rare, but gods can die or be killed.” She paused. “I’ve seen it happen; in fact, I’ve had to kill some myself.” 

“What?” He turned to look at her, his eyes concerned. He’d never heard of this, and it made him anxious and worried for her to know that she had killed a god.

She continued to walk, acting as nonchalant as if she were talking about swatting a fly. “Erebus, the god of deep darkness and shadows was rebelling against us, trying to set my father free. He was a minor god, so he wasn’t a real threat, but he was still guilty of high treason against Olympus. Carol hated to do it, but she had to sentence him to death. Who better to be the official executioner than the goddess of the dead?”

Bucky continued to stare at her, his heart aching for her. He’d never really witnessed death before, but he could only imagine how horrible it was for her. Despite being surrounded by death down in the Underworld, he never could imagine what it was like dealing it out. “Wh-What did you do?”

She glanced at him sideways. “I don’t want to get into the details with you, Buck. You don’t really need to concern yourself with it. Death is… Well, it’s not always pretty. I don’t want to make you worried or ruin your innocence. Death is a nasty business.”

He nodded, but there was still something that bothered him. Every god presided over some dominion or another. Every god controlled some important aspect of life. What happens to their role when they die?

“(y/n)?”

“Hmm?”

“If Erebus is dead, then what happened to his…”

“His charges? The deep darkness and shadows?”

It was like she read his mind. He nodded. 

“I took them. When a god dies, another has to take their role. Sometimes it goes to the god that already presides over something similar, sometimes it goes to the one most willing to take it.” She lifted her hand and instantly wisps of darkness curled around her fingers. “I was already Queen of the Underworld, a place that practically bathed in the deep darkness and shadows, so I took on the role.” She closed her fist and the shadows vanished. 

Bucky couldn’t decide if he was fascinated or terrified by the whole thing. He was impressed that she had more power because of the death, but he was frightened by the prospect that any god could become more powerful by killing another. 

“Don’t worry though. It’s extremely difficult to kill a god. Only one of the Big Three’s weapons or our father’s weapon can do it in one fell swoop, and my sisters and I keep our weapons under lockdown when we aren’t using them. The only other thing I can think of that could kill a god would be a sickness, and even then it would have to be a powerful sickness.” She shrugged. “Don’t fret about it, no one is dying anytime soon.”

“If you say I shouldn’t, I won’t.”

“Then don’t.” She fell silent for a bit before laughing. “Well, that was a failed attempt at keeping the conversation light. We go from talking about clothes to talking about death.”

“Well, when your girlfriend is the goddess of the dead, death and all its tangents are probably going to be normal conversation topics.”

At that, (y/n) froze and pulled Bucky to a sudden stop.

He grunted as he stumbled, pulled by his hand which was still holding hers. “You alright?” He hadn’t been expecting that, and he didn’t think she would stop unless she had good reason to. His eyes searched her body for any sign of sudden injury or disturbance, but all he could find was the startled expression on her face. 

She stared at him, still as death, her eyes darting all over his body. Her lips were parted in a silent gasp.

“(y/n)?” he called again, his voice cautious and timid.

She was silent for a few moments more before she asked, in a voice as timid as his own, “Wh-What did you just call me?”

“(y/n)?”

“No, before that.”

He paused, wracking his brain for the word. When he finally realized what she meant, heat rose to his face. “I called you m-my girlfriend.”

Hearing it again, she turned her head down, eyeing him through her lashes. “Bucky… You’ve only known me for seven months or so. That’s… that’s not that long at all.” She hung her head, her expression unreadable.

For the first time in a while, Bucky was scared he’d overstepped the unsaid boundaries they’d established. His heart sank in his chest. What had he been thinking? Where had he gotten the idea that they were a couple? Was it from the countless hours they’d spent together? Was it the both of them kinda admitting their feelings back at Pop’s Pastries with no one but the fluorescent lights to bear witness? Why had he thought that meant she wanted to be with him even when he hadn’t asked? Was he really so stupid as to rush into this too fast and just assume? 

He lowered his head in shame. “I… I know and I’m sorry, Doll. I shouldn’t have assumed anything and I—”

“No!” she said suddenly. “I mean, I don’t mind. I just… I’ve never been an official girlfriend before and it’s just… It’s different, y’know?”

“Like a good different?”

She paused for a moment, deliberating silently, before nodding. “I think so. But, if I’m your girlfriend, does that make you my boyfriend?”

“If you want me to be.”

She was quiet for a bit before she nodded her head. The motion was slow at first, so slow that Bucky hardly noticed it, but then she began to nod her head more eagerly and a smile that lit up her whole face took over. “I’d like that very much, but I’m changing the name. ‘Boyfriend’ and ‘girlfriend’ sounds like something teenagers use. I think I’d prefer you to be my partner.”

He chuckled. “Then your partner I shall be. I don’t care what you call me so long as I can be with you.”

“But also,” she said staring at him pointedly, “you have to actually ask me out before we can be anything. Just because I like you doesn’t mean you can cut corners.”

“Fine. (y/n), will you go out on a date with me?”

Her eyes sparkled with joy and mischief as she said, “Sure. Aren’t we on one now?”

He opened his mouth to respond, but he was cut off by Cerberus yipping and the sound of footsteps approaching. 

(y/n) whistled sharply, drawing Cerberus to her side, and placed her hand on his head to hide his red eyes. She straightened up, her cheery manner being replaced with something more serious, and stared down the path where two figures were making their way up.

Bucky’s mouth fell open. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen mortals up here. Most of the time he only came across animals or nymphs, but these were full-fledged humans. He tugged (y/n) closer to him, encircling her waist with his arm as he pulled her towards the side of the path to let the people pass.

They were a pair of men, right around Bucky and (y/n)’s physical age, who were huddled together and murmuring in hushed whispers. They were American based on their accents, probably tourists, but that didn’t explain why they were this deep in the island. All the tourist attractions were closer to the bay or the city.

(y/n) had stiffened as she watched them grow nearer; she was not used to living creatures. Bucky saw her eyes flash a light shade of red.

He leaned into her so his lips were just inches away from her ear. “Easy,” he whispered. “They’ll be gone soon.”

She didn’t relax; her glare was fixed on them. “Why are they here?” she hissed. “I thought you said mortals don’t come up this far.”

“Sane ones don’t,” he confirmed before leaning back and calling out to the boys, “Hey! You kids lost or something?”

The one on the left, a brunet, perked up, his eyes startled. “Oh! Uh, sorry, mister. No, we aren’t lost.”

“Then why are you here?” (y/n) took her hand off of her companion’s head and crossed her arms impatiently.

The second boy, a blond, withered slightly under her gaze, his head bowing low. “We heard from locals that the gods roamed here in ancient times. The stories say that they still do. We’re theology majors in college and doing a project on Greek Mythology. We didn’t mean to trespass.”

(y/n) snorted, probably from the comment about the gods. “You boys came up here based on some stories? Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but that’s all they are: stories. And pretty inaccurate ones if we’re being honest. I mean really? Where did they come up with some of that stuff.”

Bucky found her exasperation amusing, especially since most of the inaccurate myths were about her and her sisters. She looked about ready to rant about the truth of the gods but, although Bucky could listen to her talk for hours about anything, he really didn’t think that she should blow their cover to a couple of kids. He tightened his grip on her waist and whispered her name.

She slackened just a bit in his grip, but her eyes never left the men. “You shouldn’t be up here. It’s dangerous.”

The blond was the first to respond by saying, “Please. We just want to explore and maybe take some pictures for the project. Will you at least let us do that?”

Bucky was quick to answer. “Sure, but you guys are seriously going to want to get out of here soon. Not so nice characters venture out here sometimes, and they don’t like intruders.”

They gulped.

Bucky took (y/n)’s hand. “Come on, Doll. Let’s go.”

She whistled once more to Cerberus, giving him the okay to walk, and the three of them began to continue down the path. “Have a nice trip,” (y/n) said, her smile growing mischievous as her eyes flashed red at the boys.

The color seemed to drain from their skin as they stared at her incredulously.

When they were out of earshot, Bucky leaned down to her. “Really?”

She turned to him, her eyebrow cocked. “‘Really’ what?”

“Are you trying to blow our cover? Flashing your eyes at them?”

She waved her hand dismissively. “Nah, just trying to scare them a bit. I never get to have fun with the mortals.” Her lips turned down in a pout. “Let me mess with them!”

“You probably scared them shitless, Doll. I know I’d be freaked if I saw a pretty girl with red eyes.”

“Oh really?” She closed her eyes for a second before opening them to reveal the red that had taken over her irises.

Bucky’s breath hitched in the back of his throat as the rouge stared at him, ensnaring him with their striking gaze. Her eyes shone like rubies, piercing his soul and seeing the very depths of his heart. They were gorgeous, enchanting even. He’d never get tired of that color. “Really really,” he murmured, leaning in closer and pressing his lips to her cheek.

The giggle that passed through her lips was music to his ears. “Gods, you’re such an idiot.”

“I know.” He slowed to a stop by a small bush on the side of the path and reached for it. Simultaneously, it reached back, a small red poppy to match (y/n)’s eyes blossoming as it grew. By the time Bucky’s fingers had reached the plant and gripped the stem, it was in full bloom. Bucky plucked the flower and turned back to (y/n), tucking it behind her ear. “But I’m your idiot.” He let his hand linger on her cheek.

Color rose to her face as she leaned into his hand. “Yes you are,” she mumbled. “Come on, idiot. We probably should be getting back now. Who knows what mischief Peggy and your friend have gotten up to.”

“What? Peggy and Steve? Nah, Steve might be a dumbass, but he’s the second most responsible out of the three of us.” Bucky had no doubt that they were fine, if not hitting it off swell. Ever since his growth spurt, Steve had grown more confident around people. Though, he didn’t know if “people” necessarily included goddesses. Well, guess it was time to find out. 

(y/n) hummed as she turned him and Cerberus around to head back the way they came. “So then does that make you the least responsible?”

“Heh, yeah. But hey, my lack of responsibility led me to you.” And it did; if he had been responsible, he never would’ve taken Steve seriously and ventured down to the Underworld to get that ruby.

“True.” 

They walked in silence the rest of the way back to the clearing. 

Sam had vanished, probably to head down to the city and get food, but Peggy and Steve were sitting in the center of the field. Peggy was laughing at something Steve had said and Steve had the distinct red tint of a blush on his cheeks. Bucky smiled softly as he briefly observed them. Steve and the goddess seemed to be hitting it off. He’d have to make an inquiry about it later.

(y/n) stopped him at the edge of the clearing, right before they exited the trees, and turned to him. “Thank you for letting me come up, Bucky. Even if it was just for a bit. It was just the break I needed.”

He hummed. “Don’t mention it, Doll. You’re always welcome up here. Any time I get to see you makes my day, so feel free to visit whenever.”

“And the same goes for you, Buck.” She looked down at their hands which were still intertwined. “The Underworld is always open for you. You have every right to be down there. And I…” She frowned and bit her lip as if she was confused by what she wanted to or was about to say.

“And you…” Bucky prompted her, hoping to help her get the words out.

She held her silence for a bit longer before pressing her lips together and nodding. “And I want you to come down and see me. My responsibilities keep me pretty tied down there, I won’t always be able to come up and see you like this, but I want to see you. I want you to come down and see me. So please don’t be a stranger.”

Bucky held one of her hands in his as he used the other to cup her cheek. He gently leaned down and kissed her forehead. “I won’t, my queen.”

Satisfied with his answer, she straightened up, a soft grin on her face. “Good. Then I think Peggy, Cerberus and I will be taking our leave.”

“Good luck prying her from Steve’s hands,” Bucky said, looking out at his best friend and the goddess.

(y/n) said nothing but walked out to the pair, Cerberus keeping pace with her wide strides. She crouched down beside Peggy and said something inaudible to her, probably detailing that they had to go.

Peggy nodded and stood. She turned down to Steve and smiled, murmuring something that made him smile back. Peggy stood next to (y/n).

(y/n) dug into her pocket and pulled out what Bucky could only assume to be an Asphodel seed. But, before dropping it, she looked up at him one more time and gave him a smile. He could practically hear her saying, “Until next time,” with the grin. She tossed the seed onto the ground beneath them and the three of them were swallowed by the earth. 

A single Asphodel was left behind.

Left alone with Steve, Bucky walked into the clearing, stopping just beside the Asphodel sprout. He stared down at the flower, a soft smile playing at his lips.

Steve watched it too, but a frown was tugging the corners of his lips down. “We have to pick it, Buck. You know your mom will flip if she sees it.”

“I know. Just…” He sat down next to the flower and looked it over, the feeling of (y/n)’s hand in his lingering. “Just let it live a bit longer.”

Next 13: She Makes a Confession

[perditaalottachocolate-blog]

Thinking Out Loud (1)

Hi @janaikam ! I’m your @mlsecretsanta​ ! Here’s a little gift to make the year 2020 happier and brighter! A big thank you to @goblin-alchemist for betareading this! Stay tuned for more chapters!

Summary:  When Ladybug and Chat Noir meet for the first time, they seem to click perfectly, their teamwork seamless as if they could hear each other’s thoughts. Or maybe they can? Is this just a kind of miraculous connection or a bond of a totally different type? A ML Soulmate AU.

AO3 / fanfiction.net

****************

[*Ladybug’s/Marinette’s thoughts*]

[Chat Noir’s/Adrien’s thoughts]

-1-

*I’m scared.*

Chat Noir froze for a second. Was that his thought? He heard the voice loud and clear, just… without the contribution from his ears. 

He shook his head. It was probably just all the excitement from getting a miraculous and a magical makeover in the span of half an hour. He’d have to ask Plagg about that. Maybe it was the little sprite trying to communicate with him after the transformation? 

Chat felt a little sting of shame that he hadn’t been listening more carefully to the kwami. As much as he seemed to be a natural at this, there were probably some things from Plagg’s tutorial that skipped Adrien’s attention.

Oh, well. No time to dwell on it now. Stoneheart was about to pulverize the redhead reporter with a soccer goal. Acting purely on instinct Chat threw his baton, extending it at the last moment. The goal bounced off his weapon nicely, missing the girl by centimeters. 

Oh, shit.

That one thought lit up brightly in his thoughts as stone fingers closed over his body and he found himself in rough clutches of the monstrosity. 

***

Never in her life was Marinette as scared as in that moment, on the roof of Parc des Princes. How did she get roped into this mess, playing a superhero? She’d always been a walking disaster. How could have she believed for even one second, that she could help, make a difference for the better? 

She should just run away, before the supervillain gets wind of her melt down. She should return the earrings to Tikki. She was not cut out to be a hero. She was just plain, silly Marinette. 

The boy, Chat Noir, seemed to be born for the job. Confident and cocky, he gave the impression of someone in control, who knows exactly what to do. He’d be fine. In fact he’d probably be better off without her, Miss Madlynette Disastrous - Clumsy failure. 

She was about to turn around and flee when...

Oh, shit.

The voice in her head wasn’t hers, but the comment was painfully adequate. Chat Noir just got trapped in the granite fist of Stoneheart. Weaponless, as his staff had just helped to protect Alya from being crushed to death.

Help.

She needed to help. She had no idea how, but she couldn’t just stand and watch. She threw her yoyo at the villain hoping it would know what she needed it to do.

***

That settled it. The Bug Lady was crazy. Not only did she pull at his tail, which felt much more than pulling a leather belt should have, but she basically threw him under the bus, or rather back into the stone grip of Stoneheart. And then she jumped right into the villain’s other hand. Only…

*This will work. I’ve got it. It’ll be okay.*

There was the voice again, no longer scared, but confident and soothing. Chat Noir gave in and simply observed as the insane yet effective plan came to action. Soon, he found himself on the ground again, accompanied by a tall boy who was no longer made of rock. 

*We did it!*

Maybe the Bug Lady was crazy, but she was awesome at it! If only he knew her name.

*Ladybug.*

He smiled. It fit her.

***

Marinette simply couldn’t believe this was her life now. She was chasing after Alya, who was chasing after Chat Noir, who was chasing after a giant stone monster, who held two of Marinette’s classmates hostage. 

And she had been right the previous day. She had caused yet another disaster and thanks to her incompetence now there was not one, but a whole army of rocky monstrosities roaming over the streets of Paris.

She felt as if her feet turned to stone as well, set in place, while she watched in silent horror as Alya disappeared under a car thrown by a Stoneheart’s minion with such ease, as if it was merely a toy. She could only see Chat’s legs dangling pitifully from another Stoneheart clone’s fist. 

So this is how I’m gonna die?

Marinette clenched her fists and narrowed her eyes. No one would be dying today. Not if she could help it. She dug the ornamental box from Alya’s bag and slipped the earrings back into place. This time it was as if the world just clicked. 

***

The day just kept getting weirder. First day of school turned out to be a minefield. Thanks to Chloe’s efforts he seemed to already have made an enemy out of a cute black haired classmate. The whole gum incident made his stomach twist into a tight knot, the disgust he’d seen on Marinette’s face sinking deep into his very bones for some reason. Almost as if he could hear the profanities that she was too polite to utter.

Although he did befriend his seat buddy, Nino, they never made it past roll call. Who knew the stone giant he encountered the day before was another classmate of his, and that he’d turn into stone so fast? The luck of a black cat.

Maybe he shouldn’t feel this way. After all Ladybug did save him and Chloe from certain death. And then she got rid of the swarm of butterflies and challenged the madman who took on the name of Hawkmoth. Well, he might not have been the only crazy person in Paris.

Minutes ago Chat had assured Ladybug they were going to make it. They were needed for the job, and the girl had more than enough wit to come out victorious. So it was probably too late now to question her sanity. She just went on with a crazy scheme of hers, dancing on the top of the Eiffel Tower. 

And Chat had no idea how to fix this mess. A scene straight from a King-Kong movie with a stone monster and a petite girl in his grip, tens of meters above the ground. Painfully cliche and even more dangerous. 

*I need to make them kiss. And then catch the akuma.*

There was that voice again. Not his, but his at the same time. An idea, a solution, a string of instructions at the edge of his subconsciousness. Chat stood to attention before he knew it. How the heck were they supposed to make the akuma and his victim kiss?

And then Ladybug wrapped her yoyo around Stoneheart and pulled. Mylene’s lips clumsily landed on the rocky face, performing a very sloppy and possibly rough smooch. Stoneheart froze loosening his grip on Mylene and on something else.

Wait, what?

*Now for the akuma*

Right, the akuma that was hiding in the crumpled object in Stoneheart’s fist. Well, he wouldn’t be a true cat if he didn’t have a solution for that. Chat swatted at the falling thing with his staff, sending it straight to Ladybug. She caught it and broke it as if she’d been doing this her whole life. A butterfly, freed from its confinement, took flight into the Parisian sky. 

*Gotcha!*

Chat drew a breath of relief only to tense again.

*Oh, no. I can’t catch them both.*

The boy returned to the scene below their position. Mylene and Ivan were falling off the tower. It was time to act.

“Chat Noir, you take care of Ivan!”

How the hell was he supposed to do that? She was the one who could magic out a parachute. He could only destroy things.

*Use your power to shape the metal. That’s still a form of destruction.*

Well, here’s an idea. Too bad Chat had to busy himself with cataclysming poor Eiffel Tower’s construction to ponder upon the fact it wasn’t his idea at all. Or was it?

***

Ladybugs. Ladybugs everywhere. The hum of little wings sweeping over the city and busily restoring things back to order. For Marinette it was exhilarating. She wondered how it must have looked from where Chat was dangling, holding onto Ivan and waiting for the magical insects to take them down.

It’s beautiful. Amazing really.

Ladybug thought there must have been a better way of putting it. She giggled under her breath.

”It’s miraculous!” she exclaimed.

There was one more thing to fix. She straightened out the crumpled piece of paper and handed it to Mylene. The girl’s eyes lit up in comprehension, as Ivan mumbled a promise under his breath. She hugged the suddenly shy boy, or at least did her best to hug as much of him as she could reach.

“Oh, that’s so sweet,” Ladybug cooed. “They’re made for each other.”

Just like us two!

She sent Chat a long searching look, but he just fixed her with a cheeky grin that fit him so well. Ladybug felt the beginning of a blush creeping onto her cheeks. Her earrings beeped in warning. 

”Uh, oh,” she grabbed Chat’s paw. His ring beeped as well. ”See that? Time to split. See you soon, Chat Noir!”

The dork bowed like a knight. ”I can’t wait, my Lady.”

My Lady. My Lady. My Ladybug,

The words echoed in Marinette’s ears as she made her way back to school. She couldn’t shake them off, as much as she couldn’t get rid of the warm, fuzzy feeling that dwelled in her stomach.

[takonei]

Beta AU - Main story, Chapter 4, deadly life (Part 5)

Note of the author: This chapter was hard to plan. And very. Hard. To write. Whatever divine entity exists in this realm, please help me.

Chapter 4: Dance, dance, hanged puppets - Deadly life

...

A heavy silence settled upon the courtroom.

None of the two suspects were talking, which clearly didn't help appease the tension in the room.

Shuichi could feel his heart racing in his chest.

He kept glancing between Rantaro, Ryoma and Kiyo.

The medic's furious gaze seemed to be aimed mostly at the smaller man, for some reason, but sometimes eyed the other.

Ryoma was as stoic as ever. How on Earth could he stay calm at a time like this?

Kiyo's nervousness was faint, but definitely here.

The others didn't dare to say a word either. It felt like whoever was going to talk first would be Rantaro's next prey.

"Answer my question."

His intense gaze didn't falter.

"Who, between you two, executed Tsumugi?"

His choice of words felt unnatural.

Up until now, he kept confronting Monokuma, saying he was the one who executed Tsumugi and that there was no trial to hold.

Hearing him radically change his attitude was not something Shuichi wanted to experience again.

After a long silence, Ryoma spoke.

"Maybe I'm the blackened. Maybe it's Korekiyo."

Shuichi swore he saw Rantaro's eye twitch.

"What. The fuck. Are you saying."

"I said what I just said." Ryoma was keeping a straight face. "Perhaps I am the blackened. Perhaps it is Kiyo."

"Don't play dumb with me. You know the answer damn well. Spit it out already." the medic's grip on the podium strengthened.

The weapons maker stayed silent.

"Since our dear friend refuses to help his class..." The violinist could only watch his partner's gaze slowly shifting to the therapist. "Let's talk to you, then."

He tapped his fingers on the podium, the eery rhythmic sound of his nails echoing through the courtroom.

"What do you have to say, Kiyo?"

After a short silence, the therapist took a short breath.

"What is the point of accusing Ryoma? We would simply argue back and forth when none of us have any concrete proof."

...

The tapping stopped.

The way Rantaro was staring at Kiyo, he feared that breathing too loudly would make him the next victim.

The others seemed to feel the exact same level of discomfort.

Shuichi wanted to be anywhere but here.

The only thing that kept the courtroom not in complete and utter silence was the faint ticking of the clock's gears.

He drew a shaky breath, waiting for one of the two suspects to just talk.

"... So that's how it is." Rantaro closed his eyes.

"You two refuse to talk. And now we cannot make a decision to vote."

His voice gained back its calm. But that wasn't the usual calm Shuichi greatly missed. His voice carried a certain heaviness. It felt like he was seconds away from lashing out at the two in the most violent way possible.

"What exactly do you wish to accomplish? Nothing will make the outcome of this trial any different. The blackened will be executed by Monokuma and we will all desperately try to move on despite the continuous deaths of our friends. You two are only delaying the inevitable."

His monotonous tone sent chills down Shuichi's spine. And he wasn't even the one Rantaro was talking to.

"Is it perhaps that you two were accomplices in the matter?" he slightly tilted his head to the side. "Did you two cooperate to make this murder happen, knowing damn well only one of you will be able to escape?"

Kirumi took a silent deep breath. "Rantaro, let's think ra-"

"I'm sorry, did I ask for your opinion?"

She perked up, clearly not expecting this passive-aggressive reaction.

"This is a matter between those two traitors and me. So if all of you could be quiet right now, that would be nice."

Shuichi did the right thing by not talking, then.

The others not in the trio glanced at each other. What could they even do?

"As I was saying..." the medic turned back to the small man. "Are you two admitting being accomplices, then?"

Ryoma kept staring at him for a moment.

"... If that's how you want to put it. Then sure."

"Stop playing with us and talk."

"Do you listen to yourself for a second? What do you-"

"I want this trial to be fucking over already, is it that hard to understand, or do I have to repeat myself over and over again?"

"Rantaro, look at our situation for a minute. Do you seriously think I'm messing with you for fun?"

"Our situation is a fucking class trial where we could all die if we make the wrong choice! Is it your wish to get us executed?!"

"I suggest you take a step back for one-"

"A STEP BACK ON WHAT??"

Rantaro extended his arms. "Look at ourselves for one fucking second, Ryoma! We're all dying one by one in this miserable hellhole, and all you're thinking about is messing up this godforsaken trial! What is there to understand??"

"Rantaro-"

"I trusted you!!"

Those words echoed through the silent courtroom. Shuichi could feel himself shiver at the sudden yell.

"... I trusted you Ryoma. I really did."

Even though it was faint, Shuichi could hear a slight shaking in his voice.

The voice of betrayal.

He didn't get it, Ryoma and Rantaro were close but... That much? It was already rare to see him like this, but what sort of bond did they have for Rantaro to react in such a way?

The courtroom fell silent.

Ryoma was still looking at his friend from the other side. The violinist swore he saw him flinch at the medic's words.

"... I wish things were different. But for now, I have a duty to accomplish."

"Don't 'duty' me Ryoma. A traitor is a traitor. You betrayed me. And you betrayed each and every one of us."

Shuichi saw Kiyo taking a deep breath.

"Rantaro, that's enough."

He didn't even bother turning to him.

"Shut up. This isn't about you."

The therapist strengthened his grip on the podium. "This is about me as well. Yes, right now we are working together. So if what you want is answers on the blackened, then ask the both of us."

Rantaro blinked a few times. "Answers...? Blackened...?"

He started laughing nervously. A laugh that reminded Shuichi a bit too much of the previous trial.

"Ha... Hahahahahaha..."

The others could only watch in horror the green-eyed boy giggle to himself, for once his gaze turned to the ground.

"You know what?"

"I don't care who the blackened is anymore."

He raised his head to face Ryoma.

"I just want answers from him."

Ryoma slightly narrowed his eyes.

"If your intentions are solely for me to speak the truth, then you have lost your way. This isn't like you."

"I could say the same. Does this group mean nothing to you?"

He paused for a moment.

"... They do. And I've chosen who I'm fighting for. What about you, Rantaro?"

The medic stared at him.

"Who are you fighting for?"

There was a long pause.

"... You of all people don't get to ask me this question."

He put a hand on his heart. "I dedicated my entire existence to save people. To save my people. To save my friends. And the very moment Monokuma decided to put us through this killing game..."

"... I started dedicating my entire existence to all of you."

Shuichi didn't know if it was the calmness in his voice, the fact that those words felt natural for him to say or the deafening silence in the room, but he felt shivers hearing the last sentence.

He had heard more than enough times about his will to put an end to the killing game no matter the cost, but this time it felt... different.

"So you haven't strayed away from your purpose."

"And you, on the other hand, did." Rantaro replied. "So tell me."

"Why the treachery? Who are you fighting for who is worth more than our lives and more than the honor you swore to yourself as well?"

The weapons maker fell silent once again.

"... Fine then. Which is it?"

Rantaro raised a finger.

"Korekiyo convinced you his cause was worth more than our lives and you are willing to get all of us killed."

Then another.

"You planned this murder for a greater reason and betrayed each and every sermon you swore to me- to us."

And another.

"You two actually planned all of this together to escape and thus making both of you the blackened."

Ryoma remained steady. The two soldiers were staring at each other in complete silence.

Just the ticking of the clock.

And after what felt like an eternity, Shuichi opened his mouth to say something. He couldn't stand this tension anymore. But...

"WHY DON'T YOU JUST FUCKING SAY SOMETHING ALREADY??"

"You've been silent for who knows how long, just say something!! I've been trying over and over and over to understand your intentions, why you are doing this, why you two are so stubborn about this whole case, but I've had enough!! What the fuck do you two want??"

Shuichi's heart skipped a beat, the slow realization settling in.

This... Wasn't Rantaro.

This wasn't the person who tried to help them get together. Who helped them organize themselves by groups with the motive videos. Who took care of the ill ones during the despair disease motive. Nor tried to get them to stay strong during this motive.

The person right in front of them was not Rantaro.

Now that he was thinking about it, he had seen this person once.

It was the same person holding a scalpel onto his throat back in the warehouse.

The eyes, the expression, the tone of his voice...

Was this who Rantaro truly was?

At this thought, Shuichi started feeling sick to his stomach.

The fact that Ryoma was as stoic as ever over the situation felt less horrifying, somehow.

The smaller man quickly glanced on his left.

"... Did you ever wonder why there was a clock in this courtroom?"

"Don't change the subject. Answer my question already."

"Monokuma introduced it to us when we started this trial. It was never here before. But suddenly it appeared. Why is it so?"

The violinist glanced at the giant piece of decoration, gears ticking every second. The two huge, metallic hands remaining steady.

"If you think I'm going to drop my question over a damn clock, then you can stick it."

"Monokuma never does anything randomly, does he?"

Shuichi had thought about this clock but... He never actually guessed its use.

But why bring it now?

"Besides, I noticed something quite strange about it."

The others turned to him.

No one had actually dared to say anything after Kirumi tried to. But their expressions were still the same.

The exact same worry was gnawing at them, fearing for what would happen next.

"Drop this bullshit, Ryoma. What do you want?"

"You see, the bell of the clock rings twice an hour. Once when the hour starts, and once when half an hour passes."

Kirumi frowned. "Your point being?"

"The first bell, the loud one, indicates the start of the hour. That much is not something too complicated to understand."

Shuichi slightly tilted his head to the side. Whatever point Ryoma was trying to make didn't get across.

"The second one, however, rings at 5:30 PM, 6:30 PM and will soon ring at 7:30 PM, is that right?"

This was getting confusing, much like the rest of the trial, actually.

"Y-Yeah, that's what we all have seen from the past three hours!" Kaito wanted to raise his voice but quickly quieted down.

"Except it doesn't."

He perked up. "W-What do you mean?"

This time it was bright blue eyes staring at him- which wasn't exactly less intimidating than the other soldier's gaze.

"The clock doesn't ring at half an hour. We assumed it rang at half an hour because we were focused on ourselves."

"The clock actually rings at half an hour... and 36 seconds."

Miu frowned. "How do you know that??"

"Try for yourself. It's 7:28 PM. You'll see the hand of the clock and the bell don't act up at the same time."

"And what on Earth is that supposed to mean?" Rantaro spat.

"Who knows?"

Shuichi's eyes were dead set on the clock. If what Ryoma said was true then perhaps they could try to understand the situation.

Tik.

Tok.

Tik.

Tok.

Suddenly, the hand reached 7:30 PM but...

... Nothing.

"... What? What is this?" he muttered.

* B i n g *

And just as Ryoma said, at 7:30 PM, 36 seconds, the bell rang.

He felt dumb for not noticing sooner.

The clock had always startled them all- he never realized something was wrong with it.

But what did that even mean? What was the point of making this clock ring at this exact moment?

Considering how, according to Ryoma, the clock really did ring at the beginning of the hour then...

... Why the time delay?

Monokuma was silently watching them from above.

He hadn't said anything for a long time. And yet the situation didn't seem to bother him.

"As I was saying..."

Rantaro was back to tapping his fingers on the podium.

"... Do not change the subject."

Miu hesitantly leaned forward. "Rantaro... I know you're upset... We all are but... Perhaps there is something that we have to investigate...?"

...

The medic froze.

"Tell me, Miu..."

"Have you ever watched someone die?"

She raised an eyebrow. "W-What do you mean? We've all witnessed the executions and the dead b-"

"No. Not like that."

"I meant watch someone die knowing damn well you could have done something. Or you could have done better. Just anything."

"Rantaro, I already told you." Kirumi interrupted. As confident as she tried to sound, there was still a hint of remorse in her voice. "There was nothing we could have done for Tsumugi. You don't have to feel guilty about-"

"Nothing we could have done?" he perked up.

"We could, I don't know, have guessed using your lock in the dining hall would have locked the door? We could have found another way to get to Tsumugi's lock when the fire was there? Or maybe go back even when the Monokubs were extinguishing the fire? I could have guided her to the tunnels so the exisal wouldn't get her? I could have tried to save her when she took the shot from the exisal? There is so much we could have done, Kirumi."

"There is so much I could have done."

It was faint, but Shuichi could hear his voice cracking.

He saw Ryoma looking away for a moment.

This trial was just a painful experience. The previous trial was already what he thought was the worst experience of his life, but this... Wasn't any better. Not in the slightest.

"Ha... Hahahahahaha..."

"It's the same over and over again."

"I thought the killing game would somehow be an escape to that feeling but..."

"I can't escape it. I never will."

"I've watched people die, ally or enemy, I've done autopsies, I've seen liters of blood gush out of someone and yet nothing will ever come close to this feeling."

"The feeling of a heartbeat stopping."

"I have felt it over and over, and over, and over again."

"The feeling of someone's life ending when you could have tried to help. When you could have done better. When you could have saved this person's life."

"But didn't."

"And once again, just when I'm supposed to do my job as a medic..."

"I failed her."

"I failed my mission. And I failed as a soldier."

"I failed in every aspect there is."

Shuichi couldn't see well but...

Were those tears in his eyes?

Arms crossed on the podium and head low, the green-haired teen started giggling to himself again. It was nothing like Kokichi last trial. It was an empty, quiet, and shaky laugh.

He glanced at the others- who didn't know what to do either.

Ryoma was looking at Rantaro with pity. It was almost unnoticeable, but definitely here.

Kiyo was looking away from him, allowing Shuichi to see a part of his face.

It was the most disturbed he had ever seen the therapist be.

And yet the two were accomplices in the matter. One of the two -if not the two-, orchestrated this entire scheme and organized a class trial.

"... Rantaro."

The weapons maker spoke up.

"You are right on one thing. It's that I will probably never understand that feeling you're describing. And I cannot tell you how you should feel."

"But there is one thing that I know about you, it's that you never gave up on trying to save us all. You always did what you judged was right. And you always excelled at it. You always took risks and volunteered to do the most painful and risky tasks."

"You always have been of huge help. And I don't think anyone here would disagree."

"You didn't fail us in any way."

Rantaro clenched his fists.

"What are those words even worth?"

He slightly raised his head, just enough for him to stare at Ryoma, but not enough for them to see his face.

"You are standing here as a traitor. Whatever your role in this whole fiasco is, it doesn't change anything."

Ryoma closed his eyes. "... And I'm sorry for it. But I mean what I said."

The medic stared at him for what felt like an eternity before standing back up. With a swift movement of the thumb, he swept away a tear from his red eyes, still keeping eye contact with the weapons maker.

"You should know how I feel about treachery by now."

"I do."

Rantaro stayed silent.

"Don't think I'm going to give up on this case simply because of your words. And if it means taking you down, then so be it."

"Very well then." Ryoma replied. "Do your worst."

...

After a long silence, Kokichi hesitantly raised a hand. "I've... been thinking about this clock and... I honestly don't know how to feel about it."

At least they were back on the subject. Shuichi exhaled a breath he didn't know was holding. Perhaps it was because the tension broke a little- even just slightly.

Kaito glanced at the decoration. "I was trying to think and... It's not consistent to have an alarm set at 0 seconds and one at 36 seconds. It's definitely something intentional."

Shuichi had realized the inconsistency but he never thought about why.

Miu pondered. "Perhaps... The alarms have different purposes?"

Another purpose? That would make sense, but what?

Think!

...

"I was thinking..." he started. "When did the trial start exactly?"

"4:30 PM." Rantaro bluntly replied, only sending him a quick glance. "3 hours ago."

Now that he thought about it, they didn't hear the clock ringing when they placed themselves near their podiums.

Did it have anything to do with it?

Or maybe...

"Miu, you said they had different purposes, so what if... The loud bell is simply here to indicate the time, and the second alarm is here as a timer?"

"A timer?" Kokichi tilted his head to the side. "Why would we need a timer for a trial?"

Shuichi glanced at the two suspects, both as silent as one could be.

"I don't know but... I feel like we should keep that in mind."

Kirumi pondered for a moment.

"... Is this clock the reason you two have been acting so... strange?"

The two suspects turned to her. And yet their expressions were as stoic as ever.

"After all, all you've been doing is staying silent for the past hour or so. Does it have anything to do with-"

"Ahem!"

The robotic bear interrupted the mercenary.

"I've been watching you whining and arguing for well enough time... You guys are here to investigate on miss Shirogane's tragic death..."

Rantaro slightly flinched at those words.

"... Not to babble about my glamorous decoration!"

Kirumi glared at him for a moment.

"And what the hell are we supposed to talk about, then?" Rantaro coldly asked.

The bear groaned. "You guys are not very smart, aren't you? I just told you to investigate the victim's death! That's what the class trial is for!"

"Pretty suspicious you're telling us that just as we talk about the clock, huh?" Kaito narrowed his eyes at him.

"The headmaster's orders are ab-so-lute! Now shoo! Get back to your investigation. This is getting boring!"

Kirumi slowly turned back to the others. It was clear she didn't buy any of this.

And neither did anyone else.

But Kiyo and Ryoma were still not talking.

"... Looks like we're going to have to figure it out by ourselves from what we know." Rantaro broke the silence. He opened his mouth to say something else but-

* B O N G *

The clock acted before him.

8:00 PM.

Shuichi was starting to get even more worried about the clock's use.

And the fact that Monokuma didn't want them to talk about that was definitely suspicious.

"... Anyway." Rantaro turned back to the others. "I stand my point."

"I'll bring justice to Tsumugi no matter what. She was one of us and she deserves it."

"There is one traitor among you two, and I will find out who that is."

[therealcalicali]

White Lies

The Best Kept Secrets: Ivar, shocks you with a secret. He's gotten someone in the family way. Worse yet, it’s your sister.

Warnings: Emotional Abuse, Cheating, and Lots of Angst

Part II here 

Part III here

Part IV here

Part V here

Part VI here

Finale here

Deleted Scene here

White Lies AU - Bitter Fruits  here

"Ivar, why are you so quiet this evening?" You asked, eyes full of worry as you studied his expression. "Have I done something to upset you?"

Despite slightly rolling his eyes, he stated that things were perfectly fine. Without even looking you direction, he then asked that you allow him to enjoy the festivities.

"More mead!" He hissed at a nearby Thrall. As the man poured, the verbal assault continued. "What is wrong with everyone around here? Must I beg for drink now? Next time, I'll get your attention with my axe."

With a bow of the head, the old man apologized profusely before filling your horn as well. He then rushed back to his position near the thrones to avoid anymore of Ivar's abuse.

After eyeing your husband a while, you sighed.

Despite his words, you knew something was very wrong. You may have been married for a little over two years, but you could read Ivar well.

"Will you stop staring at me!" He snapped, looking at you from the corner of his eyes. "There's an entire troupe of foreign dancers performing, yet you choose to watch me instead."

"Why are you so short-tempered lately?" You asked, trying your best not to make your sadness noticeable. After all you were hosting a massive feast. The last thing you needed was to fight with the King in public. "I'm only trying to figure out what I've done to make you........so-----"

"So what, Y/N?" He interrupted, cutting off your train of thought. "Listen, stop trying to read my thoughts. Just enjoy the lavish lifestyle being my wife affords you."

You were dumbfounded.

It wasn't as if you even cared about such things. In fact, you had not even been thinking of the youngest Ragnarsson at all when unmarried. He was the one who chose you on a whim during a midsummer festival.

Ivar did so because all of Kattegat referred to you as the "purest of maidens". The one that even Odin himself couldn't bed. A woman who never allowed a man to come close enough to even temp her for a kiss.

Your reputation intrigued all the Ragnarssons. However, it was Ivar who made his intentions known first.

Despite their fear of his temperament, your parents did question his motives. They raised their concerns about many things, including a Prince marrying a farm girl.

Still, Ivar insisted that you had to be his wife.

Surely, a woman as headstrong and principled as you was meant to be at his side. Thus, they gave in. And he truly seemed happy after your vows. Not only did Ivar treat you well, he allowed you to fall love with him at your own pace. Never forcing anything on you. 

But now.............

Now, he behaved as if you had bewitched him in some way.

"I wish to retire for the night." You said leaning closer, the pain of his aloof behavior making your voice tremble . "That is, if it's alright with you, my King."

"You will not!" Ivar replied, his gaze finally falling on you. "Besides, the night is still young and you are the Queen."

"Am I?" You asked, searching his eyes. "You treat me like a stranger. As if I cannot be the same woman you wanted to be yours not so long ago."

"You are the same woman. Of that I can be certain." He scoffed with a shake of his head. "Are you not the one that lost seed for the third time only months ago?"

Your heart nearly stopped.

How could he say such a cruel thing?

Ivar knew how devastated you had been since your most recent womb difficulty. You cried for weeks, unable to be consoled by anyone. Not even your mother and Aunts. Yet, here he was, throwing it in your face.

"Y/N, you have given me neither a son nor daughter. Yet you feel the need to pester me incessantly. But why am I surprised?" Ivar added. "You think I am your hostage. But I will prove to you that I am not!"

You fell silent. Saying nothing as you gazed over the Great Hall. If you had to weep , it would be behind closed doors.

After all, if you did so publicly, no one would show any sympathy. They would all side with Ivar and mock you relentlessly.

The Queen who had yet to produce an heir for their God King.

As you were lost in thought, a hush fell over the Hall. Confused, your eyes went to where attendees were parting and creating a path to the thrones. There, dressed in a lavish red and gold embellished gown was your youngest sister, Eiriana.

She had only recently become a woman the previous year. In fact, she completed her rites with the help of coin from Ivar.

As you gazed at her adorable face, you were about to stand to greet her when you noticed something. Not the absurdly fine jewels or the gold crown atop her braided hair. No, none of those peculiar things.

Your eyes fell to her belly.

There was no mistaking that Eiriana was with child. Perhaps anywhere from seven months along if not more. As your tried to think of who could have possibly done this to your unmarried sister, your parents made their way to her side.

Their eyes avoiding your own.

"Everyone, please look at this woman before my throne." Ivar announced as he rose to his feet with the aid of his crutch. He then looked at Eiriana who gave him a smile that reached her eyes. "Come, my love."

Your heart was beating within your ears. 

"My, love?" What did he mean by such a phrase you wondered to yourself. “No, it cannot be!" 

Eiriana made her way up the small steps with the aid of some guards. Everyone in the Hall watching with baited breath. Once she was beside him, Ivar gently took her hand in his.

To your surprise, she briefly looked in your direction and gave you a friendly wave. Not a mocking one. But a genuine greeting that signified that she was happy to see you.

"I want all of Kattegat.......no, all the world to know who this woman beside me is. This is Eiriana, sister to my wife, Y/N." Ivar declared, his eyes falling on her with a tenderness you had not seen in months. "She is carrying my child. The child of the greatest Ragnarsson to ever live! And though we have exchanged vows already, we will conduct a second ceremony after she gives birth. A ceremony fit for a Goddess."

Your head swam with tension as the Hall erupted with celebratory shouts and cheers. It was as if you were either going to pass out or die from the shock.

"Eiriana and Ivar?" You thought as everything began to sink in. "He laid with my little sister."

You watched as he palmed on her protruding belly, it's rounders that more noticeable due to her petite frame.

"I missed you so much." Eiriana said, wrapping both arms around Ivar's neck. "Did you miss me?"

"Of course I missed you."

"Liar! If that is true, then why did you have me away on the island for so long without visiting? You or Y/N?"

She looked at you as he drew her closer.

Kissing her on top of the head, Ivar apologized and stated that the two of you had been busy. However, he promised to make it up to her.

"Are you lying to me again?" She asked, raising a brow. “You know I hate to be lied to.”

With an amused smirk Ivar replied that he was indeed being sincere. After promising that she could have whatever she desired, he walked her to his throne.

"Now please sit, before you tire yourself." 

"Only if you give me a kiss." Eiriana teased causing you to grip the armrests to the point that blood formed around some of your fingernails.

Your entire body was hot with rage and shame.

As she hung on Ivar yet again, you averted your gaze. Still, from the corner of your eyes, you saw him press his lips to hers. You hoped it would be a quick show of affection, however, Eiriana kissed him deeply, her arms about his neck.

"I love you." Ivar whispered, his lips still touching hers. 

"You better."

With that Eiriana took her place on his throne as he had requested. With a giddy smile upon her face, she turned to you.

"I have missed you so much Y/N. You look so very beautiful tonight." Your sister practically squealed. Placing both hands on your arm, she beamed at you. "So, did you get all of my letters?"

You didn't know what she was taking about. However you were too numb and hurt to delve any deeper.

"Uh....yes...I did."

"Ivar told me how busy you were with your duties but I had to write even if you couldn't reply" She confessed. "The island was beautiful but it was also boring in some ways. Plus, the family taking care of me hardly let me do anything. They were afraid they would be put to death if something happened to me."

"I.................don't blame them." You replied, unable to prevent yourself from looking at her belly.

Taking notice, Eiriana asked if you wanted to touch it. When you hesitated and tried to decline, she forced your hands atop the swell.

It was heartbreaking and you could have burst into tears then and there. But you fought it. You were not going to give the people gathered a show at your expense.

"Don't worry. The baby is really strong despite........ anyway, he kicks all the time." Eiriana said with a giggle, pressing your hands to the sides of her rounded belly. Almost like magic, you felt the baby begin to move around. "See? He's awake. He always wants to play when it’s nighttime."

The movements kept going as your hands began to tremble. This was a viable baby. One that was too far along to be expelled from the body unexpectedly.

Unlike you who could hardly hold seed for two months, Eiriana was truly going to deliver the child Ivar so desperately wanted.

"Can you sleep in my chamber tonight ?" She suddenly asked. "We have so much to gossip about. Like Henrik's new woman. Kristina wrote that she's Gaul. Can you believe our eldest brother goes through women like that?”

You could hear your sister’s voice but your mind was miles away. If had been possible, you would have preferred the ground swallow you whole.

"Love." Ivar said, his eyes fixated on Eiriana. "We are taking our leave of the festivities" He then looked at you, his blue eyes scrutinizing your expression. "You as well Y/N."

"But why? I just got here!" She protested.

Your sister was quite high-strung and showed no fear of Ivar. Perhaps it was her age or the fact that she was the spoiled youngest of your family. Whatever it was, she truly cared not for his reputation.

"Please do not argue with me." He replied. "You have traveled far on the waters, you must rest."

"I don't want to rest! I want to see the shows and speak to interesting people" Eiriana said with her eyes locking on his. "If the two of you are tired, you may go, but I'm staying."

"Eiriana, I do not wish to repeat myself."

"Then don’t!” She quickly hissed back at him. “And I’ll let you know this. Saying my name doesn't frighten me, Ivar. Mother did it all the time when we were little and it never worked."

You could hardly believe your ears. 

No one had ever spoken so rudely to him....ever. Even though you had your moments of push-back, it was never to the extent of your sister. Surely, Ivar would become enraged at any moment.

With child or not, he had proven numerous times that he did not tolerate disrespect. But to your utter surprise, he didn't get irate and yell. Instead, Ivar began to smile. 

Pressing his lips to Eiriana's ear, he whispered something that made her practically jump out of the throne.

"Are you sure?" She asked, looking between you and him. "I was just asking Y/N to spend the night in my guest chamber."

He nodded, making her smile even more as she excitedly took his free hand, intertwining her fingers with his.

"Come, Y/N, we are taking our leave?" Ivar beckoned, his eyes only falling on you a short while.

"How could you do this?" You asked, the tears running down your cheeks as though they would never end. "My own sister?" Of all the women in Kattegat, you choose my own blood?"

Ivar glared at you dismissively, drinking his mead with annoyance. After telling you to calm down he confessed that it had not been intentional, however he had no regrets.

"Eiriana is special." He admitted, tilting his head slightly. "You may not like it but it's not going to change anything. She is my wife and the mother of my child."

The words were like a sword to the heart. 

The mother of his child? Your little sister?

It was enough to cause you to grab the stack of maps and measuring devices that were on the table and hurl them at him. One of the guards in the chamber stepped forward to intervene, but Ivar waved him off.

"You best control that temper, Y/N." He said, pointing at you. "I still love you, but I will not hesitate to send you away if this continues."

Your eyes widened in disbelief. 

"You speak of love after laying and seeding my sister?" You asked with eyes welled. "I may have lost three times in my endeavor to bear you children, but I never lost my heart. I loved you in spite of how cold you grew with each occurrence."

"If you want to be angry, then be angry with the Gods." Ivar said, moving to the doorway. "You are still first wife and I shall treat you as such. But Eiriana is here to stay. I love her just as I love you-----"

"Just as you love me?" You repeated.

"Enough! I have said my peace!" Ivar fumed, wanting no more of the conversation.

“Well, I’m not done saying mine!”

Just as he was about to unleash a verbal tirade, your sister approached, already in her nightdress. She had one hand on her belly whilst the other held her hem.

"Ivar." Eiriana whined. "What's taking you so long?

"Nothing, my love." He replied, his entire demeanor changing instantly. "I was just making sure Y/N was settled in her chambers. She is still first wife you know."

Your sister gazed around, commenting on how well it was decorated. As she was about to say something else to you, Ivar took her by the hand.

"Say good evening to Y/N." He said, already dragging her away.

Sleep well, sister." Eiriana said with a pleasant smile. "We shall have our chat in the morning. It should be fun since Kristina and the others will be here for a visit."

With that, the two if them left and went to what was once your marital chamber.

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[intothestarkerverse]

Paper Hearts

The Starker-Office AU the world needs.

Tony Stark is a paper salesman who hates his job but is secretly in love with the beautiful receptionist. A glimpse into their unorthodox courtship and happily ever after.

Tony Stark hated his job.

Selling paper was one of the most boring professions he could think of, and it had a very obvious expiration date that drew ever closer the more digitized the world became.  At best, he thought, he had another few years before he had to hit the unemployment line and look for another job he despised.  Nothing left to do but collect his paychecks until then, really.

His boss was an idiot.  

Scott Lang was no where near as funny as he thought he was.  His jokes caused Tony actual, physical pain.  The way the guy was a lapdog for Hope from corporate, that was even worse.  Didn’t help that for some reason Scott thought he and Tony were best friends.  The indignities he put up with for this job were not worth the pay check he took home.  Not.  At.  All.

The guy across from his desk was a killjoy.  You’d think Steve Rogers had some amazingly important job with how dedicated he was to it.  First one to arrive.  Last one to leave.  He was a puny little, sanctimonious nerd that Tony loved to play practical jokes on…which was really only one of two things that made the job bearable.  The second?  The second was Peter.

Peter fucking Parker.  

The receptionist.  

Light of his life.  

His reason for waking up in the morning.

The only damn reason he hadn’t left this fucking job in pursuit of something that didn’t make him contemplate using his letter opener to carve a giant hole into the middle of his chest.

Peter was young and beautiful and sweet and he sat directly in Tony’s line of view.  He caught himself staring at the kid way more often than he should.  He would day dream about running his fingers through those fluffy chestnut curls, tugging on the strands in the throes of passion.  He pictured what Peter’s lips would look like wrapped around more than just the straw of his water bottle.  He committed every centimeter of Peter’s face to his memory, knew every piece of clothing in the kid’s wardrobe…enough that he recognized when Peter had treated himself to a new sweater or pair of skinny jeans.  Tony stared because it was all he was allowed to do, and it was the only thing that got him through the day.  Peter caught him, too, but either the kid didn’t realize that Tony was head over heels in love with him…or he didn’t care.  

Tony really hoped it was the former, but it didn’t matter really because Peter had a fiance, Quentin Beck, some handsome asshole from the warehouse who had been promising Peter a ‘happily ever after’ that the kid had yet to realize was really a ‘never gonna happen’.  Quentin wasn’t ready to grow up, settle down, be a fucking man, and Tony had caught him flirting with people who weren’t Peter enough times to know he was a piece of shit.  Quentin Beck didn’t know what he had, but Tony did.  He hated that fucking guy, and the feeling was clearly mutual.

Someday.  Someday, Tony was going to sweep Peter off his feet, steal him away from the asshat and show the kid what a happily ever after should look like.

Someday.

If he ever worked up the nerve.

Until then…

***

Tony leaned against the reception desk, drumming his fingers on the Formica counter and waiting for Peter to finish his call.  Peter glanced up at him through a curtain of eyelashes, biting back a grin and holding a finger to his lips as he quickly scrawled a message on a notepad for Scott.

“Mhm, yeah, no, I’ll totally have him call you back…Yeah…Soon, for sure…Uh huh…Yep, I have here that it’s important so he’ll definitely get back to you…Yep…Cool, okay.  Bye.”  He placed the phone back in it’s cradle carefully and turned his attention to Tony, resting his head in one hand and blushing intensely under the other man’s gaze.  “That was corporate.  You could have gotten me into trouble.”

“I’d never get you into trouble, Pete.  I’d sooner die.”

“This job’s not worth dying over, Mr. Stark.”

“You might be…”

Peter choked out an embarrassed giggle.  “Stop it!  You’re the worst.  Did you just come over here to tease me or did you need help with the copier again?  For someone with half a degree in computers, you really suck with copiers, you know that?”

Tony shrugged, so what if that was one of his many excuses to spend a little time with Peter during the day.  He could hardly be faulted for that.  “Got you a present.  Wanted to make sure you got to enjoy it properly.”

“Oh yeah, what did you get me?”  Peter looked more than a little skeptical, and in all honesty, he probably had a right to be.

“Wait until Rogers gets back from his coffee break and then enjoy the show, Kid.”

“Oh my god, what did you do?”

Tony chuckled, stealing a piece of candy from the bowl Peter filled every week.  “I may have hacked his computer last night…sent him a very official looking email from the US Army inquiring about a very special kind of paper needed for a top secret mission and included a referral from one of his best clients.”

“You didn’t!”

“He’s always acting like his job is a matter of life and death, let’s give the geek a thrill, huh?”

“Mr. Stark, that’s so mean…”

“I could abort the mission if you really think…”

“I mean it would be a shame to waste all that hard work…”

***

“No.”

“Seriously, Steve, I haven’t even gotten to ask…”

“I know, but whatever it is you want, Tony, it can’t be good.  So, no.  My answer is no.”

Tony frowned, hanging his head in frustration for several seconds.  “I know you got Peter in the office Secret Santa thing…”

“How do you know that?  Did you just conveniently skip over the ‘secret’ part?”

Tony was trying really hard to be nice here.  Steve wasn’t making it easy.  “I asked everyone else.  Paid them.  Did them favors.  Tracked down the lucky bastard who was gifting Peter…and Fate hates me, so here we are.  Look, Rogers, I know we’re not friends…”

“Whose fault is that?”

“Mine.  Mine.  It’s clearly mine.  I accept the blame.  I do.  It’s just…I have something planned for Pete and I need to be his Secret Santa.  I will do literally anything.  Name your price.”

“I can’t be bought, Tony.  Peter has a fiance, or did you forget that?  Whatever you want from him, it can’t be good.”

Tony groaned, hitting his forehead against the top of his desk.  “I know Peter has a fiance, Rogers.  Believe me, no one is more aware of Quentin’s existence than I am.  The guy’s a jerk…a bigger jerk than me, and that’s really saying something.  You know it’s true.  He’s a piece of shit and Peter deserves better.  The guy is going to give him some generic piece of crap for Christmas, no thought at all.  You know it.  Peter’s a good kid.  He deserves…he deserves a lot more than that shithole.  Let me give him something nice.  I’m not going to break up his relationship.  I’m not going to lead him down the path of temptation.  I just want to give him something nice and make him smile without him feeling like he needs to do something for me, okay?  Rogers…I’m begging you.”

Steve stared at him for several long minutes before he sighed and nodded.  “Fine.  Yeah.  Okay.”

“Bless you, Steve Rogers.  Consider this our armistice.  War over.”

“I’ll believe that when I see it.”

***

Tony had never wanted to hug anyone as badly as he wanted to hug Peter in that moment.

The kid looked defeated.

He was seated at a little card table towards the back of the comic book shop with several stacks of his own self-published comic in little piles all around him.  

No one was stopping to look at them.  To talk to him.  To acknowledge his existence at all.

His eyes were glassy.  The kid was literally minutes away from crying and he just couldn’t let that happen.

“Just your luck that you’d have your debut on a rainy day, Parker.”

Peter jumped, scrubbing a hand over his cheeks and putting on a brave face as he looked up at Tony with a paradoxical mixture of relief and fear.  “Tony!  You…you came.”

“Course I came.  Wouldn’t miss this for the world.  But seriously, you know rainy days are terrible for business, right?  It’s a proven fact.  Why…I’ve never seen so few people in here before.  Gotta be the weather.”

“Yeah…no, yeah, I’m sure you’re right.”  Peter looked like he didn’t quite believe Tony, but he was also apparently eager for an excuse to explain his lackluster turn out.  Had anyone else from the office even come?  Ass holes.  All of them.  And where the fuck was Quentin?

“So, let’s see…”  Tony reached out for one of the books, carefully flipping through the pages and perusing the content with a little humming noise.  “Hey, now, do you take inspiration from people you know?”

Peter was blushing.  “Maybe…”

“No maybe about it, Peter, you cannot tell me this handsome bastard isn’t based off me.”  He flipped the book around, tapping at an image of a roguishly handsome superhero in crimson and gold armor.  “You know I’m a raging narcissist, right?  I was going to buy a book anyway, but now I have to buy the whole series cause I’m one of the stars.  You in here, too?”

Peter nodded slowly, his blush darkening.  “Yeah…but I won’t tell you who.  You’ll have to figure that out…”

“I do love a challenge.”  Tony closed the book and reached out to add one from every pile to the one in his hands.  “So, how much?”

“Um…they’re ten a piece but…”

“But obviously that’s much too low so I’ll give you a hundred for the set of five.”

“Tony, no…”

“Fine.  A hundred and fifty it is.  You’re a tough negotiator, Pete.”

“Tony!”  The smile on Peter’s face was worth every fucking penny.  And who needed to eat, anyway?

***

“Mr. Stark!  You promised that the goatee was not because of my comics.”

Peter was standing at his desk with both hands over his mouth.  His face was as brilliantly red as the home made Halloween costume Tony had donned for work that day…the costume he had based entirely off of Peter’s comic and the character he just knew was based on him.  Had to be.  And dammit, if he was right…if he was right, than Peter had even made himself Tony’s fucking love interest…and wasn’t that just the most interesting thing he’d ever read in his whole damn life?

“So, I lied.  It’s not my fault. You’re such a damn good artist that I took one look at my comic book self with that awesome facial hair and said, ‘Fuck, Tony, why did you never realize that you’d be even more devastatingly attractive if you just had an impeccably groomed goatee?’  The world has you to thank for it, Pete, and I’m definitely keeping it because it’s been a hit.”

Peter’s hands dropped from his face to his sides.  He was chewing on his bottom lip, looking pensive.  “Who…I didn’t know you were dating anybody Mr. Stark.  I’m glad…they like it.  I guess…”

Tony didn’t bother to correct him.  Not yet.  A little jealousy might do the kid some good, let him know how much Tony wanted to choke the fucking life out of Quentin every time that piece of shit showed his face.

***

Peter was wearing a new soft blue sweater over a button down shirt and Tony was trying very hard not to swoon over how fucking adorable he looked.  He was playing with his gum, winding it around his finger before popping it into his mouth to begin again.  He had his phone concealed in his lap so no one could see him playing on social media while he was supposed to be working.  That was probably why he didn’t hear Tony approach until the man was standing directly in front of him, leaning against the reception desk and looking at Peter with what Tony recognized was something very close to the heart-eye emoji.  God, this kid.  

He really couldn’t take it anymore.

He had to make a move.

Be brave.

Be bold.

Be the fucking hero in that kid’s comic.

“What are you doing tonight, Pete?”

Peter jumped a little, looking up at Tony with a little flush of surprise.  “Tonight?  I don’t know.  Quentin’s got poker at Drax’s, so probably just going to lay in bed and catch up on Netflix.  Why?”

Tony smirked, dropping something on the desk in front of him.

“Oh my god, how did you get this?  It’s not even supposed to be released for another two weeks…”  Peter’s excitement was quelled by the sudden realization, “Is this a bootleg?”

Tony nodded.  He was never going to admit to how much he’d spent for a bootleg copy of something he cared absolutely nothing about because in the end…it was going to be completely worth it.  “Come over to my place tonight.  We can break the law together.”

“You think if the FBI raids your place while we’re in the middle of it that we could at least be cellmates, Mr. Stark?”

“Don’t worry, Pete, I’ll protect you in the prison yard.  No one would dare put a hand on you.”

“I’ve always thought you’d make a great prison husband.”  The witty banter ground to a halt with Peter’s last quip, his light brown eyes flaring wide.  His mouth had runaway without his better judgment, but Tony wasn’t quite ready to let it go yet.

“Oh, I’d make a great husband, prison or not.”  Tony held Peter’s gaze for a second longer than was probably comfortable for both of them, the kid’s face was red as a cherry tomato when they were interrupted by the sound of an exasperated sigh from behind them.

“Tony…could you just grow up already?  Some of us are actually trying to work…”

Peter giggled into his hand, leaning to the side to look around Tony at Steve Rogers’ desk.  “I thought you and Mr. Rogers had finally ended the Civil War, what did you do this time?”  He was careful to keep his tone soft enough that it didn’t carry.

“Hm?”  Tony was still distracted by thoughts of Peter as his prison wife, but managed to pull himself out of it to look back over his shoulder and shrug.  “I super glued everything to his desk last night.”

“Everything?”

“Everything.”

Peter was under his desk now, hugging his sides and laughing himself breathless.  

***

It was far from the first time he and Peter had spent time together outside of work.  They were friendly, in fact.  Quentin didn’t share any of Peter’s interests, and that left plenty of things for Tony to exploit.  Movies Quentin wouldn’t be caught dead seeing.  Video game releases.  Comic conventions.  Hell, Tony had even gone to a few games of D&D with Peter because he would take literally any excuse to spend time with that kid.

Now, they were cuddled up on Tony’s couch in his apartment with enough snack food to weather the apocalypse and a bootleg that Peter was dying to see.  Though, for something Peter was dying to see, he didn’t seem as enthusiastic about watching it as he had earlier that day.

“Pete?  You okay?  Something happen after work?”  He’d been fine when they’d said their goodbyes that day.

Peter ran a hand through his curls and let out a long, shaky breath.  “I think Quentin might be cheating on me.  I don’t have proof but…Drax didn’t know anything about a poker game tonight and it’s just, it’s little things, you know?  I found this little church I really liked for the wedding and I mentioned it to him, that we could maybe set a date…but he brushed me off.  MJ…you know from customer service?  She says I’m an idiot, that he’s never going to marry me and now I’m afraid she’s right…do think she’s right, Tony?”

Tony reached out, drawing the younger man close and inhaling the scent of his shampoo as he tucked Peter against his chest.  “You’re not an idiot, Peter.  You’re way better than that piece of shit in the warehouse deserves.  You’re beautiful and smart and funny and talented, and if you were mine…we’d have fucking eloped the second you said you’d marry me.”

Peter pulled back with a watery smile, “Yeah?”

“Mhm.  They increased the limit on my credit card last month.  Enough for two tickets to Vegas, a week long stay in a crappy casino and a quickie wedding chapel.  I’d lock that shit down before you had a second to realize that you could do better than me, too.”

“Better than you?”  Peter sounded as if that idea was more insane than eloping to Vegas minutes after a marriage proposal.  “Tony, there isn’t anyone better than you.”

“If you believed that, you wouldn’t be with that piece of shit, Quentin Beck.”

Now, Peter just looked confused.  “In what universe did I ever have a choice between you and Quentin?”

“This one.”

Peter’s head slowly canted to one side, brow furrowing and eyes narrowing.  “No…”

“Oh yes, Pete.”  Never in his wildest dreams had ever thought that Peter thought Tony was out of his league.  Was the kid blind?  Did he not own a mirror?  Did he not know how brilliant and funny and talented…  “Oh yes..”  Those last two words were repeated a hair’s breadth from Peter’s lips as Tony leaned forward to bridge the distance between them.

It was everything Tony had ever thought it would be and so much more.  Peter’s lips were soft, his whimpers were music to Tony’s ears.  Tony let himself bury his fingers in those chestnut curls and inhale the scent of him, revel in the taste of him, live in that moment as if it was the only one he was ever going to get.

The kiss went on until neither one of them could breath, until they were forced to pull back with heaving chests and swollen lips.  Peter stared at Tony for several seconds before he threw off the blanket and walked out of the room.

What.

What the fuck.

Tony was dumbfounded.  Was Peter not into it?  Had he just been shot down?  Was Peter not even going to talk to him…

No.

No.

Peter was back.

With his laptop?

Tony frowned, watching as Peter dropped the computer in his lap followed by something small and golden.  Glancing up, Tony caught sight of Peter’s now empty ring finger.

“Put your money where your mouth is, Stark.”

Tony stared. “What…”

“Two tickets.  Vegas.  ASAP.”

“Wait…”  He couldn’t be serious.

“No, you said you wouldn’t make me wait.  I already Snapped Quentin.  We’re broken up.  I’m single…but I don’t want to be.  So buy me those tickets to Vegas and a ring…when we get there.”

Tony slowly opened the laptop, stealing glances at Peter ever few seconds as he booted it and pulled up a travel site.  “You’re not…this isn’t a joke, right?”

“Not a joke.  You’re not the only one who’s been pining, Tony Stark.  Why do you think Quentin hated you so much?  He knew I was super into you…hell, Tony, I made you my lover in my comics…You’ve been my unattainable crush since I started my job.  You’re the nicest guy I’ve ever met. Most supportive.  We have fun together.  We have a lot in common.  We just…”

“Yeah.”  Tony was smiling now, not even second guessing himself as he typed in his credit card numbers.  “I don’t know if we can get a week off work…”

“Four day weekend is good enough for now.  I’ll call Mr. Lang and let him know we won’t be in.  I’ll have to tell him why…”

“God help us.”

***

Four days later when Tony and Peter returned to work in the same car, they arrived to find an impromptu wedding shower waiting for them.  Quentin had quit.  Left all of Peter’s stuff in the warehouse in a pile in the middle of one of the docking bays. But whatever, the less they had to see of that prick the better.  Scott seemed happier about their elopement than they were, and he’d gone to great lengths to print up t-shirts proclaiming that everyone in the office ‘shipped Starker’.  Even Rogers was wearing one.

Tony pretended to hate it.

Really he fucking loved it.  

Maybe his job wasn’t the absolute worst after all…

[blueishfood]

Wind in our sails (Chapter 3)

Fandom/Ship: Maraudrer era in a Pirates of the Caribbean au! Jily, Dobby x Winky, Alice x Frank,

Summary:

“Lily Evans, a young Lady of El Puerto Del Rey, meets Lucius Malfoy for the first time as she is promised to him. Malfoy is one of the few counts of Slytherin Island, a persuasive and revolting man. Miss Evans sees no way out of the nightmare her parents has landed her in.

That is until the infamous Marauder, a known and feared pirate ship sailed by Captain James Potter, attacks The Serpent on their way to her wedding. Lily sees and escape and grabs on tight.

Set sail with Lily Evans as she joins Captain James Potter and his mates in swashbuckling adventures of romance, mystery and lionhearted bravery.”

Warning(s): Only a little bit of fighting, what is pirate life without it?

Words: 1,9 K

A/N: It has come to my attention that people might actually like this fic! Thank you for that, I will now proceed to post all the chapters I have already posted on my AO3 account plus a new one :)

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

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

Lily threw herself into the fight, slightly confused. She had not thought of the conundrum of which side she was on before she had decided on this plan.

She hated Malfoy and his master. She was thankful for the pirates for stopping her journey to further doom, but at the same time she did not know these people. They were fighting with profit as the only goal. The obviously had no qualms against killing, and they were fighting some of her friends, brutally. She wasn't on their side, but she also knew she could under no circumstance be on Malfoy's side.

Lily decided to fight on both sides. She fought her way past men of all sizes, stabbing and slashing them down. But she was stopped by a sword; clinging with her own.

"Lily, get back down!" Lily looked up and saw Malfoy's furious glare behind her blade. He pushed her back a few steps, but Lily shook out of her stupor and stood her ground.

"Fuck off, Malfoy." He scoffed at her words, and pulled back his sword.

"Leave now or you will regret it.", he growled, pointing his sword in her direction.

Lily drew her sword back as well, faking defeat. When he relaxed slightly she slashed at his shoulder. She was happy to see that she drew blood.

"That's for forcing me to bloody marry you!" He took a step back, his eyes big and filled with surprise.

She cut towards him again, but this time he blocked the advance. Lily spotted a grimace of pain and felt an ounce of satisfaction.

"Don't do this." There was a venom in his voice, venom that told her if she let him go now, he would kill her without a thought. Lily spat in his face.

"Watch me."

She attacked twice in a row. Malfoy sidestepped one and blocked the other.

"Wench.", he growled and blocked again. They danced back and forth, the sound of metal clinging against metal filled the air.

In a fit of inspiration, Lily drew her sword back. She pirouetted like she had done in ballè for years while dropping to a crouch. Quick as a whasp, she pulled out her dagger and pierced the air. She aimed for his foot. When she hit something, Lily tugged her weapon back before he could hack down on her hand.

Lily was to fast for Malfoy to block. He was injured and forced into a corner in less than a second. When Malfoy hit the railing, holding on to it for support, he knew that he had lost.

"Go on then, kill me." When Lily hesitated; he smirked.

"Was it not what I suspected? Lily Evans is too soft to kill a man." He desperately clung to the railing but was still too proud to let that bloody grin slip.

Lily shoved her elbow towards him fast, and hit Malfoy in the face. She heard his nose crack, and was satisfied to be the one left grinning. With a swift kick, he flew over the side of his own ship. Lily knew that she hadn't killed him, but she had definitely wounded his ego.

When she turned around she saw the five men from her own crew that was still living. They had just dropped their weapons in defeat. Surprisingly enough, Lily had been too busy to see the fight stopping. She glinted Winky and Moody joining the line that the pirates had ordered.

Still gloating in the glory of her win; Lily pulled her hat down a bit to hide her feminine face and sauntered over to join Malfoy's- now Moody's crew. Lily tucked her sword in her belt and smiled at the proud looking Moody.

"Thank's for gettin' back me ship, 'lad'" Lily's smile grew wider as she understood that Moody clearly saw through her costume. "Would have liked giving him that finishing blow myself." They laughed.

"Shut it all 'a yeh! Captain's speakin'!" A tall, firmly built man with black curly hair hiding almost his entire face looked towards the lot of them with a scowl before letting another man come through. Lily did not see more than his dark leather shoes while trying to hide her face.

"Men! You have lost." The man's voice was clear. Not dark and brooding nor too light to be threatening. It seemed perfectly fit for giving out orders. The man slowly walked past the line, and looked at the faces of the survivors.

"You have two choices." He said loud and clear as his boots scraped the deck. "Join my crew..." he stopped as he continued; "...or fight my best man." At that point the whole pirate crew laughed loudly. "By losing, you will die." Not one voice broke the silence that followed. "But by winning, you will earn your freedom."

"I've already been in your crew, so does that disqualify me or...?" A voice Lily knew well spoke up from the line. "Winky?" The Captain asked. Winky threw off her hat, waved and giggled.

"Welcome on board miss, would you like to go see your fiancé?" A man of the crew said and let out a bark like laughter as he pushed a lanky man towards Winky. She laughed happily and followed him under the deck of the Marauder.

Wow, did she just forget me? Lily asked herself, almost too surprised to register that Winky had a pirate fiance. The Captain looked just as surprised before he asked as a joke if it was anybody else he knew that was hiding in the crew. Imagine his bewilderment when another stepped forward.

"Mad-eye?! What the bloody hell are you doing here?!" Moody snickered at the Captains shout and answered; "Spying."

"Well get on the ship you bloody dog!" The Captain laughed and pushed Moody into the crew. Before Moody could be swept off by the crowd, however, he stopped for a second, looking towards Lily with a concerned glance. She gave a badly convincing wink to let him know that she was okay, but he seemed to take the hint and joined the crew.

Lily quietly weighed her options. She could join the crew and keep her identity a secret. Pirates did not respect women but more importantly, she was certain they would more than appreciate the wealthy soon to be wife of their enemy to work on their ship. Lily rolled her eyes at the mere thought of revealing herself. That was stupid.

She could of course gain her freedom by fighting the best man of the crew. She was pretty certain that she could hold her own against almost any man, but she did not know this enemy. Usually she would be able to study them beforehand, and to figure out their tricks. Besides, what did she have when she gained her freedom? Nothing.

She decided for the first option. Keeping her identity a secret seemed to be the best choice of action at the moment. The rest of Malfoy's crew decided to join as well.

When it became Lily's turn, and the captain asked what her choice was; she gave him her answer.

"And what was your position on the ship?" Lily thought about what her father had said about her ability on a ship before answering in a broken accent.

"A bit of everything cap'n."

"And what were you best at?"

"Me dad always said I had the eyes of a hawk, but I have other qualities too." The captain nodded, and after talking to everyone of the crew members he smirked at the Marauders crew;

"And then to your favorite part men!" He flung his arms towards Malfoys ship. "Enjoy." The men cheered, jumped over to the other ship and searched for treasure.

"Lad! You'll show me where your captain stowed the best of his gold." Lily understood fast enough that the Captain was talking to her. She ran ahead of him, nodding her head quickly, she knew of a few places.

"Here Captain." Lily pointed at the locked door at the bottom of the ship. The Captain kicked the door open and walked in.

"Potter, I'm Captain James Potter," he said without looking at her. "...but at the Marauder I'm called Prongs." Lily nodded as he inspected the gold and diamonds.

"Ship was going to Slytherin Island, was it?", James scoffed as his eyes scanned the expensive treasures. Lily only nodded. "Why were you on the ship, boy?" James turned to look at her with eyes filled with... well, she did not really understand what it was.

"Oh, um, only looking for a good enough payed job Cap'n!" she answered, trying not to sound like a complete liar. The Captain eyed her warily from her saggy trousers to her slightly too big shirt. She let out a breath to make her chest look smaller, and smirked confidently at her Captain.

"Did you need the money?" The curious gaze of her Captain made it difficult to lie, and she told the truth... well some of it.

"Yeah... I had some... issues and I needed the money to... get away, kind of." It was more like family issues, and she needed to run away, not that she had ever done as she needed but... it was some of the truth, right?

Captain Potter nodded slowly, and tried to discretely bow to see her face, but Lily pushed the brim of her hat longer down.

"Name and age." he commanded, straightening again. He turned back to the riches behind him.

Bugger, she hadn't thought of that.

"N-name?" She squeaked, James quirked an eyebrow.

"Do you not remember your own name, lad?" Lily nodded fast while thinking.

"It's Lee, Lee Brown." Lee wasn't that far from Lily right? She could do this. "I'm 16, sir."

"And may I see your face?" Realizing the mocking tone in his words for what it was, Lily knew Potter would not take a no for a no. She shoved a few red hairs back up into the hat, and pushed the brim back slightly. Making sure to frown a bit so her face looked more boyish, she looked up at her Captain.

He nodded sharply.

"Give me a summary of the treasures this ship holds Brown." Lily looked down at her shoes, and thought of all the rooms she had ran in to to avoid Malfoy.

"Diamonds, I figured some are fake, but mostly real. There is a bit gold and a lot of silver, and there are many expensive dresses. Malfoy was picking up his bride." James looked confused at Lily, he had not seen another woman than Winky on board the ship.

"Where is the bride?" he asked a bit louder than expected, looking a bit alarmed. Lily shrugged, she had to become better at lying somehow.

"Haven't seen her Cap, no gal's been picked up yet." The Captains shoulders sunk with relief, and he nodded, all traces of emotion clean off his face.

"Well, I'll make the crew get all of this." Potter bowed down and lifted up a few suitcases. Lily looked strangely at him, would not the Captain choose the most expensive gold? She wasn't about to ask of his strategic choices, she was sure he would have a reason for hoarding dresses anyway.

"Take those." He said nodding at three more suitcases and left the room.

Lily sighed happily as she picked them up. She was free from Malfoy, from marriage, and she was on the ocean. To get kidnapped by pirates was one of the best things that could have happened to her! Maybe this was what they called destiny.

[mingiswow]

Soulmate!au Series | Changkyun

Pairing: Changkyun x reader

Summary: Not everyone had the same soulmate mark and that made even harder for you to find yours, especially when there was no visible mark on your body. But a boring class could change things.

Genre: fluff - loads of it

Words: +1.5 k

a/n: So, it’s finally over! The last part of the Soulmate Series is finally up and I’m so proud I finished. Thank you all who read it. Hope you guys enjoy Kyun’s and love you 💖

You had seen everyone around you to fall in love, meet their soulmates, have names or words tattooed on their body, drawings adorning their skin, having a missing sense, so many ways to meet their soulmate, but yours wasn’t there. At least not visible.

The class was boring as you could think, your eyes barely kept open, the battery of your phone died and your friend missed the class. You had absolutely nothing to do and the video your teacher insisted on putting was even as boring as the man’s voice.

You grabbed the pen by your side and started to doodle on your notebook, but some freckles in your arm grabbed your attention, making you start drawing onto the skin, making little smiley faces, constellations, and doodles.

You kept doing that until the signal played, warning you and your classmates that the class was over. “Thank God” you thought when leaving the classroom, going straight to the small cafe-library near the uni so you could focus on your actual study, not that bullshit you were never going to use anyway.

The tables were empty due to the time, it was midday, but you weren’t hungry to get an actual lunch. You asked for your classic black coffee and sat on the table, spreading your books, notebooks, and pens, getting ready to study the effects of “screens” on kids' behavior.

When you stretched your arm to grab a pink pen that rolled away, you noticed that the drawings from before in your arms were gone and a simple phrase was marked in black.

Hey, soulmate

Your eyes blinked a few times before touching the skin, the color fading until was gone. You grabbed the pink pen in your hand and wrote.

Who are you?

You watched the words being sucked by your skin and couldn’t help but let a gasp out of your mouth. What was going on? You noticed letters starting to appear in your skin again. 

 I’m your soulmate. Everything we put on our skin appears on the other.

The words faded again but soon other ones appeared.

You should thank me for not doing the tattoo I wanted

You couldn’t help but chuckle and, somehow, you could feel them smiling to their arm. A feeling of warmth took your body, the idea of actually having a soulmate made your day happier and more exciting. How does this person looked like? Were they pretty? Tall? Short? Where they come from? You spent minutes thinking about it, not realizing when new words appeared in your forearm.

How’s my soulmate's name?

You smiled, liking the idea of the person calling you their soulmate, it was recomforting.

Y/N. How’s yours?

Changkyun. And I like the pink pen you’re using.

How do you know I’m using a pink pen?

The words faded and some green ones started to appear, the line thicker, almost like it was written with kids’ markers

Because the words appear in pink on my skin.

That’s so crazy and cool.

I know. I thought that I’d never meet you.

You blushed at his words. The idea of talking to him through your arms almost felt like talking through phone messages, the difference was you didn’t know how he looked like.

Me too. Why we never drew on our skins before? I never thought of that.

The laugh that left your mouth was loud and almost exaggerated but you were nervous, anxious with the whole situation.

My mom never allowed me because the ink was bad for the skin.

And you behaved?

Yes ???? And why didn't you draw on yours?

Never felt the need I guess, never thought of that

Fair enough

You two spent the whole afternoon speaking to each other, your study plans long gone with the first words that faded from your skin. Talking to Changkyun was comforting, warm and fun, he was a funny person and you guys clicked right away - which made you really happy because you always wondered what would happen if you and your soulmate didn’t match and actually hated each other. 

Wanna meet sometime soon?

The words appeared after you stopped talking about your favorite foods. The thump in your heart could be heard by the people in the tables by your side, which now were filled with mostly students and couples.

Yes. Tell me when and where

Are you free friday night? I know a Thai restaurant that is delicious and I think you’d love.

Ok. Friday night.

See you there at 8.

See you too, Kyunnie

Can’t wait to meet you for real

You giggled like a little girl and nodded, even though you knew he couldn’t see you.

Me too

Bye, soulmate

Bye, soulmate

You hugged your arm, almost feeling like you could hug him. Nothing in the world could describe the feeling you were having right then. The smile so big it couldn’t fit your face.

The days couldn’t pass slower, even with you constantly talking with Changkyun. You guys even joked about not having anything to talk about when you meet, but you two couldn’t help, the first thing that you’d do was give him good morning and the last one give him good night. It was like you two met each other for ages, even if it was for a couple of days.

When friday finally arrived, your stomach was aching from anxiety, your head dizzy from nervousness, legs shaking. You felt like you were about to have a meltdown.

It took you almost three hours to get ready, your mind spacing out too often thinking about Kyun and all the things you two talked about, how well you two got along. You were so happy your soulmate was someone like him, funny, smart, kind, sweet and so many things. But to say you were also very nervous to finally meet him face to face was almost a joke.

A tingling sensation appeared in your arm and you looked down just to see a cute smiley face drawn on it and soon disappear a few seconds after.

I’m at your door, babe.

Your heart skipped several beats when you read the sentence. 

You didn’t even reply to him, getting your purse and, literally, ran out of your apartment. There was no time for the elevator either, practically jumping down the stairs to get as faster as possible to the front door.

When your eyes met the man in front of you, nothing could describe the smile that grew on your lips and the heartwarming feeling that took over your body.

“Hi” his voice danced its way to your ears and you just wished you could hear him talk forever. His voice was deep, velvety, soothing, felt like a warm day of summer in the park.

Changkyun had the brightest smile on his lips, his teeth showing, his eyes shut close. His heart was pounding on his chest, nothing could describe what he was feeling, you were much more he expected.

“Hi” you finally spoke, taking him out of his daydream, and running to him, jumping into his arms, wrapping the man into a tight hug. “You don’t know long I’ve waited to do this” your voice sounded muffled by the skin of his neck, your face hidden in the crook of it, scenting his smell and keeping it in your memory.

“Me too, babe” his voice so close to your ears and the hot breath leaving his mouth and gently touching your neck made shivers ran down your whole body. “I couldn’t wait to meet you, to meet my soulmate” you finally left his neck and looked to his eyes, they were like constellations shining in his beautiful brown orbs. “I brought you something” Changkyun smiled and took a little red box out of his jacket, handing it to you.

“You didn’t have to” the rush of blood tinting your cheeks pink. “Thank you, Kyun” the man could swear he’d die when you called him by the nickname and he decided that his name leaving your lips was his favorite thing in the world.

You opened the box and found two little red rings, thin as a thread and shiny as stars. On top of them there was a smiley face.

“It means the red string of destiny with the first doodle you did in your arm” he explained to you, his hands nervously fidgeting behind his back. “I hope you like it” you looked back to the man. 

“I… I loved, Kyun. They’re gorgeous” you both smiled, genuine happiness. “Can you… Can you put it to me?” you shyly asked and he nodded, taking the ring from the box and gently slipping to your finger. Changkyun left a little kiss on top of it, making you giggle. You did the same to his one.

“You are mine now, forever” he said as he held your hand.

“And always” you smiled to him and did what you had been dreaming of doing, kissed him. The first of so many.

Shownu | Wonho | Minhyuk | Kihyun | Hyungwon | Jooheon | I.M

Requests are open

Masterlist

[lululawrence]

lululawrence’s April 2019 Fic List

Click here for previous months’ fic lists

Guess who’s back, back again... I actually wrote that when I drafted this post a month ago and I’m keeping it cause it’s funny ahhaha So this month has been a ride, hasn’t it? I’ve read some amazing fic though, so I’m super excited to talk about it with you! I read quite a few from the Shake Off the Dust collection as well as fics from the beginning of round 2 of @onedirectionbigbang and other various things as I tried and failed to keep up with all the new fic coming out haha We are so blessed to have so much amazing fic. So, without further ado, here are the fics I read and loved this month!

Hazy by @nikogda / nikogda This fic was written for me because I was anxious one day and they saw a post referring to it and they wrote this as a soothing fic for me and lemme tell ya, IT WORKED. It was so soft and... well... hazy. haha I loved it. A great fic to come back to on a rough day, for sure!

Keep Your Hands Up, So I Can See by @goodmorningtoyouuniverse / GMTYUniverse This fic was such a great HP AU! It was enemies to lovers with a touch of misunderstanding and frustrations and just all the good things with cameos by some of our favorite characters from the original series! I loved it very much a lot. It threw me into the world and made me smile quite a bit.

it's in his kiss by @disgruntledkittenface / disgruntledkittenface This is where Maggie took what she wrote through requests on ask and posted them to ao3 for the kiss meme and lemme tell ya! There’s some ships she wrote that I never felt a desire for, and she wrote them so perfectly that I almost started shipping them hahahaa Each chapter is it’s own little world and it pulled me in so entirely that they felt like full fics! How does she do that in such few words? I dunno. But they’re all glorious. Every last one. Defo a great read when things are hard too, i’d read a chapter when I had a moment and it made my busy, stressful days so much better.

Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now by @allwaswell16 / allwaswell16 I think this one was written for the short fic fest, and I loved it so so much! She describes Harry’s movements as “giraffing about” or something like that and I will never stop laughing about that. Add to it that Harry in the fic legit thought Louis was a mannequin and I just DIE. It’s amazing. Such a silly, fun fic!

Soju (소주) by @gettingaphdinmomo / gettingaphdinlarry This is a Shiall fic that just drew me in. It has such a visual and atmospheric pull to it, like all of her fics do, and it makes you almost feel as if you’re somehow there. I dunno how she does it, but her magic is worked for sure with this fic and I had to just sit there, and process when it ended. A fun, short fic to easily get lost in.

Just Go With It by @rainbowsandlovehl / rainbowslovehl (Larrymateforlife) This fic!!!! Meet Cute heaven! It was light and fluffy and awkward and silly and I loved it so much and for real this Brett character was TOO MUCH. hahahahaha With the added fun of the little jokes like talk of organic guacamole etc and I loved it so much. It was the smile I needed.

All I Want Is To Fall With You by @2tiedships2 / 2tiedships2 Mel keeps posting fics that are so fun! How does she do it? This time the crew takes on a ski trip and Louis has to deal with stupid alphas staying in the same cabin without knowing about it beforehand and of course nothing goes to plan! That’s half the fun, though, right? Besides. The alphas aren’t that bad. haha

Do You Wanna Ride by @phd-mama / phdmama She wrote this fic for @justalittlelouislove and I screamed reading it the whole time. I took so long reading it because I kept stopping to scream and share how uncomfortable I was over the obvious awkwardness and sexual tension and it was just SO SO SO GOOD. The embarrassment just gahhhhhhh I loved it.

Strawberries & Cigarettes by @dimpled-halo / dimpled_halo A year later I FINALLY read this and I loved it as much as I knew I would. I wanted pain, and it gave it to me! It gave me pain and healing and a gorgeous story. It was such a great read, I’m so so happy I finally had the time to dedicate to it because it was just. So much of everything I love.

Let It Down by @red--special / red_special This fic has also been on my to read list for ages and I am also so so happy I got to read it finally! It was such a great fic and so much fun and so sexy and funny and awkward and I wanted to bask in it a little longer. It was so so good. hahahaha I keep thinking about the tattoo and I can’t stop giggling. Just do yourself a favor and read this fic. haha

Like A Siren In The Night by @crazyupsetter / whoknows This is an a/b/o fic that I could not get enough of or read fast enough. It’s historical, though that doesn’t play a major role, and the playing with the world building was SO MUCH FUN to read. The way their relationship developed as well was just DELICIOUS. I loved every second of it.

please forgive me if my lips quake by @disgruntledkittenface / disgruntledkittenface Girl direction! With a cat! I was heart eyes the entire fic and once again, such feeling was evoked in it that I wanted to just sit and enjoy it for awhile longer. Sigh. What pure enjoyment! I loved it.

I was the King (tonight let it go) by @sadaveniren / SadaVeniren I... Okay listen. lollll I didn’t write this obviously, but it felt like such a self indulgent read I almost wished I had? If that makes sense? It was everything I love. I LOVE the emotional side and thought behind BDSM. Like, that’s most of what makes it so so so interesting and fascinating for me to read, and Sada gave that to us with this fic in DROVES as well as the fighting against natural inclinations etc etc etc. It was just a fab fic and I loved so so so much of it.

Failure to Launch by @all-these-larrythings / Rearviewdreamer Michelle has a way of taking things I don’t know about and making me love them so so so much. This film was one that many I knew loved and I felt mainly meh about it, but I knew if Michelle wrote it I would love it, and I WAS RIGHT. She took all the things I was not fond of in the original and twisted them so it still referenced the original source, but made it so much better. I loved it so so so much because it was so very much like the original film, but also very much her own. 

Come Home to Me by @pocketsunshineharry / ishiplouis I wanted pain, and pain was what I got. I cried and I kept waiting and waiting for things to come together again and they finally did! But WOW the pain leading up to that! It was amazing how much was harnessed in it. I will say, please beware the tags. Some heavy topics are handled in the fic - including some depression/anxiety etc - so please be safe with that. A great read, though! 

fondre ton absence by @scrunchyharry / scrunchyharry OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG I just. I’m a sucker for WWI and WWII period anything. It’s one of my favorite periods in history for the social, political, militaristic, just EVERYTHING historically. I find it fascinating and I adore it. I was both excited and wary how this would go then, knowing how much I love it. Well. I cried the entire way through and was in awe of how the time period and everything was handled. It’s an amnesia friends to lovers wartime period-typical homophobia acknowledging fic which basically means it is my dream fic. I cannot rave about it enough, much less the incredible art that was done by @whenthebodiesspeak!!! It was STUNNING and yeah. Just. Amazing. A masterpiece.

An Unbalanced Force by @kingsofeverything / FullOnLarrie MAROLD HAROLD with art by @goodmorningtoyouuniverse! I cried a few times during this one and it was such a realistic and beautiful and comprehensive view of a relationship, of adulthood, of trying to find love again after, just... all of it. It is a study of flawed individuals trying to make do and learning where their lines are and it is gorgeous. I loved it so so so much and I keep randomly thinking about it. A great fic and worth the wait and teasing she gave us over the months! hahahaha

That's What I'm Here For by @taggiecb / taggiecb ANOTHER DREAM FIC, ANOTHER FIC THAT MADE ME CRY! I cannot rave enough about how this big bang has kicked off, like, I just truly cannot. @noellehenry did a gorgeous moodboard for it as well, and I just. Demisexual farmer Louis who has been on his own for so long he just. Hardly knows how to be social anymore and Harry has to come and teach him and I’m about to give away spoilers so I’ll stop but this fic is so close to my heart, okay? I love love love love love it.

To Carry Onward by @londonfoginacup / LadyLondonderry THIS LITTLE FIC!!! I keep yelling, I know. Sorry not sorry. But for real it’s 500 words and just...so full of love and longing and mystery and hope and I cannot. I love Emmu’s words and worlds and this is no exception.

A Spell and A Spark by @dinosaursmate / dinosaursmate It’s out in the world! This fic was everything I needed when I read it. I was having a really rough time, and I would get to the end of those days and get to read this fic and it soothed me, cheered me, and took me away to another world. It was so much fun and just pure joy to read. And then the art that @londonfoginacup made for it! It was such a great combo of writing and art. Another wonderful fic for big bang!

{insert acclaimed artist} was never even in love anyway by underthesunlight This is the first of several fics I read from the Shake Off the Dust collection and it was such a fun read. It was domestic and silly and soft and it made me smile.

Primtemps by @londonfoginacup / LadyLondonderry She’s just so good, isn’t she? I finished this fic and almost immediately went back to the beginning because I wanted to read it again. It’s so soft and you could almost SMELL what she was describing. It was a perfect read of a perfect day and it made me long for the days in the past that I’d had like it. Glorious.

Taking Care of You (Is My Favorite Thing) by @allthelarrylovex / cherrylarry Niam! Not usually my pairing of choice, but I loved it so much. I also very much identified with the shitty allergies aspect of it as I am dealing with that myself at the moment, so it just had me sitting there nodding like IT REALLY DOES SUCK BABES I GET IT hahaha

You Keep Me Warm by @crinkle-eyed-boo / crinkle-eyed-boo (KimmieRocks) I’ve not read Own the Scars yet, but I still read this despite it being a time stamp, and I’m so glad I did. I loved it and it made me smile. It also made me want to read the original, so I can’t wait until I have a chance to!

Love's Gentle Spring by @laynefaire / Layne Faire (HisDarlin) This is also a continuation! It’s a fun addition to her spring drabbles from last year, which are not necessary to read in order to enjoy this, though it does add to the fun hahaha I loved that little series so much and was very very glad she made this addition!

Housewives of Our Lives by @homosociallyyours / homosociallyyours I’ve never watched any of the housewives shows, but that didn’t matter. As usual Megan wrote a fic that had me wanting to be their friend and hang out with them as they did these ridiculous things because it sounded like such fun. I loved it as well.

A Larry Limerick by @kingsofeverything / FullOnLarrie I know this was mostly silly and to be funny, but I enjoyed it so I’m including it here hahaha

sun, here it comes by @louandhazaf / YesIsAWorld and It's been a long, cold, lonely winter by @kingsofeverything / FullOnLarrie I’m putting both of them here, because if you haven’t read them yet you should. They are two sides of the same story, and I fully recommend you read them in the order I listed them too haha I did and it was wonderful and delightful and basically all things good. SO much fun.

just me, him, and the moon by HazHas4Nips This was cuuuuuuute! I don’t even know what more to say, I just keep sitting here and smiling thinking about it. So I guess if you want a fic that makes you smile, this is a great little one. 

Spring Break by @allwaswell16 / allwaswell16 This fic came out of a partially true story and it was so much fun to finally be able to read what Anitra did with it haha I was giggling and loving it so so much the entire way. As usual. Can’t go wrong.

What's Mine is Yours by @uhohmorshedios / yeah_alright This fic is listed as a Narry fic, and it is, but it’s Narry friendship which made me giggle so so so much! hahaha It was so funny and the way Harry was described and Niall’s just...almost annoyance? I can’t even explain. It’s so much fun. 

Latching Onto You by @reminiscingintherain / reminiscingintherain This fic is pure fluff. Fluff and silliness and all things sweet and good. I was trying to find the best way to describe it and the first thing that came to mind was it was a bowl of sweet dessert and I finally realized it’s a parfait. It’s got layers, but all of it is sweet and soft and yummy. hahaha SO if that sounds like something amazing in a fic, then you defo wanna give this a read! 

Face Your Fears by @sadaveniren / SadaVeniren I’ll be honest, I finished this one around 2 am after a very long day and had to wake up too early again this morning, so I still haven’t fully computed this fic lollll Just know the pain is real, it is glorious, the journey the characters all take and the way Harry and Louis’ relationship grows is so incredible, I just... this fic is everything I’ve wanted in an a/b/o since I started reading a/b/o almost five years ago haha 

And that’s my very long fic list from this month! I hope you enjoy them as much as I did if you give them a try. And please remember to leave nice comments and kudos for the authors who work so hard to gift us with these stories! Happy reading :D

[heyyyharry]

My Girl: Harry is too tired so Y/N reads to him

(a My Girl and In Another Life crossover)

AU: actor!Harry, older!Harry, younger!Y/N, childhood best friends, friends to lovers.

Word count: 1.5k

GUYS! I JUST REACHED 7 THOUSAND FOLLOWERS!!! YAYYYYYYY! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR FOLLOWING ME 💖 

ENJOY THIS BLURB!

More on my Patreon!

.

“So you haven’t done your homework and now I have to do it?” She dropped the book to her stomach, glaring at him. He was paid to read a book; she wished her job was that interesting.

“I’m playing the main character in the movie adaptation,” he had explained. “I was supposed to read this during the weekend but I’ve been too busy, and the deadline is tomorrow but I can’t find the audiobook.”

“Then read it yourself. It’s not that long.” Not to brag but she’d read books twice as long in one night. He’d be fine.

“I haven’t slept in almost two days, Bambi,” he had said. “If I read now, I’ll fall asleep.” It was true, though. He could fall asleep anywhere anytime if he was too tired. It was a gift and a curse at the same time.

Now he was lying on his side, an arm folded under his head, lazy green eyes boring into her as he pouted. “I used to help you with your homework, Bambi.”

“It’s not even the same thing,” she said, shaking the book above his face. “I have to read all of this tonight. Out loud.”

He flipped onto his stomach and clasped his hands in front of his nose — puppy dog mode activated. “Please, baby, please. I’ll be good," he pleaded. "I’ll do anything you say. Just help me this once.”

“Manipulative.” She weakly slapped his cheek, a smirk tugging at her lips, then she stared at the ceiling and groaned loudly. “Fineeee. I’ll do it.”

“Yay!” He clapped like a seal and drew her closer, kissing her jawline. “Tomorrow I’ll do anything you say. I promise.”

“Psst, I don’t need your promises. You always do everything I say. Often more.”

“Best boyfriend ever.”

She sneered at his own praise and circled her arm, which he lay his head on, around his neck to hold up the book. “This feels like reading a bedtime story to a kid,” she laughed as he nuzzled her chest.

“I’m a kid.” He grinned up at her.

“So you get to call me ‘kid’ every day and when you want to get spoiled you’re suddenly a kid?”

He shushed her with a finger to her lips and said, “Save your voice, baby.”

She shook her head as he snuck a hand under her shirt — his shirt — and cupped her breast. He always did that when he was bored. It didn’t have to be sexual; he simply loved fondling her breasts.

“Start now, Audiobook,” he commanded.

She sighed, flipped the page and cleared her throat as she began. “Chapter 1. The Painting…

“They said in London, you were never far from a museum…”

.

.

.

“Oh my God, I got it, I got it!” Harry grabbed her arm, shaking slightly so she would stop reading and look at him.

She’d thought he’d already read the script. As it turned out, he’d only received the script for the first few scenes. The director wanted the cast to read the actual book and visualised what happened next using their own creativity. Harry would stop her after every chapter to tell her something she’d already figured it out, and she never complained because he looked like an excited puppy.

He glanced up, chin on her arm, giving her a discovering kind of smile. “My guess is that Edward was the one who killed Ann. She’d trusted him but he’d chosen his throne over her. So she put a curse on him so he’d know what it’s like to lose her over and over again. They fall in love in every lifetime, and he never actually has her. He’ll never have her again.” Then, his face turned wondering. “Would you have done that to me back then if you were a witch?”

“Bold of you to assume I’m not a witch.”

His lips stretched wide as he pinched her chin. “Answer the question, kid.”

“I wouldn’t.” She shook her head assertively. “Which is why I think you’re wrong. Either Edward wasn’t the one who killed Ann, or she wasn’t the one who put the curse on them, or both. I wouldn’t want to die over and over again for someone who doesn’t love me.”

“But I loved you back then,” he whispered and pressed his nose into her cheek. “I always have.”

“I didn’t know back then, so it didn’t count.” She stuck up her chin, eyes narrowed at him.

He grinned. “That’s why I have to tell you I love you every five minutes to make up for it. I’m romantic as hell but you call me annoying.”

“You’re a little bit annoying,” she said with a matter-of-fact tone. “Annoying people make their girlfriends read a whole book to them.” She shook the book above their faces, which made him cackle.

“You’re not nice to me so don’t expect me to be nice to you.” He tickled her nipple and she smacked his arm, but it was more like a playful push.

“Now shut up so I can continue.”

“Yes, ma’am.” His dimples reappeared.

When they reached half of the book, they took a short break. Harry had to pee and she had to drink water, her throat was itchy as hell. When they returned to the bed and made themselves comfortable – she lied on her back, holding the book above her chest as he curled up next to her, head on her arm – she cleared her throat and started reading again, her voice noticeably croaky.

He twirled a strand of her hair around his finger and tugged gently to get her attention.

“You know the rule, H,” she said without looking at him. “You have to wait for me to finish before you comment.”

“I actually want to say that you don’t have to continue.”

Her gaze jumped to his face. “Are you tired already?” she asked, slightly perplexed.

“No, but you are.”

“I’m not.”

“You’ll have a sore throat tomorrow because of me, babe.”

“Then so be it,” she huffed stubbornly. “I have to know how this ends. We’re not quitters, Harry Edward Styles.”

“You’re not. I am.”

“No, you’re not. My boyfriend is not a quitter.”

He giggled as she leaned down to kiss his forehead before laying her head back so she could continue where they’d left off.

At chapter five, the main characters finally kissed. She and Harry started cheering like they were watching it on the kiss cam at a sporting event.

At chapter seven, she had to stop halfway to release a long frustrated breath. The antagonist Lillie/Emilié kept getting in the way of the main characters. She felt like Emilié could be Ruby in another life; the thought made her skin crawl.

“Edward is an asshole,” Harry scoffed as she flipped the page to chapter eight.

“No, he’s not,” she argued. “He loves her. It was different back then. A prince had to marry a princess.”

“If I were him, I’d grow some balls and run away with Ann.”

She didn’t comment, only gave him a fond smile and continued.

At chapter eight, shit hit the fan. She completely forgot the fact that she was reading the story out loud. She couldn’t look away from the page or stop for a water break even when her throat was achingly dry. She had to know how this ended.

“Holy shit, I was right! I was right!” She jolted upright when the big secret was revealed and accidentally hit Harry’s head with her elbow. He groaned like a sad puppy and she apologised, rubbing the sore spot on his head.

By the time they finished the book, a new day had begun. She gulped her water, put the empty glass on the nightstand and flopped back down on the bed, lying head to head with him. Instead of going to sleep so he wouldn’t look weary on his first day on set, they lay wide awake and discussed the story. They were satisfied with the ending, though Harry felt so bad for the dead character he’d almost cried at that part. Maybe she should stop telling him to watch Game of Thrones.

“One last thing,” she said as he turned off the light. Her eyes were barely used to the dark so she could only feel him snuggle closer to her, almost resting half of his body on top of hers, one hand under her shirt.

“Don’t fall in love with the actress who plays Ann like you did with the character.”

“Bambi.” He shook with quiet laughter. His voice was barely above a whisper as he replied, “I imagined you as Ann. I can’t fall in love with a different face.”

“Then don’t imagine my face when you kiss the fake Ann,” she giggled.

When he hmmmed, she could hear the smirk in his voice. “You know I never imagine your face during my kissing scenes. I only want to feel that magic when I’m really with you.”

Then, it was quiet again; he’d drifted off as soon as he finished. In his sleep, he kept asking if she wanted to run away with him.

[themangoeswrite]

Remy’s Dreams

okay so first of all, this is part of a bigger series that I currently don’t have time to sit down and write so im probably gonna be dumping a bunch of one-shots and stuff from this au some stuff you should probably know before you start reading: this is a pjo type au, camp half-blood and all Remy - child of Hypnos, nonbinary, they/them pronouns Emile - child of Aceso, genderfluid, he/she/they pronouns

~~~~

Remy Somnus was used to irregular sleeping patterns.

They sometimes slept for a week, sometimes just an hour, sometimes not at all for days on end. Sometimes they ignored the urge to sleep for fear of their dreams. Not that they’d ever say that to anyone, even Emile. Instead they smiled and said something else like “I’m too fab for sleep, babes.”

But the truth is that Remy was scared - terrified, even. Not because of the dreams themselves, but because of the feelings from the dreams. They dreamt of a boy in a place, happy on the outside, panicked on the inside. They felt his emotions, stronger than they’ve felt any emotion of their own.

The boy felt trapped. Trapped in his body, trapped in his mind, trapped in this place with no escape. He was trapped, trapped, trapped, trapped, trapped, trapped, trapped.

And then something changed.

The boy looked up. But he didn’t look through than like everyone else, he looked at them. And then promptly freaked out.

Panic spread on his face and he ran away. Remy reached towards him - towards answers and the dream slipped away.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

    The next morning, Remy plopped down on an empty seat at the Aceso table. Which was easy as only one person usually sat there.

    Remy squinted at the person’s necklace and nodded, greeting her. “Morning, Em.”

    Em looked up from her book and squealed. “Remy! Good morning! You do how do?”

    Remy smiled, relaxing almost instantly at their friend’s behavior. Her eccentric personality always soothed them after a rough time. “I’m totes perf, babes.” And maybe they moved their sunglasses down and winked at her, just to hear her giggle. If they did, it’s not like anyone could blame them. “How is my lovely lady tonight?”

    She immediately grinned, the way she always did when Remy did this on a she/her day. “I’m doing wonderful, although it isn’t nighttime yet, Rems.”

    Remy might have blushed, the way they always did when Emile gave them a nickname. They opened their mouth to respond, but a certain twin plopped down next to the two.

    “Morning! Have you ever thought of-” Before Remus could continue what was no doubt a gruesome thought, Remy interrupted. “Not that I’m not totes looking forward to hearing the end of that, but what are you here exactly?”

Remus stopped, frowning. “Emile over here said my name, I simply headed his call.”

    Em flinched making Remy sigh and say, “Em over here, she said Rems, not Remus, dumbass.”

    Remus looked apologetic, a rare sight. “My apologies, Em, I should have checked your pronoun necklace.” Remus regained vis grin that bordered on insane. “And I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone once I tell you this funny thought I had-”

    Em perked up, seeing Dante enter. “Hey Remus, is that Dante?” Remus perked up as well, standing up and racing over to Dante without a goodbye.

    Remy sighed, pretending to wipe sweat off their eyebrows. “Not that I don’t totes love Remus’ presence but I am more glad that I can talk to you alone, sweetheart.”

Em blushed, not used to Remy being so serious. She grinned, glad that they were happy. “So, did you need to ask me something or did you just stop by for a chat?”

Remy sighed again, knowing she would find out at some point, whether or not they told her directly. Anything remotely interesting at Camp Half-Blood was always exposed quickly by Drew, the leader of the Aphrodite cabin who could charmspeak anything out of anyone. They stood up, holding a hand out for Em. “You mind if we talk somewhere else?”

Em nodded, accepting their hand and rising to her feet, letting Remy lead the way. They led the way through the woods, following a path only they knew. They helped Em over a couple of branches, making sure her skirt didn’t catch or tear.

“Where exactly are we going?” Em asked, stepping over another branch.

Remy smiled, continuing to lead her to the place. “Just trust me, sweetheart. I won’t let you die, don’t worry.”

Em nodded, letting herself be led. “I trust you, Rems.”

Remy nodded back, stopping at a tree. “Good, because I’m about to ask you to walk into a tree.”

Em, fully trusting Remy, walked into the tree and leading Remy with her, as they were still holding hands. Once in the clearing through the tree, Em gasped, putting her free hand over her mouth.

In a word, the clearing was beautiful. There was a small spring with the clearest water Em had ever seen. It was ethereal, the way the sun shone on the water. The trees were all pushed to the edges of the clearing, making it look as if someone had planned it out. It was peaceful.

“It’s beautiful.” Em gasped out, admiring the clearing even more. She was still entranced by the peaceful air about the place.

Remy, who had been staring at Em the whole time, admiring the way her hair shone like strands of gold and her eyes reflected the clearing like small golden mirrors. She looked ethereal, her beauty more captivating than the clearing. They couldn’t look away even if they tried - her beauty rivaling even Aphrodite’s.

“She sure is.” Remy muttered softly. Em looked at Remy confusedly and Remy coughed, taking their hand back and turning towards the clearing. “This - this place, I mean - it-it’s pretty. That’s why I - uh - that’s why I brought us here.”

Em cocked her head, more confused. “I thought you brought us here to talk.”

Remy coughed again, adjusting their sunglasses and trying to play it cool. “I did, but I also wanted you to see something as beautiful as yourself, babes.” They winked, forgetting that they had sunglasses on, covering their eyes. They were doing fantastic.

Em giggled, smiling up at Remy. Remy did not immediately melt. They did not. (They totally did.)

“Anyways, what do you want to talk about?” Em asked, pulling Remy down to sit with her.

Remy sighed, running a hand through their hair. “I had a dream. Usually it’s just dreams, normal nonsense, subconscious lessons about something I usually don’t remember. But this time - I saw a boy. And it wasn’t like where I dream of someone’s life or anything, because he saw me. He looked up and saw me.”

Em nodded, her - what she called ‘therapy mode’ - now engaged. “Was this the first time?”

Remy shook their head. “No, I’ve seen him before. He’s always in the same place. But he’s always seemed like he was under a trance or something. He totes looks like he could go for a year long nap.”

Em cracked a smile. “Rems, that’s a coma.”

Remy nodded, “TBH, he needs it. The bags under his eyes aren’t even designer.”

Em giggled, and motioned for them to resume their story.

“Anyways, he usually looks zoned. But this time-” Remy paused, trying to find the words. “He seemed present. Present and-. And scared. Like he didn’t know where he was. He felt- trapped.”

That hung in the air for a minute until Em said something. “You have to talk to him.”

Remy immediately turned to Em. “I do?”

“I mean, it doesn’t hurt you to dream like this, right?” Em waiting for Remy to nod, which they did. “Then you should try to talk to him. He might need help. Is it even possible for you to communicate with him through this dreaming thing?”

Remy shrugged, not having experimented with their power before. “I’m not sure. No one else has my kind of dreams, even in the Hypnos cabin.”

Em nodded. “You should try it. Just to see if it’s possible.”

Remy digested what she said. Logically, it made sense. They could learn more about their powers and potentially help someone. If they couldn’t communicate - which Remy doubted based on the way the boy had looked at them, full of terror - then it was no harm done. They nodded, laying down with their head next to Em’s lap.

“What - what are you doing?” Em asked, a blush creeping onto her face.

“Taking a nap. Thought that was obvious, sweetheart.” They winked at Em, but again, it wasn’t very effective as they still had their sunglasses on. Photophobia really was a bitch.

“Here? Are you comfortable enough to sleep?” Em questioned, worry on her face.

Remy smiled. “Don’t worry about me, babes. Child of Hypnos perks, I can fall asleep anywhere whether or not I’m comfortable, and I won’t wake up with any cricks in my neck or anything.”

Em frowned. “Just because you can fall asleep without being comfortable doesn’t mean you have to.” She shrugged off her jacket and folded it into a pillow. She carefully shifter their head so she could place the jacket underneath. “There.”

They were bewildered. “Why-?”

“Because now you have a pillow. I’ll stay here until you wake up. I have a book, don’t worry. So sleep safely, Rems.” Em said fiercely. She smiled. “I got your back.”

Remy blushed, turning on their side to hide it.

“Thank you.” They muttered before falling asleep on Em’s jacket.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Remy was back in the casino.

    Bright lights, loud noises - they cringed slightly, pushing up their sunglasses to try and lessen the oncoming headache. They hated their photophobia.

    “I know you.” A voice said behind them. “Every now and then you show up. But only if I haven’t eaten a lotus in a while.”

    Remy turned around and saw the boy from before. They were shocked by how beautiful the boy was up close. Also by how wary he seemed to be of them. Remy stuck their hand out to the boy. “I’m Remy. My pronouns are they/them, what about you, babes?”

    A flash of surprise flitted across the boy’s face, obviously having never had someone introduce themself with name and pronouns, nor asked him. He quickly schooled his face back into its original guarded expression.

    “He/him. You may call me Anxiety.” He was not willing to share his name quite yet.

    Remy frowned but didn’t say anything. “What is this place, Anxiety?”

    Anxiety shrugged, obviously glad that they hadn’t said anything. “Casino. They serve water and lotus flowers. Water’s harmless, but the lotus flowers neutralize your brain or something. Head goes foggy and you can’t remember how long you’ve been here.”

    Remy slowly nodded. “That sounds totes not good, babes. What day was it when you got here? Can you remember how long it’s been?”

    Anxiety shrugged again. “I only eat the lotus when I have to, every time I get so hungry that I nearly die. I usually fake it until then though. And it was September 1st, 1989 when I came here.”

    Remy’s jaw dropped. “Anxiety, hon, it’s April 17th.”

    Anxiety’s brow furrowed. “So I’ve only been here a couple of months? That’s like- a year less than I was expecting.”

    “Babes, it’s April 17th, 2019.”

    Anxiety immediately shook his head. “No, I can’t be-”

    Remy’s hearing was cut off as they heard someone shout their name, their vision going blurry. Someone was trying to wake them up. Anxiety noticed Remy fading and immediately tensed.

    “You’re leaving.” He said solemnly.

    Remy nodded, opening their mouth to apologize for leaving so soon but instead they faded away into nothing.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Remy shot up, nearly knocking heads with Em.

    “Are you okay, Rems?” Em asked, putting a hand on their forehead, checking for a fever. “You were shaking horribly, like you were having a seizure or something. I was worried.”

    Remy nodded, looking at Em, their eyes flicking down to see Em’s pronoun necklace, realizing that while they slept, it had changed from she to he. They smiled, looking into Em’s eyes.

    “Well it seems that an angel of a boy saved me, sweetheart.”

    Emile blushed, moving his hand away from Remy’s forehead. Remy caught his hand, raising it to their lips and kissed it softly. “It’s true, love.”

    Emile smiled, bringing Remy into a hug. “I like being friends with you too, Rems.”

    Remy sighed, hugging Emile back. “Yeah. That’s what I meant.”

    Emile smiled wider into Remy’s shoulder before pulling back and kissing their cheek. “C’mon, let’s get back.”

    He stood up, holding out a hand to them. Remy smiled, grabbing Emile’s hand and pulling themself up. “Yeah. And don’t worry, I’ll make sure your skirt doesn’t get caught, pretty boy.”

    Emile laughed, hugging Remy again. “You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, Rems.”

    Remy smirked, picking Emile up and maneuvering him so they carried him bridal style. “Same to you, sweetheart.”

    Emile giggled, turning his face away from Remy. Not seeing how their face dropped as soon as he wasn’t looking. Wishing the two of them could be more than just friends.

[pinkevilbobdoesthings]

Right, so, just going to be honest with you guys, I wrote like the end scene of a Beauty and the Beast AU fic staring Caleb and Jester. If you want to read it, here it is. If you don't, just keep scrolling.

So MyBatteryIsLowAndItsGettingDark suggested a Beauty and the Beast Au and then Tambuli suggested a twist that I could not deny. So I wrote the end of what really should've been a multi-chapter fic. I regret nothing and am counting this as a bonus fic for the fairytale prompt for Widojest Week.

Here’s ‘Finding You Can Change’.

______________________________

It was a tale as old as time. Or at least that's what Caleb was told. He wasn't sure that he believed that though. Caleb had a feeling that time existed before language was even a concept, but that kind of thinking has no place in love and poetry. Jester would grumble any time he brought logic into a conversation about stories or romance.

It was a straightforward enough tale; Caleb was a young man from the village ever curious and looking for more and Jester was, well, a beast. She was unlike anything Caleb had seen before with her blue skin, curling horns, and pointed tail. But she was at the same time was a young woman who loved sweet pastries, getting into mischief, and a good romance novel(though her and Caleb's opinions on what made a good romance novel often differed). That didn't change the fact that most people from the village would fear her for her looks, so Jester stayed in the castle hiding away from the world. "It's not so bad," Jester would say. "I've heard that the outside world is very overrated." There was always a distant, sad look on her face when she said that though.

Once, Jester told him that she was under a terrible curse that could only be broken by someone falling ‘madly in love with her and giving her true love’s kiss. “Then I won’t be alone anymore.” The look she gave him spoke volumes about how she hoped it was him. Caleb just shook his head. Falling in love was a mistake he was not going to make twice.

Caleb didn't stay at the castle, but he would frequently come up from the village to visit Jester. The castle had more books in it than Caleb had dared believe there were in the whole world. And if he had to be honest, Caleb enjoyed Jester's company. She was funny and had the sweetest smile. When he was back at the village, all of his thoughts would contain Jester.

The villagers had found out about Jester. A monster they called her and the term made Caleb sick to his stomach. He tried to tell them that she was good and lovely and fun and better than anyone in that village, but all Caleb got for his efforts was accusations of being mad.

Caleb followed after the mob and tried to stop them, but they got to the castle before him. A hot fire was set on the castle and Caleb managed to put it out. It was only then he could get the village to listen to him and understand that Jester would never bring harm to them. But it wasn’t enough. An arrow shot out of the mob piercing Jester’s heart and Caleb’s heart fell.

It was as though Caleb’s world had ended. Jester saved Caleb’s life and he could do nothing for her as life and blood left her body. He held onto her cold hand tears rolling down his cheeks. “Don’t cry, Caleb,” Jester said her voice soft and fading.

“Oh Jester,” Caleb whispered. “This isn’t how it’s supposed to end. You never even got to leave the castle.”

“But I got to meet you Caleb.” Jester smiled like she couldn’t imagine anything better.

The tears fell on to Jester’s face. “Jester, there’s so many things I wanted to show you. You can’t leave me not like this.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” But the light in Jester’s eyes was fading.

Caleb could sense the presence of the shamed villagers behind him watching, but Caleb didn’t care. Let them watch as his heart died. He froze; he loved her. “You can’t leave, Jester. You can’t die. I’m lost without you.”

A sweet smile was tainted by the hint of blood in the corner of Jester’s mouth. “Oh Caleb, I-” but she didn’t finish what she was going to say.

“No, no, no.” Caleb couldn’t believe it. He kissed her. “True love’s kiss. See that fixes everything.” Pressing his lips gently to hers, he kissed her again. “You to come back. You have to.” Again and again, Caleb kissed her in desperation. “I love you.”

“Well, it’s about time.” A lilting whisper brushed Caleb’s ear. The hair on Caleb’s neck stood on end. Green mist swirled around him and Jester. He could practically taste magic from it. Caleb tried to focus on Jester but the mist grew thicker and thicker until he couldn’t see anything. Shivers ran down his spine and his everything. As fast as the mist came, it dissipated. Gasps filled the air behind.

But Caleb didn’t care as he saw Jester stirred. Blood no longer stained the stones beneath. Jester was whole and healthy. She cracked open an eye. “Caleb? Is it true? Can you truly love me?”

“Ja. I truly do.” Caleb nodded clutching her hand. A soft thumping came from behind him, but he paid it no mind. Jester was alive.

Jester gasped once she fully opened her eyes. “Caleb! What happened to you?”

Caleb looked down at his hands to discover they were now a bright red and his fingers ended in claws. He felt at his mouth to find fangs, and his hands trailed upwards to discover a pair of horns growing out of his head. Behind him a long thin tail similar to Jester’s swished lazily on the ground.

“This isn’t what’s supposed to happen,” Jester said her eyes filling with tears. “My curse was supposed to be broken. Not spread to you.” She drew away from him crouching down into a little huddle. “I don’t blame you if you hate me.” Her voice was thick with tears.

“Nein, I could never hate you. How could I? Now I match the girl I love. Now you’re not alone anymore.” Caleb wrapped his tail around Jester’s.

Jester looked at him with eyes full of admiration and tears. “But the village?”

The voices he had been ignoring suddenly assailed Caleb all at once. Questions and accusations were being slung all about. It was all too overwhelming and he didn’t know where to begin to protect Jester from it all. A hand rested gently on Caleb’s shoulder, Nott. “We’ll take care of them,” she said. Behind her, Fjord and Beau were already handling the crowd. “But you’ll have to tell me all about your girlfriend later.”

“Girlfriend?” Caleb was grateful that he was now completely red and no one could see him blush anymore.

Jester giggled, but it was weak and watery. “Did you really mean it? What you said about matching the girl you love?”

“Ja, I did. Jester, I love you very much,” Caleb said.

She smiled but ducked her head down. “So, is she right about me being your girlfriend?”

“Actually, I think I’d prefer the term fiancee if you don’t mind it,” Caleb said with a shy sly smile.

Jester tackled Caleb in a tight hug.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

____________________________________

Notes:

TIEFLING CALEB!!! Yeah that's why I wrote this.

So I was going to write an epilogue, but it just didn't work. But just know that Caleb and Jester got married and live in the village together and sometimes visit the castle. Caleb is a teacher and Jester works at the bakery. They are happy and cute together.

[millicent231-watt]

(AoT) Family - Sister!Reader x Brother!Levi

Anime / Crossover: Attack on Titan

Songs: None

Request: No

Modern AU or just AU: No

NSFW/R-18: No

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

I feel like this is a no brainer, but just to be clear, this is a PLATONIC one-shot. no romance is included and the only love is family love.

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

I sigh in annoyance as Jean and Eren start bickering again, ultimately stopping their cleaning process given to them by Captain. I knit my eyebrows in anger as they start screaming louder and louder at each other while I was trying to meditate to find drawing inspiration. I slam my drawing pad down on the table and push up off said table, standing up and glaring at the two. "Do you two mind?" I growl in anger. "Mind your own business, bitch." Jean barks and I walk over to them with steam blowing out of my ears. "You wanna say that again?" I ask as I look up at him and place my hand on my hips. "Keep. Your. Nose. Out of it." He says before pushing me away. "Tch." I click my tongue before turning and walking back to the table. "Have fun cleaning this room on your own, assholes. If it's not done properly, Captain's gonna gut you two like fishes." I grab my things and walk out of the generally empty room. I hear them bickering again and I sigh before storming back to my room.

I close the door behind me and walk over to my desk, placing my drawing pad down. I let out a breath of air before closing my eyes and looking for inspiration. "Got too much for you, huh?" I hear my friend say from my bathroom door. "What do you want Hange?" I ask, keeping my eyes closed. "My toilet's broken, so I was just using yours. I hope you don't mind." I shrug and pick up a pencil before finishing the drawing. "How are they coming along?" She asks as she peers over my shoulder. "Alright. Is this the kinda thing you wanted?" I ask as I show her the finished drawing of Sawney and Bean. "Yes! Thank you!" I sigh and rip out the page, handing it to her. "Why do you keep asking me to draw the Titan's you capture after they die?" I ask and she smiles softly. "I like to remember them once they've gone." I shrug before hearing a knock on the door. "Come in!" I yell out as I lean one arm over the back of the chair. "I thought I told you to use the outhouse Shitty Glasses." I smirk at Hange as Corporal Levi walks in angrily glaring at Hange.

"What's this?" He asks as he takes the paper from Hange. "I asked Y/N to draw Sawney and Bean for me." She replies as I wave at him and he hands it back to her. "Tch, why?" He asks and Hange spends FOREVER explaining her motivation. "And then-" "Oh my god! Hange!" I yell at her as I saw Levi beginning to fall asleep from her speech. "Yes?" She asks with a smile. "We get it, you don't need to give us a whole welcoming speech." I say and she laughs awkwardly. "Sorry, I got a little carried away." I hear Captain scoff from my bed that was next to my desk. "Yeah, no shit. Get back to your paperwork." He orders and she walks out with a nod. "Within all these walls, I've never met someone who talks as much as her." I say as I lean back in my chair and yawn slightly. "You don't have to tell me. So how'd Jaeger and Kirstein get on with cleaning the mess hall?" Captain asks and I scoff. "How do you think it went?" I ask sarcastically. "Tch, they need to learn to get on more." I smirk as I remember our bet. "Hey, Levi." I say as I smirk at him. "I win. It only took 5 minutes for them to start fighting. Hand over the $5." I chuckle as he rakes out the money. "Can I?" He asks as he reaches out for my drawing book. I nod and hand it to him.

"You're drawings are getting better." He says as he looks through my book. "Yeah, well I've got better resources here. All I had was charcoal in The Underground." I remind him and he nods. "How are you finding this place, the HQ I mean." He asks, handing my book back. "Well, it's no shitty, broken down house underground, but it'll do I guess." I joke as he ruffles my hair, just like he used to when we were kids. "Your jokes ate getting worse Y/N." He says with a smirk and I stick my tongue out at him. "You should know they've always been bad Onii-chan!" I say with a giggle. "Yeah, don't remind me." I smile and grab my pencil again. "There's something I've been working on for you." I flip through the pages of my drawing book and stop on a page that had a picture of a beautiful, black-haired beauty sketched onto the paper. "Here." I say as I write a quick note that said 'Kuchel Ackerman' on the paper and hand it to him.

His face drops more than usual. "You drew mom?" He asks and I smile sadly. "Yeah, I couldn't think of anything else to draw." I say and he smiles at me. "You miss her huh?" I bite my lip, trying to hold in my tears and nod. "I'm sure she'd be very proud of you Y/N if she were here." I nod as another knock is heard from the door. "Name and Business." I chuckle at Levi's demand of the mystery person. "E...Eld Jinn, Sir. I've come to drop off some documents to Y/N." I shrug my shoulders and he lets Eld in. "Here you go, Ma'am." He says as he hands me, the assisting Captain to my brother, the paperwork. "Thank your Eld." I say as I place them on my desk. "Is that all?" I ask and he shakes his head. "The rookies are starting to get fired up again." I sigh and stand up. "Where are they?" I ask and he tells me.

Time Skip

"Tch, couldn't they have chosen a place that wasn't so dusty?" I ask myself as I walk down the stairs to the basement. "Jean. What's the point in chastising Eren now?" I hear a voice say and I sigh, knowing I'd have to break up Jean and Eren again. As I got closer to the group of people, I stopped and waited in the shadows. "Y'know Mikasa...not everyone is willing to needlessly die for Eren like you." Jean says and I click my tongue before walking up to them and swinging a fist at him. "What the hell was that for?!" He yells at me before I begin kicking and stomping on him. I grab his hair and pull him up. I snarl at him for a second before throwing him onto the ground. "None of you may be willing to die for Eren, but that's too bad. Eren is our best hope in these times and you all need to have respect for him." I say as I turn to the other cadets in the room. "If you want to go out there, not trusting Eren and become Titan shit for no reason, be my guest, but if you want to go out there with some trust in him, you might actually live. No one like a defeatist attitude." I say as I look down on Jean. "All we're asking of Eren is for a guarantee." He says and I kick him again. "No one in this world has a guarantee, but we do have hope. If you really want it that badly, I'll give you a guarantee. A guarantee that should Eren ever go out of control, turn on us or give up completely, Captain Levi and myself will be there to get him up and on the right path because we have high hopes for him when he does learn to control his power." I say before they all salute and I walk off. I place my hand on Eren's shoulder as I walk past him and give him a nod before walking back upstairs.

"You deal with those two?" Levi asks and I nod. "Beat the shit out of Jean, just like you taught me." I joke before he ruffles my hair again. "Who was in charge of cleaning the basement?" I ask as I reach the mess hall, where Levi's squad was hanging out. "Here." Oluo says as he cockily smirks at me. "Redo the whole thing." I say and he just laughs. "Yeah right, have you seen how big the basement is? You're lucky I cleaned it once." He remarks before I walk up to him and kick the inside of his knee, causing him to fall to the ground. "Redo it." I demand before throwing him towards the door. "Tch, fine." He says before walking out. "Yep, there's no doubt about it. You are definitely Shorty's sister." I hear Hange say before the doors burst open. "Captain!" I hear one of the Commander's assistants yell. "What?" My brother asks as the assistant was trying to catch his breath. "The 58th expedition is about to depart." He salutes and walks out before He orders us to get our horses ready. "I'll go get the cadets." I say before walking down to the basement again.

Time Skip

I pull up the mask that was covering the lower half of my face from the wind. I was on my own, like many others. I jump slightly before sharply turning my horse around and seeing a Titan chasing Sasha Blouse, who was quite a far way away from me. I click my tongue and race towards her, trying to save her before she was eaten. I see a red smoke come out from under the Titan's foot. She must've dropped the flare. "Blouse! Over here!" I hear her senpai yell as I get closer. "Let Y/N handle it!" He yells and she looks back at me before I jump off my horse and attach onto the Titans neck. I spin around and cut a chunk out of the nape, causing the Titan to fall to the ground. "Tch, filthy." I say as I wipe down my sword, even though the Titan blood had already evaporated. "Y/N!" Sasha cries happily as she runs up to me and thanks me endlessly. "No time for thanks, get on your horse and keep going." I say and she nods, jumps on her horse and continues on her path. I jump on my horse and make my way to the meeting point, where I was going to meet up with Levi's Squad and join them.

Levi's POV

"Tch, where is she?" I ask as my squad and I wait for my sister to get here. "She'll be here soon Heichou." Eren says and I click my tongue. "We can't spend any more time waiting for her Captain. It's already been 20 minutes." I strike a glare at Oluo and he quickly looks away before a purple flare is seen from Y/N's direction. "Shit." I say before making my horse run off towards her location. "C...CAPTAIN!" I hear my squad yell before I hear the horse hooves following after me.

I can't lose you Y/N, not you. I think to myself as my breath became heavy and my heart began to ache. I saw dead Titan's lying everywhere and see a broken down house wall. I jump off my horse and run over to the wall, seeing Y/N's horse laying on the ground, dead. "L...Levi?" I hear a soft voice ask and I jump through the broken wall as my squad stops next to my horse. "Y/N!" I say happily before looking down and frowning. "What happened?" I ask as I see only one of her legs and the other replaced by a pool of blood. "W...where are you?" She asks as she reaches out in the opposite direction to me. "I'm over here Y/N. Here." I say as I pull her head towards me. "Am....am I going to live?" She asks and I nod my head as she begins touching my face. "Yes, yes of course. We'll get you back to the Infirmary and fix you up." I say as my Squad walks up behind me. "Heichou....even if we do get her back, there....there's no one to give her medical attention." I turn around and punch Eren square in the face. "Shut the fuck up Jaeger!" I scream at him as he falls to his knees.

"Levi!' I hear a voice that would usually annoy me, but in these circumstances, I was glad. "Hange, you need to help Y/N." I say as I try to keep my tears in and she looks at Y/N's pale and tired face. "Levi....where....where did you go?" She asks and I bend down to her and grab her hand softly. "I'm right here, don't worry." I whisper to her as Hange kneels down to her leg. "It's pretty bad, but if we get back I might be able to fix it. No guarantee though." She says and I pick up my sister, causing her to cry in pain. "D...don't move me....it hurts..." She begs and Hange sighs before whistling her horse over and grabbing the first-aid kit she always carried. "I don't have anything to dull the pain or put her to sleep, but I'll have to do it here. She's in no condition to be moved." Hange says as she gets on some gloves and orders her squad and mine to watch out for Titan's around us. "Y/N, can you hear me?"  She asks as I hold onto my sisters hand tightly. "H...Hange?" She asks and Hange smiles to herself. "Yes, now I'm going to try and fix your leg, okay? I don't have anything to numb the pain, so it's gonna hurt a lot." She says before sticking the needle into my sister's leg, causing her to scream out and open her eyes fully in pain.

-Time Skip-

After a few hours, Y/N's leg was fixed and surprisingly enough she didn't pass out. "There, done. Are you alright Y/N?" Hange asks as she tells me to give her some water. "Y...Yeah, thank you." She says with a smile as I try to pull her up onto my horse and take her back to HQ. "I can ride back on my own." She says. "Your horse is dead Y/N. I'm taking you back to HQ so you can rest." I say. "Fine." She says as I hop up as well and begin riding off. "Hange, meet up with Erwin and tell him my squad is no longer part of the expedition." I say before my squad and I go back to HQ.

Your POV

"Here you go. Lie down." I hear Levi say as he walks me over to my bed and lays me down. "Thank you for saving me." I say with a smile as he grabs me a glass of water. "Don't mention it." He says before walking out and walking back in after a few minutes. "Here. Hange made this if something were to happen and someone needed their leg cut off. I think you might need it." He says as he hands me a prosthetic leg. "Thank you, Levi. I'm sorry for making you worry. Braus was under attack so I went to save her and got overrun once I got back on my horse." I say and put my new leg on. I had straps like our uniform, but they were used to hold the leg up. The rest of it was just basic wood. "I'm not going to be able to fight now...or at least for awhile." I say before he ruffles my hair again and hugs me softly. "I won't let that happen again, I'm sorry for not being there."I feel a few tears falling onto my back.

"I can't lose the last person in my family."