#I'm glad your consciousness doesn't let you sleep at night

[opulence-is-decadence]

Some people will make all sorts of mental gymnastics to believe they're the victim instead of apologizing properly.

[undiscovered-horizon]

[Nightmares of past misadventures continue to haunt you. In desperation for comfort and a full night's sleep, you seek out the only person capable of calming your mind - Halsin.]

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You're startled awake.

Gasping and coughing, you try to control your laboured breathing but the tension inside your chest renders you choking.

It was all a dream, a vision made up entirely by your brain. All of the scenes were mere reflections of what you've been through. None of it happened the way you'd dreamed.

And yet your hands are shaking.

The insidious whispers from your nightmare ring in your ears like an echo: It's your fault. This is all because of you.

Each rustle of the forest trees or a branch broken in the distance makes you jump. Shaking pines sound like the sinister laughter of something too old to be remembered even by nature. The shadows surrounding the camp seem darker and more vigorous as though they have a mind of their own. They lean over you, elongating and reaching to swallow you whole.

Laying on the bedroll, in front of the campfire, you feel more than exposed to whatever strange entities might reside in the woods.

Tears of fear are pooling in your eyes as your breath quickens again. You have to fight your own body to move it.

As your frightened mind focuses on finding a source of safety, your legs are already guiding you in the direction of Halsin's tent. Considering his strange sleeping hours, he's probably still awake.

Not having much care for etiquette in your current state, you call out for Halsin while already lifting the flap entrance. He's lying on his side on top of the bedroll. Judging by his attentive, open eyes, you really didn't disturb his sleep. He's half-naked, even on a chilly night like this.

"You're awake," Halsin says. It's hard to say whether he's asking or stating a rather obvious fact.

"Yes, about that..." you hung your raspy voice. On the one hand, you know that he probably won't mind but don't on the other, it's still mighty embarrassing to tell him why you've come. Isn't it childish to look for comfort in someone after being startled by your own imagination? "Would you mind if I slept with you?" you ask hesitantly. Your voice is breaking, reminding you of the inexplicable dread still residing in your abdomen. "I just- I don't want to be alone. Not tonight."

A deep lion's wrinkle appears between Halsin's eyebrows. His expression, normally quite polite, falls into something more tense and sombre. He's worried.

"Come to me," he says in a soft voice.

Obediently, you lay next to him. A strong arm wraps around you protectively, pulling you close against Halsin's body. He's warm, excessively so. Your face nuzzles into his chest, listening to the steady heartbeat inside his ribcage. As the druid's shoulders rise and fall in slow, relaxed breaths, you feel yours becoming less laboured.

"Thank you." Your whisper is barely audible, even in the dead of night.

"I'm glad to be the one you've sought out in the moment of need."

He doesn't let up his tight hold around you while you stir to look up at him. The sombre tension that crowned Halsin's face is now mostly gone, residing only in his bright eyes. It seems that despite dissipating his initial worry, the druid remains wary, prepared for your inexplicable fear to come back at any moment. As much as you appreciate the fact that he's not enquiring about what exactly had sent you into panic, you know that he very much desires to know - only then can he aid.

"Of course, I did, Halsin," you answer. For a moment you recall how your legs guided you towards him, although your consciousness had been plunged into chaos. Some primal part of you thought him your guardian, saviour. "It's always you."

The druid takes a sudden deep inhale as if your confession stirred something vulnerable deep inside him. Is this what being loved feels like? Feeling sunshine on your skin after a cold, winter night? Or seeing your favourite painting for the first time again and again?

"Then I'll always be there, mo chroi. Whenever you need me."

Halsin's oath is the last thing you remember before falling asleep. Little did you know but he stayed awake for quite some time after that. Partially because he revelled in the sensation of holding you close and in part awaiting for the terror to strike again, startling you awake once more.

But that moment never came.

Instead, restful sleep has found you, washing away the tender taint left by your nightmare.

___

mo chroi - "my heart" (Irish Gaelic). Dude is a druid, Gaelic fits him like a glove

[johnnieguilbertsgirlfriend]

shower situation (smut) part 1

Part 1 --- Part 2 --- Part 3

word count: 0.8k - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - fluff, eventual smut

"It's a girl",

you hear someone faintly say. there's a cold sensation on your body, metal. a million questions flood your brain. where are you? who was that? your head ached, causing a small wince to come out of your mouth. it doesn't matter though, since your eyelids feel like they're glued together. someone jumps down into whatever metal crate you were in, and picks you up effortlessly. you feel eyes on you, but then start to lose consciousness again.

you wake up in a bed, there are bottles of what looks like medicine surrounding you. there are a couple of boys around. while your eyes adjust to the darkness of the hut, you hear a voice. "Are you alright?" a boy with a british accent says. "Who are you guys? Where am I?" you say. a man speaks up, "You're in the glade. None of us remember how we got here, but you'll get your name back in a day or two." you look at them with lost eyes, realising you don't know your name. what you also realise is there were no other girls in the glade. both of those cause you to have a slight internal panic. "Now, Newt here," he points to the boy, "Will show you around and answer any questions you may have." you nod, standing up from the bed and heading towards the exit. there was another guy looking at you, a boy with dirty blonde hair and green eyes. you pause for a minute, just staring into his eyes, almost looking into his soul. his cheeks turn to a faint pink color. "What are you looking at greenie?" he mutters. you blink out of your haze, turning towards the door again, and walking away.

time skip to night time babs😫

"Any other questions?" newt asks. suddenly, a name floats into your brain. it obviously couldn't have been anyone but yours. "Y/N." he looks at you with a confused stare. "My name- it's Y/N." he smiles, giving you a friendly pat on the back. "Glad to have you in the glade, Y/N." you smile back at him and the two of you walk together towards the kitchen. he could sense that you were hungry, and it was late aswell. you grab a plate of of food and sit with newt and the others. minho, thomas, and chuck introduce themselves to you. they start to talk about whatever and, for the most part, you just listen to them.

after dinner, your little group huddles up. "Alright shebean, so for sleeping arrangements, Alby has decided that you would be best with Gally. We also know that you do need to shower. Basically he would stand guard while you do and help you around other parts of the glade." gally, that name was new. "Sorry, who's Gally?" you ask,  a little embarrased by the amount of questions you've had today. "Him." newt points to the guy that you had seen earlier in the day. when you turn around, he's caught looking in your direction from his group. "Oh, the one from the medjacks." you studied him. he was cute, most likely your age, and you figured he was strong since newt told you he was a builder. the thought of him having to watch outside while you were in the shower, not to mention you had to sleep with him too. how was that gonna work out? newt calls him over, making him jog. apparently he had already been informed of having to 'guard' you, he didn't mind though. gally knew that there were boys who would try to take advantage of the only girl in the glade. it was even darker outside than before, and you just wanted to sleep.

"Are you ready greenbean?" gally said. you give a little mhm and then say goodbye to newt, the new boy leading you. "Did you figure out your name yet?" he asked. you respond, "Yeah, my names Y/N." you cheekily smile, giving him a playful handshake. he holds onto your hand for a little longer than intended, before letting go. he scratches the back of his neck. your cheeks feel warmer when you walk next to gally. feeling tired, you say the first thing that comes to your mind to get rid of the awkward-ish air. "I'm glad to finally sleep with you." he turns red. "I- didn't mean it like- I meant like you know...Okay I'm just happy to rest after today." you stuttered. in the moment of explaining yourself, you trip over a rock. luckily this time, someone's here to catch you as he grabs your waist with both of his hands. he laughs, removing his hands, "I know what you meant, Y/N." "I wouldn't mind either one." he muttered the last part to himself, thinking you didn't hear. you laugh with him, making a note to thank your good hearing, and your cheeks go pink. well this was gonna be fun...

remember this is all on my wattpad <3 (link in bio)

[myers-meadow]

Fear and wonder: Jonathan Crane x reader pt. 2

Part one here

Summary: After your bad day, your boss up and quits. What a relief! Later during the week, you go to a concert and meet someone. Jonathan doesn't like that much, though.

This is a slice of life insight into life as Jonathan Crane's best friend - who he has a terrible, obsessive secret crush on.

Warnings: for this chapter, some jealousy starts setting in, some very 'protective' best friend shenanigans. Fem reader.

Divider by @saradika-graphics. Reblogs, comments and feedback are very appreciated! I'm so insane over the Jonathan x best friend reader - the intimacy of knowing each other so well, of his obsession just growing and growing, him controlling every aspect of your life, but how could you notice? He works from the shadows, he is a master manipulator. Ugh god I just love him ok

The Monday after that bad day, your boss didn't show up to work. It was weird, but it was too much of a relief for you to ask questions. Besides, you didn't know her well - and why would you? There were whispers in the break room, but you let it all pass you by, just glad to have her off your back. The intern who messed up apologised to you - they'd heard about the treatment you received on behalf of them the week before. All seemed well.

Later that week, a lot more relaxed, your friend Morgan invited you out to see her girlfriend's band play in a pub on Wednesday. She texted you the address and you went there straight after work, picking up some fries for Morgan and yourself on the way there. The band was great fun, and beside you in the crowd Morgan beamed with pride. After, you got to talking with the bass player, who bought you a drink or two, and put his number in your phone.

During work the next day, you couldn't help but think of what a great night you had, and you texted Morgan a 'thank you for inviting me, it was a great time!', before texting Georg the bass player that it was a great show and other formalities. His reply was immediate. If you would like to go out for a beer sometime? It had you smiling all day.

The only night he was available was on Friday, and he'd visit family in another state for the whole month after, so begrudingly, you called Jonathan that evening. After some small talk, you finally dared to get to the point.

"Something's come up for tomorrow, do you mind we meet another night? I'm free all weekend." It was implied the weekend would be at least partially spent with him already, as that too grew into your routine. The Friday night would often turn into a sleepover, as you'd have a glass of wine or two, or make yourself a mojito, and it was just easier to stay over, or let him sleep over. Some nights, when you missed your bed and looked forward through a relaxed morning sleeping in by yourself, it felt like maybe it had grown into too much of a routine. At least, that when you kept your drinks to non-alcoholic ones, and got up to leave at 1 am, that Jonathan's twinge of disappointment was just a hint too intense. It was too subtle to even consciously register, but here you were, treading lightly when cancelling your weekly Friday meet-up, as though you didn't meet up two times a week every week ever since meeting him.

The slight pause at the other end confirmed your suspicions. "Of course we can reschedule," he said, emotionlessly. "What's come up? Is it work?"

"No," you shook your head even though he wouldn't be able to see it. "Something social." Even through the phone, you imagined him frowning. "What would you like to do on Saturday? I saw adverts for a new horror movie in theatres, we could see that, if you're in the mood for a film," you suggested, hopeful that a subject change would work to distract him. 

"Who are you meeting?"

You hesitated before answering. Something about his tone, as impassionate as it was, felt off. "Someone new I met," you decided to go with the truth. Knowing him, he'd read you like an open book on Saturday anyway. 

"I see. Well, I'll see you Saturday then. I'll think on what I feel like, talk to you later. Goodbye." And he hung up without another word.

Even as you enjoyed your cocktail with Georg, you couldn't help but feel a bit restless. This indeed was you and Jonathan's night. But you weren't together. You've never had this kind of friendship before, this intense. It was hard to put your finger on what exactly it was, and you racked your brain on what it could be - thinking of the many times there were hints of possessiveness, of how he preferred you to see him as often as you could - instead of other friends. It made you space out a bit, but as soon as you zoned back in, you were taken with Georg's kind eyes. His gentle features, the softness of his features and his body, the strenght in his arms were all so different from Jonathan, Georg lacked the sharp edges and was all the more endearing for it. After two drinks, you reluctantly called it quits, citing having to get up early in the morning, although that wasn't necessarily true.

Georg wanted to drop you off safely, or perhaps he hoped to get invited in for a nightcap, but as you reached your door, he politely only kissed you. You looked at him for another moment, fumbling with your keys. He chuckled as he watched you, shuffling his feet. Was he as nervous as you were? God, it's been ages since you'd been with someone. Perhaps you should. Even if only because you wouldn't see him for at least another month. Live a little, you told yourself. Do what feels right. Every thought about consequence, about the morning after, all dissapeared as you wrapped your arms around his neck for a much deeper kiss. His hands groped you all over as you finally managed to get the key into the lock properly, and he was eager to get you to bed.

Jonathan didn't feel like the movies. Instead, he choose a quaint tea house. You'd been there before, just once. It was a little higher end than you'd prefer, but their tea selection was incredible and really high quality. Everything else, including the jam for the scones, was made themselves, as well. The café had no background music, so when you sat down at a table with him, the chatter of the people around you punctuated the slight discomfort you felt. A tension that was punctiated by how you still buzzed from last night. And fron this morning at the breakfast table - God was he good with his tongue.

"So," Jonathan started, leaning forward over the tiny table in between the two of you, "how was your date?"

"Date?" you echoed, stalling to buy more time.

He nodded, reaching out for the menu and flipping through casually, as though he wasn't eyeing you like a hawk, observing every microexpression. "You always dance around the subject of dating when you're with me. I wonder why."

You considered him for a moment, rubbing your lip. Of course he noticed. The downside of having a psychiatrist for a friend. How could you navigate this best? Coming off accusatory was a bad idea, as was being apologetic because that would admit some kind of guilt you didn't have. You mean, you felt a bit guilty, but only because it felt like one measly date soured Jonathan's mood to the point of ruining your day together. Honesty and vulnerability have so far proven to be the only cure for one of his moods. "I haven't noticed, I don't tend to date that much," you admitted. "Perhaps I'm private about that part of my life, even with you." The way he glanced up at you, just briefly, taken aback at your careful phrasing, you knew you had him. "My mom was very controlling while I was in uni - as you well know, so perhaps I still feel the need to 'hide' it, or pretend its something it's not."

His hand found yours, giving it a brief squeeze before returning to the menu. "You know you don't have to do that with me. Mask, I mean."

Was his use of the work 'mask' here a personal one, or professional? You gave him a smile. "Baby steps," you breathed, relieved. "Which tea are you getting? The 'orange bliss' sounds really good. It's a green tea though." You scrunched up your nose a little, not fond of how bitter green tea could sometimes get.

"The 'autumn spice' would be more your taste," he directed your gaze to a black tea further down the list. "Anise, orange as well, cinnamon, fennel, cloves..."

You pressed your finger to his suggestion. That did indeed sound wonderful. "Which will you have?"

He hummed, eyes scrutunising every option. "I choose this place for their variety, but now that I have to make a decision..."

"I can choose for you. And we can share, too, if you want."

With a look to you, eyes dancing over your face, he shut the menu suddenly. "Alright, you choose."

When the waitress arrived at your table, you ordered your autumn spice, and a peppermint-rose white tea for him. 

"No treats? No cakes?" Jonathan asked you teasingly, referencing the last time you two were here and you wanted to try everything they had.

"I'm sweet enough for two," you joked, glad it seemed he was back to his usual self. You wouldn't call him cheerful, but at least he wasn't being passive-agressive anymore. The two of you chatted idly, about your weeks and your it was still so strange your manager just disappeared like that.

"Well, not that I'm complaining," you said, wryly. The server came back and set the teas out for each of you. You thanked her and she was on her way. They let you have bigger pots of water, with smaller cups, and your own saucer of tea leaves. "God, that smells good."

Jonathan followed suit, pouring steaming water over the leaves after putting them in the sieve of his cup. He poured yours too, like the gentleman he was.

"I'm curious to taste what you choose for me," he murmured, inhaling the steam, watching the subtle colours of his white tea swirl in the glass. His glasses fogged up a little.

"You still didn't tell me how your date was," he said, gaze sharp behind his glasses. You swallowed. "You said it was someone new and special."

Some part of you sensed it, yet were too afraid to confront the thoughts surrounding such discovery: what if Jonathan's protectiveness hid... love? A crush? What would that mean for your friendship? Not to think of how much Jonathan didn't seem like the person to be relaxed about the topic of dating in the first place. He seemed to know obsession, and only that - if his work was anything to go by.

"I really like him, we had drinks at that place Vee likes to go to."

"Who is he? Anyone I know? A friend of a friend?"

You shook your head. "No, we met at a concert last week. His name is Georg, with the beautiful rolling r," you gestured as you spoke, unable to stop a smile from forming. "He plays bass guitar in Morgan's girlfriend's band. They're quite good, too. A heavier version of indie rock, with some post-punk influences."

He clicked his tongue, before leaning forward to take a first, careful sip of tea. "Do you think you can trust him?"

"You sound like my mother."

He looked at you, blinked and let the accusation slide. "I worry about you, considering your past love life. The last one ghosted you after you slept with him, it was painful." He raised an eyebrow at you. Ouch. "Will you see him again?"

"I hope so. He's in a rather different field work-wise, but I understand not having personal and professional intersect, and we had such interesting conversations about that. How's your tea?"

He decided to go along with you and let the subject rest for now, his expression softened a little. Even thought it's only been months, once you started paying attention, it was rather easy to read him. Perhaps it was around you that he felt comfortable, and didnt try to hide so much of himself anymore, you thought aimlessly. The idea of that tugged at your heartstrings as he combed a hand through his hair. He tried a good sip of tea. 

"Hot," he grimaced, but then smiled gently. "It's wonderful. The freshness and sweetness combine really well with the white tea. Here, give it a try."

The tension dissapated and you were more than glad for it. Eager, you took the tea glass from his hands, not failing to notice the way Jonathan looked at you as you tried his tea. It was warm on your tongue, indeed, the flavours were delightfully light and airy.

"It almost tastes like a floral tea. Is that lavender?"

He smiled, almost proudly. "Very perceptive."

"Here, try mine," and you let him have the first sip. He nodded after he tried it, pushing it back to you.

"Very strong flavour. It's good, you'll like it."

And you did. It was exactly the tea you'd been craving; sweet yet spicy, warming you all the way down as you drank. The smile was audible in your voice as you said: "You know me so well."

[stargazer-sims]

I wrote a thing and It took me way longer than it should have...

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

Full Circle

Yuri is almost asleep when he hears the front door being slammed shut. The sound startles him enough to pull him halfway back from the edge of consciousness, but not enough to compel him to get up. He's far too settled to move unless it's absolutely necessary.

Beside him, Victor is completely asleep and snoring softly. That's another reason Yuri doesn't want to move.

It'd taken a lot of effort to convince Victor the sofa wasn't the best place for him to rest. He's sick with some sort of respiratory virus that's kept him home from work for the past couple of days, and although he has been sleeping in his bed at night, during the day he alternates between the living room couch and the armchair in Yuri's home office.

Victor may be an excellent nurse, but he's an absolutely terrible patient, and at one point it seemed to Yuri as if no amount of coaxing and cajoling would persuade him that he really should be in bed for at least part of the day. Evidently, he'd rather follow Yuri around the house like a sad puppy, or huddle under his blanket on the sofa and whine about how he’d probably die soon from dehydration or from his headache and fever, or from the ache in all his muscles.

"Wouldn't you rather pass away in the comfort of your bed?" Yuri said, trying not to let his exasperation show.

Apparently, Victor found that hilarious, and perhaps not unexpectedly his laughter devolved into a coughing fit so severe that he was gasping for air by the time it resolved and his face was wet with tears.

"Yeah," he whispered, after several seconds. "Maybe I would rather die in bed."

"Okay. Let's just tidy you up a bit first, though. No one likes a messy ending.”

Victor's eyes said he wanted to laugh again, but his body language told a different story. He placed one palm on the center of his chest and massaged slowly as if that might help ease what Yuri assumed was pain and tightness. Yuri felt sorry for him.

"I'm glad you're here to make sure I look nice and neat," Victor said.

"It's not about neatness. I don't want you to be uncomfortable. Now, let's clean your face, all right?"

Victor nodded his acquiescence. He meekly allowed Yuri to pat the tears from his cheeks with a tissue and then to hold several more under his nostrils while encouraging him to blow his nose.

Yuri hadn't really understood the English phrase 'man cold' until he'd experienced one of Victor's for the first time. Back when their relationship was new, he'd panicked because he thought Victor's illness was just as serious as Victor was making it out to be. He'd rung up the emergency clinic and everything, whereupon the female nurse practitioner who took his call had laughed at him and told him to give Victor acetaminophen and herbal tea and plenty of attention.

Solid advice, he acknowledges now. Naturally, hindsight is the clearest form of vision. A little more than twenty years after that first scary situation, he's a veteran of his husband's man colds and knows exactly how to care for him on the occasions when he's under the weather.

After disposing of the tissues, he helped Victor up the stairs as best as he could, tucked him into bed, checked his temperature, and then crawled under the covers with him. Victor would've inevitably wanted cuddles, and Yuri had essentially given up on accomplishing any more work in any case, so he decided he'd save Victor the effort of having to ask him to lie down with him.

Victor made a contented little noise when Yuri snuggled against his side and wrapped an arm around him.

"Comfortable?" Yuri asked.

"No, but I like it when you're close to me," Victor replied. He reached around to run his fingers through Yuri's hair, and added, "I'm not actually dying, just so you know. I only feel like I'm going to."

"I know," Yuri said. "I'm sorry I said that."

"It was funny. No need to apologize. I might feel like I'm ready for the morgue, but my sense of humour is still alive and well."

"That's good." He shifted position slightly so he could rest his head on Victor's shoulder. "Are we going to take a nap?"

"Hmm..." was Victor's wordless response.

Yuri can't help remembering how stressed Victor used to get when he had a cold or flu. He'd desperately want to be taken care of, but he didn't want to let Yuri do it, fearing that if Yuri got too close to him he would catch whatever Victor had. Eventually, they both figured out that it didn't matter because nine times out of ten Yuri would catch it regardless. After that, Victor learned to relax and to permit Yuri to fuss over him as much as he clearly wanted.

Yuri had once remarked to his mother-in-law how he thought time had changed both him and Victor. Grace's eloquent response was, "No, time doesn't change anyone. It gives people the opportunity to change themselves."

And how we've changed ourselves, he reflects as he lies next to his sleeping husband. Our attitudes have changed. Our priorities are different than they used to be. We're stronger than before.

This thought makes him happy. He used to fear change, but over the years he's come to understand that change can be good. He and Victor learned that together.

Well, not all our priorities have changed, he amends. I still love this one to the ends of the Earth and back and I still want to spend the rest of my life with him.

Yuri's mind is drawn back to the present by more slamming noises from downstairs. It's cabinet doors this time. And...the refrigerator? The fridge door being closed so hard that he's able to hear it from Victor's room cannot be good.

Victor stirs and mumbles something that sounds like, "What's going on?"

"I'd say Caroline's home from school," Yuri replies.

"Why's she so noisy?" At least that's what Yuri imagines his husband asks. Victor is obviously awake enough to hear, but not awake enough to produce coherent speech.

"I don't know, but I think I'd better go and check."

"No, I'll go," Victor says.

Victor moves like he's attempting to get up, but Yuri holds him in place with one hand. "No, you will not. If she really needs you, I'll send her up to talk to you. Otherwise, I'll look after her."

"But—"

"No 'buts'." Yuri leans over and kisses him on the forehead. "You don't need to handle everything yourself, love. You know that. Just rest, and let me take care of this."

The fact that Victor doesn't protest any further is an eloquent testimony of how bad he's feeling. "Okay," is all he says.

"I'll be back," Yuri promises.

"Okay," Victor murmurs again.

Yuri climbs off the bed and makes his way downstairs. He's still getting used to the layout of their new home. At the old house, the kitchen was in a direct line of sight from the stairs, but here the stairs are tucked away behind a wall and he has to round the corner to observe what's going on in the kitchen, dining room or foyer. He likes it better this way, though. The new house is almost as big as the old one, but somehow it feels more compact and cozy.

As he steps past the bookcases in the corner of the living room, he's able to spot Caroline sitting at the kitchen island. Her back is to him, but he can see that she's eating something from a bowl. Her hot pink backpack is on the floor next to the stool she's seated on, and its contents are peeking out of the half-opened main compartment. He notices her swimsuit and swimming cap in a clear plastic bag. The suit looks dry.

"Caroline," he says.

She doesn't turn to acknowledge him, but she says, "Hi."

He makes his way over to join her at the island. She's eating mint chocolate chip ice cream, which is her and Victor's collective favourite ice cream flavour.

She was slamming the freezer door, then.

"How was school?" he inquires.

"You know, it was school."

"And what about swim practice? You're home early. Was it cancelled today?"

'No," she says. "I didn't go. I didn't feel like it." She scoops an excessive spoonful of ice cream into her mouth and adds around the mouthful, "Don't worry. Jack and Matilda know. I said I wasn't feeling good."

"Aren't you? Feeling well, I mean. Maybe you're coming down with what Victor has."

"No, I’m not sick. I'm fine," she asserts. “Physically, anyway."

“So, what's the matter?"

"Nothing."

He smiles in spite of the circumstances. The blatant contradiction is such a typically teenage thing. "Are you certain?"

She stabs at her ice cream aggressively with the tip of her spoon. "Where's Victor?"

"He's in his room, resting. He's still not feeling well."

"Oh."

"Did you want to talk to him?"

"Yeah, but I guess it can wait," she says.

Yuri perches on the stool next to hers. "You can talk to me if you like."

He doesn't expect her to take him up on it. It's not that she never comes to him when she needs something, but he's much better at solving practical problems like how to write a good essay, who to call to get her bicycle fixed, and how to budget her money. She rarely asks him for help with more abstract personal issues, maybe because she thinks he's not good at that sort of thing, or perhaps it's because she's closer with Victor than she is with him.

Victor has always been Caroline's favourite parent. She'd bonded with him almost immediately upon meeting him, while she was still his patient, before he and Yuri even discussed the possibility of fostering her. It had taken much longer for her and Yuri to warm up to each other.

Yuri can admit he'd resented Victor's natural, easy relationship with Caroline in the beginning. He'd consoled himself by repeating over and over in his mind that it didn't matter because she was only a foster child and they wouldn't have her forever, but when Victor started bringing up the subject of adoption... To say he'd felt genuine panic would've been an understatement.

He'd been reluctant to tell Victor how he felt, but he knew he had to. Adopting a child was far too big a step for him to simply go along with it because it was something that would make Victor happy. That might've caused more discomfort and resentment in the end. It might've torn a rift between them that would've been impossible to repair, and that was the last thing Yuri wanted.

He shouldn't have been surprised at Victor's response. Rather than being upset or disappointed, Victor listened patiently while he poured out his fears and misgivings.

"I feel like an awful person," he'd confessed. He's never been one to put his emotions on display, but he'd been overwhelmed in that moment and couldn't prevent a few tears from escaping. It wasn't just his inability to embrace Caroline's presence in their lives the way Victor had that was troubling him, but also all the negative sentiments he'd been experiencing; insecurity, inadequacy, resentment, and perhaps even a little jealousy. On top of that, he was struggling under a weight of guilt and shame for having all those other feelings in the first place.

"You shouldn't," Victor told him. He'd pulled Yuri gently into his arms and let him lean against his chest. "You're not a terrible person."

"But... shouldn't I get along with her like you do?"

"Not necessarily. We all build relationships in different ways, don't we? Do you have the same relationship with both your parents?"

"No."

"No, and I don't have the same relationship with Mom that I have with Julian either, and that's okay. I love them both, and I know they love me, and that's what's important."

"That's the problem," he said. "It's obvious Caroline loves you. Shouldn't she love me too? Shouldn't she want me to help her with things and play with her and comfort her? How can I think about adopting a child who doesn't want..." He'd let the sentence fade away, unfinished. He could hardly bear to complete the thought, much less lend words to it.

"Yuri." Victor's voice was soft. He didn't speak again for several seconds, choosing instead to rub Yuri's back with the long, firm strokes Yuri had always liked. After a while, he said, "Tell me something. Do you love Caroline?"

"Yes," Yuri said. He couldn't deny that. Despite his failure to form the kind of connection with her that Victor had, he still cared deeply for her. The difficulty was, he wasn't sure she cared for him, and he was equally uncertain his love for her would be enough to make a permanent arrangement work.

As if reading his thoughts, Victor told him, "That's enough for now. Showing her you love her is the right first step. It's gonna take time for her to trust you, but you'll get there."

"She trusted you straight away. How much time will it take for me?"

"I don't know exactly," Victor said. "It could be weeks or months. You gotta keep in mind that she's been through a lot, and maybe you remind her of things she's trying to not remember right now."

"Such as?"

"Her old life. Speaking Japanese, eating with chopsticks, following all those social etiquette rules... stuff like that. Plus, you kind of look like her dad. I mean, you've seen his passport photo. I know I would've struggled if somebody who looked like my dad suddenly came into my life after he died."

"Oh." This had never occurred to Yuri before, mostly because he'd been looking at everything from his own point of view rather than trying to see things through Caroline's eyes. "Then... maybe adopting her truly isn't a good idea. I... I don't want to make it worse for her."

"You won't," Victor said. "Believe it or not, she needs something you can give her that I can't. Lots of things, actually, but she's going to learn resilience from you. She's gonna learn courage and perseverance and patience, and you know... how to pick herself up and keep going."

"Because she has a disability?"

"Yeah. I can't teach her how to live with a disability, but you can. But, it's more than just that. It's for everything in life, 'cause she's gonna fail sometimes and she might have to go through more bad experiences, and she's going to need to know how to take care of herself and not give up when stuff like that happens. You're amazing at that."

"So are you."

"Only because I've got you to support me," Victor said. "And because I figured out how to follow your example."

"But, how can I teach Caroline anything if I can't even get close to her?" he asked, hoping his desperation didn't show too much.

"Don't underestimate her," said Victor. "It's not like a violin lesson where you have to actively teach her. Just be there for her, and give her time. Let her see who you really are, and try to see her for who she really is."

"How am I meant to do that?"

"How do you do it with anybody?" Victor countered. "Like, you coexist with her, live your life alongside her, and... I don't know. Maybe ask her if there's something she'd like the two of you to do together. If you can work out what you have in common, that might help you communicate better, and I think that'd help you get closer."

Victor had been right, of course. About everything. It'd all gone much better once Yuri stopped worrying about how Caroline felt about him and turned his attention toward finding more common ground with her.

It started with gardening. One day, he asked her if she'd like to help him in the garden, and she said she would. After that, they spent a lot of time tending both the outdoor and indoor plants together. They rarely conversed at first, but they enjoyed being together nevertheless. Slowly but surely, Yuri began to feel less like an extra and more like a main character in the story of his family's life again.

Then, a day came when Caroline noticed him clipping his bonsai tree and asked him about it. Without thinking, he answered her in Japanese, something he'd been careful to avoid doing for the several preceding weeks.

To his utter shock, Caroline began to cry. Alarmed, he put down his shears and dropped to one knee so that he was at eye level with the six year old. When he asked her what was wrong, she told him tearfully that she missed speaking Japanese.

"I thought you didn't want to," he said.

"I didn't," she agreed. "You know, 'cause it made me sad. But then I got scared that I might forget, but I was also kinda scared to tell you that I changed my mind."

"It's okay," he said. "You can tell me anything you want. You don't have to be scared. I'll always listen to you, and I won't be upset if you change your mind about something."

"Really?"

"Really," he assured her. "People don't always feel the same way about everything all the time. It's totally normal to change your mind about things, especially if you know something new that you didn't know before."

"Like... how I didn't want to eat hot dogs, but now I do 'cause I know they don't really have dogs in them?"

Yuri smiled. "Yeah, exactly like that."

"Yuri?"

"Yes?"

"Can I have my own bonsai tree? I want you to teach me how to make it pretty like yours. Then I'll know something else I didn't know before, and maybe I'll want to change my mind about... other stuff."

She did not elaborate on what 'other stuff' meant, but Yuri was sure he could guess. "Of course you can have your own tree. We can ask ojii-chan to send you one from Japan. Would you like that?"

Could he have gotten her a tree from a local plant nursery? Obviously he could have, but it somehow seemed more appropriate to ask his parents to send one.

That was exactly the right choice, as things turned out. Caroline got very excited when Yuri told her his father had sent them a tracking number for the package, and for the next few days it became their little ritual to check the location of Caroline's tree on its journey from Japan to Canada. When the courier arrived, Caroline wanted to sign for the box herself, and the man graciously let her do it. Yuri scrawled his initials next to Caroline's wobbly signature, and thanked the courier for such good service.

The little tree was perfect. It survived its long voyage with no damage, and only needed water and sunlight for it to get back to looking its best. Caroline cherished it, caring for it and talking to it as if it were a pet, and she eventually learned how to trim it herself. She still tends it with as much care and dedication as she did back then, and she still loves to show it off to visitors. Under her hands, the tiny juniper tree is thriving.

It's a lot like Caroline herself, he thinks.

He'd had to learn how to nurture her, how to guide her and teach her to grow. He didn't always get it right, and as flawless a parent as Victor appeared to be, he made mistakes sometimes too. Overall, though, Yuri is proud of their progress, and he's exceptionally proud of the daughter he and Victor have raised together.

Caroline's voice inserts itself into his musings. "If I talk to you, are you going to pay attention?"

Yuri blinks. "I... I'm sorry. I didn't realize I was lost in thought."

"Long day, I guess."

"Victor's a handful when he's ill."

The smallest hint of a smile lifts the corners of Caroline's mouth. "Is he dying this time?"

"Yes, quite dramatically if you must know," Yuri says. "In a scene taken straight from a soap opera, I'd say."

This elicits a laugh. "That's how you know it's not as bad as he wants you to believe it is. If he was really sick or in a lot of pain, he wouldn't be all dramatic and stuff. Remember when he had to get those two teeth out?"

Yuri does remember. There hadn't been any theatrics that day; just Victor with his bruised and swollen jaw, crying quietly in the passenger's seat of Yuri's car on the way home from the hospital. He'd gone straight to bed with no fuss as soon as they got home, and later that evening he'd let Caroline feed him puréed fruit mixed with protein powder, with a look in his eyes of such profound gratitude that it made Yuri's heart ache to see it.

Yuri nods. "You're right. That was different."

"He'll be okay," Caroline says.

"I know, but how about you? Are you going to be all right?"

Caroline sighs. "Yeah, probably. I'm mad, but I'll get over it. It's dumb teenager stuff anyway."

"It can't be all that trivial, if you wanted to talk to Victor about it and it made you want to skip swim practice and break all the cabinet doors," Yuri says.

"Sorry about that."

"It's fine. You're not in trouble," he says. "Do you want to tell me about it?"

She eats a spoonful of ice cream, and then sits there with the spoon still in her mouth, clearly weighing up her options. Finally, she puts the spoon down and then turns slightly on her stool so she can look at him directly. "I think I'm going to break up with Forest."

This pronouncement takes him by surprise. "Why?"

"We had a fight," she says. "Not some silly disagreement over some random thing, but like, a really serious argument."

"About what?"

"You know this week at school is Futures Week, right?"

'Yes," Yuri says. "I remembered that was happening this week."

"We're in our last year of high school, and we've gotta start planning what we're going to do after," Caroline says. "They've got people from different universities and colleges coming in to give presentations, and even some guy from the military was there. Plus, we can schedule meetings with the school's guidance counsellors, and today was career day, where they had all these different professionals come in and set up tables in the gym so that we could meet them and talk about what it's like to have different kinds of jobs."

"I know about that too. James went there to represent our firm."

"I know. I talked to him. Felicity Greene's dad too, and Uncle Leo, although I don't really want to be a lawyer or a preschool teacher. Felicity said it was weird that her dad was there, and like, no surprise that Nora didn't even go 'cause she was too embarrassed about her dad being there. Honestly, I wouldn't have been embarrassed. I would've liked it if you and Victor came."

"We were otherwise occupied," he says. "But, you were telling me about you and Forest, weren't you?"

"Stupid Forest," she grumbles.

"What happened?"

"Forest didn't go either," she declares.

"Do you mean, he didn't go to school today?"

"No, he was at school, but he didn't sign up for any of the university presentations this week, and he totally refused to come to the career thing. He hid in the library the whole time."

"That doesn't sound good."

"You know my friend Mohammad? He saw Forest in there and he told me, so I went to get him, and that's how the argument started." She looks away from him momentarily as her pale skin turns deep pink. "We... we got kicked out of the library."

"Did you get detention?"

She shakes her head. "No. We went outside so we could keep talking, but that's when it really got bad. Forest told me he's not going to university."

Yuri frowns. "I thought he was planning to go to art school."

"I thought so too," Caroline says, "But now he's not. He says he doesn't want to waste his time and his parents' money on something that probably isn't going to help him get a job anyway. He says he's just going to keep working at the pizza place after graduation until... until whenever we get married. Can you believe he actually said that? I never said I wanted to marry him!"

"Didn't you?" Yuri queries. "The way I recall it, you and Forest have both been saying since you were seven years old that you want to marry each other some day."

"Yeah, well... I changed my mind," she says adamantly. "Maybe I said I wanted to marry him before I realized he has like, absolutely zero ambition. How can he be happy making pizza for minimum wage? How does a person not care about their own future?"

"There are loads of reasons why somebody might not care about their future," Yuri says.

"I'm sure none of them are very good reasons," Caroline scoffs. "Anyway, I can't be with somebody who doesn't even have goals."

Yuri is silent for a handful of seconds as he composes his thoughts. At last, he asks quietly, "Have you ever considered that you're his goal?"

Caroline peers at him, a look of perplexity on her face. "What do you mean? How can a person be another person's goal?"

"You and Forest remind me a lot of Victor and me," he says. "For the longest time, I didn't have any goals or ambitions for the future either. The only thing I wanted in life was to be with Victor. I wanted him to stay close to me and love me and give me as much attention as possible, and I wanted him to be happy. I thought that if he was happy, that would make me happy."

"Yeah, that kind of sounds like Forest," she affirms.

"And you're like Victor. You've got plans and dreams. You want to have adventures and accomplish loads of things in your life."

"Exactly."

"Another way you're like him is that your happiness doesn't depend on other people."

Caroline nods. "I learned that from Victor, actually. I remember when I was little and I'd be upset, he always told me that it was okay to feel angry or sad or scared, but that I shouldn't let myself stay like that. Like, he said if I wanted to feel better I could get there, 'cause my happiness is my own responsibility."

"He's right," Yuri says. "I know because he taught me that, too."

"Really?"

"Really. I used to be scared about quite a lot of things, and that was one of the biggest reasons why I didn't have any goals for myself. I was too afraid I'd fail at anything I tried, so I barely tried to do anything new. Then, I was depressed and frustrated, thinking about how I'd never accomplish anything."

"So, what did you do?"

"I ate a strawberry."

Caroline laughs out loud. "You always say strawberries make everything better. But seriously, what did you do? How'd you fix yourself? 'Cause you've never seemed like the type of person who's afraid of much of anything to me."

"I really ate a strawberry." Yuri repeats. He recalls the monumental effort it'd taken to pick up his chopsticks and feed himself that one small piece of fruit. "It was one of the hardest things I've ever done."

Caroline is staring at him as if he's setting up for some sort of joke. "But, you love strawberries."

"I do," he concedes. "But that doesn't mean it's always been easy for me to eat them. The winter before we moved here from Japan, I was so ill that I didn't know if I'd survive it. I couldn't eat, and I was so weak and in so much pain that I couldn't even sit up in bed on my own. My doctor decided that if she was going to keep me alive, I'd need to have a feeding tube, so that's what we did."

"Is that what the little scar on your belly is from?"

"It is," he confirms. "One might think it'd be scary to get all your nourishment through a tube in your stomach, but it was such a relief to me. It meant I didn't have to physically eat anything, and I knew the formula would be safe and wouldn't cause me any pain. That eliminated the anxiety of eating."

"Eating gave you anxiety? Like... just eating?"

"Yes, and it still does sometimes, as hard as that might be to grasp."

"It kind of is, honestly. I love eating."

"I know you do. That's another way you're more like Victor than like me." He smiles. "I'm glad you love to eat. I wouldn't wish my problems on anybody."

"So, what happened?" she prompts. "Obviously you started eating real food again."

"I had to go through a lot of therapy," he says. "The goal was to remove the tube within a year, and as much as I was relieved that I didn't have to put food in my mouth for a while, I also knew I didn't want to live with the tube long-term. So, my doctor and therapist got me to start by setting small goals, and the first one was that if I wanted to eat anything by mouth, I had to feed myself."

"You weren't feeding yourself?"

"No."

"Why?" Caroline asks.

"It was too difficult," he replies. "At least that's what I'd convinced myself of, but the truth was, I'd essentially given up on everything. I couldn't imagine a future with anything other than more pain and fear and failure, and it was... too much."

"But eating a strawberry changed your mind?"

"It wasn't actually as simple as that, but eating a strawberry showed me what was possible," he says. "Victor was having a fruit salad. The strawberries were fresh and they smelled delicious, and I really wanted one, but Victor wasn't allowed to feed it to me. It took all the willpower I had in me to put that strawberry into my mouth, and I almost changed my mind at the last second, but to this day I'm glad I didn't. Now I like to think that one strawberry was the beginning of the rest of my life."

"How?"

"Because it made me realize even the smallest victories matter," he says. "Because I started to understand that success can be measured in tiny increments and doesn't have to be something huge or spectacular. But, mostly because I finally saw that I could do things for myself, that I could set goals and work for them."

"So... you're saying Forest should eat a strawberry?"

"Metaphorically speaking, yes."

"How can I get him to do it?" Caroline wants to know.

Yuri reaches across the space between them and touches her hand lightly. "That's the thing, little one. You can't."

"But—"

"Forest has to be ready to learn that lesson on his own," Yuri says. "I'm sure Victor was frustrated with me sometimes, and maybe he even secretly questioned why he'd agreed to marry someone with so little self-worth, but he never pushed me. That wouldn't have worked."

"What did he do?"

"He stuck with me even when I thought he'd be better off leaving. He was patient with me, and he loved me when I didn't know how to love myself."

Caroline picks up her spoon again and begins to fidget with it. "Are you saying I shouldn't break up with Forest?"

"No," Yuri says. "Only you and Forest can decide whether or not that's the right choice. What I'm saying is to give yourselves some time to calm down after what happened today, and then ask him if the two of you can talk. Arguing is normal, but you need to deal with the thing that caused the argument to begin with."

"Even if we're not going to be girlfriend and boyfriend?"

"Even so, especially if you still want to be friends with him."

"I do," Caroline says emphatically. "I love Forest. He’s my best friend. Even if we end up marrying other people some day, I always want us to be friends."

"If that's truly how you feel, then don't give up on him," Yuri says. "You can still help him even if you're not in a relationship."

"But... you just said I can't make him eat the metaphorical strawberry."

"You can't make him do it, but that doesn't mean you can't show him the way. You can talk to him and try to find out what's holding him back, and you can support and encourage him when he wants to try new things."

"Like getting his driver's license?"

"Exactly. If you're proud of him for doing that, then tell him."

"I am," she says. "That was a big deal 'cause he was so scared he wouldn't pass the road test, but he did it."

"Then make a big deal of it," Yuri says. "That might seem silly, but unless I miss my guess, it won't seem silly at all to Forest."

"Do you think it'll work?"

"Only time will tell," he says. "The surest way to find out is to try."

"Okay," Caroline says. She slips off her stool and steps forward to hug him. "Thanks for the talk, Papa."

He reciprocates the embrace, pleased as always to hear her call him 'Papa' and to get a hug from her. She's physically demonstrative like Victor, and although her spontaneous displays of affection sometimes made him uncomfortable in the early days, he's grown to appreciate them very much.

"You're welcome," he says.

"Is it okay if I go upstairs and say hi to Victor now?"

"I'm sure he'd like that, but don't disturb him if he's sleeping."

"I know," Caroline says. "If he's sleeping, I'll just stay in there and start my homework. You know, so he won't be alone when he wakes up."

"Good idea," Yuri says. "I was going to go back up there with him and I thought perhaps we'd order something for dinner, but now that you're here, you can keep him company and I can cook instead."

"What are you going to make?"

"How do you feel about carrot and ginger soup? That's fairly easy. And I can make grilled cheese sandwiches for you and Victor."

"We like those," Caroline says. "Ice cream for dessert?"

Yuri smiles. "Haven't you already had enough ice cream?"

"Is there such a thing as too much ice cream?" She gathers her backpack from the floor and slings the strap over her shoulder before turning to leave. “You can text me when it's ready. That way, you won't have to yell."

Yuri waves in the direction of the stairs. "Go. I'll just bring your sandwiches to you, and then you can come down here for soup afterwards."

"Cool. Thanks!"

Yuri watches her as she disappears around the edge of the bookcases. He can hear her bounding up the steps with all the energy her mere seventeen years afford her and wonders if, like Victor, she'll retain most of that energy into middle age. Caroline and Victor may not be biologically related, but they're so much alike that they might as well be.

Both of us may be her parents, but she's truly his child.

Shaking his head, Yuri returns to the kitchen. He picks up Caroline's abandoned bowl and spoon, rinses them, and puts them in the dishwasher. Typically he would've asked her to do that herself, but today is an atypical day.

He puts on some classical music and then focuses on the business of making dinner. Carrot soup is one of his favourite dishes. Victor used to make it for him often when he was relearning how to eat, and once he'd graduated to doing meal preparation, he began making it on his own. Usually, they have it with garlic bread and a garden salad topped with diced chicken, but Victor hasn't had much of an appetite today and Yuri guesses he'd prefer to have his favourite comfort food, grilled cheese. Besides, grilled cheese sandwiches are a lot less effort.

He prepares the soup first. While it's simmering in the slow cooker and filling the kitchen with the warm aroma of ginger, he gets to work on the grilled cheese. He decides he'll have peanut butter toast to go with his soup, since he doesn't like cheese, but he can get that ready after he finishes with the sandwiches for Victor and Caroline.

Soon enough, he's making his way up the stairs with a tray laden with two golden grilled sandwiches and two mugs of steaming green tea with honey. He passes Caroline's room and is nearly at the half-opened door of Victor's when he catches the thread of a conversation.

"...and I don't think he realizes it, but he's a totally amazing parent."

Victor's voice is hoarse, but he sounds much more awake and alert than he did earlier. "I think so too."

Yuri pauses outside the door and tries to peek into the room without being noticed. Victor is lying diagonally across his bed, and Caroline is sitting cross-legged beside him, holding his hand. Caroline is facing away from the door, and he thinks she's likely blocking Victor's view of the hallway.

"I was so mad, but Yuri knew exactly what to say," Caroline continues. "Like, he understood the problem right away and he told me what I should do, and it actually made a lot of sense."

"You shouldn't be shocked," says Victor. "You know, he's very smart and his advice is just as valid as mine. Maybe more so, depending on the subject. There's stuff he can do a lot better than I can."

"Well, he's really good at explaining stuff, and he knows how to get me to see things from a different perspective." Caroline says. "He helped me a lot with what happened today."

Yuri can hear Victor's smile in his voice. "You should tell him that. Sometimes he still worries about whether or not he's doing a good job."

There's no hesitation in Caroline's reply. "He's always done a good job. You're my favourite, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate him or that he's not good at being a dad. He's awesome and I love him just as much as I love you."

"I'm glad," Victor says. "You know, it'd make his day to hear that."

"I'll tell him," Caroline says.

For a moment Yuri stays in place, trying to take in what he's just overheard. Then, not wanting to give away the fact that he was eavesdropping, he backs carefully down the hall and approaches the door again, deliberately making a bit of noise this time.

He halts in the doorway of Victor's room with a cheerful, "Dinner is served!"

It sounds a bit too upbeat to his ears, but Caroline doesn't seem to notice. Victor does, though. He catches Yuri's eye, smiles and mouths, "Nice one." Yuri wonders whether Victor was able to see him in the hallway after all.

Caroline bounces off the bed and comes over to inspect the tray. "This smells so good!"

"The soup is ready too, if you want some of that."

"Yes, please," Caroline says as she lifts one of the plates. "I'm going to take this to the kitchen and have some soup too, and then I'm going to FaceTime with Felicity because I promised her I'd help her with our math homework."

"Isn't Felicity's mother a financial analyst or something?" Victor asks.

"Yeah, but Felicity says she doesn't know how to make math simple," Caroline explains. "She'd rather get help from somebody who can tell her how to do it step by step, so... Captain Math to the rescue."

"All right, Captain Math," Yuri says. "Enjoy your dinner and your study session."

As Caroline exits the room, Yuri sets the tray with the remaining sandwich and the two cups of tea on the bedside table. Victor sits up, and remarks, "That does look good. I wish I could smell it."

"Hopefully you'll be able to taste it," Yuri says.

"We're about to find out." He picks up half the sandwich and bites into it. With his mouth full, he continues, "So, I guess you heard Caroline singing your praises?"

Yuri looks away. His face is suddenly hot, and he says, "Sorry. I wasn't intentionally spying on the two of you."

"I know," Victor says. He pats the space next to him. "Come here and let me tell you why Caroline is right."

Yuri obligingly climbs onto the bed and then reaches across Victor to get one of the mugs of tea before finally settling against Victor's side. "You think she's right?"

Victor slides an arm around his shoulders. "Why wouldn't I? You are totally amazing as a partner and a parent, and Caroline is right about you having a talent for getting people to see things in new ways. I knew that about you before we ever had Caroline, but how you're able to break stuff down in a way that she understands? That's a real skill, and you know what else?"

"What else?"

"You passed it on to her."

"At least I passed something along to her."

"What are you talking about? You've given her a lot. Whether or not you realize it, she's like you in a lot of ways. She's strong and determined like you, and she's practical and logical and great at reading people. Plus, she has your sense of humour."

"That... that's not exactly something to be proud of."

"Sure it is," Victor says. "You can make me laugh, and sometimes that's worth more than all the wealth in the universe."

"Did I really give all that to Caroline?" Yuri asks.

"Yeah, you did. That, and a lot more. You can ask her if you want to. I'm pretty sure she wants to tell you."

"I'm not sure I'd be comfortable asking."

"That's okay," Victor says. "I think she'll tell you on her own, when she finds the right moment."

Yuri closes his eyes and leans into the warmth of his husband's one-armed embrace. "I never thought we'd reach this point," he says. "Caroline and me, I mean."

"I knew you would," Victor says.

"That's because you're an eternal optimist."

Victor kisses the top of his head. "It's easy to be optimistic when I have such a great family. You and Caroline make me happy and you help me keep my faith in humanity. How could I think the future's gonna be anything but good with the two of you around?"

Yuri contemplates this for a moment, and feels his features gradually relax into a smile. They may have had a rough beginning, but everything is better now, and he has to acknowledge Victor is right. Their lives may not be perfect and they may have difficult times ahead, but that doesn't mean the future won't be good. His family loves him and he loves them. No matter what happens, with the three of them all supporting each other, they can make the best of it.

[soephiphany]

I hope this is comforting enough

I was just feeling awful, and i needed something silly and small, to make me feel lighter. If you're going through some hard thing or hard place, my account is a safe space.

I don't really post much but you can also read the fic recommendations I posted, hopefully it'll make you feel better.

If you're feeling heavy, tired or overwhelmed, it's alright. You're not alone, army

You have me, the other creators and you have the boys (the songs, Bangtan Bombs and my personal fav: RUN BTS)

Take it easy, it'll be alright <3

(not proof read)

____

"What is it?" He gazed all over your body, for everything. Possible wounds, blood, just anything.

"Nothing" suddenly your hands look interesting, since you can't tear your eyes from them.

"It's not nothing" he sighs lightly and reaches for your hand "Baby, I'm here for you. You know that, right?"

"I know. It's nothing, I'm just tired" you readjust yourself on your shared bed, now with your back facing the headboard.

"Tired?"

"Yeah" he relocates himself by your side and gently rub your back

"Let's sleep then, ok?" He knows you. You don't want to sleep. You don't even know if you can sleep but he knows, and that's what's matter.

"Mhm" your small nod almost unnoticeable as you both lay down and he immediately hugs you. You hide your face in the crook of his neck.

It stays silent. He's not sleeping and neither are you, but still silent. His steady breath sounds like therapy and just like that, like that moment where you open up in therapy, you cry.

You don't sob or anything, you just cry. Maybe you're just so used to having to cry silently to not worry or wake anyone. It's already a habit, but you really feel like breaking, you feel like you're watching the last two scenes of Toy Story 3 in a endless cycle, or like you just stepped in 180 pets paws. You feel guilt, shame, grief, and you don't even know why. I mean, you know why but you didn't think it was possible to feel all at once. But i guess it is.

"You'll be okay, I'm here. You're here, we'll be okay. Everything will be fine" these are the unique things that seems to leave the man's mouth as he hugs you kindly, drawing patterns in your back with one hand and caressing your hair with other. It feels good. You're glad it feels good, at least one thing is feeling good right now.

He doesn't talk anymore but continues with tiny hums and lullabies of a sweet song, a song you know well. 'Heavenly' by Cigarettes after sex leaves his pretty soft and pink mouth in tiny sounds, just loud enough for you to hear it.

"I'm giving you all my, giving you all my, giving you all my love" he whisper-sings this part and it's literally heavenly. He's a bit insecure with his voice, but he still sings for you cause he knows you love it when he does.

He continues humming the song and it gets to a part where it brings tears in your eyes. All and everything, sounding like a dream, a fever dream maybe. You could never imagined that you'd love someone like you love him, but you do. And he does too.

"And when you're far away, i still feel it all the same" he pecks your head a few times and whisper 'ill always feel you, I'll always see you. It will be okay' and you can't help but break the thin fine line you were living in.

"We'll be alright" you knew it was his way of saying he loves you, that he's here for you and God, that was all you needed. Your sobs are silenced by time as he goes on humming the end of the song, reminding you that you're not alone and that he loves and care about you.

Your consciousness get lost in his scent, in how warm his body feels, in how light his energy is, in how domestically beautiful this is. He wishes you a small good night and pecks your forehead.

It was just one of those days, or weeks. Where everything seems to fall apart but you're not alone, you have him, you have his love, and that's more than enough.

_______

I didn't put any member implied here but my thought was on Yoongi when i wrote this, but you can imagine with whoever you want.

I just felt really heavy, and this helped me a little, even if just a little.

Whatever is happening in your life, everything will be okay. You're not alone and you'll be okay,

Life goes on, dear friend <3

Soo Soo 🌼

[powdya]

Thirty Seconds to Mars

What thoughts come to your mind during numbness? In situations when your consciousness is completely paralyzed and you have no strength to move forward? Hey, ask for help! But what if "help" doesn't come or makes things even worse? The mood outside suggests that this is what you've been waiting for... rain. I don't know why, but over the years, I've started to appreciate more rainy weather, even though I always thought that heat was cool. But, haha, it's cool in winter when you're cold and trying to warm up with a cat's fur, dreaming of warmer days. But when it gets warm and sweat slowly trickles down your skin while you diligently scroll through the internet, you realize that you start to appreciate ordinary things only when they're absent.

Living a deferred life? Have you tried it? I've been trying for 2... no, three years. Or is it actually two? I don't remember anymore. I don't even remember the recent events of the past six months. Everything has blurred and merged into a single day. Seriously, try delving into your thoughts and tracing them from January 1st to today, trying to recall each day in detail... well, at least the general idea of each day. Did it work? Yesterday, my mom asked me something while I was listening to music, and I didn't immediately realize she was talking to me. But when I took off my headphones, she asked again... hmm, I was trying to remember now, but apparently, I was on autopilot at that moment. After I spoke, she asked why I don't talk to her, but what surprised me was that I hardly ever talk to her because of our shared past and the lack of conversation topics, yet she constantly tries to engage me by asking silly and inappropriate questions, the answers to which are so obvious that my eyes automatically roll when I carry a plate to the kitchen and hear a question from behind:

Where are you going? To the kitchen?

No, I'm flying to Mars on a carpet plane with my imaginary friends - Lori and Barry, and this plate is the steering wheel of my spaceship, - I think to myself at that moment.

Seriously, what kind of answer does she expect when she asks such questions hundreds of times a day?

Right now, I'm lying on the bed with music in my ears, waiting for a letter from someone, but it's not here yet. Yes, I understand that it will come a little later, as she needs time to write a reply and send it to me, but apparently, I miss human interaction so much, I want to read the response again and share thoughts once more that I open the app every 30 minutes and refresh the page in hopes of seeing a notification. It seems like I'm turning into that creepy guy with a mustache who watches you through binoculars from his rusty van while you prepare chocolate balls with milk.

In general, I need to spend less time wearing headphones as it negatively affects my well-being. Since 8th grade, I've had trouble sleeping well until I turned 16 due to early nightmares that affected my consciousness. It was all because of horror movies that my father loved to watch. He would play them at night, and out of curiosity, I would join in. I still don't know why he thought it was a good idea to let a young child watch "The Ring" - a terribly good idea. Nevertheless, that girl from the well became my ultimate nightmare, and after watching that movie, I couldn't fall asleep, would fall off the bed, and a few weeks later, I experienced a visual hallucination.

I "saw" a scary ghost in the window, even though it was on the 5th floor, and I'm still not sure if I saw anything specific because I quickly covered my head with a blanket and trembled for 40 minutes until I could fall asleep. That's how I slept until I turned 16, covering my head with the blanket. Haha, try sleeping completely covered under a blanket; there's so little air, and it's hard to breathe. Otherwise, I couldn't sleep; my heart would start racing immediately when I looked out the window. Now I'm glad that has changed, but this story made me sleep with background noise. I chose headphones and started sleeping with them, and I still do. I simply can't fall asleep quickly in silence. This led me to develop tinnitus - ringing in the ears.

I knew that this behavior could harm my hearing, but I continued wearing headphones anyway. A few days ago, the ringing intensified in my left ear for one day. It was a strange sensation. You know that muffled sound sensation when you accidentally pour water into your ear while washing your hair. That's what it felt like. Seems like it's worth dealing with, right? Now I'm the hero of my favorite movie, "Baby Driver."

I should see a doctor about it, but in my country, they are simply awful. They don't care, literally. I witnessed this brutal attitude myself when I went to a private clinic three years ago because of bleeding from my ears. The doctor checked my ears in a matter of seconds, said everything was fine, and prescribed me drops, but when I mentioned, "Hey, hello, I'm repeating it for the third time, I have this ringing in my ears. Tinnitus. Can you help me with it?" - she ignored me. Seriously, I repeated it several times. Did she not care? Of course, these people couldn't care less about each other.

[tosxah]

It wasn't like Ajax was looking for it. He wanted a hot drink that's all it had been. That's just how it had started. It. This... aquintance-ship. The only place in this town that opened late enough for him to grab a coffee. He'd made a bad habit of having coffee a few hours before bed. All because dreams plagued him since his childhood or even longer perhaps. Demons crawling under his skin. The sensation of something ripping him apart from the inside out. These images mixed with places he'd never been, faces he's never seen. There was no comfort in his slumber. Coffee had become a very easy to come by way of delaying his sleep, even just for a little while, enough to try and keep his sleep dreamless; hooked on a black IV of consciousness all because a sweet nun took pitty on the troubled child. Years later and now it barely touched the sides. He did some weird substance as a teenager that his unit gave him, he couldnt remember the name but wow it really did the job. However it was expensive and made him more volatile than he already was, which lead to worse things. So coffee. That was the middle ground he found between nothing and hard mostlikely illegal drugs.

Though, thanks to his habit, he got to meet her. Huh. If there was such a thing as fate it sure was funny.

"HR God. Honestly, I think he's looking for any excuse. I also think his... Do God's have boyfriends? Anyways I think one of them tried to poison my coffee last week." He said casually and took another sip tjough he had no proof of this. Her funny turns of phrase and address made him smile. Ajax did a little bow as he walked with his hand on his chest, "your majesty, I'm glad to hear you can fend for yourself but I shall protect you if such occasion arose." She was so petite and short and pretty, he thought, the world was cruelest to those it could take the most advantage of.

The trufulness that shifted in her tone caught his attention. For all the months of this ritualistic routine, their conversations had be short, slow and cavalier at first. It seemed neither of them were good at making fast friends. Possibly didn't help for weeks he thought she was scared of him, or possibly even hated him for whatever reason. It seemed she had calmed since, and it let him relax a little too. Enough for them to converse more, for him to get to know her a little, for him to ask her out for dinner. As a friend. Just as a friend.

"Don't worry about it, really." Ajax swigged the last of his coffee and threw it in a bin as they passed by. "I was going to be having pizza for dinner anyways, food is better shared with company or something. And I meant it, you work hard, you deserve to have someone treat you for once. I would have invited your brother but I'll be honest I think he'd find some elaborate way to kill me in public and make it look like an accident. I think the only reason he doesn't do it in the shop is liability." It was just a joke. He maybe didn't totally think Aether would kill him.

The neon glow of the Pizza place's sign cast shadows in all directions, giving everything the light touched a yellow and red hue. It was 9.30 at night. It was very possible the place would be closed and low and behold the sign was turned... but the door was open a crack. Ajax turned to his companion, "stay here I'll be right back."

He disappeared into the store, most of the lights on but chairs were elevated and wet floor signs were out. After about 5 minutes or so he returned, gently shutting the door behind him. "Follow me." He said, and started walking to the side alley between one shop and another. Dimly lit was each step he took, leading the way through the well kept parting between one shop and the next until he go through to the garden at the back with fairy lights illuminating the scene of picnic tables and greenery. Ajax sat himself down at the one closest to them and gestured for Lumine to take a seat too. "The manager owes me a favour." He spoke to try and bring some clarity to the situation.

Lumine's routine had been quite boring for the past centuries, or at least that was how someone could define them looking at her life from outside. Especially after a past where her home had been the whole of the universe with her brother by her side.

She enjoyed that routine. She enjoyed that peace; hearing the coffee machine in the morning, the scent of Aether's experiments in the kitchen, watching silly movies by his and Xiao's side. And well... Hat guy when he was around. Even he seemed to have softened around them. Somehow, Ajax had just become part of her evenings too now...

There was no more war to fight, no more blood to spill. So the Travelers had only started a new journey of their existence where, for once, they could rest their weary souls.

"I don't drink that much." Her lips formed a small playful pout. She didn't even remember when it was the last time she had tasted any alcohol at all. It's not like it really worked with her anyway...

"I think we were watching a horror movie on Netflix..." She pondered on the memory of the smell of popcorn in her hands, forcing her brother and the Yaksha to sit with her through what was a cheap fighting movie that had more blood than any realistic person could ever even carry.

Ajax's comment twisted something in her chest she couldn't really define. There was a sharpness in his observation that had always made her feel uncomfortable. She was afraid that his gaze would only be able to strip her soul, layer by layer, and reveal all the secrets she had carried quietly.

"You could say so." Her fingers tightened inside her coat pockets. Her soul was bound anywhere Aether was, where now her new family was the only solace in a world where they had all lost something.

"Who knows? Perhaps taking me out," She stressed those last words, a humoured glint in the stars of her hues "It will raise the wrath of a very powerful and vengeful God." Her voice lowered, her expression trying to stay serious as she kept eye contact with Ajax ,"the HR God. You wouldn't want to upset him."

She couldn't help but giggle again, at his awkward demeanour, at the way he was juggling between words, trying to save a cause that was already lost.

"You shall not fret, oh distressed Knight. I think my kin is aware the Princess can look after herself." She stated solemnly, her line of sight following his to a sign that was lighted up between a few others in the empty streets.

"I don't think I have been out to eat something with a friend in a long time..." Her tone was lost in the night, carrying a sadness that tinted her voice whenever her mind travelled to memories lost in the past.

"So thank you. For taking me out." The chilly evening air tickled her skin. It was definitely that had given her cheeks a rosy shade.

[wantonwinnie]

Nemik Dialogue

After watching the Andor finale and hearing a portion of Nemik's manifesto, I really wanted to go back and record his other insightful dialogue from the show.

__________________________________________________

1. Manifesto background.

Cassian is on Aldhani preparing for the heist with the rest of the crew, and he begins a conversation with Nemik about the strange milk and Nemik's navigational tool.

Nemik: "One of the best navigational tools ever built. Can't be jammed or intercepted. Something breaks, you can fix it yourself."

Andor: "Hard to learn."

Nemik: "Yes, but once you've mastered it, you're free. We've grown reliant on Imperial tech, and we've made ourselves vulnerable. There's a growing list of things we've known and forgotten, things they've pushed us to forget. Things like freedom."

Skeen: "Nemik sees oppression everywhere."

[...]

Nemik: "It’s so confusing, isn't it? So much going wrong, so much to say, and all of it happening so quickly. The pace of repression outstrips our ability to understand it. And that is the real trick of the Imperial thought machine. It’s easier to hide behind 40 atrocities than a single incident. But they have a fight on their hands, don't they? Our elemental rights are such a simple thing to hold, they will have to shake the galaxy hard to loosen our grip."

[...]

Nemik: "[The manifesto is] a work in progress, and I know that there's a great deal left to say. I mean, look. Right here. Fresh inspiration. Two seemingly random objects, and yet this charts an astral path, this maps the trail of political consciousness. Both systems based on truth, both navigating toward clear and achievable outcomes."

S1E5 "Aldhani" (11:08-12:35)

__________________________________________________

2. Tie fighter inspiration

After practicing for the heist, a tie fighter on patrol does a low altitude flyby to instill fear in the group.

Nemik: "They'll soon see. Surprise from above is never as shocking as one from below."

S1E5 "Aldhani" (20:08)

__________________________________________________

3. Mercenary role.

It’s morning on the day of the heist.

Nemik: "I couldn't sleep."

Andor: "It’s natural."

Nemik: "I need to be at my best."

Andor: "Don't worry. The excitement will kick in."

Nemik: "I'm struggling to understand why my faith doesn't calm me. I believe in something. Why am I so unsettled? I mean, you have nothing, you sleep like a stone. I write when I can't sleep. Wrote about you last night. Not you, specifically, not 'Clem.' Although I'm assuming that's not your real name, anyway. 'The Role of Mercenaries in The Galactic Struggle for Freedom.' My conclusion is simple. Weapons are tools. Those that use them are, by extension, assets that we must use to our best advantage. The Empire has no moral boundaries, why should we not take hold of every chance we can? Let them see how an insurgency adapts."

Andor: "Well, you're half-right. The Empire doesn't play by the rules."

Nemik: "And how am I wrong?"

Andor: "They don't care enough to learn. They don't have to. You mean nothing to them."

Nemik: "Perhaps they'll think differently tomorrow."

Andor: "Be careful what you wish for."

Nemik: "So you think it’s hopeless, do you? Freedom? Independence? Justice? We should just submit and be thankful? Just take what we’re given?"

Andor: "Do I look thankful to you?"

Nemik: "No. But I'm glad you're here. No matter what the reason."

S1E6 "The Eye" (2:53-4:36)

__________________________________________________

4. Pathfinder.

The group (minus a few members) are attempting to escape Aldhani through the Eye.

Andor: "I'm flying blind!"

Nemik: "Climb!"

Andor: "Climb? Look out the window."

Nemik: "Climb. Full climb now!"

S1E6 "The Eye" (37:13-34)

[mostly-marvel-musings]

random ass request, feel free to ignore, but could you possibly write something about Tony being all protective and worried and taking care of the reader when she's having a reaction to the vaccine? like, he knows it's all okay & expected, and that she'll be fine soon, but still he doesn't wanna see his baby feeling like shit? just something fluffy and cuddly? it's just that I just got my third dose and I'm all sore and miserable right now (but very very happy to be vaccinated :))

Worries

A/N: Dear nonnie, I’m glad you’re fully vaccinated and safe! And I know it sucks, the after-effects absolutely suck, I hope you feel better real soon, my dear. Hugs!

Pairing: Tony Stark x Reader

Warnings: Care bear but paranoid Tony? Come on…

.

“Tony, I told you she’s fine. Its just a reaction to the vaccine, stronger than anticipated but nothing to worry about.”

“What do you mean by anticipated, Banner? Most people weren’t affected this bad, I checked. Run some tests, make sure she gets better.”

“You know this isn’t my field of expertise right? I can give Helen a call if you want.”

“You mean you haven’t?”

You heard muffled voices coming through from the living room, one was Bruce and the paranoid one was none other than your boyfriend.

The past couple of days had been the worst for you, the vaccine had taken its toll on your body and how. High fever, muscle pain, fatigue like you hadn’t felt before, all that because of a stupid injection.

You were aware of the side effects, and yet the magnitude of it hit you like a train, that and it had sent Tony in a frenzy.

The paranoid billionaire wouldn’t leave his surgical mask while coming to check on you and that perpetually anxious look wouldn’t leave him.

His worried self was adorable at first before it became borderline annoying, maybe it was the discomfort you were in that caused you to feel so. The man would randomly wake you up by poking you with a stick from a safe distance after you’d dozed off to make sure you were fine, snap his fingers and fidget around constantly, pace around the room while talking to the AI about possible solutions and remedies.

“How long has it been since you had a good night’s sleep Tony?”

Your voice was groggy from sleep, hair in complete disarray as you sat back against the headboard one day, watching the genius rearrange your pillows.

“Uh, what makes you think I haven’t been sleeping? There’s not much to do around here since you’re in and out of consciousness, I’ve—I’ve been napping.”

“When will you learn how to lie with conviction?”

A small smile made its way on your face as he dismissed your comment, the mask hid most of his face but his downcast eyes revealed everything.

“I’m worried about you, (Y/N). If something happened—”

“I’ll be fine, Tony. I promise.”

You shrugged, watching him sigh in relief before he plopped down next to you, placing his head in your lap.

“I’ve never seen you so paranoid. Hey, while your at it, I’d appreciate a little foot rub.”

You teased, feeling a little better than before, glad that the aftereffects were starting to wear off.

Raising a hand to card your fingers through his hair, you couldn’t help but chuckle when he swiftly moved away from your touch.

“Hey!”

“I love you and all that honey, but I can’t risk this.”

Hope you like this, dear nonnie! There’s no cuddling here sorry, but let’s face it the man’s a germaphobe.

[moustacheshe]

Yandere! Aoi Todo x Reader

(Click for better quality)

Warnings: drugging, kidnapping

"Todo look... I know you are concerned about me but you really have to go now. Don't you need to go to school or something?" You are trying to get your best friend out of your apartment. He was invading your home for the last two days. "Come on y/n just one night. I promise I'll leave tomorrow." You sight as you sit at the table with him. "You promised me the exact same thing yesterday...and the day before." He's acting weird lately. Always warning you about the outside world or the world in general. How you could get hurt by going out or staying alone. "I know but I need to-" You let out a loud groan. "Yeah, yeah you need to protect me. I really appreciate your concern but I'm fine on my own. I always was. I always am. And I always will be. What happened to you? Why are you acting like this? Is it because of this Yuji guy?" Now your annoyance slowly turns into concern. "What? No! Yuji's nothing to do with this. It's more like the things I see everyday and..." He shakes his head. You don't need to know about curses and what they are. You already have enough to worry about.

"I actually wanted to ask you if you want to move into my apartment." He quickly changes the subject and smiles at you. You look at him confused. He's lying to you and you know it. "Todo..." You lean across the table and take his hand. "...if there is something wrong you can tell me. We always talk about our problems. Please just...tell me." He sights and stands up from the table. Todo crosses his arms as he seems to think about something. He sights and walks beside you. You turn around to face him as he kneels down to your level. He takes your hands in his huge ones. "Y/n I know we're just friends but... I was hoping that maybe we could be more." You look at him lost for words. "Besides if we are together you can move into my place and we can do all sorts of things together. I'll do everything for you: cooking,-"

"Todo..."

"shopping,-"

"Todo!"

"cleaning-"

"TODO!" You scream at him to stop his speach. He looks a little bit shocked and he clenches your hands. "I... I don't know what to say about that." You look down at your hands resting in his. Everything to avoid eye contact. "I always saw you as my best friend... I never wanted this to happen. I always thought you like tall women with a big ass." Your lips move into a little smile as you remember the time he told you about his taste in women. "No... I mean yes but that was just to...you know... Say something when somebody is asking for your type. It doesn't matter now! I want you to be with me." He takes your face in his hands and forces you to look at him. You can see his eyes are glassy. He's about to cry. "Listen Todo..." You grab his hands and put them down again. "...I really appreciate that you want to protect me but... I can and I want to live on my own. I can handle myself you know. And you are my best friend I... I don't want to lose you as a friend because of some relationship." Now tears start streaming down his cheeks. The sight of this big chunk of a man crying is really to much for you. You can barely hold back your own tears. He never cried in front of you...well except the one time he couldn't meet his Takada-chan and you had to comfort him.

He now clenches your hands even tighter. "Ah, Todo you're hurting me!" You let out a surprised yell. He never hurt you before. He snaps out of his trance and looked at you with widened eyes. "So..." His grip gets weak. "...you don't want to live with me and let me protect you." Now a few tears stream down your face too. "No I'm sorry..." You always were afraid that this would happen.

"Okay y/n I'll leave..." He wipes away his tears and stands up. "...but let me get us some water first. Crying dehydrates your body." You just sit there and give him a little nod. He finally understands it. But something still seems odd.

He comes back with two glasses of water. Todo puts both of them on the table and sits down on his chair again. You take your glass and start drinking. "You know y/n, I really didn't want it to go this way." He takes a gulp from his glass avoiding eye contact. "Yeah me neither. I really hope you understand my point. I don't want to depent on someone else." You ask yourself if it was wrong to say it like this. "You really have no idea don't you?" He sounds bitter. "What do you mean?" You say getting a little frustrated. He just won't stop. You're getting dizzy. "The curses they're everywhere. They are strong and they only bring destruction and death." You have trouble to concentrate on his words. "Wh-What are you talking about?" You don't know what he meant by curses. Your vision gets blurry and you shut your eyes tight. "I'm talking about the constant danger you're living in. That's why I've decided to take you home with me." You hold your head to stop the feeling of the world spinning around you. His words are nothing more than a faint voice far away from you. "What's wrong y/n? Are you okay?" He asks you. The concern in his voice obviously faked. "Wh-What did you do?" You hiss trying to get up. Todo stands up from his seat and walks over to you. "GET...away..." You stand up from your seat to get away but your legs give in. Todo catches you in his arms pressing your body to his chest. "You didn't listen to me. It's okay y/n I'll protect you and take care of everything you need." He strokes your head to calm you down. His embrace is tight as if you could run away any second. "N-No...I don't..." Your voice slowly fades together with your consciousness. "Everything will be fine. Just let it happen. Once you are with me, I'll be the happiest man in the world." Your heavy eyelids fall shut and you completely give in to the drug he gave you. You fall in to a heavy sleep.

As you slowly wake up you are laying on something soft. You let out a loud groan and try to move your arms. You notice that you can't move your arms because there're hold together by something. Then it hit you. 'He kidnapped me!' You quickly open your eyes and look around. The room is dark. It's night outside. You still feel weak and a little dizzy nevertheless you try to struggle against your restraints. Your wrists and ankles are tied to the bed you're laying in. "HELP! PLEASE! SOMEBODY HELP ME!" You scream, hoping that someone would hear you. You're confused and scared. The person you trusted the most just drugged and kidnapped you. Tears begin to stream down your cheeks. "PLEASE! SOMEBODY HELP!"

Suddenly the door to the room opens and some light illuminates the darkness of the room. You can tell it's Todo entering. He presses a light switch and a lamp next to your bed turns on. The sudden light makes you squint and turn your head away. Todo closes the door and walks in your direction. He is holding a tray with a cup and a bowl. "Oh! You're awake, darling. I made you something to eat and your favorite tea." He says smiling at you like nothing ever happened. "Todo, what's gotten into you?! What is wrong with you?! Let me go, now!" You say trying to get your wrists and ankles free. "Nothing is wrong sweetheart. On the contrary I'm the happiest man in the world. But I'm glad that you ask." He sets the tray on the beside table and sits down on the bed. "Todo listen! You need to let me go! NOW! TODO PLEASE!" You begin to cry and struggle again. Todo doesn't look at you he just stares at the tray. He seems to be lost in his thoughts. "Todo listen, if you let me go now I'll pretend like nothing happened. Everything will be back to normal and I won't tell anyone. Please we can-" "HUSH!" You feel like his voice makes the earth shake underneath you. You look at him frightened for what he's capable of. He sees the fear in your eyes and his expression changes back to a worried face. "Oh I'm sorry, babe. I didn't mean to scare you. It's just..." He sights and lays down beside you. You try to push yourself away from him but he pulls you back into his arms. "Remember that one time we kissed for the first time." That never happened. "Or that day we had our first date." Never happened. "Todo what are you talking about? That never happened. Please you need to let me go!" He doesn't pay you much attention he's busy drawing circles on your belly with his finger. "It's okay that you don't remember. The most important thing is that we are together. Here and now." He is completely delusional. He images scenarios that never happened. But you don't need to worry about not remembering any of it. You have him and he has you. That's all that matters.~

[hops-hunny]

for the blurbs maybe blaise sneaking into your room during summer break to give you a gift he just couldn't wait for you to see.

i love ur writing btw <3

PRONOUNS: THEY/THEM

WHAT WAIT YOU LOVE MY WRITING?! I've been following you for like 2 years ennkejkge I'm flippin out

(Y/n) stretched, an exhausted sigh leaving their lips. The heat always managed to do that. Whether you were relaxing in doors, or going on a hike as they had earlier, it'd suck the energy right out of you, leaving you only with the content of spending a day without worry.

Turning out the light, the room grew dim except for the faded flickering of half used candles sat upon their dresser. The old mattress creaked from the weight, the old wood letting out a soft grown as it settled. Even though it was definitely in a worse state compared to the one at Hogwarts, springs poking through the top, cotton spilling out the sides, it was far more comfortable. It was home.

But, despite all the comforts and familiarity, the calmness of it all, they were still bored. (Y/n) desperately hoped for something, anything to happen. (E/c) eyes fluttered closed, the cracks in the plaster ceiling focusing and unfocusing as they slipped deeper into consciousness. Or at least that was so until....

"You awake?" the familiar deepness traveled from the window on the tops of the warm breeze causing them to jolt up. A (s/c) hand lay over their chest, keeping their heart from jumping from their chest. The corners of cracked lips turning upwards at the sight.

There was Blaise. Grey sweatpants and a half unbuttoned sleep shirt, a brown parcel package in hand. They almost wouldn't believe it was him, if not for the expensive rings lining his hands. Never had he looked so casual so...human.

"I suppose I am. What brings you halfway across England on a June night?" they teased. the bed gave another restless groan at the added weight but neither of them minded. The slytherin rolled his eyes, kissing his partner. The kiss was short but numbing leaving (Y/n)'s lips tingling. Blaise leaned forward, tucking a piece of hair behind their ears.

"Well if I'm honest, I just had to see you. I got you this gift when my family went on holiday earlier in the week and well...I just couldn't wait. Any excuse to get out of that bloody place." he huffed pushing the package into his partner's hands.

(Y/n) let out an overdramatic gasp, a shocked expression on their face. "Blaise, Blaise, Blaise! You mean to tell me mummy doesn't know you've left? What would she say if she knew you were-"

"Oh hush and open the package, (Y/n/n)!" his lover silenced muttering something snarky. The man patted his lap excitedly.

Ripping and tearing at the paper it revealed a box which (Y/n) threw off rather anxiously. Another gasp (genuine this time) left their lips. In the box was the softest and most beautiful cream cashmere sweater they had ever seen.

"Oh wow...this is beautiful Blaise!" Lifting it out, (Y/n) jumped from the bed spinning around in circles as they held it up to their chest. "I love it!"

"I'm glad, love."

"But a sweater in the summer?"

"I'm gonna kill you."

TAGSLIST: @pink-hufflepuff@nevillelongbottomlover@ezra-my-beloved@beewitchedlou @simpforremuslupin@mottergirl99 @nevilles-whore @carlisbaby @percyweasleyspuff @redpanda-poetry @nevillelongbottomsgirlfriend @de4ds0up @nevillescomslut

[that-little-zebunny]

Skin to Skin (First Sleep over)

Pairing: Loki x Avenger!Reader

Warning: fluff with a pinch of smut. Implied smut.

WC: 1.358

Summary: You're new to the team and end up messing it up with the God of mischief on your first day in. Knowing his reputation you're up for a fun time in the compound.

Note: sorry this is late. Had some bad brain day and I wasn't able to do anything. 🥺 i hope you all dont mind and hope you'll enjoy this.

Also dont forget to check out the HBC's Week of Love and @the-th-horniest-book-club .

Series Masterlist

"Hey, glad you're back and… is safe." You greeted Loki as you walked next to him. Eying him up and down to see if he's hurt but all you saw is his gorgeousness in all its glory. Nodding your head in approval and seeing he's very much fine you held his hand firmly to make him stop walking you tiptoed to kiss his cheeks.

"I am glad I am back too, my sweet cookies. I have missed you." He smiled caressing your cheeks as you stared up at him. You can feel the calm contentment from him and that made you relax completely.

"I hope next time they'll put us on the same mission." You pout as you both start walking again.

"Oh you know why they are not doing that." He laughed.

"Well it was just one time!" You said hands folding on your chest as the memory of your last mission together came to your mind.

It was one big fight with some underground army. It's one bloody day as they tried to fight you off when you came to take their base down and some very high tech and alien weapons were involved and one of those was able to shot Loki from behind causing you to lose focus as you saw everything. He was thrown and was on the ground unmoving and something inside you snapped.

You cried out running towards him. You felt like your brain was about to explode from fear when he didn't respond to your call. You can hear your team's voices over your comms but it was like they're underwater. You couldn't understand what they're saying. All you can think of was Loki is gone and something happened that you didn't know is possible. Everyone within two meter radius from you all fell down clutching their head, crying out, screaming painfully and some had blood on their eyes and nose. You got to Loki holding him in your arms. He's eyes were closed but you felt his consciousness trying to slowly wake up. Caressing his cheeks you kept on muttering please wake up in your head again and again. It was like you're trapped in a bubble and all you can see is him. You only snapped out of it when Nat touched your arm making her calmness rubbed to you. You looked up at her and saw that she's holding the side of her brain too.

You looked around surprised seeing half of the soldiers fighting you were down.

"I-I did that?" You asked, surprised. You've never been able to do that. Influence anyone without physical contact.

"We think so." Nat said, finally relaxing as the pain in her brain slowly fades.

"I-I...oh god, I'm so sorry!" You gasp. You got scared again with the new knowledge but was able to calm down when you felt Loki's consciousness in your. Second later his arms came up to your cheek.

"Everything will be alright, sweet cookies. We will figure this out." He grunted and he pushed himself up sitting down to touch his side. Green mist came out of his hands towards the injury and it disappeared. "I'm sorry that I scared you." He said kissing your cheeks and that's how it started. The team tried to keep you away from Loki if the mission is dangerous or when you're not on a mission you're in Bruce's lab trying to figure out how it happend.

"I shall meet you later alright?" You blinked at Loki when he spoke. You're now in front of the conference room. You nodded.

"Don't forget we have movie night alright?" You reminded him and walked towards Bruce's lab.

It was getting dark and you're in your room waiting for Loki. You've brought in snacks and some drinks. Mostly for you because earth's alcohol doesn't affect Loki. You also have stocks of movies to choose from. You nervously waited. This will be the first time you'll have him alone in your room and just the thought had your face heating up.

"It's alright, it's just movie night." Breathing in and out to calm yourself you checked everything again. It's just you doing your usual hobby with a plus one now. You're fluffing the pillow for the third time when it came, three soft knocks on your door. Sneaking a nervous peak on your setup you walked to let Loki in.

"Hello gorgeous." He greeted you kissing your cheek. You've been touching Loki a lot now that you've become comfortable with his emotions.

"Gorgeous your face." Laughing you moved to the side to let him enter. "I'm wearing pajamas and have bad hair."

"You can be in the ugliest clothing midgard can have and still be gorgeous." He said, pulling you close to steal a kiss and let you go as quickly walking in your room. He's looking around noting all the stuff you have in. Admiring the photographs you have of you and your dearest grandmother. He'd heard a lot of the wonderful woman that raised you when your own parents failed to do you.

He was staring at one particular picture with you and your grandmother in front of an old looking house. You're hugging her from behind, your arms wrapped around her shoulders and cheeks pressing against each other. It was a very sweet image but what caught his attention was the necklace your grandmother was wearing. It looks familiar but he couldn't remember where he last saw it. Shaking his haid he turned to look at you when you called his name. Reaching out a hand to make his walk toward your little comfy made up seat in the foot of your bed.

Slightly cold but strong arms tightening on your waist woke you up. Opening your eyes you came face to face with a firm chest. Face heating up upon remembering how you end up falling asleep on Loki's side in the third movie. You pushed yourself up a little to look at Loki's sleeping face. It's so nice to see him like this. In peace and relaxed. Smiling you traced the shape of his face admiring his beauty. God, you love him so much…

===========*implied smut warning*=======

"I love you too my sweet cookies." He huskily said as his hands went up your side caressing it in time with your tracing.

"How's your first sleepover? Sorry I fell asleep before the last movie ended." You said. "Im such a bad host." You sighed and lay your head on his chest. You felt his shake as he laughed.

"Oh you're the best host my sweetness." He said rolling so you're under him now. "Sleeping beside you and waking up with you as the first face I see. Wouldn't like it if it was anyone else. Thank you for letting me in your personal space." He said. Your heart starts beating wildly as he slowly descends his face to yours.

As his lips touched yours, you melted. Nothing matters but Loki and his touches. Your hands went around his back caressing it enjoying the feel of his skin on yours as his lips stole your breath away. You moaned as his tongue liked your lower lips asking permission. You opened your lips savouring the taste of him. He only left you to let you breathe some air, his lips attacking your neck instead, leaving little kisses from your neck to your shoulder.

"I want you…" you whispered to him. You've never been this intimate with him but something in your core crave him. Craves to feel all of him and be filled with him.

"I've desired you for too long my sweetness. And I shall have you tonight." He said as flicked his hand using his magic to make your clothes disappear.

"You and your magic." You giggled and kissed him again. Savouring the feel of his body on your. His smell, his every delicate but sinful moves and that night he fully owned you and it was like everything clicked, you became one in every sense there is. Your body and mind was two sides of a broken glass and you're whole now.

Tag list

Skin to skin: @delightfulheartdream @victias @kaogasm @marvelgirl7 @alexakeyloveloki @newdaynewyearnewlife @multifandomlife22 @the-lake-is-calling

Tom Hiddleston and Characters: @jewels2876 @jobean12-blog @CurlyRed2020

[morimakesfanart]

Sindria's Prophet #11

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

[AO3]

*edited so the images are better

"... At least until we can get you to your room. You need to wake up before they ring the bell."

'What's goin' on..?' Why was my shoulder shaking?

"Is Mori okay?”

The sound of my nickname snapped me into consciousness. I pushed myself up and hummed in question. When I opened my eyes it took me a moment to adjust to the bright light. Everyone was standing in front of a gate.

"Did you sleep well?"

Why did this world have three suns? Wait. Two were Sinbad's eyes. That checks out.

I nodded with another hum. I wasn't able to form words yet, and even if I could I would have lost access from waking up to such a beautiful sight.

I missed his response since I was still half asleep, but I did hear Ja'far repeating his words from earlier.

"Please, try to stay awake for a little while. When we step through, they will ring the bell to announce Sin's arrival home. We didn't want you waking up from the shock."

I had to repeat his words in my mind to hold onto them.

"Oh. Thank you for waking me."

Even with their best efforts I didn't have enough time to get clear headed before the bell was rang to announce the return of the King. I ended up jolting anyway.

I was glad to still be on Aladdin's flying turban. I couldn't focus if my life depended on it. I had some energy since I had just been resting and I was still mostly numb from sleep so my aches and pains weren't affecting me yet. After being sick for so long, I was in serious need of serotonin, so I couldn't shake the waves of excitement building in me as I realized I really was in Sinbad's Palace. It's one thing to read about something and another to actually experience it. I knew I had said I would see a doctor as soon as I arrived, but I couldn't stop myself from going into full geek mode and just wanting to look around.

In other words, I was a weak, energetic, space cadet without a filter -prime condition to make an idiot and/or nuisance of myself- if I couldn't find something to force me to "sober" up and start masking.

---

~POV Sin~

Horns announced the King's return to his Palace as the group walked through its gate. Many of the guards and civil servants present gave their welcome. The looks of awe on his guests' faces as they walked through the entrance to the court yard boosted Sinbad's already large ego.

Alibaba's and Aladdin's excitement had started to wane after walking so long, but Mori had the same look she wore when she first got on the ship. Now that Sinbad had seen her like that before, he knew better than to try to engage her in something she wasn't already thinking about. It was a lot like dealing with Yamuraiha after the magicians made a breakthrough. But that didn't mean he wouldn't still try to tease her if he had the opportunity; he'd just have to try a different method.

It was a bit of a relief to see Mori so energetic after the previous night. He would still have the doctors sent to her asap though.

Given how important his guests were, Sinbad decided to escort them, himself, to the Green Sagittarius Tower. Placing the 3 kids in the guest tower was a given since they hadn't agreed to any partnerships yet. The Purple Leo Tower was where Sinbad and his most trusted lived; as much as he wanted to move Mori in there with them immediately, Sinbad knew it would be better to wait until the others learned to trust her, so his Prophet was going to have to stay in the Green Sagittarius Tower for now. This would also give them more time to prepare her permanent room.

Ja'far raised his voice slightly to get all of the guests' attention as he explained a little about the Tower. Masrur took his cue to leave. The Fanalis raised his hand in a half hearted wave as he turned away from the group and started to walk away. The King watched one General leave as he heard the other lead his guests into the Tower.

It was his time to head off too. The rest of his Generals that had been left at home would be showing up to greet him -there was a lot to catch up on. As Sinbad had started to leave, the waves encouraged him to look back at the guest tower. Mori was standing watching him instead of following Ja'far. She had her bag in her arms instead of on her back.

"Is something wrong?"

"I know I should go rest and wait for a doctor, but," she looked at him with an odd expression -like she was seeing through him, "the waves keep pointing me that way." She pointed at the direction he was going.

She was right. The waves would have her follow him

instead of Ja'far.

"It's Drakon!" Mori gasped and her eyes grew. She gave a small laugh to herself. "The first Household Member is the first to show up."

Sure enough, the only member of Sinbad's Household that had fully assimilated with his Djinn's power had entered the court yard.

If she had this much energy and the waves wanted her out here then it should be fine. "Would you like to meet him now?"

Mori looked up at him shocked and expectant. "Is that okay???” It was like he was the center of her world in that moment.

"As long as you feel up to it." This was a good feeling.

She squeezed her bag in her arms. Mori seemed to become like a clingy child when she was unwell. If he had told her to go rest would she have begged him to stay and clung to him like she had before?

Her eyes grew determined. "I will have energy for about an hour. I'll go rest when I start to wear out, and I will ask for help if I need it -you don't have to remind me." Was she this direct because she was sick?

Drakon's deep voice came from behind Sinbad. "Welcome home, my friend."

The King turned to face his General. "It's good to be back."

"How did things end in Balbadd? When we heard about you loosing your metal vessels we got a little worried but it looks like you got them back." He laughed at the end. Drakon knew better than most that his King always manages to come out on top no matter what happens to him. He stiffened slightly. "Hmm? Who's this?” The General noticed Mori before Sinbad had a chance to answer his other questions.

Time for introductions then. "Drakon, this is Mori. She's the prophet I told Yam about." The King gestured towards her.

Mori put her bag down and when she stood up she had full composure. She offered a hand to the General. "It's an honor to meet you, Drakon. I read all about you when I read Fate." If Sinbad didn't know any better he would have no idea Mori had nearly died of fever only a few hours ago -she only looked tired. She was much better at acting than he expected. How long could she hide it though?

Drakon looked more dragon than man now making most uneasy around him, yet Mori didn't seem scared of him at all. Was it because she was hiding it or because she had read Fate? Actually, there was a strange glint in her eyes he couldn't place.

"Oh?” Drakon took her up on the handshake she offered. It was rare for someone not to flinch upon seeing him for the first time; Mori was definitely making a good first impression. "I must admit that I'm curious about this ability of yours."

The glint in Mori's eye grew into a full sparkle.

Their handshake didn't sit right with King Sinbad.

When their hands released, Mori put her hands in her pockets like she often did.

"Would you like an example?" Her smile didn't give anything away. "Before you were shipped out to Baal's Dungeon you tried to be noble and charming to Serendine but she responded by talking about how you followed her around 'like a baby duck' when you were little. Then she made you promise not to die." The waves were building around Mori again.

Serendine must have really said that. Drakon might not look human anymore, but Sinbad could still read his friend's expressions plain as day. Drakon was shocked by the first thing she said, and she was only just starting. Mori really was amazing.

"I know! Let me show you what I've got copied down so far" Mori squat down to her bag. She pulled out and opened a scroll, "Yeah. This one." She stood up with the scroll in hand and swayed a bit on the way up -she couldn't hide her condition fully.

Mori stepped between the King and his General, and turned so they were all facing the same direction. She raised the scroll so it would be easier to see. "Honestly, I had some other things to write down before I could start copying down Fate. I didn't start this until getting onto the ship, so please excuse the sloppiness."

Mori's handwriting looked rushed, like she couldn't get all of this out fast enough. Sinbad had barely gotten to start reading before she continued unrolling to reveal a detailed illustration of a family of three.

"That's-!" It was Sinbad and his parents when he was little.

Drakon glanced at his King, "Sin, are those people your parents?"

"Yup." Mori responded without looking up. "He looks a lot like Badrr, doesn't he?"

Back in Balbadd, Mori had said that she had read his life from his birth to his death, but it was different seeing undeniable proof.

She scrolled past more text and past another illustration and didn't stop until she got to a drawing of child Drakon following Serendine just like she had described. Mori continued scrolling through her work, and each image brought on more comments. There was an illustration of Sinbad meeting Yunan which she gratefully skipped past, a few of inside Baal and one from when Sinbad killed the Abare Narwhal in place of-

"Is this one of me? I look so young!!" The Imuchakk towered over all of them.

Mori whipped her head up. "Hinahoho?!" She wobbled from her quick movement. Sinbad placed a hand at her back to steady her; Mori didn't even react to his hand, instead she put all of her weight on it so she could stare up at the man behind them for a moment. That excited smile spread across her face. "Hello! It's nice to meet you. Please call me Mori."

Sinbad had purposefully gestured for Hina to stay quiet when he came up behind them so as not to distract Mori, but this was fine too.

"So this is where you went!" Ja'far came back from getting the three kids settled into their room.

Mori's smile was unwavering as she stood back on her own, unrolled the scroll to the next image and flipped it around for Ja'far to see. "We just got to your entrance. Care to join us?"

"Lady Prophet, I know you slept on your way here, but you were barely able to get off the ship before you had to lay down. Did you forget you're sick??"

Both Generals that had been looking at the scroll murmured questions about Mori's condition while the Prophet said nothing. At least Ja'far's words would have explained who Mori was for Hinahoho.

Ja'far's eyes wandered to the scroll in Mori's hands; his shoulders jolted when he realized what he was looking at. "Is that me??” He stepped closer to get a better look. After studying the image he looked up at the person holding it. "Did you make this?"

"Yes and yes."

The Prophet and the youngest General present watched each other for an opening.

Mori broke their silence. "I will go rest when I finish showing this scroll. We are almost done anyway."

Ja'far sighed. "Fine." He walked up next to Sinbad to join the group. Even if he tried to deny it, he couldn't fully hide his interest. "What is this scroll you've made?"

Mori turned

the scroll back around so the rest were able to see an image of when Ja'far attacked Sinbad in his sleep back when he was still an assassin. "Since I'm Sindria's Prophet now, I am copying down Fate so it will be easier to keep in order than thinking about it. This is just a draft though. After I have everything written down I'll go back and make it better."

That explanation was perfectly timed as two more Generals had join the group from behind -not that Mori seemed to notice.

Next was an image of Hina in a cave being surrounded by insects.

"Hold on. I never told anyone about that."

Mori stopped scrolling at Hinahoho's comment.

"What is this?" Sinbad asked his General.

But it was Mori who answered. "When Hinahoho first entered Valefor's Dungeon he was swarmed by Blooderflies."

"'Blooderflies?'" All six repeated back at her.

"Butterflies that drink blood," she explained confidently. When none of them responded she tensed. Sinbad could see her turn a little pink as she said to herself, "I thought it was a clever name."

"I think it's hilarious!" Pisiti said before breaking into giggles.

Mori jolted, "It's Pisti this time!" and started to look around for the source of the voice. She spotted the Artemyran that was shorter than herself and the man standing behind her. "And Sharkkan!”

Sinbad could see Yamuraiha and Spartos in the distance. As soon as they were all introduced he'd have Mori head to bed -end of the scroll or not; the waves from earlier would be reaching their peak soon and she had almost fell over twice already. Of course, he wouldn't mind catching her again, but he didn't want her pushing herself in her current condition.

The cocky prince had his hands on his hips. "Are you really a Prophet or our biggest fan?"

"Maybe I'm both," Mori answered with a smile. Her face was a little red.

Was she flirting with Sharkkan??

"That so?" Sharkkan smirked and leaned between Drakon and Hinahoho to get a closer look at her. "When they said there was a real prophet I was expecting some old hag, not a cutie like you."

Mori's eyes dilated and she gave a small gasp. Seeing Mori get embarrassed from compliments was something that Sinbad normally enjoyed, but this time it put a bad taste in his mouth. And did Sharkkan have to get so close to her?

Mori clearly agreed since she attempted to step away from the flirtiest of the Eight Generals. She must have forgotten about her own bag though, as she tripped over it and fell backwards right into Sinbad's arms.

Mori didn't try to stand back up at all. She looked up at the King and after a moment she hid her face behind the scroll she was holding. ”I-I am not a klutz!”

"Oh?" Sinbad smiled down at her. This was much better. "Then did you intentionally fall-”

Mori clapped a hand over his mouth. "No! Shut up! I blame you for this!” She pulled the scroll into her chest, but it unrolled anyway. She was doing a poor job of hiding her enjoyment of his teasing.

He laughed into her hand and she went quiet. Her blush started traveling down her neck since her face couldn't contain it all. This was a much stronger reaction than he normally got from her. He was clearly the only one that could pull such cute expressions out of Mori. Sinbad kissed the palm hiding his lips, and when she pulled it back to herself with an "Ah!" he knew he had to tease her more.

"Are you saying you're really swooning for me then, my Beautiful Prophet?"

"I-!" Mori couldn't bring herself to deny it and pulled the scroll back up to her face. She still wasn't trying to stand on her own or leave his arms.

"That's a good atmosphere."

*Whistles*

"You don't think ...?"

"OH MY-!"

See? No one could seduce a woman better than he could.

Mori finally found her rebuttal. "Do you have any idea what it feels like to be surrounded by your waves near constantly??"

He hadn't thought about that. Mori's waves were constantly opening new paths for Fate to flow. They have felt advantageous and that they would help him reach his goals. He wanted to keep her close to see what other changes she would make. And of course he had felt that she was going to live out the rest of her life in Sindria. But what did his waves feel like to her?

She looked up at him as angry as she was embarrassed. "I only slipped on the ramp and just now, and-and fell off of the bowsprit last night, because your waves crashed into me!”

That caught him off guard. "You knew it was me last night?"

"YES!" Mori's voice cracked at the end; she was still recovering so all this talking must have been wearing her out. "You're the only one who's waves feel like this." She broke eye as she got to the end.

Mori could identify him from his waves? There were certain people who's waves stood out to him as well -like hers-, but Sinbad was still not used to anyone else being able to feel the waves. This meant that he had kept quiet for nothing. It also meant that Mori had clung to him knowing who he was -maybe she wouldn't have accepted comfort from just anyone.

Her voice was almost inaudible. "When I realized it was you I was relieved. I've gotten hurt in the past when I was sick because I was alone so, ... thank you for taking care of me."

Just like when he had first learned that Mori could feels the waves, he was happy he was already holding her. He wanted to pull her closer like he had last time as well.

Yam let out a gasp while landing.

"WAIT!" Ja'far had been about to cut in to stop their antics anyway, but this was a completely different issue. "Mori, can you feel the waves of Fate like Sin??"

The King and the Prophet both stared at Ja'far for a few moments before answering in unison, "Yes."

((Hey everybody. Pretty sure you can guess why this chapter took so long. I just really wanted to draw so much of this chapter in comic form UwU Also, a bunch of life things got in the way. Now that everything is opening back up I can't work from home anymore. I'm very sensitive to the heat so I have to rest and cool down after each drive which really cuts into the time I have each day. -_-

Ja'far stared in disbelief at his King. "Sin, you knew?? Are you sure?"

With the mood completely ruined Sinbad helped Mori stand up properly. She grabbed his sleeve to keep herself steady and he left his arm around her waist just in case.

All of Sinbad's Generals -sans Masrur who had already left- were watching him. Mori had many abilities that made her extremely valuable, but they also made her a prime target to any of their enemies. The more her value is known the bigger the target on her will be, and Mori wasn't a fighter. Sinbad had already told all of them that Mori was a Prophet since she had already made that skill known to others, and it was something he wanted to use -there was no way he could hide it. His Generals had kept the fact that he could feel the waves a secret this whole time, so they would be able to keep her secret as well.

"Mori can definitely feel the waves of Fate. But you should know it is different from her ability as a prophet." He figured he should clear that up before they asked. Sinbad didn't know how they were different, but he had enough information to know they were.

Mori's voice was a little horse and on the weak side. "Since King Sinbad and Ja'far eavesdropped on my conversation with Aladdin there's no reason to hide it."

The King and his partner in crime froze. SHE KNEW HE HAD SPIED ON HER. Did his waves give him away?

Mori continued, "I can only read the Fates of realities that I am not currently in. It's not the same as different planets; It's a different universe with different rules." She rolled up the scroll while explaining. "The one I came from doesn't have Rukh, magoi, magic, or Djinn, but we did have 1500 to 2000 more years of scientific development compared to this world-" She was cut off by a short coughing fit.

Sinbad looked down at Mori. She was getting worse by the second. It was most likely fever and not embarrassment making her cheeks red in this moment. "It seems I've pushed you too hard while you are still recovering. My apologies." It was time to send the prophet to bed. He pulled at her waist lightly. "Let's get you to your room so you can rest."

Mori shook her head. "I have one more thing I want to say first."

"Fine." If it wasn't for the look in her eyes he would have refused her.

Mori's voice was getting worse so she had to take breaks in her speech. "I don't know what caused me to slip from my reality into this one, but I'm here now ... I fully intend to use my knowledge to help this world... But since I can't read this world's Fates anymore, I don't know how my changes will affect things..." She gripped the scroll like a life line. "As much as I'd like to answer the questions you all must have now... my voice is really starting to hurt, so I'd like to go rest."

Sinbad sighed. "Of course." It was a tough note to leave on, but her health came first. They'd have plenty of time to talk once she was better.

On a side note, I will be drawing Storpas (lol) in the next chapter. Don't worry, I didn't forget him.

It will probably be another 2 weeks or so before I finish the next chapter since I have less time to work on it now.))

[tessiete]

hi ive read like all your stuff about korkie is a kenobi in the span of about three days and i'm so EMOTIONAL?? it makes such narrative sense - star wars is a story about fathers and sons and what happens when mothers are lost and in eternal spring, when obi wan doesn't reject korkie, and korkie doesn't reject obi wan, and they love each other and accept each other despite the gaping hole that satine left in their relationship it like heals and breaks that cycle of little blonde boys being 1/

of little blonde boys being left in the desert without their mothers and with father figures who don't quite accept the responsibility of being a father to all of their detriments! it lets padme live, and it lets luke escape, and it lets everyone who wants to heal and work towards a better future. anyway, this is some Good Fucking Food and thank u for writing it. if you're still open to prompts i would really like to see some kryze-kenobi family bonding. just the three of them happy and together 

AH! This has been sitting so beautifully, and lovingly in my inbox for ages now, and I do apologise, but I just - I saw fluff and I panicked. I PANICKED!!!

And, as you can probably see, wrote reams of whump and h/c instead. But I tried.

Anyway, there is so much I want to say about this - I’m going to have to bookmark this whole thing just so I can come back again and again to your generous words. Thank you! I do have such a fondness for Eternal Spring, and whether or not it began as a joke, I am SO attached to the idea of Korkie as a Kenobi, the idea that blood isn’t always bad, that healing can happen, that good people make mistakes, that forgiveness IS an option - and I love how that aligns with the Pacifism of Satine’s New Mandalorians. I wish we had more of it (that insistent, unrelenting kindness and compassion) in SW, and Korkie is my little effort at that.

RANTING ASIDE, I hope you find and enjoy this little bit of fluff for the Kenobi-Kryzes. MUCH LOVE.

AND BY THE HAND LED

It was not Life Day. It was not Holyrod week, and Belli’s birthday had been a full ten month ago. Yet still, on this day, Kirokicek Kryze woke with the sun, and raced to his window where he could see the Sundari dockyard in the distance. 

Personal shuttles buzzed to and fro. Docking tugs hauled heavy freighters into place. Long, thin vactrains hurtled passengers from one platform to the next, or further on into the heart of the city. A few large ferries which had found mooring overnight made their ponderous voyage upwards, headed for the small opening at the apex of the Sundari dome. They were bound for transports anchored in wet space, the people aboard away for deep space travel to distant stars. 

Korkie watched as one neared the aperture, then, with incredible steadiness of hand, cleared the narrow gap with ease. He let go his breath, but his eyes remained fixed upon the opening. He was not much concerned with the ships that left, but instead found great interest in those ferries which were currently arriving.

They took turns - one in, one out - and with every exchange, Korkie felt as though the city was making room for a very special guest. One who loomed larger than life in his young consciousness, and one who occupied more and more space in his heart the closer he came.

Bebu was coming home.

A knock at his door was not enough to tear his attention from the spectacle outside, but he shuffled over to make room for his mother beside him at the window.

“Good morning, cyar'ika,” she said, pressing a kiss to his hair. “And what has got you up so early?”

She still wore her nightclothes beneath a fine gown of pressed velvet. Korkie leaned back into her embrace, stroking the soft fabric, and letting the warm, sweet smell of sleep wash over him.

“I’m watching the dockyards,” he said. “Look! Do you think that one of them has Bebu on it?”

Satine let her chin rest on the crown of his head, and followed his gaze to the sky.

“Perhaps,” she allowed. “Are you excited for your Bebu to come home?”

Korkie turned, trying to get a glimpse of her expression which could only be as teasing as his own was incredulous. She smiled.

“Excited, Belli?” he asked. “I am so, so, superlatively excited!”

“My,” she said, her face transforming to one of awe. “That is quite a superlative word you have discovered. Is it new?”

Korkie nodded. “I am saving it for Bebu, for our collection. Do you think he shall like it?”

“I think he shall be quite impressed, dinui.”

“I have another, but I always say it wrong, so I think I shall write it down, instead.”

“That is very wise,” she said. “For then there is no chance of misunderstanding, and then your father can teach you to speak it correctly.”

Korkie grinned, and squeezed her hand, so glad to be in such perfect accord. 

“That was exactly my plan, Belli!”

“Te jatne mind jo'lekir ti ast,” she said, laughing. “Now come.”

“Are we going to the docks?”

“Not yet,” she said. “First meal first, I think, and then we shall see.”

She stood from her place behind Korkie, and smoothed her skirts. The early morning sun fell kindly over her face, so that it lit her eyes from behind, like the facet of some bright gem. She held out her hand to him.

“But Belli -!”

“Is that fussing I hear coming out of your mouth?” she asked, the perfect image of confusion.

“No,” he conceded, hanging his head in defeat.

“I thought not,” she said. “Not my Korkie. Besides, we must first ensure that we are properly fed, and tidied before we appear at the docks. We cannot have our tummies grumbling and complaining while we are at the height of a superlative joy, now can we?”

“That would be rather distracting,” he allowed.

“And what would your father think if you showed up all bleary eyed, and sleep tousled? He’d hardly recognise you!”

“That’s not true,” protested Korkie. “He’d think me a ‘devoted legislator’. He said so last time.”

Satine cocked her head, a smirk curling in the corner of her mouth, and pinned just there, until such a time as she could give it to the owner of those borrowed words. 

“Well, cyare, I cannot think he meant it as a compliment,” she said, wiggling her fingers temptingly. “Now come - to firsts.

In the kitchens, his mother suggested they arrange a menu, scrounged from the conservator and pantry, while the staff set about preparing for the rest of their day.

“No need to bother anyone too much when it’s just us, right?” She placed a stool in front of an out of the way countertop, and held his hand while Korkie made a great leap to stand atop it. “Now, what are we hungry for?”

“Isbeans, and egg!” he cried. “With fresh muja juice!”

“Muja juice!” she echoed in surprise. “My, but we’re feeling quite indulgent today!”

“Well, it is a special occasion!” he said.

“Of course, you’re right. Muja juice it is. Anything else, ad’ika?”

He thought for a moment, but knowing how easily she had acceded to his first request, he concluded it most reasonable to forward several more.

“Perhaps some toast,” he said. “And flatcakes. And melon squares with black fire jelly? And then some moof milk and summerberries because they’ll go bad if we don’t eat them. With sucre crystals on the top. And maybe - only because Bebu says it’s healthy - a cup of kava. But just one, or I’ll be up all night.”

She crouched down to meet him, mischief sparkling in her eyes and not a word of protest at his requests. Instead, her tone was conspiratorial, as though they were together in some great game of hide and hunt. 

“Let’s brew a whole pot,” she said. “So that we may share it.”

He laughed in delight. Satine pulled down a tin of weava flour, and let him sprinkle the surface while she portioned out another measure into a shallow bowl for flatcakes. Under her careful eye, he cracked a tip-yip egg, and tipped in some sucre. She worked the mixture into a sticky dough, and portioned out small spheres for Korkie to press out upon the counter. Cook A’den looked on skeptically, but when his stack of raw discs began to pile up, she stepped in with a sigh, and a fond smile and lifted him on her hip while she fried them over a nano-cooker. 

As he worked, Satine gathered the berries and the milk, and a little pot of sucre. Helping hands piled plates high with toast, and ulik butter. Isbeans and hard boiled eggs followed, kept warm beneath heated domes. A whole pitcher of ice cold muja juice was produced from the conservator, and a fresh pot of kava was left to steep with wide, green leaves still in it. There was so much food that, in the end, a small cart was required to bear the fruits of their labours, while Korkie added the final touch of perfectly browned flatcakes.

Normally, they would eat their firsts in the family dining hall, but Satine insisted that she could not possibly do so while still dressed in her nightclothes.

“And scandalise the whole parliament? I think not, my very shocking dinui. No, it’s best we take everything back to my rooms, and eat there where no one will think us as uncivilised as we appear.”

So with many thanks to A’den, and her workers, Korkie followed his mother down the glistening marbloid halls with their wide windows. The sun was nearly all the way up, and the traffic in the sky had only increased since Korkie last looked. He was hit with the sudden realisation that perhaps many ferries had come and gone in his absence, and any one of them might contain his father. He raced to the window to check.

“Come along, Korkie,” said Satine. “Soon. I promise.”

Torn between food and the possibility that his father was waiting for him even now, Korkie gave into the demands of his hunger, and followed his mother down the hall.

They stopped outside her door, the cart pushed just off to the side. Satine looked at him appraisingly, smoothing one hand over his determinedly erstwhile hair.

“Oh dear,” she said, straightening his synfleece robe, as he reached for the cart to steal a summerberry from the pile. “You do look a sight. But I suppose it cannot be helped.”

She gave him a fond caress, her thumb tracing the swell of his little cheek with such reverence, and care that Korkie nearly felt guilty for snatching the fruit. But she smiled as he swallowed, and he supposed it must just have been one of those strange things buirs did from time to time, where they mixed up joy and sorrow and said nothing about it.

“I shall comb my hair later, Belli,” he offered. That seemed to do the trick, for she laughed, and stood, and gave his hand a brief squeeze.

“I will remember you said that,” she said. “Now, be a good boy and get the door for your Belli, would you?”

She returned to the cart, as he wiped his hands down the length of his robe, and reached for the palmpad. The door chimed, and slid aside with the barest sigh of air. Inside, Korkie could see that the curtains had been pulled back, and the room was flooded blue and gold with the oncoming day. Playful shadows danced across the floor where hanging tassels toyed with the sun. The carpet glistened like thick grass, lush and crowned in dew. A small table with three chairs sat to one side, and an old cloak lay thrown across it. There were boots, too large for his mother to wear, a belt too wide to be hers, and there, in the bed, swaddled in silkweed sheets and haloed by the sun, was Obi-Wan Kenobi, hovering on the edge of waking.

“Bebu!” Korkie shouted.

At his cry, Obi-Wan opened his eyes, and smiled, catching his son as raced across the floor and leapt upon the bed in a single motion. 

“Ah, ner wer'ika! Ni mirdir tion'tuur gar ru'kel olaror. Bic cuyir ori'udes tion'tuur gar cuyir dar.”

“Bebu!” Korkie cried again, laughing and wriggling with joy. His father lifted him over his head, holding him aloft as he made his cursory examination.

“Korkicek!” he groaned, as his strength gave out and Korkie tumbled atop his father’s chest in a tangle of limbs and blankets. “You must be very much grown since I last saw you, for you are getting too heavy for me!”

“No, I’m not, Bebu,” he said. “I’ve only grown two centimeteres since you were gone, and Belli says that’s only because I’m on a spurt.”

“Only two centimeters?” Obi-Wan demands. “Dear me, that’s not very much at all. I shall expect more diligence in your efforts at stretching if we are to make any serious headway in this matter.”

Korkie giggled. “Don’t be silly, Bebu,” he said. “I cannot stretch myself bigger. It takes time.”

“And heavy reading,” Obi-Wan agreed gravely.

“And good eating,” Satine added from behind them. She’d set the table in their distraction. Obi-Wan’s cloak now hung respectably from a hook by the fresher blind, and three plates sat waiting to be filled. The isbeans steamed, their skin crackling and blackened. The flatcakes dripped with galek syrup and butter. The summerberries shone plump and delectable in their precarious pyramid. The black fire jellies jiggled, and the muja juice sparkled.

“Is that fresh kava I smell?” asked Obi-Wan. 

“It is!” said Korkie. “And all sorts of things which Belli and I made! I suppose it’s a lucky thing we made so much extra, for now you can share it with us.”

“A lucky thing, indeed,” Obi-Wan agreed. He looked at Satine with such adoration that the smirk she had pinned up earlier unfurled completely and crossed her face in a radiant smile. 

“Come, Bebu,” said Korkie, taking his father’s hand in his. “Enough lazing about in bed. Let’s eat, or the kava will get cold.”

“Quite right,” Obi-Wan agreed, standing as Korkie slid to his feet beside him, and tugged him over to where Satine was waiting. “We can’t have that.”

“And you may have my cup as well,” added Korkie, magnanimously, “As it is truly a rotten drink, even if you say it is healthy. But since it is such a special day, I don’t think I should be forced to have it, anyway.”

“He drives a hard bargain, your son,” said Obi-Wan, leaning in to beg a small kiss.

“Ah, but of course,” said Satine, quick to grant his request. “He gets that from you, cyare.”

--

“Ah, ner wer'ika! Ni mirdir tion'tuur gar ru'kel olaror. Bic cuyir ori'udes tion'tuur gar cuyir dar.” - Ah, my little terror! I was wondering when you might show up. It has been far too quiet without you.

“Te jatne mind jo'lekir ti ast” - The best mind agrees with itself. (read: Great minds think alike.)

ad’ika, dinui, cyare - little one, gift, beloved.

[mxgicthot]

Lazy mornings | Lucas x Haleth

Just a cute mini fic in which Lucas makes breakfast for Haleth.

Lucas belongs to @totatoti

Word count : 770

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It was the scent of food that woke Haleth from her sleep. The muskiness of coffee, freshly brewed. And bacon. Thick and salty smells tickling her nostrils, coaxing her back to consciousness.

The sheet beside her is rumpled, rolled back – it was too hot last night for the duvet, so she slept under a single layer of cloth and with Lucas's burly arms tightly wrapped around her.

Now it is morning, and the bedroom is full of a thick male fug, the miasma of a long hot night. Her skin is flushed and clammy. The sheet sticks to her back, the pillowcase to her cheek. She grumbled and reluctantly peeled her eyes open. She usually doesn't want coffee and a big breakfast this early. But she does, only because he is out there making it for her.

Lucas is in the kitchen, dancing his Sunday morning sarabande amongst the pans.

Haleth stands in the shadows of the hall, taking a moment, watching him lit up by the morning sun.

He has opened the kitchen door to let the dewy morning air in. The breeze cuts a crispness into the fatty vapour rising from the frying pan in his hand. Outside on the patio, a butterfly unfolds its wings in the potted lavender, testing the air. A bee ventures into the doorway, then thinks better of it, and bumbles away.

The sun spills a glowing rectangle on the lino, makes a halo around his head, a golden aura. It catches the summer-bleached down on the crests of his cheekbones and the brown nape of his neck, that lovely soft swoop, so bare and vulnerable. He's dressed in just his underwear, slung low on his broad hips. Haleth thought back to the countless times she had scolded him for cooking half dressed, worried that the fat will spit and burn his skin, but this morning she's glad that he has taken the risk.

He is lovely. Way over seven feet of tall, muscular, golden loveliness with a fine sheen of sweat glistening on his skin. Perfection.

She watches him move back and forth in the galley kitchen, one side to the other, chopping board to hob and back again, dancing the tango between fried eggs and bangers. His long bare feet slap on the floor. Occasionally he stops, wiggling his toes, enjoying the warmth where the sun has fallen. Then he is off again, chopping up mushrooms to fry. Long, nimble fingers on the knife, slicing, slicing.

Lucas is in his element. He started humming some lyrics, except she couldn't quite hear the depth of his voice over the crackling of the bacon in the pan. He picks up the knife and slices a few more mushrooms with mathematical precision. Pauses for a moment, hefts the knife in his hand, feeling the handle against his skin.

She takes a few steps closer, opening up her thoughts to him.

[Good morning.]

He looks up, his face breaking into a gentle smile when he sees her.

"Hungry?" he asks.

"Why didn't you wake me up to help? " she says, flinching at the roughness of her voice.

[Hmm, it smells so good.] She responds, wrapping both arms around his waist and snuggling against him. Her head barely reached his pecks.

[Sorry, my morning voice is horrible.]

He looked down at her, slowly brushing the hair out of her eyes, "I love your morning voice. And the last time you cooked you almost burned down the kitchen remember." he teased

"It was one time, you're never gonna let me forget that huh? " Haleth groaned, words muffled against his torso.

He bent down, planting kissing all over her forehead "No…I'm… not" he mumbled between kisses.

She looked up at him, meeting his gaze as his face drew closer. His lips pressed against her softly as she closed her eyes, kissing him back harder.

He picked her up and sat her on the counter, Haleth wrapped her legs around his waist, pulled him in deeper, she then wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him again. Breaking the kiss, Lucas bent down further so that he could nibble at her collarbone which only served to make her moans louder and she arched her back, pressing her body further against his.

"Lucas, wait!, something is burning" she gasped, pushing him away.

He stared at her wide eyed for a moment, then realization hit him.

"Oh no, the eggs! " Lucas sprinted to the pan, trying his best to salvage the over-fried eggs.

Haleth sighed, what a morning she thought to herself.