#IM STILL WRITING CHAPTER SIX SUNSHINE | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

quirklessidiot · 4 years ago

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Title: coward :: brat Pairing: Y/N x Miya Atsumu Genre: angst, romance, and very slow burn [ex to lovers au] Warnings: Cursing, alchohol, mentions of unprotected sex, unplanned pregnancy, and mentions of abortion

Synopsis: you finally see Miya Atsumu after six years, meanwhile, he feels pain when he realizes that you settled down with someone else that wasn’t him. notes: i um want to thank yall for supporting this story im- crying T-T I’m happy to inform everyone that i’ll be updating this twice a week every monday and saturday! yay!!! i was able to finish editing and im writing the last two chapters now. stay safe and big love to each and everyone of you <3

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“...Uh, Youta-Kun, Yuuto-kun, I thought you guys weren’t allowed to go.” Sugawara laughed nervously, knowing all too well where this would lead. He’s familiar with over-enthusiastic boys, in fact, one of those over-enthusiastic balls of sunshine was here right now entertaining them.

“K-Kaasan says it’s alright.” Yuuto lies but Sugawara quirked his brow, it was so obvious that he was lying.

“Yep, she did!” Youta grins, trying to help his twin but like him, he’s failing drastically.

“Then you won’t mind if I call your okaasa-”

“No!” Youta and Yuuto yell in unison. This made other people turn their way, Miya Atsumu watched the pair in amusement from afar. He noticed that they were late and that Sugawara had caught on to their scheme of joining in even without the parental consent, “We won’t join!” Youta proclaims, “Right, yu? W-We’ll pick up balls!”

Hinata feels his eyes glimmer at those words and decides to help them convince Sugawara but in the end, the twins were forced to be benched while the grey-haired teacher had to go back to the faculty to call you.

“It’s alright,” Hinata ruffles both their hairs, “We’ll try to come back next time and I’ll be sure to help convince your ‘kaasan.”

“Hey don’t plant false ideas in their head, Shoyou.” Atsumu grins, lazily jogging to their side. He directs his gaze to the twins that seem to oddly remind him of him and ‘samu when they were younger. The boy's gaze lingered a bit too long on him,unlike other kids who stared at him in awe, these ones were seething, “What are ya lookin’ at, kid?”

“Wow,you’re as mean as your brother.” Yuuto notes, eyeing him up and down.

“Yeah.” Youta echoes.

Atsumu quirks a brow, this was quite the new reaction. Never in his life had a kid told him that he was mean as ‘Samu also how did they even know his twin brother?

“Now, now, don’t you think you should cut me some slack?” Atsumu tried to jokebut the twins remained unamused by the blonde’s antics, somehow Atsumu felt a sense of familiarity from their monotonous reactions.

“No thanks.” Yuuto crossed his arms, “The fake Atsumu made ‘kaasan cry and since you look like him, you might make ‘kaasan cry too.”

“What he said!” Youta agreed loudly, copying his older brother’s action.

Atsumu was just plain confused now, he admitted that Osamu had an attitude sometimes when he was annoyed but letting a mom cry in front of her kids? That’s definitely new and not-so ‘samu like (after all, he was apparently the nicer one between them)

“What’s the name of your okaasan-”

“Youta-Kun, Yuuto-kun, Your mom will be picking you up at the gate! Please go there now.” Sugawara cuts him off, Youta and Yuuto stand up and eye him for a bit.

“We’ll defeat you and your brother! Just wait and see, we’ll be as big as you and that other jiji!” Yuuto exclaims and before Atsumu could retaliate, they’re running off to the opposite direction. Hinata was laughing beside him, clutching his sides because apparently he was too petty while Sugawara looked at him with an apologetic expression.

“I wonder why L/N-san didn’t allow them to go, she’s usually very supportive of their hobbies, especially volleyball.” Sugawara frowns, suddenly voicing out his thoughts. Atsumu felt his shoulders stiffen at the sound of that familiar name.

Osamu revealed he saw you last week then these kids suddenly confessed that his twin made their okaasan cry, he’s never seen you cry throughout your relationship (save for that night when you first me but you guys weren't together yet so that didn’t count). Maybe he was mistaken? it might be your relative or a common name.

After all, you were clear about not wanting a family.

“You know their mom well?” Hinata inquired, Atsumu seems to be listening closely now, wanting to confirm if the person that Sugawara was talking about is you.

“Oh yeah, we're around the same age so I’m much closer to her than the other moms.” Sugawara blinks, “Those boys have to listen to their okaasan more. She’s raising them on her own since their dad died before he even got to know that L/N-san was pregnant. She seemed to be longing for him whenever he’s mentioned.”

A crease appeared on the blonde's forehead as he was suddenly in deep thought. It couldn’t be, right?

“Uh, Sugawara-san, may I know the name of the mom? Her last name sounds kind of familiar.” he questions, pretending to be nonchalant but inside, he feels like he had his heart on his throat.

If it was you, he’d feel those things that he desperately tried to hide behind his confident jokes and laughs.

The pain.

The pain that you chose someone else and was open enough to the idea of starting a family. If that guy probably hadn’t died, you’d be together, happily raising those boys he had just met a while ago. Happily married, something that Atsumu tried to mention one fleeting moment while you were together back in college but you immediately shut the idea down and left him a month later.

The pain that you fell in love in a span of moments unlike Atsumu who relentlessly tried to gain your favour and follow you around like a lost puppy.

“Oh, her name’s Y/N L/N.”

Thankfully nothing unexpected happened after what the twins did, they ended up having to pick if they wanted their video game rights removed for a week or cancel their plans with their favorite ojisan who was coming by a few weeks from now, they chose the first one on that.

They had even mentioned that they met the real Miya Atsumu and although you felt like your heart lurched out of your chest and your shoulders stiffen at the mention of that man --- their father--- they simply had called him a rude jiji like his brother much to your relief.

“L/N-san, we seem to have a problem.” Aiko frowned, handing the papers to you, “The director of the advertisement department wants a bigger budget, do you mind running it through him again? You have to go to the studio though, I heard they’re doing some photo shoot now.”

You nodded in reply, taking the papers from your co-worker. The studio was a bit far so you ended up having to commute to get there, “What a nuisance.” You muttered, you needed to buy a second-hand car soon when you had enough money. It would definitely be easier for both you and the boys, “Uh excuse me? Is Nakamura-san here?” you asked the secretary on the front desk.

“And who are you?” the secretary snapped back, still typing away on her computer.

“Y/N L/N from the finance department, I have to run through the new budget liquidation with him.”

The secretary one-eyes you and the ID on your neck for a split second, “You better be quick, the boss wants only five minutes per guest since he’s personally handling the shoot today.” was all she replied, handing you the pass. You muttered a quick thank you and made your way up to the studio, whoever the model was today, they must’ve been big for Nakamura to handle them personally.

“Oh-ho, is that who I think it is?” a very, very familiar voice calls out.

“Inunaki-san.” You greeted, trying to maintain yourself, were these the big clients that Nakamura was handling? The black jackals? good fucking gracious, god must hate you.

“Wow,” he shakes his head, feigning amusement, “You’re still so calm and cool.”

You narrowed your eyes at the insult but you waved it off, “And you’re playing for a national team, congratulations.” you replied in a blank tone, your senior probably knew what happened between you and his fellow member. You wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if he reacted the same way as Osamu did.

“We’re actually doing a shoot now, would you like me to call Atsu-”

“No.” your usual calm tone switched to a colder one, “I’m working now and so is Miya-san, please don’t bother yourself.”

“Gee,” he raised his hands, signalling defeat, “Just say you don’t want to see him. You don’t need to be so cold to me, my dear little kohai.”

“I have to go back to my job, I’m on the clock here.” You ignored his previous statement, “It was nice seeing you again Inunaki-san.”

Before you could give him a chance to reply, you headed towards the studio. You took a deep breath and mentally calculated to three.

one.

It’s been six years, Miya Atsumu would ignore you. He wouldn’t care about the girl who left him out to dry in college. He’s got a girlfriend now, a model who has legs for days and looks ten times better than you and acts more like a girlfriend than you ever did.

two.

Yes, that’s right, he wouldn’t care.

three.

You entered the studio, you could feel the air tighten around you as soon as you heard that laughter. The one you used to hear everyday and never get tired of. For all the laughs you couldn’t do, he’d do it for you and boy, was he patient around you since you didn’t smile a lot back then (who were you kidding? until now you still had the same problem except when the kids were around)

You want to stop and stare, you want to admire him and his glory that you were very much proud of.

Yet your legs continue to carry you to your boss, the laughter seems to have ceased and you could hear someone asking him what was wrong.

“Oh, L/N-san?” Nakamura greeted you, “You’re here for the renewal of the budget?”

You nodded feverishly, your legs seem to be turning into jelly because you want to collapse from the nervousness and thank god that you wore some make-up before arriving here, otherwise, they would’ve noticed how pale you looked, “Everything seems to be in order,” He nods, scanning the sheets and handing them back to you, “Are you busy right now?”

You glanced at the wall clock, checking the time to see if you could extend your stay and Nakamura is quick to pick up on it, “Ah right, you’ve got kids to pick up. It’ll be quick, just help set up the blocks there and you’re free to leave.” he orders.

You nodded obediently and slowly turned to the side only to catch the very familiar chocolate brown eyes of the blonde. You feel your heart hammering in your chest and your feet turn cold, it had been six years since you last saw Miya Atsumu and he was still as winsome and exhilarating as he was back then.

You may have seen him a lot on television but seeing him, right here, a few feet away from you was different. Taking in a big gulp of air, you started working on the set-up as quickly as you could yet you could still feel his burning gaze remaining on you, “Tsum-tsum, lay off her will you.” came Inunaki Shion’s loud voice snaps him out of his daze.

Great, that little twat had to make an appearance.

“Y/N-san you should really say hi,” Inunaki teased as soon as you finish your set-up.

“Oh? You’re Y/N L/N?” the orange one gushed, quickly up on his feet, you recall him as Hinata Shoyou, Youta’s favorite orange-haired ninja, “Sugawara-san’s friend?”

You hesitantly nodded, “Oh, you know her Sho-kun?” Shion asked, seemingly amused by it all.

“What are you all crowding here for, Hinata?” Another asked, peering in them closely. This one must’ve been Bokuto, another favorite of Yuuto.

“Sugawara-san’s friend! she’s the mother of those two boys in the training camp who had to go home early!” he suddenly turns to you and then grins, “Ne, ne, the boys really seem to want to attend one of those. Why don’t you allow them to join us-”

“Forget it, Hinata.” Atsumu suddenly speaks out, that warm voice that you were accustomed to seemed cold and menacing now, “She won’t allow it.”

Shion notices the tension between you two and when he’s about to usher the energetic duo away back to the dressing room along with the other members, you let out a quiet sigh and spoke out, “I was on my way to leave, please don’t bother yourselves.” You simply replied, you didn’t waver and stared at him dead in the eye, this could be the moment to end it all and cut ties with him officially, “I apologize for what I did back then, Miya-san. I should’ve told it to you in person. I offer my sincere congratulations to you for making it this far.”

The blonde clenched his jaw, it seemed like he wanted to say something to you yet when he realizes the usual calm and collected demeanor you're putting up, he decides against it and leaves you alone by storming away first.

Hinata and the guy named Bokuto looked at you --- completely puzzled and lost like a deer in the headlights --- before following the blonde, “You truly are in a whole ‘nuther level, Y/N.” Shion whistles, “Heard you’ve got two boys now though. Congrats, where's the poor bastard?”

You continue to watch the back of Atsumu Miya. Finally, it seemed like he’d left you alone and probably for good this time, “Gone, off to a better place.” was all you replied.

Inunaki notices the longing in your voice, a completely unfamiliar emotion he had never seen back then even when you and Atsumu were together. It seemed like you and Atsumu were both the poor bastards in the end.

Miya Atsumu sleeps alone that night.

He doesn’t call his girlfriend back despite the several missed calls, he doesn’t reply to the unanswered text of his brother and his teammates. All he feels is pain tonight, pain because of your very dry apology, pain because of your bland expression. Pain because you didn’t seem to care like that time six years ago.

He shuts his eyes tight and he feels as if he’s back in college, back to that winter night where he received that dreaded phone call from you after you disappeared from him. He remembered those days clearly, your apartment had been cleaned out and paid for, you weren’t answering him on social media, your phone line was also unresponsive and he couldn’t even call your family since you never mentioned anything about them at all.

You both may have been intimate for the past two years but when you disappeared, he had the frightening realization that he didn’t know you at all.

He didn’t want to push you out of your comfort zone, he wanted you to lead the relationship but right at that moment, he wished he pried just a bit since he was worried about you.

Then in the midst of his anxiety, it came, that phone call.

“Atsumu.” your usual calm voice filled his ears and he suddenly feels the weight of the world is removed from his shoulders, thank god you were okay.

“Y/N? Baby? Where are you?”

“Out.”

“Where outside exactly?” Miya Atsumu dryly asks, “It’s cold, you shouldn’t be out now and wandering about. Would you like me to pick you up-”

“I can’t do this anymore.” you suddenly cut him off and the line goes quiet. The blonde feels the world around him quiet down too when he hears those words that he wished he heard wrong.

“What’s, what’s wrong? Y/N, are you alright?”

“I don’t know,” You mutter, “I’m just tired.”

“Tired of what exactly?”

“Of you, of us…”

“Y/N, are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

“Yes.” Your voice remained dead calm as if you just hadn’t broken his heart in a million pieces that moment, “Let’s stop this here now, Atsumu. Let’s break-up.”

“That’s…” He tries to keep the mood light, praying that this is one of your dark jokes, “That’s not funny, Y/N.”

“It’s not supposed to be since it’s not a joke.”

Your response was curt as usual and he doesn’t know whats worse, the fact that you’re breaking up over the phone or the fact that your tone remains stable and the same.

“Y/N, don’t do this...Baby don’t do this over the phone.” His tone seemed desperate at this point, “I’m not stopping this until you tell me what's wrong between us, you have to give me something to work with Y/N. Is it something I did?”

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean ya don’t know?” Atsumu started to raise his tone when he notices how unaffected you seem at the other line.Frustration slowly started to bubble in him, the accent turning thicker as he got angrier, “Y/N ya can’t just disappear out of the blue and call me one day and tell me you want to break up! Do you think I’m some sort of fling? Some one-night stand or fuck buddies? We’ve been together for two years, Y/N. Two whole fucking years, What’s wrong? Do you not love me anymore?”

“Yes.”

The line went dead silent again and he hates it, he doesn’t know what to say as his face contorts in sadness and confusion.

“I don’t…” He starts to feel a lump grow on his throat when he hears how easy it was for you to say, he knew he was in love with you more than you were with him. Many had pointed out how dangerous and how painful it would be on his side in the end, he couldn’t believe it would hurt him this much, “ I don’t fucking believe you, say it right at my face. Where the hell are ya? Let’s talk this one out in person.”

“Don’t bother, I just don’t want to see you again.”

“Y/N you can’t just-”

“I can and I will.” You cut him off, your voice was growing more and more detached and he feels like he’s back to that moment two years ago where you didn’t spare him a glance and treated him like a scrub, he hears a hefty sigh on your side and the next few words is another bullet to his heart, “I’m sorry it had to end this way, Atsumu.”

“You…” he shakily replied, trying to mask his grief with a painful chuckle. He wants to be mad at you, he wants to yell at you but for some odd reason, he couldn’t bring himself to, “Jesus christ, you really are something, Y/N. You just broke my heart over the the fucking phone and all you could do is say sorry?”

“Sorry.” you say, like a broken-record on repeat and he hates it. He hates how he feels like this was nothing for you.

“Don’t you dare say that again when you don’t mean it-” He spat and before he could finish what he had to say, the phone line went dead. He tried to call again but it seemed like you had used a payphone. Out of complete vexation, he hurls his phone right across the room towards the blue photo frame with the both of you in it.

The sound of broken glass shards and ragged breathing is the only thing heard in the quiet apartment.

It’s not even the peak of winter that night yet he feels so numb and cold.

taglist [closed]

@fortheloveofiwaizumi ; @svtbitch ; @ryaaaax ; @kiyoomile ; @lovedanii @juno-multifandom ; @gyubit17 ; @saeranoppa ; @nixxona ; @kyomihann @shorttstackk ; @itsmattsunshinehere ; @missingmystogan ; @Etherynaw ; @volleybloop ; @imcravingyou ;

#haikyu!! fanfics #miya atsumu x reader #miya atsumu imagine #atsumu imagines #atsumu x reader #miya atsumu scenarios #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu scenarios #haikyuu angst #miya atsumu #haikyuu headcanons #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu x you #coward series

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thespianbooks · 4 years ago

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A Court of Nightmares and Starlight //Chapter 20//

Masterlist

tags: @thron3ofbooks, @df3ndyr, @courtofjurdan, @art-e-mis, @herondamnn, @the-third-me, @im-still-trying-here, @emikadreams, @paytin77, @mis-lil-red, @sleeping-and-books, @lucieisabooknerd, @amandaraey-sunshine, @easy-p-lemon, @azymondias05, @dagypsygirl, @makeshift-utopia) *bold tags don’t work ;-;

Posting a little earlier because last week I posted a little later than I meant to 😅

XXX

"Eris is High Lord of the Autumn Court?" Mor asked carefully, her warm eyes widened in subtle horror.

In the weeks that followed the news of the civil unrest taking place in Autumn, all the courts of Prythian had been on a collective edge. As our spymaster indicated in his reports, Eris indeed sent letters to every court—asking for aid in the fight against his father, and almost every one had begrudgingly sent a small contingency of their armies; Kallias being the only one to outright refuse. After bearing witness firsthand to Beron's insolence at the summit, they all were hesitant to trust that Eris would be any better—especially Kallias, whose heavily pregnant mate had been targeted by the older male. They were surprised, however, to see the legion of Illyrians that Cassian sent; realizing later that we were retaliating directly against Beron for not only his assault against me at the summit, but for his attack on Velaris as well. They also knew of the tenuous alliance Rhys and I had with Eris for his help during the war, and one-by-one they offered their support for the male in a fortnight.

Azriel nodded in response to Mor, taking a subtle step closer as she loosed a shaky breath. After meeting with his brothers, Rhys had called for the rest of us to gather in the library in order to disclose the information they received earlier this morning—that Eris had beaten his father and was crowned as the new High Lord of Autumn, while his despicable father rotted in their prison, for now.

"What now?" I asked as Mor remained speechless, her eyes still darting from side to side as she processed the news.

The last decade of peace hadn't lessened the hatred she bore towards the Autumn male, and I understood how it must've felt to learn that the male who caused her unbearable pain—had left her for dead, was now elevated to a high position of power.

"Now that bastard keeps a leash on Keir, until we and the other courts can pull back our forces and recuperate before tackling our next issue." Rhysand answered, keeping a watchful eye on his cousin.

"How long will that take?" Amren asked from her seat next to Mor, subtly moving closer and offering the blonde her glass of wine.

"Two or three weeks, give or take." Cassian responded as Mor took that glass and gulped down the remainder of its contents.

"How exactly will he do that?" Elain asked timidly, she hadn't been very involved in the meetings where we developed our plan of action—the war with Hybern still too fresh in her memory for her to actively participate as she had back then. She was finally in a good place, nearly recovered mentally, and talks of going to war again only gave her painful reminders of what she had lost then.

I placed a hand over hers gently. "Rhys has been writing back and forth with Eris over the last two weeks. Once he started gaining an advantage over his father, Eris received a letter from Keir offering to create an alliance," I explained.

"You mean renew an alliance," Mor said bitterly as she stood and crossed over to the set of windows, hands on her hips.

I frowned, sharing a look with Rhysand. "But Eris is our ally in this coup. I have already instructed him to keep Keir sidetracked with false promises of a treaty while we work together with the other courts and replenish our armies," he reassured.

"You really think we can trust him?" Mor asked, turning back to face us. "He's been biding his time until he could win his father's throne, using us as leverage, how do we know he'll keep his word now that he has it?"

"He is ruthless, cousin, there's no doubt about that. He also knows that he would be at a severe disadvantage if he paired with Keir in the coup. His court just underwent a civil war, it is in shambles and he now has to navigate how to deal with his father's supporters and piece his court back together. Partnering with Keir would be disastrous and result in his court falling apart completely," Rhys explained calmly.

"If for some batshit crazy reason he does decide to side with Keir, we outnumber them now." Cassian added. "With the other courts on our side, they can't win."

Mor still looked unconvinced as she turned back to the window without another word. I saw Azriel watching her, a flicker of yearning in those hazel eyes, but he looked away as Elain spoke up again.

"Is there any news of Vassa…?" She asked quietly.

"She was recovered and returned to her home in the Mortal Lands, by Lucien." He answered her just as softly.

A pall of silence fell over us—Mor's rage continued to simmer as she stared out the window; while my sister and the shadowsinger exchanged a prolonged look before she finally looked down at her lap. Whether or not she acknowledged the fact that it was her mate that rescued the mortal queen, or whether or not she cared, I could only guess.

Rhys cleared his throat. "In the meantime, we keep waiting while Eris keeps Keir distracted. During that time, the other courts will be steadily sending their forces until those who fought in Autumn are recovered and can accompany the rest. If all goes according to plan, we have approximately two weeks until we're hosting the other courts and High Lords," he continued.

"Where are we going to host five High Lords, their entourages, and armies? We can't use the palace above the Court of Nightmares, Keir will know." I asked, bewildered.

"We'll host them here, in Velaris," Rhys answered with a rouge smirk.

"And their armies will camp out in the Northern Forests of the Illyrian Steppes," Cassian finished, crossing his arms over his broad chest with a crooked grin of his own. "We'll give them a little taste of what it's like in those mountains."

"What if Kallon gets reports of those gathered armies? He'll alert Keir," I challenged.

Rhys placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder, squeezing gently. "They'll be stationed outside of Windhaven camp. Kallon is too busy rallying his rebels to bother checking in on his rival camp. We'll be setting up wards to shield them once they've become large enough; the other High Lords and I will take turns keeping them up."

I squeezed his hand back, leaning back against the cushion of my chair and running a free hand over my belly. Madja continued to assure Rhys and I that our son was growing at the expected rate and remained perfectly healthy. My recovery continued to improve, and the healer had alleviated some of the conditions for my confinement. I was now allowed out of bed for short walks around the estate; I could also paint and tend to some of my duties as High Lady, like writing letters and sorting through reports, but needed to maintain a light and easy schedule—nothing involving anything too strenuous. Since I was on the cusp of entering the last stage of pregnancy, only a few short months away from giving birth, she advised that I remain in the estate until my time came—when my period of nesting began, and Rhys would whisk me away to the Cabin in preparation for the birth of our son.

"Will there be fighting?" Nesta asked.

She stood beside Cassian; hands neatly folded in front of her as she turned a raised chin to the male. Though I couldn't see it, I knew the memories that flashed behind her fierce grey-blue eyes—of Cassian on the battlefield during the war; of the injuries he sustained.

"It's doubtful," Rhys replied for the commander. "We outnumber his Darkbringers and rogue Illyrians six-to-one. Once he and Kallon get word of the troops gathered in the Steppes, they'll come to meet us with their own. If they're smart, they'll realize sooner rather than later how ill-fated their cause has become and surrender."

Mor scoffed from her place at the window. "Like hell they will. You know that bastard won't go down without a fight."

"Then there will be a slaughter. Either way, they lose." Rhys said easily. "They'll be reminded of why previous coup attempts have been thwarted, and the Illyrians will be put in their place once again. As for Keir," he shared a meaningful look with his cousin as citrine and amethyst clashed. I pictured the paints I would use, emphasizing just the shape and fierceness of that shared look.

"So...we have nothing to worry about?" Elain asked hesitantly.

I took her hand again, "We're safe Elain. With our allies and this plan, the coup will fail. This confrontation is nothing like how it was with Hybern."

She nodded, her tense shoulders easing a bit. Amren crossed one leg over the other as a crooked grin lined her lips. "At least this time I won't be needing to sacrifice my life for you lot."

"We could always add you to the front lines. They don't know you don't have any powers; we could just use you to intimidate them to death," Cassian quipped.

"She's far too small for that," Azriel added.

Cassian roared in laughter as Amren glared at the spymaster. I half-heartedly laughed, noting the edge that lingered between my mate and his cousin; until Mor turned away and walked out of the library.

Is she okay? I asked through the bond.

As okay as she can be. She hates that Eris is High Lord, but I just informed her that I will be turning her wretched father over to her after this coup is over

Did that help?

Not as much as I would have hoped

Let me go talk to her. It's been a while since we've talked alone, maybe I can help her sort through her feelings.

Rhys only nodded in response before crossing over to stand in front of me and helped ease me to my feet. Despite my remarkable recovery, my growing belly still made my movements slower and slower. I was also beginning to notice that my balance was growing increasingly skewed but blamed it on the bed rest for now. The others hardly noticed as he escorted me to the door; their continued conversations and my departure a subtle indication that our meeting was over.

"How are you feeling?" Rhys asked once we were in the hallway, wrapping an arm around my waist as we walked.

"I'm fine. It's been nice to walk around again, even if I'm stuck indoors for now," I said.

A small frown came to his face and I quickly realized how my words sounded. The last time I had been confined inside an estate…

"It's not the same," I quickly amended. "I'm doing it for our little Bash," I said while rubbing my stomach for emphasis. "For both of our health. You're not locking me away and forbidding me from entering the city."

He took my hand in his free one, bringing it to his lips. "Never," he said. "Maybe in another couple of weeks Madga will deem it safe for us to resume our walks out along the Sidra. We'll get to enjoy the weather while it's still warm."

I smiled. "After this coup is over, and those responsible are taken care of, we'll get to enjoy it. We'll get to enjoy this," I said as I looked down at my middle.

Rhys's eyes softened as his gaze moved to my stomach, and I felt our son stretch in my belly. We stopped short of Mor's room and he pressed a kiss to my brow, his hands holding either side of my swollen abdomen. "Yes, we will."

I breathed in his scent and sighed lightly before pulling him in for a quick kiss. "You go take care of business. I'll talk to Mor and spend the day with her."

He nodded before taking a step back, "I'll be in my office if you need me."

"I'll be fine," I reminded him.

He smirked and kissed my belly goodbye before winnowing away. I took in another inhale before I stepped around the corner and approached Mor's door. Before I could knock, however, the door swung open with the blonde on the other side of it. She ushered me inside wordlessly and I followed suit, walking into her suite.

"You didn't need to come check on me," she said as she closed the door behind me.

"I figured you needed someone to talk to after hearing the news," I said as I worked to lower myself on the plush settee in the center of her room.

She sighed and plopped herself onto the seat beside me, helping me down and stared at her feet. "I knew it was bound to happen someday, especially after the deal Rhys made with him, but…" she trailed off.

"But it's different actually seeing it become a reality," I affirmed and touched her shoulder gently.

"I know, and you're completely entitled to your feelings. After everything that's happened, on top of this coup orchestrated by Keir," I shook my head and squeezed her shoulder. "I'm sorry Mor."

She continued to stare at the ground until her dark-honeyed eyes finally met mine. "I'm well over five-hundred centuries old, and yet any knowledge of the two of them working together—even under a guise for our sake just…" she shook her head, truly unable to voice the rage boiling underneath her skin, her elegant fingers curling into fists.

I touched one of those fists, levelling my gaze with hers. "Mor, I promise you, if Eris so much as looks at us the wrong way, we'll take care of him. The last thing we do is trust him, and I know Rhys wouldn't hesitate to rip him to shreds if he tries anything like his father did." I promised.

The corner of her mouth twitched upward slightly, and she sighed. "I know the alliance is necessary. I'm just not happy about it," she lamented.

"Neither am I," I assured, and she dipped her head in approval before uncurling her hands and bringing one to touch my stomach gently.

"How is he?" she asked.

Ever since revealing to my sisters that I was expecting a boy, the news hadn't remained a secret for long. Elain had been so delighted and shared the news with Mor and Amren during dinner that same night; Cassian then boasting that he had known for some time, which launched into a debate with the entire inner circle. I then sheepishly promised Rhysand that I wouldn't reveal our son's name until after his birth.

"He's good, moving a lot right now," I answered and smiled at feeling a kick. "Feel that?"

Mor's widened grin was answer enough as she continued to stroke my belly, encouraging my son to kick more and laughed as he responded to her movements and words.

"How does it feel for you?" She asked.

I shrugged. "It's hard to describe, the more he grows the different it feels. Viviane once told me that once I reach the end stages, I'll start to feel feet, fists, and elbows in there."

Mor cringed. "Does it hurt at all?"

I shook my head. "I think he's still too small. His movements are noticeable but not painful."

She nodded and studied my belly for a silent minute, caressing it lightly. "I can't wait for all of this to be over so we can turn all the attention on you, little one. Auntie Mor already has so many presents for you," she cooed.

I blinked, "Presents?"

She grinned mischievously, "Wanna see?"

I nodded with a laugh, but as she got up and crossed over to her enormous closet, a knock came at her door. Raising a brow, she walked over and opened it; a sentry waiting outside of it before she allowed him in.

"Pardon me, milady, but Lucien Vanserra is here to see you," the sentry informed me, albeit a bit hesitant.

I balked at him. "Here on the grounds?" I asked to confirm.

Lucien was about the only male welcomed in and out of Velaris; due to his connection with Elain, and his desire to be closer from time-to-time after the war, he had his own apartment in the city. However, since constructing the estate, he only visited on a few occasions.

The sentry nodded, "Yes. He arrived moments ago, insisting on an audience with you. Lord Rhysand greeted him, but he still maintains in meeting with you alone."

I paused to think. Knowing my mate, he was leaving the decision to me. "Is he alright?" I asked cautiously. "He isn't hurt, is he?"

The sentry shook his head. "He seems well, but unyielding."

"Maybe it has something to do with his swine of a brother," Mor offered. "I'll go with you. If he's angry, the last thing we want is for him to lash out at you in your condition."

"Lucien wouldn't hurt me Mor. If anything, he's probably hurting too. I have a feeling something else has happened," I said before motioning her to help me stand.

I grunted a bit with effort as she helped me get to my feet, a little wearier than I had previously been. Mor frowned, "We can send for him after dinner, once you've gotten some food and rest."

"I'll meet him in the sitting room attached to my suite. I can rest there and talk with him, and I know you all won't be far," I insisted and linked my arm with hers.

"Tell Lucien I will meet him in my sitting room in five minutes," I said to the sentry, who bowed in response and left the room.

"Are you sure about this Feyre? If he upsets you and puts too much strain on you and the baby…" Mor began.

"It's all right Mor," I assured her as she escorted me out of her room. "I think it's Lucien's turn to vent to a friend about the new High Lord of Autumn."

Mor cringed, recalling the cruel revelation Eris had unleashed on his youngest brother at the summit months ago. Still, as she led me back to the sitting room adjoined to my suite, she waited with me for Lucien's arrival. Moments later, my disheveled friend strode in, his russet eye wide while the mechanical one whirring as he took us in. He didn't so much as look at Mor as he cautiously approached me.

"Did you know?" He asked me by way of greeting. "About Helion and my mother? About-" he began but cut himself off as he finally realized Mor was standing beside the chaise lounge I perched on.

I turned a look at her and she understood my request. "I'll be down the hall," she said before leaving us alone.

"Did you know about their affair? That Helion is my-" he cut himself off again, unable to say the words as he paced the room.

I only offered a small nod, watching him empathetically. "Yes," I said softly.

"When?" He asked, still pacing back and forth across the carpet. "When did you figure it out? Or who told you? Was it my father? I mean, was it-"

"I figured it out after I first met Helion; before the war with Hybern started and we all gathered for the first time at Thesan's palace. He told me the story of what happened to your mother, her sisters, and how he rescued her during the first war." I answered, interrupting his rambling questions.

He stopped pacing and faced me. "Did Rhysand know?"

I shook my head. "Not until I figured it out myself. I made the connection; Rhys didn't realize it until I did."

His arms grew slack at his sides. "So, it's not some well-known secret that all of Prythian knows about and just hid from me?"

"No Lucien, it-" I began but then he interrupted.

"So why didn't you tell me, Feyre?" He asked, both of his eyes wide and bewildered. "You've known all this time and you didn't think to tell me? I thought we were friends!"

I frowned as he snapped at me, my hormones surging and causing tears to well in my eyes. It must have been evident, because he sighed and took a mild step towards me before turning away and running both hands through his bright auburn hair with an exasperated sigh. I quickly put my emotions in check, not wanting my irrational mood swing to interrupt Lucien's moment.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly.

"No, Lucien, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. Honestly, I didn't think it was my place, and after what happened at the summit, I thought it was the last thing you wanted to hear." I explained.

He sighed heavily and crossed his arms over his chest, staring at the ground. "My father...I mean, Beron, told me. When he attacked the Mortal Lands and took Vassa. He...claimed I was 'no son of his' and said I was nothing more than a Day Court bastard. I was shocked, and then he started the attack. I tried to fight him off, to protect Vassa, but then…" his voice faded as his eye turned hazy, the other whirring out of focus as he recalled whatever details that occurred that day.

I slowly offered my hand, still seated, and it took a minute before he registered my movement and took it. I motioned for him to sit beside me and he did, his shoulders slumped over slightly as an invisible weight pressed on them.

"When Eris was crowned, my fa...Beron, imprisoned; my mother summoned me back to the palace. She broke down and explained everything, told me of her relationship with Helion and that he was my biological father. She never told him," he went on, voice barely above a whisper.

"She loved him, Feyre, and her husband kept her there. Imprisoned to serve as Lady of the Autumn Court, even while she carried another male's child," he pressed a palm onto his good eye, massaging the stress from it.

I placed a tentative hand on his shoulder, squeezing it softly. "How is she?"

He sighed. "Relieved. Eris is granting her a separation from Beron before he...finds a way to deal with him, but when she told me about Helion, she seemed...broken." He met my gaze again,

"You were almost her. All those years ago with Tamlin, when I didn't do anything to stop it. I almost let what happened to my mother happen to you," he said, a subtle horror laced in his voice.

"What happened to your mother wasn't your fault, Lucien." I said, moving my hand from his shoulder to his hand.

"I knew. A part of me knew she wasn't happy with my father," he cringed. "Beron. Yet I didn't try to take her away. I didn't do anything, and neither did Helion."

I sighed and moved a little closer to him. "Lucien, there was nothing you could have done. Beron had complete control over her. Even if you could, she probably wouldn't have left for fear of him and what he might do."

"But that's the point, I could have," he jumped back to his feet, pacing again. "I could have done something for her, for you, and I didn't. I couldn't protect her, or you, and I couldn't protect Vassa! I couldn't even protect your sister, my mate, from what Hybern did to her and Nesta. What kind of male am I that I can't protect the ones I care for, the ones I love?"

I frowned, "Lucien-"

"No, I...he took Vassa, Feyre. He managed to find that sorcerer that controls her and forced her into her firebird form. The way she screamed; it was...I couldn't bear it. Then learning what he did to my mother, and remembering what happened to you...to Elain, to even Jesminda, and how I allowed it all to happen. I...what…" he looked around frantically, his chest heaving a bit as he paced.

I did my best to rise as quickly and cautiously as I could before I approached him and threw my arms around him in an embrace. His arms were pinned at his sides as I held him, his body going rigid at first—until slowly he relaxed, his arms going limp before slowly wrapping his arms around me in return. Despite the complicated past with Tamlin, the one instance where he did have a say, he was my friend and had more than made up for it since. Beron had given him a life of turbulence; him and his brothers making Lucien's life hell until he found reprieve in the Spring Court. Then, once his closest friend had begun turning into a tyrant reminiscent of his father, those feelings of being trapped returned—unable to help me to the extent he wanted. After escaping that, after the war, he once again found solace with his human friends...until Beron's latest attack.

Lucien had felt so out of control in his own life, and every time little moments of freedom were offered—whether by finding a home in the Spring Court, then being welcomed to Velaris and the Mortal Realm, it seemed to crumble before him. Now with this latest truth revealed to him, it was no wonder that he was beginning to crumble next.

I wouldn't let that happen.

"Your mother is safe. I am safe. Elain is safe, and Vassa is safe," I said. "We are all safe now Lucien. Yes, we each endured some version of hell, but we survived. Just like you are doing now," I pulled back at arm's length to meet his gaze.

"You saved Vassa. As for me and Elain, who knows what would have happened if you hadn't done your part during the war; if you hadn't guided the Mortals, and Drakon and Miyram's army down the right path. As for your mother, you did what you could. Unfortunately, there was nothing you could do while she remained subservient under Beron, but now she is free of him. There is so much to look forward to Lucien," I took his hands again, squeezing them. "There will be good days and bad—don't let the hard days win."

Lucien blinked at me; his russet eye growing soft while the golden one whirred quietly. He continued to stare at me before he embraced me again, pulling me in a little too tightly and I cringed at the pressure on my stomach. He gasped and stepped back.

"Are you okay?" he asked

I nodded with a weary laugh, holding my stomach. "I'm fine, you just squished him a little."

He looked at my stomach, as if he just noticed it and helped me back to my seat carefully. "I almost forgot how far along you were. I haven't seen you since the summit."

"It's weird huh?" I motioned to my enlarged belly. "Sometimes I'm still a little surprised when I see myself in the mirror."

"Is he okay? I heard what you did...after what happened in Velaris," he asked with a frown.

"We're okay. We had a little scare, but my healer took care of us right away. I was on bedrest for a while, and technically still recovering, but I'm better now." I answered, resting my arms over my stomach.

He shook his head. "Rhysand must've lost his mind. I nearly did when Vassa was taken, and she isn't," he stopped himself with another shake of his head—as if trying to erase the memory of what happened to the mortal Queen.

I raised my brow at the tone in his voice, his worry for the fierce mortal woman. I paused as he loosed a long breath, finally cooled from his panic. "Do you want me to call Elain? I know she was worried about Vassa too, maybe you can assure her that she's alright?"

Lucien shook his head. "No, it's alright, I should get back to Vassa," he said, but paused when he met my questioning stare. "And Jurian; the mortal lands."

I laughed. "But…" he started. "Will you tell her I was here?"

"Yes. I'll let her know you're taking care of Vassa."

He dipped his head in a subtle nod and sighed again. "Thank you Feyre," he said softly.

"Anytime Lucien, just remember what I said okay?"

He offered a stiff smile before leaning down to give me a parting hug before escorting himself out. Rhys appeared in the doorway a second later.

"Well," he started. "That was intense."

I sighed, slumping back against the lounge and running my hands over my stomach. "He was upset. Beron told him about Helion and his mother."

Rhys released his own deep exhale and crossed over to the lounge, scooping me up easily and I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, resting my head against his shoulder. He walked us into our adjoining bedroom, laying me across the bed carefully and spreading out beside me. I rubbed my stomach lightly, watching it before Rhys placed a hand at the apex of my belly.

"He'll recover. It'll take time, but he will come to terms with the news," he said quietly as he ran his hand over the expanse of my stomach.

"Do you think Helion knows?" I asked.

"He probably suspects after the comment Eris made at the summit," he responded, voice still low. "Though I'm not sure what he'll do about it."

"What would you have done, if it were us? If I had actually married Tamlin, and in my time spent here to fulfill the bargain, you and I fell in love regardless? If we had conceived our son and I was stuck in the Spring Court, forced to name him Tamlin's…" I flinched at just the mere thought of it, of how easily it could have been me.

Rhys took my chin gently, tilting my head back to meet his violet eyes, sparkling intensely. "I would have torn the world apart for you, Feyre," he reminded me.

I smiled half-heartedly before he pulled me closer. "We don't know exactly how hard Helion tried to get her back, perhaps now they'll get the end they deserved," he said.

"Maybe," I mused, playing with the collar of his black tunic. "Did Eris...say anything about what he plans to do with Beron?"

"He's keeping him imprisoned until further notice. Said he might turn him over to us once we have Keir and Kallon in our custody," he said as his fingertips traced my side lightly.

I shivered at his touch, a part of me resenting Madja for deeming any sexual activity still too strenuous during my recovery. I hummed in response, "He'd actually let us execute his father?"

Rhys shrugged. "Beron will die regardless, along with Keir and Kallon."

"Mmm, what a fitting end for the three of them." I murmured, my eyes beginning to feel heavy as my mate's warmth continued to envelop me.

He noticed the fatigue in my voice and pressed a kiss to my brow. "All this talk of war and its lasting effects is wearing you down my love," he teased.

I rolled my eyes, closing them as I laid my head on his shoulder. "It wouldn't be if I weren't so busy growing a powerful high fae," I muttered.

I felt his dark chuckle rattle in his chest. "Sleep Feyre," he whispered as a hand ran down my back gently.

Sebastian must've wanted the same, because despite his constant movements and kicks just a while earlier, he was now calm—perhaps slipping into his own nap. I felt myself fading, too tired to respond with a witty remark and only stirred slightly when I felt Rhys move from my side and press another kiss to my brow.

I dreamt of Sebastian running through a pile of bright red and orange leaves, laughing and giggling as they crunched under his feet, Lucien standing at a distance with a content smile on his face—Vassa at his side.

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gvf-imagine · 5 years ago

Text

Part 2

A/N: as always feedback is welcome! I hope you all enjoy it ❣️also if you would like to be added to the tag list just message me

Tag list: @karrotkate @satingrass-maidensfair @justacollegestudentyay @love-philautia @jimmypagesandbrianmayshair

Word count: 3206

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It had been a week since the festival show with Greta Van Fleet, you found yourself listening to their songs on a daily basis and every once in a while you smile absentmindedly as thoughts of them ran through your head. That night with the boys ended with passion and insight. After having that moment with them in that field of lush grass they went back to their bus and you went back to yours feeling like a whole new chapter of your life had begun and you knew for a fact that would not be the last time you'd see them. You truly liked all of them, Josh made you laugh, Danny made you feel safe, Jake made you feel reckless and free, and Sammy brought you a certain aspect of self-involved peace. They all had great qualities about them that made them special to you in the short time that you were with them. They left an impression and you couldn't help but wonder if you'd left one on them.

Unfortunately the alcohol that swirled in your veins caused you to stumble into a sleepy stupor and by the time you woke up , hazzy, with a migraine, your tour bus was already long gone from Los Angeles and headed back home. You cursed yourself for not getting at least one of their numbers before going your separate ways. In the week since, you had been spending your time with yourself mostly. Lounging around your apartment, catching up on sleep and some of your favorite netflix series. Now it was friday morning and you had just woken up, not by choice but rather from the sound of some ungodly loud construction worker who was jack hammering the pavement like it owed him money. The sun was up, the birds were chirping, it was another typical day in your small town. Immediately upon waking your body craved caffeine, you hadn't drank at all last night so the headache slamming in your brain was surely due to the lack of said caffeine in your bloodstream. Nothing a quick cup of coffee couldn’t fix. In your ever flattering attire of jogging pants and a tank top, you moved down the hall to your kitchen, the sun shining through your windows and warming your skin like a gentle hello.

As the coffee brews you look at your phone, no messages or calls, which is not unusual as you don't have many friends or family still in the area. You open your instagram page with a flick of your thumb and you can't stop the smile that paints its way across your face when you see you had four new followers, Josh , Sam, Jake, and Danny had all found their way to your account, you followed them all back instantly and spent the next half an hour sipping your coffee and going through their photos. Four such gorgeous men literally at your fingertips, you were smiling so much your cheeks began to hurt. When you took a sip of your coffee and were met with a cold liquid you decided that was enough phone time for now, now it was time for a nice hot shower.

Throughout your shower you absolutely could NOT take your mind off the boys. Josh’s smile filled your mind as water cascaded down your body, relaxing your muscles and awakening your mind. What a beautiful man he is, so gentle and enticing, you licked your lips thinking about him.

The skin on your fingertips began to prune, it was time to get out. You wrapped a warm towel around your body and walked back into your room to get dressed for the day. You settled on a simple outfit, a high waisted jean skirt, with a yellow collared shirt and black knee high stockings. You were doing your makeup when you heard your phone chime in the bathroom, you smack your lips in the mirror, evenly spreading the matte,nude color across your moist lips. You shoot yourself a smile and go to get your phone.

Josh_gvf: “hey girl, miss me?”

You laugh , elated that one of them got in contact with you. That must have meant that he was thinking about you, it was good to know you weren't the only one that recognized the connection you felt.

Y: “hey Josh, how'd you know?” You write back perhaps a bit too quickly. You were not ashamed to seem eager, you were eager.

Josh_gvf: “I got a feeling ;) so guess what?” His response comes even quicker than yours.

Y:”what??” originally you had put three question marks but erased one as it seemed too overzealous.

Josh_gvf: “were playing in detroit tonight, nothing huge, just a bar show but we'd love it if you would come…..to the show mean” You could almost hear his flirtatious tone in your head, he would have shot you a wink as well. God a show sounded wonderful, honestly fuck the show, seeing the boys sounded wonderful.

Josh_gvf: “of course we would come pick you up, your town is on the way anyways” he sends another message.

Y: “of course! I’d love to come, what time?” you reply, your heartbeat was quickening in your chest and butterfly wings tickled the sides of your stomach. You were so excited!

Josh_gvf: “we’ll pick you up around 6 ok? Wear something cute, I need eye candy while im up on stage” more flirtation, god you loved it, you craved it you craved him. His words settled over you, like the warm welcome of an old friend, or that feeling you get when you hear a song you haven't heard in years.

Y: “sounds good and I’ll try my hardest not to disappoint ;)” you write back, you also send him your address.

Six o’clock was not very far away, only a few hours now. You wondered if you should change your outfit and you decide to find something a bit more tantalizing.

You dig through your dressers and rummage around in your closet until you've got the perfect outfit put together:

You looked over yourself in the mirror, happy with your creation, your outfit on, your hair was done and so was your makeup, just a few squirts of perfume and you’d be ready to go.

You were so excited to see them it almost confused you. Why do you like them so much , honestly, you didn’t know them that well even. You couldn’t help it , being around them felt right in every way.

———————————————————

You heard two horn beeps come from outside your apartment. You scramble to the window and see a stretch limo below you, a smiling Danny Wagner hanging out of the sun roof. You practically squeal , grab your phone and run down stairs. When you open the door the boys pile out of the limo to greet you.

“Oh baby” josh winces upon seeing your outfit. His face looked as if though you looked so good it hurt him.

“Enough eye candy?” You question gesturing to yourself.

“You look gorgeous” Sam says grabbing your hand and leading you into a limo.

“Wow you guys get limo rides to your shows? Man My manager just gives me 5 bucks for gas” you joke. Jake laughs loudly as he climbs in the seat next to you.

“It’s good to see you again (y/n)” Jake chimes with a glistening smile, as he rakes his fingers over his head and through his hair. As he moved you caught a whiff of his cologne , it was sweet and very subtle not at all the scent you thought he’d go with.

As the limo begins to move your eyes move to josh who was already looking at you with a hind of mischief on his face. You wondered what he was thinking about.

“You want a drink love?” He asked. Hearing him call you love made your knees weak. His voice was so enticing , like melted chocolate. You wondered if he tasted like melted chocolate too. That satire thought escapes your mind through your mouth as you say “yeah I’d love a drink” you answer, clearing dirty thoughts from your head.

“Southern and seven right?” He asks holding up a bottle of southern comfort.

“Yeah!” You chime , happy he remembered your drink.

“Good because I bought this just for you, girl” josh informs. Your cheeks are blushing and you know it, you can feel the tingling burn on your face.

“Aw you made her blush” Sam comments running his index finger gently down your cheek. Josh looks over to you as he pours your drink. His eyes scan your face , lingering a bit on your lips. He looked at you with hunger as if you were sitting there naked and waiting for his touch. That image sent chills down your spine, he winks at you as he hands you your drink. Suddenly your throat feels dry so you chug the drink with an exasperated sigh when you finish.

“Jesus” Danny says with a chuckle.

“Get her another one” Sam speaks taking your empty glass from you and handing it back to josh. You heard a lighter spark to your right , Jake was lighting a blunt.

Oh that’s why he was being so quiet.

His lips rest around the end and he inhales watching the cherry burn as the smoke slips into his mouth, brushing over her succulent rose lips. He looks at you and smiles as he holds the smoke in then passes you the blunt as he releases.

You take two hits making “O’s” with the smoke as you exhale with a giggle.

“I can do that too” Danny says excitedly, you pass him the blunt and he gives it a try.

“Hmmm no. You can’t” josh states , all of you laugh at Danny’s sad attempt.

“You’ll get it one day” Sam chimes with a smile.

The limo was full of smoke now, you looked around at the boys through the hazy fog. Everyone is quiet now , you sipping your drink and watching the world pass by put the window. The alcohol and the weed were begging to take affect. The alcohol warmed your body while the weed pulled your mind into alleviation... a lusty combination. You were so calm in this moment , you knew this was exactly where you belonged, it just felt right and you hadn’t had the privilege to get that sense of fleeing very many times in your life.

———————————————————

Jakes hand reaches for you, offering his help as you step out of the limo, you accept and thank him. The sun still hung in the sky, blinding the earth unapologetically. The sunshine felt good casted over your skin, with your head still swimming in an elegant haze.

Josh grabs your waist and pulls you closer to him , his hand stays at your hips as you all walk through the door.

“I’m glad you’re hear, love” he coos in your ear before gently kissing your ear lobe. Your knees buckle causing you to wobble slightly, Josh tightens his grip on you and smiles

“Oh she likes it she likes it” he purrs with a wink.

Yeah. you loved it. You wanted more of him, you couldn’t stand the sexual tension anymore, you wanted to feel him and taste him , to know him in that way.

The bar was packed with people , you were sort of surprised. Josh said this wasn’t going to be a big show but it looked pretty big to you, there were people everywhere. Danny hops on the stage and begins tending to his drum set ,making small changes in its position.

“We gotta go on wish us luck” Sam chimes giving you a side hug.

“You don’t need luck Sammy, you guys are the best” you reply before he and Jake join Danny on stage. Josh plays with a piece of your hair , twirling it around his finger looking at you.

“I’m singing for you tonight girly” he whispers , his voice slick with liquor.

His hand trails down your cheek gently as he just looks at you. Seconds later he winks and joins his brothers on stage taking the microphone in his hand. Already the audience was forming and cheering for the boys. You found yourself right in front of the stage, a mass of people on either side of you and the smell of alcohol and smoke hung in the air.

Josh introduced the guys before Jake started to play the opening for ‘when the curtain falls’. A chorus of cheers and motion erupting from the crowd. Josh’s voice was all you could hear, the freeing sound of his bluesy rasp send vibrations through the building. His voice flooded from his mouth and filled the air like bright red fireworks exploding in the sky. He was so talented. The sound of Jakes guitar slices through you like a lightening bolt of sound and energy. Danny’s drums pounded into the crowd, his strong, muscular arms in control of it all. The sound of sam’s bass flooded over you like huge purple waves of calming spirit. He played that bass like it was all he knew how to do, like it was part of him. Song after song the boys held this vitality and vigor and the crowd was eating it up. Josh walked off to the side of the stage for a second before returning with something behind his back. Arms were reaching for him as he walked to the edge of the stage , his eyes meet yours and he brings a rose out from behind him and reaches to hand it to you

You can hear the jealous gasps of girls around you. You smile up at him before he brings the microphone to his lips once more and continues singing. You smell the rose and feel those familiar butterflies in your stomach again. You were in awe, these boys had such raw talent and capability. You know a band is good when they make a bar show feel like a sold out arena. enjoying the music you moved with the crowd , the songs taking control of your body and mind , you forget there’s people around you, you are thrown into a world of your own. You don’t open your eyes again until josh announces that the show was over and offers his thanks and goodbyes to the crowd.

Josh jumps off the stage in immediately walks to you.

“Come here” he utters his hands grab your face before he presses his lips to yours. You are caught off guard but you let him do it, you wanted this just as much as he did. You didn’t know what had gotten into him , perhaps the adrenaline from a wonderful show.

His tongue licks your bottom lip asking for permission before you open your mouth and let his tongue slip in, deepening the kiss and the passion. His hand was now behind your head and wrapped around your waist pulling you further into him. A small moan escapes your lips unintentionally but you couldn’t help it. He balls your hair in his fist as he continues to kiss you.

When he lets you go your face is flushed and his chest is rising and falling with desire. The rest of the night was spent drowning in liquor.

Eventually bar time came around and it was time to get back in the limo. You all stumbled in, you got in first then josh sat on your left and Danny on your right Jake and Sam sat in the seats across from you.

When the limo pulled up to your apartment you sighed sad to leave.

Danny put his arm around you and gave you a hug wishing you a good nights sleep. Sam and Jake did the same , Josh got out and walked to your door to help you out.

He smiles as he walks you to your porch.

“Let me see your phone” he says reaching for it in your pocket. You pull it out and hand it to him happily. He presses a few buttons before handing it back to you.

“There now you have my number “ he says flashing you a smirk.

“Awesome, I’ll text you in a little while to make sure you guys got home ok, give my number to the other guys too ok?” You chime as his hand grabs yours.

“I will” he promises before kissing you on the cheek.

“Thank you for coming tonight” he adds, his voice was softer now.

“Of course it was super fun and you guys did great” you reply. Josh looks back at the limo.

“We should hangout sometime just me and you yeah? We can go to dinner this Saturday if you want, would you like that?” He offers.

“Yeah that sounds great Josh!” You beam. Josh lifts your hand to his lips kissing it gently, looking you in the eye.

“Goodnight (y/n)” he coos

“Goodnight josh” you smile. He winks as he gets back in the limo , you wave until the car is out of sight.

———————————————————

In the week that passed you had gotten in touch with all of the boys , josh did as you asked and gave them all your number, you talked to at least one of them every day.

Tonight was your big date with josh and you were so excited. You found the perfect outfit and couldn’t wait for him to see you in it.

Just then your phone vibrates, you pick it up and look at the message.

Josh: hey girlie , I hate this but I have to cancel our date tonight ... something came up I’m so sorry , I really wanted to see you but I can’t get out of this, I’ll make it up to you though I promise

Your heart sinks as you read the message, you felt upset for josh and hoped everything was ok but at the same time you were really sad that you couldn’t go out with him now.

Y: oh no I hope everything is ok Josh, no worries we will hangout some other time ❣️

You set your phone down and walk to your room to change out of your new outfit. You grab jogging pants and an old ‘quiet riot’ t shirt and head to your living room to spend an uneventful night on the couch.

Hours later you’re scrolling through Instagram. When a post josh is tagged catches your eye. You look at the date and see it was posted one hour ago. It was a picture of him and some girl at a mini golf course. You deflate when you read the caption.

“Fun night with Joshy❣️”

“Something came up huh josh...” you say to yourself with disappointment.

You look at the girls name ‘Andrea hartnet ’.

You flip to your messaging and click on Danny’s name.

Y: hey Danny, does josh know anyone named Andrea?

A few seconds pass before he responded

D: yeah that’s his ex, why?

—————————————————-

To be continued

#greta van fleet #gvf #jake kiszka #josh kiszka #sam kiszka #danny wagner #gvf imagine #greta van fleet imagine #josh gvf #danny gvf #sam gvf #jake gvf #gimmie shelter

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cooolvibe · 4 years ago

Text

an excerpt about a love story from a girl whose heart got broken.

hello, just thought i’d share this in hopes that there are people out there who have gotten their hearts broken, but never got the closure they wished.

it all started one summer, going through dating apps and just swiping my way through what it seemed like just another night where i would swipe right on men who i find attractive. not looking for anything serious, but just because summer started and might as well have some fun right? made a match, with an individual who happened to go to the same high school as me. i remembered who he was, as i had multiple classes with him. realizing how we all “glow up” from our awkward and fetus high school stage, we had matched. im assuming since we had matched, he had obviously found some part of me attractive or appealing. he messaged me, saying it was long time no see. we hit it off, messaging every day, and he happened to be a really nice person to talk to. about a month went by, i finally got the courage to ask him to hang out (personally, i did not think our talking stage would last, as i did not think i would become more interested in this man). we did, and it was so nerve-wrecking. it wasn’t just meeting some random stranger, it was meeting an individual who i had “known” or “existed” for roughly ten years, but never had a conversation other than “did you do the homework?” me, being so nervous to meet this man, decided to bring my friends over a couple hours before i was supposed to meet him and get me a little drunk (because that is the PERFECT excuse to sound flirty and stupid, right?) we hang out late at night, talk for HOURS, obviously leading into making out and hooking up. i assumed this was going to happen (as i wanted it to), but i had thought that if we hooked up, it would just lead into the “friends with benefits” zone and would not continue any further. however, i was leaving for japan about a week after we hung out, so we met up a couple more times before i left. my month long stay in japan would determine whether i truly had feelings for this person, or it would die off. he tells me to be safe, and i clearly remember the one thing he said to me before i parted with him on our last hangout, and it was “there aren’t any cute guys over there, right?” clearly, i blushed, as in my head i thought that was the most adorable thing any man has ever said to me. i am in japan, and we text basically everyday, and he would call me every weekend. i told him he didn’t have to call me if the time zone was too much for him (los angeles and tokyo is about a 16 hour difference), but he would still call, saying he would want to hear my voice. about half way through my stay in japan, my best friend who was back in la texted me she and her bae are finally official, realizing, am i starting to have feelings for this person? the time comes where i come back to la, and we meet up on campus on the very first day of school (we also happened to go to the same university, crazy right? did not even know). the week i came back, school had started but i also had a vegas trip planned that weekend. he couldn’t go, but told me to have fun because it was for my 21st. some rough things happened that weekend which later became a pinnacle fallout of some close friends of mine, but this man had gave me hope in continuing to look forward to life. we started becoming exclusive, eventually dating, eventually him becoming my boyfriend. we went on countless dates, got drunk together multiple times, even went to a festival together and did some questionable things (sry mom), but i had never been more happy in my life to have a boyfriend. i adored him so much, and all of my friends could see it as well. our fourth year in college, my friends had never seen me this happy with a person to call mine. i had never taken relationships seriously, as i have had trust issues ever since my years in high school after an experience that still haunts me to this day. my friends would tell me the way he looked at me was like nothing they had ever seen, and he truly loved to be with me and adored my presence. the name callings like “babe” and “baby” had become second nature, as i truly, for once, had a special someone to call my home. however, this had all ended when one day, we scheduled to meet up at starbucks to do homework like we always do. he would usually pick me up, and vise versa, but this particular day he said he would meet me there as he had errands to run. not thinking anything of it, i told him i would meet him there. it was that moment, where i saw him in the parking lot, not realizing that was the last kiss i would ever give him. he broke up with me, saying he couldn’t continue anymore. confused beyond wonder, i asked if we could talk about it, but he refused saying there was nothing more to talk about. that night, i couldn’t even cry as i was confused more than sad. i called my close friend, and i went to her house. we talked, and then i called my best friend and went to her house. she assured that there was most likely something that happened to him personally that he just could not tell you about. trying to believe that he would come back, i texted him asking if there was something he needed to talk about i will always be here, that i did not want to give up on us so easily. he assured me he was fine, as he just simply did not have feelings for me anymore. the day after our breakup is when it all hit me at once, as i could not stop crying. days on end i would wake up sobbing, and cry myself to sleep. anyone who would ask if i was okay, i would immediately break down into tears. in this moment, i had experienced my true first heart break. especially at an age of 21, i am an adult, and i did not believe our romance was a “high school sweetheart romcom.” i was truly devastated, heartbroken, confused, depressed, and over all shattered. my friends were amazing and comforted me, but there was still a scar in my heart that could not heal. unfortunately, i had gone out with friends that weekend and got insanely drunk that my phone got stolen too. (ladies, please be aware when you are drinking your sorrows away, it really does happen in times like this). what was the most conflicting was that since the time we had talked, to the point of our breakup was only roughly six months. however, one of my other closest friends reassured me that, “time does not measure the love you guys had. it could have been 6 years, and some people will still become heartbroken. whatever bond the two of you created was real, and everyone, including yourself knows that.” those next couple of months were ridiculously rough. having to go back to a life where i had to wake up every morning knowing he isn’t to call my home, or my own anymore. however, as time went by, it became gradually easier to not think of him. despite never getting the closure i wanted, i was slowly able to forgive myself of guilt, as stop asking myself “if i was ever enough.” at the beginning of the breakup, i would constantly question myself whether he truly loved me or not. however, as time went on, i started to believe that he really did make an effort to love me, and be with me, and make me happy. flash forward to the day i am writing this, which is roughly a year since the time that marks the start of our beautiful relationship, and about half a year since the tragedy that has changed to the person i am now. i will say i am not 100% fully over him, however, time has truly taken effect in the healing process. i would not be able to tell my past self i am doing this well right now. my past self would definitely not have believed me. maybe i will never get over him truly, as he will always have a special place in my heart no matter what. he is the man who opened a new door in my life, and created a new chapter of my life with me. i stumbled upon a side of me that i never knew even existed, and i will forever cherish the memories i spent with him. despite not being with him anymore, i truly wish he accomplishes all the dreams he told me about, and finds happiness and love again. i know that one day, he is going to make someone feel like the most luckiest and happiest girl in the world, as thats how he made me feel, and i can not thank him enough for the seemingly beautiful experience of a relationship i got with him.

for what i learned: despite not getting the closure i wanted, i was able to accept the reality in which i had faced. do not wish bad things upon someone you would give your world to. because, before the relationship ended, you know that you were falling in love and wished this love would never end. despite love failing, you will learn to love again. a broken heart truly is painful, as i have felt it. emotionally and physically, a broken heart aches. rather than viewing the relationship in a negative way, view it as a learning experience, an aspect of growing as an individual. you learned what you want in a person, and now you know how you act with your significant other. those memories you created, despite them being in the past, will always be a chapter of your life. you are blessed to feel these emotions, but they do not attach to a single soul. the construct of love can be held among different individuals. i know its hard to believe that you will never love again, but i promise, you will find that ray of sunshine and happiness in another person. it will take time, and the road to recovery will be painful. as if you’re picking up broken pieces of an object and slowly trying to put it back together, but you will find another way to mold it back. you will heal, you will find happiness, and you will love again. time heals all, and never lose hope in finding love. there is going to be someone out there who will love you just as much as the person you’re trying to forget did. you will then realize that you have made it, you have truly healed, and becoming a person you thought that could never cease to exist.

#relationship #heartbroken #healing #love #boyfriend #girlfriend #first love #closure #acceptance

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justaramblingromantic · 6 years ago

Text

fail better

Characters/Pairing: Kobayashi Rindou and Tsukasa Eishi/EiRin

Type: Canon-divergent AU, Post-series, Peerless-verse, Freestyle

Word Count: 2277

A/N #01: Ever read something so stupid that at the end of it all, you can almost literally feel the double negative ‘dislike’ interaction sign from The Sims forming right over your head? That was exactly my feeling after I read the nonsense that was chapter 296. Actually, my feeling was so strong it singlehandedly fueled my motivation to write this piece in one sitting, haha. What the effing heck, Tsukuda.

A/N #02: Title derived by Samuel Beckett’s quote: “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”

xXxXxXxXxX

Hours after the conclusion of his round of the tournament, he was back in the still quiet of his hotel room, staring down at the empty text screen of his phone, wondering what to write to properly convey his conflicted feelings at the moment. He found himself stuck for the longest time, because the other person who had all but wrung a promise out of him for consistent updates of his progress would not appreciate it in the least if he was insincere or dishonest with her and, most importantly, himself.

And she would know intrinsically too, much to his chagrin.

He did not have to struggle futilely for the whole night, because as if aware of his mounting difficulties…or perhaps just plain exasperated with his indecisive dithering, the smart device in his hand vibrated impatiently with an incoming call, and the name that popped up on his Caller ID was both a comforting and sobering sight at the same time.

He picked up, of course. After a brief, hesitating pause. Mentally steeling himself, because it was…difficult not to be swept away by that surge of self-critical disappointment all over again.

“…Hello.”

“Yo.”

In hindsight, he did not know what he was even feeling so anxious about. Just hearing that one word, just hearing that familiar voice filtered through the speaker from the other end, already possessed the miraculous effect of easing the stiff tension that had grown unbidden between his shoulders, bearing down on him like a heavy weight that entire day. He sighed her name.

“Rindou.”

There was some crinkling to be heard in ambient surroundings, as if she was snacking on something while on the phone with him at the same time. That casual familiarity soothed his nerves, because it was just like her to be so relaxed and comfortable around him. Before the conversation could lull and grow tense and awkward, she nonchalantly continued.

“I heard you got your ass handed to you today, Tsukasa~” his impish best friend all but singsonged.

Instead of feeling sorry and regretful over his loss, the woman actually sounded indecently gleeful instead. Even if he wanted to, it was hard to remain down in the doldrums when she was like this. He grew exasperated, remembering that sometimes she was the kind who liked to poke at people’s bruises, just to hear them yell.

“…You don’t beat around the bush, do you?” he deadpanned.

“Why should I?” she retorted between munches. “D’ya know how many texts I got this afternoon alone reporting your defeat to that Saiha dude? I practically received multiple blow-by-blow accounts, and they sent videos too; at least five different viewing angles of you getting your ass handed to you-”

Now, he was just plain mortified, never mind feeling sorry for himself.

“What. Who texted you?” he demanded to know, flustered that she had to learn about it from other people instead of straight from him. His cheeks warmed in pique. “Why are people texting you anyway to tell you those things.”

“Yeah, I wonder why,” she replied in a tone that implied she didn’t even have to wonder at all. Their closeness wasn’t exactly a big secret to those who knew them in Tootsuki.

“Where are you now, anyway?” she changed the subject blithely. “Moping about in your room?”

“I’m not moping,” he spluttered in denial. Sure, he was feeling a bit morose and out of sorts, but that was because there was nothing to do since he no longer had to prepare for the next stage of the competition! Furthermore and strangely enough, his defeat today had not felt as crushingly overwhelming as that time in the aftermath of the Regiment Shokugeki. And more importantly- “Next time, wait patiently for my texts instead of listening to the gossips of other people.”

“Then text me quicker next time-”

A knock on the door had him distracted, and he got up to answer it, phone still cradled to his ear.

“-I thought you got so depressed you decided to commit seppuku with that long-assed nail file of yours. Hola~!”

He opened the door…and there she was, standing at the entrance, her digitally modulated reply abruptly becoming clear and distinct in real time. She was bright eyed and smirking at him, just so irrepressibly buoyant it was as if she was a ray of sunshine herself.

Eishi blinked owlishly in surprise. “You are…here.” He quickly snapped out of his brief stupor. “Wait. What are you doing here?”

She brushed past him to get into his room. “Ta-da~ I came to offer my bosom for you to cry on, of course!”

He shut the door and turned to her, a funny look crossing his face, still half in disbelief…because she was supposed to be in Barcelona right now.

She looked like she had just stepped off a flight, and she had come bearing consolation gifts, too. “Look what I bought on the way here!” She swiveled to him and raised the plastic bags that she was holding. “Fried chicken and cheap beer are the best things to fix a broken heart!”

“My heart is not broken,” he retorted, nonplussed by her shining enthusiasm to bring light to his dark and tortured soul. “And will you put those drinks away; we’re still underaged.”

“Boo; you’re so straitlaced! What’s a bit of underaged drinking gonna do? We’d be twenty in a year or so, anyway! Live a little!”

And then she promptly proceeded to make a mess in his otherwise previously tidy accommodation. Her sneakers were kicked haphazardly aside, she dumped her bag unceremoniously on the floor in the middle of the room, and with whirlwind efficacy, she soon had the food and drinks laid out on the dressing table. Popping a crispy piece of chicken, deep fried to golden brown perfection, into her mouth, she pulled out a chilled can of beer from the six pack, bought right off a nearby conbini, cracked it open, brought it right to her lips and drank deep. She exhaled gustily with happiness, eyes squeezed shut with contentment, a look of comical satisfaction flitting across her rosy face.

“Hell yeah, this is the best~!”

The redhead popped open another can of beer, and she pushed it to him. “Don’t just stand there! Come join me, dummy.”

Eishi was reluctant at first, but as she handed him the choicest bits of chicken on a paper plate and then started to dig into her own share with zeal, he realized belatedly that he was hungry, too. How she miraculously knew that he hadn’t had dinner yet was a mystery; he had been preoccupied and had somehow forgotten all about eating in the process. He took refreshing sips of ice-cold beer in between succulent bites of crisp, precisely battered chicken; she was right, there was a certain epicurean pleasure to be had from this combination. His mind was already automatically deconstructing the dish, gauging the type of ingredients and their exact quantity, speculating on the various steps of preparation, how hot the temperature of the frying oil had to be-

She snorted at his distracted demeanor as they dawdled over the meal. “You’re such a nerd, I swear.”

He snapped out of his thoughts to stare at her. She snickered.

“Feel better now?”

He continued to stare.

“Wanna walk me through how your bout went?” Her golden eyes gleamed. “Or maybe I should tell you how I think it went as related to me by my secret sources?”

“No, thank you-”

He obligingly spilled, not wanting to hear of the embarrassing accounts as witnessed by whoever had spied on him for her. Besides, she was someone who actually appreciated the finer nuances of his cooking style and methodology, even when others would have been bored to tears by all that incredibly dry, technical talk. She paid rapt attention, her eyes trained unwaveringly on him as he spoke about the dish he came up with, and objectively as well of the one that had eventually defeated him.

Rindou was intrigued.

“Huh. Sounds like you had quite a bit of fun out there.”

International competitions like The Blue were really on another level altogether. She also wondered how they were able to dredge up so much crazy every year just to stuff into one event.

“I wouldn’t exactly call it ‘fun,’” Eishi muttered under his breath.

There was an annoying soreness just lying under the skin and muscles of his chest, growing more and more aggravating as time passed after that battle with Saiba Asahi, and downright impossible to ignore however he tried. It was a gripping feeling that he had not experienced in quite a long time. It felt like a muted rage, a festering, humiliating wound in his heart that had been dealt by the hand of his opponent.

“He claimed my knife in light of my loss,” he finally admitted his shame.

It was now or never, and he refused to lie. Not to her. Never, to her.

For one moment, the air around her stilled.

And then her eyes glowed bright with fury.

For all that some people always said of his selfishness and arrogance, even he had never stooped so low as to steal the precious knives of another chef, their livelihood, the very source of their pride. Everything that he had, he had painstakingly squeezed out of his own talents, refusing to rely or even lean on the abilities of others, because there was simply no honor or pride to be had for that kind of tainted victory. But such distasteful practice was not entirely unheard of, nor was it illegal or wrong. Life in the kitchen could be cutthroat and fast paced where all sorts of characters lurked; those who could not take the heat simply had no place there, regardless of how good or skilled they were.

Then again, Tsukasa had never been the kind to break easily.

“What an unpleasant punk,” Rindou uttered flatly, stiffly.

He said nothing to that, but somehow, he felt lighter, because here she was, absolutely furious on his behalf.

“Which blade did he take?”

He knew she was going to laugh. “…The one…you nicknamed ‘the long-assed nail file,’” he responded slowly, after a reluctant pause.

He was absolutely right; she snort-giggled into her beer. That heavy tension in the atmosphere promptly dissolved, and miraculously along with it, his paralyzing sense of disgrace. “Pffft. Of all the- That one?? Eh, I s’pose there’s really no accounting for taste, is there?”

Eishi sent her a disgruntled look, visibly put out by her reaction. “Enough, you. I actually liked that blade.”

She relaxed at his mild censure. He was calmer now, less tense, less brittle. In turn, that pleased her, too. She took another sip of her beer, already on her second can.

“So make an even better one, then. In the first place, you haven’t even fully developed that technique yet with how recently you came up with it,” she pointed out.

He drank to that, too. “I intend to.” There was a firmness in his quiet reply, an unshakable resolve that hardened his usually distant, lavender gaze, as he retreated to a place within himself that would not allow him to give up until he had achieved what he sought to.

She eyed him silently over the rim of her drink. That look of relentless, dogged determination was something that she hadn’t seen on him for a long time.

“…You really are having fun with this,” she observed once more with insistence, her lips twitching up in a delighted smile.

“It’s not fun,” he promptly corrected her. “It’s…frustrating.”

“But at least it’s not boring anymore, right?” She nudged him knowingly. He sighed and looked down at her plainly amused expression. She wasn’t going to give up until he admitted it, was she? He really did not know how she did it; there was not one word of consolation offered over his defeat, but still she made him feel so much better, all the same.

“…No. It’s not boring anymore,” he acknowledged. He was simmering, seething quietly beneath that deceptively calm, tranquil façade of his. “I actually feel…quite displeased,” he admitted, frowning slightly and looking quite out of sorts with himself.

She snorted, once again, at the understatement. He was really terrible at expressing anger. She reached up and petted his head for trying his best, all the same. “There, there. Let it all out. You want Rindou onee-chan to give you a hug too? Not to blow my own trumpet, but my hugs are seriously the best.”

He stared at her shamelessly bragging. Or maybe not, since he knew from experience that her hugs were seriously the best indeed, as advertised.

“Okay,” he agreed readily to her half joking offer. Perhaps it was the beer that relaxed his inhibitions, for he briefly studied her where she was sitting beside him, and then, without hesitation, he reached out, grabbed her around her middle, and half tugged, half lifted her onto his lap. She paused in surprise at his spontaneity, but before anything else could be said, he folded his arms around her and gently nested her against himself. He pressed his face into crimson fragrance of her hair and inhaled, sighing at her warmth and softness.

“…I’m glad you came,” he told her truthfully. It made him feel sleepy too, tension dissipating, and weariness rushing to the forefront in the face of this simple, reassuring contentment that was Rindou.

Her gaze softened. Her arms curled lazily around him in return, and she snuggled up to her best friend.

“Mm. You worked hard today, Tsukasa. Well done-”

xXxXxXxXxX

#Shokugeki no Soma #Food Wars: Shokugeki no Souma #Tsukasa Eishi #Kobayashi Rindou #EiRin #EiRin: Peerless AU #freestyle #my fics

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eligrantbooks · 6 years ago

Text

gotta vent about my day real quick

highlights of the day

> be professional ghostwriter.

Agreed to edit a 25000 word segment of a finished manuscript for a much loved regular client, who said the MC’s dialogue needed to be punched up. Easy enough. I figured it would take a few hours.

Was briefly excited to discover the manuscript was for a concept I had outlined and written several chapters for a few months ago.

Excitement rapidly dwindles as I realize that beloved client has hired another ghostwriter to write the majority of the book. Which would be fine, except this other ghostwriter has no fucking idea what they are doing.

Formatting is a god damn disaster and I spend several hours just getting the document into a workable condition.

You ever open a word doc, look at the navigation pane, and just see a wall of blank links, because someone applied the header formatting somewhere and then just hit enter a million times instead of using a page break like a civilized god damn human being?

in the middle of this forest of blank headers, actual chapter titles are scattered at random, and also they only applied the header to roughly one out of every five chapters or so, you know, just, when they felt like it. when the spirit took them. when the stars aligned. when the feng shui was right.

Also, apparently they like the way first line indenting looks but don’t know how to make word do that (spoiler: its easy as shit and takes like two clicks) so every once in a while they start manually hitting tab before every line, until they get distracted and stop for a while, luring you into a false sense of security before they remember and start doing it again.

Sometimes, when a scene transitions but they dont want to just end the chapter for some reason, they break it up with spaces. Other times, they like to use asterisks. Once or twice, just for flavor, they throw in one of those page width lines that word makes when you type a line of hyphens.

There is random highlighting in places, for no discernible reason.

Once I have the document formatted in a way I can bear to work with, I start actually reading through it. About the first seven chapters were written by the client. They’re cheesy but solid.

Then I get to chapter eight, and the suspicions i had begun to form while putting the formatting through traction (namely that whoever did this was a fuckwit) quickly crystallized into a shining certainty that my beloved client had mistakenly hired An Ass Clown.

Not just An Ass Clown, but An Ass Clown who thought 50 Shades was a beautiful love story, actually.

And they gave This Ass Clown, this literary reprobate, this paste eating remedial english mother fucker, my outline.

let me clarify that i did not expect to have sole control of this story when i produced the outline for beloved client, and I was okay with that. That’s how it works. If I’d been dead set on writing this myself, i wouldn’t have sold the outilne to beloved client. but it really rubs salt in the wound to have spent hours of my life crafting the bones of this story, which i really liked and was excited to see take shape

and then find out it has been put into the pie fondling hands

of An Ass Clown.

first hint that something has gone drastically wrong: the arrival of completely unnecessary and ridiculous fantasy names for things.

“oh we dont drink coffee in this book. it’s kofee. at least until three chapters from now when i forget and it becomes kofe. Oh, and watch out for those thornaby bushes! I’m going to misspell that one literally every time I use it! It’s entirely possible that this isn’t a fantasy name at all and I just have a small seizure whenever I try to type the word thorn bush!”

second omen of my impending anuerism: phonetically written accents which are so comically stereotypical and inaccurate that native speakers of that accent should be entitled to financial compensation, except they can’t even stick to the stereotype accurately, producing gems such as “It’s not safe in that there pen with ‘em swine, young miss.” I don’t even know what accent that’s supposed to represent. To top it off these accent abominations are sprinkled in with all the consistency and reliability of a lactose intolerant cheese enthusiast’s bowel movements.

But this, I tell myself, moving on, is not my problem. I just need to punch up the mcs dialogue. It’ll be fine. I can do this. I just need to take this shit: “A fond idea, but I doubt I have that ability.” I joked. “I can’t imagine living without true sunshine. Even the triplet moons must shine less brightly without their sister sun.” and make it… not like that.

Except, and here’s where I start hitting the real roadblock guys

this book is in first person.

essentially, the entire novel is the MC talking.

So sure I can change the spoken lines, but her internal monologue

which is, i remind you, the entire narrative

her internal monologue is going to keep being maggie gyllenhal’s character from The Secretary if her copy of the script had been swapped with just a binder full of sonnets written by a middle school english class during the Shakespeare unit.

I get to chapter ten around three in the afternoon. I have been working steadily, with an unusual degree of focus thanks to my recent adderal prescription, since ten in the morning.

this is where shit begins to go truly bananas.

this is a YA beauty and the beast type fantasy

that good fun indulgent shit that’s almost as enjoyable to write as it is to read

usually. previously. before i had to endure this traumatic twelve hour experience.

Chapter ten is the first big “dinner” scene. this book isn’t being shy about pulling from the source material, but that’s fine. the beast “apologizes” (heavy quotes there) for having earlier used magic to force the heroine to answer his questions truthfully. They talk and almost seem to making progress for a bit, and then have a fight and storm off. Standard stuff.

Except, uh, the beast’s apology is, essentially “Yeah I shouldn’t have done that.” “so you’re apologizing?” “no but it’s the best you’re going to get so deal with it.”

and the headstrong, independent heroine who wears pants and wrestles pigs and dont need no man

just kinda rolls with this. There’s giggling.

They have their big dramatic fight, exit stage left, much angst and todo.

The next morning heroine wakes up to find the beast has (presumably) snuck into her room while she was sleeping and dumped a bunch of new dresses on her. he has also (apparently) replaced her brain with Bella Swan’s more vapid cousin.

She forgives him instantly. Because pretty dresses. She also starts calling him master, because why not. She has, over night, become the darling submissive Tumblr doms dream of.

This is not a bdsm book. I am eighty percent certain it doesn’t even include soft core smut. I’m telling you this so that you understand this transformation was not a contrivance in order to facilitate kinky sex. I have written a contrived set up to a sex scene or two in my day. This is not that. This is Not what is in the outline. I know, because i wrote the outline. It is My Outline.

No, The Ass Clown just… decided to do this. Apropos of nothing. I’m beginning to think the Ass Clown’s decision making process involves whipping pies at a comically large dartboard. And all the options on the dartboard are just “lol whatever”

By the time I get to chapter eleven, wherein our newly lobotomized heroine is “excited to wear a new frock and please the master!” - direct quote I have given up any pretense of editing dialogue and I am just straight up rewriting shit using the previous garbage as a loose outline.

I have eaten, maybe, three bites of a bowl of oatmeal all day. I have not taken a bathroom break since before noon. I have missed my deadline. Beloved client is concerned. I’m sure I can still do this, I just need a few more hours.

the words sound like truth but my soul knows i am a liar

I frantically restructure scene after scene, deceiving myself each time that it will be the last, and I will be able to get this crazy train back on the rails. But this crazy train has no interest in being on the rails. It’s a direct line no stops right off the edge of the cliffs of insanity.

The beast jumps unpredictably from homicidal rage and threats of violence to jokes and flirting as though he did not just declare her his property and threaten to rip her tongue out a few paragraphs ago. Heroine swoons and sighs and giggles regardless of whether she is dealing with Dr.Jekyll or Christian Gray on PCP.

But I’m still sure I can do this. I’ll just adjust these two full chapters to make her appropriately scared and angry, and then replace this weird conversation here with a heartfelt apology from him and an effort to do better. That will totally work. Unless, you know, it turns out that conversation I want to replace only starts out with them joking and laughing together, and turns into him berating and abusing her mid paragraph of a fuckin montage a page later! But, haha! Why would The Ass Clown ever do that? It would be completely irrational, tonally jarring and out of character! Only a seltzer slinging rainbow suspender-ed peanut butter fumbling son of six fucks would do that.

so of course The Ass Clown did that.

It’s eleven at night. I know when I’m beaten.

I inform beloved client that the Ass Clown has bested me and I can do no more.

She is very understanding.

I send her what I managed and I check the added word count while im at it

i added a full 6,000 words to that manuscript just trying to patch up this sloppy motherfucker’s lopsided prose and gossamer thin understanding of narrative structure

son of a bitch had about as firm a grasp of romance as i currently have on the trembling shreds of my sanity.

their grip on character writing could not be more tenuous if they had first dipped the target brand Hulk Hands which I assume they always have on their person into a barrel of adult-film-grade silicon lubricant and then taken their Leapfrog 2-in-1 Leaptop Touch down a waterslide.

Do you know how much I usually make for 6000 words?

$180.

Do you know how much I made for enduring this ass blasting, which I naively believed I could tackle in a matter of hours?

$100.

You owe me $80 Ass Clown. And I aim to collect.

Also I lost my damn mind for a minute and said the words "i dont know shit about fuck my guy” to my actual father on facebook

so there’s that.

#reposting from my rp blog #i need to get better about not using it as a personal

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thevictoryofthepeople · 6 years ago

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HELLO! TODAY MARKS MY SIX-YEAR ANNIVERSARY ON THIS BLOG ( 6/1/2018 ) AND TO CELEBRATE HERE IS A FOLLOW FOREVER ( I haven't done this in a while so excuse the lame graphic ). I honestly cannot believe that I've had this blog for so long. I've had a lot of downs here but I've also had my fair share of ups. After my year hiatus, I had honestly thought I would be shutting this blog down for good because a lot of things were going wrong but I'm so glad I didn't because I got to meet more amazing people along with the partners who've managed to stick by my side for so long. Besides having a follow forever, I wanted to do something special but I'm honestly clueless so I was hoping you all could help me out. I was thinking a Q & A video for the muses and mun, a voice recording of what my muses would sound like in a drabble, a promo/shoutout, a gifset/graphic/photo edit of your muses and mine, and/or drabbles for your muses and mine. You guys can choose which one you want me to do but I will be closing requests by June 8. Anyways, below the cut are people I just want to thank and people who I wish to interact with. I may have forgotten some people so I do apologize. I'm very scatterbrained at times. Okay love you all. Stay wonderful. ~ local smol bean, MC <3

OLDIES BUT GOODIES ( MY WONDERFUL LOVES WHO HAVE BEEN HERE FOR SO LONG )

@qceensofkings - Such a kind person with great muses.We don’t talk much out of character but it doesn’t stop me from loving Nicholas and Isabelle together. They make my heart happy especially during their little cute moments ( like fighting over if pancakes or waffles are better ). You are a wonderful human being and I love seeing you on my dash always. I can’t wait to keep writing more with you

my starlight bestie { @eternallydreamingstar } - BEST FRIEND HI. OKAY SO FIRST OFF I LOVE YOU OKAY YOU’RE SUCH A GREAT FRIEND! MORE THAN I CAN EVER ASK FOR. You were literally the first person after my hiatus who reached out to me again and started to write with me. You gave me the push and motivation to keep on going despite me wanting to give up. I love our plots, I love our characters, and I love the world we’ve created. We’ve been together for so long and I honestly cannot stress how much you mean to me. I love you so much. You’ve have always been there for me and I will continue to always be there for you too. I LOVE YOU STARLIGHT

the longest love { @drew-a-tanaka } - Okay....listen....I think by this point this is going to be repetitive because you’re literally my longest partner ( it’s been like five years ) so you’ve been with me for such a long time and you’ve heard me tell you I love you all the time. I love you okay. I care so much about you more than you could ever know. Thank you for truly caring for me and for helping me. Thank you for writing with me. Thank you for pulling me out of the darkness countless of times. Thank you for cheering me on. Thank you. I love you and I’m always here for you. I will always be here for you.

the wonderful inspiration { @ribbedxgloves } - Um listen, even after all these years I’m still intimidated by you. Like you’re so amazing and all your characters are great and don’t even get me started on your writing. I will never cease to thank you for giving me a chance because without you I don’t think I would have actually grown and improved as a roleplayer. Thank you for being such a wonderful human being. I miss talking to you a lot. But thank you for being a beautiful soul.

SUGAR AND SPICE AND EVERYTHING NICE ( MY DARLING CUTIES WHO ALWAYS MANAGE TO MAKE MY DAY BRIGHTER )

@hadesrebelofadaughter - You honestly are one of the kindest people ever. I don’t think you understand just how much you’ve made my days when you sent me all those encouraging messages and were genuinely interested in my characters. I apologize for my slowness because we don’t get to interact a lot but I do read your threads and you’re such a wonderful writer. You are a bright person so please keep on shining.

@district-one-beauty - Hello, my love. First off, I want to apologize for being the slowest person ever when it comes to replying. Second off, thank you for always messaging me and trying to talk to me. You’re such a kind person. I know things get rough but I’m always here if you need anything. Thank you for blessing my dash and threads with your presence. And thank you for simply being my amazing rp partner. I will do my best to be more responsive, I promise.

@humansxfox - Okay first off, I actually never thought you would actually want to roleplay with me because I am a mere potato who knows nothing and yet you sent me asks and now here we are. Katherine makes me super happy because I love how she just interacts with Nicholas. It gives me a chance to be more creative with him without having to change his backstory or who he is ( this means a lot to me honestly ). You’re honestly such a blessing on my dash and just your presence makes me happy. I wish we could talk more out of character but I’m really shy and weird so I do apologize.

pink candied sky { @leenxna } - MY LOVE MY WONDERFUL HONEY MY DARLING! DUDE I LOVE YOU SO MUCH OKAY. LIKE I TRULY LOVE YOU. YOU’RE SO FUCKING AMAZING I CAN’T EVEN EXPRESS HOW MUCH YOU MEAN TO ME. Thank you for putting up with me and thank you for talking to me and just being an overall great person. I love being a dork with you and just talking about everything. You make me so happy. I love that we’ve pretty much established a whole story and it’s pretty great. Thanks for introducing me to great people and thanks for loving my spams. I can honestly write a whole chapter about how amazing you are but I’ll stop for now haha. Okay LOVE YOU.

@hxpxfm - YOU ARE A BEAUTIFUL PERSON. Like the first time you hopped into my IM, not going to lie, I was really startled because no one has ever truly done that before but DUDE I’M REALLY GLAD YOU DID. You’re so sweet and caring and I just love having conversations with you. I know we haven’t roleplayed yet [ I’M SORRY I’M SO SLOW ] but I’m already excited for our characters to interact. THANK YOU FOR BEING SUCH A BALL OF SUNSHINE.

@killyouhimself - Your presence on my dash makes me so happy. And even though our threads have not progressed yet ( I’M SORRY I’M SO SLOW. Please forgive me. ) I honestly already love them. I love your character so much which is why I’m always reading your threads. You’re an amazing writer and your creativity is truly astounding. I love the interaction between Charon and Sungmin. Thank you for being on my dash and for being such a blessing.

the argentate heart { @atrociity } - OMG SO MANY THINGS TO SAY ABOUT YOU. You make me so soft, okay? Like you’re so cute and adorable and so nice and caring and it’s just like how was I blessed ??? I love Eris so much and the way she interacts with Mak ( also thank you for interacting with him ). Thank you for checking up on me. Honestly if anyone ever fights you, tell me. I will fight them for you. I will literally lay down my morality for you because you are a person who deserves all the love and protection. I love you so much!

the sweetest honey { @busanbunnie } - ANOTHER PEACH. ANOTHER SWEETHEART WHO HAS MANAGED TO MAKE MY DAYS BETTER. YOU ARE SO ADORABLE AND CUTE AND I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU - FROM YOUR BLOG AND TO YOUR PERSONALITY. I love our interactions so so much and I just love talking to you. Thank you for being such a bright light.

@painterlyjongin - HIIIII. Okay listen, I’m actually very intimidated by you and I’m really grateful that you’re writing with me. I love plotting and talking with you always. Your characters are beautiful and you’re a wonderful human being. Every time you appear on my dash, I get very happy. Thank you for giving me the honor of interacting with you.

@beavtiful-liar - I’m always blessed to see you on my dash. I’m always happy when you’re online. I know we don’t interact as much but I’m still grateful that your presence is here. I’m always happy when I read your threads. You’re such a kind person and you deserve so much love and happiness. I don’t know how you managed to keep so many muses and how you manage to be super creative but it’s honestly awe-inspiring. Thank you for being a blessing.

@nobxdyshome - You are such a beautiful soul and I’m really sorry that I’m very slow with replying but with the interactions we’ve had so far, it’s honestly great. I loved plotting with you and talking with you. I always read your threads and you’re so creative and such a great writer. I will always be in awe of you.

@jinxednature - Hiiiii. First off, you are so so so so so so nice. A very, very sweet soul that I have the honor of talking and interacting with you. You are so beautiful and kind and I love your blog and your characters and your creativity. You give my dash a little more sweetness and I will forever be grateful for that.

the bby love { @aroixs } - Will words be enough to convey how much you mean to me? Will it ever truly encompass all my emotions and thoughts? You, my dear, are such a true blessing in my life. You genuinely are such a caring and wonderful person and every time I see a notification from you I honestly get incredibly happy. You care so much and you’re always so kind and thoughtful. Even when you have your own problems to deal with, you manage to have time for me and that is an honor. I love you so much bby. I’m always grateful for you.

my baby doll wife { @moonsiim } - There are too many things to say about you. I can write a whole novel trying to detail out all of the thoughts I have about you but I won’t go overboard. One day I will but not today. I always tell you this: I love you. Every time we talk I always have a smile on my face. Every time you send me something or talk about something you’re passionate or interested about my heart swells with joy because I’m honored that you can share it with me. Your writing leaves me breathless. Your characters leave me gasping for oxygen. You, just you, leaves me in awe. I love you so much and I don’t know how to convey that truly because let’s face it I’m pretty awkward and weird and yet you’ve given me a chance to be part of your life. I will always be grateful for everything you’ve done. I will always be here for anything you need. I will always try to be your ball of sunshine. I truly love you so so much.

ADMIRATION FROM AFAR ( AMAZING BLOGS I WISH I GOT TO INTERACT WITH MORE OR HAVE A CHANCE TO INTERACT WITH BUT I'M TOO SHY AND AWKWARD AND SLOW ...and just a little busy which sucks but one day )

@meirise || @dcpression || @xtaem || @prvttyliars || @elvctrickiss || @sierrcr || @monkeydjong || @boyccld || @divinexlovers || @kingpvns || @nxcturnes ( quick note - I’m honestly in admiration of your writing and you very much intimidate me but I enjoy reading all your threads ) || @lostavra || @strawbxrryblxssxms ( quick note - YOU’RE HONESTLY SUCH A SWEETHEART AND I’M SORRY I HAVEN’T REPLIED YET ) || @seaxofxstrangers || @malvdo || @deitius || @whyhasthemadnessoccured || @130mo2d || @witch-saebyeok ( quick note - I’m sorry for being slow and ALSO I LOVE WINTER’S AND SAEBYEOK’S FRIENDSHIP ALREADY ) || @fatedtobehunted || @survivics ( quick note - I always try to send you an ask or a request to plot and then I get really scared so I don’t but I really wish I could interact with you ) || @ilatiisms ( quick note - I love your character so much and you’re such an amazing writer and I’m very intimidated but one day I will muster up the courage to ask to interact ) || @nocturncx ( quick note - I miss you and I love our interactions and I’m so sorry that I’m really slow with replying. You’re beautiful ) || @telekineticdivinity || @tenxthreex || @orientalskies || @alnowicki || @curious-x || @fclklre || @rousepalette

#out of the darkness {ooc}#creator's scrolls {announcements and trackers}#follow forever #[ i apologize if i missed anyone ]#[ but happy anniversary to me ]#creator's tongue {mc talks}

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lemonadethelabradoodle-blog · 6 years ago

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books i’m writing

aegusver

magnolia- protagonist, sassy af, mom friend to entire city of oniman, will kill for you

atlasso- philosopher, looks for truth, basically on death row, reckless, lost all of his money but nobody knows lol

xavier- the purest person you will ever meet, but very annoying

vendetta- antagonist, queen bitch, probably gonna stab you in your sleep, resting bitch face, ready to kill

troye- only important for a chapter but he has real character development

sierra- plot development xd

sigur/avaith unnamed book

sigur- protagonist, armed and ready to kill, edgy, rock king, probably will sob on your shoulder late at night, daddy

payntas- gay as hell, a badass mom, hothead, can’t fly, rides on dirrienth’s back

dirrienth- gay as hell too, loves payntas and will die for her & sigur, hot, basically garnet from steven universe

ellyd- will hold you until you fall asleep, supports you forever, best friend to sigur, beefy boy, goof

meoriass- d-d-daddy :weary:, basically sigur’s dad, hot wings, troubled past, dad jokes

avaith- 2nd protagonist, princess, will cut you, 11 brothers, six older then her but she’s still the heir, don’t get in her way, again will cut you

mavinein- queen, not that bad, great mom but will not pay much attention to you, rlly formal, avaith’s mom

ryzianth- antagonist, lowkey mad, always angry, bitch, oppressor, dictator, but he’s a good dad.. so his sons

crest of the eagles

talise- protagonist, cliche “magic but doesnt know it yet,” fox feminist icon, will fight to be able to fight, will fight you if not for you, “do it or die”

leonel- talise’s lil bro, pure, love, son, sunshine and rainbows, probably gay, attached to everybody

gracelyn- secrets. talise + leonel’s mom, knows so much but says nothing, kind eyes, soft hands, motherly hugs, motherly talks, nuzzles uwu

orion- heart eyes gracelyn, talise + leonel’s dad, goofy dad, traditional but loves talise’s spirit, will praise you until you die

other boys who i havent made yet lol

blaise- side protagonist, cliche “loyal to his home country but has a destined fate he hates,” probably plotting to kill talise and thora at all moments, “to live hard and die well is why we were made,” ready to cut a bitch

thora- side protagonist, cliche “not the hero type but a hero anyways,” small, anxious, ptsd, “they look at me like im a scar on their perfect skin, but it is only perfect to them,” ready to leave her whole life behind, big gay, will smite you if you scare her

#books im writing #writers #writers on tumblr #writing #writeblr

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lavieendonna · 7 years ago

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Brushwork || Art Major!Calum AU (Chapter 13)

Summary: An Art Major AU where Dallas - third year gawky art student at VCA - makes a deal with Calum - her cute new neighbour and project partner - and they spend the entire year learning that the perfect masterpiece takes a whole lot of brushwork.

Date: 4 August 2017 Requested: surprisingly yes like half a millennia ago Pairing: Calum + Dallas Words: 4K Warnings: a little bit of self-esteem issues and some body image negativity in the beginning, but the rest is quite fluffy and calum-y goodness. A/N: don’t ask me how long ago this was meant to be up cuz i can guarantee none of us were alive. IM SO SORRY THIS IS LATE and i apologise in advance cuz the next one will probably be late too. I hope the content makes up for it though, this is one of my favourite chapters so far and I can’t wait to write more. PLEASE let me know what you think and KEEP REQUESTING THE NEXT PARTS ! It helps me write to know people are still reading :) big love x

Ask | Masterlist | ‘Brushwork’ Spotify Playlist | Next Chapter | ‘Brushwork’ News

Chapter 13: If Calum Touched Me Again I Would Go Into Cardiac Arrest And He’d Have To Explain To Polly And My Sister That My Heart Couldn’t Take The Feeling Of His Skin On Mine So I Chose To Succumb to Death Instead.

I felt him slide into the bed behind me. I wasn’t sure I was completely awake yet, or at least, I didn’t think I was. But I couldn’t mistake his warmth for anybody else’s, there was no way that was ever going to be possible.

“Dallas…” His voice was a whisper, and even though I was on some other plane of existence, I could still feel the slight smirk on his lips as his arms snaked around my waist and shoulders and he pulled me to him, bowing his frame to match mine as his mouth pressed against the skin of my bare shoulder. “Wake up, Sunshine…”

His lips peppered the lightest of kisses along what flesh of my shoulders and neck he could reach at that angle and for a moment I contemplated continuing to dance on the edge of consciousness just so I could feel him adore me in his own time a little more. I could never imagine what went through his mind when I wasn’t around. Part of me wished I was facing him, nose to nose, so that I could glimpse through my lashes at what his face might have looked like when he watched me when I wasn’t looking.

But I understood that some of these moments, they were his to have. I wasn’t meant to memorise every expression he had no matter how much I longed too.

With a deep breath, I cracked my eyes open and gazed over my shoulder with squinted, sleepy eyes and a lazy grin.

“Morning to you, too.” I mumbled in my less-cute, raspy morning voice. I felt a chuckle rumble deep in his chest, and the feeling made me want to press my heart up against his. I shifted in his arms, burrowing myself deeper into his arms so our chests were pressed tight against one another. I glanced up through my lashes and he was looking down on me already with the hint of smirk and the ghost of some mischievous thought deep set in chocolate brown eyes.

“Is this okay?” He whispered to me, almost like he was teasing me. I cocked a sleepy eyebrow, and just as I opened my mouth to ask what he meant he leaned in and covered my lips with his own.

They were exactly like I remembered them.

And they also weren’t real.

I opened my eyes for real this time and I was sweating from head to toe. It was late winter and I felt like I had heat stroke. I sighed, trying to stop the hyperventilating, and sat up to bury my face in my hands. It wasn’t like the dream I’d just escaped was a nightmare or anything and yet here I was, heart racing like it was. Don’t ask me why, because I couldn’t tell you even if I wanted to.

When fished out my phone from the depths of my bed covers to check the time, I groaned when I realised that it was only just past six in the morning. It was too late to go back to sleep and too early to really do anything productive. But I felt lazy and lethargic – I’d been holed up in my room for nearly three days coming out only to take a dump every 12 hours. And while usually that was, like, a dream scenario for me, this time it didn’t make me feel overly good about myself. After the Wedding Incident™ I was relieved to spend that entire week wallowing in self-pity and hiding from everyone in existence. This time, though I still wanted to be invisible to society, the self-pity thing wasn’t doing much for me.

With a huff, I decided to do something I almost never did on my own out of fear of death and no one noticing. I pulled on a pair of black leggings that clung to my legs like a second skin, threw on an old baggy grey t-shirt and unearthed my bright green Adidas sneakers from the depths of my laundry pile under the bed and stared at myself in the mirror.

I hadn’t been to the gym in weeks, I’d forgotten what I looked like in my version of work-out clothes. I pulled the grey fabric of my shirt close to my frame, bunching it up behind my back and I cringed. I looked like a dickhead. I looked like a dickhead who needed to go to the gym. My thighs were bigger than usual and my love handles were more than pronounced without my Spanx on. I didn’t even want to think about the pudge that was supposedly my stomach now so I let my shirt go angrily, grabbed my phone and earphones and the loose change from my trinket tray and stormed out of my room and the apartment.

I decided (upon the realisation that I was too broke to actually go to the gym) that a nice long run to push the limits would help me release the tension and anger I had that was making my body feel so heavy and idle and stuck. I was stuck on how to feel about the situation I’d found myself in; angry that Polly had to be so brash and unapologetic. I was angry that my Mum didn’t understand me, and that Calum wasn’t home when I woke up. I was angry that this all had to happen to me – and me specifically – because I was perfectly fine flying under the radar. I was as perfectly fine as I could be just being Dallas Noel James with minimal-to-no complications.

By the time I had realised how truly furious I was I had worked up a sprint. I had no idea where I was going or how far I’d gone – it seemed like I’d been running for hours. My chest was heaving and my face was red. I could feel the sweat sticking to my skin and drenching the t-shirt on my back. I smelt terrible an I was getting a wicked migraine from not drinking any water (or even bringing any to begin with). But for some reason the burn was comforting me more than any friend or family member I had could have.

I finally slowed to a stop in the middle of a deserted and some-what-dark park. There were a couple of street lamps on, but the first light of sun was just visible behind the trees that surrounded me. I was heaving, a lot more than I was this morning, and the skin from my neck up felt red. My thighs burned and I had a stitch where my liver was probably meant to be. But I felt lighter – for a minute.

“Dallas?”

God, every time I heard my name it made me want to throw up. Or die.

I stopped attempting to stretch and turned around slowly to find no one else by the boy with the brown puppy dog eyes.

“I didn’t know you ran.” He said plainly and while I wasn’t really offended, I raised my eyebrows at the boy to see the panic rise in his eyes and drown any surprise that was lurking there. “Oh, I didn’t mean – No, Dallas, I mean… uh. That’s. I’m sorry. That was… that did sound like that in my head.” Calum cringed and I let myself force out a quite huff of a chuckle.

“It’s okay.” I laughed. “Um, I don’t run. Usually.” I explained. “Not in public anyway. I just didn’t have enough money for the gym this morning.” Calum wandered over with a sheepish smile, his black stretched out singlet willowing in the crisp morning breeze and making him seem skinner than usual. He wore a pair of baggy shorts, too, and (surprise) black Reebok’s.

“I didn’t know you went to the gym, either.” He was a bit cheekier with that line and I quirked an eyebrow at him. “You just didn’t seem the type!” He defended himself, palms in the air like he was surrendering.

“I guess not.” I laughed again and then I felt the familiar awkward feeling settle in my stomach when the small talk came to a lull and I was left standing there on the brink of death while Calum just watched me. I watched him back, but still. I didn’t think I looked like I was thinking a million things all at once.

“How’ve you been? Polly said you’ve been upset.” Calum finally said and I watched the playfulness leave his eyes and instead of making me panic it made me… sigh.

“Did she, now?” I said, pursing my lips and looking away from Calum’s face, hand on the back of my neck as I tried to ignore the sweat that was there that made my insides squirm. “Is that all she had to say?” When I glanced back at Calum he was frowning a little, lips turned down as he gave a small shrug.

“I mean, I guess.” He didn’t seem sure about that. “She said she hadn’t really seen you in a couple days. Reckons that meant you were upset.” Calum suddenly looked worried he’d said the wrong thing. I didn’t like seeing him so unsure, it tugged on my heartstrings more than usual and it was an uncomfortable feeling. So, I chuckled, and though it didn’t relieve much of the tension, Calum seemed to even out his breathing a little bit.

“Polly isn’t always right, you know.” I said very pointedly. “I’m fine, I’ve just been… busy?” I cringed. I started that sentence off so well but half-way through I realised I didn’t really have a good enough excuse to have been holed up in my room for so long, and then it sort of just came out like a question. It was Calum’s turn to cock his eyebrow at me unbelievingly and I tensed under his gaze, my cheeks flaring pink for a new reason now.

“Busy?” He questioned me and I gave a deathly slow nod, brain still running blank for anything to save me from my myself. “Are you sure?”

I didn’t say anything and just started to walk back in the direction I’d come from. Calum followed along beside me, naturally, saying nothing, naturally, and waiting for me to decide when I was ready to talk. I wasn’t, really, but the longer we spent walking in silence (apart from my erratic breathing mixing in with the wind) the more uncomfortable I got. I had to say something or it was going to eat me alive and I’d probably end up falling apart in Calum’s arms for a third time and I was worried that if Calum touched me again I would go into cardiac arrest and he’d have to explain to Polly and my sister that my heart couldn’t take the feeling of his skin on mine so I chose to succumb to death instead. I’d embarrassed myself enough for one lifetime.

“I, um.” I tried to clear my throat but it didn’t work too well and I ended up choking on my breath and coughing up a lung. Calum offered me his water and I took it graciously, careful not to let our fingers touch. “Thanks.” He chuckled lightly as I handed back the blue bottle.

“You were saying?” He smiled gently. I wanted to die just from that look, it was so cute.

“I – yeah.” I took a deep breath. “I just, um. I needed some time to think.” Was what I come up with and, without jinxing it, I was actually kind of proud of my honesty. “It was a crazy weekend.” I watched from the corner of my eye as Calum nodded with a slight smirk twitching on his lips.

“I heard.” He said, managing hold in his laughter I could see threatening to spill musically from pink lips. “Tequila and pizza party, huh?” He side-eyed me and I gave an uncomfortable, clearly embarrassed titter. I coughed lightly again, sheepish, and Calum sniggered.

“Yeah…” I mumbled. “After…. everything… Polly and Ashton wanted to relax and show me how we’d done.” There was a small lull in the conversation as Calum and I both thought back to that night and how I’d ended up a sobbing mess in his bed in the middle of the night. I cringed at the memory and when I looked back up at Calum, the playfulness in his eyes had died and he looked positively worried. Guilty, even, but mostly afraid. Of what, who knew. I was under the impression he was a modern-day Hercules and wasn’t afraid of anything.

“You didn’t like the photos?” He asked and my eyes widened.

“What? No.” I accidentally yelled. “I mean, no, I-I did.” My mouth gaped like a fish as I tried to recover that sentence. The look in Calum’s eyes hadn’t changed – in fact I think I’d just made it worse – and I desperately needed to change that.

“I didn’t mean that. Of course, I liked them.” I said slower. “I loved them.” Slowly, Calum looked less hurt and more… concerned. His eyebrow twitched as he was trying to piece together everything that happened with everything I’d just said. Part of me wished he wouldn’t – there was so much about that night that I didn’t remember, but I remembered enough that I didn’t want to relive any of it either.

“So what happened?” He asked. “Why… why were you so upset?” I tried to play it off.

“I’m an emotional drunk?” I said with a hopeful smile and a shrug. Calum didn’t fall for it, he just gave me a sidelong look. I sighed. “Sorry.”

“Why do you do that?” Calum was frowning now, not necessarily in a disappointed way, just in a confused way. “Every time someone tries to get into your head and ask if you’re okay you play it off like it doesn’t matter.”

“Because it doesn’t!” I gave a dark, unintentional laugh into the open air around us. The sun had come up from behind the trees behind us, now, but even with the rays hitting our backs I still shivered. “It doesn’t matter why I get upset because there are bigger problems in the world.” I looked Calum dead in the eyes this time, because that was the truth and he was never going to believe me if I didn’t look him in the eyes for longer than a millisecond. “I don’t like feeling full of myself. And if I get over it and stop feeling sorry for myself then maybe there’s a chance social demise won’t be my thing for much longer.”

Saying it all out loud, repeating Ashton and Polly’s words, hurt. And it made me want to start running all over again.

Calum’s fingers brushed mine ever so slightly and when I didn’t immediately recoil from his touch, Calum intertwined his fingers with mine. My heart rate sky rocketed, but I was surprisingly cool about it (apart from the fact that I couldn’t stop staring at our hands and wondering if maybe the gaps in his hands were meant for mine to fill them).

“It does matter.” He told me, and it wasn’t quiet or careful or even remotely like he was feeling sorry for me at all. “But just because you don’t want to be upset anymore, it doesn’t mean you don’t have to feel anything.”

I didn’t look at him when he spoke or even after. I just let him squeeze my hand gently for a moment and then when I was ready, I let it go.

“I’ll race you to the McDonald’s at the end of the street.” I said and took off without letting him agree. He yelled out after me and called me a bitch through a loud laugh and I laughed back and just pumped my arms and prayed that maybe I’d be better than Calum at something. I had no idea what possessed me to think that I could beat Calum at anything let alone at running. He was this athletic God and this was the first time I’d been running in – well, I didn’t even know how long.

It was inevitable that Calum would not only beat me, but have ordered us breakfast already (I gave up when he breezed passed me two seconds but also again when I tripped over my own feet and fell flat on my face).

“Here.” Calum was still laughing after I told him what happened. I scowled as I took the napkins he’d gone and gotten for me and pressed one to the gash on my cheek and balled another in my fist to stop the bleeding on my palm. “How’s your knee?”

“Shut up.” I rolled my eyes but a smile twitched on my lips even though the bruise on my knee throbbed at the mention of it. Calum laughed one more time before gesturing for me to move the napkin from my face. I did as I was told and watched Calum inspect the wound as if he knew what he was looking at from a completely medical perspective.

“This is your fault, you know.” I told him very matter-of-factly. His eyes widened but they didn’t meet mind.

“In what world?!” He wailed at me and I winced when he started dabbing a fresh napkin to the now-slowing bleeding on my face a little too roughly, over the table even though it probably wasn’t overly comfortable for him.

“In the world that if you’d left me alone this morning and finished your run on your own without me!” Calum rolled his eyes and offered me a challenging look.

“Yeah, cuz that’s such a polite thing to do.” He deadpanned, and I cocked my eyebrow at him in my own challenge.

“Yeah, and in what world do you care about being polite?” I smirked. I was sure I had him now. Yes, the sweet, sweet taste of Revenge Sass™.

“Hey,” Calum’s eyes were playful again, but there was something else there deep set in his eyes that I couldn’t quite recognise. “I like to be polite to the girls I like.”

Calum took back his hand and the napkin as if he hadn’t just said the words that would be the cause of my death. I was suddenly finding it hard to breath, especially as Calum left at the sound of the girl behind the counter calling out our number.

Be it hopeful (or maybe in my case, fearful) thinking, or just a case of complete dumbass-ery, I could only think of one thing Calum could have meant by the words girls that he liked. And I was dumbfounded and almost horrified because there was no way I could have fallen into that category.

I mean, sure, we’d established some grounds that we were friends and he’d have to like me to some extent for either of us to be able to admit that. But, like. It was me. He was Calum. Did he like me? Like, like-like, me? Like that?

I was having a brain aneurism trying to figure I out, and by the time Calum returned with the try of warm food, hot coffee and he was already talking about something else.

“Anyway,” He sat down and started to divide the food. He’d gotten two of everything – two breakfast muffins, two sets of hot cakes, to coffees and two juices (and two hashbrowns each!). I probably wasn’t going to finish it all, but I would try if it meant Calum would talk to me a little longer. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you.”

“Uh, okay.” I busied my mouth with my muffin so I wouldn’t say something dumb.

“About the other night.”

“Uh. Okay?”

“When you were in my bed.”

“Yeah, alright, don’t remind me.” I shuddered. That was the first time someone had said the actual words out loud. They sounded… unlike me. But Calum laughed at my reaction and continued talking like I’d said nothing.

“You left something behind that night.” I was already praying it wasn’t my underwear. “I found your sketch book on my desk the next morning, after you’d left.” And I was officially fucked. Calum’s grin spread from ear to ear. “Dallas, your work, those pieces are incredible!” He was so excited. “I mean, I knew you were talented but holy shit.” He was talking with his mouth full and I was smiling sheepishly, uncomfortably, and my stomach wasn’t ready for this information after the last thing he’d said. I didn’t even realise that my book was missing, let alone that Calum had it. I really felt like I was going into cardiac arrest now – or maybe I was having a stroke. Who knows.

“Uh.” I sipped at my coffee, welcoming the almost burnt taste despite burnt coffee being one of my least favourite things. “Yeah, thanks… It, um. Yeah, I work really hard on those.”

Despite everything, I couldn’t pretend hearing Calum say that didn’t feel even a little good.

“I can tell.” He nodded. “I had a thought, and I wanna run it passed you.”

I looked at Calum, saying nothing and just watching as the brown eyed boy collected his thoughts and rearranged the words in his mouth. I watched and waited and part of me was curious about what he had to say. The other part was afraid, because I had a feeling I knew where this was going.

“I wanna use your latest drawings for the mural. I want to use the ballet dancer, paint her as a figurine or a music box or something, and then have her fall apart piece by piece and then put back together in a different pose. I’ve drawn up a rough sketch based on your drawings back home, but what do you think?”

It went where I thought it would, and I was less afraid than I thought I would be. Truth had it, that’s what the ballerina drawings were for. Not that exact design that Calum had described, but when I was drawing her I was thinking about how much time ballet dancers spent trying to be the embodiment of perfection and how even their mistakes looked more elegant when they didn’t call them mistakes and instead just found… peace.

I didn’t need to see Calum’s rough sketch to know that I wanted to go ahead with his design. So that’s what I said.

“I’m in.” I said with a grin. “Yeah, that sounds perfect. Let’s do it.” Calum’s grin stayed lopsided and happy.

“Will you be the ballerina?” He asked, eyes hopeful and excited. I blinked at him, a little blankly and not too sure what he meant.

“Huh?” I asked over my coffee. “What do you mean?”

“Can we paint the ballerina… well, can she look like you?” He clarified and I felt both flattered and embarrassed.

“Oh.” I mumbled out some weird inhuman murmur that weren’t really words at all. “Oh, no, I don’t – um. That’s probably not a good idea.” I chuckled and Calum just looked at me longingly.

“Why not?” He smiled, trying to encourage me to change my mind, I think. “You did really well at the shoot, the photos are beautiful.” I blushed again from the neck up. But instead of stuttering I cleared my throat and shrugged.

“We’ll see.” I said and Calum grinned again, tucking into his hotcakes more chipper than before.

“I have one more question.” He told me after a few minutes of comfortable silence. I looked up, sipping at my juice through the straw and putting the cup back down.

“What’s that?”

“Luke’s singing at this low key open mic night thing Friday night and he asked for some moral support.” Calum cleared his throat. “Do you… I dunno, do you wanna maybe come with me?” I nodded slowly, thinking.

“Yeah, I mean,” I shrugged again. “If Luke wants me there, sure.” Calum chuckled.

“Uh, right.” He just about snorted, he was trying so hard not to laugh. “Well the thing is, I want you there.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Like a date?” I asked. Calum smiled.

“Yeah.” He said. “Yeah, let’s call it a date.”

20 notes · View notes

insomniasix · 7 years ago

Text

Chapter I – Departure Part II

First order in business in the morning was to look for the Dualhorn. The company moved to the place Dave had told them the day before.

“Sometimes I wonder if we’ll ever sit inside that beautiful car again.” Prompto said on the way to the clearing.

“Sitting most of the day was pretty nice.”

“Napping was even better.” Gladio and Noctis agreed.

“Eyes forward. That’s it.” Six said, making the beast on her sight.

“That’s a dualhorn?” Gladio asked in awe.

“Yes, but not your run-off-the-mill breed.” She answered, smiling to his reaction.

“We better make quick work of it.” Ignis commented.

Getting closer to the beast made them realize something was wrong. Gladio commented on how it was vicious and took a stand between it and the rest of the group while Noctis and Prompto stood between Ignis and Six.

“Look out!” Ignis yelled while the beast charged towards them and Gladio took it down with a swing of his great sword while Prompto cheered for him.

“It’s not over yet!” Six said, standing between the boys and the raging dualhorn once again.

“Ready for round two?” Gladio was eager for a fight “Bring it!” and he got it. The beast charged at them again, hitting against them with its horns and hooves. The company attacked, swinging swords and daggers against its every weak spot, only to have one of Prompto’s bullets take it down.

“Way to go sunshine!” Six smiled at him and he laughed, cheeks turning red.

“Sunshine? The nickname stuck?” Gladio chuckled.

“Don’t get me wrong, as I understand it he has the power to kill every bad guy on the spot; none of them would know what hit them either. But he doesn’t, and that makes him adorable.”

“Right” Gladio dragged the word a little longer “Not mother-proud at all.” He shook his head and she laughed, hitting him lightly on the arm.

They were stopped by Noctis’ ringing phone.

“Ring ring!” Prompto sang.

“Hello?” Noctis answered his phone. It was Cindy, telling him Dave was safe thanks to them and that the Regalia was ready for the road. Noctis agreed to meet her back at Hammerhead and they set out once again.

“So?” Gladio asked “Whose up next behind the wheel?”

“Ignis should take it and never let go!” Prompto was quick to answer, not wanting to make another mess, even though no one really blamed him.

“It helps that he can keep four eyes on the dash.” Gladio joked, making Six bite back a laugh, looking at Ignis’ reaction.

Prompto and Noctis agreed they, themselves wouldn’t be any good behind the wheel and Ignis nodded, saying that they should leave the driving to him.

“Come on.” Six whined on behalf of her friend “He can’t drive and keep his eyes on you all the time.”

“But-” Noctis started to protest but was cut off.

“We’ll share. All of us will get to drive at some point.” She made a small pause, looking at Prompto’s hopeful eyes “Maybe not Prompto.” She laughed at how quickly he pouted.

They made their way back to Hammerhead faster than they had out of it.

“It’s rude to keep a girl waiting. You better apologi –whoa, what is that?” Prompto yelled as a huge flying beast made its way to them. Six run to Noctis’ side, bringing him down while covering his head as the beast flew right above.

“This thing is like half bird, half storm, half airship!” Prompto sounded more excited than scared.

“You do realize that’s three halves.” Six pointed out, helping Noct on his feet.

“That would explain its size!” Ignis commented, making sure they were all alright.

“Imagine taking that thing down.”

“That would be awesome!” Gladio shared Six’s heat for a worthy opponent.

They made their way back to Cindy fast. She was standing next to a clean and fixed as new Regalia; they thought it looked better than before. Cindy and Cid sure knew their way around cars.

“Sorry ‘bout the wait. Ain’t she purdy?” Cindy asked, proud of their work.

“She’s back!” Prompto was ecstatic “We should all take a picture with her!” he continued, passing his camera to Cindy to capture the moment.

The five stood around the Regalia, Prompto and Noctis at the front, with Prompto displaying the car with his arms; Ignis had his in front of his chest, just as Six did on the opposite side, next to Gladio’s ‘cool’ stance; all smiling proudly!

Once Cindy had taken the picture, they all gathered around to see it “Damn, that’s a good picture!” Gladio commented, standing closely behind Six, his breath on her shoulder made her shiver.

“How come you two are always together in the pictures?” Prompto pointed out, the smirk on his face was enough to make them both take a step away from each other, both blushing lightly.

Cindy run for the rescue, watching as her grandfather’s friend was blushing hard, trying her best not to let anyone see “All the more reason to ride with care. Uh, and before I forget...” she spoke to Noctis “Would y’all mind making a lil delivery for me?”

Noctis was going to accept right away; it was the least they could do; though Prompto took his chance away, wanting to be the one to answer to Cindy’s request “Oh, me! I’ll do it!”

Noctis laughed at his friend’s excitement “Someone’s eager!”

“Thought you’d say yes” she winked at Prompto “So I already put it in the trunk.”

She told them where she needed it to go “Grandpa like grandkid.” Noctis thought out loud.

“Talking about her grandpa...” Six said, leaving Ignis and Gladio behind and moving in the garage once more “Hey old man.” She said when she saw Cid.

“Who’s old?” he spined back “Have you seen yourself lately?”

Six looked herself at the mirror Cid had hanging above the table with his tools “Still look like twenty-five. Can’t say the same about you.”

“That’s because I wasn’t 25 thirty years ago, you idiot.”

She smiled at his words. He’d found his old self. Spiting insult with almost every sentence; she used to say she loved that about him. Cid, himself couldn’t help but smile, knowing what she was thinking.

Six moved closer to him, putting her arms around him from behind, hugging him; like she used to, thirty years ago, when he, Clarus, Wes, Cor and Regis were her company.

“You’re still as grumpy as you used to be.” She laughed.

Cid turned around and caressed her cheek “It’s nice to see you too, my friend. Sorry for treating ya as I did, but-”

“I know.” she cut him off “You needed to teach them boys a lesson.”

“’Course I did. You’re here to be their friend. Somebody has to. Otherwise they’ll end up like ol’ Reggie and me.”

Six let a breath out at the thought “Have you spoken with him at all?”

“I tried. I told ‘im I demanded a personal audience.”

She raised an eyebrow at him “What’d he say?”

“He refused! I ain’t gonna waste my breath if he ain’t gonna listen.”

Six gave it a thought for a few seconds. She knew he had a lot on his plate with the upcoming treaty with Nifleheim but Regis wouldn’t turn down a friend; even if they’d fallen out, Cid was still a member of his company. Always.

“What do you say I force an audience when we get back from Altissia? How does that sound?”

Cid let out a breath and shook his head “I’d appreciate it, kid.”

“And stop calling me kid. I’m still older.” Her voice was playful but her face was dead serious.

“I waited thirty years to call you kid. I ain’t stopping now.” he made a small pause, playful smile on his lips “Kid.”

“Six?” Noctis’ voice was heard from outside “We’re going.”

Six said goodbye to her friend and moved outside to the Regalia. Noctis sat in the driver’s seat while the others sat on the back, Prompto in the middle. She raised an eyebrow at Noctis.

“I’m sharing.” He smirked.

She smiled back and sat next to him “Take a left, then a right and then follow the road. Simple. We should be at the motel Cindy mentioned in no time.”

“Hammerhead is like no garage ever; you know?” Prompto thought out loud a few minutes after leaving. “I’ll miss it once this road trip’s over with.”

“There’s no reason you can’t pay them a visit any time you please.” Six answered without looking back at him. Eyes focused on Noct’s driving.

“Yeah,” Gladio agreed “I’m sure Cindy will be glad to look after your car. Oh, right.” He made fun of Prompto. Paying him back for his previous teasing.

“So,” Ignis said “that’s what this is about.”

“If you need, I could always lend you the Regalia.” Noctis joined in the teasing.

“Thanks for the offer, but once we’re back in the Crown City, I think I’d better score my own wheels.”

“I could help with that.” She looked at his hopeful eyes.

“REALLY?!”

Six didn’t answer, she just laughed and turned her attention on the road ahead.

They reached the motel in no time, just as she said. They gave the owner the package Cindy had sent and decided to wait no more and have Ignis drive them to Galdin Quay.

“Hm? Umbra?” Noctis said surprised while on the way to the car and everyone turned around to see his beloved dog. He’d come all the way from Gods know where just to deliver something himself. Noctis moved to kneel on one knee, reaching for the book tied on Umbra’s back. “Just a sec” he said while writing in it.

Six remembered what it was right away. It was a promise! A promise Noctis had made to Luna twelve years back, on their visit to Tenebrae. He’d promised to put something in it from the road and sent it back to her, and she’d do the same. Six was currently standing guard at the door when the promise was made, and she remembered it like it’d happened only yesterday.

She was still smiling to herself when Noctis put the notebook back and sent Umbra on his way as he looked at her, a certain sparkle in his eyes. He knew she remembered; she always remembered small things like that, things that made him happy.

“I know.” Prompto said after he saw the look they shared “You’re not gonna tell me.”

“Then don’t ask.” Noctis answered but he didn’t care, asking what was all that about again.

Noctis didn’t answer and Ignis pointed out they should start for Galdin.

Regaining their usual spots in the Regalia and heading straight to their destination.

“Hey!” Prompto yelled excited once he saw the big blue ocean “I see the sea!”

“I ‘sea’ it, too!” Noctis shared his friend’s excitement.

“That’s Galdin Quay.” Ignis said proudly as he was the one leading his friends to that paradise.

“Kinda wanna go for a dip.” Gladio commented, watching at how calm the sea looked from where they were.

“The water should be amazing at this time.” Six agreed and Gladio grunted softly unwillingly, turning around quickly to see her reaction; only to see her smile fading just as fast as he’d turned.

“That a big mountain behind it?” Noctis asked unaware of what was happening right next to him.

“No,” Six answered, turning her attention on him “It’s an island.”

“Nobody goes to Galdin for an island though,” Prompto joined the conversation “they go to kick back and get massages!”

“And savor the seafood.” Ignis continued Prompto’s reasoning “It’s famously delicious.”

“Sounds great!”

“Something to look forward to.” Gladio and Noctis agreed.

It was already early in the afternoon when the company finally reached Galdin Quay. The people were spread out all around the shore, the waters were calm and beautiful as the sun stood tall in the sky and the air smelled of salt and something sweet being cooked.

“Ready to set sail?” Ignis asked once he parked the car to a nice shady spot.

“Just gotta find my sea legs first.” Gladio shivered at the thought of a moving ship, which made Six laugh “Better hurry, Gladdy.”

They moved along the ramp to the floating hotel, amazed from the surroundings.

“The water’s amazing. Wish I could cast a line.” Noctis said, looking at the glowing fish at either side of the ramp.

“We don’t have time for that Noct.” Six answered, moving closer to him. He looked up at her, pouting his lips and using something he knew would change her mind. The puppy eyes! “Stop looking at me with those eyes.” She ordered, voice already backing down. Both Prompto and Noctis would use it against her and Six as a proud mother would always fall for it! “Alright, fine.” She let out a long breath “Maybe.”

His face brightened at her words and his smile got wider.

“You,” Ignis commented when Noctis moved forward “are too soft on him.”

“Yeah?” she answered looking at Noctis “wait until he uses the ‘look’ on you.”

The company moved on to the waiting area, there were people everywhere, talking about how good the food and the massages were. Six caught something about ships not appearing and moved to ask the blonde lady about it, leaving the boys to move towards the inside of the hotel where they were greeted by a mysterious middle aged man with violet hair and amber eyes.

“I’m afraid you’re out of luck.” Six heard him say to her friends and moved closer. When he laid his eyes upon her, Six could swear she saw recognition in them as his voice stuttered when he spoke again, eyes locked on her for a few more seconds as she started to stand next to Noctis “The boats bring you here?”

Gladio and Ignis were keeping an eye on him, Gladio had noticed the way he looked at Six and it made him uneasy in an instant, moving to get closer to her, just enough to be able to protect her if something happened; something she hadn’t noticed as she was entranced by the mysterious man in front of them.

Prompto, on the other hand, was curious as to what the man had to say “What about them?”

“Well,” the man said, turning his attention towards the port and back at the company in mere seconds “They’ll not take you forth.”

“And what’s your story?” Gladio asked, not changing his stance.

“I’m an impatient traveler.” the man answered as he moved to the entrance to leave, stopping just a breath away from Six, looking at her straight in the eyes. She didn’t move or speak, still trying to understand what that feeling was deep in her stomach. It was like she was numb from the waist up, his eyes hypnotizing her. “Ready to turn ship.”

Gladio and the boys were already standing behind him as Six managed to finally join them.

“The ceasefire is getting us nowhere.” He commented casually. His voice making her turn again to look at him as he turned and threw something towards Noctis. Six moved her hand fast enough to catch it midair, surprised to see it was just a coin; and even more surprised to see Gladio taking a stance between her, Noctis and the man. Looking up at the king’s shield, she noticed he was already angry; ready to take the man down in front of everyone if he had to.

“What’s this?” she heard him ask, anger evident in his voice “Some sort of souvenir?”

“Consider it your allowance” the man said, eyes darting between Noctis and Six.

“Yeah?” Gladio took a step closer to him, almost threatening the man “And who’s allowing us?”

The man threw his arms in the air as he spoke, like what he said was the most obvious thing in the world “A man of no consequence.”

And with that, he left, leaving the company behind to think about what had just happened, and why had the King’s Glaive frozen in place.

Six stayed there for a few more moments, watching the man leaving. A horrible feeling running through her every cell; her chest was rising and falling as she began to breath faster, the feeling getting worst by the second; and then it hit her, like a spark of lightning, hitting every nerve of her body as she was brought down to her knees in pain with a grunt. Everyone run to her side, Gladio already there as he was still standing close “Sweetheart, are you alright?” he asked, worry entangled in his words as he was kneeling next to her, softly rubbing her back.

She relaxed right away in his touch, her breath finding it’s rhythm as the pain went away.

“Yeah,” she answered, voice breaking “yeah, I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” Noctis and Prompto asked in unison.

“Yeah,” she nodded, Gladio and Ignis helped her stand “Sorry, I don’t know what that was.”

“Do you wish to take a break?” Ignis asked as he fixed the red ribbons of her uniform that were tangled with her jacket’s sleeve.

“No,” she answered, thanking him “we should move.”

“You believe what that guy said about the port being closed?” Prompto asked, changing the subject at her silent request.

“I am skeptical.” Ignis answered while moving forward “Though I won’t discount the possibility.”

“I say we go check it out for ourselves.” Gladio agreed, still holding on to Six. Looking at her, eyes asking if she was alright as she nodded and smiled up at him.

The company moved on from the entrance they were standing to the restaurant’s area and their final destination; the port.

“Aw man.” Prompto whined as they reached the port side “Not a ship in sight. What gives?”

“I’m guessing violet-hair was right.” Six said as she pointed to the ‘No Service’ sign in front of the ports entrance.

“According to my sources, the empire, giving strict orders not to let any vessels leave the docks to Altissia.” Dino Ghiranze, the most know-it-all journalist in all of Eos. Of course he’d be there; with everything that was going on in the Citadel, Six wondered why he was in Galdin Quay and not Insomnia. But she didn’t interact with him since he was focused on the Prince himself. “Real shame if you were late to your own wedding. Right, Prince Noctis?” He continued, taking the boys by surprise “Name’s Dino, by the way. Pleasure. The crown prince of Lucis, bounty-hunting in his fancy car. Surely you didn’t think it’d go unnoticed; at least by this reporter? Lucky for you, this reporter has integrity. If you wanna remain incognito, I’ll respect your wish, in exchange for a favor.”

“Does he ever stop talking?” Prompto whispered.

“He certainly admires the sound of his own voice.” Ignis agreed.

“What do you want?” Noctis asked, not wanting to antagonize him in case he decided to tell everyone where the Prince of Lucis was.

Dino marked something on the company’s map with his pen, telling Noctis he’d find some rough gemstones he needed there and sent them on their way, promising to keep his information to himself.

“He’s really got your number Noct.” Prompto commented on the way back to the Regalia.

“Not like we made much effort to keep it a secret.” Gladio laughed.

“Even if we had, the press always finds a way.” Ignis commented.

“I agree.” Six said, joining in “We needn’t befriend him, but we’d best not make him our enemy. Guy doesn’t know how to keep his mouth shut.”

Upon reaching the Regalia, Gladio agreed he’d drive this time; saying Six needed to relax after what happened before meeting Dino. She protested, saying she was alright and that she could be doing the driving but no one would have it. So she sat in the back, with Noctis and Prompto while Gladio and Ignis were on the front.

“Maybe Cid was right about your lack of dignity.” Gladio commented after a few minutes of driving in silence.

��You’re one step above delivery boy” Prompto teased, earning a hard push from his friend.

They reached the spot Dino had marked and moved to the clearing above to find the gemstones. They all froze and dropped to a knee upon witnessing the huge flying beast from before, just feet away from them, sleeping like nothing in the world would dare to bother it.

“Oh. Em. Gee.” Prompto gasped on the sight, fear making its way to his brain “We’re supposed to get near that thing?”

“Pipe down before you wake it up.” Gladio ordered as they all crawled around the sleeping beast.

Prompto was making scared noises every time the beast’s breathing changed, or every time it moved, thinking what could happen if they managed to wake it. Six grabbed his hand and hold it into hers, giving him a reassuring squeeze every time she heard him whimper and he would quickly calm down and move forward with the rest.

They successfully reached the ore and harvested the gemstones Dino had requested, making their way back as the beast awoke; spreading its wings as it started to fly away. Gladio and Six covered the boys with their bodies in case the beast decided they weren’t as harmless to it as they would seem, but the beast flew off and away from them.

“Off it goes.” Ignis gasped in awe at the beast’s magnitude.

The sun had almost gone down when they returned to Galdin “It’s really pretty here at night” Noctis commented on the golden waters and the glowing fish.

“And yet,” Six answered “by all accounts, it pales in comparison to Altissia.” Her memory run back to the last time she was there. Six had gone on a lot of trips, for work or otherwise. She had visited many places, seen everything twice. But in her mind, nothing came close to Altissia’s beauty.

“Seriously?” Noctis wondered.

The company made their way to where Dino was, giving him the stones he had asked for as he praised them. Asking them when they wanted to depart. He was surprised when Noctis asked for immediate departure; saying they would at least have to wait until morning for a boat to arrive. So they decided they would settle down for the night.

“So? What was that before?” Prompto asked when they settled in the hotel room. Six was closing the curtains in order to have some privacy when she spoke; turning to look at her friend with a sigh, “I don’t know, Prom.”

“It looked like it hurt.” Noctis agreed.

Six gave it a thought for a second, trying to explain it to them, saying if felt like electricity running thought her, that she really couldn’t give a better explanation of it.

“Do you think it could just be a bad feeling?” Ignis asked.

“Like an omen?” Prompto gave it a thought.

“Whatever it was, it hit me right after that guy appeared.”

“Do you know him?” Gladio asked, trying to hide the anger that man’s actions still brought over him.

“I don’t think so.” She said, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

“The feeling isn’t gone. Is it?” Ignis asked with a soft voice, watching her movement.

She shook her head “No.”.

“Don’t worry.” Gladio said rubbing circles on her back with his hand “We’ll figure it out.”

It was four in the morning when Six’s phone rang. She lit the screen to see it was a message from Nyx. She squinted her eyes so the light of the screen wouldn’t hurt and she read it.

I’m not sure I’ve ever told you.

Thank you, you’ve been a mother, a family, when I had none.

You’ve made me who I am.

I’m proud of me, mom, I’m proud of us.

I love you and I will always look after you.

Thank you.

“What the hell?” the phrase came out as a breath as her heart skipped a beat at the shiver running down her spine.

“What is it?” Gladio asked, he’d been awake for a while, doing his usual morning exercise routine of push-ups.

“Is everything alright?” Ignis asked, having been awakened as well.

“It’s Nyx.” She said still looking at the screen “He sent me a weird message.”

“Maybe he’s out drinking.” Gladio said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Who drinks at four in the morning?”

“Uh, we do.” He answered, not giving it much thought.

“You do, my dear.” Ignis answered just as fast as Gladio had. Getting up from his bed and making his way to her, sensing her worry.

“Ok, fine.” she said, calling Nyx’s phone “Wrong question. Nyx doesn’t drink this early; and he always answers his phone.” She hang up and got up from the bed. Putting her jacket on and moving to the door. “I’ll be back.” she said, getting out of the room, leaving both men to look at her direction, worried about what might be happening. The feeling she had earlier was enough to make them think something was wrong; so they decided to wait and see what Nyx had to say.

Tagging these amazing people (if you’re not following them… DON’T BE A FOOL go follow I promise you will not regret it!

@themissimmortal @fieryfantasy @cupnoodle-queen @nifwrites @blindbae

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kingotabek · 8 years ago

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do you have any fic recs?

EBuckle up. This is only took me three weeks to formulate an answer for okay because I read SO MANY FICS (like not kidding sometimes upwards of ten or twelve a day) and this ask is MAKING ME PICK????

I’ll put them in neat little ship categories too, so I don’t look like a completely uncultured reader.

**** = My faves.

I’ll designate my fics too, because why not shamelessly promote myself while I’m here.

Victor/Yuuri (Victuuri):

Take My Hand, Take My Whole Life Too [T, 1.6k] by shingeki_no_llama | Victor Nikiforov thinks he knows just who has their thoughts scrawled so carelessly on the back of his hand. He can only pray he is right.———Soulmate AU where the thoughts of your soulmate inscribe themselves on your skin in a temporary ever-changing tattoo

Viktor!!! on Ice {E. 2.3k} by timelordofrassilon | Yuuri sent a prayer of thanks to the gods for whoever invented ice cubes. He stood in the onsen, body hot and steaming from the water at his waist, while Viktor’s cold tongue slid up the curve of his neck.————————–Fluffy, in-character onsen sex that is also 100% raunchy ice skater porn. They confess their fantasies. There are ice cubes. Yuuri talks about his body pillow.

****Unwritten {T, 34k} by kaizuka | Soulmates AU where whatever you write on your own skin appears on your soulmate, but when there is a language barrier, meeting becomes just a little more difficult than it should be.

hold me hard and mellow {M, 3k} by YuuriVityaNyan (NarryEm) |Training with Viktor is … hard. In more ways than one.It doesn’t take long for Yuuri to realise that if Viktor is going to coach him, there are few things that he has to work out first. One of which is his not so little crush on the Russian skater. And, of course, he has to figure out how the heck he is going to skate to ‘eros’ for the skate-off.

****************Until My Feet Bleed and My Heart Aches {E, 197k} by Reiya | ‘…Of all the rivalries in the world of sports over the years, perhaps none has become so legendary as that of Russian figure skater Viktor Nikiforov and his rival, Japanese Yuuri Katsuki…’A single event changes the course of Yuuri’s life, throwing him into a bitter rivalry with Viktor Nikiforov that spans across his entire skating career. But as the years go on, rivalry and hatred begin to develop into something very different and Yuuri doesn’t seem to be able to stay away, no matter how hard he tries.Hatred and love are two sides of the same coin and even though everything changes, some things are still meant to be.

all the world’s a stage {E, 112k} by braveten | Everyone has a guilty pleasure.For Yuuri, it just happens to be romance movies starring famous heartthrob Victor Nikiforov.(And, honestly, on the spectrum of guilty pleasures, he figures that his is on the far, far more innocent side.)

****Even if I Tried {T, 6k} by deathbycoldopen | He took his place next to Viktor in the kiss and cry, floating like ash over the wreckage of the fire. He took the water bottle Viktor offered with a murmured thank you, and stared out at the ice. Distantly, he couldn’t quite believe that the surface was still frozen.“Did it really feel that good?”His eyes flickered over to Viktor, then back to the ice. There was a different kind of heat invading his cheeks now, all too familiar and unwelcome. “Um,” he said quietly. “Mostly I just wanted people to feel good watching it.”Lie. He’d only thought of one person. The man who’d regularly had underwear thrown onto the ice along with the flowers, the man who’d had four scandalous and highly publicized affairs with models and other skaters before the age of twenty, the man that Yuuri couldn’t hope to keep but desperately wanted to.

My Victuuri Fics:

Like The Ache Of Life {T, 1k} | Victor lives a life of aching limbs, high spins, and blades against ice.He’s trapped.——–Or that one fic that’s not as angsty as the description makes it sound, and where two boys fall in love.

Otabek/Yuri (Otayuri):

Sonata in A Major {T, 8k} by Lumieres | Yuri is like a meteorite, caught in his atmosphere. If he doesn’t take care of him, he’ll completely burn up, and there won’t be anything left for him to salvage.(Or: Three times, Yuri and Otabek kiss, only to never speak about it again.)

****Teach Me Just What Fast Is {E, 3k} by Zee | “You don’t like it when other people tell you what to do,” Otabek said, “but you accept it from me. Why is that?”Yuri likes it when Otabek bosses him around, and Otabek calls him on it.

How Long You Walked For (til you got lost tonight) {T, 3k} by LiviKate | “Stop apologizing,” Yuri snapped at him. “You told me you loved me, and now you’re just thanking me and apologizing. It’s weird.”Or, in which Otabek falls in love and doesn’t notice when Yuri does, too.

*****fingers crossed my obsession with you is tameable {E, 5k} by seaworn | “I think I didn’t quite grasp it. Show me again?” Yuri asked breathlessly.Otabek bit his lower lip, eyes lighting up in joy.“Alright.”**Yuri and Otabek meet on New Year’s Eve.

********** From Almaty, With Love {E, 71k} by BoxWineConfessions ( @boxwineconfession ) | It’s quiet here. Even if the car alarm on the neighbor’s goddamn BMW has been going off for the past twenty minutes. Quiet, even though the alarm’s got the neighbor’s dog howling like crazy, and the neighbor works second shift and isn’t there to comfort the dumb dog.It’s quiet…They haven’t spoken to each other since that morning, when Yuri went off to go see his tutor, and Otabek went off to do whatever the hell it was he did in the mornings before he hit the rink.“You’re used to the noise?”“Yeah, but…I think I like the quiet too.”Or: Yuri spends the summer with Otabek in Almaty. (this one is my fave I WOULD DIE FOR IT and im not at all biased. Just check out the author’s profile and read all the fics there okay? Okay.)

****Endurance and Peach Tea {G, 11k} by chapstickaddict | Yuri hummed. His body didn’t uncurl, but instead of pressing his face into the fold of his legs, he rested it on his crossed forearms. Tilting his face towards Otabek, he looked for the bronze metal. The colorful ribbon snuck into the folds of his jacket, hiding his prize from view. Yuri reached out, and Otabek let him pull the ribbon to bring the metal into the light.It was beautiful. Heavy and ornate, with the front masterfully detailed. The perfect symbol of success. Yuri flipped it over, admiring Otabek’s name carved along the back.Wait.“Did they spell your name wrong?” he demanded, straightening. Otabek made a noise beside him.

****Yours, Mine, Ours {T, 5k} by aphhun | Otabek blinked himself back into the conversation and turned towards Viktor. Without thinking, against what he tried his hardest to keep from happening, he inquired-“Your Yuuri’s, or my Yuri’s?”-In which Otabek has always been careful not to use Viktor’s “My Yuuri/Your Yuri” reference system but indulges in the habit on Live television, and Yuri has a damn heart attack.

Permanently {T, 14k} by HugsandButterflyKisses | What’s with you assholeOtabek sat stunned before looking at it again. That couldn’t be right. His soulmate wasn’t going to say that the first time they met.Otabek looked once again.What’s with you asshole was neatly printed on his left thigh.orThe soulmate au where the first words your soulmate says to you are tattooed on your skin. Otabek can’t wait to get his but the mark is not what he expected. Neither is his soulmate.

************Shutter-Release {M, 7k} by kaijoskopycat | Otabek Altin has been a fashion photographer for longer than he cares to think about and he’s never been as moved by a model as he is when he meets Yuri Plisetsky, one of the most unconventional personalities for a top model out there. (all i can say is HOT DAMN)

My Otayuri Fics:

Raincheck {T, 1k} | “You’ll be better before I leave.” Otabek hums; tracing the patterns of his upcoming routine on Yuri’s thighs.Yuri meets his eyes. “And if I’m not?”“Then I’ll just take a raincheck.”——–Or that fic where Yuri is sick and Otabek is simply the best.

A Journey To Love {Not Yet Rated, WIP, Currently 6k+, 2/10 chapters} | For Otabek and Yuri, love is a journey.—Or, ninety-nine scenes of them falling in love and one where they finally say it. (WIP)

An Errant Spark {E, WIP, 14k+ Currently} | The future, convoluted and ever-changing as it is, doesn’t come to Yuri easily. ——- Or that Hero/Fair AU will all kinds of other things thrown in. (WIP)

With Us Went The Sun {T, 1.5k} | It’s one forty-five in the morning and the sky is bright. Not with stars or the lights of buildings rising through the night, but bright like day. Lit with shades of pale yellow like some old forgotten painting; phosphorescent as it burns, and blinding.Otabek forces his stinging eyes away, and looks to Yuri. (Warning: ANGST)

Someday, In This Morning Light {G, .6k} | This life is filled with simple beauty, and Otabek relishes silent moments such as this one, where he can do no more than observe and collect memories. (Drabble)

Hear Me Roar {Explicit, 13k+} | Yuri can’t remember when it started; has no idea when the first instance of Otabek’s control over him was displayed. But somewhere over their three years of friendship, Yuri realized that not only does he listen to Otabek, he enjoys it. (A Six Part Series)

Phichit/Seung-Gil (SeungChuChu):

Bite Me {T, 3k} by EttaMills | Phichit Chulanont looks so innocent. Who knew, underneath, was a sharp-tooth predator who is very protective of his friends? Feature Seung Gil’s first date and him not knowing how to act around this ball of sunshine and Yuuri and Phichit being adorably supportive of each other.

take a picture (it’ll last longer) {T, 4k} by aozu | Phichit takes a lot of photos.And by a lot, Seung-gil means a fuck ton.

That’s all for now folks. :)

#fic rec #otayuri #victuuri #seungchuchu #ask #anon #answered

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