#Neve knew you were trouble when you walked in

[usuallydyinginside]

⚠️This entire post is one big spoiler for Dragon Age: The Veilguard. You’ve been warned. ⚠️

I accidentally created the most angst-filled story possible my first time playing, and I desperately need to tell someone so here it goes.

Okay, so we begin with Rook as all DAV games do. Mine is a mage from Treviso. A Crow who is in trouble for ignoring orders to save a group of prisoners (Varric among them). When she does this, it endangered a larger operation, and she basically got sent away as punishment. That’s okay, though, because she gets to go help Varric on his fun little mission to stop Solas.

Enter: Neve Gallus. She’s beautiful, funny, and my god is the absolute icon of a detective I never knew I needed in my life. It’s love at first sight for me (though less so for Rook). Their banter is 10/10 from the get go.

At the ritual, we’re tasked with choosing someone to go with us into further danger. I was terrified the person would die, and I came into the game SO excited to have Harding on the team, so I couldn’t risk her. I brought Neve with me instead.

Which, of course leads to Neve being visibly hurt for a solid first bit of the game. Literally just me standing over there flirting while she’s got a massive bruise across her face that came from my decision. Yay.

When The Choice comes up it takes me by surprise. What the hell does the game mean I have to choose a city?!? How can I choose between my own hometown and the deeply beloved home of my one true love? (Because yes, by now Rook is smitten but I have given this woman my whole heart). Because of the way the choice is presented (that it’s civilians most in danger in Treviso) and based on it being my backstory-related place, I figure the best narrative is saving them.

Besides, Neve will understand…… right?!?

As anyone who’s gone this route knows, Neve is PISSED. She leaves the party for a while and sends notes you can just feel the hurt wafting off of. It’s obvious why when you visit Dock Town. The choice warns you about the cult taking over… but not that basically every single Shadow Dragon will be murdered, blighted, or absent for the large majority of the rest of the game. Not that Neve’s own home is destroyed along with every possession she has that isn’t currently in the Lighthouse. Not that the literal base of the SDs is destroyed and the org is basically no more.

Like, of COURSE she’s mad.

By this point, I miss Neve, and I feel guilty as hell, so I go down all of the quests that I can in her city. It changes nothing because approval doesn’t happen when she’s not in the party and Neve’s return is based on the main plot moving forward. Which means that I basically shot myself in the foot and made it ten times harder to win her approval, because most of the easiest quests are done and gone.

So when Neve gets back, she stays pissed and sad a LONG time. I have her in my party for every quest and it takes nearly all of them to get her even with the rest of the party in Act 2, because now she has the “hardened” status.

But finally, eventually, I do get her there and I’m able to romance her!! She understands my impossible choice now that she’s had some time, and we get adorable cut scenes.

All through these, the theme is clear: Neve’s driving character arc, particularly in romance, is that good things don’t last. Every spot of luck comes with a catch.

So you? You must be a temporary thing to her. She can’t count on you to be there, because somehow, she will lose you.

Which, of course, takes us to the point of no return.

Neve’s final romance scene before you go off to face the gods (again) is essentially an argument. She refuses to talk about you both having a future together because it scares her to even try to believe it’s possible. She calls you her favorite nickname a lot—Trouble and even notes she chose it well. That you’re loads of trouble for her once carefully protected heart.

On the choice between Bellara vs Neve, I chose Bellara because I do not trust this game, and I am finishing this goddamn romance at this point or so help me. This is actually the more tragic outlook for Neve though! 🙃 First, she disapproves and believes that it shows you don’t have faith in her as she suspected, confirming her belief you can’t be counted on. Then, she’s not lost in a fog of blight for days.

Oh no. She gets to be there to feel ALL of it.

When Solas tricks Rook and locks her in the prison of the fade, Neve’s worst nightmares come true. The catch has made itself known. The tables have turned. Fate has proven her cynicism right once again.

Good things don’t last.

Neve spends TWO WEEKS kicking herself for believing it could be her have been different. The whole world is doomed as far as she knows, and that’s not what she’s thinking about. Even with Dock Town at the center of the fight—the city she adores and never stops talking about—that’s not where her head is at.

It’s locked in the fade with you. Her heart.

When Rook reappears, Neve can scarcely believe it. She talks about the fact that somehow after all that, she did have hope you’d come back. That part of her was holding onto Rook’s personal brand of optimism even through her panic.

Her first words to you in that cutscene are “You came back.”

You can hear her surprise. Like even then, she can’t quite believe it.

Finally you hit the turning point where Neve stops living so cautiously she can’t enjoy the present and what you have together. She’s able to admit she loves you.

And when the game ends, Dock Town is even more destroyed from the events of Act 3, but this time, Neve doesn’t use it as a way to push you away. This time, she knows you’re in it together. They you’ll help rebuild together.

After every impossible choice… every tragedy… every hardship, you’re together.

Now, you can only prove it was worth all the trouble. ❤️

[theredflagsjustlooklikeflags]

Hello! Omg I'm so excited you're writing for death note! Can i get a gender neutral reader who maybe helps light or saves his life by pulling him out of the way of a car or something, and he becomes fixated on the and kind of like dedicates his cause as kira towards them?

Of course, love . Sorry for the delay. Death Note has always been one of my favorite shows to write for so I’m a more then thrilled to fulfill your request. Hope you enjoy the story!

Innocence (Yandere! Light Yagami X Reader)

Trigger warnings: I don’t think there are any for this story, but if I missed one, let me know)

Light Yagami needed to follow his normal routine and arrive home. He only had short amount of time where he could write names in the Death Note. Light was cleansing the world, one criminal at a time. In time, he will become the god of the new world.

Although, one thing always troubled him. When he did in fact elimante L, where would Light go from there?

The simple answer was he’d continue killing those making the world rotten and Kira’s reign would prosper.

Wouldn't it be lonely ruling the world by himself? Light never paid that idea much thought. He would never find someone who’d meet his ideals and intellect.

What Light didn’t account for was someone special making their way into his life.

The teenager was in deep thought as he made their way out of the school grounds in the pouring rain.

Without warning, a force hit Light. His umbrella went flying through the air until it cascades onto the drenched sidewalk. He braced himself and closed his eyes as he waited for the fall, but it never came.

Light cautiously opened his eyes to see what stopped him from landing on the ground. The seventeen year old wasshocked to find a good looking high schooler holding tightly onto his arm.

He noticed they were wearing a uniform extremely similar to his own. This mystery person had to have be attending the same school. They were very attractive so Light figured they were probably pretty popular. If that were the case, how come Light couldn’t recognize them. He knew everyone in his classes and he was certainly popular himself. The teen contemplated over the idea that they could be a transfer but Light came to the conclusion that that couldn’t have been the case. He’d be most likely been asked to show them around. The teen would nevee forget a persons face that was constructed like a god/goddess.

Once Light regained his composure, ( Reader) let go of him and leaned down to pick up Light’s discarded umbrella. They handed it out towards him and released an apologetic smile.

Once Light held the umbrella, the other person gave a low bow. They spoke softy, but Light could still hear them over the pitter patter of the rain.

“Please forgive me, Yagami-san. I apologize for hurting you. A car was swerving and looked like it was heading straight towards you.”

(Reader) was terrified to look up from their position. They’d figure Light would simply glare and start to reprimand them. They didn’t have much experience with popular kids.

“Oh, It’s alright, uh…” The teen trailed off, hoping the other would finish his sentence.

“(Reader’s full name).”

“That was very brave of you.” (Reader) looked up at him, puzzled.

“Thank you, but I’m sure anyone would of helped you. I’m no one special.”

“I’m not so certain of that.” Light smiled a bit.

Reader simply nodded in response. The teen expected that to be the end of their discussion with Light Yagami but he did something that shocked them.

Light held out the umbrella so it was protecting both (Reader) and himself from the downpour. This small act of kindness meant the world to (Reader), as they tended to always be ignored by their peers.

The high schooler motion for them to walk together.

How could they possibly refuse Light’s offer without looking rude? If Light Yagami thought (Reader) was rude then they could kiss the days of being a nobody goodbye. They didn’t know much about the teenage boy besides the fact that he was popular and top of the class in terms of intelligence. (Reader) feared they would become the topic of what those kids whisper in the hallway. They’d become the focus of their cold glares.

So they walked with Light.

The two students made causal conversation as they made their way down the street. At first it was awkward but soon they were joking with each other as if they were old friends. Light found out that (Reader) was in almost all of his classes. They explained how they tended ti keep quiet and lurk in the background.

Each word (reader) spoke, resulted in Light coming to the conclusion that made the type of person that Kira was trying to protect.

They were good,hard working, honest and most of all innocent.

He needed to protect them. No, Kira would protect (Reader) and those like them.

He may of just found his partner. Someone to rule the world with him.

“I can’t wait to make you mine, (Reader).” Light muttered to himself.

(Reader) pretended to be oblivious to what her new acquaintance said but in truth, they heard him and they didn’t know what to think.

[propenseverbosity]

No Good Choices (WIP) - Rook/Lucanis

I posted a bit of this earlier in a reblog, but I actually have a lot more of it written. Will it eventually be a long-fic? Idk. But I'm still gonna write it!

Btw this is My Rook.

(Spoilers for The Decision in act 1)

Lucanis practically sprinted back to Treviso the moment Harding told him about the dragon. Of course he’d pleaded for Rook’s help, but he never actually expected her to show up. Minrathous was her home. The Shadow Dragons were her family, much like the Crows were his. He expected to face the dragon with the remaining assassins and either defeat it, or die trying.

So, when Rook brought Davrin and his pet griffon, armed to the teeth to help lead the charge, he couldn’t help feeling shocked. Happy, and eternally grateful she’d listened to his reasoning, but still shocked to his core when he realized they might actually have a chance.

After they drove off the ice-breathing monstrosity, Rook barely stopped to take stock of the battle before rushing back to the eluvian, determined to help Minrathous as well.

Lucanis only stayed to make sure the Crows had everything under control, before he took off to follow her. Contract or not, the least he could do was help her protect her home.

After what she’d done for him– for Treviso– he was fairly certain he would follow Rook directly into the Black City if she asked.

…

The second dragon attack left blight tendrils pierced through entire buildings. Countless innocent bystanders lied sick, or dying, in the streets. Even the Viper himself had been Blighted– an unfortunate consequence of taking on one of Ghilan'nain's monsters.

It wasn't lost on Lucanis that Treviso would have suffered the same fate if Rook hadn’t shown up to help. As he wandered through the streets in search of her, he silently vowed to do anything he could to pay her back.

Lucanis eventually found her with Neve and the other Shadows. Or at least, whoever was left of them.

“This is your city too,” Neve snarled. “I thought you… never mind.” she added, with a defeated sigh.

“I’m sorry. I thought I could be faster.” Rook answered. “I always planned to help Minrathous, but I couldn’t be in two places at once. If Treviso had-”

“Treviso?” Neve interrupted. “Don’t you mean Lucanis?”

Lucanis stopped in his tracks before either of them could notice.

“What?” Rook asked, verbalizing his own thoughts. “What are you talking about?”

“Rook, I’m not blind. Can you honestly say he wasn’t a part of your decision?”

“Hey, I made the call because someone had to.” Rook argued. “Don’t make it sound like this was easy.”

Neve wasn't convinced. “You knew the Venatori would take advantage of an opportunity like this. You made the Crow a priority because you’re sweet on him, and look what happened.” she added, gesturing to the devastation surrounding them.

Stunned by the mere suggestion, Lucanis waited for Rook to correct her. It couldn’t be true. Why would Rook sacrifice a chance to help her own city, just for him?

“Neve… I-” Rook began, but when she opened her mouth to respond, nothing came out. Her hesitation was enough to cement any of Neve’s doubts.

“I’m going to be here a while.” She turned away, preparing to aid some of the other injured Shadows. “You should go.”

The pain in Rook's expression as Neve walked away was enough to shatter his heart. Neither of them deserved this.

Before Lucanis could make his way towards Rook, Tarquin wasted no time in taking Neve’s place.

“You’ve been nothing but trouble since you came back.” He spat. “Half of us are dead, and the Venatori are coming for the rest.”

Lucanis had seen Rook slice through three Venatori with a single lightning bolt, stare down a blighted dragon, and taunt a risen elven god without even breaking a sweat. But under the scrutiny of a single Templar, all she could do was stare at the ground.

He witnessed the slow shift in her expression as shame and guilt gave way to rage.

“If it were up to the Shadows, I never would have come back at all! You were the ones who sent me into hiding, remember?”

“Because you’re more trouble than you’re worth.” Tarquin stepped closer, looking poised to strike at any moment.

“If I'm so much trouble, then why did you need me here so badly?”

“You know damn well we needed the help. I thought you were trying to make up for Nessus, not make everything worse. So much for putting the cause first.”

Lucanis felt the demon itching to weigh in. Spite fought for control to step between her and Tarquin.

‘He. Will not. Hurt Rook.’

On this, they were in agreement.

Rook did a double-take when she noticed Lucanis appear at her side, staring daggers into the Templar. Her surprise quickly morphed back into the stern expression she wore when giving orders to the team.

Tarquin simply rolled his eyes at his intrusion, no longer interested in anything Rook had to say.

“Rook?” Lucanis asked, looking for her advice on how to proceed.

“Go find the others.” She said, suddenly unable to look him in the eye. “I’ll meet you back at the Lighthouse.”

[paladin--strait]

sweater weather | carl grimes

carl grimes x fem!reader

warnings: SPOILERS FOR S4!!! mention of the undead, slightly suggestive content.

this oneshot is so cringey and cliche I hate it 😭 at this point in the story, there is no set camp and the group is searching for one. this is after the battle with the governor at the prison but before terminus. just imagine that somehow, everyone was able to stay together.

the sound of the heavy duty boots from your set of feet hit the ground as you tread towards the beat up and bloodied car. carl stands at the vehicle, packing up a few items and materials for the run that rick told you two to go on. you keep your grip on the list of things that carol gave you of all of the things needed at the camp.

tyreese walks over to you and gives you a few bottles of water for the trip. ''take these, carl asked me to bring them to him but since your going over there I figured I'd give them to you." he days with a lighthearted laugh after. you make a small remark about how lazy he is before laughing and giving a big hug to tyreese.

tyreese was like an older brother to you. ever since he met you on a road after you lost the last of your family, your dad, he took you in and took care of you. you two are inseparable. so it suprised some people in the group when you agreed to go on a run without him.

after your interaction with tyreese, you begin to walk back over to carl. he hears your footsteps behind him and looks back at you with a small smile on his face, then looks back and continues packing the rest of the stuff. you walk a little faster as you see him finish up.

you close the trunk for carl and walk towards your door, as soon as you were about to place your hand on the door handle, carl's hand gives yours a light smack, you look up to see him with a funny look on his face. ''your door, malady.'' he says. you laugh at the him as he opens your door for you.

he shuts your door and goes to get in on his side. ''looks like I have my own personal butler now. I ought to just let you get out and check all the buildings yourself while I take a nap in here.'' you state, looking outside of your window as he begins to drive off. you hold back a smile and a laugh until you hear him bust out laughing, then you do the same.

carl and you were also an inseparable duo, nobody could keep you two apart when you weren't with tyreese. one of the things that you found out about carl is that he loves to prank people. you learned this pretty early on. especially when you first came around and you two didn't like each other very much.

after bonding over how much you two would prank each other, you and carl decided to team up and start pranking other people. rick and tyreese, mainly. rick tolerated it, deep inside he hated all of the pranks, but didn't say anything because he knew that carl was happy. until tyreese began to play along. him and sasha started pranking you and carl and then it was like an all out war. it started to get bad so rick had to put a stop to it, eventually.

after remembering some of those pranks, you mention to carl that you wanted to grab some stuff so you could do it again. you thought it would lighten the mood a bit. especially after what happened at the prison. carl agreed as long as it is was harmless pranks that wouldn't get them in trouble with rick.

you begin to shuffle through the glove box of the vehicle, unsure if anyone in your groups has looked through it yet. the dust proved you right as you search through the cases of cd's. you pull out a cd of an album you recognize, 'I love you' by the neighborhood.

you look at carl, who's paying attention to the road then ask if he would mind if you put on some music. after he tells you that he doesn't mind, you put the cd into the cd player in the car and make sure that the volume is low enough to not attract a hoard of walkers, but loud enough to hear.

as the song sweater weather begins to play, carl looks over at you and says, "I've never heard this song. who sings this?" he gives off an awkward laugh and looks back at the road.

you smile, "the neighborhood. it's called sweater weather. it's one of my favorite songs." you sway your head side to side a little as the lyrics of the song begin.

as the lyrics continue, you look over at carl, who to your suprise, is looking at you. it caught you a little of guard when he stopped the car and put it in park. you couldn't figure out the look on his face. was he angry, sad, or was he shocked? you then realized that it was a look of admiration as his eyes drifted down to your lips.

carl leans in closer to you as you do the same. you both close your eyes and your lips softly press together. carl gently places his hand against your cheek, letting it linger there until he moves it to the back of your neck to bring you closer, deepening the kiss.

after your kiss, you and carl smile fondly at each other. carl looks deep into your eyes, "I've been wanting to do that for a while now. you don't even understand how much I've been holding myself back from kissing you. I was worried that when, if we even did, get together, that something would happen to you and I would be left broken. and I didn't want anything to happen to myself so you weren't alone." he sighs, looking down at his lap before putting the car back in drive, going back to driving down the road.

after your kiss with carl, you both talk about it and decide to start dating secretly until you found a decent place to stay. you and carl both are even more cautious about dealing with walkers now so if anything happened to you or him, the other wouldn't be heartbroken and left alone.

while on your run with carl, the two of you became an even bigger force to be reckoned with. the walking undead didn't stand a chance with the two of you being together. you were able to get in and get out quickly, luckily finding what the group needed within just a few houses. the sky began to darken quickly, which meant you and carl were out way longer than the two of you should have been.

carl was able to snag some beautiful red roses for you from a surprisingly healthy flower garden without you noticing. he gave them to you in the car about a mile away from the makeshift camp. you were glad that it was dark enough to shade how bright red your face was, and how your thighs clenched together when he set his hand on your thigh.

when you finally made it to the temporary camp, it was completely pitch black outside. you and carl knew that it would mean trouble for the both of you, since you two were gone so long. so, you came up with a quick lie to tell rick and the others about what took you so long.

when you finish explaining what took so long to get back and finally put up all of the resources that you and carl gathered, it was time for bed. and you knew that you were probably not going to sleep tonight, and neither would carl.

after everyone is asleep, especially carol and beth, who are surprisingly light sleepers, you sneak out of your bunk and grab a flashlight. you slowly and quietly tread towards the small lake and sit on the makeshift bench that daryl and glenn made.

you bask in the silence of the night and admire the lake as the glow of the moon illuminates the pond. your breathing slows and you begin to drift off to sleep until you hear the heavy but quiet footsteps stalking around behind you. you grab the knife at your side, prepared to attack if it was a biter.

much to your surprise, it was rick. he sits beside you in silence before speaking up. "I caught carl trying to sneak out of his bunk. and sasha said that she heard you leave." your breathing hitches and you turn towards rick, who is looking at you, trying to study the look on your face. "I figured that carl was coming to find you. if you go missing, so does he." rick says with a breathy laugh and smile. "what happened between you and carl on the run? you both seemed surprisingly happy for two people who just went out to get some supplies."

you sigh softly, turn to rick and say, "me and carl kissed on the way into town. he admitted his feelings for me, and I told him that I like him too. we were going to keep it a secret until we found a proper place to stay, but it seems like we didn't do a very good job of hiding it..." you laugh awkwardly, rubbing the back of your neck.

rick laughs and states that he's fine with you and carl being together. as long as the two of you don't get too caught up in being together and forgetting about your duties within the group. you agree, and tell him that you'll talk to carl about it the next day.

you and rick then hear more footsteps behind you, which you both recognize as carl's. he sits beside you and the two of you hold hands. carl, rick, and you talk things over for a bit before rick gets up and leaves, after telling the two of you that you both needed rest.

carl is the first to speak up after rick leaves, "sounds we were discovered, huh?" he laughs and pats your thigh before pulling you closer. you agree and laugh along with carl. you lean in and give carl a peck on the cheek, to which he returns with a kiss on the lips. "I'll see you tomorrow, carl. you'll probably have a lot of explaining to do with tyreese. so, you better get some good rest." you run your fingers through his hair and stand, before walking back to your bunk and laying down after taking your shoes off.

you hear a voice speak up from the opposite side of the small room, "caught, huh?" you recognize the voice and mocking laugh as sasha.

"yeah, all because of you...asshole." you snark back at her, laughing along with sasha before turning away in your bed and drifting off to sleep.

you dreamt about carl that night. you dreamt about the family that you would have in the future. two boys and one girl. both of the boys are spitting images of carl, with the girl looking exactly like you. in your dream, you lived in a paradise. no walkers, no threats, not having to search for supplies, it was pure bliss.

the fact that in your dream you and carl lived in a world where fear was no longer existant, confused you. maybe the outbreak of skineaters was cured and peace was restored to the world, or maybe it was because you were with your own little piece of heaven, carl.

[supern191]

'Cause I knew you were trouble when you walked in~

I love my other romanced Rooks, but I do have a soft spot for Enrico and Neve, especially when she calls him trouble.

(Also I think that’s Viago’s nickname for him too besides “Idiot”)

[angelicimagines]

◼ [ Mod Kaz ] TBHK | Amane, Kou, Nene, and Akane (Glasses) with an S/O who's a Supernatural that has the destructive power of Fire, but is regal and calm and just wants a "normal" school life.

I Really Like this idea! - Mod Kaz

Spoilers, Cursing, Mention of death I think

Hanako/Amane

When Hanako first saw you he knew there was something special about you. So he did some investigating.

And that's when he saw you do it. You were sure you had been caught. But when you saw he was a ghost all your nerves calmed down.

He found your power very cool and he asked you if you wanted to join his team (Expecting to say yes), So imagine his surprise when you said "No"

He was so surprised, he asked you why and you told him that You wanted as normal of a life as you could get. Not one where you talk to a ghost and everyone thinks you're crazy.

However, somehow he got you on board of his train of chaos, You were like " I will never accept your Invitation because I just wanna live a normal life- Oh She Just ate the scale- Fuck"

When he realized he liked you, he confessed under the tree and you thought it was a joke so you rejected him and he was so sad ,luckily it all got cleared Up and now you two are just trying not to get hunted from the Mermaid princess

Kou

He had accidently mistook you for a ghost and when he was about to hit you and he y'know ACTUALLY hit you he was beyond surprised

He kept on asking you questions and realized how much fun you were, however he realized that he still didn't know if you were considered a danger in the eyes of his Brother

Once he got the okay from his brother (which consisted of a lot of Physical and Exam Tests much to your dismay) He asked you to become apart of the group and was shocked at first but then understood not wanting to be considered different and just live a normal life. When He first saw you in action he was beyond amazed Of your capabilities

He saw your regal and calm manner and oddly found it comforting, He realized that every time he thought about you he found himself blushing, Teru was the one who pointed it out, even though he denied it

He decided to be brave and probably tried showing off a bit too many times even though you found it endearing and you found yourself also blushing, Which Teru also pointed out saying that it was different from your calm and stoic behavior

Tired of his OTP not being able to Stand within 6 feet of each other without turning into a tomato, he wrote confession letters and sent them to Kou and You signed by the other to make it look like you wrote confession to each other by letter, when you both met up you guys realized you had accidently confessed By trying to Say you had NOT confessed, Teru was watching in the background and he was laughing his ass off

Nene

This girl probably already liked you and was always telling Hanako about "Your beauty". How amazing you were and how you treated her with respect and how you were meant to be

However Hanako had enough. He was tired of listening to the "Oh so Great Y/n who looked like they where a god(ess) sent from the heavens above" and went to get a good look at you. and the first thing he saw you do was Heat up a cup of tea. He blackmailed you into joining his little group and even resorted to dragging you as you were regretting every moment of your goddam life

However once you noticed her you decided to be her friend as she was always near you and she seemed like a nice girl to be around so you decided to befriend her to make the experience a little less dreadful

She didn't know about your ability until she went to clean the bathroom to maybe get a little more of you and she saw an open flame In your hand and a calm looking Y/N

When you noticed her it was too late and she asked you so much you explained everything. You also may have revealed that you had a crush on her AND THIS GIRL CRIED OF HAPPINESS Expect Aoi to be cheering with her

if she Could scream how much she loves you she would, However if you don't like that she will give you a few compliments and then write the rest of them in a small notepad

Akane <Glasses>

He probably already knew. Correction: He knew someone in his grade had fire powers he just didn't expect it to be you HIS CRUSH

He was walking to the student council meeting when he saw you being confronted by Teru in the hallway. He was going to help you but decided to hide behind a wall to hear the conversation. he knew Teru would neve lay a hand on you.

Thats where found out you were the mystery person he was looking for with the fire power. He was surprised and once Teru had left he confronted as well

He told you that He couldn't let you wreak havoc at the school and when you told him you jut wanted a normal life he immediately understood. He just wanted his normal life back as well Instead of being one of the 7 wonders

He wanted to make sure you Wouldn't cause trouble so he made that excuse to be able to hang out around you

When he confessed he honestly expected to be turned down. But when you said you shared the same Feelings he hugged you so tight that you Cold look softened when you looked at him

[ur-favorite-queer-queen]

I Don’t Wanna Think About What It’d Be Like Without You

Master List

Damian returned home after his second time being out on patrol since the incident. Surprisingly patrol was pretty tame, he just had to stop one attempted robbery and tie up some creeps who were following some women going home from work.

After getting out of his costume and showering he made his way to his and his wife’s bedroom, ready to cuddle with her and then get some much needed rest. 

“Hey.” Marinette greeted once Damian entered their bedroom. She was sitting on their bed, laptop on her lap but her eyes weren’t on the screen. In fact her eyes were blank and it took her a second to actually register that Damian was home from patrol. However once she did she turned her head, gave him a warm smile and got up to hug him. 

Damian on the other hand, immediately knew something was up with his wife. She was working on autopilot again so he needed to find out what she was thinking about as soon as possible. 

“How was patrol?” Marinette asked, breaking the hug by taking a step back but still giving him a soft smile. 

“Fine. How are you?” Damian questioned, his eyes were staring into Marinette’s as he was trying to figure out what was wrong. 

“I’m fine, just deep in thought.” Marinette swiftly replied, wanting to change the subject as soon as possible. 

Damian paused, usually when Marinette was thinking about something she would ramble about it for as long as possible. Her wanting to quickly change the subject was not only out of character but meant something must be terribly wrong. 

“What were you thinking about?” He asked as he made his way into bed with her. 

“Nothing important.” She replied, putting her focus on shutting her laptop off and putting it away. 

“Are you sure it was nothing?” He asked as Marinette went to go turn off the light. 

“Yeah, I’m sure.” She answered as she climbed into bed next to him.

“You’re really sure?” He repeated. 

“Yes, I’m very sure it was nothing.” Marinette responded, a tiny bit annoyed. 

Damian didn’t even have to wait a full ten seconds before Marinette started talking. 

“You remember a couple of months ago, when you had that really bad stab wound?” 

“Yes.” Damian wished he could forget it. That the incident had never happened in the first place. He hated being so helpless and scaring his family so much.

“It’s just, my mind got hooked on that memory, that thought of you being so close to death and it spiraled from there and I started thinking, what if something like that were to happen again? What if one of these days I were to lose you? What if one of these days I did lose you? What if-” 

Damian watched as his wife started rambling about this train of thought. Her eyes gained a far off look and at this rate she was going to send herself into a panic. So he did the only thing he could think of and kissed her. 

Marinette was stopped by a random kiss on her forehead and she snapped out of her train of thought. Her eyes regained focus, she was pretty sure she felt tears, and she was staring straight into Damian’s green eyes. 

“I jumped on a train of thought?” Marinette asked, eyes not looking away from Damian’s. 

“Yes, you did.” He responded. 

“Started rambling.” Marinette stated it as a fact. 

Damian only nodded his head, pulling Marinette closer to him and Marinette laid her head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and she continued. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you like that.” 

“Scare me?” 

“Yeah?” Marinette backed up a tiny bit so she could look Damian in the eyes again. 

“I’m sorry I scared you so much. I didn’t realize that you would be thinking that could happen.”

“Well you know me,” Marinette smiled despite the tears that now fell from her eyes, “Always thinking of the worst case scenario.” 

“Hey, nothing like that is going to happen to me again. You don’t have to worry.” Damian tried and failed to assure her. 

“But if it happened once that means it can happen again! I-I just-” Marinette took a deep breath to help steady herself, “I don’t wanna think about what it’d be like without you.” 

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng-Wayne, I promise you that you will not have to worry about me leaving you anytime soon. In fact I’ll probably be around so often that you’ll be tired of me.” 

“I could never be tired of you, I love you.” Marinette held his face in her hands and placed a soft kiss on his lips. 

“You think you’ll be saying that in ten years?” Damian challenged. 

“Absolutely.” 

“Okay, I’ll hold you to that.” 

Damian placed a soft kiss on the crown of her head. Marinette immediately started cuddling into Damian, her arms wrapped around his waist and her head on his chest. Damian wrapped his arms around Marinette and both went to sleep with small smiles on their faces.

-

“Hey.” Marinette grabbed her husband’s attention away from their sleeping child and onto her. 

“Yes?” Damian turned to face her but did not let go of their sleeping six year old. 

“It’s been ten years and I still love you.” Marinette smiled at him. 

“Why wouldn’t you still love dad?” A voice piped up from the entrance to their bedroom. 

Marinette turned around to see their eight year old daughter walking into the room. She held up a finger to her lips and pointed to the six year old that was still sleeping in Damian’s lap. 

“What are you still doing up Parker?” Marinette asked. 

“I couldn’t sleep.” Parker swiftly replied. “Now what’s this about not loving dad in ten years?” 

Marinette was about to answer but another voice from the doorway beat her to it. 

“Wait, who doesn’t love dad?” The other eight year old asked. 

“Cameron, what’s your excuse for being up?” Damian amusedly questioned. 

“Parker isn’t quiet when she walks, or opens doors.” Cameron responded, making his way over to the bed, with Parker letting out an offended gasp. 

“I’m quiet!” Parker protested. 

“No you’re not.” Cameron disagreed. 

“Yes I am!”

“No you’re not!” 

“Both of you need to quiet down before you wake up Ryan.” Another voice said from the doorway. The final child of Marinette and Damian joined them in the parents bedroom. “I could hear you all the way from my room.”

“Spencer, your room is across the hall.” Parker stated.

“Yeah, and I’m surprised you didn’t wake up Ryan with all that noise.” She retorted, motioning to their still sleeping little brother.

“Is this just party in the parents room now?” Marinette asked her children. “Spencer, what's your excuse for being awake?” 

“I don’t usually fall asleep till midnight, it’s only eleven.” Spencer answered, making her way onto her parents bed like her little siblings. 

“That’s not a good sleeping habit for a ten year old to have.” Damian commented. 

“Hey it’s fine, plus Uncle Jon and Aunt Chloe are always talking about how late you guys used to stay up when you were younger.”

“That’s when we were teenagers, not just recently turned ten years old.” Marinette piped up. “All of you should be asleep right now.”

“I’m not going to bed until you answer my question.” Parker crossed her arms and stared at them in defiance. 

“I’m not going to bed until Parker goes to bed.” Cameron added. 

“And I’m not going to bed until the twins do.” Spencer stated. 

“Parker, what was your question?” Damian asked, thanking his youngest son for being able to sleep through all of that. He did not know if he would’ve been able to deal with a cranky six year old. 

“Why did mom say she still loved you despite it being ten years?” Parker repeated. 

Now both Spencer and Cameron were curious as to why that would even be a question. Of course mom would love dad. 

“Well ten years ago your father and I were having a conversation. Your father told me that in ten years I wouldn’t love him because I would be so tired of him. I told him of course I would still love him, and that's exactly what I told him ten minutes ago. Which someone who should be asleep overheard.” Marinette gave a pointed look at Parker who was smiling sheepishly. 

“Now that we answered your question you have to get to bed Parker. All of you do.” Damian reminded. 

“Aw do we have to?” Parker whined. 

“Yes, you have to. All of you need to sleep, you’re lucky you don’t have school tomorrow or else you would be in real trouble for being up this late.” Marinette said sternly. 

“But you guys can be up?” Spencer raised an eyebrow. Marinette will forever blame Damian for teaching her to do that. 

“We spent most of the time we were awake trying to comfort your little brother and get him back to sleep. He had a nightmare and as you can see will not let go of your father.” 

“I think that’s a completely justified reason to be up. Now come on Parker, we're going back to sleep.” Cameron grabbed his twin sister’s arm and started dragging her back to their room. 

“Fine.” Like always, Parker put up no fight against Cameron, he would forever be her greatest weakness as she once put it. 

Once the twins were in their room Spencer started heading to her room. “Night mom, night dad! See you in the morning.” And she was gone. 

“Our children.” Marinette sighed softly as she leaned into Damian’s side, careful not to do anything that would wake their son. 

“That we love very much.” Damian added as he placed a soft kiss on his sleeping son’s forehead. 

“Wouldn’t have them any other way.” Marinette smiled as she watched her son smile in his sleep. 

“Think he can go sleep in his room, or do you want him to sleep with us?” Damian asked his wife. 

“He can sleep with us, just in case he has another nightmare.” Marinette replied. 

“You just want him to cuddle with you.” Damian stated. 

“That too.” Marinette didn’t even bother denying it. She wanted to enjoy all the cuddles she could get from her children before they grew “too old” for cuddles. 

A stirring from their child caused their attention to shift and Marinette immediately went to check that he wasn’t waking up from another nightmare. 

“Daddy?” Ryan quietly asked. 

“Yes Ryan?” Damian immediately answered. 

“You're not leaving right?” Ryan whispered. 

“No, never.” 

“But in my nightmare-” 

“Hey, that’s what it was, a nightmare. I will never leave you.” 

Ryan stayed quiet for a few moments, thinking over what to say next. For a six year old he was pretty careful with his words. Probably because he saw how many misunderstandings there were in the family when it came to communication and wanted to avoid that. 

Finally he settled on the words, “I don’t wanna think about what it’d be like without you.” 

Damian continued trying to comfort and reassure Ryan while Marinette was going through her memories trying to figure out where she heard that before. 

She soon tuned back into the conversation and helped Damian comfort Ryan. Assuring Ryan that Damian was too stubborn to leave them anytime soon. 

After another hour Ryan finally went to sleep. He laid between Marinette and Damian as they both tried to fall asleep as well. Right on the brink of falling asleep Marinette remembered. 

“Oh that’s why it sounded so familiar.” She whispered aloud. 

“Why what sounded so familiar?” Damian tiredly asked. 

“I’m pretty sure Ryan quoted me without knowing it.” Marinette answered. 

“Oh okay.” Damian responded before he went back to sleep. 

Marinette shook her head at him before planting a kiss on both her husband’s and youngest son’s head. Then she herself finally fell asleep.

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

Hey there! This is my fic for the Bracket Fic War. I got knocked out in round 1 so now I can share this fic on my own accounts! Hope you all enjoyed! 

[band--psycho]

Chibs Telford Smut-Illicit Affairs (Music Writing Challenge 2021)

Music Challenge Masterlist

A huge thank you to @miss-nori85 who helped inspire this fic, I hope you like it!

Warnings: Smut, cheating

‘Meet me at the usual spot in ten minutes,’ I couldn’t deny the way my heart skipped a beat, nor could I deny the arousal that flooded directly to my core as I read those words. It was like my body was autopilot, quickly changing into the closest items of clothing I could get hold of. For a while now Chibs Telford and I had had this arrangement; originally it started with long (and somewhat romantic) nights spent in hotel rooms, fucking until we fell asleep. That’s all it was, it wasn’t making love, it was a lot more primal in that, like an animalistic hunger that we both craved. The guy I was seeing now, he was one of the sweetest people I’d met in a long time, he was practically perfect in every aspect except one. He wasn’t Chibs. I knew what I was doing was so many levels of wrong, I always said I’d neve cheat on anyone….but when it came to Chibs, I just couldn’t say no. He could ask me anything and I’d do it in a heartbeat and he damn well knew it. He had a hold over me, one that I couldn’t seem to shake no matter how hard I tried. I’d be his in heartbeat and that again was part of the problem because that’s not what he wanted. He didn’t want a relationship like that. I tried so hard to fight the feelings I had for him, the urge to feel his lips against mine, I tried to forget him and move on. That’s how I met Reece, we’d been on a couple of dates and we weren’t officially official but he spent most nights at mine. The relationship I had with Reece was so different to the one I had with Chibs, Reece and I went out on cute little dates to the movies, the park, all of those things a normal couple should do and for a while I did manage to forget about Chibs, a small part of me even began to imagine a future with Reece, a future that was filled with security but slowly, the echo of Chibs’ touch found me again and I couldn’t help but crave every aspect of him again and I couldn’t resist it when I was alone with him and neither could he, that’s how our affair started and that’s how it carried on, today was just another day of being torn between my heart and my head.

Quickly I made my way over to the abandoned parking lot that was a few blocks away from my house and there he was standing next to his car.Just the mere sight of him was enough to get me soaked; his hair was slicked back, dressed from head to toe in black. As soon as he looked up, I averted my gaze to the floor as I walked closer to him. I felt his eyes burning into me as I approached him, like a rabbit approaching a fox. In one swift motion I felt his cold grip on my chin tightly forcing me to look up at him, the anger burning behind his already darkened eyes. I knew I was in trouble, before I even got a chance to defend myself, he placed a finger over my lips. 

“Ye’re late,” he growled in my ear, lowering both of his hands to my waist and lifting me up onto the bonnet of the car, quickly pulling my trousers down so they were hanging off of my ankles. Those actions were enough to have me dripping for him as my arousal continued to build 

“Chibs-” I began, my voice barely a whisper but was cut off when his lips crashed down onto mine in a bruising kiss, one of his hands gripping my thigh tightly while the other hand traced along the damp line of my panties. He was the only one that could turn me on this quickly and in such a dominant way. He wasted no time in removing my hoodie and sports bra, disregarding them onto the floor, he trail of hot, open mouthed kisses down your neck before moving further down your chest. His mouth sucking on one of the curves of my chest, his tongue rolling over my nipple while one hand squeezed my breast, occasionally pinching the nipple causing jolts of pleasure to course through me. I was barely keeping it together as he switched actions between my breasts. 

“Need you-” I moaned out, gripping onto his shoulders, desperately trying to catch my breath as he continued his relentless attack on my breasts. A low chuckle escaped his lips as he halted in his actions, his lustful eyes locking on to mine. 

“Need what?” He asked, his hand moving slowly moving my panties to the side, allowing him access to the place I craved him most. All the words seemed to melt away in my mind as he lightly tapped his finger against my clit, the pleasure taking over all of my thoughts and all I could do was moan in response, bucking my hips slightly. 

“I need an answer, love,” he whispered, gently biting the lobe of my ear as he began to tap my clit faster. 

“You, I-I need you,” I moaned out, feeling his erection pressing against my thigh. 

“Does your guy get you this wet?” he taunted, his hot breath making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on edge as he ran a finger along my dripping slit. I let out a shaky breath as he whispered “answer the question, or I stop right now.” 

Just as he was about to pull his hand away from my pussy I whispered a “no” in response, a small smirk came across his face at my admission. 

“Say it louder,” he demanded, as he slowly pumped his finger in and out of me. 

“NO,” I moaned in response, gripping onto him for dear life. 

“No what, love?” he taunted, his thumb circling my clit as his finger drew me closer and closer towards the edge. 

“He-he doesn’t make me this wet,” I admitted, desperate for my release and just as I was about to fall over the edge he stopped. My moans turned into a whimper at the loss of him, but he just smirked, raising the finger that was covered in my juices to his lips.

“So fuckin’ sweet,” he stated with a triumphant smirk on his face. He waited a few seconds before doing anything else, reveling in how desperate I was for him. Those few seconds felt like an eternity to me, I needed him inside me. I needed him to fuck me, now...I was so lost in the ecstacy of pleasure that I didn’t even hear him unzip his trousers before he entered me. I screamed slightly at the sudden feeling of his member inside me. I knew it wasn’t going to take long to push me over the edge, but by the look on Chibs’ eyes it was going to take him long either. Relentlessly he thrusted into me hitting my g-spot. Every.Single.Time. It was like I was on cloud nine; there was nothing that compared to this, no one that could bring me so much pleasure. I could feel myself about to fall over the edge again this time Chibs didn’t stop, he just kept on pounding into me. 

“Fuck,” he groaned, wrapping one of his hands around my throat, only adding to the sheer pleasure I was feeling. 

“Does he fuck you like this?” He asked against my lips, applying slightly more pressure to my throat with each thrust.

“No...he... doesn’t fuck me... like this,” I  choked out in between moans, sweat beaded both of our foreheads as his speed increased.  

“Who owns this pussy?” He asked, slowing his thrusts down, to look at me directly in the eyes, awaiting for my answer. 

“You do…” I answered,knowing that it was the truth. He clearly saw the truth in my eyes because his thrusts began to get faster and faster,  after a few more rapid thrusts my loud moans and his guttural groans were echoing around the  parking lot as both of us came undone, finally reaching the release we both craved.  Once we both caught our breath he released his grip on my throat and pulled out of me and I hopped down from the bonnet of the car, both of us quickly sorting ourselves out and just like that, it was all over, nothing else was said by either of us, although I could feel his eyes lingering on me for a split second as I got changed. But that was it. And just like that he got in the car and I made my own way out of the parking lot. By the time I got back home, I was already craving him inside me again. 

“Hey baby,” Reece called out, as I entered the front room. I mentally cursed myself, completely forgetting that I’d given him my spare key. 

“Hey,” I called back, guilt washing over me. 

“You okay? You look a bit flustered,” he said, worry lacing his voice as he walked over to me, his hands moving to my face, caressing my cheeks lightly. 

“I’m fine, I just went for a run,” I lied, with a fake smile painted on my face but it was enough to persuade him. 

“Aw babe, don’t burn yourself out okay? I’ll go so you can get some rest,” he said, pressing a light kiss to forehead. I couldn’t help but remember how foreign his lips were on my skin compared to Chibs. 

“Thank you, I appreciate it,” I said, with another fake smile on my face. Breathing a sigh of relief as he left. Part of me hated Chibs...hated how his touch, his kiss had created some type of secret language that I couldn’t speak with anyone else because no one else was him.

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[solartranslations]

AF2 Luca Chapter 3 (12/22): Bewildered Flame

She takes a walk at the island’s marketplace as usual and surprisingly runs into…

~*Scene: Harbor*~

Felicita: …

Nova: What are you doing?

Felicita: Huh…?

Nova: The Swords are supposed to be escorting someone today. What are you shopping around here for?

Ash: Huh!? How do you know what every department is doing…

Felicita: He really is amazing

Ash: No, I’m saying Nova is way too picky

Nova: Because I have to be. So, you’re skipping out even though you’re the executive?

Felicita: No, I’m not

Felicita: We finished what we had to do and are moving independently now

Ash: Ah, ok. So what’re you doing?

Felicita: Martha and the Triad asked me for a favor so I’m helping them out…

Nova: Oh that’s what it is. It’s the same for us

Ash: I’m just following the Chalices around. Everyone said to go with them if I wanted to get experience working

Felicita: Nice, Nova!

Nova: It’s not a big deal

Ash: No, you really are doing a lot

Nova: Is that supposed to be praise?

Felicita: *laugh*

Ash: Oh, isn’t that Luca over there?

Felicita: It is. Lu…

Felicita: !

Nova: What?

Felicita: He’s with someone…a woman…

Nova: Luca’s with a woman? That’s not you? …!

Felicita: Neve…?

Nova: They look kind of suspicious. Like they’re sneaking around

Felicita: ……

Nova: …You’re not going to say hi?

>No, let’s just go

(+10 Amore)

>I’ll just watch for a bit

(No Amore)

Nova: …Really?

Felicita: What?

Nova: You really look like you’re curious though

Felicita: You’re imagining it

Nova: What good will that do. If you’re worried, then go talk to him

Felicita: If they’re meeting in secret, then it’s either work…or something they don’t want others to hear

Nova: Then that’s even more reason to go and ask

Felicita: …Nevermind, let’s just go

Nova: Are you sure?

Felicita: I know Neve likes Vir, so it’s not like there’d be anything between her and Luca

Nova: That might be true, but I still don’t like them sneaking around like that

Felicita: Sometimes Luca does that

Nova: ……

Felicita: But…I hardly ever see Neve talk to anyone when it’s not about her work as a merchant…

Ash: You seriously are worried then

Felicita: It’s fine. If you two aren’t busy then help me out. I’ve got a lot to bring back

Ash: Huh!? Isn’t that really something you should ask the hat guy…

Nova: We’ll go, Ash. Helping people in need on the island is part of our job

Felicita: Nova…thank you

~*Scene: Harbor*~

Luca: …Just as I thought, so you do know herbal medicine. Let’s do this again tomorrow then

Neve: Alright. I’ll be waiting

Neve: Actually, I also have a request…

Luca: Yes?

Luca: Recipes for Regalo cuisine?

Neve: I thought I’d cook some for my husband

Luca: I see, I’m sure he’d love it. When we return to the mansion I’ll give you my special recipe for Regalo Hot Po…—

Luca: Ojou-sama…with Nova and Ash. I guess they’re on their way home from work

Neve: She was watching you earlier

Luca: Ojou-sama was?

Neve: Yes. You’re together, right? I hope she didn’t misunderstand…

Luca: Misunderstand?

Neve: You might have relationship troubles

Luca: D-don’t say that…

Neve: I can do a palm reading if you’re worried?

Luca: Please do!

Neve: That’ll be 3000 Lira (TN: about $2 US)

Luca: You certainly don’t joke around

~*Scene: Felicita’s Room*~

(*knock knock)

Mariella: Ojou-sama, Luca asked me to bring this to you

(*rustle)

Felicita: ?

~*Scene: Rose Garden*~

Felicita: It’s cold

Luca: Wha!? Is something displeasing you, Ojou-sama?

Felicita: Just that it’s cold. So, what’s with the sudden letter?

Luca: Well…I just wanted to spend time with you

Felicita: It’s already night…

Luca: We’re a couple so I thought it was appropriate

Felicita: This isn’t the right place

Luca: S-should we go somewhere else then? Debito would say the right place is “in bed” but…

Felicita: Here’s fine

Luca: *laugh*…there’s a reason why we’re here

Luca: Here, it’s this!

Felicita: What is that?

Luca: It’s a brazier. I hear it’s fun to warm up while grilling food with it!

Felicita: It does sound fun

Luca: I bought it from Vir’s store. They have a lot of items from the East and the continent. It’s all so interesting

Luca: By the way Ojou-sama, did you come to the market with Nova earlier today?

Felicita: Yeah

Luca: I knew it! I was there too. I didn’t realize until you were leaving though…

Felicita: …

Luca: Did you see me there too? I wish you’d said something, then we could have went for some dolce together…

Felicita: Did you go with Neve instead then?

Luca: Huh? Ah, no, I didn’t. I just meant that I wish we could have gone on a date

Felicita: Hmm… These grilled zucchini are really good

Luca: …You really are bad at lying, Ojou-sama. It looks like there’s more that you want to say

Felicita: Are you good at lying then, Luca?

Luca: What are you talking about?

Felicita: You looked like you were sneaking around

Luca: Ojou-sama, are you jealous?

Felicita: Wha!?

Felicita: …!

(*kick)

Luca: Ow… I was right then?

Felicita: F-forget it! Did something happen with Neve?

Luca: Having you get jealous over me really feels special, Ojou-sama. *laugh*

Luca: So…I guess you want to know what I was doing with Neve. She was actually asking me for advice

Felicita: Advice?

Luca: Yes. She said that she wanted to cook something from Regalo for Vir

Luca: She couldn’t find you, so she asked me when we ran into each other while shopping

Luca: I was quite critical about the drinks when we first met

Felicita: So that’s what it was…

Luca: Feel better now?

(*smile) Felicita: Yeah

Felicita: I hope Neve can make a good Regalo Hot Pot

Luca: And, Ojou-sama. You know I would be jealous too if you went on a date with Nova or Ash, right?

Felicita: Did you just want to say that from the start?

Luca: Of course

Felicita: …You’re so childish, Luca

Luca: So? That’s just how I am

Felicita: But I don’t hate it

Luca: Okay, how about trying this grilled mushroom then?

Felicita: …It’s good

Luca: I succeeded in making you smile

—Later—

~*Scene: Rose Garden*~

Luca: The herbal medicine you gave me seems to have been very effective

Neve: I’m glad. I’ll make some more, so keep using it

Neve: They relax the mind so you can get a good dreamless sleep. They also relieve fatigue that might not be obvious

Luca: Thank you. And these are for you. Some fresh herbs I picked this morning

Neve: Thank you. I’m glad since I only have dried ones with me

~*Scene: Hallway*~

Felicita: Luca and Neve…? What are they doing…

Giorgio: Let’s go, Ojou. Our client is waiting

Felicita: Yeah…

~*End of Scene*~

(Continue Common Route)

(Back to Directory)

[the-hilda-librarians-wife]

A Familiar Soul - Chapter Four

Summary: Hilda decides to be completely honest with her mother, surprised when she seems to be a lot more in on magic than Hilda had expected her to be.

With her daughter’s association with witches, Johanna is forced to face some secrets of her own, bringing her back to feelings and people she’d rather have left behind

Dealing with insecurities and inner demons of her own, Kaisa finds herself face to face with the very issues that brought her to be so displeased with her own abilities

Or: the one where Johanna is Kaisa’s familiar

Notes:  Heyo, I just wanted to take a moment to take all of you reading this right now. I’ve received so much positive feedback from this fic, so I wanted to thank you for all the support 😊 I hope you can continue enjoying this story

Read it on ao3: (chpt1) (chpt2) (chpt3) (chpt4)

Wide with awe, Johanna’s eyes were glued to her friend’s hand, or rather to what she held in them.

After years of friendship, Johanna had gotten used to the fact that Kaisa was a witch, but she didn’t think she’d ever grow used to witchcraft. No matter how many times she saw it, it continued to fascinate her. In that moment, it was the cloud of bright, purple sparks floating just above Kaisa’s palm that had her enthralled.

“It’s not even really a spell.” The apprentice witch said, a smile on her face at Johanna’s interest. “It’s more of a spell activator, unless light was my original purpose. I can also use them to activate crystal grids, but grids are a slow working type of spell.”

“Does it matter what they do?” Restraining herself from reaching out to touch the magical particles, Johanna tried to look at them more closely. Recently, she’d been going through a growth spurt that hadn’t been followed by Kaisa, so she had to lean forward and down to do so. “They’re beautiful.”

“I agree. Kaisa’s magic colour is very pretty indeed.” Tildy chuckled from her armchair. The room where the two of them had magic lessons was wide, with a small amount of natural light streaming in from the window at the top of the wall, which was at street level. It was cluttered with a variety of witchy parafernalia, most of which Johanna couldn’t even name. Regardless of that, being in their little underground haven made her feel extremely privileged; from what Kaisa had told her, Johanna was the only other person Tildy allowed in there.

Kaisa blushed at the compliments, feeling the tingle that the magic spread through her palms. “Thank you. But it’s a very simple move, really.”

“No magic is small enough that it doesn’t deserve recognition” Her mentor reminded her. “Besides, you’ve done that without a wand or a spoken incantation. That is, actually, quite impressive for a witch your age. You’d told me you hadn't managed when you tried it yesterday?”

“I didn’t. I wonder why that is.”

“Yes, I wonder too.” Tildy whispered, and something in the way she said it sounded introspective. Her gaze fell on Johanna, and she smiled.

“Kaisa, dear, could you grab my oracle cards, please? I feel like doing a reading, but I think I left them on my bedside table.”

Knowing that the inspiration for divination was fragile and easy to lose, the girl nodded and got up hastily from the ground, walking out of the room in long strides. TIldy waited until the door was closed behind her to speak again.

“She is very fond of you, you know?” She asked, catching Johanna by surprise. “You do her a lot of good. Maybe more than you imagine.”

Her best friend was an introverted person, Johanna was aware of it. She had troubles meeting new people at times, because even though she was fascinating, her natural inclination was to close herself from other people. This meant that Johanna was one of her only, and undoubtedly her closest friend, and she knew this. Still, the sorceress had been right to say she didn’t realize just how much of an impact Johanna had on Kaisa’s life.

“As am I of her. I couldn’t ask for a better friend.”

Seemingly pleased with her answer, Tildy hummed.

“I was thinking about the two of you. With some frequency you carry each other off to some exciting activities, isn’t that right?”

Johanna nodded and smiled, amused at how Tildy called ‘interesting’ what her parents would no doubt see as ‘endangering’. She supposed it was the reason why Tildy always knew what the two were up to, and her parents never did.

“The possibility of one of you getting hurt does worry me, though.” The sorceress said, making Johanna’s smile drop. There hadn’t been much time for the girl to worry, however, because Tildy didn’t leave it at that. “Kaisa will, of course, always do her best to use her knowledge and her magic to protect the two of you. But in the event of you being alone, or in case Kaisa’s magic doesn’t work for whatever reason… I think it would be wise for you to have a means of protecting yourself.’

Blinking with surprise, Johanna tilted her head to the side as she wondered what Tildy meant. Johanna didn’t have magic, and she doubted she even had the patience to learn it, but even though she couldn’t see herself ever going on an adventure without her best friend, the thought of Kaisa getting hurt because Johanna wasn’t able to defend her was now installed on her mind.

“No need to look so baffled, dear.” The woman chuckled. “If that’s what you’re wondering, I’m not planning on teaching you witchcraft. However, I have been noticing you have many talents in other areas; you are brave and smart, Johanna, there are so many things you could learn. Fighting, wildlife tracking, plant identifying, wilderness survival, crossbow shooting… all valuable skills that I’m sure would aid you not only in your little adventures, but also in life. I could teach you these things, if you so wished.”

Without realizing that she was doing so, Johanna crawled forward, closer to Tildy’s armchair. She was sure that her eyes must be shining with amazement at the possibility. There was nothing that she’d like best. Those were the exact reasons why she was so excited about the prospect of joining the Sparrow Scouts in some time, so she could learn all that amazing stuff that her parents would never teach her.

“You’d do that?”

“Of course, dear.” She assured as if it was no big deal. “What’s one more student? I’m sure Kaisa would be thrilled at the possibility of joint classes.”

She didn’t have the chance to answer. At that moment, Kaisa returned to the room, looking austere. The girl looked at her teacher and sighed.

“You have guests.”

_#_#_#_

Kaisa knew that the witches currently in her house hadn’t been in the Committee of Three during the time of her mother’s demise. Henrietta had taken that post when Kaisa was a very small child, but Juniper had only just stepped up into that role after one of the members of the committee had retired. The short witch didn’t really seem like an unfriendly person, still the girl couldn’t help but be wary. Given her history, it was wise to keep her guard up around other witches, and Tildy had already made her feelings clear on Henrietta.

“To what do I know the honour?” Tildy asked as she joined them in the entrance hall. Upon seeing the arch-sorceress, both witches tried to make themselves look more imposing and failed.

“Evening, Matilda.” Henrietta cleaned her throat. “We wished to discuss a matter with you. Your input could prove… valuable.”

Followed closely by the two children, Tildy moved to her living room where she sat down on the couch. The other adults were left standing awkwardly, as had been her intention.

“How curious that when I willingly point out the course of action the Committee should follow, I am brushed off. And yet when I mind my own business, I am consulted.” Sighing, she nodded to Kaisa. “Go back to practicing, little one. I’ll be with you shortly.”

After a quick affirmative movement of her head, Kaisa grabbed Johanna’s hand and walked away quickly, knowing Tildy would probably reveal what the matter of their conversation was later if she asked.

“Where is your sister, Henrietta?” At the click of her fingers, a steaming cup of tea appeared in Tildy’s hands, and she mixed its contents with a small silver spoon. “I was hoping to congratulate her on her outstanding performance in her Trials.”

Matilda Pilkfist held no interest in the Trials and Henrietta knew this. She hadn’t showed up to one in years, and the last one hadn’t been any different. However, she knew better than to ask how come she had that information.

“Abigail is probably off being reckless.” Henrietta rolled her eyes, holding her hands behind her back. “As reckless as I see you are being now. Do you really think it’s wise to keep that other child around your apprentice?”

The way she sounded, in addition to her scrunched nose made her look almost disgusted at the situation, and Tildy’s hand tightened on her cup. It was always the same story, and she was old enough to be tired of seeing it repeat itself over and over again.

“Oh, hush, you.” She hissed, before noticing that Juniper looked uncomfortable with the situation and softening her tone. “It’s a beautiful friendship, you have to admit.”

The only answer Henrietta gave was an annoyed huff.

_#_#_#_

Taking into consideration that Hilda had said Tildy lived near them, Johanna had gathered the woman hadn’t moved from the cozy house with a flowery garden that Johanna remembered so well from her young years.

They hadn’t seen each other in so long, it made Johanna wonder if it would be impolite to show up like that. Taking in the familiar scent of daffodils, she took deep breaths to muster up the strength to knock.

Looking back, Johanna couldn’t pinpoint why she had stopped talking to Matilda. It wasn’t like she was responsible for Kaisa’s actions, and on the rare occasion of them seeing each other on the streets, before Johanna had moved away from Trolberg, she always had a smile and a couple of kind words to give her. Her relationship with the apprentice had gone downhill, but the mentor had never been less than sweet to her, and it made Johanna feel guilty that she hadn’t even thought about visiting her since coming back to Trolberg. Not before needing something.

It took a couple of moments for her to answer the door, and when she did, she squinted and adjusted her glasses to make sure she was seeing properly.

“Johanna?” Tildy gasped. Her curly hair was now completely grey, and the way her back hunched forward suggested she spent a lot more time knitting these days. Her apparent fragility didn’t fool Johanna, though. The sorceress still sounded like her energetic old self.

“Good afternoon, miss Pilkfist.” Johanna shifted her weight between her feet, embarrassed as she became extremely aware of how impolite of her it was to simply cut ties with someone who had taught her so much. Seeing as there was nothing for her to do to fix her teenager self’s mistakes, she tried to force herself to smile. “It’s been a long time, huh?”

“Yes, terribly long! Come on in, dear, I’ll make us some tea.”

Stepping inside the house, Johanna chuckled. At least Tildy’s love for tea hadn’t changed.

“It’s so good to see you again! Can’t say I blame you for your long absence, though, living in the woods must be so much more enjoyable to the city!”

Johanna didn’t ask how come she knew about her living in the wilderness; she had enough experience with witches to be aware that they didn’t always need to be told things to know them. The older woman twirled her hand and made a fresh teapot appear. There were already two cups on the table, where she sat down and gestured for her guest to do so as well.

“Yes, it was pleasant. I need to say, I probably only managed because of the skills you taught me when I was younger. But now we’re back, and…” Johanna took a deep breath, the tea’s strong herbal scent filling her nostrils as she did so. “I need to be frank with you, Miss Pilkfist, because I know you won’t take me the wrong way. I need your help.”

There was some concern on her face as she leaned towards Johanna, taking her hands in her own. Though she was now a woman, Tildy had seen her grow up, so she’d never really stop being a girl in her eyes. Something about her demeanor seemed so exhausted, however, that Tildy thought not even adulthood could justify it. It made her wonder, not for the first time and certainly not for the last, what had happened to the carefree child Johanna had been.

“Of course, my child. Are you alright?”

“I am.” She sighed. “But I’m not sure for how long my daughter will be.”

When Johanna looked back into Tildy’s eyes, there was a dawning of understanding in them.

“Hilda.” She whispered, and Johanna nodded.

“I was told you two already met. I am worried, Miss Pilkfist. Hilda has always had a taste for… unusual things, and it looks like now she has gotten very involved with the witch community. I mean no offence for you.” Johanna assured, squeezing Tildy’s hands gently. “But I just ask you to please not put her, or let anybody else put her in harm’s way. I know it’s more likely for both her and other witches to listen to you rather than me.”

Tildy hummed, trying to make sense of the situation.

“And by ‘witches’ you don’t happen to mean ‘Kaisa’, do you?”

Johanna gave herself away by looking away to her side, and she swallowed as she kicked herself mentally. Great job, Anna! she told herself, insult both her and her apprentice!

“Don’t worry,” Matilda said before Johanna could answer anything. She’d always had the ability of telling what was in people’s minds very easily. “I can see it in your eyes.”

“I tried to talk to Kaisa.” Johanna explained, not sure if she was trying to defend herself or simply to tell the truth. “But she just seemed determined on… well, I don’t know! Making things worse, it seemed!”

Johanna’s voice ended the sentence higher than it had begun, picking up emotion as she remembered her recent visit to the library. Nodding negatively, Tildy let her gaze fall to her lap. It was sad to see what those two had become, but she didn’t want to let her true opinion on it show.

“Oh, never you mind old Kaisa.” She said in a tone meant to calm Johanna down. “Admittedly she can be a bit of a grump, but she’s been in a bad place for some time now. I actually hadn’t talked to her in years before a few months ago.”

“Years?!” Johanna yelped, wondering how Kaisa even survived without Tildy for so long. Apparently, Johanna wasn’t the only one who had been black listed.

“Yes. Not long after she started college, we lost contact completely.”

Weird, Johanna thought. Kaisa had never thought about going to college. She had always wanted to focus completely on witchcraft.

“She moved out with practically no explanation. It was terribly sudden, but I could see she was shaken by her life having taken a turn she hadn’t expected.”

Though Tildy hadn’t meant to do so, Johanna felt jabbed by her words. She knew all too well about the turn in Kaisa’s life, Kaisa had made sure of it.

“It turns out she became the librarian! In my opinion, this job suits her very well, but it was a bit of a problem when I had an overdue book. Awfully embarrassing for me, as you can imagine.”

Tildy looked at Johanna expecting to see some recognition in her face, but there was nothing. It looked like Hilda was still keeping a few secrets close to her heart.

“I see.” Johanna muttered, adding some sugar to her tea. Something about that explanation didn’t feel right. Kaisa had never wanted to become a librarian, as far as Johanna was concerned. She couldn’t imagine that their situation would have caused her to give up on dedicating herself to witchcraft. Unless, that is, there was something she didn’t know.

“Enough about Kaisa, now.” Tildy said as she turned to her own tea. “you have my word that I’ll do my best with Hilda, but tell me, how have you been? I’m sure we have a lot to catch up on!”

The woman smiled. Even if the person who had held her heart for all of her childhood was a stranger to her now, at least Tildy was still herself. Maybe if she closed her eyes, she could pretend she was still a young girl, arriving in that house after school to have tea and learn about the healing properties of plants while her best friend studied their magical side. Even if just for a moment.

_#_#_#_

“Thank you for your time, Matilda.” As both of them stood by the doorway, Johanna smiled, tired and thankful at the same time.

“Not for that, my dear.” Tildy waved when Johanna took a step back. “If there’s anything old people have, it’s time. Please drop by more often, you are delightful company.”

The woman walked away feeling just a bit lighter to when she’d arrived. Maybe she should take the invitation and show up more.

[slowly-writing]

Normal’s Boring

Natasha Romanoff x Daughter!Reader

Word Count:  2561

Part 2: Life Saver

a/n: This got really long, my bad. I hope you all enjoy it

Being a teenager living in the Avengers compound was a little weird. You constantly had Shield agents running in and out and there was always the fear of an attack. Maybe that was just the collective PTSD of your family, but they made sure you were always prepared. You learned how to fight and protect yourself at a young age, your mom was the Black Widow after all. The fact that you could take care of yourself didn’t change the fact that you essentially had half a dozen overprotective parents. They would all jump to protect you at the first sign of trouble. Having that many people living in one place made sure your life was never boring, that’s for sure.

“Hey, Uncle Tony!” You call as you walk into the compound after school.

“Hey, kid. How was school today?” Tony asks with a smile.

“Fine,” you say with a shrug, “schools boring, I could learn way more here.”

“C’mon, y/n. You need a well rounded education. You have to know more than just how to fight,” Tony argues.

“You guys could teach me! You and Uncle Bruce know way more about math and science than any of my teachers could ever dream of. Uncle Steve lived through all the stuff I’m learning in history right now! Did you know I learned about you guys last week? Do you know how embarrassing it is to have your mom be the topic of class? Everyone made fun of me for days! I stick out like a sore thumb!”

“I’m sorry kid, but that’s part of the experience. You gotta be around people your age sometimes.”

“Wanda’s practically my age! She’s only a few years older than me! She’d go to school with me if you all made her go,” you try and Tony shakes his head.

“This is a conversation you need to have with your mom,” he says, “I’m not getting in the middle of that fight.”

“Where is Mom, anyway?” You ask and Tony avoids eye contact.

“Last second mission, she should be back in a few days,” he explains with a sigh. Everyone knows how upset you get everytime she leaves. Not only is it frustrating that she disappears, you’re worried. You’ve lost track of all the times various members of your family have come back with injuries, some worse than others.

“Any idea where?” You ask and he shakes his head.

“That’s classified, kid. But I’m sure it’s fine. If it was big they wouldn’t have sent her in alone,” he says trying to calm you down.

“She’s alone?!” you yell and he winces.

“Okay, obviously shouldn’t have told you that. She’ll be okay, y/n. She’s the best there is. She always comes back. I promise it’ll be okay,” he says and you nod before silently leaving to go to your room.

This was the worst part of being an Avenger’s kid. Your mom disappeared constantly. You would never blame her for it, of course, she was saving lives. If it wasn’t for her missions she never would’ve adopted you

You were three years old living in Budapest with your family at the time. Hydra had popped up again and your town was caught in the cross hairs. It was chaos, people were down everywhere and buildings were on fire. You don’t remember very much, just being really scared and then suddenly Natasha and Clint were there. Natasha had taken you in her arms and gotten you to safety. You immediately felt safer in her arms. She brought you home with her, and the rest was history.

While her missions were important you couldn’t help but wish you could spend more time together. Growing up you were constantly thrown from Avenger to Avenger. Whoever was available to take care of you became the stand in parent for that week.

You shake your head softly and sit down behind your desk to start on homework.

~~~~

The next morning you were in a bad mood. Everyone was trying to help you out, but nobody quite knew your routine as well as your mom, you just wanted her to come home. Steve woke you up at 4am and you were halfway through getting ready before you realized you were going to be two hours early. You switched gears and got to train with him for a few hours though, which was fun. After a few hours you shower and start getting your stuff ready to go.

Clint had been trying to clean up yesterday and apparently moved your backpack to some mysterious location. You spent the better part of an hour searching the entire compound for it before you find it in Wanda’s room.

“I thought it was hers! You’re both teenagers. It’s hard to tell what belongs to who!” Clint argues and you roll your eyes.

“She doesn’t even go to school, Uncle Clint! Which is completely unfair by the way,” you say pointing at Wanda.

“That’s what you earn when you’re an Avenger,” she smirks and you glare.

“I’ve been here longer, I should be an Avenger by now,” you grumble, jumping on one foot trying to find your shoe.

“Here, y/n. I made you lunch,” Bruce says with a smile, handing you a paper bag.

“Thanks Uncle Bruce!” You say, pausing when you look in the bag. “Hey what kind of sandwich is this?”

“Peanut butter and jelly, why?” He asks and you grimmance as the entire room seems to stop.

“I can’t eat this.”

“Why not?” Bruce furrows his brow as Tony walks over.

“Peanut allergy, man. Are you trying to kill the kid?” Tony yells handing you a few bucks to buy lunch at school.

“Here, Wanda,” you call tossing her the bag. “A genuine school lunch, welcome to the real world.”

“Nobody tell Nat about the peanuts, she’ll flip!” Clint cuts in and you nod.

“Come on, y/n, you’re gonna miss the bus!” Steve calls and you glance at the clock.

“Uh, yeah that ship has sailed.”

“What? How? I woke you up three hours ago!” He yells and you raise your hands in surrender.

“Yell at Uncle Clint! He’s the one who hid my backpack!” you argue.

“Well why’d you leave it in the living room?”

“I’m in high school! That’s what high schoolers do! I guess I’ll just stay home today,” you try and you’re met with four simultanious eye rolls.

“Yeah right, your mom will kill us if we don’t get you to school,” Bruce says and you frown.

“Okay enough. Here, take a car,” Tony says tossing you a set of keys.

“Am I missing the part where somebody taught me to drive?” you ask looking at the keys in your hands.

“You’re seventeen! You don’t know how to drive?” Tony asks and you look around the room.

“Do you see the chaos that sprung from you guys trying to get me ready for school? Do you really think mom would’ve trusted any of you to teach me how to operate heavy machinery?”

“Why didn’t she teach you?” Bruce asks and you smile sadly.

“Do you see her here right now? She’s too busy,” you shrug and Tony sighs.

“Okay, come on. I’ll drive you,” he says leading you to the garage.

xxxxx

You sigh as you pull up to school. The expensive sports car doesn’t really help you blend in.

“Have a good day, kiddo” Tony calls after you as you head inside and you force a smile.

“Thanks, Uncle Tony.”

You can hear the whispers as you walk through the halls.

“How does she know Tony Stark?” a Sophomore whispers.

“That’s Black Widow’s kid! She, like, lives with the Avengers or something,” some Junior girl responds and you shove your hands in your pockets and hurry to class.

“Before we start today, I thought it’d be fun to discuss some more recent history. We’ll be discussing the battle of New York ,” your history teacher states and you sigh, trying to sink deeper into your seat, “Miss Romanoff, why don’t you give us a rundown of what you know.”

“An Asgardian brought an alien army down on New York. The Avengers fought him off,” you stated plainly. The teachers always called you out when it came to anything Avengers related, you hated the attention it brought.

“You must know more than that,” your teacher encouraged.

“Well yeah, my Mom and my Uncles kicked ass, but isn’t telling the class that your job?” you ask and your teacher glares.

“That’s very disrespectful Miss Romanoff. Do I need to call your Mother?”

“Like you’d have the courage to talk to her” You say with a huff, “you’d neve have get ahold of her anyway,” you grumble under your breath.

“Miss Romanoff! This is your last chance, would you like detention?” you know you’re right but you sigh.

“No, sir. I apologize.”

“Okay then, anyone else?”

“Sure made a hell of a mess in the city. It took the city months to rebuild,” a kid named Chad says and you glare.

“Let’s see you fight off an alien army! See how well you do!” You yell, slamming your hand on your desk. You can feel your face getting red.

“I’d at least-”

“Enough!” your teacher cuts you both off. “Battles always cause a mess. Look at any war in American history. Moving on, back to our discussion of World War Two”

“Your family fought in that one too. Maybe you’re the common denominator, Roamanoff,” Chad whispers from behind you and you clench your jaw, your teacher not hearing Chad’s comments.

xxxxx

“You sure are quiet without the teacher here to protect you, huh?” Chad says pushing you into the lockers, “where are your precious Avengers now?”

He punches you and goes to push you again. Your mom made you promise not to start fights when she started training you, but since he threw the first punch you have him on his back before he realizes what’s happening. He looks shocked and you roll your eyes, “I was raised by superheroes dipshit. Now run along and I won’t tell anyone how fast I had you pinned.”

He gets up rubbing the back of his head, he must’ve hit it when he fell. Your not too worried, it’s not like he can get any dumber. He looks at you over his shoulder as he practically runs down the hall. You straighten out your jacket and walk towards your next class.

xxxxxx

“Hey Uncle Steve? Can you help me with this?” you ask, walking into the living room.

“Sure, y/n. What’s your question?”

“I need to know what year Captain America started fighting during World War Two,” you say rolling your eyes.

“I’m part of your history homework?” he asks with a smirk and you nod.

“It’s kind of weird having to answer questions about my uncle for my homework.”

“I know kid, but hey, you have all the answers right here,” he teases and you smile.

“Helping my kid cheat, Rogers?” you hear from behind you and you jump up.

“Mom! You’re home!” you yell crashing into her arms, “Are you okay? How was the mission?”

“Yeah, sweetheart. It was fine, I’m okay.” She says holding you tight, “now what’s this I hear about cheating?”

“It’s not cheating, Mom!” You argue, “the questions are about him! I’m just cutting out the middleman!”

“You’re learning about your Uncle Steve in school?” your mom asks, her brow furrowed, and you nod.

“I learn about all of you,” you tilt your head, “did you guys not realize that? We talked about the battle of New York today. Almost got me sent to the office,” you grumble, crossing your arms.

“What was that?” your Mom raises an eyebrow.

“My teacher wanted me to tell everyone about it! Just because you fought in it! I’m not the teacher! That’s not my job! It’s his! It’s not my fault my family got mixed up in every damn battle in the history of the world” you argue and your mom sighs.

“I’m sorry, y/n.”

“What, why?” you ask, confused at the change of tone.

“It can’t be easy, living the life you do. You should get to live a normal life. I should’ve thought of this before bringing you home,” she says, looking down and shaking her head.

“Are you… are you saying you wish you didn’t adopt me?” you asks softly, tears welling up in your eyes. “I know it’s hard having a kid, but you still get to do your job. You’re gone all the time anyway-”

“Hey y/n, no!” her head snaps up and she takes your hands, “adopting you was the best thing I’ve ever done. Don’t think for a second that I regret bringing you home. Honey, does it upset you that I’m gone so much?” she questions and you look at the ground.

“Kinda,” you shrug, “I miss you a lot and everything’s a mess without you. Uncle Steve woke me up too early because he didn’t know what time I got up and I missed the bus and I couldn’t drive myself because I never learned how and Uncle Bruce tried to give me peanuts and I wasn’t supposed to tell you that. Please don’t be mad-” you start spiralling and your mom cuts you off.

“Y/n, look at me. I’m not mad,” she says softly, wiping the tears you didn’t even realize had begun falling from your eyes.

“I just get really scared everytime you leave. What if you don’t come back?” you whisper and she shakes her head.

“Love, I will always come back. I promise.”

“But you can’t promise that!” You yell, “people don’t always come back! My birth parents died on one of your missions. I can’t lose you too.”

“Okay, it’s okay,” she pulls you into her arms and you hold on tight. “How about this, I can cut back. I can’t promise I’ll never go on missions, but I can make sure I’m home more. I can teach you how to drive, and I can help you with your homework. I’ll make sure Bruce never touches your food again and I’ll make sure you can have a normal life.’

“Normal’s boring,” you cut in softly, “if I had a normal life I wouldn’t have been able to knock Chad on his ass when he punched me.”

“He what now?” Your mom pulls back with a glare and you’re suddenly very scared for Chad’s life. Your mom is an assassin after all.

“He was making fun of you guys and we got in a fight. But he only got one hit in! You told me not to start a fight and I didn’t! I waited until he did.”

Your mom shakes her head and pulls you into her arms again.

“I’m glad your home,” you bury your face in her shoulder, “I really missed you.”

“I missed you too, love. What about a movie night, just me and you?”

“Yeah!” you look up, seeing Steve has already disappeared and your mom leads you over to the couch.

You cuddle close to her as the movie starts, the safest place in the world to you is still in her arms. Sure, you may not have a normal life, but normal is overrated anyway.

[mushyjellybeans]

Forgive Me (Bucky Barnes x Reader)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: Reader and Bucky are enemies who prank eachother and annoy eachother all the time until one insult is taken too far, Bucky must do everything he can to make it up to the reader.

Warnings: Bucky is a bit of an asshole, insults, mentions of a parent’s death (but no details), language, kissy kissy at the end. Angst with a happy/teasing ending.

Word Count: 2,176 (oops someone take my keyboard away from me!!)

A/N: This is for @simsadventures​ 1k writing challenge with the prompts: 1. Enemies to Lovers 2. One character annoying the other just because they’re into them and don’t want to admit it Thank you for letting me join babe and so sorry this took so long! I love you!!!

Another day stuck at the compound as the storm outside hit unexpectedly overnight. Too dangerous to fly the quinjets, Director Fury had canceled all missions temporarily which meant you had to stay at the compound with the team and more specifically with the man you detested from day one when he was so rude to you, the two of you never really got along since you were always bickering about everything and anything. It drove the team insane with your constant arguing, but you couldn’t stand the guy and didn’t understand why he was even on the team. All he did all day was brood and yell at you but because he’s Stevie’s best friend you figure that’s the only reason he gets away with so much.

It didn’t help the situation that you developed a big crush on Bucky. The room always felt better with his presence in, and so ordinary if he wasn’t in the room. You became jealous of every girl he dated and went to bed with, that’s when you knew you were in trouble and you were in fact, in love with him and could do nothing about it. If he ever found out, no doubt he would tease and insult you about it. 

You were taking a shower in your room, sighing as the hot water cascaded down on your body as you washed away your worries, your loofah loaded up with your fruity shower gel. With the water running and you being too busy making sure to scrub every inch of your body, you didn’t hear your bathroom door open. 

Bucky had stealthily entered your unlocked room and turned the cold water on in the sink, you shrieked out as the ice water hit you.

You yanked the shower curtain back slightly still covering your private parts as you gaped at the man. “Bucky, what the fuck are you doing in my room?!” You gritted through your teeth. 

Bucky had a shit-eating grin on his face as he shrugged and walked out of your bathroom backward, leaving the cold water running and you groaned in frustration. 

It was no secret that the two of you would prank each other occasionally. You once put green hair dye in his expensive bottle of shampoo and snapped a photo of him with the result. He retaliated by putting salt in your coffee instead of sugar. 

And Bucky enjoyed annoying you, he loved getting you so riled up because he thought you were the cutest. He was in love with you and it killed him he couldn’t do a damn thing about it.

You shut the shower off and got out, towel drying yourself quickly and throwing on a hoodie and a pair of black leggings. You tied back your wet hair as you exited your room, making your way down to the kitchen area where the team was hanging out. Steve and Bucky were making eggs by the stove. 

“Good morning Stevie!” You greeted cheerfully, perching yourself up on the stool and resting your forearms on the counter. 

“Good morning Y/N.” Steve greeted back, sipping his coffee and reading the newspaper. 

“Goddamnit!” Bucky cursed. “Steve watch my eggs for a minute I forgot to grab my phone. I invited Holly for a skype chat.” Bucky sprints out of the room when Steve gives him a nod, and a smirk grows on your lips. 

You quickly empty the tomato ketchup from the bottle and replace it with extra hot sauce and set it down next to Bucky’s plate of eggs just as Bucky gets back. Steve raises an eyebrow at you and shakes his head. You purse your lips and watch Bucky eagerly as he puts the sauce on his eggs and sighs. He lifts you off your seat and shoves you away from him.

“What’s the matter? Never seen a guy eat eggs before?” Bucky snaps, scooping up his scrambled eggs and eating them, immediately choking on the strength of the sauce. 

“Enjoy.” You laugh, patting the soldier on the back and going to sit down on one of the couches in the common room with the team. 

Bucky is seething and once he’s got his coughing under control he stalks towards you with his fists clenched by his side and a scowl burning holes in your face. 

“You know what Y/N. You gotta be the most irritating fuckin’ person on the entire planet!” He grits out through his teeth. 

“Well tell me Bucky, is it possible for you to choke on your own dick?” You grin, Sam spits his coffee out of his mouth. 

“I don’t know doll, why don’t you get on your knees and find out?” He challenges, moving in front of you. 

“Eww, no thanks. According to one of your one-night-stands, you taste like ass.” 

“Oh yeah? Well, you smell like ass. You need to go and take a fuckin’ shower because you smell so bad that it’s no wonder anybody wants to be with ya. You probably got your smell from when your ma pushed your pathetic ass from her disgusting pussy.” And that was a line crossed for you. His insults you could handle, but insults about your mom was a step too far. 

You swallowed the lump in your throat and willed your tears away, you hadn’t talked about your mom in years and the team knew why but Bucky didn’t. 

You stood up abruptly and walked back to your room without another word spoken, locking your door behind you and collapsing on your bed as you think about your mom. 

Bucky saw the look in your eye at the mention of your mom and he immediately felt guilty. He believed you genuinely hated him and he returned the favor because it’s easy to hate someone who hates you. 

“Good job, Buck.” Steve rolls his eyes, knowing just how sensitive the topic is for you. Steve didn’t understand why you and Bucky didn’t get along. Bucky joked and laughed with the other girls and even went out to the club with the boys, but with you, he was a different person. 

“You’re an asshole, Barnes.” Nat piped up from her seat. 

“Steve, help me fix it.” Bucky pleads, not knowing what to do. 

“Why Buck? So you can continue to throw insults towards her?” Steve places his hands on his hips and shakes his head. “You know, I’m so sick of the two of you bickering and hurting each other. We’re the Avengers. We’re supposed to be a team! Instead, I got you two down each other’s throats!“

“I don’t hate her Steve.” Bucky’s voice was so quiet that Steve wasn’t sure he heard him correctly.

“What?” He leans his ear more towards Bucky’s mouth to hear him more clearly.

“I’ve never hated her. I love her and I just don’t-I fucked everything up.” Bucky runs his hands through his hair and tugs on the roots painfully. 

“What about this Holly girl?” 

“There is no Holly. She’s just a friend to make Y/N jealous.” 

“You’re such a jerk. Here’s what you are gonna do…”

It was evening and you still hadn’t emerged from your room. You had actually been rocking back and forth on your bed, whispering “I’m so sorry mom” over and over. Your heart clenches in pain as you remember her final days before that fucking disease took her away from you. You’ve never been the same since and you’re not sure you ever will be. 

“I miss you.” You whisper as another round of sobs rack out of your chest as you clutch your memorial necklace tightly in your fingers. 

A loud knock on the door catches your attention and you wipe your eyes with the sleeves of your hoodie as you go and unlock the door, thinking it’s Steve or even Wanda coming to check on you. 

“You’ve been crying.” A gruff voice laced with guilt says as the man responsible for your heartache stands in front of you, looking over your features. 

“What the hell do you want, James?” Bucky winces at your tone. 

“I just wanted to-” you try to shut the door on him, but his foot stops you from doing that. Instead, he pushes the door open and forces you back. Knowing he won’t go away anytime soon, you go back over to your bed and sit down, playing with the hem of your hoodie and keeping your gaze to the floor.

The bed dips gently next to you, and you feel cold fingers tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear and you shiver. 

“I’m so sorry, doll.” He whispers. “I really never meant to hurt you.” He sniffles, wishing he could turn back time. 

“Don’t you have a date with your girlfriend?” You ask bitterly, ignoring his apology. 

“Is that jealousy I hear in ya voice?” He teases slightly. 

“No.” You shrug slightly, sniffling and wiping your nose with your sleeve. 

“I do care about you, doll,” Bucky whispers, leaning closer to you. “I don’t mean any of the insults I say. I just-I know you hate me and I don’t blame you but-”

“I don’t hate you.” 

“You don’t?” He asks, eyes wide in surprise. 

“Not at all. It was just a joke.” 

“I don’t hate you either.” He smiles softly and for the first time, you meet his gaze. His eyes are full of sadness as he searches your soul. “I’m sorry for everything I said. I never wanted to hurt you. Please, if you’ll let me I’ll make it up to you.” He strokes your cheek gently. 

“How are you going to do that?” You wonder curiously. 

“Well, I’m gonna run you a bubble bath. Make some hot chocolate and invite you to my room for a movie and cuddle night.” 

You frown as you think over his words. 

“A bath because I smell right?” Reminding him of his recent insult.

Bucky shakes his head no. 

“You smell really great all the time. I have a hard time keeping myself together when you’re in the room because I wanna kiss and taste every inch of your soft skin. Like I said doll, I don’t know why I say half of the shit I say because none of it is fuckin’ true. But I mean it when I say I’m sorry and I’m serious I wanna make it up to you and make you feel good, make you happy. I have feelings for you and I will never hurt you again. I promise.” 

And you don’t know what you were thinking - chances are you probably weren’t but you leaned up and caught his lips with yours. Relishing in his taste of peppermint and sandalwood. Bucky reciprocated, angling his head to kiss you deeper. His fingers snaking under your hoodie and grazing your hips. A gasp escapes your lips at the different temperatures of his hand, and Bucky takes the opportunity to slip his tongue between your lips, moaning at the way you taste. 

Bucky reluctantly pulls away for air and rests his forehead against yours, smiling softly at you. 

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.” He whispers, his breath fanning against your swollen lips. “Will you be my girl, doll?”

“Do you promise to never hurt me?” 

“I cross my heart. I’ll make it up to you, for every single thing I have ever said to you, I’ll make it right. You’re the most gorgeous girl I’ve ever seen.”

“I need a date first Buck.” You tease, pulling away from him slightly but he still has a firm grip on your hips. 

“Come to my room tonight at 8 pm? I’ll set up a dinner and movie date for the two of us?” He asks hopefully. 

“Alright.” You agree, knowing he’ll keep his word and make it up to you. He pecks your lips a final time and stands up. 

“I’ll see you soon.” He says, walking over to your door. His hand hovering above the doorknob. “Oh and doll?” He looks over his shoulder and you hum in response. “Don’t wear underwear.” He winks, walking out. A small laugh escapes you and you hide your face with your sleeves as embarrassment washes over you at how forward he is.

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[jawabear]

Feelings are hard (Mandalorian x Reader)

Not my GIF

A/N: I’ve had this sitting in my drafts for ages and finally decided to post it because I kind of like it. Sorry for any mistakes.

Genre: fluff

Warnings: fem!reader, Soft Mando, Mando really wants some love, but poor boy is so awkward, Pedro Pascal comes with his own warning

Summary: As a Mandalorian, Din doesn't have much grace when it comes to feelings but maybe he has another way he can express himself 

Feelings were not something the Mandalorian knew well. He had blocked most feelings off from himself. He couldn't have feelings of compassion, love, sadness or anything else like that with the job he had. He felt felt guilty after every bounty he went after, he would be no good at his job. He probably wouldn't even be a Mandalorian if he had any such feelings lingering in his body.

But since meeting the child, his feelings were slowly sinking back into his life. He felt protective over the small creature. The thought of loosing him made the Mandalorian sad beyond belief, he desperately cared for the child, he was defiantly becoming more human with each passing day. 

This child of his had been a sort of charm for Mando. A bad luck charm in the sense that where ever they went, trouble was sure to cross their path. There were still people looking for the child and Mando would do anything to stop them, to get him and the child to safety as quickly as possible. But a good luck charm in the sense that if it weren't for the trouble the child brought with him, Mando would never have met the woman who made him feel what love is.

Their first meeting was a blur. A gang and pinned Mando and the child in a corner, seeing no escape, he held the child protectively close to him as he waited for the shooting to start. And it did. But he ever seemed to get hit. She had come to their rescue, effortlessly shooting down the gang members without breaking a sweat. She had introduced herself as (Y/N) and asked why those people why shooting at him. He explained his situation and she offered them a safe place to sleep for that night, fit with food, water and any fresh supplies they may have needed.

Since that meeting, the three of them had traveled that galaxy together. She had agreed to go with him, saying that she had nothing left on that planet anyway. She wanted to see what other planets there were in the galaxy, she wanted to live a little. He was happy to take her on board, he knew he could use someone of her skill to help him out on difficult bounties and he could use an extra pair of hands to help look after the child.

Currently, the two bounty hunters walked through the bustling streets of the cities market. Mando wasn't phased by what the stalls had to offer, he had seen countless market stands in his time, some far better than this, and some far worse. But what he enjoyed about it, was seeing how (Y/N)’s face lit up with every stall she stopped at, even if it wasn't selling anything interesting.

She was a person deprived of any sort of experience of the outer worlds. Only knew the sands and hills of her own planet, she had probably never seen so many people in her life, let alone all the bright colours, exotic foods, music and dancing. He was in awe at her expressions as she took her time to take in everything she could before moving onto the next stall. Mando was patient with her, he was thankful his face was covered, he probably looked like a dazed idiot, he was smiling like one at least.

His heart swelled when she would speak to the person behind the stall to ask them about an item in their table, hearing her voice filled with gratitude when they would offer her a taste of a food, whether that be from her obvious excitement about the new world she was discovering, or intimidation from her bounty hunter demeanour and outfit. He kept a slight distance between him and her, wanting her to experience it fully without his input to tell her what was what, but he would step in when a dodgy guy would approach her, her innocence of the world making her and easy target, even more so, the fact that she had the child in her arms.

"You don't seem to be enjoying this as much as I am, Mando" she pointed out, her eyes scanning over the various jewels and precious stones that laid out on the stall in front of her.

"I'm enjoying watching you" he mumbled, she looked at him over her shoulder and laughed slightly "that came out a little creepy. I meant, I'm happy seeing you so excited by all this. I know what it's like to experience things like this for the first time" he tried again.

"Am I waisting your time?" She asked him nervously "you can go if you want, if you've got somewhere else to be, we can meet up later"

He shook his head, walking closer to her and looking over the table himself "I'm not leaving you out here alone. And you're not wasting my time. I came here for you. I wanted you to see all this" he admitted quietly.

She looked to him with soft eyes, he felt like he was melting under her gaze. "Thank you Mando" she smiled to him. He nodded and looked back over the table, as did she. Her smile remained on her face as the Trader would offer her to hold the stones, he watched as she ran her hands over each stone, memorising the smooth or rough texture of each one she was handed. He took further notice of how she seemed to hold one in her hands for longer then the others. It was a white stone mainly, however, it was in necklace form. It was the shape of a crystal he figured, but it shone differently to the average crystal he was used to. It seemed to glow with a bold line of light blue, it looked like a tiny galaxy inside it, only it wasn't black like he was used to. He saw how it reflect the own galaxies in her eyes. How she stared at it with such amazement, she seemed to get lost inside the crystal, taken by its beauty completely. Now she knew how he felt each time he looked at her.

Reluctantly she handed it back to the Trader who gently placed it down in the table. She thanked the Trader for her time and heard the child coo in her arms. (Y/N) looked down to the child "I think he's hungry" she observed "I'm pretty hungry too" she laughed.

"Right. I think I saw a Cantina down that way" he said pointing back the way they had come. "You go ahead down there with the Kid, I'm going to stock up on some supplies before we head back to the ship" she nodded and turned from him, she began making her way to where he had pointed.

After they had all eaten, they found theirselves back on his ship. It was dark now, the child was sleeping after the big meal he had eaten, leaving Mando and (Y/N) awake alone with each other. Mando had landed his ship up in a ridge that looked over the city square. (Y/N) sat in the gateway of his ship, staring out into the horizon in awe. She could see colourful light of lanterns and fires, she could hear the soft sound of music, singing and laughter from the residence down there.

"Mind if I join you?" Mando spoke suddenly from beside her, making her jump slightly and look up at his figure. She nodded to him with a soft smile. He settled on the floor next to her and looked out over the city as well.

"I've never seen anything like this before" she whispered, she hugged her knees close to her chest as he chin rested between them. "All the colours, all the people. I've never heard such music or laughter before. I've really been missing out"

"I'm happy I'm able to show you the universe (Y/N)" he nodded.

"I'm thankful for you Mando. For everything you've done for me. For bringing me with you, for getting me off the planet, for showing me all this, for giving me a purpose"

He was silent for a moment before taking in a deep breath "Din" he finally said.

"What?" She asked as she turned to face him, but he wasn't looking at her.

"My name...is Din. Din Djarin. When we're alone, call me that"

"Okay...Din" he liked the way his name sounded on her lips. He liked hearing his name again. It had been so long since he was called anything other then his job title. He was slightly surprised he still remembered his own name.

"I uh.." he paused for a moment as he reached into on of his many pockets and pulled something out of it "I got you something" he held up the necklace she had admired earlier, her eyes widening at the sight of it again.

"D-Din" she stuttered as she reached out to gently take it from his hands to admire it again.

"I saw the way you looked at it earlier. I loved the way you looked at it, I wanted to see it again. I want to see that look everyday, so I thought I would get it for you" he admitted sheepishly.

She was speechless. Her eyes flicked between him and the necklace, she didn't quite believe what was happening. She felt like the luckiest girl in the entire galaxy. To anyone else, it wouldn't be that much, but to her, someone who had been so deprived of the world, it was everything. "Thank you" she whispered. She could feel tears forming in her eyes. She handed it back to him "can you put it on me?" She asked quietly. He nodded, she turned slightly so that her back was too him. She lifted her hair to allow him better access to her neck. He placed the item around her neck, securely fastening it at the back.

"There" he muttered. She dropped her hair and returned to her original position, looking down at the crystal and smiling. "(Y/N)..." he began "I need to tell you something" she looked at him with worry. She pressed a gently hand against his thigh that made his heart flutter.

"What is it?" She asked him.

He looked at her for a moment, getting lost in her eyes. He blinked a few times before speaking again "I...I haven't know feelings in a long time. My way of life denied my of any. But...my life is different now. Now I have the kid, and I have you. Feelings have snuck their way back into my life. Thanks to you and the child, I have recalled the feelings of compassion, happiness, sadness, comfort, anything like that. But thanks to you...I've began to feel something that I never have. I think I'm madly in love with you. I'm in love with your innocent. With your wonder. I'm in love with the way you care for the child. I'm in love with the way you are able to so effortlessly handle any situation, how easy you make taking down twenty men look. I'm in love with you face, your smile, your eyes. I'm no good when it comes to feelings or words, so this probably didn't come out how I wanted it to. But I don't think I understand how much I love you yet, but I know that I do. And regardless of whether you feel the same way for me or not, I don't think I could live without you"

She shuffled closer to him, a smile once again on her lips "I'm awful too when it comes to feelings. But I love you too Din. I love the way you make me feel. I love the way you protect me and the child, how safe you make me feel. How you'll hold me after a tough mission. How you take me to places like this so I can get a taste of what the galaxy has to offer. And I too may not understand her how much I love you, but I love you. And I can't live with out you, I wouldn't be alive without you"

He brought a gloved hand to her cheek and she leaned into the touch. "Close your eyes" he ordered softly as he removed his hand. She nodded as did as she was told. She was confused at his sudden request, even more so when she heard a slight hiss. The sound of metal hitting the floor had her slightly worried.

"Din, what are you doing?" She asked.

"Just keep your eyes closed, okay?" He said "do not open them until I say" she nodded again, her eyes tightly shut. The feeling of his gloves were once again against her cheeks. She then felt something warm against her face, it felt like warm air, coming out in steady beats. She was about to talk but all knowledge of words slipped from her mind the moment his lips pressed against hers.

She didn't know how to react at first. Her heart rate increased, it pounded against her chest so hard that she was sure he would be able to hear it. The kiss was gentle, it was soft, it was something ten times better then what she could ever imagine kissing him would feel like. He hands slowly raised to his cheeks, resting against them. She basked in the feeling of his skin under her fingers, it was slightly rough, not as smooth as she had imagined but she didn't care, she could feel him. The real him. Her thumbs traced over his cheeks as their lips moved together in perfect sync. They had fit together perfectly. They were two halves of one piece.

The need for air was calling and caused the two to part from each other, they stayed in close proximity, their hands did not move from each other. "Wow..." she breathed quietly with a smile on her lips. He didn't respond at first. He looked over her face, seeing how her cheeks were dusted with a light shade of red. A dazed smile on her rosy lips. He wanted to see her eyes. He wanted to see if they showed the same amount of love and adoration as his. But he didn't know if he could allow her to see his face. No living creature was allowed to see him. That was his code. But if he put his helmet back on he couldn't kiss her again.

"Open your eyes" he whispered.

"But...I'll see you"

"I know. I want you to"

"A-are you sure?" He nodded and saw her gulp. She pulled her head back and slowly she opened her eyes. She drew in a sharp breath when her eyes met his. He wasn't anything like she had imagined, he was so much better. She fell instantly in love with his dark eyes, his sloped noise, his scruffy facial hair. She felt her eyes brim with tears but her smile was bright. She pulled him in for another kiss. This one was different. It was better because she had seen that face of the man she loved.

Suddenly, there was a massive bang and burst of bright colours that made her jump and curl herself around his body in fear at the sudden noise, he managed a soft laugh as he slipped his arms around her waist "what was that?" She asked, her voice small and timid.

"Nothing to be afraid of" he assured her "they're fireworks. People set them off at festivals and special occasions. Another reason I wanted to bring you here. I thought you might enjoy the show" she heard another bang and quivered "it's okay (Y/N), it's nothing to be scared of. It's quite beautiful to watch, you're safe"

She slowly pulled away from him and he nodded in reassurance. She didn't move far from his body but she turned her head to look back out over the city. Her eyes went wide and her mouth fell open. Her face framed by the beautiful explosions of vibrant colours that filled the night sky. She let out soft breaths of amazement with each one. She held onto his hand tightly, his eyes were fixate on her, watching as her face lit up.

He pressed a quick kiss to her cheek making her smile ever brighter. She then rested her head on his shoulder, his head resting against her. They both let out sighs of content as they relaxed in the comfort of each other's hold and enjoyed the dazzling display of colour that felt as though it were put on just for them.

Masterlist

17/05/20

[babbushka]

Each Eye - Epilogue

Mob Boss Kylo Ren x Reader 

3k ; Warnings: Mentions of violence

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

The traffic, you couldn’t help but think with a little breath of a sigh, really never wanted to quit, did it?

Poor Dopheld drove the best that he could through the streets, maneuvering and navigating the congestion of the city. The rain didn’t help, slush on the streets from a strangely early blizzard. The weather this year had been so unexpected, you blamed global warming. Kylo sighed, furrowed his brow and checked his watch.

Some things truly never changed, did they?

“We’ll be on time.” You assured him, lifting the hand that was twined with your own.

You pressed a kiss to the palm, nuzzled your face into it with a gentle smile. Kylo leaned into your space, rubbed his big nose against yours for a moment before claiming your lips in a soft chaste kiss of his own, before flicking the cigarette ash out the window which was only cracked an inch or so open for that very purpose.

He wasn’t in the mood to talk today, and that was fine.

A lot had changed, a lot had to be addressed tonight, and that was fine too.

You were pressed up against Kylo’s side, as you had been for the past couple years. If he had been protective of you before, if he had been obsessed with your safety before, well now was a completely new level of possession. You let yourself be held, the arm that was slung across your shoulders tugged you closer, impossibly closer. You let yourself be held, tucking your head against his neck, nosing at the skin of his throat.

The time had come once again, for the annual meeting of the families.

How a year had passed, an entire year since the Incident, you didn’t know. You were kept too busy, busy with travel plans and managing the scandal. Busy with being a business owner and a wife. And of course, a mother.

Your darling infant daughter was sound asleep in her car-seat, one of those expensive and convoluted things with too many straps and buckles for you to reasonably do alone. Driving always got her drowsy, not that she ever had trouble sleeping. She was the most spoiled thing on the East coast, and you knew a certain someone would be very excited to see her in a few moments when Dopheld would pull up to the restaurant.

If anyone thought that having a kid would make Kylo quit the business, they would be sorely mistaken. If anything, it motivated him to get even more involved, to spread his reach further. In the year following the wake of the murder, Kylo had risen up to levels of power he had only dreamed of prior. He had surpassed the legacy of Snoke, had now he wasn’t just feared, he was given a free pass to do anything he liked, whenever he liked it.

He was, of course, far too introverted to want to really do anything other than stay home with his beautiful family, go to the office, and murder those who double-crossed him – but the sentiment was nice.

Kylo checked his watch.

You kissed him sweetly, peppered chaste nothings to his neck and cheek as he smoked his cigarette, flicked the ash out into the pouring rain. He was dressed in a new suit, well, a new old suit, another one of those vintage Armani’s he so adored. Crisply ironed from the dry-cleaners and richly black as ever, with a bowtie that never managed to stay straight no matter how often you adjusted or fiddled with it. Your outfit was in a light-colored satin fabric despite the weather, one that complimented your skin tone nicely in an attempt to bring about a good mood for the dinner. Ever since having the baby, you tried to avoid wearing too much black.

After what felt like ages, the car came to a slow and gentle stop in front of John’s of 12th Street. Tradition was tradition, you thought to yourself happily, as Kylo disentangled himself from you.

“We’ve arrived.” Dopheld informed you both with a smile through the rear-view mirror.

“Thank you.” Kylo nodded to the boy, before getting out of the car.

You unbuckled the baby from her safety contraption and tucked her against your chest to shield her from the rain. You had decided to dress her in an outfit given to her by her favorite uncle – or rather, her most adoring uncle, who would surely appreciate that gesture.

When you and Kylo had thrown her a Simchat Bat, Uncle Lando had shown up with a literal parade of gifts. Toys and clothing in all manner of sorts and styles. He said he wanted her to have options no matter what her preferences wound up being. And he wasn’t the only one! It was as if a royal baby had been born, with how many people were in attendance for the naming ceremony.

You and Kylo had to buy a second penthouse just to store everything, you were so fortunate to be so well respected and loved.

Everyone you were to meet with tonight had come to the Simchat Bat, and aside from one or two, you hadn’t seen them since. You had all kept in touch, as you always did, but this would be the first time in a long time that you would see some of these heads of family face to face.  

“Shall I wait here?” Dopheld asked you as you waited for your door to be opened.

Dopheld had been absolutely invaluable, during the trials. There of course had been trials, surrounding the death of your sister in law. Trials that took ages and ages of deliberation only for you to be acquitted, just as you knew you both would be. Dopheld had been called as a witness on your behalf to support your alibis, and you were so impressed with the way he lied so easily. For such a nervous man, he truly did have a great deal of mental fortitude when the time called for it.

“Oh please come inside, the weather is miserable right now. Get something hot to eat.” You encouraged as you watched Kylo chat idly with one of the restaurant valets.

“I don’t mind, really ma’am – ” Dopheld began to protest, but you shook your head to interrupt him.

“I insist. You won’t be allowed in the back room with us, but we’ll pay for your bill. I know Thanisson is supposed to be here any moment, why don’t the two of you have dinner on us?” You prompted, enjoying the way the blush on his cheeks deepened at the thought.

“Thank you ma’am.” He said very softly, a thanks for both footing the bill, but also supporting him and this budding relationship that had begun to blossom over the course of the year.  

As if on cue, a car pulled up against the curb behind you. Kylo opened your door and offered you a steady hand to step out with. A valet boy stood behind him and struggled to hold an umbrella over his impressive height, the poor thing.

“Alright?” Kylo asked, making you smile. It was the first thing he had said in about three hours.

“We’re alright.” You nodded, turning slightly so Kylo could see that the princess was still sound asleep.

He kissed your temple and walked with you to the front doors, extra careful so that you didn’t slip on the ice and slush on the sidewalk. You were soon joined by all the members of the KoR. Knuckles and Slip and Six were of course your favorites, but that was just because you saw them the most often.

The other two, Maisy and Neve, were normally in charge of scouting out the streets and making sure things that needed to stay under the covers, stayed there. But now Kylo wanted all of his most trusted friends and guards to stay close to you.  You didn’t mind, you liked being surrounded by big strong men and women.

Speaking of which, as you and Kylo lead the pack through the restaurant lobby, you scan the place for your dear cousin Gwen. She hadn’t taken Rey’s death too hard, in fact she didn’t seem to spend much time mourning the girl at all. You spoke with her nearly every day and turned out that Gwen wasn’t interested in anything more than sex, which wasn’t very surprising, knowing her.

She had no interest in having children of her own, so she was ecstatic when you had announced your pregnancy. It took all of the pressure off of her, got the family off her back. Your daughter was the first of her generation within your combined families, the Serennos and the Rens, and it felt good to have an heir of sorts.

When you do find Gwen, she gave you a pearly white grin and reached out with happy hands to scoop the sleeping angel out of your arms and give you a small break from carrying her.

“Hello Kylo, hi sweetie, how are you doing?” Gwen kissed your cheek and then began to soothe the baby who had fussed momentarily during the exchange of arms holding her.

“We’re wonderful, although I wish it’d stop shitting rain for five minutes.” You sighed happily, taking in stock of your cousin and asking, “You?”

“Great actually, there’s a lot we need to talk about.” She responded, making you arch a brow. There was always something, it seemed.

“Business or pleasure?” You had to ask, not that you wanted to really get into it all right now.

“Business.” Gwen waved it off, knowing there would be a time and place for all of that.

With your arms free, Kylo wrapped a hand around the curve of your hip, and you followed him deeper inside the restaurant as your room was finally ready. Gwen and your baby were right behind you, and it felt good to have the hustle and bustle of the restaurant get sealed away with the closing of the sound-proofed door.

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

The room was cozy as ever, a small intimate place set aside just for you. The candles were softly burning and there were a few select waiters with trays of champagne or wine, bottles of beer and cheeses to pass the time while everyone else arrived. You counted the chairs at the large circular table, which had been fitted with a white linen table cloth and was already set with all manner of fine china and silverware.  

“It’s going to be so strange, don’t you think?” Gwen asked the both of you, mostly thinking out loud.

“Every year it’s something different, but it’s always the same.” Kylo piped up, and you gave him an encouraging grin, glad to see that he was in the mood to play along the game of socialization, even if for a little while. He chewed his lip, not really knowing how to keep the conversation going, and finally settled on, “Did you get a haircut?”

“Just a trim, do you like it?” Gwen asked, reaching up a hand and running her fingers through her short pixie.

“Yes, very severe.” Kylo nodded, having decided that that was enough interactions for a while, and instead turned towards you and kissed your cheek, drifting down to the corner of your mouth.

 Not much longer after that, did the vibrant personality of everyone’s favorite Uncle burst through the door with a loud, “Where’s my niece?”

You retrieved your daughter from Gwen’s arms, and happily brought her over to the old man who as always, was dressed for the opera in a emerald green satin suit. It just so happened, that the dress you had chosen for your daughter to wear to the dinner, also happened to be a green satin, which made Uncle Lando grin with all his gold teeth when he saw.

“Someone woke up just in time to see you.” You showed him how the baby’s eyes were wide open and taking him in happily, and she smiled and laughed when he extended a shaky finger to lightly bop the tip of her nose.

“God damned what an angel. An absolute fuckin’ angel. Isn’t she the sweetest?” Uncle Lando nearly got misty eyed at the sight of his niece. He had grandchildren of his own of course, but they were mostly grown up now, and sometimes it was just hopeful and uplifting to get to bare witness to the next generation.

“She is! Would you like to hold her?” You offered, never wanting to be rude.

“When we sit. I don’t trust these old bones to carry any more weight than they have to, if you catch my drift.” Uncle Lando gratefully declined for the moment, as he lifted his cane in support of the fact.  

“Old? Nonsense, you’re looking young and spry as ever.” You winked nevertheless, and were just about to escort him to his seat out of respect, when he stopped you and spoke low in your ear.

“Kylo been treatin’ you good? He’s not too busy with everything that’s gone on?” He asked, deadly serious for a moment.

“He’s perfect, as he always is.” You assured him, grateful for his concern.

 Everyone else arrived before eight o’clock, although some cut it a little close. Kylo kept checking his watch, making a mental note of just how close, when each head of the family came through the doors.  

Bob Fett came with gifts, expensive bottles of rare imported wine as an excuse for why he was nearly late.

“Mr. and Mrs. Ren, good to see you, it’s been some time hasn’t it?” Bob greeted you both jovially.

“Mr. Fett we really must get together more often, thank you for coming.” You smiled, passing the wine to the Knights to take care of.

“Damn I gotta tell you, you look almost better than you did before you got pregnant. Which that ain’t something a lot of women can say.” Bob had a bit of a habit of being a casually misogynistic bastard, and you almost entertained the thought of poisoning him for that comment, but then he burst into a wet coughing laughter and you knew the man would likely be dead within the next few years anyway, and so you smiled when he asked, “Where’s my seat?”

“Let’s go find it together shall we – drink?” You humored him as you gestured for a waiter to come over with a glass which he happily accepted.

 As he did every year, Mr. Tarkin arrived quietly, on time, and sat down with a curt nod and greeting to everyone. You didn’t fault him for it, and were in fact glad that he didn’t feel the need for unnecessary conversation.

Just when you thought there would be an unfortunate repeat of last year, the final guest for dinner made his way into the room, eliciting a round of mock applause and sarcastic cheers from those already seated at the table.

“Well look who fuckin’ decided to show up this time!” Bob rolled his eyes and called out loudly as Jabba took his seat for the first time in a long time.

“Mr. Hutt, it’s good to see you.” You greeted him, only making the men jeer more.

“Maybe it ain’t so good to see you – I was hopin’ you’d kick the bucket by now!” Bob joked with his old friend, the two of them having had such an interesting friendship. Jabba often hired the Fett family to carry out murders he wanted his hands clean from, but they were both too tough to be openly friendly towards one another.

“The devil took one look at me and sent me back here to terrorize you jackasses a little longer.” Jabba joked right back, tucking the cloth napkin into the collar of his shirt before the bread and butter had even arrived.

“Thank fuck for that, where else would I get my best cigars?” Tarkin piped up from his end of the table.

“Alright alright shut the fuck up with the language there’s a baby in the fuckin’ room.” Uncle Lando spoke loudly over everyone, and even Kylo cracked a smile at that.

“She’s too little still, it’s fine.” You assured him quietly, before clearing your throat and standing up from your spot while Kylo held his daughter. “I’d like to make the toast this year, if I may.”

“Go right ahead honey.” Bob gave you permission you didn’t really need, but you bit back that comment for another day.

You raised your champagne glass, and everyone followed suit.

“It’s been a long year, for all of us. We’ve lost some members at our table,” You made a pointed look a where Rey would have sat if she were not murdered, and where Hux might have sat if he weren’t serving life in prison for said murder, “But we’ve gained some as well. It has been inspiring to see the way that despite these changes, we are all able to remain once again, intact. The world outside these walls is very different from the world you once knew, from the world our grandfathers and great-grandfathers knew.”

You look each and every one of them in the eye as you continue,

“But we are not our grandfathers. We uphold a legacy that still blazes strong, a legacy which we continue with traditions like these, meeting together year after year. Here’s to another prosperous year ahead.” You end your toast.

“To the future.” Kylo spoke, eliciting a chorus of To the future!

 And just like that, in the silence of everyone taking a sip of their drink, it was as if nothing had changed at all. There were fewer chairs at the table, yes. But there were chairs, and there was a table, and that spoke volumes.

Kylo looked at you, and you looked at him right back. You reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze, and though he didn’t smile, he didn’t have to. You could see the love in his eyes from a thousand miles away, could feel the adoration that imbued his very presence.

They said that the crime families were no more, that they had disappeared with the end of an era. But you knew better, you saw firsthand, you participated in it of your own volition.

Lucky for you, your man, and your family, no one could ever get rid of crime. Not really.

Not really.

                                                           The End. 

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

Tagging some Kylo loving friends! If you’d like to be added or removed from the taglist, please just let me know! 

 @dreamboatdriver @kyloxfem @heldcaptivebychaos  @solotriplets @formerly-anonhamster @lookinsidemyhead @candycanes19 @adamsnacc-kler @taylovren-types @whiskey-bumblebee @oberynmartell​ @magikevalynn​ @tinyplanet-explorers​ @chelsjnov​ @romancedeldiablo​ @helloimindelaware​ @elfieboxcat​ @laurenshit​ @autumnlovesadam​ @peterisparker​ @mp938368 @hidingp​ @goodboybensolo​ @intrestellarsarah @the-marvelatic​ @miasera​ @emily-strange​ @proxyfoxy​ @insanita​ @disaster-rose​ @hazydespair​ @yosoymuyloca​ @1-800-choke-that-snoke​ @ktellmeastory​ @anongirl007​ @zimmerxman​ @okk--maaan​ @flapjacques​

[snowdice]

And There is a Question (Part 7 of the Series “Is There Anything Left of Patton?”)

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Relationships: Virgil & Logan, Logan/Patton, Virgil & Patton

Characters: Logan, Virgil, Patton, Roman, Remy

Summary: Would you like to know the answer?

Notes: Zombie Apocalypse AU, Patton is a zombie, Guns, Angst.

I’m back with this one. The next two parts are written too and will be releasing in the next couple of weeks. 

Thanks to @kieraelieson for betaing

This is the seventh part of a series of one-shots called Is There Anything Left of Patton?

Previous parts:

“Something Left”

“Someone You’ll Never Meet”

“Food You’ll Never Eat”

“Things You’ll Never Do”

“There Are Things That Are Lost”

“There Are Things That Are Missing”

Logan opened the refrigerator and immediately felt the overwhelming urge to bash his head against it. “Virgil!” he called. “Would you just eat the macaroni!”

“I told you! It’s not any good after it’s been in the fridge!” he called back.

“Then why do you keep making it?” Logan practically sobbed to himself with his head against the refrigerator door; there were three Tupperware containers full of macaroni and cheese despite the fact that Logan had thrown out one yesterday and eaten another. “Dammit,” he whispered and grabbed one of the older containers out. He was going to have to hide the rest of the boxes of macaroni and cheese, wasn’t he? They’d found them on a recent scavenging trip. Virgil had been overjoyed that they’d been only about a year expired and Logan had been happy to have an easy source of dinner, but Virgil apparently had no self-control in this. Logan couldn’t keep living like this. At this point, he would be elated to never see the Kraft logo ever again.

Patton, having heard him shouting and being drawn to the sound, shuffled into the room. Logan still felt a twinge in his chest every time he walked through that doorway. Patton used to love this kitchen, and he’d been very good at using it. Perhaps if he were the one cooking, Logan wouldn’t have eaten only macaroni for every goddamned meal this week.

He placed said bowl of macaroni in the microwave before turning to the other man. “Hello dear,” Logan said softly, moving over to him. He carefully prodded at him until he stumbled over to one of the chairs and then pushed his shoulders down until he sat. “Would you like something to eat too?”

There was no response from Patton but to reach up and pat at Logan’s jaw briefly. Logan caught his hand with gentle fingers and pressed a soft kiss against his wrist. When he released the hand, it fell limply into Patton’s lap. Logan turned to the refrigerator and selected one of the pre-prepared sealed containers of raw meat. He took his own breakfast out of the microwave and set both containers on the table before getting two glasses of water from the reservoir.

Patton looked at the water with a certain level of interest. Though he did need water, he didn’t take to it with nearly as much gusto as he did food. Logan watched him lean forward to grab at it with both hands and pull it to himself. He stared at it for a long moment before tilting forward to poke his tongue into the cup briefly. Then, he sat back up and elected to ignore the drink.

“Not thirsty this morning?” Logan asked. “Or did you find and consume Virgil’s coffee once again?”

He titled his head at the sound of Logan’s voice, but didn’t quite look at him.

“Here,” Logan said. “Have some breakfast.” He reached over and quickly took off the lid of the meat container before sitting back. That got Patton’s attention. He zeroed in on the food immediately, grabbing for it and shoving it into his mouth as quickly as he could with a wet squelching sound. Virgil still complained about how ‘gross’ it was watching Patton eat, but Logan had grown numb to it over the past going on two years. Logan wasn’t sure why Virgil had trouble getting over it, but imagined it had something to do with the fact that Logan had watched fewer people being eaten alive by less tame zombies.

Logan twitched. ‘Tamed’ was not a word he was comfortable using for Patton he decided, an obstruction in his throat. Not an animal. Not a pet. Can’t.

He shoved a forkful of macaroni and cheese down his throat to distract himself. It somehow managed to be both dry and slimy at the same time. Why did Virgil do these things?

Logan looked up at Patton. “Honestly, yours looks more appetizing than mine this morning, dear.” Patton was finishing off his food. “I imagine I cannot negotiate a trade?” Patton started licking the blood off his fingers. “Fair enough.”

Logan continued to force more of his meal down as Patton grew more and more interested in his water cup, though he did not reach for it.

That interest was suddenly drawn away when Virgil came jogging into the room, hoodie in place despite the fact that it was in the upper 60s. He glanced into the refrigerator and hummed before grabbing out the container of orange juice they’d thawed for this week. “Nuh uh, Patton. This is my orange juice,” he said pushing the man who had gotten to his feet to follow him gently away before pouring himself a glass of juice.

“You’re energetic today,” Logan noted.

“I’ve got plans today. The first batch of lettuce should be grown enough to have fresh salads tonight, and I’m going to be planting the carrots. We’re finally going to have real food again soon!”

“Speaking of real food,” Logan said. “Is that all you’re going to have for breakfast?”

“If my only other choice is refrigerated mac and cheese then, yeah, absolutely.”

Logan ground his teeth in agitation, but decided a fight about it wasn’t worth it today.

“Fine, fine, Patton,” Virgil gave in as the man reached past the arm Virgil was using to block him. “You can have the rest.” He offered the cup with about an inch of orange juice still at the bottom and Patton snatched it away, tilting the cup up to drink the rest of it. Virgil turned to Logan while he did. “The corner’s wet again.”

“What?!” Patton jerked his head up at Logan’s voice, and Virgil had to snatch the glass away from him to keep it from shattering on the ground. Patton had lunged to jump on top of Logan; Logan’s chair almost toppled over backwards from the force. “Yes, hello Patton,” he said, unconcerned, pushing the fingers away from his mouth to speak. “How is there still a leak? I’ve fixed every shingle above it and replaced part of the wall.”

“Don’t ask me Lo. I’m not a carpenter. All I know is the carpet is soaked again.”

Logan pushed Patton’s hair out of his own face. “Mother fuck.”

Virgil nodded sagely. “I couldn’t have put it better myself.” He placed his orange juice cup in the dirty dish tub. “I can try to help you with it after lunch.”

“Sure,” Logan agreed with a groan. He got a palm pressed to his mouth for the sound.

“Welp, I’m going to the garden now. Stay still Lo,” Virgil requested. He walked to the kitchen doorway and gave a sharp, high-pitched whistle. “Come on, Pat!” Patton seemed conflicted for a moment before Virgil whistled again. Then, he lumbered clumsily off Logan to follow after Virgil.

Logan finished his breakfast alone and then went to the living room. Patton had apparently decided to go upstairs after Virgil escaped to the garden because he was nowhere in sight. Logan gave the corner of the living room by the rocking chair a glare. He should try to figure out where the leak was coming from again, but he didn’t have the patience at the moment, and Virgil had said he’d help after lunch anyway. So, instead he decided to grab one of his books and sat in the rocking chair. He had to admit the damned thing was comfy despite its hideous aesthetic. Logan might as well accept it. He knew he’d never be able to get rid of the thing for as long as he lived.

Logan read for a few hours before he decided it was time to make lunch. He decided to be nice and not force Virgil to only eat his sins for the meal. Instead, he closed the kitchen door and cooked some of the deer meat from his first hunt of the season a few days ago. He also opened a can of beets and a can of peaches. He did dish out a side of macaroni and cheese for the both of them. He doubted either of them would actually eat it, but it would be an excuse to throw it away.

Virgil came in with a small bowl full of lettuce from the garden and was careful to close the door behind him when he noticed Logan was finishing up cooking meat. He set the bowl on the counter to wash later and helped Logan finish prepping lunch. The two of them ate the meat and the beets at the kitchen table (as both were foods Patton would be inclined to eat if he caught sight of them) and then took the peaches into the living room to eat for dessert (leaving the macaroni to rot on the kitchen table).

“How’s the garden?” Logan asked.

“A lot better without you touching it,” Virgil answered, which was fair. “I put out the carrot-ay sign with the black belt carrot drawn on it.”

The comment sent something twisting in Logan’s gut, but he still let out a fond chuckle both for the man who had made the sign and the one who was still using it. “I’ll have to come see it.”

“Just no touching.”

Logan was letting out a soft laugh when there was a loud bang and the front door sprang open.

Both Logan and Virgil shot to their feet as a shotgun was pointing at them.

There was a moment's pause. “Can I help you?” asked Logan.

“Oh shit,” the man said eloquently, “You’re alive?”

“Yes,” Logan said, “and you just kicked in the door to my house.”

“…Sorry babe,” the man said as he lowered the gun so it was pointed at the floor. Logan bristled a bit at the nickname. “Hey, Ro, we’ve got live ones,” he called back out of the door. Virgil was strung tight at Logan’s side, saying nothing and curling into his hoodie. Logan nudged him slightly with his elbow as he took a sharp breath.

“Oh, really?” a voice asked. He poked his head inside. Logan and he blinked at each other for a few moments. “Hey! I know you!” he said excitedly.

And so he did. They were never the best of friends and the most they’d ever interacted was when they worked together on a group project for a gen ed college course, but that didn’t seem to stop Roman from getting excited and practically throwing himself at Logan to pull him into an embrace even as one hand still held a rifle.

“Yes, hello, Roman,” Logan said. He felt pleased for just a moment to see someone he had known before the world ended, but then, of course, a sound from the top of the stairs reminded him why this was not at all a good thing.

“Shit,” Virgil broke his silence to hiss.

Roman jumped away on high alert in the same moment Logan moved to stand in front of the staircase Patton was coming down.

“What the fuck are you doing?!” Roman barked. “That’s a zombie.”

“No, it isn’t,” Logan lied, his voice somehow steady even as Patton collided with his back.

“Um, bitch, yes it is!” Roman said.

“Honestly, if he were a zombie, I would have been bitten already.”

“Oh, please Logan,” Roman said, his countenance startlingly different from the openly joyful one it had been only seconds before. “I thought you were the smart guy. I’ve been around the block. I started in fucking New York City and while most zombies will attack the second they see you, some don’t. Some of them are ambush predators that wait until you’re vulnerable, weak, or sleeping, but they’re still going to bite you eventually. I’ve seen a lot of fucking zombies. I know one when I see it, and that,” he pointed at Patton accusingly, “is a fucking zombie.”

“He is not,” Logan insisted. “Patton was not bitten. He just faced a traumatic event and had a psychotic break making him act erratic and confused. He is not dead.”

“Oh, is that so?” Roman scoffed. He whistled once, sharp and high pitched, and Patton predictably shoved past Logan and stumbled straight at him. Roman put up his rifle to nudge him into stopping. “See, I don’t exactly believe you,” Roman said. “So why don’t we hear it from Patton?”

“This is unnecessary,” Logan said, his voice cracking at the sight of Patton with the barrel of a gun pointed straight at his chest.

“Tell me, Patton,” Roman continued, a sneer on his face. “Is there anyone alive in there?” There was quiet for a moment and then, to Logan’s surprise Patton’s mouth twitched just barely. He blinked and suddenly there was something there that hadn’t been for almost two years.

“Yes.”

Thanks for reading!

Want to read more? The next part of this series is “Is There Anything Left of Patton?”

[antiquecompass]

Untamed Fall Fest 2020 Day 1

Also on Ao3 here.

Lan Sizhui had grown up surrounded by whispers. They’d followed him as a child and only increased once he’d switched to Lan Academy. He’d never enjoyed it, but he’d grown used to it--one of the costs of being who he was, where he sat in regards to his various family members. He’d been allowed to disappear into the masses at Harvard, something that still held true even now in his Sophomore Year. Whispers still occasionally followed him, but most students here didn’t know or care about his large extended family. There would always be clout-chasers coming after him--he knew that would neve stop--but for the most part, he was left alone at Harvard.

Well--mostly.

The natural laws of everything fell in the face of Jingyi’s Crew Bros and their general chaos. And while Sizhui did generally tolerate and even adore some of them, all of them, Jingyi included, had been testing the absolute bounds of his patience these past two weeks.

“Hey, Sizhui. Sizhui. Psst. Come on, don’t ignore me, Lan.” A deep sigh. “Don’t make me do it to you, bro. You know I will.”

Sizhui rolled his eyes as he kept a steady pace towards the library. He had not agreed to take part in Jingyi's little 'treasure hunt' and he refused to support it. Most of the rowers had backed off when met with Sizhui’s general silence and the indifferent stare he’d learned from his Papa.

But there would always be those fools who tempted fate and most of them were Jingyi’s closest teammates.

“Yo, Little Bun!”

Sizhui froze and turned around, staring Marquis down hard, taking pleasure in the pained smile on the other’s face. It was always nice to see the exact moment someone knew they’d fucked up.

“You did not just yell that out for everyone to hear, Mr. Barton,” Sizhui said.

“Desperate times and desperate measures, oh, Great Snack God,” Marquis said with a bow that looked far too regal for a jackass decked out in Harvard athletic gear.

“You realize you’ve just taken your life into your own hands,” Sizhui said.

“Fortune favors the bold,” Marquis countered.

“And Pliny the Elder died after uttering those words,” Sizhui said.

A small frown crossed Marquis’ face for a second, only to be replaced by a pleading smile. Some would be charmed by the natural charisma that oozed out of Marquis Barton, but Sizhui felt nothing but betrayal now, from the one Crew Bro he thought he could trust.

“Come on, Sizhui. You know I wouldn’t have done it if I wasn’t so desperate.”

Sizhui had to admit that was true. Clearly Marquis had lost his better sense. All this fuss for the past two weeks over something so simple. Over mooncakes of all things.

“You know, you can just go into Boston, go to one of my aunt’s restaurants, and place an order for her mooncakes. You are aware of this, right? Wouldn’t that be easier? Wouldn’t it be better for your sanity and dignity? Wouldn’t you rather do that, instead of tempting me to absolutely verbally eviscerate right you, right now, for all to see? ”

“I possibly didn’t think this through,” Marquis admitted as he glanced around at the students gathered in small groups under trees and on benches.

“No, you did not,” Sizhui agreed.

“And while I do apologize for yelling out your childhood nickname, in my defense, it was in that write up The Crimson did on the new generation of Lans attending Harvard.”

Sizhui still hadn’t forgiven April for that one. Damn West Coast Lans.

“And your lovely, amazing, talented, goddess of an aunt doesn’t sell the snowskin ones to the public. Jingyi says that’s only for family and he’s the one who got us hooked on them last year and is now holding the entire batch your aunt made for us hostage.”

Hostage was a strong term. He had, in fact, placed them in a treasure chest lunch box he’d found in the basement and then shoved that into their extra freezer. The current treasure hunt was more about Jingyi enjoying a bit of a power trip, but honestly, anyone with half a brain could figure out they were stored at the house.

Of course, hungry Crew Bros and common sense didn’t always go together.

Though, to be fair, Jingyi had set up a booby-trapped obstacle course leading from the garage door to the extra freezer, so maybe it was a good thing none of them had tried to break into the house yet.

“I still fail to see why I should help you win,” Sizhui said.

“Remember last year when you thought they were all joking about dumping you into the Charles as a form of some sort of ritualistic victory celebration?” Marquis asked. "I led the veto on that. And won."

Sizhui knew Jingyi had lied to him when he asked about how Sizhui would react in such a purely hypothetical situation.

Sizhui pulled out his phone and sent Marquis a text with his Dad’s number.

“Look, I don’t know how the traps were set up,” he said. “But Dad helped and if you’re willing to trade him your entire life story, he’ll probably tell you how to disarm everything. No guarantees, it depends on what kind of mood he’s in, but he’s also done some truly idiotic things in order to hoard my aunt’s cooking for himself, so try your best to appeal to his Food Craving Induced Stupidity.”

“I know you just insulted me,” Marquis said as he started tapping away on his phone, “but I love your right now, bro. You sure Jingyi won’t be pissed you’re destroying his power trip?”

Sizhui shrugged. “It’s what he gets for turning our basement into a Rube Goldberg machine without even consulting me first.”

**********

The moon was high in the sky as Sizhui drove home. A blinding bright, waxing moon. Almost full and glorious enough to cause him to pause as he got out of his car.

He was pulled out of his moment of admiration by his phone.

“Papa?” he asked. “Is everything okay?”

“I’ve misplaced your father,” Papa said. “Or rather he’s misplaced himself. He left me a note telling me he was ‘going on an adventure,’ and while that is not uncommon, his adventures usually end before dinnertime.”

“His car isn’t here, but that doesn’t mean he’s not. Let me check the house. One of Jingyi’s teammates asked for his help earlier.”

“On some sort of quest, yes” Papa said. “That was in his added post-script.”

“When is his next draft due?” Sizhui asked. Dad always grabbed on to anything distracting he could find when a draft was post-due.

“Last Tuesday,” Papa said.

They shared a laugh as Sizhui walked into the house. There in the living room was his father and Marquis, both passed out in mooncake induced food comas.

“Found him,” Sizhui said. “At least Marquis shared the treasure with him. Or Dad demanded part of it as a finder’s fee.”

Papa laughed. “I suspected as much. I’m almost there. I just needed to confirm if he was with your or haunting your dear aunt’s kitchen.”

“I’ll see you soon, Papa.”

“Love you, Little Bun,” Papa said before ending the call.

Sizhui barely had time to pocket his phone before Jingyi came barreling through the door.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in class?” Sizhui asked.

“I was, but when I checked the video feed for the basement--”

“--You set up a video feed?”

“I found that I’ve been betrayed. By my own father-in-law!”

“We’re still not married yet,” Sizhui said. “And how did you get out of class?”

“Family emergency,” Jingyi said.

“Jingyi!”

“Don't 'Jingyi' me. This is clearly an emergency. My trust has been broken. The bond has been shattered. The torth has been--”

“I was the one who told Marquis to call Dad,” Sizhui cut him off.

“You?” Jingyi asked. He gasped, with hand held to his chest. “My heart? My soul? Did this to me?”

“Your heart and your soul is very tired of our home being used for your little schemes, especially when you fail to consult him first,” Sizhui said. “But he’s willing to forgive you if you turn your very nicely toned ass around and go pick up something for dinner. Papa’s on his way and will certainly be hungry, even if he won’t admit to it. You know his good manners won't allow him to refuse food we've paid for. It's the least you could do, after causing so much trouble.”

Jingyi shook his head. “Wait,” he said, holding up a hand. “How did the blame for all of this suddenly get shifted on to me?”

“Fried chicken will be good,” Sizhui said as he pushed Jingyi out the door. “Get a large salad for Papa.”

“But--”

“And pick up some Tums for Dad. You know he’s going to need them.”

“Sizhui--”

“Love you,” Sizhui said. He pecked Jingyi’s cheek and then closed the door in his adorably confused face.