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five-rivers · 4 years ago

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Hobbies

Phic phight! @idiot-cheesehead-archenemy

A series of vignettes about Danny having various hobbies.

(Master the Orb)

Danny exhaled slowly as the ice built up between his hands. Each new layer glittered in the ghostlight cast by the overhead ambient ectoplasm, embedding complex patterns in the overall piece as new layers built up over it.

“Very good, Great One,” rumbled Frostbite behind his shoulder. “Your control has improved immensely.”

Danny inhaled equally slowly, examining his work so far but not adding to it quite yet. “I don’t know. It looks a little lopsided.”

“Mmm, it looks fine to me. Especially for such an early attempt.”

Danny sighed, exhaling the ice he had built up with his breath. “So, it is lopsided.”

“Consider it practice,” said Frostbite, encouragingly. “It takes time to master art of any kind.”

“Humans do ice sculpture, too,” mumbled Danny. “They get really good, too. I’ve seen pictures. And videos. They don’t even have ice powers.” He rubbed his thumb over the surface, smoothing over a slightly rougher patch.

“That may be true,” said Frostbite, “but, again, you just started, Great One. You have only had your powers for a little while. Give yourself some support.”

Danny shrugged. “I guess it isn’t something my life depends on, so I can relax about it.” He built up another layer of ice. “This is oddly therapeutic, and I don’t say therapeutic lightly. You know Jazz.”

“I do indeed,” said Frostbite, somewhat ruefully, head half-bowed.

Jazz could be a force of nature, even more so than ice powers.

He held the ice orb up to the light. It caught on the patterns he had placed there. Fractals were the easiest. He was hoping that if he got better, he’d be able to make real sculptures with patterns in them, instead of just orbs.

But, first, he had to master the orb. Just like how when drawing you had to do circles first. Circle. Orb.

Ooorb. Yep.

The controlled application of ice. The evenness of the internal patterns. The solidity, density, and durability.

His orb was… not very orblike, despite what Frostbite said. Frostbite probably thought he was making so flat on purpose.

Yeah. He was terrible at this.

He was having fun, though.

(Furnace)

“You’re taking up glass blowing?” asked Tucker, surprised.

“Yeah? Is there a problem?” asked Danny, reaching over to stop his friend from accidentally drawing a line of orange sharpie across his poster on the themes in Macbeth.

“No!” said Tucker, quickly. “But, like, why? It just seems… unlike you.”

“Exactly,” said Danny, nodding sharply. “It has absolutely nothing to do with my powers and nothing to do with my family. Plus, I had a coupon.”

“For glass blowing?”

“It was a groupon,” said Danny. “For making Christmas tree ornaments. I’m going to do it with Jazz.”

“But, Danny,” said Sam, looking over from where she was working on her own poster about Twelfth Night, “glass blowing, uh, involves a lot of heat.”

“Sure?”

“Danny, you have an ice core.”

“Ah,” said Danny. “Well. I’ve got to use that groupon. If it doesn’t work out, it’s only the once, right?”

“Oh my gosh,” said Danny, wringing sweat out of his t-shirt. “That was awesome!” He giggled to himself and peaked into the annealer again. “So awesome!”

“Uh huh,” said Jazz. Her attempts had been… rather less successful than Danny’s, partially because she was trying so hard to make them perfect. But she had managed a few little baubles, nonetheless. “I think these’ll all be good for the tree. Assuming we get one.”

“And it isn’t set on fire.”

“Oh, yeah, that was a bad year.”

He squeaked open the annealer again, only closing it when the instructor lightly scolded him. “They’re so terrible and lopsided,” said Danny.

“Hey,” said Jazz. “Mine are fine.”

“I know! I was talking about mine.”

“Ah, okay then. I agree.”

“You aren’t supposed to agree.”

“What, you want me to lie? And after you said it first?”

“No,” said Danny. “But you could be nicer about it.”

“I’m your sister, what do you expect?”

(Lung Capacity)

Danny let the last note trail off to complete silence. He stared apprehensively at the assembled student body. Curse Mr. Lancer’s extra credit talent show assignment. Any minute now, they’d start laughing at him.

What was he thinking? He’d just watched a few YouTube tutorials on breath control, and he thought he could come up here and sing in front of people? He was a moron, and—

Sam and Tucker started cheering wildly, followed rapidly by everyone else in the gym.

Okay. What?

Sam and Tucker, following impulses known only to overexcited teenagers, swarmed up the stage and attacking Danny.

“Why didn’t you tell us you could sing like that?” demanded Sam.

“When did you learn?” asked Tucker, doing his level best to noogie Danny. “Why did you learn?”

“I wanted to improve my, you know, wail,” muttered Danny, “and all the breath control YouTube videos either had to do with diving or singing, so…” He did a little head wiggle to illustrate his point and also dislodge Tucker.

“I just can’t believe you kept this a secret from us,” said Sam.

Danny snorted and took a sort of half bow before attempting to leave the stage. “My dudes, I am basically made of secrets.”

“Encore!” screamed someone who clearly hated him.

“Oh, no,” said Danny, bracing himself against Sam and Tucker who were pushing him back into the middle of the stage. “No encore. I don’t do encores.”

But now people were chanting. Chanting.

“Come on, Danny,” said Tucker. “Just once!”

“Yeah, these are your fifteen minutes of fame!”

“I had those already! Multiple times!”

“That was Poindexter.”

“And now it can be you.”

Danny reluctantly took the microphone back off the stand.

(Letterhead)

The ink was thick, almost creamy, and paint-like. It was the ectoplasm mix, which also gave it a rich, rosy glow.

Danny was practicing ghost calligraphy. Well, one particular subset of ghost calligraphy, one which put special emphasis on the color of the letters as well as how they fit together.

It was a totally useless hobby. But it was… not exactly calming. No. He’d gotten way too angry about poorly formed arcs and crooked lines a couple of times. So. Yeah. Not calming. But… meditative. Meditative. And there was something satisfying about seeing the finished product.

Plus, if he framed his better finished work, they made for good presents for weirdo ghosts.

“You misspelled this,” drawled Ghost Writer.

“No, I didn’t.”

“Keuwii only has one kei.”

“This is only one kei.”

“What’s this, then?”

“It’s a flourish.”

“A flourish.”

Danny rolled his eyes. “Everyone’s a critic. If you don’t want it—”

“I didn’t say that.”

Danny raised an eyebrow.

Ghost Writer made a show of rolling his eyes. “Very well. Do you have one for my half-brother Randy. Perhaps one that says something along the lines of ‘idiot?’”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

(Babies on Fire)

“Danny,” said Jazz. “What are you doing up at three in the morning with a lighter? And… yarn? Is that yarn?”

“Dad wanted me to learn how to sew,” said Danny, “but I don’t like needles, not the sharp ones, anyway.”

“You get stitches every other week,” pointed out Jazz.

“Exactly,” said Danny, gesturing with the lighter. “So, I decided to look into, you know, knitting. And I was on knitting websites, and having, you know, a pretty good time with that, but then I found out about the babies.”

“The babies.”

“The babies,” said Danny, seriously. “And the blankets that are on fire. It depends on the yarn, you see. If the yarn is the wrong kind of yarn, if it catches on fire, the blanket can melt onto the baby. It’s terrible. Just terrible.”

“I kind of think that if the blanket is on fire you have bigger problems,” said Jazz. She took a step closer to her obviously insane younger brother. “Are you… testing the yarn?”

“I have to, Jazz. It’s for the babies.”

“Alright,” said Jazz. “You are going to limit it to just the yarn in our house, right?”

“But we don’t have any babies.”

“Okay, that didn’t answer my question, but, like…” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Since we don’t have any babies here, why are you testing the yarn?”

“Because we might have babies here in the future,” said Danny. “Or I might knit something and give it to someone as a gift and then they give it to their baby. Oh my gosh, I’d feel so guilty.”

“I’d be more worried about the toxic waste in our basement,” said Jazz, which was exactly the wrong thing to say to a sleep-deprived half-ghost on the edge of an Obsession-fueled breakdown. Danny vanished in a blur, trailing yarn behind him. Jazz, who had only gotten up for a glass of water, cursed under her breath.

(Before the Ball)

“I’m so, so sorry, Dora,” said Danny, holding back something adjacent to laughter.

Dora laughed, more openly. “It is fine, Sir Phantom. Even now, you are better than my brother.”

“Am I really? Your brother? Who was raised to do this?”

“Well,” said Dora, letting go and stepping back out of the range of Danny’s feet. Which were, evidently, both left feet. “No, I’m afraid, but it is amusing to say, isn’t it?” She pressed her fingers to her lips, suppressing more laughter.

“Yeah, it is,” admitted Danny.

“In any case, you are far more graceful concerning your mistakes than he ever was. More gallant. A better representative of chivalry altogether.” She patted the shoulders of his shirt.

“Thanks,” said Danny. “Do you think that I’ll be, uh, ready in time for the party?”

“It’s more than a party,” said Dora. “You’re being officially knighted. You’ll be a peer of the realm.”

“Aha,” said Danny. “Yeah. I don’t… what? Really? That’s a thing?”

“You thought I was joking?”

“No,” said Danny, drawing out the word. He had, in fact, thought she was joking and only accepted her offer to teach him how to dance because he thought it sounded like fun and like it might take his mind off his problems. “Of course not. So. Dancing. Important. For first impressions?”

“Everyone already knows you, Phantom,” said the knight assigned as Dora’s bodyguard. “But dancing is surprisingly useful for swordplay. Which you need all the help you can get at.”

“You said I was getting better.”

“That doesn’t mean you’re good.”

“Ouch.”

(Time)

“I don’t have time for a hobby,” complained Danny through the Fenton Phones. “Maybe if the ghosts let up a bit—” He zapped one of said ghosts.

“Danny, are you fighting ghosts right now?”

“Yeah. That’s my point.”

“Oh my god, get off the phone.”

“No way! This is the only time I can call you, what with all of your classes.”

“Danny…” said Jazz, clearly exasperated. He took advantage of the lull in the conversation to blast a few more ghosts.

“I’m fine Jazz.”

“You are not fine. You are, like, ten thousand miles away from fine. When was the last time you even slept through the night?”

“Eh,” said Danny. “Recently?”

“You need to take more time for yourself.”

Danny sighed and captured the last ghost. “Maybe catching ghosts is my hobby.”

“Catching ghosts is your self-imposed penance for doing something that isn’t even your fault. Not a hobby.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll talk to you on Wednesday, same time.”

“Danny, don’t—”

He hung up.

“Ugh,” said Danny. “I guess I need to find a hobby. Have to find time to find a hobby.”

“Perhaps I could be of help.”

“Ah!” Danny jolted forward, dropping his phone.

Clockwork gestured with one hand, and the phone dropped back into Danny’s hands from above.

“Ohhh my ghost, why are you here?”

“You were just talking about finding time. And now I’m here.”

“Good timing, I guess?”

“Only the best,” said Clockwork, evenly. “But we were speaking of hobbies. Might I suggest ice sculpture? Your friends in the Far Frozen would be more than happy to teach you...”

#danny phantom #phic phight #phic phight 2021

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contreparry · 2 years ago

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happy friday Ann! For DADWC: 🧁You are invited to a fancy tea party but all is not what it seems

Here's some Merrill and Fenris friendship in the modern!Thedas roommates AU for @dadrunkwriting (I really wanted to write them today).

"I don't see why not, Marian!" Mrs. Hawke said from the kitchen, her voice pitched low because she obviously didn't want to be overheard. Merrill, who was sitting at the tea table in the parlor, winced and dropped a sugar cube into her teacup to cover her reaction.

"He's a perfectly nice lad and new in town," Mrs. Hawke continued as something (maybe the tea tray?) clattered against the countertop. "One night out is-"

"Out of the question, Mum," Marian cut in icily. "I'm not taking one of your lady lunch friends' relatives out on a date."

"But-"

"Not for drinks. Not for dinner. Not for lunch. Not even for coffee," Marian interrupted. "Do you want me to serve the test menu to my friends or not?"

"I think... we were unwittingly recruited as shields," Fenris murmured as his long fingers curled around his delicate teacup before taking a sip of his tea (no sugar, no milk, not even a squirt of lemon). He eyed the teapot and its tea cozy (an adorable crochet unicorn with a sparkly rainbow yarn mane) as if it could somehow provide him a means of escape from this very awkward impromptu tea party. Come to the family bed and breakfast, Hawke begged them. New tasting menu for fall, she said. And so, easily bribed with promises of apple turnovers (Fenris) and a meal that wasn't a yogurt parfait she got from a bodega (her, always her), they came to Hawke's family business and home. And now...

"I've got nothing in common with these-these- idiots who had a silver spoon shoved up their arse the moment they were shot out of their mother's vaginas!" Hawke declared, her voice rising with every word until it rang through the hall and into the parlor. Merrill added another sugar cube and stirred her tea around, the warm amber colored drink sloshing up the sides of her cup. Fenris might have a point, but Hawke's plan clearly hadn't worked. The awkward conversation started as soon as the two Hawke women entered the kitchen.

"Marian!"

"Tell me I'm a liar, Mum. Tell me, I dare you," Hawke retorted. "Apple turnovers out of the oven? Perfect, Fenris will love them." More clattering and banging sounds from the kitchen. Merrill reached for another sugar cube with the tiny silver tongs and dropped it into her cup. Fenris offered her the small pitcher of milk.

"Sweet tooth?" he whispered, perfectly composed even in his paint stained dark jeans and black long sleeved shirt. Merrill flushed and took the milk from him.

"Not exactly," she confessed. "Oh, I wish Isabela could come, she always knows how to make light of these sorts of things!" What were the rules for stepping into a familial fight? In Clan Sabrae everyone was a mother, a father, an aunt or uncle, and you had every right to step into a family matter and speak your mind! But here? She didn't know Mrs. Hawke the way she knew Hawke, and beyond that- what an awkward situation they found themselves in! But at least Fenris was here. Fenris always seemed to know what to do when it came to social events. He would stand on the edge of the crowd, beautiful and unapproachable, and could command the room with a look and a word!

She really ought to ask him how he did it. Merrill wished she could be half as mysterious!

"Those need to cool, Marian! Sandwiches first!" Mrs. Hawke insisted. "Scones, apple butter, clotted cream-"

"And the salad, yes, I remember," Hawke grumbled. "Maker's Balls, don't send me any more little lordlings from your luncheons or badminton club or lacrosse league-"

"We don't play lacrosse!" Mrs. Hawke exclaimed, but after a heavy moment of silence she continued. "Not since Lady Reese twisted her ankle on the pitch."

A pause. Then laughter floated out through the hall, bright and bold, and the heaviness in the air dissipated like clouds before the sun. Merrill breathed a sigh of relief, took a sip, and grimaced. Too sweet! But she had to drink it, it would be a waste if she didn't make an attempt, not to mention horribly rude! Fenris sighed, took her teacup from her hands, and deposited it into the potted palm next to him.

"Another cup?" he asked politely as Hawke rounded the corner, a tray heavily laden with savory snacks in her hands. "You must be parched, Merrill."

"Thank you, Fenris," Merrill replied.

#da drunk writing circle #modern!thedas roommates au #my writing

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whatifxwereyou · 3 years ago

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The Oncoming Storm Part 25: Home

Liu Kang x Reader and Kung Lao x Reader (gonna do both, two paths!)

Oh no. That's all I have to say. Also, Chen is a delight.

A/N: This chapter was so long that I actually cut it in half to post it over two separate days instead. It was 12 pages and I figured that was a bit much. Though, 8-12 is what I average when I'm writing fiction for publishing so... haha <3 love you guys! hope you are all doing wonderful!! Also please, please make dick jokes in the comments. PLEASE lol.

Part 24 Part 26 Chapter Index

It was a struggle to open your eyes even if you were awake. You had rolled onto your side and were facing the window. You could see the light of the morning peeking in from along the seams of the dark curtains of the hotel room. Somewhere throughout the night, you’d readjusted and now you were the little spoon. You could feel his soft, even breath on your shoulder, warm and comforting. His arm was tucked beneath you, the other wrapped tightly over yours that rested over your chest.

You didn’t want to get up, so you closed your eyes again and sunk into his arms, clearly not thinking. Your back was pressed against his chest, your hips pressed square against his too. He tightened his arm around you, and nuzzled into the side of your neck, a hot sigh tickling your sensitive bruised flesh. More importantly, you could feel him pressed right against your backside in all his glory. There he was. Liu Kang. You snapped your eyes open and were as stiff, well, as he was, afraid that you would make it worse if you moved even if you were incredibly curious.

Just what kind of good dreams was he having?

Then you had to try not to laugh. You carefully turned to bury your face in the pillows, and it was so hot that you swore you might be burning alive. Liu Kang and his inherent warmth against every single part of your body was killing you.

You were going to suffocate. Or catch fire.

Deep breaths. Breathe through his hand gently clutching yours. You could do this.

Okay.

No big deal.

Liu Kang was wrapped around you, pressed against you, and you were trapped in his arms and trying desperately to think about anything other than that. The impure thoughts were rampant.

Chen would have been screaming your victory throughout the temple. She also would have told you to just go for it. Make that complicated ride that much more complicated. Poor choice of words, brain. Chen had gotten into your head. And all the tension you’d built up with Kung Lao and Liu Kang had no release to speak of.

“Liu?” You decided the best thing to do would be to wake him up. Sneaking out of his arms would have made things both awkward and worse.

He stirred at the sound of your voice and pulled you tighter. It took everything inside of you not make a sound of surprised delight at the impressive mental picture he had very clearly painted. Oh, god there were so many jokes popping into your head. Sarcastic defense mechanism, go away! You had to keep it together. No laughing. No moaning. No jokes.

Your face had never been redder. He was waking up. Thank god. His lips brushed against your shoulder, and he nuzzled right against the side of your neck, nose pressing just behind your ear. This was hard. Ah, damnit brain. No jokes! With a soft moan just against your neck, he shifted.

Then, very suddenly, Liu pulled his arm out from beneath you, let you go and rolled onto his back, knees bent so that the blankets didn’t reveal any secrets. Yeah, the secret had more than been revealed already. You appreciated his modesty anyway. You carefully scooted onto your back, careful not to brush against him in any way and fanned your face. There was no talking down the redness in your cheeks, no hiding what had happened.

“Sorry,” he managed, his voice still gruff and sleepy. He stared at the ceiling and seemed to be coaching himself through his own deep breaths. You sat up and adjusted your shirt that had become unbelievably crooked. Some of the buttons had even come undone. Jeez, you’d certainly been busy while you’d slept. “You… sleep alright?” He pinched the bridge of his nose and the fact that he was trying to have a totally normal conversation like that hadn’t happened was hilarious.

No laughing.

“Yeah, it took a while to get to sleep but I basically blacked out when I did. Feels like I could sleep for another year though.” You somehow managed to act normal. As normal as you could with your face as red as it was and your eyes as wide as they were. You could barely have a conversation about where you were relationship-wise, so you were pretty sure that you weren’t ready to discuss his morning wood.

You needed Chen in that moment. You needed Chen to help you uncomplicate this yarn ball of chaos in your head. Then again, Chen would have just told you to go for it. To reach around and give it a go. You had to close your eyes and try not to laugh again. “What about you?”

You didn’t laugh. Kudos to you.

“Tired this morning.” It was the first time that you had ever seen Liu Kang looking like he could have slept longer than you did. In fact, he was a little pale. Not terribly so, but then again, all the blood in his body was busy somewhere else. It took every ounce of your strength not to ask him if he was okay. He would tell you if he wasn’t. “I need a shower. Will you be okay alone?”

“Yeah. Go ahead.” You purposely turned toward your own bed to offer him modesty, but you might never be your normal color again. Red forever. You waited for the sound of the bathroom door closing before you flopped back on his bed and stared at the ceiling. You’d changed your mind. “I can never ever tell Chen this happened.” The teasing would have gone on forever.

While he was in the shower, you changed into some of your new clothes and then cleaned yourself up. In the mirror your cheeks were finally turning back to a normal rosy color. You checked on the jade to make sure that nothing had changed during the night, and then you packed up, opened the curtains to the hotel room, and straightened up while you waited for Liu, doing anything in your power to stop your renegade thoughts.

“Do you need to stop anywhere before we go back to the temple?” Liu joined you moments after you were dressed, clothed in his familiar black and white gi, and back to his old self. Still a little pale though.

“Hmm?” You had just finished tucking the jade into your bag.

“You didn’t really get the chance to pack up your things to stay with us. I figured you might need to do some shopping.”

He was so damn thoughtful. “I actually went shopping before I met with you yesterday morning.” You patted the bag. “So, I’m okay. Thank you for offering though. I really did need a few things, especially since I keep destroying everything I wear with ink.” You patted his shoulder as you walked past him to sneak into the bathroom now that he was finished. You had to make yourself presentable and enjoy these modern amenities one last time before you returned to the temple.

Afterward, you stopped at a food stall on the road and grabbed breakfast. Then you hiked up the mountain just far enough so that Liu could summon Raiden to bring you back. You still weren’t quite sure how they did that. Was it a prayer? It looked like a prayer. He was a God, after all. Liu had used a flourish of fire, but Kung Lao had just closed his eyes and then boom. Lightning.

You were back in the temple in a flash. You pulled the bundle of jade out of your bag and offered it to Raiden while Liu Kang updated him on what you’d gone through. It felt weird to be back but not in a bad way, necessarily. This was your home now, you guessed. You hadn’t really talked about it. Everything had happened naturally and without question.

Raiden peered into the shirt and then allowed the jade to fall onto a second pedestal that had been placed a few feet away from the first one which was currently encased in glass. “Good.” Raiden seemed impressed, and you beamed. He really did have a fatherly presence about him. “I need time to examine these artifacts and attempt to unravel their purpose. The wickedness and power that has been infused within them continues to elude me.” You had expected him to need time, but you had also expected him to be able to figure it out. Again. He was a god. These things took time, you figured but you also had no idea how to process what you were up against. It was still way above your head. “From what I’ve devised from the dotaku, it was used in a dark ritual. It is tainted beyond my sight with dark energy. You two will check into the infirmary on and off for the next few days. Kung Lao has come down with a terrible fever since his return. I suspect it’s the curse on these objects causing it.”

Liu gave you an accusatory look as if to ask if you were hiding something from him. You shrugged and shook your head to his silent request. “I’m bruised all over but other than that? I feel fine. And that bell was all over me. We were much more careful about the jade. Trust me, if I had a high fever then you would know it. I’m a big baby about fevers.”

“Even if it turns out that you are immune to the impact of these objects, I would like you both to make certain that you keep a watchful eye on your health and report all symptoms to those in the infirmary.”

“Yes, of course Lord Raiden.” Liu Kang bowed respectfully before him.

“When I’ve uncovered anything of note then I will call upon you.” Raiden spoke more to you than to Liu and you bowed your head as you had learned to do. You were grateful to him for trying to help you at all. Raiden very well could have just let you die and had someone else take the mark from you. This was still beyond your understanding. Gods, curses, magic. You’d jumped into it all headfirst and had embraced the chaos, but there were moments where your logic-brain said ‘excuse me’ and you had to sort out the nonsense there.

You were trying your best, but it always came back to thought that you were very likely going to die because of this. Raiden turned away from you, dismissing you without a word. Liu nodded toward the doorway and you walked with him, dragging your bag behind you. Being out in the world for a few days had been nice. You weren’t sure how long it would take to acclimate to life in Raiden’s Temple. Right now, you were just hoping that you’d have the time to figure that out.

You made your way into the infirmary and Chen practically ran to you and gave you a hug. You were a little surprised by it but returned the affection. “Welcome back!” Chen smiled brightly and then bowed to Liu Kang respectfully. “Raiden has orders for us to keep an eye on the two of you. Please take a seat.” Chen led you to one of the empty benches, so you sat down there together.

Chen examined Liu first, taking his vitals and writing them down in a notebook she had nearby. You sat awkwardly, tapping your forefinger against your knee. Chen sat back up after she was done and then rested her hands on her knees.

“You have a fever, Liu Kang.” She tapped the paper and he blinked in surprise.

“I feel fine.” He insisted, looking to you as if he had to justify it after all his accusatory glances. He’d worried about you so much that he seemed to think that the tables were about to be turned.

“Just over 100. But if Kung Lao is anything to judge by then this isn’t the worst of it yet. I recommend rest and fluids.” Chen then frowned and narrowed her eyes. “Not that I can force you to rest, of course. I suggested the same to Kung Lao and he said, and I quote ‘I will take it into consideration’ except that his fever was spiking up to 104.”

“That sounds right.” Liu sighed but you felt suddenly on high alert. That was one hell of a fever! You’d have to check in on him. “I’ll rest and if I feel worse then I’ll check back in. If not, then I will be here in the morning just in case.”

“Thank you.” Chen slumped her shoulders as if this were a relief in comparison to having dealt with Kung Lao.

“Y/N?” Chen looked to you disapprovingly as if you were about to be just as stubborn.

“I feel fine! Why doesn’t anyone believe me?”

“You often say that you’re feeling fine when you are not, in fact, fine,” Liu whispered, and Chen snorted with laughter while taking your vitals.

“Well, I am legitimately fine right now. Honestly! And I don’t mean to lie about that stuff. The last few weeks have been weird so my definition of fine has kind of changed.” You pouted. You hadn’t meant to give anyone a false sense of how you’d been feeling but fine one day had meant that you could use your arms again and fine another meant that you’d had a vision but were still functioning. Chen glared at you, trying to discern if you were hiding something. Then she made a little note in her book. You craned your neck to try and read it and so did Liu. You gave him a look to silently scold him, and he returned it. You tightened your lips not to laugh but couldn’t hide your grin.

“She’s not lying. No fever. In fact, your temperature is even a little low. This is the most normal checkup you’ve had since you’ve been here, Y/N. I want you to come in for bloodwork later but for now… you’re okay.” Chen still seemed suspicious and Liu did too.

“Wow, you just can’t believe I’m the finest in the land right now.” You teased and Liu laughed and then shook his head as if embarrassed that he’d laughed at it. It had been a terrible joke, to be fair.

“Thank you.” Liu stood and bowed politely to Chen. You joined him and waved at Chen.

“Y/N? Could I talk to you for a second?” Chen called you back just as you’d made it outside the infirmary and back to your bag.

“I’ll be two seconds.” You told Liu who leaned against the wall of the doorway. Now that you knew he had a fever, his pale face made sense. Your hurried over to Chen. “What’s up?”

“So…?” Chen nodded toward Liu Kang and then gestured to you. You stared in disbelief.

“Are you kidding me? Right now?”

“Umm, yeah right now.”

“It’s complicated.” You rubbed your temples in annoyance. “And I obviously don’t have time to talk about it right now.”

“Oh, thank god that it’s finally complicated!”

“It has always been complicated, Chen. Get your mind out of the gutter.”

“I can’t. But this is disappointing news.” Chen sighed in obvious frustration. Why was she frustrated? You were the one surrounded by a sea of hormones all damn day! “Come chat with me when you get the chance. I want to know how it went and also what complicated means.”

“Can I please go now, Chen? Please? He’s just standing behind me waiting for me while you gossip.”

“Yeah, he is, isn’t he? He hasn’t taken his eyes off you once by the way.” Chen sighed dreamily but her expression quickly shifted. “On a more serious note… I’m worried that you aren’t having symptoms the way that they are. I have a bad feeling again. Keep checking in with me, okay?”

“You are a surprise every time I talk to you.” You gently grasped Chen’s shoulder. “I’m going now.”

“You better find me later!”

“You’re a terrible monk,” You whispered and then pointed at another monk who had been very obviously listening in, silently nodding your head as if to add in that he, too, was a terrible monk.

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remmushound · 3 years ago

Text

Beyond the Bay Chapter 10: Whats up with Yoshi?

Summary: While Raphael tries to calm down with the help of Splinter, Donnie has a talk with Leonardo about Yoshi.

Tags: @selfindulgenz @digitl-art-monstr @ilo-artistry @brightlotusmoon @rottmnt-addict

Leonardo stood up just as suddenly as Raphael had, leaving his plate at the table as he stormed out of the kitchen.

“Leo!” Donatello was the next to stand, hurrying after his brother.

Michelangelo didn't react. He just as stiff and speechless as his guests were. His expression broke. His lip began quivering as he tucked into himself and started to cry. Tears came heavy and fast; Raph was the quickest out of his seat and ushered to the box turtle’s comfort, wrapping Michelangelo in arms as big as he was. Michelangelo leaned into the hug, resting his head against Raph’s neck and curling his body into a tight ball that the older shinobi could easily embrace.

“Perhaps we… overstepped our bounds…” Splinter said slowly, his eyes holding nothing but patient understanding toward the young teen. “I apologize for causing such emotional distress…”

Michelangelo wanted to respond, but the tears wouldn’t stop to let the words through. Instead, he just leaned his weight further into his friend to hide away from the world.

***

Raphael needed to calm down. He needed to breathe and think somewhere away from questions, even the ones left unsaid. His hands were shaking too badly for the accuracy needed to knit, and when he had tried all he succeeded in doing was clacking the needles together and making nothing more than a tangled wad of yarn. Busywork always seemed to help, so that’s what he fell to doing. He settled on making up Michelangelo’s room for the brotherly sleepover that Michelangelo was so excited for. It would be cramped quarters, but he was sure they could all fit in Michelangelo’s race car bed with a little maneuvering; Raphael even had his own rubber sleeper shell so his spikes wouldn’t hurt them in the night! The bed had been a birthday gift from Donatello the previous year, and Michelangelo himself had handled the decorations of the wooden frame. As one would expect, it was just as vibrant as Mikey was.

There came a gentle knock at the open door.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” Splinter said in that soft, humble voice of his.

“Uh… n-no, just some... “ Raphael let out a long breath and motioned vaguely toward the blankets and pillows he had assembled into a comfortable nest. He couldn’t find the words, so he melted away into low mumbles.

“I see.” Splinter nodded, “It looks very comfortable. Are you sure you don’t mind sharing your rooms?”

Raphael shrugged. “Eh, it’s whatever. Mikey loves sleepovers, so…” Raphael bit his lip out of habit and rubbed his arm.

“Still, I appreciate your generosity.” He approached Raphael at a slow gait and held out his paw near Raphael, but not quite touching him, allowing Raphael to take that final reach if he so choosed; and he did. Splinter ran a finger carefully across the far-larger hand, his expression a splitting smile. “I’m sorry if my family overstepped our boundaries at supper. Leonardo is simply… eager to get back home, as we all are.”

“No no no, it’s not your fault!” Raphael quickly reassured. “I know how Leo’s can get when they’re antsy.

Splinter gave a cheerful laugh. “Yes; I suppose my son and your brother are more alike than we initially realized.”

“Yeah, especially recently...” Raphael caught himself. He growled, swiping at his face trying to clear the cloud in his mind. “Sorry. Just a lot on my mind right now.”

“Of course.” Splinter nodded, “I understand completely.”

Raphael sat down with enough force to shake the room; Splinter sat down beside him.

“Your father is… unwell?” Splinter asked cautiously.

“Erm…” Raphael pursed his lips and gave a thoughtful grunt. “Uh. Physically he’s as well as he can be— Leo and Don make sure of that.”

“But mentally?” Splinter prompted.

Raphael couldn’t answer. It was all he could do to shake his head and give a weak, gasping sob, though no tears came to match. Almost out of habit, Raphael pressed his weight into Splinter and rested his head on the old rat’s shoulders; Splinter carried the burden of Raphael with little trouble, carefully shushing the mutant's sobs while stroking his carapace.

“There there, it is alright.” Splinter soothed. “I can imagine how difficult it is to care for your father while maintaining your duties at the same time.”

“It is.” Raphael shook his broad head. “And… and I try to balance things so we can do both, but Leo’s just making it so hard! We’re yelling at each other all the time, Donnie holes up in his bedroom, and Mikey is just so sad. I don’t know what to do…”

“Hey, easy…” Splinter stroked the unscarred side of Raphael’s face, “You will figure it out. Would I be overzealous to ask about…?”

“Uh.” Raphael took a deep breath to think. “We took him to a yokai specialist that uh… said LBD or something like that. Protein deposits in the brain or nerve cells or whatever. I… kinda blanked out.”

“Of course.” Splinter nodded, “It is only natural.”

“Leo handles all of that medical stuff anyway.” Raphael waved a dismissive hand, “Doctor appointments, physical therapy, stuff like that…”

“You’re awfully lucky you have all those options.” Splinter said, “Perhaps we could get Michelangelo checked out— my son, I mean. Donatello is wonderful with him, but internet searches and medical books can only go so far.”

There was no verbal response, but Raphael grunted and nodded with eyes averted. Splinter frowned and lowered his head to meet the snapping turtle’s gaze, smile just as patient.

“Do you agree, Raphael?”

Raphael shrugged. “I dunno. I mean— it’s worked so far for us. I get that Leo wants dad to have all these specialists and these caregivers and—and I understand that dad needs the care, but it’s expensive and we can do half that stuff by ourselves! If dad really needs something then it’s not an issue, but Leo keeps wasting all this time and money to get the same exact answer! It’s stupid!”

“I see.” Splinter nodded, “I understand that pride may be a difficult thing to overcome with something so personal…”

“And it’s not just the appointments!” It was nice to have someone to talk to, an unbiased source, so Raphael just kept talking. He could feel a weight lifting off of his shoulders and chest. “Leo’s has it in his head that dad needs a full-time nurse!”

“You don’t think so?”

“I don’t know…” Raphael shook his head, “I mean, I can’t really stand the thought of some stranger coming here and… trusting someone we don’t know with taking care of dad.”

“You’re untrusting of strangers…”

“Well, yeah. We’ve been pretty sheltered most of our lives. All of this… out in the open stuff is really new to us.”

“It is a valid worry.” Splinter reassured, “Is there any alternative?”

“I don’t see why we can’t do what we’ve been doing! You know— take turns staying behind to take care of dad.”

“You would split up the team…”

“I mean… it’s for dad! And it’s what we’ve been doing for the past two months, and it’s worked out great! Leo just doesn’t want to put in the work…”

“I’m certain that’s not what it is at all!” Splinter insisted, “You said Leonardo was taking your father to all of these appointments! That doesn’t seem lazy to me!”

“It’s lazy when it gets him out of training and patrol constantly.” Raphael said bitterly.

“Ah.” Splinter understood, “Well, why not take turns accompanying Yoshi?”

“I tried that; Leo’s the only one who knows enough about this stuff to fill in the doctor's.”

“Your Donatello isn’t of help?”

“Not with medical science. He’s more of a tech nerd.”

“My Donatello is much of a… jack of all trades, if you would. Perhaps during our stay he could help out.”

“You think he would?” Raphael had a hopeful glint in his eyes.

“I don’t see why not. I will ask him about it in the morning.”

“Thanks.” Raphael breathed, his smile coming back with a more genuine emotion, “Gee, we really owe you for everything you’ve done for us.”

“We didn't help you boys just to get something owed.” Splinter stated, “It was just the right thing to do.”

“I know!” Raphael insisted, “And helping you guys is the right thing for us to do!

“You are a very kind soul, Raphael, and I am so thankful that me and my sons had this place to turn to in our hour of need. Friends to rely on.”

Raphael took Splinter’s hands in his. “You’re always welcome here! We would have visited sooner but… life happened.”

“Do not be guilty, young Raphael. Guilt does not suit those eyes well.”

Raphael rumbled a laugh. “I’ll try to remember that.”

~~~

“Hey.” Donnie opened the closet to find Leonardo sitting inside; he closed the door and joined Leonardo, having to pull his knees tight to his chest to cram all seven feet of him inside.

“Hey.” Leonardo muttered, hardly acknowledging Donnie’s presence.

“Your Donnie’s looking for you, you know.”

“How’d you find me first, then?”

Donnie shrugged. “I’m a ninja. Do you… wanna talk about what happened?”

“What’s there to talk about?” Leonardo scoffed, almost laughing, “You saw what went down. There’s nothing more to it.”

“Oh, I think there is.” Donnie said; when Leonardo looked in the box turtles eyes, he was met with the cold, cobra stare that Donnie was known for. “I’m curious. Enlighten me.”

Leonardo gulped. “Just… the past six months have been an… all-round crap fest. Just one thing after the other— it’s exhausting! And arguing with Raph doesn’t make things any better.”

“Haven’t you and your Raph always butted heads?”

“Not like this! Not every day— and not so violent! Not over something as important as this… as important as dad.”

“Do you know what caused it?” Donnie asked vaguely, but he trusted in Leonardo to know what he was talking about.

“It’s LBD.” Leonardo shook his head, “Doc says so.”

Donnie frowned. “LBD shouldn’t have progressed so quickly. You said it’s only been six months?”

“Five months, and that’s since he was diagnosed, not since it developed.” Leonardo corrected, “He’s had it for a long time we just… didn't notice. Little things like… forgetting our names and mixing up who was who…”

“That would have been around the same time as your injury, right?” Donnie asked, “I mean, I can only estimate given how much you’ve healed.”

“Yeah, right after it.” Leonardo took a shaky breath.

“That must have been… difficult to handle?”

“Raph… struggled a lot.” Leonardo’s voice began to waver, “I… let’s just say I was MIA for a while. I… wasn’t there when… But he got through it. We’ll get through this too. Always do.”

“You have access to doctor's, don’t you?” Donnie said, “Neurologists, geriatricians, physicians?”

Leonardo nodded, “All of those. And I’ve been looking into palliative care, but it’s… hard to find all this stuff in the Hidden City. Yokai illness and human aren’t the same and… and dad’s isn’t either of those.”

“It sounds like you’re doing everything right to me.” Donnie assured.

“Try telling that to Raph! I told him that we needed a nurse to help us stay on top of this whole thing, and he nearly blew a gasket. He’s too proud to admit that we need help.”

“Pride is a dangerous thing.” Donnie agreed, “How can I help?”

“No.” Leonardo shook his head, “This is personal business. You don’t need to get involved.”

“Leon.” Donnie’s voice dripped with venom.

“D-don’t you do it.”

“Leon.” Donnie leaned closer to Leonardo, his eyes wide and slitted as he hissed out the words in a slow voice, “How... can I... help…?”

“You can start by not looking at me like that!” Leonardo shoved Donnie away and shivered.

Donnie blinked and his eyes were back to normal. “You’re not in this alone, Leon, and I won’t let you think that you are. Just know that.”

#what’s up with Yoshi?#tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt #tmnt au #tmnt 2014 #tmnt 2016 #bay turtles #beyond the bay

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sexysilverstrider · 4 years ago

Text

Icy Jealousy (Kaelumi)

Kaeya was never much of a jealous person.

He had his own ideals to chase. His own agendas to fulfil. He had no time to indulge in such trivial matters. He may have a fling every now and then, but all that would be snipped away in a blink of an eye before any of his playful encounters could even take a glance at his guarded heart.

Kaeya had no need to be worried about such mindless—laughable, even—matters.

That was…until she came into his life.

----------

At first it was her encounter with the mysterious bard. Venti was ever so joyful, ever so clingy. While looking as innocent as any child, Kaeya would be a fool to think the bard was anything of the sort. Clearly there was something more when he looked at him, and oftentimes Kaeya wanted to subtly interrogate the youthful boy. Who knows? Maybe the many information Venti held might be of some use to his grand agenda.

Well, that was the initial plan.

“Lumine!”

To see Venti clinging to Lumine’s arm, Kaeya soon realized that he wished to interrogate the bard for an entirely different reason.

Shock jumped her shoulders at the playful embrace on her right arm. “Geez, Venti!” Her head turned to the side, lips pulling a pout to see him. “Don’t startle me. If I was any more surprised, I might accidentally punch you as a reaction.”

Her mild threat didn’t even faze him. “Ehee,” he chuckled, smile as guiltless as his response. “Sorry, Lumine.” His slid a few steps back, though arms now wrapped around her right arm. “Care to join me for a drink? I heard Diluc had some really great wine brought in today?”

Her pout softened to a smile. A sigh came out next. “If you’re paying.”

“I got that covered!” Clearly, he did not.

Nevertheless, arm in arm, they walked towards their destination. Laughter and conversation bubbled between them as they shared stories of her journeys and his travels.

Kaeya only watched from a few steps afar, silent and analytical.

The smirk he wore bore such ill will. Maybe he should pay a visit to the tavern today.

----------

Sometimes, Kaeya had the pleasure of joining her in her little adventures. Whenever she set foot in Mondstadt, Lumine never missed the chance of paying a visit to the knights of Favonius. Kaeya—much to his silent glee—was one of them. The delight only heightened when he managed to squeeze time in his busy schedule to accompany her during commission work.

In truth, he either changed his knightly tasks to ‘Team Up with Lumine’ or ignore his work assignments entirely.

He could apologize to Jean later.

During their travels, Kaeya got to a side of Lumine he rarely saw back in Mondstadt. He saw how fearless, how vigorous, and at times how reckless even to see her in action. Her plans were oftentimes near to perfection. Her movements were like wind itself, rising and soaring as she threw her enemies afar. The more he looked at her, the more he observed her, Kaeya knew he was walking on dangerous territory to regard her in such a…vulnerable way.

He also knew that he wasn’t alone in this matter.

“Lumine.”

His calm voice caught her attention. Dissolving her sword back to nonexistence, she turned her heel. “Yes, Razor?” Her smile beamed upon the rugged boy. Kaeya only stood next to her, a single eyebrow raised in silent curiosity.

Razor’s whole focus was on Lumine only. “Your hand.” Without hesitation, he held her left wrist. “Hurt.” Carefully he turned her hand, revealing a small gash on her palm.

As adrenaline slowly eased off from her, realization finally acknowledged the numbing pain. “Oh—ah!” One eye closed as she flinched. A chuckle slipped out like a child in trouble, Lumine scratched the side of her neck with her other hand. “I didn’t realize tha—”

Slurp.

Not only the traveler, but shock was clear as day in the knight-captain’s eye.

The pain was brief, but amber eyes were round as they could be due to a different kind of reaction. “R-Razor—?!” A squeak peeped as she felt his tongue on her palm again. The blood on her skin was slowly being licked away, the pressure stinging her quite a bit but warming her face most definitely.

“I clean.” Razor merely stated, head lowered to her hand and tongue once again ready to wipe the blood clean.

…That was…until he felt her hand being snatched away from him.

Crimson eyes quickly glared at the man next to her.

Kaeya didn’t say a word, yet a smile was evident, its curve so laced with malice and indignation. A growl echoed in the barren battlefield; he couldn’t tell whether the sound came from the boy or himself.

----------

The months where he hadn’t seen Lumine were apparently the worse.

Kaeya had bid his farewells. He had wished her journey a safe one. He had other duties to attend too. And she clearly had her brother to find. He knew this would be a short-lived rela—friendship, and Kaeya had set it clear in his mind that she wouldn’t stay with hi—in Mondstadt—for long.

It seemed his heart didn’t get the memo.

Thankfully, after nearly 6 months of not seeing her, Lumine actually came back. She informed Jean that she dropped by for a visit, saying even that she missed Monndstadt and its people after months of being away.

When Kaeya heard of it, it truly made his heart flutter.

When he saw her new companion, however, it truly made his heart burn.

Zhongli only watched silently as Venti and Lumine shared stories. Happiness bloomed within the ex-archon to see his old friend. Venti was still as witty, was still as cunning, and he found it amusing that the now bard immediately hid behind Lumine the moment they reunited.

“Just making sure.” A single chuckle held being thinned lips as he brought the scene to his mind. Golden eyes then spotted some strands of Lumine’s hair dangling by the side of her face. They swayed and brushed across her left ear, catching his attention like a cat to a ball of yarn.

Without a word, Zhongli casually slipped through those beautiful locks with his fingers and gently tucked them behind her ear.

The simple action surely made Lumine flinch. Quickly she looked to the side, amber eyes wide and face quite warm from the gentle contact.

Upon seeing what he assumed was a mistake, Zhongli quickly let out a short cough. “Apologies, Lumine.” He placed his cup down onto the table. “Your hair is just simply mesmerizing, I couldn’t help myself.” Honesty was his virtue, and the Geo archon simply gifted the surprised traveler a warm smile.

Her face felt hotter, it seemed. “It’s okay, Zhongli.” She laughed it off, one hand on her cheek. “I just felt ticklish is all.” The conversation was then cut short to Venti’s sly chuckle, bringing both human and makeshift human back to the reality that they were not alone. Zhongli merely continued indulging in his tea, while Lumine rolled her eyes and teased the bard with many comebacks that she learned from her journey.

While the scene played out like rainbows and sunshine, the even happening in the bar was anything but.

“Oi,” Diluc interjected, “can you stop trying to shatter my glass? If you wanted some frozen popsicles, go to the dessert stall down the street.” His tongue clicked as crimson eyes glared at the man sitting across him.

Azure gaze, cold and icy like the element, kept its focus on the trio.

“Ah,” Kaeya simply, finally, responded. Fingers released the glass he had clutched. Flakes of ice and snow now enveloped the clear glassware, almost revealing cracks as the liquor inside of it had turned to solid ice.

He turned to face the pyro user. His lips formed a smile, the corners swirled to a sinister curve that rivalled the spine-chilling element on his fingertips. “Sorry, dear Diluc.” He straightened his back, smile still forced in its place. “Would you be so kind as to warm my drink up?”

“I’d rather burn you to the ground.”

Her laughter echoed the second Diluc gave his blunt remark. Her laughter alone was enough to snatch every single attention Kaeya had.

Her laughter alone was enough to ignite a monstrous flame within his chest.

“Kaeya!” Anger fumed when Diluc saw the plane of ice on the bar. It seemed that the knight-captain truly wanted to be turned to ashes.

----------

After a week of contemplating—both his heart and his mind—Kaeya decided to do the one thing that would surely piss Jean off.

In truth, he actually enjoyed traveling with Lumine and her companions. The adventure took his mind off things. The countless dangerous encounters lit a fire within him. While the Knights of Favonius had special training for those with visions, nothing beat an actual face-to-face against inhuman enemies in order to test his elemental strengths and skills. It truly helped that Kaeya got to see Lumine in action as well, more so than he usually did in the past.

She was still the same. Reckless but calculating. Gentle but rough. It seemed she had obtained the Geo elemental as well, much to his silent surprise. While Lisa did inform him before that the traveler did not possess a vision, to see her wield both Anemo and Geo further piqued his curiosity and interest about her.

Well, he knew the secret to her power was only half of his genuine interest. The other half was…something Kaeya still chose not to disclose, be it to her or himself.

After nearly weeks of camping, they finally decided to rest in Wangshu Inn. It seemed like a giant treehouse, Kaeya mentally noted, and he was widely impressed at how sturdy the structure was despite the amount of people and chaos inside it. Zhongli suggested they rested here for a couple of nights while they restock on some resources and weapons. And although Lumine and Paimon agreed to it, Kaeya soon realized that the ones doing the payment was Lumine herself.

Like a gentleman, Kaeya paid for his room, of course—and Razor’s too since he warmed up to the young wolf boy during their journey.

Night dawned upon them, and it was the most beautiful Kaeya had ever seen. Granted, Mondstadt was glorious with its lights and grandeur, but nothing could compare to the beauty nature had exposed before them. The gleaming line of lit lanterns truly complimented the sky above. And for once in his life, he truly felt at peace.

That was…until azure eye spotted the target of his affections talking to someone new.

“How do you like your almond tofu?” Lumine asked, head tilted slightly as she looked at the quiet adepti. Xiao merely nodded, gaze on his food and attention trying its best to focus on the delicacy.

Her laugh was slowly breaking his concentration, however.

“Hmm…” Slowly he swallowed, then huffed out single sigh. The distance between them wasn’t as far, but it wasn’t as close either. As Lumine rested her arms against the wooden rail of the balcony, Xiao only stood perfectly still with the warm plate still in his hand. He was highly aware of the small distance between them, and this also made him aware of the warmth that slowly seeped into his skin.

He still refused to move from his single spot.

“Good…” Whether the answer was for the food or the moment they were having, neither could tell.

As the two enjoyed their peaceful night, one lone man stood from afar, his breathing exhaled in low specks of a chilly breeze.

----------

Finally, after 2 months of travelling, they finally arrived in Liyue. The place was gorgeous, Kaeya couldn’t lie. It seemed that the city was Zhongli’s birthplace—"or something like that,” as explained by Venti. The reason of them coming back to the land was because Zhongli had to attend to his own work matter.

Kaeya wanted to comment on it, but he decided to bite his tongue when he was reminded that he too somewhat shirked his duties to be closer to Lumine.

He was happy that he finally got to spend time with her. Like a holiday of sorts. While Paimon of course oftentimes clung to her like glue, Kaeya still managed to trick the floating creature with some delicious delicacies in any nearby restaurant. Even Razor couldn’t be seen, as Lumine informed Kaeya that the wolf boy preferred the wild environment, so he made camp in an area not too far from the city so he could come as soon as possible when she calls for him.

Yes. It truly was the perfect moment for Kaeya to get closer to Lumine.

…Or so he thought.

“Ojou-chaaan,” Her name lulled in a singsong tune, she felt her shoulders being firmly hugged by someone whom brought a huge sigh off her chest.

“Now, now.” Faking an offended expression, Childe placed one hand on his chest. “I’m only here to fight my favourite comrade!”

Slap. Without haste, she slapped his hands away from her. “I’m busy, Childe.”

“Oh?” He didn’t take offense at all. “You don’t look busy.” He walked beside her. The more she picked up the pace, the more he followed it.

Deciding that running would only encourage the harbinger even more, Lumine finally slowed down. She knew he was a very, very persistent man. So with another sigh leaving her lips, she shot a glare at him.

His eerie smile became a lovely match.

“I am busy.” Amber eyes looked at the list in her right hand. “I’m searching for stuff and things to buy before we head out. Unlike you—” Another glare was given.”—who seem like he has a lot of free time in the world, I need to keep on moving to complete my mission.”

The ‘mission’ she firmly stated was something they both knew was a delicate topic, so Childe decided go against asking it further.

Instead, he still made it worse. “Oh? I’m always busy, ojou-chan.” Lower lip pulled to a playful pout. The back of his hand dramatically moved to his forehead. “Can’t you see how tired I am? I am absolutely fatigued by the amount of work my stupid co-workers have put me through.”

“If you’re tired, then why the stars do you insist on battling with me today?”

Lumine honestly expected his playful banter. She had prepared a retort. Her mind had generated words that would surely put him into a stupor.

What she didn’t expect was her left arm to be pulled and her body being turned to the side.

Amber eyes were wide. Everything happened so fast as the traveler then felt her chin being tipped upwards from a single finger.

“Because…” A voice, lulled so close and so deep, brushed her pink lips. “Battling with you is never tiring.” Cobalt blue eyes were as striking as the deepest oceans. “Every time I see you…” His gaze lingered. His voice lowered. “I have this urge to just mess—” His right hand that held her left arm moved down… “—you—” And down… “—up…” Palm pressed firmly against the side of her waist—

Shing!

Pupils shot to the side the moment he felt a cold breeze. Instincts kicking in fast, Childe immediately released his hold on her and slid a few steps back. In a flash, he summoned his water blades, expression masked to one of annoyance. Luckily, the ice shard—he soon realized—missed him by a hair’s breadth. The back of his hand still felt the chill, and this only made him tighten his hold.

In truth, Lumine was ready to summon her own wind element to whoosh the fatui away. As hot as her face felt right now, it seemed that shock still kept hold of her heart and mind as she felt her body being pulled yet again.

“Oh dear, I’m sorry I’m late, Lumine.” She recognized that voice anywhere.

One hand around her shoulders, Kaeya graced the harbinger before him with the cruellest, most sinister smile one had ever seen. Though sword not in sight in fear that he might cause enough attention than he already had, Kaeya still stretched his left hand forward. Tiny sparks of ice danced across his fingertips, spiralling small swirls towards his target.

Fear was never present in Childe’s eyes.

“Ojou-chan,” he called for her, voice light with poison, “it seems you have something stuck on you. Need me to take care of it?” While his grand scheme was to have a duel with her, Childe honestly didn’t mind a warm-up. White teeth gleamed under the sun’s rays. Gaze never torn from the traveler’s stunned face.

He was mocking her; Kaeya knew this. “Oya, oya.” A single laugh chilled the Liyue air. “Underestimating me, aren’t you? That’s fine.” While true, his past self did choose to not summon his sword, “I always love to see my enemies being horribly humiliated.” his present self now had other plans.

The sword breezed and solidified into his hands in a blink. To see the tip of a sharp weapon right in front of him, it only infuriated and excited Childe even further. A gust of ice and a burst of water formed around them, quickly and surely attracting an audience that feared for the sudden animosity.

Both were ready to fight. Both were ready to spill blood.

“That—”

Both…

“—is enough!”

…were now being blown away straight to a nearby lake by a powerful tornado.

----------

It had almost been a year since Lumine’s presence. Almost a year since she changed the lives of many. Her mission was still ongoing. The search for her brother was still top priority on her list. But in her many adventures, her presence did bring joy and hope some thought they had lost forever.

“Diluc! One more please!”

It seemed that he was part of the ‘some’, after all.

“Isn’t this your third glass?” A single eyebrow raised. He watched as she giggled shyly, one finger pushing the strand of blonde locks behind her ear.

Cute. He understood why Kaeya of all people was struggling when it comes to her.

“Ma-aybe,” she hiccupped, one hand then quickly cupping her mouth.

Really cute. He understood why Kaeya had oftentimes lost his cool around her.

Coughing once, Lumine cocked her head in pride. “It’s a party. No harm in celebrating once in a while. Besides, I still have some senses left in me.” Her smile shined as bright as the flames of his element. Bouncing on the balls of her feet, she then looked around. “Hmm, where’s Kaeya?”

If not for the many years of masking his emotions so perfectly, Diluc would raise his eyebrows in surprise. “Don’t know,” he bluntly replied, hands continued to wipe and clean a wineglass.

Crimson eyes observed as her mouth pulled a frown.

“He was here a minute ago…” She seemed sullen? Crestfallen? Disappointed? The change of tone in her voice evoked a glint of surprise in his eyes. While Kaeya was a master of faking his emotions as he was a master of hiding his, Diluc knew his bro—the annoying cavalry captain lately had a hard time keeping his feelings in check when Lumine becomes the matter. As surprising as it was at first, Diluc soon registered the fact that there was another person—other than him—that could shake the cryo user.

This was getting more and more amusing, he thought.

“The fool might be dead in the upstairs balcony.”

The statement caught her attention. “Oh?” The pep in her voice was back. Whether it was from the alcohol or the excitement itself, it was clear that Lumine didn’t bother to hide her glee. She beamed as Diluc resumed his cleaning, ignoring her altogether as a sign that he wasn’t going to say any further.

That was enough for her. “Thank you, Diluc!” Smile as bright as the sun, she quickly made way to the balcony on the second floor.

As he watched her disappear into the crowd, a simple twitch of his lips curled upwards.

----------

Kaeya always loved watching the stars and moon.

It was peaceful. Breath-taking. Calming. He was able to register his thoughts and recollect his mind every time he was alone with the twinkling lights. The wineglass in his hand was brought up, swirled gently before he sipped the final contents of his drink.

Through the haze of his intoxication, his mind wandered to her.

“Heh…” Lips curled to a derisive smirk. How cruel, he thought, that she still invaded his mind after all these months. When Kaeya decided to come back to Mondstadt due to knightly matters, he assumed that maybe, just maybe, a few more months of avoiding her would be the key to finally take all of this as some harmless crush.

Alas, as the months rolled by without him being able to see her, it turns out it wasn’t harmless nor a crush.

His arms leaned heavily against the rails of the balcony. And now that she came back to celebrate Jean’s achievements—and to thank her for all she had done—Kaeya finally had a chance to talk to Lumine. He finally had the chance to see her. He finally had the opportunity to catch up with her without the noisy company of others.

He honestly didn’t mind Paimon. He did however mind a lot about her choice of human companions.

He should treat her to lunch and catch up. But no. Instead, he made her do a taxing errand of preparing the feast for the party, while he had other separate matters to attend to.

At times like these, he truly felt like a fool.

The party had started an hour ago, and he did compliment her for being the mastermind of the surprise party. While in truth, it was his idea, Kaeya felt it more appropriate for the Honorary Knight to take in all the glory while he basked in the shadows.

Heh. How fitting it seemed that he never changed.

“Kaeya?”

Not realizing that he had his eye closed all this time, Kaeya snapped it open before turning around. “Lumine!” Shock was present on his face, but the cryo user quickly mellowed it with a perfectly curled smile. “Now, what do I have the pleasure to see Honorary Knight out here tonight?” His back leaned against the rail, wineglass already placed on the small table next to him.

Her response wasn’t immediate. Nor was it verbal. Instead, she gave a smile, one so sincere and endearing, he almost gripped the rail tightly.

“I was looking for you.”

Her simple answer shook him once again. Azure eye widened in shock. Lips firmly pressed to hide the emotion that fizzled within him. “Oh ho?” he chimed, the corner of his lips curled slightly. “I didn’t know I was missed.”

“You are.”

Her blunt answers were getting better and better. And this truly did not fare well on his end.

Finally, he was out of words for a short while. And it was that short while that Lumine decided to move forward and stand next to him. Pride itched at her brain to know that she was able to make the cavalry knight speechless. It seems there were many benefits to having countless banters with Paimon and Childe.

“I mean…” However, embarrassment followed suit at the realization of her words. “I didn’t see you much at the party so…” While common sense still held her by the reins, Lumine wondered if the fast beat of her heart right now was the cause of the man next to him.

In truth, a huge part of her hoped so.

“I asked Diluc and he said that you might be passed out in the cold here.”

A single chuckle burst past his lips. “How sweet that he cares.” He looked to his side, memorizing every shape of her presence. “How sweeter that you care, my dear.”

A single eyeroll was given. “I do care, though.” Her reply once again stunned him; she was getting better at reading his emotions too. “I…I know you’ve been through a lot, especially with Diluc so…”

“Ah…” He cut her off, partly in realization and the other part to silently signal her to not continue it further. It seems that he had forgotten for a brief moment that he told her of his past. Months and months of travelling together seems to make a person’s lips looser. It was clear that he trusted her, as much as his heart could dangerously handle. And in turn, Kaeya gave her the reason to trust him.

Which was also a much worse issue, considering that his role and lies still hang heavily around his neck.

The smile on his face mellowed. Slowly he turned around, head cocked upwards to gaze at the night sky. “Pretty night, isn’t it?”

She turned around too, though head tilted in his direction. A frown graced her face. Heat kissed her cheeks despite the cold breeze that caressed her body. “Kaeya—”

“Where are you going next?”

Roles were now in reverse as the question caught him off guard. “Sorry?”

“Your next destination, Lumine.” Their eyes met. “Surely, you’re not going to make me hope that you might stick around longer?” The question laced with sweet toxicity, Kaeya let out another chuckle. “As happy as I am to see you back here, I know you’re on a mission to reunite with your brother.”

His voice was soft, gentle. His expression bared a smile that strained his face.

It hurt to watch.

“Soon…” The reply was meek. Hands held the wooden rail. Amber eyes gazed downwards the people below. “I’ll go to Inazuma in the next 3 days.” Fingers slowly fiddled with one another. “The ship will depart on that day. So…I don’t know when I’ll be able to visit Mondstadt again…”

Crack.

Azure eye dulled as he ignored the pain in his chest.

“I see.” was his only response. Slowly he nodded, mouth thinning to hold back the smile that was faltering. “Well,” One hand moved to her, wavered, hesitant, before he patted her shoulder. “I wish you all the best, Lumine.”

Crack.

A deep breath was taken to gulp back the cracks left in her chest.

Hands slowly cupped together. Tightly. “Actually, I was wondering…” There was a reason she came looking for him. There was a reason she came back to Mondstadt before her next journey. One breath. Two. She closed her eyes before recollecting her thoughts that would soon slur into verbal words.

She felt his hand pull away. She hated that.

“I want—” With a heart that wanted to burst out of her ribcage, Lumine took the hand that was pulled away. “—you to join me!”

Shock was the star of the show in the brilliant evening. One gawked at her as if she grew a second head. The other gasped in silence as if what she had just said was near to impossible.

When she thought about, considering his role in Mondstadt, it might as well be.

The grip on his left hand tightened.

“I…” It was now or never. “I had so much fun travelling with you. It was never a dull moment.” Her head was down. “When we did all those commissions and strange requests, you always had a plan ready. When we were battling the powerful enemies, you always had my back. When I felt down and out of it, you were always there to cheer me up!” Her hands shook. “I—when we went to Dragonspine, you tried your best to find warm shelter to keep everyone warm even though fire isn’t actually your forte.” Archons, she would never forget how grateful she was to have him endure the frigid cold of such an unforgivable place.

His hand felt warm.

“We fought side by side all these months and I—” Couldn’t forget it. Couldn’t forget him. “I…” Anxiety kicked in the more she stuttered. Forcing another gulp, Lumine let out a sharp sigh. “Having you so close to me made me realize how much I need you.”

Blue bangs shielded his eye.

“Waking up and seeing you bond with Paimon and Razor and everyone else first thing in the morning made me realize how much I miss those moments.”

Lips were slightly parted.

“And…” She could do this. “The night that we opened up about our brothers—” She heard a sharp breath. “—that was…truly a night that I felt closest to you.” She felt her hands shake. “I like that. I love that.” There was a reason why she chose to drink more than she could handle tonight—

“I love—”

“Lumine.”

Her shoulders flinched. At the same time his voice startled her, she gaped as she watched his hands slip away from her grasp. She froze as she felt those same hands cup her cheeks.

“Lumine…”

His voice was silky smooth, caressing her very skin that sent prickles up to the back of her neck. She blinked once. Twice. Lumine then moved her head upwards by the gentle gesture of his hands—

Chup…

Amber eyes were as wide as they could be.

His lips were soft, sweet, slightly sour with a taste of tangy citrus. While bafflement had her vision open and clear, his eye was closed.

One heartbeat. Two.

Realization knocked him hard at the back of his head.

Quickly his eye snapped open. Immediately he pulled back. “I—!” Hands moved from cheeks to shoulders. It seems that the wine he drank had finally took control of his body. When he listened to her request, Kaeya could only feel his body float like a cloud. When he heard her explanation, he could only feel his heart clawing right out of his throat.

Love. When he heard that word, that one word, he couldn’t help but to succumb to the feelings he had long tried to destroy.

He gaped at her. She gawked at him. “Ahaa…” Defeat and shame poured down on him. “Sorry, Lumine.” Now he had done it. “I had uh…too much to drink tonight.” Now he had perfectly fucked this up.

He should leave. He should walk away. Being here with her was a mistake. Holding her by the shoulders was a mistake. Feeling her warmth, remembering the luscious shape of her lips was definitely, definitely, a mistake—

“Gaack—!”

Chuu!

Words, panics, and fears dissipated like hot steam once he felt the front of his shirt being tugged, once he felt those lips he so dearly missed pressed hard against his.

This time, her eyes were closed shut. This time his eye was wide as saucers.

However, bafflement didn’t linger too long, as Kaeya fully registered the moment with an open heart and an open mouth.

Quickly his eye closed. Hands now moved around her waist, tickling her in the process that Lumine actually wiggled in his embrace. Cute. The word beaming like a beacon, he pulled her flushed against his chest. Cute! Cute! His tongue found and caressed her own, tangling together until breaths became heavy in their lungs. Cute, cute, cute! With ease, Kaeya moved his hands downwards and lifted her up. It seems that the alcohol took hold of her mind too, as Lumine happily wrapped her legs around his waist as she pressed closer.

Chu! Chuu…chup! Apart they broke for a mere second. Chuuu! Together they kissed again before either could regain proper vision. Her hands tugged and brushed through long, silky blue hair. His hands squeezed and gripped her soft, scarred thighs.

Pop!

If it weren’t for the fact that they needed air, they knew there would be no end to this.

Pants, heavy and warm, stroked each other’s faces. A gaze of pure stupor was given to a face of sheer shock. Red kissed their cheeks as if the sun had grazed them. Heartbeats pumped hard and fast against flushed chests.

One heartbeat. Two heartbeats.

After the third beat, realization dawned on them like cold water.

“Ah—” Both stumbled. Quickly Lumine released her grip and stood in a shaky stance. She kept hold on his shoulders, fearing that the intense moment would make her lose her posture. His hands slid upwards to her waist, his grip not longer rough yet palms pressed firmly on her body.

They didn’t show any signs of letting each other go.

Her head dropped. Should she apologize? Should she forgive? Should she say something to dispel this awkward situation that bloomed between them?

But he did kiss her, though. And while Kaeya had been on her mind all these months since their journey together, never had she thought that her feelings would be requited. She felt giddy. Anxious. A whirlwind of emotions swirled inside her to know, to see, to feel, that the dashing cavalry knight would harbour such feelings for—

“Lumine…”

A single gulp slid down a dry throat.

She cast a peek. Heat burned to the tips of her ears, Lumine found it wise to not say anything yet.

She was too cute, he gushed.

“Pushing aside our little…session, which I find absolutely amazing, by the way.” He gently pulled her closer. “I want to answer your request.”

Her finger unintentionally squeezed his shoulders.

“Lumine…” His voice lowered to a husky whisper, so loving, so sweet. “I would love to join you to Inazuma.” To join you anywhere.

His answer lit up a spark of joy on her face. Quickly, finally, she brought her head upwards. “Really—?”

Chu.

Glee burst to shock at the feel of his lips.

“Kaeya!” Instinctively she pulled back, pupils blown in pure embarrassment over his tease.

Laughter echoed the bright night. While Kaeya was infamous for masking his emotions, the laugh he burst out was both genuine and filled with absolute glee.

How mesmerized she felt to witness such beauty.

“Geez…” Quivered lips pressed a shaky smile. Playfully jabbing his chest once, Lumine then wrapped her arms around his chest. “I have to get used to this, huh?” A sheepish mumble left her lips. Her left cheek nuzzled against his warm chest.

A peaceful sigh left her to feel fingers tickling her back.

“Pretty much.” Happy. “You wanted me to tag along. You pay the price, my dear.” It felt so sinful to be this happy. He nuzzled the top of her head, inhaling the sweet scent of windwheel aster and vanilla that he so dearly loved.

It seems his silly jealousy was—after all—silly.

Finally, her laughter joined his. The two relished in their embrace, making the stars and the moon their witness of the very start of their ever after.

END

#Kaelumi #Kaeya #Lumine #Childe #Genshin Impact #Diluc #Venti #Razor #Zhongli #i forgot to post this here lmaooo #my longest kaelumi yet #Xiao #i forgot xiao kjfbsdkjfbkdsjf #fafar writes

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thespamman24 · 3 years ago

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The Strangest Thing Happened to Me Today

I found a really neat recipe for blueberry cookies only. So, I decided to make them. However, I had a few problems. The first one is that I spilled most of the flour. The second one is that someone had replaced my oven with a cat that looked like Canadian singer Michael Buble. Upon closer inspection, I realized that the cat was in fact Canadian singer Michael Buble, who through some hideous metamorphosis had turned into some sort of grotesque half cat- half Canadian creature.

Michael Buble let out what was a mix between a meow and a scream “Help me!” Michael Buble. Unfortunately, I did not have my contacts in and so i could not hear Michael Buble well.

“What a cute half Canadian kitty!” I said! I then decided to keep Michael Buble as my own. So, I went to Petco (a store that sells for supplies for pets). However, when I got there I was treated to a most strange sight. Petco was crowded with hundreds of cat people, all of them screaming loudly. All of the workers at Petco were screaming and crying. Some of them were huddling in corners. I saw as one stuck his head in the fish tank and drowned himself.

So, Petco was not an option. So, instead I decided to go the place next door, which was a Vietnamese food restaurant. I walked into the Vietnamese food restaurant while holding the Michael Buble cat. “Excuse me!” I yelled “Does anybody have anything that they can get for my cat!”

All of the workers there stared at me. It appears that I had interrupted them in the midst of some sort of orgy. They were all dressed up as either Captain America or Bucky (from the hit movie franchise Captain America and his pal Bucky).

After a brief moment of awkwardness. Eventually, the manager (who was wearing a Captain America costume that was way to small for her) came up to me. She said

“I will give you what you seek, but first you must answer this question. What is the meaning of life.”

It took me a moment of think, but eventually I came up with an answer.

“Will, I suppose that life doesn’t have any meaning” I said “But we get to choose what that meaning is. We can devote our life to helping people, we can become artists and create works of art, or we can just do fun and interesting things until we die. Essentially, the absence of any specific meaning means we can choose our own path that we want to take in life, or just not take any path at all. No higher power has given us a purpose, we’re just born and then we get to make our meaning.”

The manager of the Vietnamese restaurant seemed to find my answer acceptable. “I will give you the needed items that are required for the caring of a half-cat, half Canadian singer Michael Buble.”

She then took me to the back where she gave me the following items: a leash, a ball of yarn, a litter box, and a large jumpsuit that my half cat- half Canadian singer Michael Buble could wear while parachuting.

I thanked her and asked her how much they would cost. She then replied to me “There is an old saying, Chi bacia i cavalli darà alla luce centauri... It will cost 58 dollars.”

“Do you accept credit?” I asked

“Do you?” she said

“Probably not, but I don’t own a Vietnamese food restaurant.”

“Good point.”

There was a pause

I spoke “So... do you accept credit?”

“Yeah.” she said

I then handed her my credit.

“Thank you” she said

I then turned to leave, my half cat- half Michael Buble in tow, but right before I was about to leave I turned back to the manager. “That saying, what did it mean.”

The manager turned to me “Those that kiss horses will give birth to centaurs.”

“That’s not how reproduction works.” I replied

“Yeah, will, it loses a little bit in the translation from Italian.” she said in response

I was about leave and then I turned to her “I’m sorry, Italian?”

“Yeah, it’s an old Italian expression. What, you think just because I’m Cambodian that means that I only know Cambodian expressions?”

“I guess you’re right.” I said “I Guess I need to be more understanding and accomadating to other cultures. Oh well, by and thanks for the cat supplies.”

I then left the store and drove home in my comically sized Volkswagen Bug.

However, when I got home I then realized that I had forgotten all about the cookies and that they had all burnt to a crisp.

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miraclekittyandbug · 3 years ago

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Ten Questions With a Twist Chapter 6

I. Cannot. TELL you how sorry I am for the delay. It has been a crazy couple of days, but I’m about to post the two final chapters of Ten Questions With A Twist!

~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ Chapter 1 ~ Chapter 2 ~ Chapter 3 ~ Chapter 4 ~ Chapter 5 ~ This Chapter ~ Chapter 7 ~

“Hey, Marinette!” Adrien called, waving frantically at the bluenette. Classes had just ended and he wanted to be sure to catch her before she left in a hurry.

Marinette turned and saw Adrien there, red in the face. “Hey Adrien. Are you okay? Did you just… run to find me?”

“Umm… How many more of those questions do you have?” Adrien deliberately didn’t answer the question, for fear of seeming like the desperate mess he had turned into. “You know, from that Black Cat guy?”

A light of comprehension shone behind her eyes, “Oh, those. Just a few. I’m really sorry if they were too invasive or anything. I can always tell him it was a bad idea.”

“No! Actually, I think it’s kind of a fun idea. I’d like to answer the rest of them for you.”

“Oh! That would be great!” She put her backpack on the ground and started digging through it to find the list, a formality at this point, as she had already memorized the questions.

“Why don’t we hang out for a bit? We could go back to your place and answer these questions. Maybe play some Mecha Strike? That good luck charm you gave me might even help me beat you.” Adrien wiggled his eyebrows and Marinette blushed, but laughed.

“I’m not sure it’s that lucky, but it sounds like fun.” Her eyes widened, “Actually, could you give me just a little bit of time to clean up my room first? It’s in a pretty embarrassing state right now. Meet me at the bakery in twenty minutes?”

“Sounds good P- pal.” Adrien caught himself. He was about to call her Princess, but that would give him away. He had a challenge to win, after all.

It took about fifteen minutes to convince the Gorilla to cover for him, not too difficult to do considering he was supposed to take Adrien to his Chinese lessons directly after school. Adrien simply reminded the Gorilla that a conversation in Chinese with Mrs. Dupain-Cheng was a very practical application of the information he already knew so well. They agreed that he would pick him up from the Dupain-Cheng bakery in about two hours.

Adrien made his way, slowly, to the bakery.

The bakery, being right across the street from the school, and having such delicious treats, was very busy. Adrien waited dutifully in line and when he got to the counter, Sabine greeted him warmly. He responded in Chinese, explaining that the only way he had talked his bodyguard into letting him come was to promise to practice his Chinese. Sabine smiled and ushered him to the back. She pointed him to the staircase and told him, in Chinese, to follow it until he reached Marinette’s room, and that there would be snacks up there for the both of them.

Now, at this point, Adrien knew for a fact he was in love with this girl. But if there had been even a sliver of doubt in his mind, it all evaporated when he lifted the hatch to Marinette’s room.

She must have done a wonderful job cleaning, because apart from some half-finished sewing on a desk and a few balls of yarn on her bed, Marinette’s room was spotless. But that wasn’t what caught his eye. Leaning over her computer, attempting to plug in the game console, Marinette was humming contentedly with a cookie in her mouth. The picture of it all was so endearing, Adrien hated to alert her to his presence. However, he thought it might be creepy if she were to turn around and find him staring, so he cleared his throat.

Marinette made a noise that could only be described as a squeak, and bit down on the cookie, causing a portion of it to fall to the floor. “Adrien! I didn’t see you there! Come on in, I’ve got snacks!”

He climbed the final steps into her room and reached for a cookie, “Don’t mind if I do.”

Once Marinette had plugged in the console correctly and booted up the game, they chose their players and began. It didn’t take long for Marinette to secure a lead, so Adrien thought a distraction was in order.

“So what about those questions?”

Marinette was silent for a moment before speaking, “I know you’re just trying to distract me. But to prove a point, I will ask these questions AND win this round at the same time. Just watch.”

“Jeez, B- Marinette, that’s pretty harsh,” he said, playfully. He was learning that it would be very difficult to refrain from calling her by her nicknames. “Won’t you go easy on me? Please?” Adrien made puppy dog eyes at the screen, leaning forward so that she would hopefully catch a glimpse of his pouty lips and fast blinking eyes. Not two minutes later, he flung himself back into his seat, having been defeated.

Marinette placed her controller onto the desk in front of them, flashing him a sympathetic look. “And I wasn’t even distracted with those questions.”

“Alright,” Adrien relented, “What are they?”

“Okay, well, the question that seemed to make you sick might not be a good one to start off with…”

Adrien remembered his odd behavior earlier, and how stupid he had been to not see it sooner. “No, really, I’m fine. Shoot!”

“Okay, what’s your dream job?”

Adrien pretended to think, as if this question were a surprise to him, “I’d like to be a stay at home dad one day.”

“That’s so sweet! I’d like to be a designer one day. Have my own fashion line, company, that kind of thing. What’s your favorite movie?”

“The Princess Bride.”

“Isn’t that a bit of a chick flick?”

“There’s sword fighting and pirates and impossible odds! And anyway, what’s wrong with chick flicks?”

Marinette quickly defended herself, “There’s nothing wrong with chick flicks, I guess I pegged you as more of a studio Ghibli guy.”

Goodness, it had been a year or two since his last binge of those movies, “Oh, studio Ghibli is amazing! But still, there’s nothing like Wesley rolling down a hill screaming ‘As you wish’ only for Buttercup to fling herself down with him.”

Marinette started giggling, “I totally forgot about that part! Oh, I’ll have to rewatch that movie sometime soon. Favorite dessert?”

“Easy, the macarons from your parents bakery.”

“Really?” Marinette responded, “I’m flattered! What flavor?”

“That passionfruit one is my all time favorite, but that’s only seasonal. I really like any of the fruit ones.”

“Good to know! The other questions are pretty basic. What’s your name?”

Adrien put on a face and spoke in an accent, “My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die.”

Marinette laughed and Adrien decided it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.

“What school do you go to?”

“Hogwarts.”

She rolled her eyes, “No, seriously.”

Adrien looked at her, eyes calculating, “Is there a reason you want this guy to know all the answers?”

“No!” she crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair, “We just have to give the guy a chance. And anything he doesn’t guess correctly, I don’t have to tell him. So it’s not like I’m giving him all your information or anything.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Adrien said, leaning forward. Marinette blushed as if she knew exactly what he meant, but he continued anyway. “You like this guy, don’t you? You want him to guess correctly so you can go on a date with him!”

“What?!” Marinette acted repulsed by this, but her blush only deepened, “No way! He’s just a friend!”

“But you want to give him a chance.”

She seemed to hold her breath, making her face even redder, but then released and deflated, placing her head in her hands with her elbows on her knees. “I don’t know. Honestly, I probably like this guy a lot, I’ve just been so caught up on… this other guy for so long. It’s so confusing.”

“Have you thought about meeting him? You know, in person?”

Marinette lifted her head and looked at the ceiling instead, “Yeah. I have. I mean, this black cat guy is my best friend. We tell each other everything. He’s the only one who knows about this big part of my life and I rely on him for so much. He’s so sweet and really understanding about me wanting to keep our real names out of it.”

Adrien winced, but Marinette didn’t notice. He felt awful. She had always been so adamant that they not know each other’s identities. But he just happened upon it! One coincidence led to another, led to some questions, led to a point where he couldn’t turn back. “So you don’t want him to know who you are?”

“Well I wouldn’t say that.” Her hand went to the back of her neck and she rubbed it anxiously. “If we somehow found out, I’d honestly be thrilled. I even went so far as to ask Master F- forum.” Marinette blanched, looking Adrien directly in the eye, “Our forum master. The guy that runs the forum that we chat on. I went so far as to ask him about meeting in real life and he just smiled. He said ‘The wheels of life are in motion, but you cannot determine the speed’. I have no idea what that means, but he’s notoriously cryptic.” Adrien was going to say something, but Marinette was on a rant, so he sat back and listened. “And it’s like, he’s wanted to know for a really long time. Ever since the beginning. But I was so cautious, I said no. I thought it would be dangerous for us and our families.”

“And you need to be careful, with strangers on the internet.”

“Exactly! Strangers on the internet. But then, almost immediately, I trusted him. Right away, we were inseparable. And now that I want to know, I don’t know what to do.”

Adrien couldn’t help the smile that plastered itself on his face. “Well, Marinette, I’m sure things will work out. And you never know! Maybe he’s a really good guesser.”

“Maybe.” She said, obviously glad to have gotten some things off her chest. “In the meantime, let’s sneak down and grab you a couple of macarons.”

~ Chapter 1 ~ Chapter 2 ~ Chapter 3 ~ Chapter 4 ~ Chapter 5 ~ This Chapter ~ Chapter 7 ~

Next chapter should be up by the time you read this far!

#miraculous ladybug fic #miraculous fic #adrienette #ladrien #marichat #ladynoir

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chaoticallysapphic · 4 years ago

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the great trial part two

summary: This was meant to be the easy part. The part filled with brightness and love. The war was over and you had the love of your life all to yourself. No more Baatar, no more secrecy and no more lies. But with the calm comes the realization as all the adrenaline finally leaves you. Now you know, this is the hard part.

a/n: thank you to @medeliadracon for beta reading this and @ladyxffandoms for looking it over <3

word count: 3k

Kuvira already hates this. She hates how the both of you are seated on the couch yet are on opposite ends while some middle-aged woman with a notepad on her lap is seated across from the both of you. She hates the question at hand, despite it being the first one. “How did it start?”

The only problem is she has to go along with this because she just heard you say her name for the first time in weeks when introducing the both of you to Dr. Hanika. Because you spoke to her directly just a few days ago when telling her about this visit after your mother left. So she has to suck it up, for you.

It. This wasn’t an It, this is a relationship. It was delicate and warm and the fact that this stranger expects both of you to just pour yourself into this, sharing every little thing, pisses her off.

“Oh…” Your eyes flit across the contents on the coffee table as you try to make sense of your memories.

“This relationship started almost four years ago” Kuvira replies. “We met at Suyin’s dance studio, she asked me for help.” Dr. Hanika clicks her pen and begins to write something across her notepad. Kuvira leans over a little to try and peek, but she’s too far away to see what’s being written.

Your shoulders slump, wetting your lips. You don’t want to talk about this, you want to talk about how to get over the cheating. “When are we going to talk about… everything else?”

“Y/n what can you tell me about the start of your relationship with Kuvira?”

Kuvira looks away, frowning. She knows what you're referring to. Dr. Hanika sets her pen down and sighs “We will get to the root of your problems soon, but I think the best way I can help the both of you is if I know how it started.”

And so you tell her, despite not wanting to, about meeting Kuvira and practicing after class with her for weeks before she finally kissed you. You keep out how she kissed you in other places, deciding to keep that between the two of you. And then you tell her about the recital, about wanting to introduce her to your parents but didn’t because Baatar was there with his arm wrapped around her.

Hearing your point of view on things leaves a sour taste in Kuvira’s mouth. She didn’t know you wanted her to meet your parents that night. After she watched you race out of the room she had quietly scolded Baatar for not waiting like they originally planned.

“And you never told her about the relationship you had with Baatar?” You scoff at his name, turning your gaze out the window, not wanting to see her reaction to the question.

“No… I didn’t want to hurt he-”

“That’s rich coming from you,” you spit out, Kuvira turns to face you, her brows pinching together as she tries to keep her temper in check. “It’s the truth!”

“If you didn’t want to hurt me you would have ended it with him!” You twist around, finally meeting her eyes for the first time in what feels like forever. Whatever words were on the tip of Kuvira’s tongue died the minute you do. “But you didn’t, instead you made me keep us a secret for three years!”

“Alright, let’s calm down” Dr. Hanika looks between the both of you. But you ignore her, tired of keeping your mouth shut to keep her happy.

“You cheated on me as some sick form of punishment over the smallest of things, fuck, I’m pretty sure you liked crawling into his bed those nights with how many times you chose to do it!” You grip the couch so tight your knuckles begin to turn white.

The look in your eyes is like nothing she’s seen before and her heart begins to pound. She doesn’t know this version of you and it scares her. “How about you do us both a favor and go crawling back to him instead of staying here!”

Tick, the clock mounted on the wall is all that’s heard as silence descends upon the room.

Scratch, Dr. Hanika begins to write on her notepad, and the sound of pen meeting paper mixes with the ticking.

Chirp, a bird in the tree by your living room window is giving its babies lunch and the excited chirping from the babies blends with the other two sounds.

The fourth sound to join the makeshift symphony is the whimper that leaves Kuvira’s lips before she storms away to your bedroom where she slams the door so hard the bookshelf next to it shakes, a book falls off.

“Maybe we should start with individual sessions and then work our way up into group sessions,” she says calmly. You nod, thickly swallowing as you slowly let go of the back of the couch, your knuckles cramp a bit from how hard you held the cushion.

And so you tell her the rest, all of it including every lonely night and every fight. She aggressively writes away on her notepad as you stare at the vase of light pink flowers. At some point, you grab a pillow from beside you and clutch it close to your chest as you get to the engagement. Tears are freely falling from your eyes now and you don’t move to wipe them away.

“I think this will take a long time and there’s no guarantee on what will come of this, but we can only hope it’s something positive. For now, I think both of you should try to find interests separate from one another since it seems like there are some codependency issues we’ll need to work on.”

You nod, trying to think up what you can do in this small apartment as you wipe the last of your tears away. “Okay, I can do that.”

“What you're feeling right now is valid, Y/n, and I want you to know it’s good that you are seeking therapy to help resolve these issues,” she sets her pen down on the pad and sighs. “I think I’d like to speak to Kuvira alone, then I’ll take my leave for the day.”

Biting your lip you set the pillow down beside you and look at the bedroom door. “I’ll go get her, maybe you should stay in the bedroom once she comes out.” Dr. Hanika stands up and gently knocks on the door. Kuvira, who feels like a knife has been driven through her heart, is sitting on the edge of your bed with her head in her hands.

She hates herself and hates this. All of the arrogance she carried just a few weeks ago has vanished as she’s left with this warped version of you. Kuvira knows she deserves this but fuck does it hurt to hear.

The knock has her head tilting up, hoping it’s you and that this tense tightrope you're making her walk has finally come to an end. But it’s Dr. Hanika saying something Kuvira only half hears. It feels like her head is underwater, like her words are distorted.

You hear her talking to Kuvira through the door, but she’s being too quiet to understand what's transpiring. Slowly the lock clicks and the door opens up, revealing a red-eyed Kuvira who won’t look at you.

She walks over to the other side of the room so you can lock yourself in the bedroom, suddenly she wishes she had put up a fight about doing this. Kuvira wishes she could take it back, so she never had to hear you talk like that.

When she sits down on the couch she doesn’t know what to do, so she ends up sitting with her elbows propped up on her knees with her chin resting in the palm of her hands as she tries to keep calm. Her whole body feels like it’s buzzing and her world feels off-center. Maybe she should deal with your silence, seeming to prefer it over your malicious words.

“Kuvira?” The young woman snaps out of her thoughts and looks up at Dr. Hanika with a quirked brow. “I’ve been trying to talk to you for a few minutes now.”

“Oh.”

“How did Y/n’s words make you feel?”

“Awful,” Kuvira doesn't want to talk to her but what's the alternative? “Like she doesn't love me anymore.” Like no one loves me, not even her.

“Do you think she would go through with this if she didn’t love you?” Dr. Hanika tilts her head in question, her hands delicately placed over each other as they rest on her pen and notepad. “Do you think she would put in all this effort if she didn’t want to be with you?”

Kuvira frowns, she never looked at it like that. “Don’t you think she would have requested to be sent to her parents?”

“I guess so…” Kuvira trails off as she leans back and looks down at her hands. Why would someone still live with someone they didn’t love? It was obvious you no longer tiptoed around her feelings so it can’t be just to appease her. “But if she still loves me, how do I fix this?”

“This is something you both will need to work on, not just you. It will take a lot of time, and we will have to talk about your feelings but also your past to help you, do you think you can do that for me?”

It took her months to give you a nugget of her childhood and even longer to finally talk about her feelings with you, it’s something she still isn’t good at. Both are something she has difficulty with, but for you? Well, she’d traverse the whole world for you, give it all to you if asked.

“Okay,” Kuvira breathes, “Okay I can do that.”

And so you take up gardening, your father brings you supplies along with a shelf to place in front of one of the windows to place different pots so you have more to work with. He teaches you the basics and smiles when he sees you get lost in thought while gently patting the dirt around the newly placed Mint Plant.

It’s not as easy for Kuvira, her hobbies consist of sparring, dancing, and at times she liked to silently geek out over Varrick and Baatar’s inventions. The apartment is too small to practice fighting stances or to dance, and there isn’t an invention insight to focus on. So one day when your dad is about to leave, Kuvira asks him to help her find something she might like.

He offers a smile and nods. A few days later he comes over with a basket full of things for her to try, when he places the ball of yarn along with a handbook on the basics of knitting, Kuvira scrunches her nose up at the idea.

Then he places a cookbook down and a beginners' origami kit down before placing a medium-sized package that has ‘Embroidery’ scrawled across it in chicken scratch writing. Lastly, he carefully sets down a blank sketchbook with three different types of ways to fill it in.

“If you don’t like any of these I can bring more,” he says with a smile. Kuvira feels so grateful for your father, the few times your mom has stopped by since that fateful day she’s never acknowledged her existence. But your father always asks about her day and tries to spend some time with her before leaving. It’s surprising, but not unwelcome.

“Thank you, hopefully, one of these works out,” she smiles back and goes to pick up the cookbook to flick through the pages. He walks away to go check on you as he always does and as always you’re in the garden lovingly tending to your plants. You seem to put more care and affection into your work than you do with Kuvira. How can she be jealous of plants?

The cookbook has some decent looking recipes inside, to be honest, the only cooking Kuvira has ever really done was that night with the dumplings. She grew up on the Beifong estate where they had a chef and when she moved into the barracks after becoming a guard they had a team of men and women who cooked meals for them. She even hired someone to cook for them on the train.

It would probably be best for her to learn, especially once your year on house arrest is up, so she carefully sets it back down to use later before shifting through the other items with a curious eye.

The next few weeks she tries them all out, knitting lasts two days before she throws the damn yarn and needles into the trash with disdain and Kuvira accidentally breaks the embroidery hoop fifteen minutes into trying it out. She’s okay at origami but it’s boring, she finishes all the different designs quickly and stares at the collection of stars and swans with a dull expression.

She kind of likes cooking, with the book in hand she ends up making breakfast, lunch, and dinner, much to your surprise. The eggs are a bit overdone, so she’ll have to work on that and lunch has a bit of a char to one side of it which she sees you try to scrape off. But dinner is decent and to her, that’s a win. It could use more salt and the soup probably would be better if she let it cook for longer, but she’ll take this small victory and wear it like a badge of honor.

Lastly is the sketchbook, she stares at the blank page in frustration as nothing comes to mind, what is she meant to do with this? Your father brought a beginner's water coloring kit, a set of charcoal pencils, and colored pencils. She bits her lip as her eyes flit between the three and she grabs the charcoal, that seems good to begin with.

She spends the whole day trying to draw a panda lily that never turns out quite right which drives her mad. The first attempt just looks like a blob, the second a slightly nicer looking blob and the third finally has a hint of the shape she's going for if you stare at it hard enough. So she works with that and tries to remind herself that when she picked up sparring she could barely throw a punch, everything takes time and practice.

When you enter to fill up your watering can you sneakily peek over her shoulder, surprised to see her drawing, before walking back out of the house. It’s good she’s picking up a new hobby, part of you is proud of her, not that you’ll tell her though.

The sessions with Dr. Hanika continue and with each one, Kuvira forces herself to open up a bit more with the motivation that maybe you’ll finally start to talk to her like Dr. Hanika says you will.

When she tells Dr. Hanika about her pursuit of drawing, she tries to play it off by saying “I’m only doing it because I don’t like being bad at things.” They both know that's a lie, drawing has pleasantly consumed her time as she strives to draw beautiful things to one day give to you.

Nights are spent the same, you go to bed and when Kuvira enters an hour later you’re passed out with two pillows placed at the center of the bed to block her from touching you. Her heart breaks as she takes a chance to look at you, the first time that day. There’s a small smile on your lips, you have the blanket tucked up to your neck with one hand resting under your head. You're having a good dream and she silently hopes that she’s part of it.

She knows she can’t sleep in the living room like that first night, even if neither of you touches one another the heat of her body still comforts you, the slight dip that lets you know you aren’t alone. So she changes into her pajamas and slides onto her side of the bed with a sigh. One day those pillows will be gone, she tells herself.

Your routine is broken in the third week of the second month on house arrest. Kuvira is getting lunch ready when there’s a knock at the door, breaking the peaceful silence that lulls through the air.

You place your dirty gardening gloves on the table which has Kuvira letting out a sigh, knowing one of you will have to clean that up before eating, as you walk towards the front door. Your father just barges in at this point with a cheerful hello to announce his presence whilst your mom knocks three times every single time. This is one knock, which means it's someone new.

You don’t know who you expect on the other side of the door, but the avatar was far down on your list of prospects. “Oh, hello,” you say, your voice laced with confusion.

“Is Kuvira here?” She asks and then seems to realize her mistake. “Oh yeah, can I speak to her?” By now Kuvira is done making lunch and heads over to the front door upon hearing her name. She tries not to show her shock at seeing Korra here, but she must be doing a bad job because the younger woman continues. “I need to talk to you about Commander Guan.”

You both let the avatar in, neither of you thinking this conversation should take place in the hallway of your apartment complex. The times you’ve spotted your neighbors they send a hateful glare your way. Talking about an old Empire commander will not help ease the anger they hold towards you.

She slowly walks into your home, looking around with furrowed brows as she takes in the walls, the furniture, and the over-abundance of plants. Whatever Kuvira just made smells delicious and the scent wafts through the living space, confusing her further.

She knows it’s stupid, but Korra expected Kuvira’s apartment to be a lot less homey and a lot more cold and lifeless. She sits down in the cream armchair, whilst the two of you sit down on opposite ends of the couch. That action confuses her more than the apartment does, last time she saw the two of you, you seemed attached at the hip.

This placement reminds Kuvira too much of the first therapy session, she has to bite her tongue and will herself to stay put instead of walking away to brood in the bedroom. “What do you need to know about Commander Guan?” you ask. You sound so calm that it drives Kuvira mad, doesn’t this make you uncomfortable, doesn’t it remind you of that day as well?

“Were you aware his troops never surrendered?” You let out a gasp of surprise as Kuvira balks. Was this another one of her secrets? Another grand plan up her sleeve, just wait and stay quiet with you, playing some form of pretend until he came to get her?

“I swear, Kuvir-”

“No I was not aware,” she says in that all too familiar tone she uses when trying to hide her anger. She side-eyes you, looking hurt at your accusation. Do you really think so little of her now?

None of this goes unnoticed by Korra as she looks between the two of you for any kind of clue that she may be lying. Kuvira forces herself to speak, “Guan is a cunning strategist with a keen mind. I put him in charge of the southern forces because I knew he could keep that region in line.”

“If Guan hasn’t surrendered by now then that means he’s plotting something. I’d treat him like a barrel of blasting jelly with a very short fuse.” You’ve only met Guan a handful of times, each time as unpleasant as the last. He was an asshole who treated everyone that wasn’t Kuvira or Baatar like shit, including yourself. At one point Kuvira had to calmly put him in his place when he tried to demand you go fetch him a glass of whiskey.

“If you were in my position, how would you deal with him?”

“I’d take someone with me who Guan respects. Someone who can reason with him and bring him into line.” Your eyes widen, fully turning to look at Kuvira now. You know what she’s hinting at and you hate the idea with every fiber of your being.

“No,” is all you manage to say.

“You want me to bring you?” Korra leans back in surprise, an incredulous look taking over her features as she stares Kuvira down.

“Guan’s not going to roll over just because the avatar asks him to. But if I meet with him face to face I guarantee I could convince him to concede defeat.” You might not be able to stomach the sight of Kuvira for too long without thinking of her betrayal or manage to talk to her but the idea of her leaving frightens you. What if she escapes and never comes back?

Korra stands with her fists clenched as she walks over to the door, “Thanks for the info but I think I can handle Guan without you.” The door slams behind her and the instant she’s out you’re storming over to the table to grab your gloves. You want to scream at her but you know it won’t do any good.

Kuvira turns to you, she has this desperate kind of look on her face as she tries to scoot closer to you. “I can be of help to them, Y/n.” You ignore her as you walk away, back to your little sanctuary.

#kuvira #kuvira fanfic #kuvira lok #kuvira x reader #kuvira/reader #lok #legend of korra #lok fanfic #the great trial

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pixieungerstories · 4 years ago

Text

The Captive - 13

The crafters were nervous. Elly had taken over the space that had been for spinning with crafting books. Not just yarn related crafts, which they would have understood, but sewing, quilting and cooking too. Lashandra had organized Posy and Cloe to bring over a gift basket for Elly in the most insulting way possible.

“I’m sorry business isn’t good dear. But don’t worry! The community will support you! The town may be too small to have much of a food bank, but here are some things to help out.”

Elly wanted to kick the women’s teeth in.

She put all the roving on sale at cost and reduced her hours to five days a week instead of six. And she hired workmen to come in the night and build the partition wall between the yarn shop and the bakery. The stairs made the perfect division point and the trust paid extra for them to come in on a Friday afternoon and be finished by Monday morning.

That also meant the crafters were there when the construction started.

Elly felt a little bad for stressing out the nice old ladies, but the bitches three were ruining it for everyone.

Ben was noticeably worried but forcing himself to remain calm, so Elly had him over for dinner that Friday. She showed him the architect's drawing and the planning permission from the town. Ben listened carefully and poured the wine. Then he asked the question she was not expecting.

“What does George think of all of this?”

“What do you mean? The partition wall still has double french doors and is in keeping with the style of the house. He isn’t involved in the business. What difference would it make?

Ben stared hard at his wine glass. “Elly. The workmen are going to be here almost around the clock for the next two days. How are you going to be able to smuggle food down there for him? Nevermind visiting! Is George in solitary lock up for the whole weekend?”

Elly opened her mouth to respond, then closed it again. “It will be fine,” she finally muttered.

“Really? Because how comfortable would you be locked in the basement, alone in the dark for three days? I would be pretty pissed off.”

Elly pressed her lips together and picked at the nail bed on her thumb for a moment.

“Fuck it!” Ben announced. “George likes spicy food. I’m ordering from that Indian place. I’ll take it and my laptop down there. We can have guys movie night if you aren’t going to do anything.”

Elly still didn’t know what to say. ‘Hey Ben, George is trying to seduce me,’ wasn’t going to fly. Except, was that even what this was? He said he desired her, then promptly went back to what was normal for them. He hadn’t brought it up again and it had been over a week. “Now there’s a thought,” was the best she could come up with.

“How territorial is he?” Ben asked. Elly choked. “It’s just,” he started again, “if he isn’t too freaked out about people in his space, I would bring over a sleeping bag and -”

“And have a slumber party?” Elly asked, raising an eyebrow. “Will you be having half naked pillow fights while you’re at it?”

“Only if you join in,” Ben replied without missing a beat.

Elly gritted her teeth. She didn’t really like the idea of Ben down there alone with George. And it pissed her off that she hadn’t thought about how the construction would affect them while it was happening. She had been focused on getting to the end and had lost track of the details.

Nyx decided that her person’s moment of stillness was the ideal time to jump into Elly’s lap and demand affection.

“I don’t think your cat is growing, Elly. Is she ok?”

“What? Oh! Yeah. She’s fine. She is getting heavier. I’ve been using my kitchen scale to make sure. I just don’t think she’s going to be a big cat. Probably just as well, since she thinks she’s a parrot.”

As if to prove her point, Nyx climbed Elly’s shirt, ignoring the wincing as her claws pricked and settled in to hide in Elly’s hair. Elly sighed and took another sip of her wine. Nyx hissed at Ben when he laughed at them.

“Yes, yes you are a ferocious and terrifying beast,” Elly muttered reaching up and making scritching motions for Nyx to lean against.

“What does she think of all of this?” Ben asked.

“Nothing as far as I can tell. She has been riding around in my pocket at work since I got her and no one has noticed. I’m going to end up getting her one of those cat wearing things at some point.”

Ben nodded, “They have ones that look like Pokémon balls.”

“I was thinking more the Baby Bjorn like in that comic strip.”

“Oh my god! You are joking, right?”

Elly just smirked.

----

Dragon and curry sleepover was more work to set up than they thought. First thing was to talk to George. He hesitantly agreed. Then Elly moved the cat box downstairs. Ben brought over some sleeping bags and air mattresses. Then Elly had to organize a 50 foot extension cord to run the pumps to inflate them. Fortunately, the workmen had one and didn’t ask too many questions.

Ben went for food, Elly brought down a cooler and a box of wine. Then she had to explain the concept to George and put up with his disdain at the very idea. He let it go when she pointed out it meant they could stay down there longer.

Next was her string of christmas lights. That only took a six foot extension cord under the door and they nicely lit up the stairs and brightened the tiny room at the bottom of them. Elly had been aware of the space being much bigger than just a table and chair underneath the heating ducts, but the light certainly emphasized that this was only one corner of a much bigger structure.

“It’s like the Mines of Moria down here,” she muttered.

To her surprise, George burst out laughing. “Fewer orcs and goblins, but there is a dragon so more like Erebor.”

Elly just stared at him. George stopped laughing and held out his hands. “My claws tear the paper, but many of your predecessors have been kind enough to read to me. I was quite fond of Tolkien, but I believe the Ents were written specifically to annoy Lewis.”

Elly squeaked, then coughed to clear her throat, “What, uh, what did you think of Lewis?”

George shrugged, “Not bad but his religion was showing.”

Elly just stood there, frozen on the spot. George sighed and pointed upwards. “Did you notice the arches? In the 1300’s they called that fornication.”

Elly looked up. She hadn’t noticed before, but the ceiling was vaulted and carefully covered in mosaic tiles. “Who rib vaults a basement?” she murmured.

George snorted, “People with money. Come, treasure, you can help me move the table.”

Elly was prepared to let that one slide, it was starting to grow on her.

She was not prepared to deal with the table. “I have a couple of questions. How many people are you expecting that you think we need a table that big and how the hell do you expect me to help move that monstrosity?”

George was suddenly absolutely still. Elly hadn’t really noticed how some part of him was always moving, even if it was just his tail twitching until it wasn’t.

“It is the table that I have. Based on Ben’s description of the food, you won’t be eating it sitting on the floor.”

“I’m sorry,” Elly said softly. “That was rude.”

George nodded.

“I have a card table we could use,” she suggested. “Or maybe … do you have a large footstool or a flat topped chest?”

He looked at her with narrowed eyes. “A treasure chest?”

“Well, I was thinking more like a steamer trunk.”

“That I have.”

----

Ben came back with enough food to feed an army, a second cooler, this one full of beer, two sleeping bags and a box full of random blankets. He also brought his laptop, a small projector and a roll of duct tape. The tape plus a white sheet made a good enough screen, and the workmen weren’t getting their extension cord back.

Ben was spreading the food out on the impromptu table when he asked, “Did you pick out a movie yet?”

“How about Lord of the Rings?” Elly suggested. “It’s long enough to keep us busy for most of the weekend.”

Ben laughed, “It is if we watch The Hobbit first.”

“I should save room for popcorn,” Elly mused.

“You should, but will you?”

“Not a chance,” she replied with a grin.

“I am not following this conversation,” George said flatly.

“You said you liked Tolkien. They made movies of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings,” Elly explained.

George considered this. “I have seen 8mm films before. The picture moves, but the people do not speak.”

Ben grinned, “You watched silent films?”

“He might mean home movies. Was it Ann who you watched movies with?” Elly asked politely.

“Yes. Her family would send her films of them,” the dragon explained cautiously.

“The technology has changed a bit since then,” Elly was trying to be diplomatic.

George snorted, “As it is wont to do.”

#fuck tagging #I'm rubbish at it #This tumblr is only chapters anyway

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snakeboistan · 4 years ago

Text

Neko!Nagisa

Pairing: Karmagisa

When Nagisa entered the classroom wearing a large oversized jacket with a hood covering his hair, it was obvious that there would be questions.

"Uh, Nagisa," there they were, "what's with the jacket?"

"Just, you know, being prepared in case it rains," Nagisa stuttered out, laughing nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck.

The class collectively turned to look out of the window at the sun shining brightly in the clear blue sky before looking back at Nagisa with raised eyebrows.

Nagisa blushed, "just in case. You never know."

"The news reported clear skies all week," Takebayashi pointed out, "there was even speculation of this week having the highest temperatures of the month."

"The-the news could be wrong," Nagisa stammered out, desperately trying to grasp at any way to excuse his strange attire and take the attention off of him.

"Come of it, Nagisa," Karma scoffed, "what's with the get up?"

"Yeah, take it off 'Gisa," Nakamura threw an arm around his shoulders, making him freeze at the contact, "don't be shy."

"Al-alright," he sighed in defeat, “just don’t laugh, alright.”

And with that, he unzipped his jacket and let it fall onto the floor, stopping everyone in their tracks as the room took one collective inhale. Sitting atop his head, in between strands of blue were fluffy cat ears and an azure tail was curling behind him.

“WHAT. THE. HELL!”

“Nagisa, you uh,” Okano looked at him in confusion, “what?”

“So, uhh,” Okajima scratched his head, “how exactly did this happen?”

“I DON’T KNOW!” Nagisa cried in distress, blushing and shrinking into himself at the combined scrutiny of his classmates, “I JUST WOKE UP LIKE THIS!”

Sensing his discomfort, Isogai - ever the trustworthy leader - admonished the group clustered around him, “Hey, everyone give him some space and stop staring. You’re making him uncomfortable.”

“Do you blame us?” Kimura asked incredulously. He gestured wildly at the blunette, “Like, can you not see this?”

“AWW NAGISA!” Kurahashi squealed, clapping her hands in delight, “you look so cute and adorable and I just wanna hug you so badly.”

"You really do look cute," Sugino smiled and rubbed the patch of hair on his scalp that rested between his cat ears. Nagisa melted under the touch and - to everyone's surprise - purred softly, "Aww, Nagisa."

"Holy sh*t that was so cute," Kimura breathed out with Okajima nodding solemnly beside him.

"Aww, does the kitty like being petted?" Nakamura teased, her signature smirk radiating mischief.

Unlike how he would usually react to her banter, he nodded, "it feels nice." He turned to Sugino with large pleading eyes, "can you do it more please?"

Sugino's cheeks blossomed with bright red and he felt like he was going to combust at the sheer adorableness that was being directed straight at him, "oh, uh, sure."

....

When Koro-Sensei arrived a few moments later to find Sugino sitting on his chair with a cat-ified Nagisa on his lap, head nudging into the crook of the baseball lover's neck and tail swirling around, all he could do was glance around aimlessly at his students for a possible explanation. However, he found that all of them were watching the pair with mixed looks of fondness, adoration and awe - apart from Karma, who was sitting at his seat in the back with his arms crossed and glaring at the scene in front of him with the intensity of a thousand suns.

"Can anyone please explain what is going on?" The tentacled-teacher asked in pure confusion.

"Nagisa got turned into a cat-person," Kurahashi supplied without even looking at him.

"I see," Koro-Sensei said slowly, "Nagisa, do you know how this happened?" To his utter shock, Nagisa didn't even answer him. He just snuggled deeper into Sugino's shoulder, tightening the hold his arms had around his neck as the black haired boy continued to stroke his head, and instead let out soft contented meows, the sound a quiet rumbling from his throat that elicited more cooing from his audience. "Umm, Nagisa?"

"Oh, sir," Nagisa seemed to snap out of whatever it was he was in and turned to look at their target, "I'm so sorry, I lost track of time. I didn't disrupt the lesson did I?"

"Ughh, do we really have to have lessons today?" Nakamura groaned, "I wanna play with Nagikitty."

('Nagikitty?' Nagisa mouthed to Sugino, who shook his head.)

"Oh, please, Sir," Kurahashi clasped her hands in front of her and looked at him with big pleading eyes, "we promise we'll catch up later just let us have this.”

“Guys we still need to study,” Nagisa argued, though he made no move to get away from Sugino’s lap.

“Not now, Nagisa. We’ll never get this opportunity again,” Nakamura patted his head, making him let out a satisfied hum and his tail sway faster from side to side, nearly hitting a few students in the face.

“I suppose that I could allow a break from studies today due to this unforeseen circumstance,” Koro-Sensei relented, “but we will continue with class tomorrow, whether any student undergoes an animal transformation or not.”

….

“Can we keep him?” Toka asked as she continued to hug Nagisa.

Hayami, who was petting his head, nodded, “I wouldn’t mind him staying like this.”

“Guys, he’s not a pet,” Kataoka said, “and he has to go home sometime today.”

“Noooo,” Toka whined and hugged him tighter.

“Karma,” Nagisa beamed, wrapping his arms around the redhead’s neck. Karma’s own arms immediately enveloped the shorter boy as said shorter boy curled up in his lap, burying his face into the curve of the redhead’s neck.

“You let everyone else hug you instead of me,” Karma didn’t pout no matter what anyone else said.

“Only cause they wanted to,” Nagisa said, rubbing his cheek against Karma’s neck, “I like hugs.”

“Your tails moving really fast right now,” Karma observed with amusement as he carded his fingers through Nagisa’s hair, “you must be really happy, huh?”

“‘Course I am,” he whispered in response, “that’s cause you’re my boyfriend and I love you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah-huh, you’re the best,” Nagisa sighed, closing his eyes.

“Maybe we should keep you like this,” Karma mused, “I’m definitely not complaining. Well, apart from everyone else chasing after you. Guess the only option is to lock you up in my house.”

“I’ll escape,” Nagisa said, eyes still closed.

“But I thought that you loved me.”

“Hey, Nagisa,” Hara called. Nagisa stopped nuzzling Karma’s neck and looked at her with wide eyes.

Ignoring Karma’s half-pout-half-glare at the loss of contact, he asked, “yeah, Hara? What is it?”

With a grin, she held up a ball of yarn and threw it in his direction. Nagisa gasped, his pupils dilating at the sight of the ball, and lunged towards it, grabbing it with both of his hands and landing on the floor.

“Nagisa, are you okay?” Yada asked, her tone filled with worry when she saw his body collide with the wooden flooring. Nagisa paid her no mind as he was completely focused with the contents of his hands. He rolled himself upwards into a sitting position with his legs criss-crossed and began to roll the wool back and forth on the ground in front of him, head moving in tandem with every movement made by the ball and tail swinging leisurely, completely unaware of the eyes that were watching him.

“Oh my god,” Kayano squealed, voice high pitched and body shaking at a frequency that could shatter glass, “oh my god, this is the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen in like ever.”

Nakamura hummed from behind her phone’s camera, “I get you girl, I so get you.”

“I’ve taken so many pictures today,” Okano sighed as she scrolled through her camera roll, “I think I’m gonna run out of storage soon.”

“Send me some, Okano,” Kurahashi said, “my battery’s low.”

“Uh, Maehara,” Mimura raised an eyebrow at the golden haired boy, “why are you recording this?”

Maehara shrugged, “Why don’t you ask that question to the octopus with the ten GoPros outside.”

#assassination classroom #Nagisa Shiota #Shiota Nagisa #My writing

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bungou-stray-dingus · 5 years ago

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hey there, so like this is my first time requesting but your writing is sooo good i can't help myself. if you could, could you make a scenario for dazai and chuuya where his s/o is a non-ability who is very bubbly and innocent but they find out she has a deadly skill that could almost pass as an ability. im sorry if you're busy, you dont have to write this if you dont want to. I LOVE YOUR WRITING SO MUCH💕💕

OH IM GONNA WRITE IT BECAUSE I THOUGHT OF THE FUNNIEST BUT ALSO CUTEST THING OH YEAH ITS GETTING WROTE

THANKS BOOBOO ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Dazai

You were like an angel, too pure for this world. Your heart was filled with nothing but good. You donated to charity, helped out in elementary schools during the week and volunteered at children’s hospitals, homeless shelters, and animal shelters during the weekend.

He looked at you as if you were a saint. Whenever you would come home from volunteering he’d bow down at your feet. “My goddess has returned! I’m not worthy!” You’d laugh at his dramatics, grabbing his hand and helping him off the floor.

“Shush.” You’d say before pecking a kiss on his lips.

When you weren’t out helping in the community, you were at home doing what you could to help out without being there. You took up knitting, and Dazai joked about it often. He even went as far as to buy a rocking chair with extra cushion for you to sit in while you would work. “You’re the cutest grandma, you know that?” He’d say, and you’d throw your ball of yarn at him.

“Shut up, and bring me my yarn back.” He’d re-wind the yarn that came undone when you threw it as he walked the ball back to where you sat.

He poked fun at it, but he would often sit on the floor next to your rocking chair, becoming entrances as he watched your hands carefully wrap the yarn around the needle and thread it through the loops. He didn’t understand how you did it, but everything you made came out perfectly, especially the tiny hats for newborn babies with matching booties, and sweaters for dogs and cats in the shelters for when it got cold. You had even made blankets for the people at the homeless shelters, making sure to use the softest yarn that would also be warm.

Sometimes he would come with you to the hospitals or the homeless shelters when he wasn’t working. He never went to the animal shelter though, he didn’t want to be anywhere where dogs were.

When he would go to the hospitals with you he would spend hours making over the babies and how cute they were in the new hats and booties you had made for them.

“Y/N, is it illegal to take a baby from the hospital?” He would ask you on the way back home and you’d just stare at him.

“You’re a cop, I hope you’re joking.”

“Yeah, obviously I’m joking but... so it’s illegal?”

You were used to people not liking your boyfriend. He had helped bring a lot of people to justice in his line of work. You weren’t expecting people to hate you though. Dazai had worked hard to make sure that anyone from opposing agencies or enemies didn’t know that you and him were dating. In the beginning he was always worried and on edge that something bad may happen to you just for being associated with him, but it’s been a year and a half now and nobody had tried to hurt you or kill you.

That’s why you were less than serious when the door got kicked open and three men stormed in, all of them wielding knives. It had to be some kind of weird prank by Dazai, or maybe even some strange act that would set the stage for a new fantasy kink.

“I’m kind of busy right now, can you come back in an hour?” You said calmly, holding up the knitting needles to show them that you were occupied.

“We don’t give a damn. You’re coming with us.” One of the men said, you didn’t know what he looked like, all of them had black masks on.

“Eh, I don’t think I am.” You shrugged, not even looking up from the new sweater you were making.

They were getting angry, the three men stomped over to where you were sitting in the rocking chair. One of them held his knife to your throat, and you finally realized that they weren’t joking, and Dazai wasn’t in on it. “I think you are. That bumbling boyfriend of yours needs to know. Mess with us and we mess with him. Now let’s go.” He pressed the knife deeper and your fight or flight instinct kicked in. You wouldn’t be able to outrun the three of them, so you had to fight.

You gripped the needles tighter, bringing your arm up to jab it into the mans neck. He staggered back and fell to the floor against the wall, trying to pull the needle out.

“What the fuck!?” One of the other men shouted, as the third one started sprinting towards you. You quickly grabbed the knife that the first man had dropped, preparing yourself to stab the man before he could get to you. As soon as he got close enough you forcefully pushed the knife into the mans stomach. He screamed as you twisted it, making him drop to his knees, blood dripping out of his mouth from the damage you had caused.

The final man stood there, assessing the scene, his hands in the air. He had already dropped his knife.

“Get the fuck out of my house.” Your voice was low, you were out of breath. You watched him run out your door, then took the time to finally realize what you had done. “Oh my god. Oh... oh my god....” You swallowed back the bile that was rising up your throat. You had killed two people, you had single handedly taken out two grown men. You were a murderer.

With sweaty hands and shaking fingers you dialed Dazai’s number, praying that he’d actually answer.

“Hey swee-“

“You need to come home, I need your help. Please hurry and come home.” Your voice was as shaky as your hands were.

“I’m coming.” His voice wasn’t as cheery as when he first picked up. Obviously his first thought was that you were being attacked or someone was trying to break in. He wasn’t expecting the grisly scene he walked into.

He examined both guys, confirming they were dead, and you couldn’t really understand why he was smiling the entire time he was making his mental report. You couldn’t see anything good about having two dead men in your apartment.

“You did this? Yourself?” He finally looked up to you while poking the knitting needle protruding from the mans neck.

“I was scared! I didn’t know what else to do! I didn’t mean it.” He watched you try to explain yourself. He tried to imagine what was going through the men’s brains when his adorable girlfriend, wearing a skirt with knee high socks and buckle shoes started fighting back, especially with knitting needles. He couldn’t help but laugh. “Why are you laughing!?”

“You’re just so... sexy. You got a little blood on your shirt too.” He got up off the floor and surprised you by sweeping you off your feet as you tried to find the blood stain he was talking about. “Don’t worry, I’ll get that shirt off you soon.”

Chuuya

If he could describe you as a color, it would be yellow. You were bright, fun, happy, you always found a way to put a smile on his face, even when he had the worst day. It was as if a ray of sun took form and for some reason decided that he was the one who deserved it.

Your spontaneous adventures, even if it was just to the park always kept things exciting. He would stand back and watch as you ran over to anyone with a dog, sitting on the ground in front of the furry animal as you looked up and conversed with the owner about the breed and how cute the dog was. He would hear about it for the rest of the day, your hands moving freely through the air as you described the dog, even though he was right there and seen it as well, he would smile and nod. You always found something to be excited about, even on days when it would rain and you both were stuck in the house you would find some way to make him forget about the dreariness of the outside world. Building pillow forts and watching movies as you both attempted to toss popcorn into each others mouths. You had a stash of board games for days like that, and you would let him pick which one he wanted to play. It was the simple things that he enjoyed.

Waking up to the sound of music drifting into the bedroom from the kitchen, your spot on the bed empty. He would groggily walk into the kitchen to find you in front of the stove, the smell of eggs and bacon and pancakes filled the room, but that wasn’t the best part. You would be wearing one of his button up shirts, and only that. Your hips would sway to the rhythm of the song and he’d just stand and watch, unable to fight the smile that would form on his lips and the feeling of pride as he watched you, knowing that you were his.

Other days he’d come home from work while you were straightening up, singing into the broomstick handle as if no one was watching and the living room was your stage. He’d shrug out of his coat, kick his shoes off and slide across the floor while playing the air guitar. You always put a smile on his face, everything you did was his favorite thing. He could never pick one particular thing that you did that made him happy, because honestly you in general made him happy.

Even when you weren’t being goofy, which was rare, but it did happen, he would take the time to sit back and appreciate your beauty. When you would curl up on the couch and drift off to sleep and he’d come home and find you there, he would just marvel at how perfect you were in that innocent state.

That’s why he did everything he could to keep you safe, make sure you were protected everywhere you went. Sure, it was kind of ridiculous to have the black lizards guarding every store you went into, but it was a precaution that needed to be taken. As long as his little drop of sun was safe he could relax.

The two of you were on your way to the restaurant, it was date night. You looked flawless, as usual, and Chuuya couldn’t wait to show you off. His phone started ringing and you picked it up for him so that he could keep one hand on the wheel and the other on your thigh as he drove.

“Hi Mori!” You greeted him excitedly, and although he didn’t understand how Chuuya ended up with you, he couldn’t help but smile at the sound of your voice. You seemed to have that effect on anyone you came into contact with. “Will do! Thanks Mori! Buh-bye.” You shut the phone and put it back into the center console. Chuuya looked over to you, his eyes asking the question. “There’s some problem in an alley around the corner. He said it should be quick and you can handle it and get back to our date.”

He groaned but took the sharp turn that would lead to the alley in question. He saw the cloaked figure, like they were waiting for him. “Alright, this’ll be quick. Stay in the car.” He said, kissing your cheek before hopping out of the car.

You stared out the window, watching him stride into the alley. It sent a shot of electric up your legs, seeing him so dominant in situations like this. That was your man, and you couldn’t be prouder. You smiled as you watched him deliver kicks and punches to the figure in the alley, silently rooting for him.

Then you saw more figures coming from nowhere it seemed. There were at least six of them, and you started worrying. He would get hurt if he tried to fight all of them by himself, and you couldn’t have that. It would take too long to call someone and have them come out and help. Your mind raced as you tried to think of something to do, then you remembered the pistol that he had in the glove box. You pulled it out, checking to see if it had ammo, and then hopped out of the car.

“Hey, assholes!” You called, and everyone stopped to look at you. You cocked the gun and aimed it at them. Your hands didn’t shake, and you eyed up your target and pulled the trigger. Headshot.

The figures split up, some advancing towards you while the rest went after Chuuya. You fired the gun quickly, they all dropped like flies. Each one being hit exactly where you aimed. Headshots, chest shots, you even managed to get one in the throat which even you were shocked about. You moved further into the alley, pressing the barrel of the pistol against the head of the one who was about to attack Chuuya while he was fighting the first figure. “Not today, pal.” You said menacingly, pulling the trigger. Blood and bits of flesh and brain tissue splattered onto your face and you dropped the gun to the ground.

Chuuya finished with the final figure and ran over to where you stood. You were frozen, the warmth of the blood against your face made you want to vomit. “Are you okay?” He asked, grabbing your arms and examining them, then moving to the rest of your body to make sure there was no damage done. The amount of blood on you worried him, but once he realized that you were okay, he sighed with relief.

“I need a shower and and and and.... oh my god this is gross.” You couldn’t keep your hands from shaking as you tried to wipe the blood off your face.

“I mean, it’s pretty gross, but god damn, my bad ass little princess. Who would have thought?” His sense of pride sky rocketed.

After you both returned to the penthouse, the date was completely forgotten about at this point, and you both showered together. He rubbed your shoulders as the water fell over both of your bodies. The water was stained with red as you washed the blood from your face and when the shower was over you wrapped the towel around yourself and laid in the bed.

“You took the gun and you were like ‘bang bang bang’ and I was like ‘oh my god!’ And you shot all of them! How did you learn to do that?!” He was pacing the room in his boxers as he described the whole situation again, his feet padded against the floor leaving water footprints on the hard wood.

“I don’t know, I just didn’t want you to get hurt, so I shot them.” You said it nonchalantly, rolling to your side and propping yourself up on your elbow. “Seems like you enjoyed it.” You joked and he whipped around to look at you. The look in his eyes, you knew the look well.

“Oh I enjoyed. I don’t think you know how much I enjoyed it.” His voice was low and husky.

“You can tell me.”

He got into the bed and situated himself over top of you, holding himself up with one arm while the other pulled open the towel that you had wrapped around yourself. “I think I’d rather show you.”

#bungo stray dogs #bungou stray dogs x reader #bsd x reader #bsd request #bsd imagines #bsd headcanons #bsd scenarios #nakahara chuuya #chuuya nakahara #chuuya imagines #chuuya scenarios #chuuya headcanons #dazai osamu #osamu dazai #dazai scenarios #dazai imagines #dazai headcanons

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