#Oval shaped stone earrings

[avegemstones]

[tiarascrowns]

Mid-Mentury Aquamarine Suite

"Aqua parure including a necklace, 2 pairs of earrings, a bracelet, a ring and a pair of clips by Seaman Schepps in original fitted box."

- 1st Dibs

"Pat Saling is well-known for her signed pieces from Art Deco through mid-century. This Seaman Schepps aquamarine suite from the 1950s is a true find for collectors who prefer retro and vintage pieces to those of the Georgian and Victorian time periods. The aquamarines are of the finest quality – deep and clear, conjuring up sea-blue waters. The pieces in the suite combine both aquamarine beads and faceted small and large pear-shaped stones in a warm gold setting, with various earring and pendant options and a central necklace with an oval-set aquamarine and gold clasp."

- The Jewellery Editor

[the-jewel-catalogue]

Green Tourmaline and Amethyst Oval Drops

Kate + Kiki’s

Kate Middleton owns a pair of drop earrings by Kiki McDonough with Green Tourmaline and Green Amethyst Stones. The then Duchess first debuted the green gemstone earrings during the 2016 tour of India.

At the time, Kiki McDonough told People magazine that the earrings were made-to-order for Kate to celebrate Princess Charlotte’s birth. (McDonough wouldn’t confirm who purchased the earrings, naturally.)

The pretty green earrings feature oval-shaped green amethysts suspended from round green tourmalines, both surrounded by sparkling diamonds. The gemstones are set in 18ct yellow gold.

[shaiprsly]

𝐂𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐁𝐲 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 - PT.2

𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 : Elvis Presley x Fem!Reader

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 : 1972. Fame, wealth, and the haunting allure of Elvis Presley—everything Y/N could ever want, except the one thing that really matters: a simple, normal life. Hired as the nanny for Lisa Marie Presley, Y/N is thrown into the heart of the Presley world, where she quickly becomes more than just a caretaker for Elvis's daughter. As Priscilla remains distant, Y/N steps in, offering Lisa Marie the affection and attention she craves. But it’s Elvis, cold and aloof at first, who soon becomes captivated by her. With 15 years between them, Elvis begins to blur the lines between professional and personal, showering Y/N with gifts and flirting dangerously. He may be married, but that doesn't stop him from wanting Y/N. Torn between duty and desire, Y/N must face the growing tension, knowing that giving in could shatter everything she’s worked for. Will she resist the King of Rock and Roll, or will his love prove impossible to escape?

𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬/𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 : Cussing, cheating, age gap (Elvis is 37, reader is 22), emotional manipulation. I guess that all !!

𝐀/𝐍 : Haii !! So here's part 2 !! This chapter is about Lisa Marie and y/n, so it's a bit short, but don't worry guys I'm already writing parts 3&4 and part 3 will be out in a few hours !! Got a lil carried away with the outfit description loll, feel free to imagine anything else if you don't like it!! Don't even know if that's what ppl were wearing in the 70s but I liked the idea so 🫦

The sun rises early, casting a soft glow through the thin curtains of your small apartment. The sound of your alarm clock pulls you from a restless sleep, and you groggily reach out to silence the sharp beeping. It’s only your second day working at Graceland, but the weight of yesterday lingers heavily on your chest.

You sit up slowly, running a hand through your hair as you try to shake off the remnants of a troubled night. Elvis’s cold demeanor plays on repeat in your mind, the harshness of his words stinging more than you’d like to admit. There’s a flicker of doubt—should you even go back today?

But you made a commitment, and Lisa Marie needs you. That thought alone is enough to push you out of bed.

You shuffle to the bathroom, splashing cold water on your face in an attempt to wake up. Staring at your reflection in the mirror, you take a deep breath. You’ve got this. Just focus on Lisa Marie. Forget about him.

Dressing is a simple task, you pull on a long, navy skirt that falls to your ankles, its delicate lace detailing near the hem giving it a touch of femininity. The skirt fits comfortably around your waist, secured with a wide belt featuring a large oval buckle. Your top is an off-white, long-sleeved blouse with a slightly gathered, ruched effect across the chest. The sleeves taper at the wrists, and the blouse ties in the middle, giving it that perfect, easygoing style.

You slip into a pair of brown leather flats, practical but still cute for everyday wear. You pick up a brown velvet handbag with floral embroidery, the soft material and warm tones making it feel earthy and comfortable. You add a bit of personality with a gold necklace featuring a fairy-shaped locket that sits delicately around your neck. Your earrings are small, purple flowers made of gemstone, and you finish the look with a matching ring, the purple stones giving your outfit just the right pop of color, making it both stylish and in tune with the fashion of the time.

Your makeup is another thing though. You start with a light, dewy foundation to even out your skin tone, keeping it fresh and natural. You apply a light dusting of translucent powder to set everything in place, but you keep the overall finish soft and glowing.

For your eyes, you sweep a light blue eyeshadow across your lids, just enough to bring out a subtle pop of color without overwhelming the look. A touch of shimmer on the inner corners brightens your eyes, adding a little sparkle. You keep the mascara soft, giving your lashes a natural, defined look without making them too dramatic. A thin line of eyeliner along the upper lash line adds a bit of definition, but it’s kept delicate to maintain the fresh vibe.

Your eyebrows are lightly filled in, following their natural shape, to keep them soft and well-groomed.

On your cheeks, you apply a light peachy blush to the apples of your cheeks, giving a soft, natural flush. For your lips, you choose a simple gloss, just a hint of shining to complement the overall fresh and natural look.

After you finish getting yourself ready, you take a moment to look over your reflection in the mirror. Everything feels just right—your soft, natural makeup and the outfit you chose blend together perfectly. You smile to yourself, feeling confident and ready for the day, completely forgetting the events of yesterday.

You turn your head toward the clock on the wall of your bedroom. It's 8:15 Am.

You gasp softly, realizing the time. You should’ve left by now.

Oh no, you realize, a rush of panic setting in. You should’ve left by now. Quickly, you spritz on a little perfume, the sweet scent filling the air as you grab your car and apartment keys from the small dish on the dresser.

You rush toward the door, heart picking up speed. There’s no time to waste. You’ve got to get to Graceland, and fast.

____

The drive to Graceland feels longer than it did yesterday. Your hands grip the steering wheel tightly, your mind racing with what-ifs. What if Elvis is there again? What if he says something worse today? You shake your head, forcing yourself to focus on the road.

When you arrive at the gates of Graceland, you’re greeted by a familiar sight—the grand mansion standing tall, its pristine white columns glinting in the morning sun. You park your car and make your way to the front door, clutching your bag nervously.

The housekeeper lets you in with a warm smile, immediately easing some of your tension. “Morning, um.. Y/N right? Mr. and Mrs. Presley left early today, so it’s just you and Lisa Marie. She’s been asking for you since she woke up.”

Her words bring a small smile to your face. At least someone is happy to see you.

You find Lisa Marie in the living room, her tiny frame curled up on the couch with a stuffed animal in her lap. The moment she sees you, her face lights up.

"Y/N!" she exclaims, her face lighting up with excitement. She stops in front of you, her big eyes scanning you up and down with admiration.

She tilts her head slightly and grins, "You so pweety, Y/N! You look wike a doll!" she says with a giggle, reaching out to touch your skirt gently, as if she’s fascinated by how perfect you look.

You smile, kneeling down to her level, your heart swelling at her sweetness. "Thank you, sweetie," you say softly. "You’re so cute too."

Lisa Marie giggles and hugs you tightly, looking up at you with a wide, innocent grin. "You pwetty like my doll!" She points to one of her dolls on the nearby shelf, its porcelain face staring back at you. "She wike you!"

Her excitement makes you smile even more as you brush a lock of hair from her face, feeling her small hand still gripping your leg tightly. "You’re too sweet," you say, standing up and gently pulling her into your arms. "You had breakfast yet ?"

She shakes her head, her curls bouncing. “Not yet. Can we have pancakes? Pwease?”

You laugh softly. “Let’s see what we can do.”

In the kitchen, you find everything you need to make pancakes. Lisa Marie insists on helping, standing on a stool beside you as she stirs the batter. She chatters away about her favorite cartoons, her tiny voice filling the quiet space.

“Yesterday, after you left,” she says suddenly, her tone changing, “Daddy was really loud. He scawed me. Why was he yelling?”

You pause, the spatula in your hand hovering over the griddle. Your heart sinks at her words. “He was upset,” you say gently, trying to keep your voice calm. “But it wasn’t your fault, Lisa. Sometimes grown-ups just have a hard time with their feelings.”

She looks up at you, her big eyes filled with worry. “He broke stuff in the kitchen. I don’t wike it when he’s mad.”

You kneel down to her level, taking her small hands in yours. “I know, sweetheart. But remember, your daddy loves you so much. He doesn’t want to scare you. And if you ever feel scared, you can always come to me, okay?”

She nods slowly, her grip on your hands tightening. “Okay.”

You and Lisa Marie sit at the table, pancakes in front of you both. She takes a big bite, syrup dripping down her chin, and giggles.

“Yummy! Yummy, Y/N!” she exclaims, grinning with her mouth full.

You laugh, but then her little face drops. She pokes at her pancake, her eyes going sad, and she starts to fidget with the fork.

“Y/N?” she asks, her voice quiet.

You look at her, concerned. “Yeah, baby?”

Lisa Marie’s bottom lip sticks out a little, and she says in a small voice, “Why mommy no love me?”

You blink, surprised by the question. “What do you mean, sweetie?”

She pushes her pancakes around, looking down at them. “She no play wif me. She go ‘way... I sad,” she says, her words soft, as if they weigh too much for her to say.

Your heart aches seeing how hurt she looks. You reach out and gently pat her hand. “Oh, sweetie, your mommy loves you so much. She’s just busy sometimes. It doesn’t mean she doesn’t love you.”

Lisa Marie shakes her head, her little face scrunched in confusion. “She no play with me... She go bye-bye,” she repeats, looking so sad. “I... I sad.”

You smile softly, wiping a tear from her cheek. “I know, baby. But your mommy loves you, okay? She loves you so much, even when she has to go.”

Lisa Marie looks at you, still unsure. “You play wif me, Y/N?” she asks, her voice hopeful but still a little shaky.

You nod, smiling warmly at her. “Of course, sweetie. I’ll play with you. I’ll always play with you.”

Her face lights up, and she grabs your hand, holding it tight. “Always?”

“Always,” you say, squeezing her hand. “I’m always here for you.”

She smiles and giggles, clearly feeling a little better now. “Okay, Y/N! You play wif me after pancakes!”

After breakfast, Lisa Marie eagerly jumps up from the table, her little feet barely touching the ground as she races to the living room.

“Come on, Y/N! Let’s play!” she calls, her voice full of energy.

You follow her, chuckling as she grabs her favorite doll and starts to set up a little scene on the floor. “You gonna be mommy and I gonna be baby!” she declares, holding up the doll with a big smile.

You sit beside her, your heart swelling with affection as she hands you the doll. “Okay, I’m the mommy,” you say, smiling down at her.

Lisa Marie giggles. “You take care of me, Mommy. Lunch!” she says, her voice full of excitement.

“Alright, baby,” you say in your best mommy voice, pretending to set the doll down in a little pretend play kitchen. “Here’s your lunch,” you say, handing her a toy plate.

“Yay! Thank you, Mommy!” Lisa Marie says, her little hands eagerly taking the pretend food. She starts making little munching noises, giggling as she plays along.

You both continue playing for a while, switching roles and making up silly little scenarios. Lisa Marie’s laughter fills the room, and it’s clear she’s completely forgotten her earlier sadness. For a moment, everything feels right, and you can’t help but feel thankful for this small, precious moment with her.

As the game continues, Lisa Marie eventually looks up at you, her eyes sparkling with joy. “You the best mommy ever, I so happy you here!” she says, her little voice sincere.

You smile softly, brushing a lock of hair away from her face. “I’m glad I’m here too, sweetie,” you say, your heart full as you continue playing together, the bond between you growing stronger.

____

The rest of the day at Graceland passes peacefully. You and Lisa Marie spend hours playing with her dolls, building castles out of blocks, and pretending to have a royal tea party. Every now and then, her high-pitched giggles echo through the large house, her joy contagious.

“You be da queen, Y/N!” Lisa Marie says, holding up a plastic crown and carefully placing it on your head. “And I be da princess, ‘kay? We gonna have da biggest tea pawty ever!”

Smiling, you adjust the crown on your head and nod. “Of course, Your Highness,” you say, playing along. “What would you like to drink, Princess?”

“Um…” She taps her chin dramatically, thinking hard. “Chocolate milk! But in a fancy cup!”

You laugh softly, pouring pretend tea into tiny plastic cups as Lisa Marie babbles on about all the fun things she wants to do. Her energy never seems to waver, even as the hours tick by.

By the time dinner rolls around, you make her chicken nuggets and sweet potato fries —her favorite meal—because it’s what she requested. Sitting at the table, she swings her legs happily as she eats. “Y/N, dis da best chicken nuggets eva!” she declares with a mouth full of syrup.

“Thank you, sweetheart,” you say, smiling at her. “I’m glad you like them.”

As the clock nears 8 PM, you start tidying up, expecting the Presleys to return soon. Lisa Marie clings to your side, her small hand tugging at your arm. “Do I go to bed soon?” she asks, pouting slightly.

“Once your parents get home, it’ll be bedtime,” you say gently, brushing a strand of hair from her face.

But 8 PM comes and goes, and by 9 PM, you’re starting to wonder if something happened. Your question is answered when the phone rings, and you pick it up to hear Priscilla’s voice on the other end.

“Y/N, I’m so sorry to call you so late,” Priscilla says, sounding rushed. “We’ve been invited to a wedding, and it’s unexpected. Would you mind staying the night with Lisa Marie? I’ll pay you extra for this inconvenience.”

You glance over at Lisa Marie, who’s happily playing with her dolls on the carpet. “Of course, Mrs. Presley,” you reply. “I don’t mind at all.”

“Thank you so much, Y/N,” she says gratefully before hanging up.

When you tell Lisa Marie the news, her face lights up with excitement. “Yay! You gonna stay wif me all night?” she asks, jumping up to hug you tightly.

“That’s right,” you say with a smile. “But it also means you need to go to bed soon, okay?”

____

The clock on the wall reads 10:15 PM, the late hour beginning to show on Lisa Marie’s face as she struggles to keep her eyes open. She clings to your hand as you sit beside her hamburger bed, her small frame curled up under the soft pink covers.

“Y/N,” she murmurs sleepily, her thumb brushing the edge of the blanket.

“Yes, sweetheart?” you reply softly, brushing her blonde curls away from her face.

Her big brown eyes peer up at you, glinting with childlike curiosity even through her exhaustion. “you sing somethin’ to me? Like a pwetty song?”

The request tugs at your heart. How could you say no to her? Smiling gently, you nod. “Of course, darlin’. Close your eyes, and I’ll sing you to sleep.”

Lisa Marie’s little lips curve into a satisfied smile as she shifts, snuggling deeper into her pillow. You take a deep breath, deciding on a song you remember your mother singing to you when you were a child.

“Emmenez-moi au bout de la terre…” you begin, your voice soft and melodic, the words flowing smoothly.

Lisa Marie’s eyelids flutter as she listens, the soothing melody wrapping around her like a warm embrace. You keep singing, the notes filling the quiet room, your voice carrying an almost hypnotic tenderness.

You glance down at her and see that her breathing has slowed, her small chest rising and falling in a peaceful rhythm. A wave of relief washes over you, but you don’t stop singing, letting the lullaby linger a little longer, just to be sure.

As you reach the final lines of the song, your voice grows softer, barely more than a whisper now. “Emmenez-moi au bout de la terre… Emmenez-moi au pays des merveilles…”

The room is still, the only sound the faint hum of the night outside. You feel your own exhaustion creeping in as you sit there, your head tilting slightly to rest against the edge of the bed. The day has been long, and the comfort of the moment lulls you into a haze of sleep.

Before you realize it, your eyes close, and your body relaxes against the soft bed. Lisa Marie’s tiny hand is still in yours, her warmth anchoring you even as you drift off. The room grows quieter, the two of you enveloped in a shared tranquility.

To be continued...

Tags : @pxpresley 🤍

[turtledovenycx]

𝐆𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐬𝐞 𝐎𝐟 𝐔𝐬 (𝐇.𝐇𝐉)

🎧 Glimpse of Us - Joji

"The painting thus shifted into a window, with the glimpse of the two of you, hair white as a canvas sitting on the bench during a Sakura festival"

𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: 𝐒𝐅𝐖

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐟𝐞𝐦!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐱 𝐇𝐲𝐮𝐧𝐣𝐢𝐧

𝐭𝐚𝐠: 𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐬𝐭, 𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐲

𝐖.𝐂 𝟑.𝟐𝐤

ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢꜱ ɴᴏɴᴇ

_

“An art museum?” you asked straightening the wrinkles on your dress as you got out of the car. “You’ll see,” Hyunjin reassured next to you holding onto your purse. He was wearing a dashing black suit embroidered with small stones and chains not too flashy with black slacks. The buttons of his coat are done with no shirt underneath. The cut was low enough to showcase the smooth plains of his chest. His hair was done neatly to add to his already sexy aura. 

“If someone asks me questions I’m just gonna say it's contemporary,” you said as he handed the purse to you his chuckle sending a shiver through you. Your boyfriend had brought you to an extravagant collector’s event. It was lavish the owner spared no expense. It was at the collectors' hall, built like a church with finely detailed architecture. Statues of angels sat atop the high pillars and painted glass in the shape of ovals at the apex of the arches. The hall was decorated in almost heavenly aesthetics, the people dressed and adorned in expensive garments and perfumes and you fit right into the crowd. Wearing a beautiful dress with a jewel corset on you draws attention to your waist and breast. Hair done and pulled up a rich-looking hair clip inserted in your hair. 

“No one talks at this kind of function darling.” He reassured as he led you through the entrance, a hand on the small of your waist. You nodded at the well-dressed butler who welcomed you with a courtesy. The hallway led to a big drawing room filled with people talking in hushed whispers. The click of heels and boots rang as people walked and servers holding trays of champagne slithered through the crowd gracefully. Hyunjin grabbed two flutes and gave one to you, you sipped the fizzy sweet liquid and it tickled your throat as it went down. 

“Do you know anyone here?” you asked Hyunjin who appeared to be searching for someone in the crowd. “Yeah some people, the person who invited us,” he explained. The guests seemed to know each other, engaging in conversations easily. “So what’s my surprise?” you asked turning to him. The man had promised a surprise for you earlier that night.

“You will see soon. I promise.” He said holding your plam and placing a kiss on it like some prince from the 80’s. He was adoring the soft blush on your cheek when his eyes saw someone approaching the two of you. You turned to see a man in his thirties smile bright and arms open. 

“Hyunjin. You made it such a pleasure.” the man said hugging your boyfriend and then holding his hands. “Pleasure is all mine,” Hyunjin said giving his hand a brief shake. 

“You’ve brought someone?” the man asked the duo turning towards you. 

“Yes, my girlfriend,” Hyunjin said placing an arm on your waist and bringing you close, 

“Love, meet Mr.Gyu, he collects and presents art in events like this.”

“Nice to meet you,” you say shaking Mr.Gyu’s hand. “Pleasure is all mine dear. I hope the two of you have a wonderful time,” he said the conversation shifted to the theme of the event and how 40% of the revenue is dedicated to building schools in third-world countries. A charity and arts organization. Being a social worker yourself you slipped easily into the conversation. The feedback of the mic interrupted the three of you. 

“Ladies and gentlemen.” a voice that aged well reached the corners of the room. You saw a man his head held high holding onto the mic. “Thank you for joining us this evening.”

“He is Richard Kim the owner of del a casa,” Hyunjin whispered into your ear as the two of you clapped. The man on stage appeared to be in his 50s, dressed well in expensive fabrics from head to toe. 

You learned from Hyunjin that he was famous for organizing collector’s events and auctions, his wife Minerva- you noticed a lady dressed in black standing at one side of the stage- beautiful as the goddess of wisdom herself.  She came from a reputable family was well-known for holding charity events and ran a law firm. She walked onto the stage waving like a queen and standing beside her husband. The mic was passed on and Minerva explained how the money collected today would be used to provide for people who were still underprivileged. The way she spoke, embedding each word into your mind, she captured the room with her presence. The speech ended with claps and the couple urged the guests to move forward into the presentation room. 

The presentation room’s floor was laid with a red carpet. Paintings lined the walls and precious artifacts, sculptures, and jewels were placed neatly in a pattern. You gasped at the ceilings, almost built like a cathedral with big chandeliers hanging at different heights, the room was lit in a dim glow almost like it did not want to disturb the artwork, it felt like stepping into an old book written by Shakespeare

. 

“Beautiful.” You registered Hyunjin’s voice, he looked ethereal in the warm lighting, the light bouncing off the chains on his coat making them almost shimmer. Hyunjin knew about your silent fascination with expensive events. Events that threw money into it like they were mere paper, events for people that were rarely seen in public but held a high position in society. The dresses, the gala, and the taste of the alcohol served there captivated you. You were not high maintenance quite the contrary actually, but functions like this were his way of fulfilling your quiet wishes and he was always grateful to his work and fans for it. And your way of feeling like a princess. His princess. 

The evening carried on. Hyunjin introduced you to a few of his friends Cleo, Andres, and Tae-hyung.

Cleo who had one of her sculptures in the front, an angel with his wings torn and resting in his hands, despite the anguish of his wings being ripped, his face portrayed calmness, like the one after a war. It held a lot of meaning and you ranted to Hyunjin on what it meant. Andres was a painter in the early stage of his fame and Tae-hyung was a famous collector’s son. Hyunjin knew them from events like these. The crowd diluted into the night and finally, Hyunjin and you were alone admiring the artwork and talking about hidden meanings and perspectives. 

“Are you ready for your surprise?” he whispered into your ear as you were looking at a funny-looking painting of an old man who appears to have lost his shoe. “Wait.. this isn’t it. There’s more?” you ask still letting the feeling of all the luxury seep in.

Hyunjin led you into one of the many rooms with displays, this one on the farthest side. It was less crowded presumably the work of a new artist. 

There at the center of the room drawing all the attention was a beautiful painting hung on a big frame. The painting was of a street supposedly in Japan in April. The cherry blossom petals were so delicately painted as though if you touched it you could feel the smoothness. The street was covered in the previous fall almost making the whole of it a light pink. The painting was so real in all of the works you had seen today. It reminded you of the time when you were in Japan…. Wait?

You gasped turning around to find Hyunjin looking almost shy as he stared at your realisation... You had been on this exact street last summer with Hyunjin, it was an important milestone in your relationship. He had confessed his love for you on this very street during the Sakura festival, the moment so bittersweet because you had almost lost him because of his fame. 

 “What? Who?” you asked stepping closer to the painting, memories of that day rushing to you. You were about to leave Japan and Hyunjin that day. Both of you making hasty decisions because of the lack of quality time. The argument had started over Hyunjin never being there for you nor trying to acknowledge your efforts to be there for him, over time due to the strain of living in two different worlds -him being a famous star and you leading a quieter life- you had become almost invisible in the relationship. Exhausted and sad both of you had thrown hateful comments at each other until you packed your bags and left in the middle of the night. 

It was the night before the Sakura festival, the streets crowded in preparation as you walked away from the merriment wiping tears, This was it? The end? You couldn’t imagine not being with Hyunjin, not being able to love him, not seeing him, not waking up to him, Yes, you were deeply hurt at his ignorance of your efforts to be with him but you were at fault too. Hyunjin tried but the pressure he faced sometimes overwhelmed him, his need to be his best overpowered his worries and you in general. It was not his fault, you knew how much he had suffered during the awful hiatus he faced. Hyunjin after that developed an alter ego, a fear if you will of never giving a reason to be blamed again. 

But now it was too late, the words that left the two of you cut deep it was too late to turn back, your pride did not allow it no matter how much your soul cried for him. All flights were booked for the night and early morning the only available ones in the afternoon, you sat on a rickety bench and broke down.

Hyunjin was having a tough time accepting himself, he had gone to the hotel bar and was lightly buzzed before Seungmin joined him. The younger boy though appeared uninterested was wise for his age knocking sense into Hyunjin and urging him to run after you to fight for the two of you before it was too late. He loved you and if it came to his work or you, it was an easy choice. 

The blossoms covered the footpaths as Hyunjin found you on the bench hunched over sobbing, you looked up to see him, a moment of tension before the two of you sprinted to close the distance, hugging as tight as possible. He lifted you off the ground and twirled before placing you back. Apologies covered in kisses were shared, he kissed every inch of your face trying to ensure that you were real, you had not left! That night Hyunjin professed his love for you, he spoke words that were still branded on your heart, you told him how you could not even imagine a time when Hyunjin was not yours, that you would rather die. The two of you rarely slept that night talking through it, promising to always find each other during any rush, and making love. Pride and ego fell apart as the two of you became vulnerable to each other under the moon. It opened a new page for your relationship. A healthier more fun page. 

You had not noticed it at first glance but amidst the stark trees and blossoms painted was an old bench upon closer inspection you found two figures sitting on it, aged and staring away into the infinity. 

“That’s us,” Hyunjin whispered into your ear. At the bottom of the painting in calligraphic font was a capital H in white paint. 

“You made this?” you asked, the notion overwhelmed, no consumed your soul in the best way. It was a gift for you. Hyunjin painted the most painful yet the happiest night of your life. In front of you was the greatest symbol of his love for you. 

“How is it here?” you asked when Hyunjin gestured across the room your eyes followed. Mr.Gyu raised his glass of scotch towards the two of Hyunjin nodding in gratitude. 

“He introduced me to Kim who loved this particular and wanted to buy it from me.” 

You couldn’t help but feel a little sad at that. As much as you were proud of your insanely talented boyfriend this painting was a part of the two of you, selling it to a stranger who does not understand the inner meaning of it felt empty. 

“I can hear the gears shift from here baby.” Hyunjin teased you.

“No, sorry. It’s just… it is so beautiful Hyunnie. It’s so….”

“I know love, that’s why it will always be in our home.”

“What?” you asked. This was a big opportunity for Hyunjin, exhibiting his work could be his breakthrough as an artist, and the fact it was brought by someone famous. 

“No but…”

“I declined their offer, I made this for you. For us.”

“But..” you protested, he shushed you holding you closer.

“Don’t worry they liked my work that's why I was allowed to exhibit it tonight, I was offered to sign a contract with Mr.Gyu. I will have to paint 4 pieces in a year and sell it to him. NDA closure of course.”

“Oh my god Hyunjin!” you said hugging him and jumping around like a little girl. “I’m so proud of you!” you screamed but was shushed by others in the room. 

‘Sorry,’ you mouthed and bowed to everyone before turning to your beaming boyfriend. 

He stared at you with the same emotions from that day. All that was missing was the blossom petals around you but it was there, in the painting. 

The two of you turned to the painting again. 

“Where will we keep it?” he asked holding you from behind as the two of you stared at the piece. Nothing else in the exhibition excited you anymore not even the classy food or music, you just wanted to stay here in front of his painting in the arms of the man you love. 

“The drawing room?” he asked beaming with pride wanting everyone who walked into your home to see the love you two shared. 

“We can but how about our bedroom?” you asked

“The bedroom? People won't see it.” His hands held your waist turning you to face him. 

“We will see it though. Only us. Before we sleep, as soon as we wake up. When we are watching a movie, when you read your poems and I’m doing something else, when we have sex, when I am mad at you or you are mad at me and we are sulking, and it will just be one more reminder of why I cannot live without you… A reminder that you’re it for me…. I love you so much Hyunjin.” you say tearing up

“I think I like that better, I love you more princess. So so much more,” he said kissing you again just as the event was called to closing, the lights dimmed but the two of you did not move. Standing there kissing for as long as you could. 

And in that moment you knew, he will choose you over everything, over his fame, over his wealth, over his self. He will always choose you, and you will too. The two of you stuck together through it all the proof was right in front of you. It’s almost silly how an artwork can hold so much meaning but it did. Hyunjin was a man of many talents, loved by millions around the world. He had worked hard to earn everything he has now including you. You were truly the luckiest person in the whole world. You get to call him yours. 

There in front of the symbol of his love for you, you kissed him, kissed him so passionately with fervor because you knew you were gonna marry him someday. You were gonna have a family with him, fight more with him, laugh more, and grow old. Even when both of you become old and wrinkly, barely able to move around you know you will be fine as long as Hyunjin is there to hold your hand. The painting thus shifted into a window, with the glimpse of the two of you, hair white as a canvas sitting on the bench during a Sakura festival. It was a long way to go but you hoped it would be longer. 

_

“Here?” 

“A little to the left?” you asked stepping a few steps back to inspect. Hyunjin measures again before drilling a nail into the wall. 

“Now?” 

“Yes. Perfect. I’ll get it.” you giggled running into the foyer to grab the newly arrived painting.

After coming back home you and Hyunjin did not sleep till the wee hours of the morning. He sealed all his words with kisses on your body and you marked his milky skin in return. The painting had arrived as the two of you were enjoying breakfast. 

“Careful,” Hyunjin says holding onto your hip as your small frame attempts to lift the bigger piece. 

“Let me help,” he said offering to carry it, Kkami followed the two of you as you reminded Hyunjin you wanted to hang it. 

“Okay, up we go angel,” he said helping you onto the small stepping chair and handing you the painting. The nails were at the perfect spot, and you were able to hang it with ease. 

Kkami barked in celebration as the two of you clapped like dorks. Still standing on the chair you leaned back Hyunjin wrapping his arms around you. 

“It’s beautiful, you’re quite the artist Hwang,” you said yelping when he lifted you off and twirled before falling onto the bed laughing. 

“Thank you baby,” he said, shying away as you placed kiss after kiss on his face. The room filled with giggles.

It was almost noon once you guys finished vacuuming the wall dust from the floor and mopped the room for good measure. Kkami was lounging on the bed before running off as his lunch was served. The two of you sat on the bed admiring his work. 

“Have you thought about Mr.Gyu's offer?” you asked him, 

“I don’t know, I will be on tour soon. I will have to find time I also need to find a studio, It's a pretty big commitment I will have to spend a lot of time and with the new comeb-” he rambled on before quieting down, he was thinking alright just a lot of doubt in him.

“Baby it's okay I was just asking, it's your choice but I know if you accept it you will find a way to make it work. It's a big opportunity we don't have to rush to make a decision. Take some time to think it over. Just don’t regret whatever you choose. And whatever it is just know I'll be here okay?"

“Did I mention that I love you?” he asked kissing you, your lips breaking into a grin as he kissed you before carrying you out of the room. For lunch.

You glanced at the wall over his shoulder. The painting was big, it covered most of the space on the wall, and the shelf next to it seemed smaller than it should have been. Next to Hyunjin’s work sat his poetry books, sketchbooks, and other stuff. Also joining the organised mess was your novels, paperweight, and Jiniret. It was as if the room came in full circle. Words could not express how thankful you were for not leaving that night, for deciding to stay, for loving him. Yup, the blossoms were gonna stay with you for a long time just like this long-haired man you loved.

_

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐑𝐞𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢��𝐭𝐞𝐝

𝘋𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺, 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘺𝘤𝘹 ©

A/N: Hope you enjoy it, I tried to incorporate some art into it cause Hyunjin to me is an equal amount of idol and artist. He is just so talented and I hope he gets many opportunities to display his art. I might create an NSFW version not sure. I took my time on this one so please show it some love

_nyx.☽༊˚

[amywritesthings]

silver underground. / chapter one.

Pairing: Levi Ackerman x F!Reader (Attack on Titan / Shingeki no Kyojin)

Word Count: 2.8K

Summary: They say that, before all of this, you dedicated your heart to the Scout Regiment. They say that you're respected as a soldier, trusted as a comrade, and fiercely protected by a Captain. They tell you a lot of things. You remember none of it.

Warnings: Slow Burn, Hurt/Comfort, Memory Loss, Eventual Romance, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Flashbacks, Friends to Enemies to Lovers, Nonbinary Hange Zoe, Unhinged!Levi, Other Additional Tags to be Added As the Story Progresses

( Read on AO3 )

Next Chapter. / Masterlist.

ONE.

A guttural gasp.

Ugly, brutal, forced; it's the first sound you hear with your own two ears — and you're pretty sure it's coming from your mouth.

From your chest down to your belly, your lungs fill with a deep surprise as they wretch you from nothingness to this — choked airways, freezer-burnt skin, and a splitting headache. Your fingers twitch. Your toes curl. Limb by limb, you body returns to the land of the living. Blinding sunlight invades from all angles, forcing your waking eyes to water profusely at the corners.

Every cell in your body stretches thin in the primal fight for consciousness.

You inhale once more. A pained sound emits somewhere in the back of your throat.

Up.

Get up.

Your hands tremble at your sides, working up your elbows to your shoulders, but it takes another minute for your fingers to flex on command. Determined to fight, you press your open palms to soft, starchy surfaces and push —

It hurts like a bitch.

Then the blurriness of your weeping eyes sharpen, focus, on white — sheets, bandages, gowns. The walls morph from shapeless grays blotches in your peripheral to a stark contrast of sturdy stone.

(Where the hell are you?)

Shaking to oblivion, you finally — finally — sit up. The cot beneath you creaks with protest. Sweat beads along your hairline and onto your brow.

Then an oval-esque shape separates itself from the wall, freezing you in place.

Beyond your shaken breath is a voice, caught at the edge of a tongue.

“She’s—”

You and the shape — blink twice and it's a man in a doctor’s coat — stare at one another. He sports an expression of disbelief, providing little comfort in your state. Too drained to feel the fear rolling off of him, you only mirror his confusion.

Tightening his grip on the clipboard at his chest, the man clears his throat.

His voice cracks, high pitched and lacking assertion.

“Nurse, please alert Commander Erwin and Captain Levi immediately.”

Who?

“They will wish to know at once.”

Why?

“Right away, sir.”

Are you in a hospital?

Your voice doesn’t find you in time to ask the nurse as she hurriedly exits the room, closing the heavy oak door shut behind her. 

“James.”

You swing your attention to the doctor, expecting another nurse at his side, but no one else is here. It’s just you, this cot, and a nervous balding man in a deathly quiet room.

And he’s staring at you.

Birds chirp melodically through the open windows, singing of temporary peace.

“Miss James?”

You blink twice.

“Are you—” You pause, eyes widening at the demolition of your vocal chords. Razor blades cut your voice into tiny little pieces, startling you.

It’s like you haven’t spoken in years.

“Please, Lieutenant, do be careful,” the older man cautions softly, nearing with purposeful steps. The label of authority has you opening your mouth, but no sound emits. “It’s normal to feel disoriented after such a long passage of time.”

“A long pass—” 

You swallow heavily, brows knit in discomfort, before pressing both palms into the cot. Your limbs shake violently as you force yourself to sit taller. You push with the heels of your bare feet, digging them into the mattress to your back to the wall.

The doctor hurries to your side to help, hovering as your spotter.

This is ridiculous.

Why does everything hurt?

Why does everything feel new?

Teeth clenched, you drop the back of your head against the wall and breathe through your nose. The beads of sweat forming on your forehead drip down the sides of your face from exertion. “I don’t know what — you’re implying—”

“Lieutenant—”

“I’m not a Lieutenant,” you finally force between your teeth, strong and assertive.

The man at your side stops fidgeting, and you see his jaw drop at your confession.

Frozen.

Like you’ve said the worst thing he could have heard.

.

.

.

.

Of course these brats had to use up the rest of the good cleaning solution.

The next expedition is scheduled to depart in the next forty-eight hours. Levi Ackerman doesn’t have time to stalk down the new recruits to put the fear of God in them for raiding the shelves, so he makes due with what he has.

Diligently his fingers rub the corner of a rag into the crevices of his ODM gear, laser-focused on eliminating every streak. It’s about the only thing left on his personal agenda before the Scout Regiment load up the horses and supply carts.

The Captain only pauses when he can feel a set of eyes watching the crown of his head.

Waiting.

He hates when people don’t just come out and say what’s on their mind.

The ODM unit flips between his palms to start work on the opposite side.

“Are you going to say something?” he inquires, dripping with boredom.

“Depends: am I interrupting something important?”

His hands stop.

Without moving his head, Levi’s attention flickers high to meet the stern and somber gaze of Commander Erwin. 

“Extremely important,” Levi baits, monotone. “Clearly.”

Erwin hums in acceptance.

“Nurse Phillipa spoke with me,” Erwin starts like he's going somewhere with this, but the statement stops there.

Levi’s eyes roll right into the back of his head and back onto the nearly-spotless gear.

“I’m sure it was grating as always.”

Maybe one day the worried wart would retire and return to the stables before she keels over while treating the next dumbass that gets hurt.

Wait.

A second too late, Levi realizes his sarcasm is not returned. No. Erwin says nothing at all, allowing him to connect the dots on his own. He raises his chin this time to look at the Commander, really look at him, before the slight knit in his brow dissipates.

Wordless in confirmation, Erwin nods once.

The cleaning cloth drops clear from Levi’s hand when he shoots up from the bench.

“When?” Levi demands, but it’s a loaded trick question.

(When did she wake up? When did you find out? When should I — should we — see her?)

There is something Erwin’s not saying right away, too.

“Twenty minutes ago,” replies Erwin.

Levi’s expression darkens. “That long?”

“It took Nurse Phillipa a moment to find me,” he tells him. “She tried locating you first but was unsuccessful.”

“Sounds right for her,” Levi bites, hoisting a leg over the bench to make his way around the table and past Erwin.

Almost past Erwin; he quickly steps in the smaller man’s path, brows high and expectant.

“Levi.” The Captain stops when motioned to do so, but his nostrils flare. “You cannot barge straight into the medical wing—”

“I can,” he challenges. “Easily.”

“—without hearing the preliminary report first,” Erwin finishes.

Levi’s jaw sets, staring straight through the Commander’s chest.

“I know the extent of her injuries.”

Erwin sighs heavily, deflating in his uniform-clad shoulders. The longer he waits to say anything, the thicker the air in the room becomes. 

“Physically, yes, you do.”

Levi’s blood runs cold.

“The fuck does that mean?”

.

.

.

.

“I know it, just give me a second.”

Start with the basics, the doctor suggests.

First he asks if you knew where you were.

You didn’t.

Then he asks if you recall your home town.

You can’t.

Finally, he asks something so basic that you open your mouth with confidence you should not possess:

Tell him your full name.

Your voice cuts out with a singular syllable, a vowel, until… nothing. 

Everything is a blank space on an untouched piece of paper.

Why can’t you say anything at all? These are simple questions with simple answers. You’ve known them your entire life.

Right?

“Perhaps just your first, then,” the doctor woefully suggests when you linger in silence for too long.

“I’m getting there,” you warn, low and dangerous.

“Oh— Of course, t–take your time,” he stammers.

So you do.

For two whole minutes, you marinate on the possibility of your first name. Maybe three letters? Or three syllables. Something to do with threes.

It shouldn’t be this hard.

“Is James—” It sounds foreign on your hibernating tongue. “—my last name?”

Your face falls when the doctor frowns.

The impending panic is interrupted by a sudden woosh where wood slams into stone.

The door swings wide as a short man with jet-black hair and intense gray eyes emerges from the hallway. He says nothing, staring in your direction with a purpose. He wears a tan jacket with an emblem etched to the sleeve — Scout Regiment?

Is this a military hospital?

“Captain Levi!”

You want to look at the doctor to gauge the reaction in conjunction to his relieved exclamation, but the stranger's eyes have yet to leave you.

“Doctor,” he agrees, curt in tone.

“I sent Nurse Phillipa to find you.”

“I was found.” The man remains locked at the room’s threshold. “So? Tired of sleeping yet, or are we looking at six more months of winter?”

The strange question is directed to you.

You blink with a squeeze, brow knit.

“You only look like total shit, so I guess that’s a good sign.”

Oh. So he’s rude.

“Captain—”

“Apologies for Levi’s intrusion, Doctor Rini.”

Your attention leaves the Captain long enough to acknowledge the taller man that now stands behind him. Blonde, built, and strong — he holds himself with authority and grace.

If you could take an educated guess, then this must be the Commander the doctor requested the nurse to fetch a half hour ago. He smiles plainly to you, though it’s cautious. 

Where the captain barges in, the commander handles what is in front of him with kid gloves.

“Nurse Phillipa was able to locate me in my office. I had to retrieve Captain Levi personally. Is it alright if we come in, or is she not yet lucid?”

And where Erwin remains at the door, Levi takes the first rebellious steps forward.

“She is… lucid, Commander.” An unfamiliar fear grips at your heart from the way in which Doctor Rini speaks with fragility. There’s a but coming — you can feel it.

“But?”

Apparently so does Captain Levi, who narrows his eyes their way when he speaks.

The doctor sighs in defeat and gestures his right hand to you.

“Lieutenant, state your name.”

Both Erwin and Levi turn their attention to you.

Shit.

Suddenly the world feels too small.

When you hesitate, something indistinguishable flickers over Levi’s face.

“...you originally stated she suffered a major concussion,” Erwin says.

“Yes, I did,” the doctor agrees. His hand drops to fidget with his other, “and I also stated on the report that the probability of temporary to permanent post-traumatic memory damage was high.”

“In other words, sustained amnesia.”

Erwin is the one to deliver the blow to the room. Your chin dips to stare at your own hands that have been bandaged and re-bandaged again and again. The glue from the wraps have left sticky trails on your skin.

Memory loss.

Where you are, where you’re from—

Your own damn name.

“It never said anything about permanent,” Captain Levi argues under his breath. He stalks towards your bed, shrugging off Erwin’s hand in the process. His slender fingers catch on the back of a visitor’s chair, dragging it carelessly with him.

Until he’s face to face with you.

This man, this captain, has immense bags under his eyes. Sunken sockets, like he’s never slept peacefully for a single day in his life. Everything about him is unnervingly calm, as if he’s one bowstring pluck away from an explosion.

Theatrically he sits down at the side of your cot, legs spread and forearms pressed to the tops of his thighs so he can lean forward.

“Where are we?” he interrogates.

“Levi,” Erwin warns, but he ignores it.

“Answer the question.”

You run your tongue along the seam of your lips. “I don’t know.”

“You do know.”

“I don’t.”

“Where — are — we?”

“Stohess District?” you guess, and his jaw sets.

“Try again, dumbass.”

You can’t hide the surprise on your face from his crude name calling. “Excuse me?”

“Levi,” Erwin warns again, this time stronger.

Levi doesn’t let up. “What is this building called?”

“I said I don’t know.”

“Do you know what titans are?” he asks instead, cocking his chin.

Frustrated, you ball your hands into fists. “Of course I know what the fuck titans are.”

“Good,” Levi says without skipping a beat. “And do you know what the Survey Corps is?”

“Yes,” you answer, exasperated. “Why does this matter?”

“Do you know where you’re from?”

This was one of the doctor’s questions before Levi came bursting through the door. You stare the blank-faced man down, determined to answer — but nothing comes to mind. Nothing substantial, anyway.

Just a feeling: dampness surrounded by darkness.

“I don’t,” you resign.

“You do,” he argues. “You just aren’t trying hard enough.”

“I am trying, asshole,” you hiss. 

At that, Erwin takes an authoritative step forward. “Levi, that’s enough.”

Levi considers this heeded warning for only a beat.

“So that’s it, then, huh?” Levi starts instead, icy calm. “You’re going to lay down and happily take being a nameless has-been after being stuck in a coma for months?”

“It’s been months?” you yelp, deciding to instead direct your question towards Erwin.

If the commander feels any sort of way about your condition, then he’s chosen to swallow those emotions to his belly. He sports a neutral expression (opting out of a good cop performance to Levi’s bad cop) so you push to communicate with him instead.

“I’m sorry, but none of this makes any sense. Did I do something wrong to a Scout or something?”

Commander Erwin closes his eyes once his index finger and thumb touch his chin in contemplation. Slowly he inhales, debating his choice of words. 

Levi, for the first time since his arrival, says nothing.

“I know this must be very difficult for you,” Erwin begins, “but please know we will do everything in our power to make you feel as comfortable as we can. However, I must ask: do you truly remember nothing about your accident?”

“No.”

“Not even an object, a phrase… a name?”

(Fuck, this emphasis on fucking names.)

“I think I’d remember the name of this piece of shit.” It takes a moment to realize it’s your voice blurting unfounded venom towards the captain, who remains seated staring intently at you. You sigh heavily, frustration climbing. “I’m sorry, but no. I’m sorry I can’t be of much help. It… Doctor Rini told me my last name was James.”

You wince hearing the name with your own voice again.

The jagged puzzle piece continues to not fit the three mens’ narratives.

“What he tells you is true,” Erwin confirms gently. “It is James.”

Your next words come out faster than anticipated; a straight-from-the-brain thought at the tip of your tongue. “It doesn’t feel like my last name is James—”

The chair scrapes along the floor. 

Abruptly, Captain Levi rises to his feet and turns towards the medical wing entrance.

“This is a waste of time,” he mumbles to Erwin, head bent.

A swirl of emotions hit you like a swift punch to the gut. You physically move with it, jerking like you’re about to vomit.

‘Fuck this.’

A voice echoes in the back of your skull, creating a fuzzy feeling along the nerve endings of your arms. Although you cannot see or dream it, you hear it: like a whisper in the wind curling from the open window.

‘I’m going whether you want me to or not.’

It’s your voice but stronger. Certain. Angry.

Angry about what?

‘This is a waste of time.’

—but that voice isn’t yours.

Before you realize what you’re saying, you call out to the departing captain:

“You're always so quick to walk the fuck away."

Instantly the sound of his steps cease against the floor.

The room falls silent, deathly so, and your widening eyes meet the back of his beige jacket. The Scout Regiment emblem glistens in the protruding sunlight. Levi waits with his back to you, chin bowed to his chest.

Are you hallucinating his voice in your head?

Why were you so compelled to say something to him?

Your empty stomach churns.

"...I didn't mean to say that," you whisper. "I don't know why I said that, sir, forgive me."

Without another word — without looking back — Levi exits the room.

Commander Erwin watches the shorter man depart, waiting a beat, before walking out after him.

In the event of their leave, the doctor takes the opportunity to rush to your side. His fingers gently press into a pulse point, observing your heart rate.

You’re sure it’s spiked, but you can’t stop staring at the open door frame.

You don’t know him.

You don’t know either of them.

Right?

Author's Note: Some disclaimers - I am an AOT baby earning her lore degree bc I just binged AOT for the first time last month and have been writing this story like a fiend ever since. I haven't read the manga, so forgive me if I get details wrong. This story is in 2nd Person POV i.e. 'you', but the reader has a last name the characters reference often.

Also I only just found out that the AOT2 game calls Levi 'Lieutenant', which is hilarious and I'll be putting my own spin on that later. This is just my little passion fixation project, so I hope you enjoy reading as much as I'm enjoying writing it! There is no set update schedule at this current time.

[crazyunsexycool]

Unbreakable

Chapter 7

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader

Word Count: 4.1K

Warnings: Fluff, drunk reader, she's flirty when she's drunk

A/N: It's happening guys... We are moving forward with this story. Slowly I'll start doing bits of time jumps here and there!!! Also this chapter is a bit all over the space.

Series Masterlist

“You’re sure you want to go out for this girl’s night?” Nat asked from your living room.

“Yes. I want drinks and karaoke.” 

You walk out of your bedroom as you finish putting on an earring. Your outfit was simple, jeans, a t-shirt and a leather jacket. 

“Fine by me. Are you a lightweight?” 

“Probably. I’ve never had more than one drink.” 

“So we get to test the limits?” Nat smirks at you. 

“Yes. I’m very excited. Is Nebula not coming?” 

“She’ll meet us there.” Nat gets up and heads for the door.

“Ok, c’mon Marvin. Let’s go have a good time.” 

****

Nebula was waiting outside of what looked like an abandoned building. Inside though fairy lights lined the ceiling, a spotlight was aimed at a corner where a tv, a mic stand and a very crappy stage took up space. The place wasn’t too crowded, which was perfect. The bar itself sat in the middle of the room in an oval shape creating two almost completely separate spaces. 

“No dogs allowed.” A bartender yells over a drunk guy's horrible rendition of Thriller. 

“He’s a service dog.” 

The guy eyes you for a moment and you have Marvin turn to the side to show off his vest. 

“Fine but we aren’t responsible if something happens to him and if he ruins anything it’s coming outta your pocket.” 

“I promise he’ll be in his best behavior.” You smile and walk toward the karaoke side of the bar with Nat and Nebula. 

Nebula’s black eyes scanned the room more than once. She and Nat sat with their backs to the wall and observed the others. 

“This place looks ridiculous.” Nebula mutters.

“Don’t worry, we’re going to be so entertained that you won’t really notice it. Y/N here has never gotten drunk before.” 

“Really? I bet she’ll get drunk on two drinks.”

“I’ll take that bet.” Nat says. “What do I get when she’s drunk by the first one.”

“I’ll give you my gun.” Nebula offers. “But I want your bracers, the electric ones.” 

“Deal.”

“You know I’m sitting right here, right?” 

Nebula waves you off dismissively while Nat gets up and orders the first round. 

****

It took two drinks to loosen you up and one more to get you to get up on stage to sing Girls just wanna have fun. Nebula seemed to not really be affected by any drink and Nat was surprisingly on the verge of being drunk. It took another drink to get you back on stage. You had all of the people at the bar singing along to bohemian rhapsody.

���� “So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye?

So you think you can love me and leave me to die?

Oh, baby, can't do this to me, baby

Just gotta get out, just gotta get right outta here

Ooh

Ooh, yeah, ooh, yeah

Nothing really matters, anyone can see

Nothing really matters

Nothing really matters to me.”🎶  

You sang your heart out. Although some words were a little slurred. What you weren’t aware of was Steve leaning against the bar, completely amused by your carefree attitude.

“Romanoff.” 

“Rogers.” Nat shoots back. “Thanks for coming to pick us up.” 

“It’s no problem. I see she’s having fun.” 

“Definitely. You know what’s funny, she hasn’t stopped talking about you at all.”

Steve flushes pink immediately but before he can say anything you head in his direction. With wide and hazy eyes you look up at him. 

“Steve? What are you doing here? It’s supposed to be girl’s night.” 

“I’m sorry, did I ruin it?”

“No, don't be silly.” You giggle and bat your eyelashes. Nat rolls her eyes but smiles at your drunken flirting. 

“He didn’t just show up.” Nat offers. “I called him to be our designated driver.”

“Oh, makes sense. You’re so smart Natty.”

Nat shakes her head and turns to the bartender to pay the tab while Nebula walks out. 

“Can we get mozzarella sticks before we go home?”

“Sure.” 

****

You were sitting in a small pizza place a block down from the bar. Even Marvin got to snack on some chicken while you munched on your late night snack. Nat and Nebula had called it a night and decided to go back to the compound.

“So how was girl’s night?” Steve asked next to you. 

“Oh it was so much fun. You should totally come next time.” 

“If I did, it wouldn’t be a girl’s night.” 

“You’re right.” You shrug. “But we made an exception for Marv.”

“So I have the same privileges as a dog?” Steve laughs when you look at him with wide eyed horror. 

“What? No. Don’t be silly. You won’t have to sit under a table.” You snort a laugh and then get very serious. “I need to ask you something but you need to be honest.”

“Ok, what’s your question?” 

You turn to give him your full attention. His bright blue eyes shine with amusement and they captivate you. 

“You’re so pretty.” You blurt out. Steve huffs a laugh but his cheeks are tinted pink. 

“Thank you. That isn’t a question though.” 

“Why are you single?” 

“Oh, so we’re going for loaded questions.” 

“I mean you’re so nice and caring and fun to be around. I always feel safe with you. Did I mention that you’re so pretty? Also you have a killer smile.” 

“I do?” 

“For sure. Every time you smile at me I just get weak in the knees.” 

“Your smile makes my knees go weak too.” Steve says back.

“Nope.” You take a bite from a mozzarella stick. “Can’t use my own compliment on me.”

Steve chuckles and shakes his head. You wait patiently for him to say something. 

“Ok well, you have the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen. I could get lost in them if you’d let me.” 

You give a little giggle and send a wink his way. 

“I’m also so happy that our paths crossed and we met each other.” Steve sent a shy smile your way and you mirrored it. 

Your little bubble burst when Marvin gave a little huff, indicating that he needed to go outside. Steve helped clean off the table and offered you his arm as you walked Marvin. Then he walked you to his car and opened the door for you and Marvin to get in. 

You groan as you turn in bed. Your head was throbbing and your mouth was so dry. With an annoyed huff you open an eye to look around. At least you were home. You spot the water bottle and pills on the nightstand and you take them, drinking half of the water in one go. There’s a small knock at the door which might as well be jackhammers on your head.

“Come in.” You murmur and the door opens. 

Steve stands in the doorway with a tray of food. He tries to hold back his laugh when you groan again and try to hide under the covers. 

“Good morning.” 

“Shhh. My head is killing me.” 

“You’ll survive, you’re just hung over. Why don’t you try to have breakfast?” He says as he walks over to you. Marvin is right behind him and he jumps on the bed. 

“I think I’ll throw up if I do.” 

“I think you’ll be ok. Besides, it'll help settle your stomach.” 

“If you say so.” You grumble but sit up. Steve sets the tray he was holding on your lap and sits on the edge of the bed.

“Start with the toast.” 

You do as he suggests and nibble on the toast. Steve talks in a low but soothing voice until he gets you smiling again. Once you’re done with breakfast you lay back down, this time Steve sits against the headboard. 

“I had this really weird dream last night.” You tell him. 

“Yeah? What was it about?” 

“We were eating mozzarella sticks and I told you that you were really pretty.” 

Steve laughs but looks down at you fondly. He’s met with brows that are furrowed in confusion. Then realization hits you like a truck and your eyes go wide. 

“That wasn’t a dream was it?” You whisper.

Steve throws his head back laughing. “No it wasn’t. You’re a bit of a flirt when you’re drunk.” He says once he calms down. “It’s cute though.”

You groan and hide under your blanket. He chuckles some more.

“In my defense I’ve never been drunk before.” You say from under the blanket before pulling it down and looking up at Steve. “And for the record I stand behind everything I said.” 

You smirk as Steve’s cheeks turn pink. The color traveling up to his ears. It was cute, he was cute. 

“Do you have any plans today?” He asked after a few seconds. 

“Nope. Other than walking Marv.” 

“Good. Want to have a movie marathon?” 

“That sounds like a great idea. We still have a bunch of movies on the list. Or we could start binge watching some of the tv shows we have on the list too.” 

“I’ll let you choose.” 

You smile before getting up and heading to the bathroom. 

An episode of some trash reality tv was playing on in the background but you and Steve had stopped paying attention to it. Instead you were having a conversation. It was mostly talking about nothing serious. Steve was completely turned toward you with an arm laying on your top of the back of the couch. You mirrored his posture and unconsciously you both reached out for each other’s hand. Between smiles and jokes you were having a good time. This is what you liked to do the most with Steve. 

From what he and Nat had told you their life consisted of being on the move at all times, especially the two years before the blip. So you didn’t mind staying home and watching tv or playing a few board games, it’s not like you would have really been out. 

“I need to ask you something.” Steve said as he intertwined his fingers with yours. 

“Ok?” 

“Well first I want to say that I’d understand if you didn’t want to and it wouldn’t change my mind about our friendship.”

You frowned in confusion as you waited for him to ask what he was going to ask. 

“I like you. I think you know that. I like you as more than just a friend and I wanted to know if you would like to go out with me?”

“Like a date?” You whispered. It wasn’t really a surprise but you hadn’t expected it now. You still wanted to tell him about what you had gone through. So that he could understand your hesitation about certain things and that it wasn’t him, as cliche as that sounded. But you also really liked Steve. Since the very beginning, it’s why you didn’t want to run into him again but now you were glad it happened. 

“Yes, like a date.” He smiled but there was a flicker of fear of being rejected in his eyes. 

“I’d love to.” 

His smile brightened and he gave your hand a quick squeeze. 

“You really don’t have to if you’re not sure. I would never want to pressure you into doing something you don’t want to do.” 

You smiled at him then. It was things like that that made you like him more and more each time. 

“I do want to, really. It’s just… What happened with my ex really messed me up. I never thought that I would want to trust anyone else let alone date them. But then I met you.” 

Steve smiled softly then. His whole demeanor was calm and easy going. It gave you the push to keep going.

“I just want you to know that I want to do this with you but sometimes I’ll have my reservations. It’s not a reflection on you, it's just my fears because of what I went through.”

“I understand and we can take this as slow as you want. You set the pace and I’ll follow. There’s no rush, I just want to be with you in whatever way you’ll let me.” 

It was your turn to squeeze his hand as a wave of emotion hit you. Fear was definitely there but so was hope and surprisingly enough excitement. You had to wonder if Steve was this attentive and caring as a friend, what would he be like as a partner? 

“Oh my God it’s happening.” You said in a rush as you got to the table Lisa was sitting at. She jumped slightly at your voice and looked at you in confusion. 

“What’s happening?” 

You take a deep breath. It had only been the night before that Steve had asked you out but you were still all over the place with your emotions. 

“I’m going on a date.” 

“That’s wonderful.” Lisa smiled and placed her hand on yours. “Tell me everything.” 

“You remember my friend Steve right?” 

“Yeah, the ex-military guy that was teaching you self defense?” 

Lisa still didn’t know that it wasn’t just some military guy but Captain America himself. You nod in response to her question and then tell her what happened the night before. It was easy to talk to her and you explained your mixed feelings but she was right there supporting and encouraging you to take the next step. 

“I did say yes. I’ve never felt like this with anyone else before you know.” 

“I do.” Lisa nods but you notice that her eyes aren’t on you so you turn.

 Walking up to your table was a beautiful, curvy red haired woman. She smiled and at first you thought it was directed at you but then you realized that smile was for Lisa. 

“Y/N I hope you don’t mind but I asked my girlfriend to join us. I just wanted the two of you to meet.” 

“No it’s ok.” You smile and turn. “Nice to meet you, I’m Y/N.” You hold your hand out and she takes it.

“The pleasure is all mine. I’m Cassie. It’s nice to put a name to the face, Lisa mentions you all the time.” 

“All bad I hope.” 

She chuckles and shakes her head. 

“I’ve heard about Marvin too.” Cassie looks under the table to find Marvin sitting patiently. “He’s so cute.” 

“Thanks, he’s the best boy.” 

“Well babe you’re just in time because Y/N here just told me she got herself a date.” 

“That’s wonderful.”

“I was telling Lisa that I was still nervous. After everything that happened last time, I didn’t think I’d find someone that I would even consider dating.” 

“I imagine it can’t be easy to trust someone again. Lisa told me where you met but she didn’t tell me about what happened to you.” She reassured you. “I can only say to trust your gut. If at any moment you feel unsafe you call us.” 

“Thanks.”

“So, now the other reason I wanted to meet today.” Lisa announces and she places an envelope on the table next to you. “Go ahead, open it.” 

“No way.” You say a bit too loudly, getting the attention of a few patrons. In your hand was a wedding invitation with Lisa and Cassie’s name on it. “This is amazing, congratulations.” You looked up at them and stood to give each of them a hug. 

“When did you get engaged?” 

“A few weeks ago but we didn’t tell anyone until we decided on a wedding date.” 

“Do you have engagement rings?”

They both held their left hands out and you gasped at the beautiful matching gold and diamond rings on their fingers. 

“We proposed to each other on our anniversary.” Cassie says with a fond smile.

“That is so cute.” 

You ask them a few questions about the planning and if they were going to wear traditional dresses. The conversation went on for a while.

“We should get going but,” Lisa said as you all stepped out of the restaurant you’d met at. “Make sure you RSVP to the wedding and you’re getting a special plus two.” 

“Plus two?” 

“Marvin of course and maybe a certain someone could be your date.” She wiggled her brows at you. 

“We’ll see after the first date.” 

“Well don’t wait too long to let us know.” 

“I won’t.” You said your goodbyes, watching as Lisa and Cassie walked away hand in hand. 

In that moment you realized that you wanted that. Not only did you want to love and be loved but you wanted a relationship with Steve. With a small smile on your lips you headed towards some clothing stores to find something nice to wear.

The buzzer went off. You knew it was Steve but this time it was different because he was here to pick you up for your date. After letting him in you took one final look at yourself in the mirror. It was getting colder out now so you went for style and comfort. You’d chosen to wear a cream colored sweater, a suede mini skirt and boots. 

There’s a knock on your door and you give yourself a little pep talk as you go to open it. Steve is standing there with beautiful flowers in his hand. He has on a navy blue henley that makes his eyes pop more and dark jeans. You give each other an appreciative glance. 

“You look beautiful.” He finally says. 

Heat creeps into your cheeks as you smile. 

“Thank you. You look quite handsome yourself.”

Steve huffs out a little shy chuckle as he blushes slightly. His eyes go to the bouquet in his hands and he holds it out for you to take. You were both flustered and that realization eased you a bit. Just knowing he was just as nervous as you were. You thank him again and grab the flowers before quickly finding a vase. Then you grab Marvin’s leash and your jacket before leaving. 

“So where are we going?” You ask as Steve opens the door of his car for you.

“You’ll see.” 

****

You were surprised when Steve parked by a museum. He moves around his car quickly and opens the door for you and then Marvin. As you start walking toward the entrance he offers you his arm which you take. 

Steve takes you past some of the displays and straight to the back of the building. You smile when you see the entrance of the planetarium. Steve went up to the employee and showed them the tickets before both of you went to find your seats. 

**** 

The planetarium was practically empty except for another couple and a small group of friends. Steve had chosen some seats that kept you relatively separate from them though. As the show progressed Steve would lean in and tell you what he saw when he went to space for the first time. It was definitely much more interesting than what was being said. 

Once the original show ended you left the planetarium but decided to look around the museum. You stopped at every few displays and shared your opinions. When the art was good it was good but when the art left something to be desired Steve couldn’t help but criticize the pieces. As if it was personally offending him. You laughed every time his face scrunched in disapproval at prices he didn’t like. 

“Ok,” you said between sips of your drink. After the museum Steve had taken you to a Thai restaurant. It was the same as the first meal you shared. “What was your favorite subject in school?” 

“Art.” 

“Really? Why is that?” 

Steve shrugs. “I was invisible in school. I was angry that no one would even look my way unless they wanted to bully me. Art was a way to get my emotions out. Drawing was like therapy for me. Then I just fell in love with it.” 

“Do you still draw?” 

“Yeah.” Steve smiles. 

“And do you ever share your work with anyone?” 

“Are you asking to see my drawings?” 

You shrug. “Maybe.” 

“I have a few I can show you.” 

You smiled at him then. 

“Your turn, if you could have any superpower what would it be?” 

“Easy,” you smile. “Teleportation. Imagine all the money and time I could save just by being able to teleport anywhere. Also it would be so much easier to plan vacations.” 

“That is a good choice.” 

“Well you are the expert on super things, so I would hope so.” 

Steve smiles. “Are you ready to get out of here?” 

“Yup.” 

“Alright let’s go.” He replies, he doesn’t even let you pay for half of the meal or anything. Reminding you that it’s a date and he invited. 

After dinner though you aren’t ready to go home. In order to prolong your time together you suggest a walk through the park for Marvin’s benefit. This time as you walk though you feel bold enough and take Steve’s hand. You see the slight blush on his cheeks before he gives your hand a gentle squeeze. The conversation picks up where you left it back at the restaurant and you ask each other very random questions. It’s fun to see him relaxed and be able to have a sort of nonsense conversation. Not even at the beginning of your relationship with your ex had you felt so at ease with someone. 

“Have you ever been arrested?” 

Steve laughs but tries to hide his face from you. 

“You have? No way. What did you get arrested for?” 

“It was back in the 30s. There was this guy that kept harassing this group of girls. I just happened to walk by when one of the girls burst out crying because she was so uncomfortable. I asked him to stop but he didn't. Then he threw a punch. It was in a park so there were cops nearby. They came to break us up and I got arrested for disorderly conduct.” 

“Please tell me there is a mug shot out there somewhere.” 

Steve laughs but shakes his head. 

“I don’t think there is. If there were, I'm sure Shield took it to make sure my image was safe.” 

“Damn.” You give a small pout. “I would’ve loved to see that.” 

“No way. I’m sure you would have framed it.”

“Yup.” You laugh. “I would’ve enlarged it and hung it up in the living room.” 

Steve chuckles and shakes his head as you continue the walk around the park. 

The night unfortunately came to an end. Although from the park to the car ride back home Steve hadn’t let go of your hand. That was a good sign, right? You stood outside of your apartment door. Marvin pushed his way in once you had unlocked it, leaving you and Steve alone.

“Thank you for tonight, I had a lot of fun.” You smile up at him. 

“Me too. So what’s the verdict? Would you like to go out again, on a second date?” 

“I’d like that.” 

Steve breathed a sigh of relief as he nodded. 

“Have a good night.” He says and smiles before he turns to leave. 

You catch his hand before he’s able to turn completely. Standing on your toes you give Steve a quick kiss on his cheek. He flushes pink but his eyes are on your lips. You watch him lick his lower lip. The tension grows between you the longer you stand there so close together.

“Can I kiss you?”

“Yes, please.” you reply almost breathless in anticipation. 

Steve turns back to you completely. His hands frame your face and he slowly dips his head. Steve’s lips are so close to yours, you can feel his breath on your face. You anxiously wait to finally feel his lips on yours but when you look at him you find him studying your face. 

“You are so beautiful.” He whispers. “Are you sure?” 

The fact that he’s asking again makes you want to cry happy tears. You nod, placing your hands on his chest and tilting your head up to close the distance. Steve’s lips are soft. His kiss is gentle and sweet. There is no urgency but there is desire and passion behind it. Before you’re able to fully enjoy the kiss Steve is pulling back just enough to look at you. You give each other goofy little grins before Steve gives you another quick peck. 

“Now it’s a good night.” You say and his smile widens. 

 “See you soon?” 

“Definitely.” 

Steve pulls away. The smile that you love seems to be etched on his face permanently as he turns and leaves. You miss him already but you know that you’ll see him again soon. With the night coming to a close you lock your door and lean your back against it. You bite your bottom lip to try and stop yourself from smiling but you can’t help it. 

Deep down you knew that Steve was it. This new development in your relationship was just the start and you couldn’t wait to see where it went.

Ch 8

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[goblinpuppy35]

Out of Place Together

University Remus x Male Reader

(Previous Chapter) - Part 7

Summary: An academia-core themed story about the Marauders during their final year of university in the Muggle world. Soon after meeting each other  Remus begins to fall for one of Sirius' friends Y/N another shy student.

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

Winter roamed relentlessly outside, dashing rain droplets and harsh winds across the stone streets. Piles of brown wet leaves imprinted against the pavements were now just a lost memory as all that remained were the naked bark cover skeletons of the trees they originally fell from. Damp and bleak was an accurate description of the outside world as most hide away indoors, waiting for the first suggestions of spring to appear. The Marauder's household was certainly in winter hibernation mode and yet if you were to walk passed one of the houses windows, the rich warm glow which came from within and the picturesque scenes of groups huddle up in the living room together gave the strong impression those inside the houses cosy walls felt anything but bleak or damp.

This evening Remus had brought down his record player into the living room, it had been placed on the floor next to the sofa and was softly playing the album 'Love' by The Cult. As 'Brother Wolf; Sister Moon' played peacefully across the room, Y/N was curled up further in between Remus' legs, resting his own back against the taller man's stomach while he read through his copy of Hamlet on the sofa. Tracing each page with his finger downwards to keep track of what line he was on. Despite enjoying Shakespeare Y/N always said he still had to concentrate while reading and Remus enjoyed how serious Y/N's face became when he was focusing, his Y/E/C eyes darting across the pages while his eyebrows knitted further down his face. Remus gleefully snuck glances towards Y/N above from his own book he was half reading, he knew if Y/N caught him watching he would smile and get embarrassed. While Remus didn't want to distract him from his studying he found Y/N's embarrassed face even more tantalising then his serious one.

A jingle of necklaces and bracelets descending down the stairs interacted to both men Sirius was on the move. Tilting his head backwards Y/N met Remus' upside down grin with one of his own. 'A storm is coming' Remus murmured in amusement as Sirius hopped down the last step in the hallway entering the living room energetically. Upon seeing just Remus and Y/N contently snuggled up together his expression dropped to one of confusion.

"Wasn't the plan to go out" Sirius asked as readjusted his dangling earrings in the small oval shaped mirror on the wall . "Actually Lily said her and James wanted us all the stay in and have dinner together tonight" explained Y/N trying to weave himself out of Remus' arms but the werewolf's long arms were having none of it. Keeping his favourite person in place. Y/N laughed as Remus was deliberately making this a hard task for him to complete. "Well they are late!" heaved Sirius throwing himself down into the large arm chair next to the sofa, he picked up a near by book and aimlessly flicked through it. "Well" Remus said after a short pause "means I can take a quick shower without missing the start then" and as he kissed Y/Ns cheek his arms unlocked his boyfriend from his entrapment. Before fully getting up Remus couldn't help but burry his fingers into Y/Ns thick Y/H/C hair, running through it as he moved towards the door, smiling back at Y/N before he wonder up the stairs towards the shared bathroom.

"God." explained Sirius dropping the book with a defeated sigh "Could you two be any more smitten with each other". Y/N knew his friend was teasing from the smug grin plastered across Sirius' face. Smiling back Y/N folded down his page in his book and placed it to one side as he leaned downwards off the sofa to change the record.

"What's that?" Sirius remarked, flicking up his finger and brushing Y/Ns hair behind his neck revealing a small mark, "Oh nothing, nicked myself while shaving this morning" Y/N explained as he lifted himself up again. "Ah, there was me thinking Remus had started to leave marks on you." Sirius jested and expected his friend to reply with another smug smile. But Y/N seemed shocked and scared by this remark and then his wide eyes looked anywhere other then Sirius face. Finally choosing to stay on the floor as Y/N rapidly started to collect his belongings together. 'What?' Sirius asked as he watched Y/N start to make his way to the door, 'nothing. I'm just going to make some tea. What some?' Y/N said hurriedly as he left the room towards the kitchen.

Even with the kettle on Y/N could hear Sirius footsteps follow him into the empty kitchen. There was the muffled sound of the shower upstairs being used. '... Y/N?', he closed is eyes, preparing for the unwanted question about to slip through Sirius quivering smirk. 'You and Remus ... you've had-".

"I don't want to talk about it" Y/N erupted turning around the face Sirius, folding his arms defensively. "Oh my god!" hissed Sirius as he was barely able to control his shocked excitement from hearing this new information. Turning around again Y/N rested his stomach against the sink, he could feel the heat rising up to his ears. "It's not like we haven't done stuff" he blurted out, refusing to let Sirius get the first word, "I've done it before and I know he's done it too". "So what's the issue?" asked Sirius plainly resting his hip against the counter "you two are clearly so comfortable around each other". Y/N smiled to himself, this was true. He has lost track of how many blissful mornings he had woken up to see Remus already awake with a book in one hand and his other embedded in his hair, stroking his head. Every small ritual they had developed together from sharing an afternoon cup of tea and smoke in the garden to late night walks through the city and park if one of them was struggling with school work load, each one Y/N valued with all his heart. He finally had found himself in a healthy good relationship and felt so happy for it.

"I think it comes from what happened at the pub" Y/N pondered aloud, biting the corner of his thumb "My ex wasn't very kind to me and that did travel into our sex life". Returning to his supportive self Sirius gently placed his hand around Y/Ns waist which is friend welcome warmly. "Honestly I'm fine" Y/N said reassuringly "but I think Remus is worried about pressuring me". 

"Well that makes sense" Sirius said with a soft chuckle "Remus adores you in a way I've never seen before. You bring him such joy all he wants to do it keep you happy and safe". "But I am" Y/N insisted. He also wondered if Remus' infliction was a key factor. Late one night, on one of their walks in fact, Remus has told him he despised the destructive nature of the beast inside him. Waking up in the tattered after mass of his transformation always made him feel sick. He often feared that the same violent nature would somehow seep into his normal life. "I think you should tell him" Sirius said as he watched Y/N mentally try and figure out the whole situation "I imagine Remus is just waiting for you to give him the green light". 

Y/N's realisation of this was timed perfectly with the sounds of the front door and a wave of noisy laughter and rustling bags to entering the hallway. "Sorry. Sorry!" came a bumbling chorus of both Lily and James. "Well you took your bloody time" yelled Sirius placing his hands on his hips dramatically in the kitchen door way. "Wow. Okay." giggled Lily failing to take her coat off because of her giddy nature "No pasta for you!". The couple came into the kitchen and placed several shopping bags on the counter tops. Y/N noticed they were both absolutely beaming with rosy cheeks, "already starting on the pre drinks" he jested looking up to James. However Y/N was met with just a genuine honest smile from James that Y/N knew he was sober. This made the whole situation more puzzling. "Ello you two" flouted in the sleep voice of Remus who was the last to enter the small kitchen, having come out of the shower he was wearing his clothes from before and rubbing his wet hair with a towel. "You want to tell us why you both insisted we all stay in this evening?" was the next thing Remus asked resulting in more side wise looks and giggles between Lily and James. "You tell them" whispered Lily nudging James who for the first time appeared timid in front of an audience.

Clearing his throat James finally spoke "we have decided to get married. Soon. Next week actually and we want you three to be there with us". There was only a brief moment of silence before the kitchen exploded with cries, voices, congratulations and laughter. Everyone hugged each other as James and Lily showed off the simple gold rings they both now wore. "This is unbelievable" Y/N said breathless after hugging Lily for the second time "Im so happy for you both". Then Lily nudged James a second time to which he looked back slightly unsure "You need to tell them the other bit" Lily whispered still trying to hold back her own excitement. Suddenly James understood and his hair seemed to stand upwards in anticipation "Ah yes. The wedding will be happy so soon because. We are having a baby". The silence after this reveal was longer but no less heartfelt. "I call Godfather!" announced Sirius sticking his hand high into the air and thus began the night long argument between Sirius and Remus over who had the right to call Godfather.

The family of friends spent the rest of the night preparing dinner together and all huddling around the circle table coffee table in the living room to eat together. Naturally Lily was not drinking and in 'honourable solidarity' as he put it, neither was James. Instead the couple watched their three dearest friends get progressively more tipsy the evening went on.  While James did his best to suggest to his best friends that they both could share the title of Godfather, Y/N turned to Lily who he had never seen as calm as tonight. "Im so pleased you to found each other" Y/N said earnestly, letting his forth glass of wine take full effect over him. "You two work together beyond belfie and I cant wait to see you two spend the rest of your lives together and happy". Lily peacefully rested her head gently against Y/Ns letting out a long content smile, 'Looks to me that I should be saying the same thing to you'. Y/N didn't follow her until he observed Lily was looking across the table at Remus, still deep in conversation with the others. His long fingers playing with the rim of this glass. Each time his laughed his early on step crows feet appeared around his eyes, but Y/N always thought these made him look even more handsome. Y/N then became aware that Lily had been watching him stare hopelessly across at his boyfriend, knowing exactly what he was thinking. They both laughed and Y/N blushed dropping his gaze to the floor. 'Thank you' he murmured back to Lily 'I'm very happy'.

Sirius, Remus and Y/N all had to call it a night before Lily and James who seemed perfectly satisfied staying in each others arms in the living room all night. While clumsily making his way up to stairs, Y/N chose to look back at the couple. It brought a pure smile across his face. They were utterly and undeniable in love. The kind which makes your own heart sway from proximity.

After saying goodnight to Sirius the other couple entered Remus' dark bedroom. While closing the door their low drunk giggles reduced to chuckles, Y/Ns flushed face rested against the back of the door before looking across to Remus. He stood in the centre of the room, swaying slightly. His own face was slightly red too as he licked the edge of his mustache, they were both eyeing each other up from head to toe, when their gaze met in the middle even through the dark it was electrifying. 

"Remus" Y/N said calmly, suddenly everything felt so clear to Y/N. He smiled meekly. "Im ready Remus."

[maddithefangirl]

In the Cove (Azriel x Mermaid!Reader)

a/n: I saw some fanart of Azriel with a mermaid Gwyn and I got inspired to write a mermaid reader fic!!

There was a cove that Azriel liked to visit when he needed inspiration. Except for this time, when he got there, it was already occupied.

…

Prythian hadn’t had mermaids in hundreds of years. Ever since the war had wiped them out. Well, had wiped out all of them but you. Somehow you had slipped through the cracks of the great mermaid massacre that all fae learn about in history class. 

Since then, you have been hidden from the rest of the world.

Your golden scales glistened in the light as you made your way to your favorite cove. You had never seen anyone here, so you figured it was safe. This had been one of your many homes throughout the years. There were tall walls of stone with an oval-shaped wading pool that you laid in. It had been your favorite due to the view you would get of the moon at night. 

You spent your time braiding your hair and dreaming of socialization when a figure peered through the entrance. Panic rolled through you as you dove into the water and hid. 

Azriel could’ve sworn that he had just seen… a mermaid? He was too transfixed on the eyes he was able to meet to be able to take in the whole scene before him. And by the time he blinked, she was gone. 

He immediately left and flew to the House of Wind. 

You watched him leave and slowly made your way into the cove. He was the most beautiful being you had ever seen. You had seen fae from afar, but he wasn’t fae, he was something else and that intrigued you. 

…

By the time Azriel made it to the House of Wind, the entire Inner Circle was there for dinner. He broke through the doors panting as all eyes went to him. He said nothing as he went to the library to do some research. Everyone was concerned for him but did nothing. 

Every day after that, you went back to the cove and waited to hopefully see the male again. You had little faith that he would come back. You’re sure that he would never come back, though. You were sure that he thought you were a freak. Little did you know that he had fallen head over heels for you and would do everything in his power to see you again. 

…

He spent weeks doing research on mermaids and isolating himself from his family. He didn’t want to be judged for what he had seen and how he had felt about her. 

Finally, he went to see Rhys in his office. 

“To what do I owe the pleasure, brother?” Rhys said.

“What do you know about mermaids?” Azriel asked.

“Well, I know that they went extinct after the war. There was a huge massacre of all the mermaids, and none have been seen since. Why do you ask?”

“Clear my schedule for the week.”

And with that, he was gone. 

…

Back in the cove, you waited for any sign of him. 

The days came and went without seeing him. You were about to give up when a shadow came into the room. The shadow came and wrapped around your wrist. Peculiar. 

Then there he was in all his glory. The moonlight glistened off his dark skin and his… wings? You hadn’t seen them before when you locked eyes. But there he was, and he had the most glorious wings you had ever seen. You had always wondered what it would be like to soar the skies like the birds. 

He reached down to grab your hands in his, but you flinched away. 

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he whispered as he moved your hair out of your face and curled it around your ears. You smiled in response. 

There was a pull to him that you had never felt before. Then before your eyes, there was a magical golden string from your chest to his.��

Mates.

There had never been an instance where a mermaid had been mated with anyone, but you were special. He knew that you were meant to be his. 

But there was no way that you could be together. 

What was he going to do?

[thebluestbluewords]

five golden rings

poly ot4 because I know what I’m about. A little holiday repost.

+

Evie owns a lot of jewelry. 

What she doesn’t own, however, is the golden ring that’s sitting on the top of her jewelry box. It’s a nice ring, small and gold and with a little round blue stone set into it. 

There’s no note, but it’s a nice ring, and it goes perfectly with the glittery skirt that Evie’s had on the top of her to-be-worn pile for ages, so she slips it on her right hand. Her starstone droplet earrings match as well, and the soft sweater with the embroidery on the collar is the perfect blend of cute and cozy that she needs for the last week of school before the holidays. 

Outfit selected, Evie throws a slipper at Mal on her way to the bathroom. 

“Fuck’ff,” the blanket lump on Mal’s bed mumbles. “Too cold.” 

“Too bad!” Evie calls back. “Get your dragon butt moving or I’m going to open all the windows and let it snow on you!” 

“Mmrgh,” Mal groans, instead of answering. “Mgreeb.” 

Glitter eyeshadow is so outdated, even for the holidays. “Did you leave me a ring, babe?” Evie asks as she’s putting on her liner, and Mal is stumbling her way out of bed. “It’s cute.” 

Mal presses her face into Evie’s shoulder and mumbles something inaudible. Her hair is sticking up into two little cowlick spikes like her mother’s horns, and it’s kind of adorable. 

“Do you think I should wear the cherry red or the mahogany today?” Evie wonders, holding up the two lipsticks. “Babe?” 

“Cherry,” Mal mumbles, and leans around for a kiss. “Tastes better.” 

“Of course.” 

“And I didn’t leave the ring,” Mal adds. “It’s from Jay.” 

“It’s cute, I’ll have to tell him he has good taste for once.” Evie says, lifting up her hand to admire it. “I almost want to layer more, but it shines so well alone too.” 

Mal bonks her head into Evie’s cheek. “I would wait on layering any more,” she says, and presses a kiss to the corner of her mouth. “You never know what else might show up.” 

“Oh?” 

Another kiss. Distracting. “I just think,” Mal says, between pecks that are getting deeper each time. “That there might be,” Another kiss. “More to the present than,” a deeper kiss, lingering. “Just this one.” 

Evie puts down her lipstick and returns the favor. “You think so?” she says, almost teasing. “Sure nobody put him up to it?” 

“Gifting is about bringing joy to others,” Mal says loftily. “And if I find joy in giving other people gift ideas then it’s none of your business how that happens.” 

Evie laughs, and keeps laughing all the way through her morning routine. 

*

There’s another ring in her pencil case. Still gold, but this time with a little red stone. Square cut, and matching the blue one. Evie slips it on her finger just before she picks up her pencil for the final history lecture of the semester. 

*

A third ring, this time clipped around the ring of her chemistry binder. A diamond shaped stone, black as the night and glittering with internal crystals. 

*

The fourth ring has a pale purple stone, cut into an oval. It stacks on with the others, a little progression of bright shapes and shining gold bands up the pale skin of her finger. It comes slipped into the top of her bag just after lunch, as she’s rushing to her next class and worrying about the end-of-year quiz she’s going to have to finish out the day. 

It makes her smile, which is worth a lot more than the little piece of metal and stone’s monetary value. Worth more than a castle, the love that she has for her little family. 

Auradon has made her soft for affection, and it’s not a bad feeling. 

*

“Hey princess,” Jay says later. Evie is washed up for bed now, soft and wearing her cozy dressing gown that she made herself before they came over to the land of fairy-tale endings. “I have something for you.” 

Evie looks up at him, this wonderful boy who finds things just for her, even when they lived on an island with nothing of real value except for the people it contained. “Jaybird,” she says softly. Just for the two of them. Mal and Carlos don’t need to know that they’re being emotionally vulnerable over here. “Thank you.” 

Jay doesn't really blush, but he ducks his head.“It’s just a little thing,” he says, like an apology. “This one isn’t as nice as the others.” 

Evie stops her restless fingers from playing with the other four, which she’s still wearing, stacked up on her right ring finger like the treasure that they are. “And I’m not as nice as the other princesses,” she says. “Since when has that ever stopped us?” 

“True,” Jay says, and opens his hand for her. “Here it is. Five golden rings, delivered just for you, Princess.” 

Evie scoops up the fifth ring. It’s a plain gold band, much like the others. The stone set in this one is clear, shaped like a heart, and with a crack running through it. She slips it onto her finger, settling it right where it belongs at the top of the stack. 

She holds out her hand, and Jay scoops it up to press a kiss to her knuckles. “Beautiful,” he murmurs, pressing his lips to the stones. “Fairest girl I’ve ever seen.” 

“Charmer.” Evie shoots back. “Flattery will get you– oh!” 

Jay pulls back. “Do you want me to stop?” 

It’s so easy to pull him back in for one more kiss. “Never,” Evie whispers against his lips. “Never-ever-ever.” 

[fortheloveofaussiegrit]

(WIP) spicin’ up date night; in which Mark and Oscar decide to head to a strip club ahead of the Vegas Grand Prix and decide that its not really them. 

It had been a silly little idea of Mark’s for the pair of them to go to a strip club in Las Vegas ahead of the race. One that Oscar hadn’t even opposed and had just simply replied to the text with “Yeah, i’m free tonight,” after backspacing the thumbs up emoji he usually used to reply to Mark with and hitting send. 

Mark had opted for a female strip club because, well, what would people say if they saw him stumbling out of a gay strip club in the early hours of the morning? …there was little to no thought, however, that went into the presumptions that would entail him taking his mentee to a strip club. 

The club itself was not nearly as cringe-inducing as Mark was expecting; he had to admit that the decor and the inhabitants of the place were not as shabby as expected. It was... adequate, and the grin Oscar was giving him almost reached from ear to ear and that alone was worth the trip.

They had already downed a few before they had left, deciding that hitting the strip club stone-cold sober wasn’t the best idea and needed some liquid courage, but the oval-shaped bar in the more shadowy part of the club was the first place they headed. Muffled but steady-going beats filled the large room and reciprocated the heavy, quickened beat in Mark’s own chest, carrying the anticipation of the night’s promises. The neon-illuminated light spelling out B-A-R above their heads was far too ghastly, in Mark’s opinion, but it lit up Oscar’s little radiant face as he leant against the bar. The light was bouncing off the tops of his cheekbones, his rosy-stained cheeks, and his eyes lit up like a kid in a candy store as he smiled at the bartender. 

He was too happy, and it was way too evident that it was his first time ever stepping foot in an establishment of this kind. 

The bar overlooked a number of booths, surrounded by seats of deep red velvet cushions, with the pole, of course, in the centre. It was a slightly more sophisticated strip club than the majority that littered the Las Vegas strip, with lavish red drapes of identical colour covering the walls and creating a division between some of the sections. The girls themselves, in little velvet shorts and matching tops, executed a somewhat uniform for the club as they swanned in between the few customers that sat scattered around the room. 

Oscar nudged a bottle of beer into Mark’s hand as he headed towards one of the booths. Mark gave the bottle a nod and a shrug in acceptance as he followed suit. Beer. Good choice, because of course, they had to keep up with the somewhat toxic heterosexual, masculine image that was projected onto them by society, which was another reason why they were trying to gawk at scantily clad women instead of men right now. 

He sunk into plush booth, the red velvet fabric being much cleaner than he expected. It was as hygienic as a strip club was going to get. Unsoiled, no marks or stains from previous inhabitants allowing himself to relax a little bit more into his surroundings. He cradled the glass bottle in his hand, rubbing his thumb over the rough label absentmindedly as he gaze fell upon the kid next to him who looked to be having the time of his life. Eyes wide, set ablaze as they darted between every inch of the scene unfolding in front of them. 

A couple of guys darted around the place. Not too busy as it was still early into the night.

Giddy. The excitement visibly bubbling under his skin. delirious ecstasy 

euphoria of some kind. But it was just the this is my first time in a strip club kind of buzz. 

He turned to Mark, “not your kind of thing?” he poked with a grin, resisting the temptation to physically jab his digit into Mark’s flesh. “We can go.” He offered with a shrug realising that there actually wasn’t much more that he would want to see anyway, but Mark shook his head, decisively. 

“I can appreciate a women's body.” Gesturing to the women in the centre of the room swinging around and around the pole in positions with limbs sticking out in opposite directions that Mark thought were quite literally impossible for ones body. “Relax.” He winked with twinkle in his eyes that Oscar couldn’t quite place. “Enjoy it.” 

Oscar fumbled with the bottle, haphazardly bringing it to his lips and taking a sip before his eyes tore back to the girl he was meant to be drooling over. The lighting was as neon and distracting as they get. In sometimes pinkish, sometimes bluish tones that illuminated the stage. Reflecting off of the girl’s limbs as she stuck them out in each and every direction. Big, bouncy, golden curls highlighted by the multicoloured lights. Pretty. Very pretty. She was the type that would have most other guys begging on their knees just for her to look in their direction, but she didn’t do much for Oscar, not so much as even twitch in his jeans. 

He preferred something different. He wanted someone with a pair between their legs instead of a pair being held up by a tiny string bikini. He didn’t want a girl with petite little shoulders and a dainty little waist; he yearned for broad, strong shoulders that could muster the strength to throw him across a room, and, well, he liked the tummy Mark was beginning to show.

//

Mark reached up to pull the curtain, tugging at it as Oscar did the same with his jeans.

“I always forget…” He trailed off as he gazed — his fingers wrapped around the base of Mark’s cock. 

“Forget what?” Mark stared as a red glaze streaked over the tops of Oscar’s cheeks and the bridge of his nose, dancing around the freckles that were scattered across his skin, seemingly painted on by the hands of tiny little angels. Heavenly.

“The size.” The blush deepening to an almost blood red as the mischievous grin permeated across his cheeks, looking up to Mark through his eyelashes, “don’t let that go to your head.” He spoke as it did just that in his palm. 

Oscar let out a giggle as it twitched again. 

“You want me to?” He teased, bemused by the free-rein he had over Mark in times like this. Mark would let him do anything. 

“Of course i fucking do.” He — resisting the urge to clout him round the head. “Get on with it.” He wanted to __ , but then Oscar did just that and his whole body felt like it was about to collapse in on itself. His head falling back as he let out a shuddered breath as Oscar sucked him into his hot, wet mouth. 

//

Fumbling with the key as he tried to slot it into the lock. He had already came once tonight and nothing on earth was stopping him from doing it again just hopefully this time it was nestled deeply into Oscar’s rear-end. 

“No little dance?” Mark joked as Oscar across the room, pulling his t-shirt up and over his head. 

“You want to prolong this any longer?” He answered back, raising an eyebrow at Mark. 

“Nope.” Shaking his head as he smirk grew on his lips. “Definitely don’t.” 

[d34dbr4in]

I haven't been normal about Kazemaru lately so here's some headcanons about his appearance.

Note : He's a Genderfluid Sapphic who uses she/he pronouns so don't get confused when I suddenly switch pronouns.

I headcanon Kazemaru to be half Thai so I tried my best to mix his features that shows to be a mixed Japanese and Thai person.

Personally , she keeps her hair straight but sometimes she doesn't really straighten it as much she wants so she decided to let it be and make sure her hair is neat and clean. For someone who does tracks before playing soccer, she washes her hair and treats it well for herself. Her hair type is basically 1B, less straight.

Having a couple of moles on his body, usually I do want to go for meanings on what it means for each moles that's on specific part of the body but I'm not going for it.

It's obvious that he will get tanned a lot, the last time he used to track, only some part of his body didn't get tanned.

The bracelet that she wears is a tricolour tiger eye stone bracelet. I would explain it but it would take my whole notepad for my explanation to be done since I project onto Kazemaru a bit too much. However, I do know that the meaning of the stone, specifically for healing is to heal the emotional body, mend broken relationships, and bring insight into internal conflicts. (1/3)

To put it in simple terms, the meaning of tiger eye is self-confidence and inner strength... I wish I could explain this more but next time, I will. (2/3)

I personal headcanon that his mom brought it for him after his Dark Emperor arc and she got the same one too after she learnt that the bracelets, stones and its meaning from her father who is half Chinese half Thai. (3/3)

I'm keeping the orange hair tie he have but I make it more orange-red to fit into how it contrasted to the colour blue, like in the colour wheel I don't know.

Her pupils can change shape when he feels different emotions, since during her Dark Emperor era, her pupils were more of an oval shape and the edges were a little sharp. Like a cat.

A simple round silver earrings wearer. She would wear something more than that but probably not really now as a teen.

I am so sorry if the side profile is inaccurate to what Kazemaru looks like from the front, especially the bangs and the side of the hair being completely inaccurate. That's all I have though ehehehdhej.

[pinkpoweredpunk]

———

[VIDEO: It’s Blake and N on the Ferris wheel again. It starts with Blake pulling something out of their bag to show him- a hexagonal wooden box with two black and white dragon-like figures painted on its lid, curling around one another.

“The souvenir I bought you from the museum?” N inquires, tilting his head as they place it down on their lap. Boo, who had been watching the moving world outside the window, drifts closer out of curiosity. “You still haven’t opened it?”

“I can’t figure out how,” Blake admits in an exasperated sigh, tilting the box onto its side and rotating it around in their hands. “It’s some sort of puzzle. I’ve been at it for weeks now, but nothing I try works.”

“Do you need me to help?” He snickers, and leans in closer. Blake seems a bit surprised by the sudden close proximity, until they realize he’s only trying to get a better look at it. “I’ve opened one of these before. It’s easy once you get past the first part,”

He gently takes it from them, and begins pulling at some metal switches on the side. You hear something click into place, and he hands it back to them. “Here, now try.”

“That switch wouldn’t move when I tried it,” they grumble under their breath, earning a lighthearted chuckle from the other. After a few more minutes of pushing things into place, and a bit more help from N, the lid of the box pops open.

“Finally,” Blake mutters, then reaches a hand into the box. They pull out a small, purple velvet pouch, holding it up to show it to Boo for a moment before unraveling the golden strings. After tipping it, something round drops into their hand.

“Woah…” They hold it up by the string it’s attached to, revealing an oval, intricately shaped black and white stone. It resembles a ying-yang symbol, and its smooth surface glistens faintly in the sunlight. “What is it?”

“It’s called Unovanite,” N says, pinching the stone between his fingers to tilt it towards him and get a better look at it. “Or some simply call it a ‘Unova Stone’. Thousands of years ago, after the Unova region was founded, they discovered this mineral when they started mining into the land. It was used a lot by the royals, in their jewelry and weaponry. It’s black and white colors meshing together are said to represent balance and peace.”

He lets it go, allowing them to set it down in their palm and get a better look at it for themself. They run an index finger over the intricate carvings, marveling at it. “I think I remember my grandma owning a few things made out of this stuff…”

A fond smile rises to the corners of his mouth at their amazement. It fades after a moment, though, and the atmosphere shifts into something more serious as a dour look is cast upon his features. He intwined his hands together in his lap, and gulped before speaking. "...Blake. Can I ask you something?"

They look up from the necklace, still absentmindedly rubbing their thumb on it. "Hm? Yeah, what's up?"

He pauses, for a good while, before breathing in through his nose and steadying himself in the seat. "I need to know something," he mutters. "What exactly have your experiences been with Team Plasma?"

The cabin goes dead silent, and Blake stiffens where they sit. Beside them, you see King perk up attentively, suddenly eyeing the other human cautiously. Cordelia twitches her ear, glancing anxiously between her teammate and their trainer.

"...Why do you ask?" They question.

"Just... curious," he answers, briefly glimpsing towards the window. "I've heard they have an uptake in activity lately. And you mentioned they've been giving you... trouble, as of late?"

They grimace slightly, and lean back, propping one leg over the other. "You could say that," They mumble, but there’s something somber about it. "If you really want to know... Not too long ago, in Castelia, they... tried to steal my friend's Munna."

"The one with the big green hat, right? Bianca?"

"Yeah," they nod, eyes falling back to the necklace in their palm. "I went after them with a few friends, but... nothing could've prepared us for- they- they had these darts, I don't know what they had in them, but they could knock out a giant Pokemon cold."

You see N's brow crease as they continue. "King got hit with one," They look over towards the Servine, who's hanging her head pensively as she listens on. "The stuff was so strong, it... if it hadn't been for a friend who came with medicine, I'm not sure if she would've been able to get moving again. But... her vines..."

N's mouth drops open slightly, and he looks to King, seeming to finally notice the surgery scars on the back of her neck. "I'm... so sorry," he murmurs, seeming too distraught at this news to come up with anything else to say. "I… know the Snivy line relies heavily on their vines for combat, at least in the first two stages. They tend to lessen their usage once they evolve into Serperior, but it's supposed to be a slow and gradual adjustment...."

"Yeah... She hasn't wanted to battle at all since it happened," Blake sighs, reaching over to stroke the Servine's back. She welcomes it, ever so slightly leaning into their touch. "It's part of why I'm not sure if we should continue with the gym challenge. If I'm being honest, I'm only still going so I can find Team Plasma and get justice for what they did to her. To so many others..."

N winces at that, and presses his lips into a firm line as his eyes fall to his lap. Various conflicting emotions flash across his face; anger, worry, guilt. "Blake... Again, I'm truly sorry for what happened. I can't imagine the struggles you've gone through since that incident. And… I do hope the individuals responsible will be charged for their actions. But..."

He hesitates, and the air go unsettlingly still. You get the strange, unshakable feeling that something is about to go awry. Drawing a deep breath in through his nostrils, he continues. "I... don't think it's right to assume the worst of Team Plasma because of a few individuals like that."

It takes a moment for his words to register, before Blake's brows begin to crease and they shrink a bit uncomfortably. "...N, I’ve seen it for myself. They attack people and steal their Pokémon right from their hands- they’ll even hurt the Pokémon in the process to get their way.”

He closes his eyes, hiding them beneath his bangs and brim of his cap. “It wasn’t like that before, though. They used to just hold peaceful protests and speeches... They just wanted to convince people of their outlook in a civil manner.”

“Yeah, well clearly something’s changed,” they scoff. “All that crap claiming they care about Pokémon was clearly just a ruse to-”

“You don’t know that.” he cuts them off sharply, eyes snapping back up to lock with theirs.

The younger trainer’s face twitches, growing irritated. “Yes, I do. Did you not hear everything I just said? About what they did to King?”

That makes him deflate a little, and he pinches the bridge of his nose. “Blake, I-”

“Why are you so dead set on defending them?” they ask, expression hardening. “N, whatever bullshit you heard at one of their rallies, it isn’t true. Humans and Pokémon get along perfectly fine.”

“You really think that?” he huffs, curling and uncurling his fist. “How? After everything you’ve seen?”

“What are you-”

“Chairman Rose, Lysandre,” Blake visibly recoils upon hearing those names out loud. “You’ve seen it for yourself, the ways humans will try to exploit Pokémon for their own personal gain. Those two aren’t even the only examples. There’s countless more throughout history!”

“Th-those-” They stammer, blinking a few times as they try to recollect themself. “Those are just outliers, N. Yes, they were bad, but they definitely don’t represent how all human and Pokémon relationships are!”

“Maybe not,” he concedes, relaxing his shoulders a little. “But there’s plenty of less extreme examples, too. Trainers who overwork their Pokémon, ones who only see worth in strength or looks or some other ridiculous standard. People who think certain species need to be wiped off the face of the earth. Poachers, breeding mills- need I go on?”

“O-okay, yes, there’s a lot of people who harm Pokémon out there in the world,” Blake concedes begrudgingly. “But the solution to all of that isn’t taking Pokémon away from everyone!”

“Then tell me, how would you go about fixing it?” He challenges. “What other solution could you possibly think of? We can’t just keep subjecting them to our mistakes over and over again, we can’t keep sacrificing their well-being for the sake of money, or power, or comfort. It isn’t fair!”

“I know it isn’t,” they sigh. “But the truth is- there… there really isn’t some single, absolute solution. There’s always going to be shitty people, with a million different complicated problems- that’s just the way the world is. I think all we can really do is try to improve things little by little, but-”

“That won’t work,” he growls, and Blake almost flinches at his shift of tone. “Not fast enough, anyway. I refuse to accept a reality where Pokémon have to get hurt for things to change.”

“And think about it,” he goes on before they can formulate another response. “You stopped the Darkest Day and the Ultimate Weapon, sure, but can you really ensure something like that won’t happen again? You can stop a thousand disasters in your lifetime, but you won’t be around forever, Blake. Either the responsibility falls onto some other innocent soul after you’re gone, and ends up burdened with the same things you are, or you can find a way to stop it now.”

Clearly, those words snap some kind of final straw, as Blake slams a fist down on their seat. “You can’t predict the future, N. You don’t know that’s what’s going to happen!”

“You’re right, but I can ensure it isn’t a possibility.” He says resolutely, leaning back in his seat and taking on an almost elegant posture. Resolve crackles within the stormy grey of his eyes.

“Oh yeah? How?” Blake spits, glaring at him doubtfully. “You’re just a regular person like me, N. Siding with Plasma isn’t gonna change that.”

He falls silent, and lowers his head once more. Cordelia and Boo chitter somewhat anxiously, and an almost inaudible hiss slithers from King’s throat.

Then, N chuckles. A low, somewhat foreboding sound, as he fixes the rim of his cap and sits up again, looking Blake directly in the eyes. He exudes a different energy, now- one more intimidating, no longer the friendly, awkward stranger you saw Blake mingling with before.

“That’s what you think?” He asks calmly, speaking in a steady tone. “Then it’s long overdue for me to be fully transparent with you, Blake…”

“I am Natural Harmonia Gropius, the king of Team Plasma.”

The reveal settles heavily on the inside of the cab. Cordelia twitches her ear and cocks her head to the side, the meaning of these words lost on her. Boo’s eyes glimmer with something, some kind of revelation, and it’s hard to determine what exactly he’s thinking. King is quiet, eyes slowly growing wider as she absorbs his words.

Blake’s face flicks through several emotions in the blink of an eye. Confusion. Anguish. Disbelief. By the time they finally speak again, it’s beginning to twist with slowly building anger.

“…What?”

“Ghetsis asked me to help him change the world,” He sits up gracefully, poising himself in a dignified manner in his seat. “He saw my ability to hear and understand the hearts of Pokémon, and raised me to be the next hero of Unova, the one who would bring an end to their suffering. Alongside me, he gathered six other sages to help him realize this goal, and as our numbers grew, Team Plasma was born.”

Blake doesn’t say anything, so he carries on. “Our plan is to find the legendary dragons, and earn their respect. Once we do, we’ll utilize their power to sway the hearts and minds of the people, so everyone in Unova will liberate their Pokémon once and for all.”

“That’s- that’s never going to work,” Blake shakes their head, clearly still struggling to grasp any of this. “First of all, do you even know if the dragons exist? Secondly, even if they do, how are you sure that they’ll-”

“Respond to me?” He finishes, then shrugs, flicking a piece of hair behind his shoulder. “I’m not. There’s a very good chance they’ll reject me. But I’ve come too far not to try.”

“That plan is insane,” they scowl, then jab an accusatory finger towards him. “You’re insane! You can’t honestly think people are going to listen to you! Especially after everything your fucking minions have done!”

“I’ll admit, from what you’ve told me Team Plasma has done a few things to tarnish its image,” he says, tipping his head in acknowledgment. “Things I will be addressing with my father and the sages as soon as possible. Either way, it matters little. Once we bring the dragons of truth and ideals to our side, no one will even come close to being able to challenge us. Not even the champion himself.”

Blake is trembling, with fury, with hurt, the weight of this betrayal palpable in their watering eyes. They look seconds away from lashing out, like a bottle getting ready to shatter-

N leans forward, clasping their hand in his own. "Blake," he speaks, something more earnest and pleading in his voice now. "In ancient times, there were two heroes. One who pursued ideals, and one who sought the truth. They clashed, and brought about a war that nearly ravaged Unova... but it doesn't have to be that way again."

They withdraw a little, and squint at him incredulously. "What are you saying?"

"You see it too, right? The suffering and discord in the world... Team Flare, Rose, the chaos they wrought- someone could come along and do it all again. Pokemon are incredible beings that have extraordinary power, but it’s power that humans will always feel entitled to... It's an unending cycle of pain." He sounds so certain that he can persuade them. "You didn't deserve to go through the things you went through, but the strength of the heroes can make sure it never happens again. We can make sure. In a world where Pokemon live away from us, no one will be able to exploit them like that!”

They yank their hand away, and glower at him in revolt. "So what- you're asking me to join you?"

"Yes," he persists, refusing to back away. "I know it's a lot to ask of you, after the things Team Plasma has put you through, but as their king I swear to do everything in my power to make up for it. I'll hold the ones who hurt your Pokemon and your friends accountable, just please- take a stand as a hero one last time. With me."

He purses his lips, and finally draws back with a a long exhale, managing a small yet hopeful smile. "At least... it would mean a lot to me if you thought about it."

Reaching for the void cube at his hip, he twists it a few times, thumbing over the engraved symbols and patterns that look like they're letters of some ancient language you can't decipher. "So many hurt Pokemon have been brought to me over the years... so many agonized voices, so many broken hearts... I would do anything to bring it to an end.”

"...Are you kidding me?"

That soft, optimistic expression crumbles away in an instant when he hears those words. The camera focuses on Blake, and if looks could kill, N would be a dead man. They're glaring daggers into him, and the possibility of them actually trying to smack him or something does cross your mind.

"You're out of your absolute mind if you think I would even consider joining you," they seethe. "You- you thought you could use my experiences, my pain to try and- manipulate me over to your side?"

"Manipulate?" A glimpse of panic crosses his face. "No, that wasn't what I was trying to-"

He's interrupted by the floor jostling underneath him as the ride comes to a halt, and Blake shoves off their seat to exit the cab. "I'm out of here-"

"Blake, wait!" N cries out, scrambling to follow after them. His fingers claps around their wrist. "That's not what I meant, I-"

There's a flash of green that slices through the air, and Rotom practically shrieks, zipping away in escape. You don't catch what happens, but the audio does pick up N letting out a pained shout. Once Rotom re-centers itself, you see King has inserted herself between the two trainers. Blake has fallen back down onto their seat, and N is cradling his wrist in his other hand, a oozing gash traveling down the length of his forearm. King's tail leaf pulses with a radiant, sharp green light that's taken the form of a razor sharp blade.

"Servineee!" The Grass-type snarls with the ferocity of a Pyroar at him, and continues pointing the Leaf Blade at him threateningly. "Ser! Ser ser vine!"

{ To anyone who can understand the language of Pokemon, the things she say are even more intense... "You've done enough, vile Plasma scum! Lay another hand on my trainer, and it'll be your head next!" }

The door to the cab rattles as it’s opened, and the ride operator urgently pokes her head in. "What's going on in here? Is everything alright?"

Glancing between Blake and their Pokémon, N raises his hand to the woman reassuringly. “E-everything’s fine, ma’am-”

Blake storms their way out of the cab and towards the stairs without another word, Pokémon parading out after them in a line. Boo is the last to exit, and he gives pause, looking back at N with something conflicted and remorseful in his gaze. Cordelia comes scrambling back to retrieve him, grabbing his arm and hastily pulling him along.

Rotom is about to follow, but stays for a moment to watch N climb out next. The attendant notices his injury, and presses a hand to her lips in shock. “Sir, you’re bleeding!”

“It’s fine,” he sighs impatiently, navigating around her to swiftly pace after them. He meets them at the bottom of the steps, where the rest of their party are flocking to them and chattering worriedly over their obvious distress. “Blake!”

"Blake?" He repeats when they don't acknowledge him and instinctively reaches out to tap their shoulder, but stops himself when he sees the deadly sharp glare King gives him. "Look, I'm sorry it came off that way. I just- I thought if anyone could understand the way I felt, it'd- it'd be you..."

"You wanna know something?" they sneered, barely even sparing him a glance over the shoulder. "I do think the world has gone to shit. I poured everything I had into saving it, twice, and it still went and fucked me over in the end. But at the very least I'm not going to try and make it more miserable for everyone else. Especially chasing some completely batshit goal that isn't even going to work!”

"What do you mean-?"

They swivel on their heel to face him. "You honestly, honestly think you can keep humans from being greedy, selfish fucks if you take Pokemon out of the equation? The only thing you're going to achieve by even trying to do that is getting a LOT of people pissed off at you. At BEST. You're going to get people hurt, you're going to get Pokemon hurt, and in the end all it's going to do is come crashing down on you-"

"Stop," he demands, growing frustrated himself. He tangles a hand through his hair, trying to keep himself calm. “Look, you don’t think my methods will work? Fine. Then try and come up with something better. Right now, tell me what you think needs to be done in order for things to change-”

“I don’t FUCKING know!” They shout, drawing the attention of several people walking by. “You wanna know what I think?! I think that you’re just as fucking bad as Rose and Lysandre! You’re doing the exact same thing they did, using Pokémon and hurting everyone in your wake just because it’s what YOU think is right!”

“I am not,” N scowls, fist trembling at his side. “Do not compare me to those men.”

They shove him away, harshly. “You want actual, genuine advice? Suck it the fuck up. Realize there’s things you can’t change, and deal with it. Go find some actual, meaningful ways to make the world less unbearable li-”

“Lord N!”

A pair of Plasma grunts come rushing into the scene, and stop to salute their leader.

“We didn’t realize you were here, sire!” one of them exclaims.

“Are you safe?” The other eyes Blake with contempt. “This ruffian didn’t harm you, did they-?”

“No,” he does something unexpected, and throws an arm out between the younger trainer and the knights protectively. “Report back to the sages and leave this place at once. We’re done here.”

The first one points a finger towards Blake. “But my liege, your father declared them a sworn enemy of Plasma, he ordered us to apprehend them at any-”

“This individual is none of your concern,” he declares authoritatively. “From now on no one in Plasma will pose any harm to them whatsoever, understood?”

“Y-yes, your majesty!” The grunts respond dutifully, before marching off somewhere out of sight.

“Hey!” Blake is about to chase after the pair, but N plants himself in front of them, blocking their path. They try to shove and slip past him, but he stands firm. “Out of my way, N, I mean it!”

“Those knights are under my protection,” he grunts, voice rumbling like thunder. “You’ll have to go through me first.”

Their eyes roar with a newly kindled blaze, like a match to gasoline, and they pace backwards with a scowl. “King, go after the grunts. I’ll take care of this.”

His eyes follow the Servine as she whips past his feet, and his lip twitches in annoyance. “Nox. Stop her.”

There’s a brief second of confusion on Blake’s features, before they’re almost knocked off balance by a red and black blur that comes barreling out of the bushes behind them. The creature emerges fully into the fading daylight and reveals itself- a Zoroark.

The attention of several passerby’s are drawn to the scene, and they all gasp and stumble back in horror. The dark-type shoots Blake and icy glare, before bounding off through the crowd in pursuit of King. Everyone screams and disperses, one man even shakes his fist after the fox and shouts “Somebody stop that demon!”

N just clicks his tongue disapprovingly at the overreaction, before returning to the task at hand. Bringing his thumb and index finger up to his mouth, he whistles, the sound reverberating over the area and summoning several Pokémon that come rushing to his side- a Sandile, a Darumaka, a Scraggy, and a Sigilyph.

He instructs the Sandile out onto the field first. “Don’t expect us to hold back like we did before,” he warns the trainer on the opposing side.

“Tch. About time,” they scoff. “Beau, you’re u-”

Cordelia jumps in before their trusty Swoobat can, the usually pacifist Panpour taking her trainer by surprise when she adopts a combat-ready stance. They open their mouth to question what she’s doing, but stop when she looks back at them with determination and resolve.

After a moment, they nod affirmatively, turning their eyes back to the fight at hand. “Alright. Cordelia, use Water Gun!”

End video.]

———

[noamuth]

Jewelry

Dalamus wears a decent amount of jewelry, much of which he made himself! As a jeweler, this was an easy way to promote his skills and business. As a consort, it was to show him off to others.

Dalamus made every ring, earring, and bracelet, both polishing and shaping the cabochons and shaping the silver. The only things he did not make or pierce himself are the tongue piercing, the hair accessory, and the... "banana" piercings. All of these were present at the time of his exile and all except the hair accessory are still present.

Walkthrough of the stones and enlarged images under the cut!

Not depicted in any amount of detail is his nose ring in his right nostril. Nothing fancy.

He has a tongue piercing which, if one somehow gets close enough to see, is shaped like a spider rounded into a ball.

Each ear has five piercings, although currently asymmetrical. The lowest piercing is a gauge, which connects to two earrings via rings looped through the gauge. One which dangles low is a silver spider with a small ruby cabochon, and the other is connected to a piercing in the shape of a fly.

The next three along the edge of the ear are Moss Agates, red, then orange, then yellow. But the yellow agate earring in his left ear was ripped out by Taliira when Dalamus refused to interrupt his work to accommodate one of her requests.

Moss agate is a form of chalcedony which includes minerals embedded in the stone which form filaments and may resemble moss. Usually white with green filaments, other colors can rarely be found. It is not considered a true agate because it does not contain concentric bands.

After getting the earring ripped out, Dalamus made a Labradorite bar earring for the top edge that same ear.

Labradorite is a calcium-enriched feldspar mineral which displays iridescence.

His hair accessory is silver chains linked into the shape of a spiderweb, with a spider in the center and garnet reverse-teardrop shapes dangling at the bottom. It was held in place with either hair clips or small combs built into the piece. This accessory was given to him by Nedvyllanna and he had been wearing it at the time of his exile. Unfortunately, when he was tossed from the Nautiloid, it was pulled off him by the wind and likely tossed into River Chionthar.

On his left wrist is a bracelet which loops against itself to form a sturdy band. Each end of the bracelet is shaped to resemble a Displacer Beast's barbed tentacle, and has a pointed oval Chrysoberyl cabochon. The green color of the stones and the highlight that goes down the middle earns it the name of "Displacer's Eye".

The "cat's eye" effect, or chatoyancy, is present in multiple materials, such as many gemstones, woods, and others, appearing in each for different reasons. In Chrysoberyl, it is formed by the mineral Rutile aligning perpendicularly to the stone. While "cat's eye" can be seen in other gemstones, "Displacer's Eye" is only so-called when the effect is present in green gemstones.

On his left ring finger is a rectangular silver Shalhoond Sunrise cabochon ring, named so because the material often turns up in the Mountains of Copper, near the Shalhoond forest. The green at the bottom elicits images of a green landscape, such as the forest, the dark boundary in the middle reminds one of mountains on the horizon, while the red at the top resembles the sky at sunrise or sunset.

This stone is made up of red Cuprite and green Chrysocolla, often with a boundary of iron oxide between the two minerals.

On his left index finger is a silver ring in the shape of a Night Bat, the symbol of House Strighym, with its wings and tail wrapped around the finger.

On his right middle finger is a rectangular silver Eudialyte cabochon ring, the pink against black almost resembling roses at a glance.

Eudialyte is a minor ore of zirconium. The white mineral is alkali feldspar, and the black is aegirine. It is not typically used as a gemstone due to its irregular crystals, granular appearance, and general rarity.

On his right ring finger is a silver oval Variscite cabochon ring, specifically a Spider Web Variscite, named for the obvious. Almost golden-looking filaments create a web-like pattern on a deep dark green background.

Variscite is a relatively rare aluminum phosphate mineral. Its green comes from chromium. Sometimes it is used in jewelry in place of turquoise due to its usually more vibrant green color.

And, his pride and joy, on his right thumb, is a silver circular "Beholder's Eye" agate cabochon ring. Eye Agate is what happens when the agate forms a circle in the center of the stone, making the bands appear to form an eye around it. A Beholder's Eye is so-called when the "pupil" is in other shapes, such as this almost figure-8 looking center. Surrounding it to represent the other, smaller eyes around a Beholder are polished beads of green Jade, yellow Jasper, purple Agate, and blue Chrysocolla.

Agate is the banded variety of chalcedony, forming when silica rich fluids deposit minerals into cracks or cavities of a host rock. Over time, they crystallize, creating the bands seen in agates.

Last but not least, the banana piercing. Nothing fancy, pretty self explanatory. Mild explanation below the picture. (If you are not interested, you are not missing anything after this!)

It is a frenum ladder piercing with 3 bars, although his do not start quite so close to the tip as the usual singular frenum piercing is. Supposedly it increases pleasure during sex, or at least that is the hope.

[whispersafterdusk]

Heart of Stone - ch 17

Unsuur had to admit, it was a really gorgeous horse.

Its mane was pure glossy black and the rest of its fur was black speckled with tiny spots of gray and white, with a oval-shaped white mark over its left eye and around the ear. Dawn had named her Midnight; it was a fitting name since the horse did look like a star-filled night sky, and she was rather cuddly for a horse too - the whole time they had been standing here talking to Elsie Midnight had been all but begging for attention and affection from all three of them.

(And maybe some treats too, but he wasn't carrying any right now and Dawn apparently didn't have any secret horse treats on her either). ((Continued below cut))

"Well, she's all yours," Elsie said as Midnight pushed her nose into Dawn's hair again. "Let me know if you want any advanced riding lessons or something, but I think you know enough to handle what you've gotta handle."

"Thanks Elsie, I appreciate it." Dawn reached up to pat the inquisitive nose with a smile. "I'll be starting patrols tomorrow afternoon now that I've got Midnight here."

"How's the water tower coming along?"

"Right on schedule - in the morning I'll set everything up to make the last set of plates for the water tank, then I'll haul the finished frame over to the base and get it put together so I can put the tank and filtration system in place when they're done. Mi-an also needs the frame up so she can get the pump installed."

Midnight took that moment to nudge Unsuur with her nose, and he stroked her cheeks and neck. "If you're starting patrols tomorrow does that mean you're done training with Pen?"

"Yeah, he thinks I'm as ready as I can be," Dawn answered with a snort. "I think he got bored with the training."

"That doesn't really sound like Pen. He loves fighting."

She smiled at him - there was an underlying something to it, he thought it was maybe annoyance or exasperation. "He loves fighting, not so much teaching. There was a lot of showing off being done along with giving instructions."

"Ah."

Dawn took the lead from Elsie and took a few steps away, Midnight following along happily. "Thanks again. I'll eventually have time to have dinner with you and Mi-an."

"Yeah, yeah. You need to learn how to take a break," Elsie grumbled. "I keep telling you builders and you never listen."

With a quiet laugh and a shake of her head Dawn headed off with Unsuur hurrying to catch up and walk alongside her. "Did you have any plans for later?"

"Just an early night. I'll be getting up super early to get that frame in place." She looked over her shoulder at Midnight. "I'll get this girl settled in, get a few things ready for the morning, then head to bed."

Unsuur nodded. "All right. I'm sure Justice already knows but I'll tell him that you're ready for patrols, so we definitely shift to the new schedule tomorrow." He paused, tilting his head to get a good look at her face. "Are you sure you still want to do this?"

She turned her head to smile at him. "I am. Don't worry about me."

"Will I get in trouble if I say I won't worry and worry quietly instead?"

Laughing she gently elbowed him and kept going. "C'mon - you can at least get a look at my new stable before I have to crawl into bed."

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

When Dawn and Mi-an stepped away from the final adjustments to the tower's base there was a loud roar of applause and cheers - it was done. The tower was done and with two days to spare before the next water shipment came in so the entire town could breathe a little easier and relax their water rationing just a tiny bit.

And, with Dawn helping out with patrols now, both he and Justice were getting a midday nap in (staggered, of course - couldn't have both of them asleep at the same time) and Unsuur could honestly say he felt more human and less like a wrung out and worn out sock. As Dawn threaded her way through the crowd to come tightly hug herself against him he could tell she was feeling great too - she didn't even seem to mind it when Pen gave her a congratulatory (if a bit rough) pat on the back as she went passed.

Unsuur rested his chin on top of her head and let out a relieved sigh. Sandrock was back to normal again. Hopefully it would stay this way for awhile.

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

Every so often Dawn woke up right before the alarm went off so sometimes Unsuur would wake up to a muffled clang-click noise. This was another of those mornings though it was less the sound rousing him and more Dawn having to lean away from him to reach it; as she rolled back onto her back beside him and went to stretch Unsuur scooted down in the bed and put his head on her chest, slipping his arms around her again.

She giggled softly and patted the top of his head. "Good morning. Sleep all right?"

Unsuur let out a contented hum and inhaled deep; she still smelled like the soap she'd used in the shower last night, along with a touch of clean linen from the sheets.

"I'll take that as a yes. I think I want eggs with my toast this morning - would you also like a few?"

He let out another little hum that he hoped sounded affirmative enough and felt his hair rustle as Dawn nodded (at least that's what he thought she did - he wasn't looking up at her) and went to sit up but Unsuur remained in place on top of her, getting a small laugh in response. "We do have to get up, Unsuur."

"Not yet." He could hear her heartbeat loud and clear, laying like this.

She laughed again. "You're going to be late for your patrols."

"Nah," he said, pressing a kiss between her breasts. "A few minutes to enjoy the morning won't hurt." A shiver went down his spine and spread a pleasant tingle down his legs as Dawn's hand shifted to lightly scratch his back - now he understood why Captain loved having his back scratched (he would not be sticking his backside in the air, though).

"Oh all right, fine."

There was a pretend annoyance in the words; Unsuur looked up to see her smiling at him.

"Are you having dinner with Mi-an and Elsie tonight?"

"That's tomorrow night."

"Why don't I make dinner tonight then?" he asked, rolling onto his elbow to let her sit up. She slid her legs from under the light cover and over the edge of the bed; her shirt had ridden up in her sleep and Unsuur reached over to tug the hem back down, resisting the urge to run his fingers along her side. "I feel guilty that I haven't gotten as many chances to cook for you as you have for me lately."

"It's not a competition, I just like cooking for you," she said, moving to retrieve a clean shirt out of her dresser.

He allowed himself a moment to admire her bare legs while ignoring how sore his own felt as he finally got up from the bed. "I know. I still feel guilty though."

"Says the man who insists on doing the dishes," Dawn retorted, sticking her tongue out at him. "Even if he's dead on his feet."

"It's not so bad now. You taking on the patrols here in town has really helped -- even Captain is getting a cat nap in the afternoon." Unsuur carefully straightened the pillows and cover as Dawn ambled passed him. "Though, I might need to get some heavier curtains to block out more of the sunlight coming in through the windows."

Dawn paused at the door into the bathroom. "I could make you some canvas screens to hang in the windows? You could pull them up and down like a set of blinds, just without any gaps to let light inside."

Unsuur thought about that for a moment, then nodded. "I think that would work better than curtains."

"I can get the canvas started right away, at least. Do you mind if I stop by later to get measurements for the frames?" she asked as she stepped into the bathroom - she left the door open a gap, waiting for his answer.

"I don't mind. In fact, I don't mind if you stop by for any reason - and if I'm not there, you have my full permission to go inside anyway. Wilson likes having company over."

There was a quiet giggle and the gentle click of the door latching as she pulled it closed. Unsuur got dressed and headed into the kitchen to get a pot of coffee going; as Dawn came into the room there was a timid knock at the door - he was just as surprised and curious as she was, because who would need to show up here before 7am? Dawn hurriedly tucked her shirt in and went to open the door, and peering over her shoulder Unsuur was surprised to spot Mayor Trudy. When was the last time he'd seen her? It'd been...months, easily.

"Hello there, Dawn! I've heard all about you - so glad to finally meet you face to face! I'm Trudy, the mayor of Sandrock."

"Oh, hello! Nice to meet you too," Dawn replied, pulling the door further open. "Would you like to come in for some coffee?"

Trudy waved her hands, looking a bit flustered at the offer. "Oh, no no, that's fine. I just wanted to come by and introduce myself since I just got back in town. We don't get a lot of new folks so I'm mighty glad you're here! I'd also like to extend an invitation to the next Fireside on Sunday - we've got a lot to talk about. No doubt you've heard about what Logan's done..." she sighed.

"Yeah, most of it...and fixed the latest problems too," Dawn said, echoing Trudy's sigh. "Rest assured I'm intending to stick around."

"That's good to hear, and we're happy to have you!" Trudy smiled and went to leave, but turned back after only a single step. "Oh, erm...actually, there is one small thing I could use help with. Although, I'm sure you're very busy..."

"Not as busy as I was building the new water tower - what do you need?"

"You don't need to trouble yourself too much with this but... I do need a new desk at City Hall. It seems Matilda took a liking to my old one and made off with it, ahah!"

Dawn straightened where she stood, briefly looking back at Unsuur questioningly; Unsuur shrugged - this was the first he was hearing of desk theft. "Uh...she just...took your desk?"

Again Trudy waved her hands. "I'm sure she'd give it back if I asked but...perhaps it would just be easier if we both had nice desks, don't you think? So if you do get time, it would be quite nice of you to help me with this minor thing."

"Uh, sure. A desk isn't that hard to make, even a fancy one. Do you want a matching chair?"

"If it's not too much trouble..."

"Nah, no trouble at all. I'll get to work on it later this evening."

"Thank you! And, eh, well, so long!"

This time Trudy did actually leave; Dawn silently shut the door behind her, turning around and again looking to Unsuur with a bewildered look on her face. "Who the heck just steals a desk?"

"No idea, but I'll check with Justice to see if we should do anything about it."

With another sigh Dawn walked over to get the mugs out for the coffee. "Guess I know what I'll be piecing together after I get your screens done."

After they'd each had their coffee, toast, and eggs they walked hand in hand toward the gate where they met Jasmine coming toward them waving a letter in her hand.

"Good morning, Dawn! Got a letter for you today! Did you get to talk to my ma?"

"I did! Thank you," Dawn giggled as she took the envelope from her and waved as the girl hurried off. "Oh, it's from Nia," she said after a pause, looking the front of the letter over.

"You sound surprised."

"Not entirely - she WAS writing pretty frequently for awhile, but I know this semester's mid-term exam period just finished so she was probably just busy studying." Dawn pulled her hand from his to slip a finger under the flap and pop the glue loose to get at the paper inside; Unsuur needed to get going so he bent to kiss her temple but paused when she hissed a quiet 'shit' as she looked the letter over.

"...something the matter?" he asked, blinking at her before standing up straight again.

She let out a low growl and crunched the letter in her hand. "At least she warned me ahead of time instead of just showing up on my doorstep..."

"What's wrong?"

Dawn closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "-did I ever tell you about Emile?"

Emile... That sounded familiar. When had he heard-- Oh. "That was the person who brought you postcards from the...observatory, right?"

"That's the guy. He's my ex-boyfriend."

Unsuur nodded slowly; he didn't quite understand where this was going just yet.

After another breath Dawn opened her eyes, frowning. "Nia did visit me a few times in Atara, and met him through me. When I broke things off with him he and Nia eventually gravitated toward each other - which I was fine with," she added in a hurry. "If they make one another happy it's fine, whatever, not my business. The problem is Nia plans to come visit, and Emile will be coming with her."

"...oh," Unsuur replied softly. Immediately a war broke out in his head between feelings of suspicion and worry. "That's...bad."

"It is, and it isn't," Dawn said, pressing the heels of her palms to her forehead (the letter still clenched in her hand left a smear of ink behind thanks to the sheen of sweat on her face - there was no escaping it, not even this early in the morning). "I'm over him. Fully over him. I just don't know if he's over me. If he IS, then great! No issue! We can double date when they get here and have a good time! If he's not, I...really don't want to cause any friction between him and Nia, and I REALLY do not need another person chasing after me when I'm happily taken."

"Do I need to do anything? Do you want me to do anything?" The worry and suspicion were still there but not directed at her of course, and it seemed like she had the same feelings as he did about this sudden surprise visit (it also felt a little rude to invite themselves here without checking if that was ok first).

After a pause she shook her head and thumped her forehead into his chest as she let her hands drop to her sides. "No. There's really not much you COULD do in this situation. Just know I have zero interest in Emile and I will knock his nose off center if he even hints at wanting me back. Arvio's lucky he's stayed out of arm's reach since his last stupid scheme."

Unsuur blew out a breath. "-you sure do joke about assaulting people a lot."

She laughed, looking up at him. "I'm tiny and full of rage? But in all seriousness, this sort of thing does get really annoying - no means no, dang it."

He smiled after a moment and used his thumb to wipe the ink off her skin. "Just as long as you don't actually follow through, unless you absolutely have to."

"Griping about it is catharsis enough and if I do get to a point where I feel threatened enough to hit someone it wouldn't be just me at fault anyway."

"That's true. Though, if you do, I'll be sure to place you under house arrest, so you don't have to share a cell with whoever you beat up."

She giggled and shook her head. "And then what, stand guard so I don't sneak off to do my builder things?"

"Sounds like I'd have to, if you're already planning on breaking out of...uh...your house, I guess. I'll make sure I'm there the whole time keeping an eye on you so you complete your punishment."

Blushing lightly she nudged him toward the tracks. "I don't need a criminal record to want to stay home all day with you, you know... G-get to work before you're late."

"It'll be ok. I'll help rehabilitate your criminal ways."

"Shooooo," she groaned, trailing off into laughter.

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

"How's your wrist?"

Unsuur didn't look up from the wanted poster in front of him - he was on the eyes now, and those were tricky. "It's not hurting. The stretches really help."

"That's good to hear. Just don't forget to do the cool down ones too."

A sandstorm had hit yesterday and blown all the posters away. Again. Justice had given him a day off to get at least 20 more drawn (Unsuur was confident he could get 30 done if he really pushed himself - Dawn had shot that down though). He'd spent all day cooped up in his house drawing and was going a bit stir crazy but then Dawn had come by with the canvas screens; there was still an insistent need to go outside and stretch his legs but with her to talk to now it was easier to ignore.

As she finished with the last screen there was a very obvious difference to the lighting in the room when Dawn hopped off her step ladder and pulled the screen down, and then again as she moved over to the other windows and pulled those down too. This was about as bright as it was at night with only the lamps on (which, thankfully, he had a lamp on the table next to him to avoid any eyestrain while he drew these things so the room wasn't completely dark). "Wow. Napping is going to be way easier."

"They should help muffle outside noise too," Dawn said, brushing her hands off.

"But not too much, right? I want to be able to hear if there's trouble." Unsuur sat his pen down and stood up to stretch before heading over to examine the screen. There was a little brass knob set into a hollow metal dowel where the bottom edge of the canvas was secured. As he watched Dawn twisted the knob gently and the screen began to slowly glide upwards, guided by metal tracks on either side and the roll of canvas was then hidden at the top behind a metal cover that she'd painted to match his window frames.

"If someone is shouting or exploding you'll hear it but people walking by talking normally should be less noticeable. Now, how these work is you use this knob here to lock the screen into place - it's all springs and tension, you can lower it all the way or stop at any point along the tracks. Just tug it down-" she pulled it down about halfway and twisted the knob, and Unsuur heard a soft click, "-and twist, and it'll stay."

It did in fact stay in place when she took her hand away. Unsuur reached over and tested the knob; she'd turned it to the right and it wouldn't go any further that way so he turned it left. There was another click and he immediately felt a bit of tension against his hand as whatever it was that would roll the screen up was no longer being held back. He let go and watched as it smoothly wound itself back up until the dowel was flush with the bottom of the case at the top. "Pretty neat. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome." She rose up on her toes to kiss his cheek then went to gather up the few tools she'd brought.

Unsuur pulled the screens back up and as she walked by him to pick up a screwdriver he grabbed her waist and pulled her in for a quick kiss. "-are you ready for tomorrow?"

The smile prompted by the kiss faltered some. "I... Kind of. It'll be nice to see Nia again but I'm still on the fence on seeing Emile."

"It's only a few days, at least."

"Yeah, true. And they'll be staying at the saloon so if all else fails I'll just avoid the place until they're gone."

Unsuur returned to the table and sat back down, picking his pen up and starting to add in the eyelashes. "I'll bring you dinner if you want to hide in your house until they leave."

Laughing she headed for the door. "I am not going to let them run me out of my home, whether that's Sandrock itself or my own house."

"But they can have the saloon for a few days?"

With a snort she tugged the door open. "Unless Owen chucks them out and they have to sleep in the train station. Knowing how Nia can get that might be a possibility."

Unsuur looked over toward the door at that, intending to ask what she meant, but she was already out and the door was closing. From what he'd heard about Nia he didn't think she was a troublemaker -- she couldn't be THAT bad or else Dawn wouldn't be friends with her...right? Or, how desperate had Dawn been back then to get away from her mother? Maybe it was some combination of Nia plus this Emile guy that caused some...bad behavior? Weird behavior? Annoying behavior? Some clarification was going to be needed but first he had to get these wanted posters done. He turned back to the poster in front of him and started shading in the collar; this set of them wouldn't be as detailed as the last set since he was limited on time but he was still pleased with how they were coming out, and the more he drew the quicker he was getting at it. At this rate he'd know Logan's face better than Logan himself would.

...actually, no, that was weird.

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

Unsuur waited calmly beside Dawn as the train chugged into the station; the number of people getting off was barely more than a trickle (the sand sledding thing really hadn't recovered from the water tower attack... Tourism levels hadn't budged much since then) so it wasn't long before a short blonde woman accompanied by a tall dark haired man exited the train car and the girl rushed over to throw arms around Dawn's shoulders.

"Look who it is! I've really missed you, Dawn!"

"Hey!" Dawn laughed, hugging the other woman tightly for a moment before pulling back, hands on her shoulders as she leaned side to side, looking her hair over. "It looks even better in person!"

Nia did similar, looking Dawn up and down. "Thanks! Let me see...alright, you seem fine so that's a start. Have the sand bandits been caught yet? Were you scared back then? I mean, I think I would have been."

Dawn huffed out a breath. "No, they haven't, and yes I was. Just a fence between me and their leader, but he just warned me not to get involved and left."

"Well you'd better listen then!" Nia replied, propping her hands on her hips. "And what's taking them so long? Is this Logan guy really as nefarious and cunning as the papers say?"

"It's just a lot of desert to search, Nia," was Dawn's answer. She took a step back from her and put her hand on Unsuur's arm. "So, this is Unsuur. Unsuur, this is Nia and Emile."

This entire time the man had been standing several feet back from the little reunion, smiling a bit but also acting like he was trying to not look in their direction - either out of respect for letting the two girls have a moment or out of awkwardness, Unsuur couldn't tell.

At mention of his name Emile turned his attention fully to the gathering and offered a hesitant smile. "Er, hello."

"Hi," Unsuur said. Emile was the tallest of the group but very thin; he had pale green eyes and was wearing a button up short sleeved shirt of almost the same shade. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise."

They all paused as Jensen sat a pair of suitcases down beside Nia and Emile, grunting with effort on one of them. "There you go! Enjoy Sandrock!"

Nia reached down and grabbed the lighter one. "I brought you a whole bunch of stuff! But! For now, I'll let you and Emile catch up and Unsuur here can show me to the Blue Moon. Bye!"

"Wait, Nia-"

And with that Unsuur found himself yanked toward the stairs by her arm suddenly looped through his; he stumbled and nearly fell down the steps before managing to get his feet under him, and tried to dig his heels in a bit against Nia's insistent pulling.

"Wait a moment-"

"Oh don't worry about those two - Emile needs to get a very long overdue apology out of his system. In the meantime we can drop this suitcase off at the saloon and then you and I can have a talk."

She emphasized 'talk' in a way that made him worry this was going to be a long conversation, and Justice had only given him an hour this morning to be there at the station with Dawn. "The saloon is...over there, in front of us. And now I have to get back on patrol."

"You can spare a few minutes, surely. I need to make sure you're good enough for my best friend."

She had an iron grip on his arm and dragged him along into the saloon. Inside Owen looked up to greet them and paused, mouth slightly open and confusion apparent on his face; Nia finally let him go and Unsuur stood just inside the doorway awkwardly as she skipped up to the bar.

"Morning! I'm Nia - I telegraphed ahead to reserve a room?"

Owen quickly recovered and offered her his usual smile. "Ah, of course! I've got your key right here - room number three, just up the stairs."

"Thanks! I'll be right back," she said, directing the last half at Unsuur as she hurried by.

Once she was gone Unsuur glanced back to Owen. "...how do I politely escape?"

Owen let out a chuckle - he still looked a bit confused as he glanced briefly up at the ceiling (where the rooms were, approximately) before looking back to Unsuur. "Want me to run interference?"

"Please?"

He gestured for Unsuur to run out the door and Unsuur quickly retreated outside, pausing to take a deep breath and then hurrying off for the start of his first patrol of the day; since it started at Hammer Time he took a moment to gaze across the tracks and could see Dawn and Emile standing in Dawn's yard. Emile had the other suitcase with him and there was a healthy bit of distance between the two; he couldn't clearly make out either of their expressions from here but as he watched he could see Emile sigh deeply and rub a hand against the back of his neck. Whatever apology the man had to give it seemed like he was getting it out of the way immediately.

Unsuur tensed when he heard the saloon's door open and then spun on his heel, speed-walking up the hill and into the tunnel.

Even if he wasn't short on time her declaration of needing to make sure he was good enough for Dawn was reason enough for him to not want to talk to her if he could help it. She might be Dawn's best friend but this first impression wasn't...great? What would she even do if she decided Unsuur wasn't up to her standards? HER standards didn't matter - he wasn't dating her, he was dating Dawn. Would she encourage Dawn to break up with him if she found him lacking?

Dawn hadn't been looking forward to this visit because Emile would be there but now having met Nia Unsuur was kind of hoping they'd leave early.

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

Nia was... She just was. Energetic, authoritative, and if Unsuur was being honest, pretty full of herself too. These last two days had been planned out by her and if any of them had any other suggestions on what to do, what to eat, how to spend their time, she sort of rolled over it and kept going. There were times where Unsuur looked to Dawn to both check how she seemed to be feeling and also try to glean how he should react or what to say and she seemed exasperated at times but otherwise just let Nia do her thing.

Emile on the other hand was a total blank slate; he didn't talk much unless someone spoke directly to him, he did what Nia told him to do, and if he was enjoying himself he was giving off no hints of it. Unsuur actually felt a little bad for him -- not only was he not dating Dawn anymore but he'd chosen someone like Nia to replace her.

...that was a bit unfair. All Unsuur knew of Nia was what she was choosing to show him now. She and Dawn had grown up together, there had to be more to her than this.

And, admittedly, he wasn't spending too much time with her, and he didn't think Dawn was getting to spend that much time either. They both had their patrols along with Dawn still having her builder stuff she had to do, and from what he'd gathered from the chatter when they all sat down to dinner the last two nights was Nia was spending most of her time at the Moisture Farm -- she was a botany student so...he guessed she was getting some lessons from Zeke? Or something. He wasn't really sure.

Tonight was their last night here in Sandrock and they'd be catching the train back to Highwind tomorrow; this time they were having dinner at Dawn's place, and both women had shooed him and Emile out of the kitchen so he'd found himself sitting awkwardly on the opposite end of the couch from the man who did not seem inclined at all to talk to him. If it had been anyone else other than Dawn's ex-boyfriend Unsuur would have been fine with the silence (he liked sitting silently and did it pretty often on his own) but he had the slightest nagging feeling that Emile (obviously) didn't like him along with a hint that the man didn't feel welcome here either. Unsuur couldn't do anything about the former but he could try to do something about the latter.

"Did you enjoy Sandrock?" he asked quietly. Behind them the girls burst into laughter over something or another and Unsuur wondered if Emile even heard him as he didn't really react at first.

Finally Emile took a deep breath and turned his head just enough to look over at him. "Yes, I did. The landscapes here are rather awe-inspiring, and I was surprised to find a fellow architect here in town. She was good company and has a sharp mind for design."

Guess that explained what he'd been doing to pass the time. "Yeah, Heidi is pretty smart and good at designing things. She writes for our newspaper too."

"Ah? She didn't mention that."

Emile fell silent again and after it dragged on awhile Unsuur figured he wasn't going to add more to that part. "Did you two get to try sandrunning?"

After another long pause Emile shook his head. "No. If Nia wasn't with Dawn she was at the farm. I plan to visit again in the future so, perhaps then."

"Catori owns the sandrunning stuff and wants to make it a yearly thing, like a festival. You should try visiting then. It'll be fun."

Finally a faint smile from the man. "I don't intend to limit myself to festivals, but...it's a possibility."

"Dinner is done you two!" came Nia's singsong call then. Unsuur stood and as he went to step around the end of the couch to head to the kitchen Emile stood up far faster than Unsuur could have predicted and grabbed his sleeve, yanking him close.

"Don't screw this up. Regret is not something you get over quickly," was all he said, voice pitched low and then letting go of the sleeve just as quickly as he'd grabbed it.

Unsuur stared at him as the other man headed over to the kitchen with a totally normal expression on his face - like nothing had just happened. Don't screw this up. He assumed 'this' was his relationship with Dawn and of course he didn't plan to screw anything up -- this was probably the most thought-out thing he'd ever done in this life (if anything he was OVER thinking most things) and there was a comforting amount of confidence and relief in that. If he did mess something up it would never be on purpose...was it meant to be just a warning, or a hint that he'd actually done something wrong?

His sleeve was wrinkled and the rolled cuff had been uncomfortably pulled down his arm and Dawn gave him a curious glance as he came over to the table fiddling with it. He gave her a small shrug as he finally got it back in place and sat down; as usual Nia dominated the conversation, full of chatter on what she'd learned from Zeke and then how much she'd miss Dawn.

"You really should come visit Highwind again -- we've gotten some new cafes, a new library, and they finally redid that park near the shore."

Dawn shook her head, wrinkling her nose. "Absolutely not. I don't want to see my family. If they ever move away then I'll consider it."

Nia huffed and crossed her arms, pouting. "We can just ignore them if we run into them - I don't even think any of your brothers are living at home anymore so there's way less of your family hanging around."

"Doesn't matter. If they're there, I won't be. And besides, I'm not really interested in going on vacation any time soon."

"But that means I have to come all the way out here!"

Dawn shrugged. "Sorry, but I'm not budging on this one: I'm never going back to Highwind so long as my parents are still there."

"But-"

"No means no, Nia," Unsuur said then. Everyone looked to him in surprise - he was surprised he'd said it himself - and a breath or two later Dawn's expression melted into one of gratitude before she stood up and went to refill her glass from the pitcher of tea sitting on the counter (there hadn't been room on the table for it along with the dishes of food and their plates). Nia gave Unsuur a sour look but picked up her fork and began to dig into her dried sandberry-topped salad in silence. Dawn topped up Unsuur's glass of tea while she was at it then came back to the table to start on her own dinner; Emile, as usual, remained totally silent, but gave off the barest indication that he liked the saucy sandfish thing -- it was just on the side of too spicy for Unsuur's tastes so he mostly ate his salad and had a bit more rice porridge for dessert than he normally would have eaten.

Nia and Emile couldn't stay too late - early train to catch and all - so after Nia had helped Dawn with the dishes they both left, and Dawn let out a loud and long-winded sigh as she closed the door behind them.

"Whew. I should probably head to bed soon too so I can see them off tomorrow but first-"

She hurried over toward the couch and slid a box out from under the coffee table there; Unsuur hadn't noticed it when he'd been sitting there earlier with Emile, and based on how Dawn huffed as she picked it up it must have been heavy. As she sat it on the table Unsuur came over and rubbed a hand across her back.

"Nia brought some stuff for me and some of it I think you'll enjoy too," she said, pulling a small knife from a pocket to cut away the twine tied around the box (it had two latches on the lid as well so he wasn't sure why the twine was also there). Once she'd yanked all the twine free she clicked the latches open and lifted the lid to reveal dozens of small canvas sacks with tightly tied tops. "With everything calming down I'll be able to get set up to start blowing glass again so she brought me a lot of colored glass to use."

She plucked one of the bags up and plopped it into his palm; it was heavy and cool to the touch, and it felt like a small bag of sand as he gently squeezed it. When he got the knot loosened he carefully opened it to reveal brilliantly red glass shards. "How much glass do you need to make something? These bags don't hold a lot."

"I'll be mostly using these to add patterns to bigger pieces, which I'll show you how that's done when I'm finally all set up for it. She brought me every color imaginable so I'll really be able to do...pretty much whatever comes to mind," Dawn giggled. She started taking the bags out of the box and stacking them in a sloppy pyramid-shaped pile next to the box, steadily revealing what looked like fist-sized spherical rocks under it. "This is what I wanted to show you though."

Unsuur made sure the bag of shards was tied securely before setting it down and accepting one of the rocks and was intrigued by how light it felt; there was a rubbery band about an inch wide wrapped around its middle and with him holding the rock still Dawn popped it loose. Instantly the rock came apart in two pieces in his hands, surprising him to the point he nearly dropped one half, then found himself staring into a glittering dome of bright purple amethyst.

"Oh wow, it's a geode," he said softly, holding the halves up and slowly turning them back and forth in his hands so the craggy gemstones inside caught more of the kitchen light behind them and sparkled. "It takes thousands of years to make a geode. They're supposed to be more common in deserts but I've never actually found one myself. You can tell a rock might be a geode if it feels way too light compared to other rocks of the same material and size." Looking down into the box he counted five more sitting in there. "How did she get so many?"

"No idea," Dawn said, smiling at him as she picked up another. Inside that one was agate and it was a bit more compact than the amethyst one he was holding with only a thumb-sized hollow in it. "She said they were a late - or early, depending on how I wanted to read a calendar - birthday present and she didn't want to risk them getting lost in the mail."

With a permitting nod from Dawn he put the amethyst geode down and picked up another. "This one feels heavy." Tugging the halves apart he revealed a solid core of opal without any hint of a hollowed spot. "This is a thunder egg. Not technically a geode but since they're shaped like one and can be found in the same areas they get lumped in with them."

"I never knew there was a difference. They're really neat, aren't they? I've 'worked' with geodes before in that I leave them as is and just attach a base for display purposes but I've never had this many at a time," she said, setting the agate one down and opening the next to reveal lots of white quartz. "That's what I plan to do with these, though I'm thinking I'll build a shelf just for that." The rest of the geodes were also quartz, mostly white though one of them was full of almost clear crystals; Dawn moved the box aside and carefully arranged the halves in a line on the table. "Would you also like a shelf?"

"I do need more storage space for my rocks but you don't have to take on more work for that. I'm not in any hurry and it can be kind of fun to rearrange what I have on display every few weeks or so."

She laughed and picked up an amethyst half and put it back into his hands. "Sorry, I meant for these, silly."

"...but they aren't mine," he replied, glancing between the geode and her. "I don't need a shelf for something I don't own."

"You will if I give you some."

"Oh. You don't have to do that either."

"Too bad, I am," she giggled. "You can keep some halves and I'll keep the others, and we both have something pretty to look at later."

The amethyst glinted in his hand; he ran a thumb around the smooth cut edge and smiled. "All right. Though, you really don't have to."

Dawn gave him a quick kiss on the temple and started to pile the bags of glass shards back into the box at her feet. "I know, but I want to, so I am. So there. I'll just need to know what wall you want the shelves on."

"Ok. I'll decide on that after I've had some time to picture how I want it to look." He carefully sat the geode half down next to its pair and sat down on the couch, waiting for Dawn to finish with the glass before pulling her into his lap. "Did you at least enjoy their visit?"

"Mostly. Emile apologized for how things ended and while I wouldn't call us friends, exactly, he cleared his conscience and I don't have to worry about any trouble coming from him."

"He didn't talk much... He wasn't mad at me or anything, was he?"

She shook her head, settling into his lap and leaning her head back to rest it on his shoulder. "No, he's not the jealous type. He screwed up, he owned up to it and apologized, even if it was a bit late, so we're done and over with, and if he plans to come back to Sandrock to visit Heidi I'm fine with that."

To visit Heidi? "Why Heidi, specifically? Some architect thing?"

"Oh boy, no, it's more-" Dawn huffed, pressing her fingers to her temples and beginning to massage them. "Ok, so, I want to preface this with the fact I DID let Nia have it when she admitted to this, and gave Emile an earful too, but Emile was using Nia to get back in contact with me and Nia was using Emile as a doormat as some kind of punishment for how he treated me at the end."

As though how he felt about Nia couldn't get any more confusing. "...why? Why would they do that? It doesn't sound like fun for either of them."

"Yeah, you'd think that..." Dawn pinched the bridge of her nose, inhaling deeply. "Emile went to Highwind trying to get in contact with me, found Nia, thought he'd be slick by using her to find me. Nia caught on to what he was doing but was content to let him buy her dinners and do nice things for her as a sort of revenge in my name. Both of them are idiots and will be breaking up once they're both home."

"And...how does Heidi fit into that? Does Emile like Heidi?"

"Seems like it but it was Pablo who pulled me aside and asked about it. No damn clue when he noticed anything and I have no way to confirm it or anything but since he IS Heidi's close friend I guess if anyone would see something developing it'd be him. That and he's the town gossip. You can't fart without him taking notice."

He settled his arms around her waist, leaning his head against hers. "I didn't want to be rude but, I don't see how someone like Nia ended up being your best friend. Not based on how she acted and what you've just told me."

She laughed quietly and found his hand to tangle their fingers together. "To be honest... From her letters I could kind of tell she was changing, growing in a direction I wasn't entirely approving of. She's a warm and caring person, and was that way when we grew up together, but it seems like she's veered more into...'Nia knows best, because she cares.' I knew we were drifting some while I was off in Atara but I didn't notice it was THAT much since we were just writing letters. Having her around in person again was... It wasn't what it used to be? She definitely wasn't like this when we were together in Highwind."

Unsuur nodded - that made sense. People matured and changed as time went on so just because they'd been best friends before didn't mean they were best friends now.

"Emile didn't say something to you, did he? I saw you looked a little out of sorts earlier."

"Uh. Kind of." Her question drew him away from pondering about the fate of past friendships, and back to how Emile had warned him -- he wondered what Emile had done to Dawn to cause the break up. "He told me not to screw things up with you because regret is hard to get over."

Dawn rolled her eyes and gently pushed his hands away so she could stand up. "He always had his moments of the dramatic."

"What did he do? If you want to talk about it, that is. You don't have to."

"He turned into my mother, is what he did," Dawn replied, tone flat. "I do not want to be someone's trophy or pet wife. Wanting to be successful and take care of your partner is a noble goal but he wanted me to stay home and pop out kids while he was the sole provider - I warned him several times that's not what I wanted but he kept falling back into that line of thought until it turned into a big fight and things ended." She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, and glanced back to him. "I want to support and be supported in turn - a partner. If I ever get injured and disabled or too sick to work that's one thing, but expecting me to sit at home doing nothing with my life except raise kids is another."

Unsuur let that sink in for a few breaths, then stood up with a nod. "That seems like a really simple thing to not screw up, so I think I'll be ok."

Dawn started laughing, then shook her head. "I wasn't expecting you to do something like that." She went quiet, studying him for a moment. "What do YOU want out of a relationship?"

"I think I've already got it. I didn't ever see myself getting this far - I left my home village without a plan, after all. I do think..." He paused to make sure he was going to get the words in the right order. "...I do think that you're someone I can be with for a long time. Just standing by you. I've felt this way for awhile now. So long as I have you, I know I can become deputy, and keep protecting Sandrock, and have a good life here. No matter how many bridges or water towers get blown up. Which I guess that's on me to stop that from happening again but the sentiment still stands."

Slowly Dawn first pressed her palms flat against his chest then slid them up to lace her fingers together behind his neck and pull him down into a kiss. When she pulled away she smiled at him. "It might have been hell getting here, and it's probably not going to be an easy road going forward, but I'm glad I decided on Sandrock."

"Me too. Really glad." Unsuur smiled down at her for a second or two, then bent to sweep her up into his arms. "Time for bed. Or time to get ready for it - I won't make you go to bed without using the bathroom or getting to put pajamas on or something."

With a small chuckle she put her arms around his neck and let him carry her toward the bedroom. Unsuur put her feet back on the floor just in front of her dresser and unzipped his jacket as she went to retrieve the aforementioned pajamas, and was stripped down to his boxers and undershirt when she came back from the bathroom fully changed and with her hair let down.

He headed passed her for his turn in the bathroom and from behind him heard "you know, Pablo also tried convincing me to let him cut my hair."

Pausing in the doorway he glanced back to her. "Why? Well. I guess because he's a barber he has an interest in attracting business. But, why? I like your hair long."

"Me too, though I guess I could use a trim. My ends are getting a bit frazzled." She pinched some hair between her fingers, flicking the fingers of her other hand through the fringe-like gathering. "The idea IS tempting though. Cutting my hair was also something mom wouldn't let me do -- as in an actual cut and style, not getting a trim or whatever. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to at least hear him out on what he wants to do with it."

Unsuur finished up in the bathroom quickly and crawled into bed beside her, gently moving her hair aside so he wasn't laying on it, then clicked the lamp beside the bed off. "I know you'll look good with whatever you decide."

"That's the hope but at least it's just hair -- if I don't like the cut I can just wear a hat while it grows back."

She snuggled in against him and it didn't take long for her to fall asleep. Unsuur was just about to drift off when he remembered how Nia had wanted to make sure he was good enough for Dawn; she hadn't tried to corner him again so whether she approved or not was still a mystery, and also still none of her business. Dawn was the only person whose opinion on that mattered, and since he was the one laying here with her he was relatively certain he knew the answer anyway.

[shadowqueen402]

Balan Wonderworld Outfits: Chapter 8

Finally, I'm doing my favorite Chapter! Since it is winter-themed, almost all of the characters will be wearing winter outfits! Though, Iben will receive an interesting outfit choice since this is her Chapter. I hope you all like these!

Leo Craig

A dark blue winter hat with a white pom-pom on top, a dark blue scarf, a white coat with black accents over a red turtleneck sweater, dark blue mittens, black pants, and tall red boots.

Emma Cole

A pair of pink earmuffs, a red coat dress with six black buttons and white fur trimming on the hood, cuffs, and rim, a pink fringed scarf, matching pink mittens, black leggings, and tall green boots.

Jose Gallard

A red coat with white fur trimming on the hood, a black long-sleeved shirt, dark blue pants, and black shoes.

Fiona Demetria

A white turtleneck sweater underneath a navy blue sleeveless vest, denim blue jeans, and brown boots with white fur trimming around the cuffs. She wears a navy blue hair tie.

Yuri Brand

A red winter hat, an indigo coat, magenta mittens, olive green pants, and purple boots with a pair of white pom poms on each one.

Haoyu Chang

A grey winter hat and matching scarf, an orange coat over a green shirt, brown pants, and white shoes.

Sana Hudson

A brown coat with white fur trimming on the hood and cuffs, a dark green shirt, dark blue denim jeans, and cream colored boots.

Cass Milligan

A fuschia coat over a white shirt, black mittens, black pants, fuschia socks, and black ankle boots. She wears her hair up in a ponytail with a fuschia ribbon.

Cal Suresh

A grey winter hat, a black trenchcoat over a yellow shirt, a white scarf, dark grey pants, and black boots.

Iben Bia

A sleeveless, hooded denim blue vest with white fur trimming on the hood, a black shirt with a purple lining on the collar and lavender long-sleeves, red shorts with two gold buttons, black knee-high socks with light blue lining, and purple high-top shoes with white shoelaces.

Attilio Caccini

A dark magenta coat over a yellow turtleneck sweater, grey pants, and brown boots.

Lucy Wong

A long, black trenchcoat over an emerald green turtleneck sweater, a light green scarf, a black belt with a silver buckle, a long grey skirt with four black buttons, and emerald green boots with white fur trimming and white pom poms.

Eis Glover

A brown coat that reaches down to his knees over a red turtleneck sweater, dark grey pants, and tall black boots.

Bruce Stone

A cream-colored turtleneck sweater, mauve pants, and black shoes. He no longer sports his standard hat.

Act 3 Outfit (Specifically for Iben)

A short, form-fitting purple evening dress with a sweetheart neckline, gold cluster earrings with turquoise gems, a gold oval-shaped locket with a heart-shaped turquoise gem, and lavender stilettos. She wears her hair in a ponytail with a lavender hair tie.