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yuna542 · 1 year

Text

Connected (OT8 x reader)

Part 1 <-

Part 2

Pairing: OT8xreader

Genre: Smut, Angst, Fluff

Warnings: 18+, Suggestive Themes, Swearing

Word Count: 2.4k

Note: So that’s the beginning. I hope you like the little introduction. Went for a full wattpad cliché with Felix but I love it

On your first day of your new job as the personal manager of Stray Kids, you didn't expect to be standing in front of the man you made out with last night in a club. But it soon becomes clear that the Stray Kids don't just want you as their manager.

Will this passionate arrangement end your career?

The building was huge and you suspected that it would take you several months to stop getting lost. Apart from that, all the other colleagues had been really friendly so far and took away your nervousness a little.

The business manager had greeted you and led you through the floors. He was a short, middle-aged man who constantly pushed his glasses around on his nose. He made no secret of the fact that he didn't think much of you. But he was polite and as long as it remained at disapproving looks, because of your hairstyle, the make up, your clothes, or because you are simply younger than most employees here, that was okay.

The JYP entertainment building was tastefully decorated and looked more modern than any other company you had seen. There was a lot of plants and greens and you already felt welcome just by the warm interior.

Soon you were joined by one of the receptionist, who tried to force all the important information and knowledge about the company into your head.

Until today, everything was kept strictly under lock and key to protect the artists, so as not to attract any psychotic superfans. However, because of this, you had to teach yourself everything about the company and your clients in a very short time.

Finally, she led you to the office that would soon be your own.

"It's still a little empty. You can set it up the way you'd like."

Overwhelmed, you stroked your fingers across the oak desk. Then she took an Ipad from the table and handed it to you.

"The laptop and Ipad will be provided for you. All the important dates through next week are already entered into the schedule. But from now on, you take over the scheduling and planning. If you need something don’t be afraid to tell the staff.“

You nodded and accepted the Ipad. The office was beautiful. The walls were a pastel green and there were even two little palm trees on the light parquet floor.

"You have all day to get to know everything first. If you have any questions, contact me or Mr. Yang at any time. The real work will start next week."

You bowed and tried to suppress a big smile. This job really seemed perfect.

"Thank you very much. I'll start right away!"

Mrs. Kim seemed to think of something else and with a glance at her watch, she nodded.

"First, you should meet your clients, for whom you are now responsible."

"I'd love to."

Now your excitement raised once again. You fervently hoped that you would get along with the musicians you had to work for.

The company hadn't told you any information about them yet, so you didn't even know how many or how old they were. Or what kind of music they made.

She led you down the hall from your office and pointed to the doors on the left.

"This is where the practice rooms are. We'll go to the studio first. That's where the leader of the group should be recording right now."

Restlessly, you tugged at your clothes. You wanted to make a good first impression and had even squeezed into a short pencil skirt and blouse especially for that.

Your hair was pinned up and you even wore a little lipstick. Before knocking on said door, she smiled encouragingly at you.

"I'm sure you'll get along just fine. After all, you're the same age. Sometimes the boys can be a little feisty, but don't let that intimidate you."

Before you could comprehend the words, she knocked and pushed the door open. Music rang out and filled the soundproofed room. The sound studio was simply furnished and smelled of aftershave and coffee.

Everywhere were clothes, empty cans and boxes with various contents. You saw the protein shakes and the high-end equipment right away. While the rest of the room was messy, the work area with the computers was kept meticulously clean. Otherwise the room was completely empty. Obviously women were rarely present here.

The music faded away and that's when Mrs. Kim began to speak, while you prepared yourself internally behind her.

"Sorry for the interruption, but I wanted to introduce you to your new personal manager. She will be in charge of planning, organizing and coordinating projects from now on."

You stepped out from behind the lady and your finely crafted words got stuck in your throat. Two equally shocked pairs of eyes looked back at you and you would have loved to look around for hidden cameras. This could only be a stupid prank.

"Miss Y/L/N?", the receptionist asked cautiously, glancing back and forth between you and the man at the desk.

There, indeed, sat the guy you had drunkenly made out with last night in the dark corner of a club. To make matters worse, the muscleman was sitting on the sofa behind him and had eyes as big as plates.

That's when the door to the recording room opened.

"Chan what's going on? Why are we interrupting...?“ The remaining words stuck in his throat and you looked into two very familiar eyes. The whole troupe was gathered and all you could do was stare at each other in complete perplexity.

Finally Changbin cleared his throat and snapped you all out of your freeze. Somehow you found your voice again and tried to look unconcerned.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Y/N."

Mrs. Kim gradually relaxed a bit, and you could only hope that she attributed you flushed cheeks to nervousness. Han was the first to move, indicating a little bow.

"Han Jisung," he murmured very confused.

"Changbin."

You nodded and pretended that you were hearing the names for the first time.

By now Chan had struggled himself out of his chair and was standing in front of you. Your eyes met and you both wanted to sink into the ground.

He opened the lips that had been pressed to yours just a few hours ago and you had to tense your entire face to keep from crying in shame.

"I'm Bang Chan. The leader of Stray Kids. I'm looking forward to working with you."

Stiffly, he extended his hand and you shook it with a forced smile. That big hand that had grabbed your ass and had made you desperate for more.

"What about the rest?", asked Mrs. Kim then.

Changbin looked up from the floor.

"Jeongin and Seungmin will be here later. Hyunjin and Lee Know are practicing the new choreography."

"Felix must be on his way", Han added, glancing at his phone.

You tried to memorize the names, even though you’d probably have to turn the job in again today. Chan sat back down and gave you several quick glances.

"All right. Let's say hello to the others then."

As you left the room, you dared to exhale and ran the back of your hand over your forehead. This was such a big coincidence that you were still hoping to just wake up. As soon as you entered the dance hall, you couldn't believe your eyes.

Two other young men around your age were standing in front of the mirrors, moving in sync to a song blaring loudly through the speakers. When the taller one noticed you, he nudged the other and ran to the cell phone to turn off the music.

Now that they were in front of you, you tried not to let out how surprised you were by their appearance. You must have gotten caught up in some badly written K-Drama. You couldn't explain the whole thing any other way.

One had dark brown hair held out of his face by a headband and facial features that reminded you of a perfectly sculpted statue. He was breathtakingly beautiful.

When the other gave you a tight smile, your heart leapt. His eyes sparkled like obsidian and he looked like a prince directly out of a fairy story. His longer black hair was tied back in a half ponytail and his full lips were a seductive pink. Both were sweaty and breathing heavily from their workouts, what made the situation in no way easier for you.

You were completely overwhelmed. How many outrageously handsome men were there in this band?

You hadn't even heard Mrs. Kim introduce you, so engrossed have you been in the sight of them.

"Y/N? That's a nice name", the blond said then, and you tried to smile confidently.

"I'm Hyunjin“, he said, bowing.

"Lee Know... Or just Minho“, the other added and you tried to look as unconcerned as possible.

"We won't bother you any longer. You'll still have time to get to know each other over the next few days. Unfortunately, I have to leave now too! Miss Y/L/N, you know your way around now."

"Yes, thank you, Mrs. Kim", you replied at the door, and just then she hurried away.

"Aren't you a little young to be a manager?"

You turned back to the two of them and brushed a strand of hair out of your forehead before answering Lee Know:

"Maybe that's exactly why I'm best suited for it. Or do you want an old conservative manager who has no idea about the current industry?“

Hyunjin raised his eyebrows in amusement. Just then, two other members of the band entered the room.

„I think, we‘re really lucky“, Minho chuckled and scanned you with his gaze from your hairline all the way down to your pumps.

The other two arrivals introduced themselves as Seungmin and Jeongin. They were the youngest of the group and Jeongin, the Maknae, was only four months younger than you. They too were unusually attractive and you still didn't quite understand what you have gotten yourself into.

After a curt conversation, you left the dance studio and hurried down the hall. You just wanted to lock yourself in your office to take a breath for a second.

You had no idea you would be working for such young and handsome men.

Your head was about to burst and you had a lot to get into before you could start thinking about this job. As if the day wasn't chaos enough, you ran right into someone just as they turned the corner.

With a breathless scream, you flailed your arms in the air and the boy in front of you widened his eyes just as startled. Panicked, you clawed at his shoulder and he pulled you back to your feet by the waist before you could take you both to the ground.

For a moment you just stared at him and he was also completely surprised.

Strands of silver hair fell into his eyes and you feared fainting if he continued to look at you like that. His plush lips opened, but no sound came out.

"I'm sorry", you stammered, but instead of yelling at you or being annoyed, his entire face began to glow as you bit your lower lip in embarrassment.

"No. It‘s my fault. I wasn't paying attention. Are you okay?", he asked and his deep voice making you fully lose your mind.

"Yes. I'm fine", you assured and looked down at his hand, which was still on your hip. When he followed the look, he quickly withdrew it as if he'd been burned. By now, even your ears were burning.

The freckles on his fair skin and the most radiant smile you had ever seen made any fluency of words disappear from your body.

"I've never seen you before. Are you new here? From a girl band?", he asked cautiously, running a hand through his hair.

"No, not from a band", you laughed shyly.

He really thought you could be part of one of those pretty girl-groups?

"Yes, I have my first day. I'm the personal manager of Stray Kids since today."

His eyebrows shot up and an amused chuckle escaped him.

"You're our new manager? Really?", he asked, his face lighting up with excitement.

Of course, the impossibly handsome guy in front of you with the prettiest smile and deepest voice you’ve ever heard, was also part of the band. How could it be otherwise?

Then his smile suddenly went out and he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"I'm extremely rude. You probably have no idea who I am?"

You squinted your eyes apologetically and shook your head.

"I've only been in Korea for a few weeks... I worked mostly in America as a journalist before that. Because of that I‘m not really common with the K-Pop industry.“

It sounded like a justification and he dismissed that with a wave of his hand.

"No. I didn't mean it like that. That's a good thing! Actually very good. So you can get to know us. Entirely unbiased.“

That made you smile again. He was a real ray of sunshine and you could feel the warmth radiating from his mere presence.

"I'm Lee Felix. From Stray Kids", he introduced himself and bowed effusively. His Australian accent shined through and was even more adorable.

„Y/N Y/L/N“, you replied, and there he was smiling delightedly again.

"If today is your first day, I'm sure you have a lot to do. This can all be a bit much, really. If you need help with anything, just ask!"

He paused for a moment and then tilted his head a little.

"Do you have your phone with you?"

You pulled it out of your pocket and looked confused at him. He took it from your hand and typed in a number.

"I'll give you my number, and you can call me anytime."

Stunned by the kindness and trust, you took the phone again as he handed it to you and wanted to say something, but didn't know what.

Just then the door to Chan's studio opened and Han's face appeared in the crack.

"Yongbok! There you are at last. We've been waiting forever. Come on!“

Felix frowned and laughed lightly.

"I'm ten minutes early!" he returned, and Han began to grin.

"Just hurry!"

Felix sighed as soon as the door slid back into lock and looked at you apologetically.

"I won't keep you any longer from your work. Let me know if you need anything!"

"Thanks“, you said, returning his smile. He had taken away so much of the tension and you hadn't even noticed.

He said goodbye and walked down the hall. At the door of the studio, he stopped again.

"It's really nice that someone like you got the job."

Before you could ask what he meant by that, he disappeared into the room, leaving you wondering.

->Part 3

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864 notes · View notes

gothgril69 · 9 months

Text

Levi Ackerman/Fem!Reader Royalty!AU

Summary: You dream of another life, a simpler one under the rays of the warm sun, where you find love and your brothers live happily.

But you're destined to serve, to be the black sheep of the family and married off to whoever your father pleases because your parents can't seem to harbor any love for you. Your brothers will serve in the war, side by side with their Chevaliers, and you'll be left to pick up the pieces or die trying.

And the one you thought always hated you, will be right by your side to catch you when you fall.

Overall Warnings: themes of sexism, minor character death, angst, depression, minor character death, smut (please check ao3 for all tags)

Chapter warnings: smut MDNI

Chapter Length: 7.7k

ao3 link

Historia and Ymir stop dead in their tracks, turning to you with wide eyes. Historia looks concerned, while Ymir stares at you as if she’s already been betrayed – you understand what it looks like.

“We are not allies,” you blurt, facing them to explain yourself. “I can assure you they are our enemies, the same as you.”

“You better explain yourself,” Ymir sneers at you, stomping forward through the open doors of their castle. You watch her short dark hair, tied loosely at the nape of her neck, sway slightly along with her hips accentuated by the trousers she wears.

“You must understand our hesitancy,” Historia tells you softly when Ymir disappears around a corner. “Things are changing.”

Her blonde hair is braided, two sides pulled to the back, to allow you to see her features clearly. She’s beautiful, truly, and you can see how Ymir could fall for someone like her – they balance each other well. Although, you know Historia would not hesitate to do what’s best for her own country.

“I want to work together,” you tell her honestly. “If you’re willing, but I understand if you’re not and we’ll simply move on.”

“Let’s get you inside,” she tells you with a gentle hand placed on your arm.

She leads you inside the modest castle, Levi taking place behind you along with Erwin, Hange, and Miche. Navarre does not flaunt their wealth like Mirlenas does; dark stone brick walls lining even the interior of the castle, simple torch sconces lighting the way with minimal windows providing extra light. The floors are stone as well, but it still feels clean and wide open.

Historia leads you down a hallway. “We can discuss things in our meeting hall,” she gestures to an open doorway, a guard standing by with a blank face and cropped blonde hair. “Thank you, Nanaba.” The guard nods.

The meeting hall has wood floors, but they’re nothing like the patterned parquet flooring at home. A grand, round table is centered in the room, twelve chairs surrounding the mahogany surface, and you take a seat facing the doorway, but not quite directly across. Levi takes a seat next to you and you’re grateful, followed by Erwin and Hange sitting next to him. Miche stands guard by the door as Historia addresses you.

“Give me a moment with Ymir.” She gives you a sad smile. “She’ll come around.” You nod, and she takes her leave with Nanaba closing the door behind her.

You know very little of Navarre’s customs, your father only ever talking down about them and their “debauched” ways of living. They were more progressive than Mirlenas by far, sexuality and gender being something that was looked at far more loosely than Mirlenas. You admire them for living so freely, apart from the standards your society typically upholds. You wonder if Auguste would have felt more at home here, if Erwin feels as though he could have lived a life with him. You frown.

“If she even thinks about laying a hand on you,” Levi grumbles angrily next to you, a scowl evident on his face.

You sigh softly, appreciating his protection, but also anticipating a conversation later. You place a hand on his that rests on his thigh, rubbing your thumb back and forth across his fingers, and the tension in his shoulders seems to dissipate slightly. You understand, he’s worried about everything – so are you.

The doors open shortly after, a seemingly less irate Ymir striding through the doorway with Historia by her side – although her features are still in their natural state of annoyance. She takes a seat directly across from you while Historia takes hers across from Levi. “From the beginning,” she snaps, gesturing with her hand loosely before crossing her arms over her chest.

You tell her everything; how Zeke ambushed your brothers – you don’t miss the tension returning to Levi – the letter he sent you, every detail about the journey intended for Zaramund to negotiate until a storm caused your ship to crash on their shores. Historia lets out small gasps through the whole thing, and you notice how her eyes tear up when you mention your brothers’ deaths. Ymir’s eyebrows are slightly less furrowed by the time you finish explaining your side of things, her anger turning into reluctant understanding.

“I am so sorry about your brothers,” Historia mutters, wiping away tears from the corners of her eyes. “I am glad you landed on our shores before you arrived at Zaramund.”

“Thank you. I am as well,” you tell her gratefully.

Ymir speaks before you can continue. “You must know the state of Kaslogon before you start your journey again.” She sighs, and for the first time she looks tired, a hand placed on her forehead as she supports herself on the table. “You’re going to hate this.”

“We have a plan,” Erwin speaks up.

“Yeah?” Ymir lifts her head. “You can probably forego following that.” She hesitates, looking over at Historia for approval – Historia nods. “Grisha and Carla Jaeger are dead.”

Your lips part in shock, the hand resting gently on Levi’s now squeezing tightly as you try not to panic.

You’re too late. Zeke has enacted his plan and already killed his parents.

“What about Eren Jaeger?” Hange asks, their face curious as you process.

“Survived, but his location is unknown,” Historia says softly. “Apparently it was an assassination– killed by poison.”

“It was Zeke,” you tell them. You emphasize his point in his letter that made it known he would do anything to have you and stolen land.

“I’m going to kill that man,” Levi says on your right, still holding your hand but using the other one to press a fist into the table.

“Well,” Ymir hums. “Seems we actually have something in common. He’s a tyrant, and once he’s secured you he’s going to come for Navarre with full force.”

“He won’t be securing anything,” Levi growls. Erwin raises a hand to him, gesturing for him to relax. You can tell it makes him more angry, but he obeys regardless and sits with his lips pressed into a thin line, jaw clenched.

“Our plan involved your help once we found ourselves in your territory,” Erwin starts. “I believe it’s in both of our best interests to work together in this war to stop Zeke.”

Historia looks over at Ymir, sighing softly before she looks back at Erwin. “We agree,” she says. “I wish no harm against Mirlenas despite our differences, and I do not wish for Aeron to suffer such a fate from the hands of Zeke Jaeger.”

“We’re willing to provide you supplies,” Ymir continues on for Historia. “Whatever you need to end this war before it goes further into our territory. I hope whatever you have planned will end with peaceful negotiations, but Zeke is a mad man.”

You look over at Erwin – he’s smiling. “Zeke himself can be handled, but I fear it will end with bloodshed.”

—

Your guest bedroom is smaller than the ones you have in Mirlenas, with just enough room for a full size bed and a vanity. Levi stands guard outside your door, and you didn’t miss the look of longing he gave you when the door was closed and Miche gestured to show him his own room. You’ve been spoiled recently, able to share a bed with him throughout your travels and to constantly be with him.

You’re pacing the room, fidgeting with the plain cotton skirts Mrs. MacLerie had given you. Should you bother him in the hallway, request that he stay the night with you? You fear being too attached, too reliant on him, when you should be able to handle sleeping alone for one night before your journey resumes. Your sleep is just so uninterrupted with him, nightmare-less – dreamless. His arms wrapped around you is what makes you feel safe alongside his promises of always protecting you. You’re his now, and he yours.

You sigh, and swing open the door with a roll of your eyes at your behavior. Levi immediately straightens up off the wall, looking at you with furrowed eyebrows and concern. You don’t have to say a word for him to understand, and you can see in his eyes that he’s grateful you want him inside. He steps through the doorway as you step aside, and your nerves are back again when he doesn’t say anything.

“We should talk,” you say, your voice sounding small. You cringe at your words, knowing if they were said to you that you would immediately panic. “Everything’s fine,” you blurt out when you see his mouth open – it snaps shut.

He ponders for a moment. “Okay.”

You frown, and begin pacing the room again. He sits down on the edge of your bed, waiting patiently for you to begin.

“We are equals,” you state. You cast a side glance over at him, seeing him staring at you with a blank face – you look down again. “If we’re going to do this… If we’re going to negotiate with Zeke, I’m going to need you by my side regardless of the decision I make. I’m an inexperienced Queen, I know, but you’ll make me look like a fool if you question my authority.”

You keep pacing, nerves getting the best of you as you continue to fidget with the fabric of your skirts. You desperately want to break the habit, and you force your hands by your sides as they end up in fists instead.

Levi stares at you as you pace back and forth, fists now clenched by your sides instead of incessantly pulling at the threads in your skirts. He hates hearing that man’s name, the same man that killed your brothers and Furlan, the same man that killed his own parents. Levi feels this urge to protect you fiercely as soon as the name is mentioned – he’d do anything for you.

But he heard what you said, and he fears that he’s overstepped your boundaries when he didn’t mean to. He doesn’t know how to balance it, the unquenchable desire to be your protector, to love you, and the side of him that is still your loyal Chevalier. You’re right, and he knows that.

You’re startled by Levi grasping your hands, unfurling your fingers so you’re no longer pressing your nails into your palms, your head jerking up to meet his eyes. “You’re right,” he says softly. You stare into his eyes, those beautiful pools of grey that look at you so softly now. “You are my lover, but you are also my Queen. I trust you, and I will push down my instincts to protect you when you are fully capable.” His hand comes up to hold the side of your face, his thumb brushing the soft skin under your eye. “I fear there is going to be a moment where I can’t be there for you when you need me.” He lets go of your face, taking a step back as he frowns at the ground.

You stare at him for a moment, the overwhelming pressure in your heart making you speechless. You can see the frustration and sadness in his features as he stares down at the ground, jaw clenched. Memories of Auguste, Theo, and Furlan’s deaths no doubt passing behind his eyes, the hopeless feeling of despair overwhelming him.

You step forward and reach out, a gentle finger under Levi’s chin tilting his head back up. “I am here now,” you tell him softly. “We are here now, and until we join the stars as well then we will both do what we can.” You press your lips against his in a soft kiss, gentle enough to feel the way he exhales in relief. “I cannot live without enjoying your presence fully now, Levi. We have bickered for far too long, and as long as we live I will take your protection as long as you will allow me to protect you,” you whisper against his lips.

His eyes are closed as you look at him with half-lidded eyes, his lips slightly parted as he awaits more of your lips against his. His hands find your waist, and he gently tugs the laces of your corset free. “I’ll do anything you tell me to,” he whispers, eyes still closed as he removes your garment. They open just slightly. “I’m yours.”

You kiss him, firmly molding your lips against his as they move languidly together. Your hands find the cravat tied around his neck, fingers nimbly untying the fabric to cast it aside as Levi’s hands bunch up the fabric of your skirts to lift over your head. You only part for a moment to help him rid the fabric from your body, his fingers untying the flimsy skirt support around your waist as your own begin unbuttoning his blouse. Your lips come in contact again. He shivers under your touch, casting aside the skirt support and assisting you by lifting his blouse over his head by the collar once you’ve unbuttoned it enough.

You don’t immediately connect again, taking your time to relish in the view of Levi in just a pair of trousers before you. You’ve never seen him shirtless before, only a peek at his abdomen when he would wipe his brow free of sweat during a rigorous training session, but you had never paid much attention to the man. Now you openly ogle at him, staring shamelessly at the curves of his muscles, the way they flex slightly under your watchful eye, the way coarse dark hair trails down from his naval and disappears under his trousers. His hair is slightly tousled from his shirt being swept over his head, dark bangs barely hiding the lustful gaze he looks at you with. He’s always been remarkably handsome, piercing grey eyes, sharp, but soft, features, and you’re so grateful you’re the one that gets to see him so closely.

Levi does the same to you, openly staring at the way your nipples pebble under the thin cotton chemise provided to you. He’s never seen you like this before, not even when his hands grazed your sides in the countryside of Navarre, your back being turned to him and body being hidden under the sheets. Your hair is still down, it’s natural texture brushing over your collarbones and the nape of your neck – it’s grown longer since the start of your journey. Your curves are slightly silhouetted by your chemise, the short sleeves cupping your arms so your shoulders are free. The way your décolletage is revealed to him makes his heart palpitate, your skin sloping down to your breasts that are only hidden by thin, white cotton. You are such a beautiful woman – Levi curses himself for waiting so long to admit it.

You bravely step forward again, fingers beginning to undo the buttons of Levi’s trousers. He brushes your hair behind your ear. “What are you doing?” he mumbles, grabbing your hands to stop your process.

“I owe you,” you smile at him and lean in to kiss him again, freeing your hands from his to continue.

“You owe me nothing,” he whispers against your lips, his hands coming up to cup both sides of your face.

“Please– let me please you,” you breathe, begging for just a small taste of him, anything. You walk him back to the bed when he doesn’t openly oppose, guiding him to take a seat when the back of his knees press against the edge of the mattress. Your fingers finally finish unbuttoning his trousers as you kneel on the ground, gently pulling them, along with his undergarments, down as he lifts his hips to assist you and kicks them off to the side with his shoes.

You openly gape when his cock springs free, already hard and inflamed at the tip as it leaks a small amount of clear fluid. You look up at him, eyes doe eyed and innocent, and Levi bites back a groan at the sight. “You don’t have to,” he tells you honestly, because he can tell you might be overwhelmed by the pressure of performing well for your first time.

“I want to,” you insist.

Your lips are barely parted as Levi brushes his thumb against your bottom lip, pushing past and watching as you immediately close your lips around it to suck on it. You pull your mouth off with a pop, your cheeks flushing at the sound as you keep looking up at him. He looks patient, blank features staring down at you with only the kind look in his eyes telling you that it’s okay if you back out now, that he’ll still hold you tonight while you sleep.

You keep your eyes locked on his as you take him in your mouth, lips wrapped around the head of his cock with hollowed cheeks. The gasp Levi let’s out is unexpected, and you savor the sound of his unabashed moan that escapes him when you take him further. His skin is slightly salty as you wrap your tongue around him, coaxing another soft moan from him as he gathers your hair to hold it back for you in one hand, establishing a grip against your scalp. You’ve never done this before, but you try your best based on instinct.

“Fuck,” Levi moans, his chest heaving up and down as you bob your head. “How–” Levi let’s out a small whine when you push down further, determined to take him fully as you close your eyes and feel the dark hairs on his skin brush against your nose. “Christ, Aeron– shit– you’re gonna make me cum.” You gag slightly and pull back, swirling your tongue around the head of his cock as you use your hand to slide up and down the rest you can’t quite fit.

You open your eyes to look up at him, tears forming on your waterline and drool spilling from the corners of your mouth. God, you’re a sight to behold, and Levi pulls back on your hair to lift you off of him when he feels his climax approaching fast, your hand still pumping him to completion. He can’t remember the last time he finished this quickly even by his own hand.

His cum spurts in white hot ropes against his abdomen, coating his skin as you watch his eyebrows furrow with pleasure, eyes closed and mouth agape in silent ecstasy. His breathing is labored when he comes down from his high, cheeks flushed as he opens his eyes to look down at you staring up at him in awe. He’s beautiful, strikingly so, and being the source of his pleasure has your own stomach twisting in knots as your clit throbs.

“Come ‘ere,” he says, assisting you as you stand up, wobbly from being on your knees on the hard wooden flooring. You sit down next to him, grabbing at the skirts on the ground to wipe him clean. “I guess Mrs. MacLerie doesn’t need those back,” he mumbles, taking the fabric from your hands to wipe his abdomen.

You laugh lightly, feeling as though you’re walking in the clouds now. “No, I don’t think so,” you mutter, leaning into his side to kiss him softly. It’s slow, gentle, as he relaxes under your touch and you move to straddle him, hands cupping his face as you swing your leg over his. You can’t get enough of him, desperate to feel all of him against you, desperate to feel his cock throb inside you and coat your walls instead of his abdomen.

“Aeron,” he breathes against your lips, hands grabbing your hips as your chemise rides up and exposes your ass and cunt. You lower yourself down, gasping at the feeling of your wet pussy coming into contact with Levi’s soft cock. “What are you doing?” he gasps as you start rocking your hips back and forth, feeling his cock rub through your folds and into your clit, hardening as you continue.

“Feeling you,” you moan. “Oh.”

“I can’t claim you here,” he groans, but his hands do nothing but move to your ass as you continue to grind yourself against him.

“Stop being such a gentleman,” you mutter, tilting your head back and closing your eyes, wishing he would just fuck you right here and now as your arms drape over his shoulders.

“I am to a fault,” he mumbles, leaning forward to press kisses onto your neck. “I want to savor you, take my time with you.”

“Please, Levi,” you whimper. Every time you feel the tip of his cock rub your clit you feel breathless, stimulated, but not quite enough to make you feel euphoric.

His hand makes it’s way to your throat, establishing a gentle grip on the sides to just barely cut off the blood flow to your head and making you feel all the more inebriated off of him. “Then you can do it, my sweet girl,” he hums against your collarbones, lips trailing down to your chest above your breasts. “Make yourself cum all over my cock.” His voice is barely a whisper, and the lewd sound of your wet folds gliding over him make you blush.

Your head is tilted back, relishing in the feeling of your bodies pressed so closely together as you let out a gasp. “Help me,” you whimper, needing just a little more stimulation than grinding against him provides. He doesn’t hesitate, the hand guiding you forward and back by your ass instantly coming in between your bodies to apply circles to your clit.

“That’s it,” he mumbles, pulling you back to him by your throat and kissing you as you whine against his lips. You pant through your open mouth kisses, eyes scrunched shut in concentration as he gets you off. You’re so close, desperation lacing it’s way into the sound of your breaths and moans as you reach the cusp of your climax. “Cum for me, amour– Fuck you’re drenching me filthy girl,” Levi groans, your breath mingling together as you both get lost in the feeling of each other. Nothing matters but him.

You cum hard all over him, eyes rolling back as he lets go of your throat to help you through it by grabbing your hip, his thumb still making circles over your clit. You practically black out, vision blanking as you feel nothing but bliss pulse through you. Levi guides you through it until you’re panting, head falling forward into the crook of his neck while his arms wrap around you to support you. His hands glide under your chemise, rubbing soothing circles into your lower back as it rides up your waist.

God, he can feel you clenching, drooling all over his cock that’s hardened again and he resists the urge to fuck you into the mattress. He can feel the mess of your cream dribbling onto his thighs, creating a sticky concoction of sweat and your cum to clean up in a moment, but he bares it for you despite his urge to immediately get clean. You’re ruining him, absolutely taking all of his willpower away when it comes to serving you – the woman he never thought he’d bend over backwards for, but he can’t imagine it any other way now.

You feel drained, and you’re not sure how long it’s been when Levi finally pushes your shoulders gently and a hand comes up to hold the side of your face. “You alright?” he asks softly. You nod, only a mumble coming out in response. A deep rumble of a laugh comes from him, a satisfied smirk on his lips. “So pretty when you’re fucked out like this,” he hums, his thumb gently swiping against your bottom lip. You give him a delirious smile in response.

“You stay?” you ask him softly, voice sweetened in hopes of him holding you as you fall asleep.

“Of course,” he murmurs, swiping leftover tears from your cheeks.

“You don’t care what the others might think?” you ask, head tilted as you lean into his touch.

“As if they don’t already know,” he mumbles. “Come ‘ere.”

He easily lifts you with him as he stands up, your legs instinctively wrapping around him as he supports you with his hands on your ass. He carries you to the side of the bed, using one hand to pull back the covers as he supports you effortlessly, and lays you down under the sheets. “Stay here,” he whispers to you, and bends down to kiss your forehead.

Levi picks up his clothes that are scattered on the ground, buttoning up his trousers and throwing on his blouse – he doesn’t bother tucking it in or fixing his hair. He looks over at you and can’t help but smile softly at the way you’ve seemed to instantly fall asleep, the travels of the day finally catching up with you. He makes his way to the door, putting on his boots and shutting it as softly as he can behind him as he exits your temporary bedroom in search of warm water and cloth to clean you, and himself, up before he joins you in bed.

He wanders the halls, the dark stone contrasting the white painted wood he’s accustomed to in Mirlenas. He makes it down one hall on his way to the kitchen Miche had shown him earlier when he runs into Ymir herself, stopping as soon as he rounds the corner and she comes into view.

“Ah, guard dog,” she hums, smirking – the nickname makes the hair on his neck rise. “I see you had some fun tonight. Bedding an unmarried woman– a Queen at that? That’s quite brave for a Mirlenas knight.”

Levi isn’t sure if he’s gotten more bold because of where he stands with you now, but he has to bite back his curses at the woman before him. “It’s Levi.”

She laughs. “Alright fine, Levi,” she scoffs. “How’d you end up lucky enough to bed a woman like Aeron?”

He doesn’t bother correcting her, telling her that he hasn’t technically bedded you. “I was her brother’s Chevalier,” he tells her honestly, crossing his arms as he looks at her. “Hers in the last three years of his life.”

“Ah,” she says, gesturing for him to follow her – he hesitantly moves. “And you were there for their deaths? Witnessed them?”

Levi stills, footsteps pausing on the cold stone floor. She turns around to face him, a split second of shock displaying on her features before she controls them again. He can feel the amount of fury showing on his face as he spits out through clenched teeth, “Do not–”

“Right,” she says and turns back around. “Sensitive subject.” Her footsteps continue forward and Levi reluctantly follows. She leads him through the corridors, long hallways that don’t turn too much to the point where he’ll get lost, and soon she’s opening a door and holding it behind her for him. The small room has linens on the shelves, and Ymir takes a few cloths down and throws them at him – he catches them easily with a scowl on his face. “You know, Aeron seems like a special woman, much better than her father,” Ymir continues while she walks out, clearly expecting him to follow. “She’s fiesty, and Miche tells me you got upset with her for revealing who she was at the gates.”

“I wasn’t–”

“She has courage,” Ymir interrupts, looking back at him over her shoulder. “And honestly, she’s the only one capable of taking down Zeke in the end whether she makes it or not.”

Levi scoffs. “As if she wouldn’t make it.”

She whirls on him. “Well then you better be there. Every step of the goddamn way,” she sneers. “Historia might have faith in Mirlenas, but the only person that’s shown me they can handle it is Aeron. Even Commander Smith himself seems like he’s acting on a hunch and me and Historia can’t afford a fucking gut feeling. If Zeke makes it here we’re done for.”

Levi’s fists clench around the white cotton cloths Ymir had given him and steps forward to meet her challenge. “You act like you know everything, but you have no idea what I’d do for her.”

“Would you die for her?” Ymir questions viciously.

“I would do anything for her. I would die the worst death if it meant she would be freed from whatever threatens her,” he vehemently tells her. “You know nothing. You know absolutely nothing about us, or the bond we share–”

“You’re mated?” Ymir takes a step back, bewildered.

“No–”

“How can you be bonded if you’re not mated?”

“We will–”

“Pray it’s not too late when you decide to,” she huffs and spins around, pushing a swinging door open to the kitchen as Levi follows her.

“She’s mine, and I hers,” Levi says, quieter this time. “Zeke won’t lay a hand on her even if it means my own death to protect her, and Kaslogon will have no rein over any more land. We’re fighting him ourselves and you should be grateful for the protection your country is being provided.”

Ymir grips the counter, her back facing Levi as he stands by the entryway. “We are,” Ymir mutters. “You’ve been gone too long.” She grabs a kettle of water and pours it into a small craft, shoving the already warm water into Levi’s grip. “Go.”

Levi wordlessly takes it from her and steps out, leaving Ymir to sit quietly in the kitchen.

She’s scared, Levi thinks as he makes his way back to you, and he can’t blame her. The only thing he fears is losing you, and he can sense that Ymir is only scared of losing Historia to a war they can’t win. He’s already tired and selfishly wants to live in the moments where it’s just you and him, when he’s holding you so close your heartbeats practically melt into one.

He exhales softly, looking down at the ground before he slowly enters the room to take care of you.

—

“Are you prepared for this?” Erwin’s voice cuts into your thoughts.

You’ve gotten yourself together, disregarding Historia’s attempts at sending in a handmaiden and opting to get yourself ready. You’ve braided your hair and styled it in an updo, something that will last the journey to Zaramund. Ymir had delivered fresh clothing for you and you’ve changed into the woolen skirts and cotton blouse, a thin chemise that was made out of quality cotton underneath, and a woolen cloak for your shoulders. You didn’t miss the look her and Levi shared as she stepped into your room and spotted him – you didn’t ask about it, only glad they’ve come to some understanding it seems.

Your temporary horse whinnies under you, a dark mare that made you miss Saxson deeply, made you wonder if he was happily grazing next to Arwen on the coast of Mirlenas. Historia and Ymir provided supplies for you in a small wagon led by two smaller horses, and the rest of your soldiers were provided their own. You expressed your gratitude to both Historia and Ymir, earning a kind smile accompanied by a hug from Historia and a reluctant nod from the latter telling you to “not mess this one up.”

You’re almost positive you caught the upturn of her lip when you smiled back at her.

Erwin sat proudly on his own stallion by your side, regarding you with such care he rivaled Levi now in the way he wordlessly vowed to protect you. “Yes,” you simply answer him. There’s no need to elaborate on how your stomach twists into knots whenever you think about stepping foot inside the castle home to the Jaeger family. How could you ever be truly ready?

The easiest way to reach Zaramund would be to cross the bay between Navarre and Kaslogon territory, but it would leave you vulnerable to Zeke’s soldiers on the coastline – you’re not quite fond of water yet anyway. Instead you would be crossing through the valley of the mountain range that separated the two countries, a small path between towering mountains that would be covered in snow this time of year. From there it would be an easy trek into the capital city, but your nerves still threatened to overcome you.

And it started off simple enough, with two days passing by easily as you trekked across Navarre’s hillsides, rolling green making it easy to navigate and allowing horses to graze. Plenty of streams intertwined throughout the land, providing drinking water for your traveling squad. It was peaceful, nice even, while you appreciated the landscapes around you as your horses made their way through, or while you knelt down next to streams to fill the leather canteen provided to you.

It wasn’t until you reached the start of the valley that your group came to a full stop. The map given to Erwin was clearly deceiving, showing more rolling green hills in between tall mountains, streams flowing down from the mountainside. Granted, it was winter, but the sight before you was not at all how you imagined or were told about.

The earth was brown, no longer covered in grass and resembling a desert instead with visible drought lines along the side of the mountains and clear signs of dried up streams. You couldn’t blame the Queens, they warned you they haven’t had anyone travel these areas since the war began, and with a harsh winter already making it’s presence known far worse in Navarre than Southern Mirlenas, a drought before the snow melted was inevitable.

The air was dry and chilled you to the bone as it swept in between the mountains, blowing the stray hairs that have managed to escape your tied up hair back. One hundred kilometers of this would have to be crossed to reach the other side where you had no idea about the terrain of Kaslogon. You’ve heard your father talk about how sparse it normally is, and you can only hope that in a twist of luck that the land spares you from it’s usual standing.

“We’ll stock up on water half a kilometer back and then make our way through,” Erwin announces to your soldiers. You give him a nod, tugging on the reins of your horse to turn her around and earning a disgruntled huff in return.

—

Any gods that may exist have never been on your side.

The sight was startlingly contrasted; white peaked mountains sloping down to dusty cliff sides. You were surrounded by snow you couldn’t reach, and dirt that had no life to it. You’re almost there – roughly seventy five kilometers have been trekked, and you’re just starting to grow weary as the sun sets. Shadows grow longer, the sky darkening and revealing the stars above your heads with some getting shadowed by the mountain tops.

“We should rest,” Levi speaks up, addressing Erwin. You’ve slumped down a bit on top of your horse, posture weak and limbs growing tired of riding all day. You’ll be on the outskirts of Zaramund tomorrow evening, but Erwin wants to camp just out of reach of the capital city so you can all gather the needed strength.

I fear it will end with bloodshed.

You hope that’s not the case.

All of the horses come to a stop, with Petra and Eld directing the horses towing the wagon to stop and allow access to supplies. You weren’t as prepared as you were in Mirlenas, settling for rucksacks instead of tents and hoping it wouldn’t rain on you despite the needed water. You hopped off your horse, beating Levi’s attempted assistance, and began helping set up camp. You didn’t know much, but you could at least help Petra gather supplies for cooking tonight's meal over the fire being prepared.

“We can take care of things,” Levi tells you, reaching into the back of the wagon for a crate – Petra glances over at you with slightly raised brows, taking that as her signal to leave your side to give you privacy.

“What kind of leader would I be if I let everyone do this for me?” you ask him, turning your body to face him with a hand on your hip.

He looks at you for a moment and then glances around to see everyone else busy with a task as the two of you are partially hidden behind the wagon. “Right,” he mutters and kisses your forehead. “I’m only letting you know that you can take a break if you need it.”

He walks away with a crate in his hands, a knowing look on his face. You frown in his direction before gathering more supplies for Petra.

“Thank you, Aeron,” Petra smiles at you when you hand her a pot and cooking utensils. It’s just the two of you as you both kneel down by the fire, settling in to hang the pot and get dinner situated for the rest of the group. You look up and spot Levi, discussing with Erwin and Hange, although you’re not sure what and can’t tell by the animated look on Hange’s face and the bored expression on Levi’s – Erwin is simply listening.

You hear it before you see it.

A gunshot rings out, the sound of a rifle piercing through the laughter and calm sounds of your soldiers setting up camp. Petra tackles you to the ground hastily, using her body to shield yours as she urges you to crawl with her under the wagon of supplies to take cover. Your eyes are wide, heart rate soaring with the adrenaline pumping through your veins as you hold onto her and she does the same to you.

Then you see it – them. Eld and Gunther are lying down in the dirt, blood pooling around their bodies as everyone frantically takes cover and grabs their weapons. You gag, choking back your tears and the fear that’s consuming you as you look onto the chaos unfolding. You miss the eye contact Petra makes with Levi before she’s pulling you out from under the wagon despite your protests, kicking up dirt as both of you scuffle towards him.

“Go!” Petra pushes you towards him, causing you to stumble forward and barely catch yourself before Levi is pulling you up with one strong arm. Your legs straddle the front of the saddle, your back pressed so tightly to his chest you can feel his frantic heartbeat.

He positions you in front of him on his stallion, using both hands on the reins with arms that cage you in as you frantically look around and the horse sprints forward. Mikasa is hidden behind part of the wagon, using it as cover as she aims a rifle up into the mountains, a determined look set on her features. Armin is next to her, crouched down and holding a musket as he watches her back.

Your eyes find Oluo next, lying on the ground with Petra leaning over him as she frantically shakes him. You gasp, and turn your head down when you see his knee cap blown out and blood leaking from his thigh like a geyser.

“Eyes forward Aeron,” Levi’s deep, comforting voice intercepts your dark thoughts. “I’ve got you.”

You feel obligated to listen to the smooth intonation of his voice, his words trying to pull you back from spiraling as your mind wanders to thoughts of your brothers and the way they probably suffered in death. You keep your eyes focused on the horn of the saddle, your hands holding it so tight your knuckles become lighter in colour. You have to trust Levi to get you two out of this, trust that Erwin, Hange, and your soldiers will make it out alive – you know you’re their priority and you hate it.

—

Levi rides throughout the night, your body nestled against his chest and in between his arms as his borrowed stallion carries him forward. You’re sleeping now after hours of traveling and worn off adrenaline. Your body is turned just enough for you to rest your head on his shoulder while one arm holds your waist tightly to make sure you’re okay, his arm remaining flexed to keep you secure.

He’s angry, scared, and desperate to feel safe again. He caught glimpses of the Kaslogon emblems on the men that attacked them, and he wonders why the hell you’re even going to negotiate instead of declaring an all out war with them. But he knows how you are, how desperate for peace you are without bloodshed.

He holds you tighter. You’re okay. You’re alive.

He didn’t check to see if anyone was okay, didn’t bother stopping the sprint of his horse just to see if any of his comrades were following him out of the mess. The decided campsite for the next evening is his destination, a marked spot on the map that’s in Erwin’s possession and Levi can only hope he makes it to the right spot.

He rides for a few more hours until he sees the lake that looks to be the same size as the one on the map, the sun making it’s way over the horizon and casting a soft glow onto your cheeks. He’s glad you got some sleep, and he’s glad you’ll have a whole day and night to rest and get your bearings before Erwin inevitably forces you to move into the capital city of Zaramund.

Levi pulls on the reins with one hand to have the horse gently come to a stop, a small huff coming from the animal that deserves to rest as long as it can before he drags it into hell again. You stir, a small mumble that Levi manages to smile at as he looks down at your pretty face resting against him. He lifts his hand from the reins, using a thumb to caress your cheek and wake you up further from your sleep.

“We’re here, mon cœur,” Levi mutters to you. You open your eyes and stare up at him, the swirling of your irises that are warmed by the sun taking his breath away. “You’re okay,” he whispers, to reassure you that he’s got you, that he’s taken care of you and protected you from harm, in your sleepy state.

You remain quiet and tilt your head up, the soft press of your lips making him melt into you as your lips move gently against his own. He sighs when you break apart, soft breaths mingling with his as he leans his forehead against yours.

You’re okay. You’re alive.

—

It’s well into the next evening by the time you hear the distinct sound of hooves running against the soft grassy earth around the lake. Levi keeps you and the horse hidden well, letting you rest after he’s woken up from a nap and feeding you with a rabbit he managed to catch with a simple trap. Your eyes are frantic as he pulls you against a tree with him, holding you close as he peers around the bark and out into the open plains of rolling hills.

You can feel the tension leaving his body as he let’s out a sigh of relief, his hold loosening on you ever so slightly and signaling to you that it’s not the enemy. You allow him to help you up, his hand firmly grasping yours to guide you out from cover.

Your eyes tear up immediately when you see Erwin riding strong on top of his white stallion, Hange next to him on their own horse. You feel the tears fall when you see their head wrapped in bandages, one eye covered with a small blotch of blood soaked into the fabric.

The rest of your soldiers follow suit, and your heart feels like it’s in your throat when Petra rides at the back of the group on top of your dark mare, her face covered in grief. You let Levi’s hand go and run to meet your soldiers, your friends. Erwin is the first to get off his horse, practically leaping off and handing the reins over to Armin next to him, and then he’s waiting for you with open arms as you hurl yourself into him.

He crouches down to hug you, large arms wrapping around your frame and engulfing you tightly as you cry into his dirtied no-longer-white blouse. He let’s go of you to check if you’re hurt, calloused hands swiping your hair off your face and holding your cheeks to get a good look at you. His touch reminds you of Auguste, and your hands come up to hold the back of his as you give him a small, sad smile.

Hange walks up next to you, and you don’t miss the look of shock when you abandon Erwin’s touch to give them a hug. “I’m okay,” they mutter softly, and you make a mental note to ask them about their eye later.

The rest of your soldiers say their hellos, sorrow permeating the air with so much thickness you could choke on it as the tears never leave your eyes. They find their spots on the grass, sitting down with exhaustion leaking out of their bones after tying their horses up to rest and graze on the long grass.

Your eyes find Petra again once Erwin and Hange leave your side to talk to Levi, and your already broken heart aches when you see her sitting atop your mare, her dejected spirit idle. You wipe the tears from your cheeks and walk up to her quietly, carefully, as if she was a hunted wounded animal seconds away from startling.

“Petra, mon amour,” you mutter. She startles, big golden brown eyes looking down at you from her spot on top of your horse. Her hands are covered in blood, the front of her uniform stained red from holding her loved ones close as they die. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

You hold her in your arms as she breaks.

#levi ackerman #levi x reader #aot fanfiction #levi ackerman x reader #aot levi #levi attack on titan #fanfic #levi smut #levi ackerman x female reader #fic update #levi x you #levi ackerman x reader smut #royalty au #historical au #finally updated #reccommend reading on ao3 thank you <3

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armpirate · 3 months

Text

Soundleasure | Choi San || CH. 21

Pairings: Soft!San x fem!reader || Strangers to lovers, fake dating

Genre: smut, angst, fluff, online sex, ghosting

Warnings: inexperienced!San, fem!reader, masturbation, online sex, camboy, first times.

Summary: You can do whatever you please and be whoever you want on the Internet. And San knew that a little bit too well.

After finally following all the signs the universe was throwing at him, he started living a double life that no one was aware of. Everyone in his daily life knew him as Choi San, the reserved and quiet boy who wouldn't raise his voice, and would barely communicate with anyone outside of his comfort group. But only a few knew him as Soundleasure, the man with a sexy voice and a filthy mind that had their toes curling just with his narrations.

He never thought of the possibility of those two lives ever meeting, he had always tried for them to follow a parallel route and had always played safe to keep his friends from ever suspecting that side even existed. But his plans will start to crumble when he gets a little too close with one of his subscribers and she invades his real-self and altergo's universes without being able to stop it.

Y/n will not only help him to keep his secret from his circle, but will also show him there's more of Soundleasure in him than he'd like to admit.

Previous || Next

MASTERLIST

Aprox. time of reading: 18 minutes

His head felt warm, he felt cozy, there was a mysterious embrace that made him feel protected. And he knew that feeling, but it was never in a situation similar to that one. Her heart beating against his ear was a calming sound that made him feel at ease, his whole body felt even more relaxed after slowly becoming aware of who was hugging him. That thing alone explained how he felt so light, how he felt as if he had been sleeping for a week.

It wasn't like he usually slept bad, but that night with Y/n certainly did have a positive effect.

His head was resting on her upper arm, while the other was wrapped around his shoulders with her fingers diving into the locks on the back of his head. Later he also realized of the light weight on his hip, and he didn't take long to point out how that probably was her leg keeping him held close.

The soft air that escaped her nostrils every time she breathed caressed his forehead, causing his bangs to barely move.

His eyes opened, first meeting up with the strip of her top. With that image, the only thing he wanted to do was hold her tighter and rub his cheek against her skin.

But he held back.

His thoughts were filled with the conversation they had the previous night, with her doubts, with her insecurities. He couldn't explain how she'd ever be so scared of him not liking her. It still was better than her thinking he'd only approach her for her money or her status, it showed she did trust him and the issues that could come between them were way deeper than that. Although it wasn't like he expected her to ever think of him so wrongly.

He pressed his lips tight against one another as he tried to think what he could do to improve their bond.

They trusted each other, they were getting closer, they liked each other, but everything they did to date was always related to planning how to fake their relationship so others would eat it up. They never focused on each other, on what they wanted to learn, or how they wanted to spend their shared time when it was only them both, and not having others in their minds.

And the best way to get there was by having dates where they were the main purpose of it.

San tried to slip his body from her grip, but every time he tried her tongue clicked among the silence.

He omitted the victorious sound coming from his lips when he finally managed to get away, only to hook his feet with the blankets and fall to the ground with a dry sound on the parquet floor, failing at trying to keep the balance by supporting his hand on the nightstand on his side.

Y/n jumped at the sudden sound, sitting in her bed, and just remembering she didn't sleep alone when she started hearing San's whines from his side of the mattress.

—Oh my god, are you okay? —she quickly asked, turning on the lamp on her side to take a peek over the edge of the bed.

—I think I broke my chest —his voice sounded muffled.

—What were you doing?

After checking on him and confirming he was okay, Y/n tried to hold back those giggles as she woke up to help him get up from the floor, but she still failed at having all her features keep a straight expression. She felt bad, but at the same time it was way too funny for her to act like it wasn't.

—How did you fall from the bed? —she asked, while she squatted next to him to help him rest his back against the mattress.

—I didn't want to wake you up, so I tried to be careful. But I ended up falling off the bed because I was too focused on making sure you didn't hear a thing —a short snort came from her, quickly having his eyes glancing at her.

Y/n went back to that serious stance, rubbing her palm against his shoulder to make sure he was okay again.

—Are you hurt?

—Are you laughing?

—No, it's a sound I make when I'm surprised —she lied.

—It sounded like you were —he insisted—. I sacrificed breathing properly so you would rest —he smiled again when his eyes fell on hers—. And, honestly, I probably would again because I love it when you laugh with your whole chest.

—Don't —she smacked his shoulder, sitting next to him—. I rather you in one piece.

Silence came back to them as their eyes met, creating a bubble around them. The tension was so high, his eyes suddenly became so powerful, that Y/n was sure that he'd be able to listen to her thoughts if only he tried hard enough.

—Are you sure you're not hurt? —she asked again.

—I fell on my chest, and I've been exercising it in case something like this happened. I have a good pair of airbags.

His eyes squinted shut while he looked away from her, trying to hide how truly embarrassed he was of himself. He only had one job, which was keeping the standard high with her after the big move they made the previous night, he was supposed to become cooler.

—Hmm, I agree —she nodded, tilting her head.

Her hand reached the lower part of one of his pecs, touching from below to confirm what he said.

—It'll be nice to have you around, just in case.

—Why are we talking about my tits? —San interrupted her.

—You started talking about that pair of airbags —she replied back—. Do you want to talk about something else? Like... what happened last night?

The burning on his cheeks made him regret ever cutting off the conversation about his chest, not being entirely sure if it was a good idea to talk about what happened between them. At least not if he didn't want to turn into a stuttering mess in front of her.

—What happened last night was amazing —he nodded, eyes fixed on his fingers on his lap—, but I still think it wasn't fair.

—Well, it was —she shrugged��. Sex isn't a barter. I didn't suck you off to get something in return. I mean, if it had been a fling, then yeah, I'd have expected something in exchange. But this is different.

—Why?

—Because I expect this to happen a lot of times, and one day it'll be you, another day it'll be me... and most of the time it'll be the two of us. And because pleasure isn't only in the receiving end —she explained—. It was really hot seeing you like that for the first time, it was better than I imagined —she admitted.

—Did you imagine it?

Y/n only smiled at that comment, breathing out slowly as she remembered the background to their relationship. That man, the same one who was able to have her toes curling with just his voice, was completely lost when it came to the topic his channel was centered on.

—What I'm trying to say is that I don't want you to feel bad about that —she ignored his question—. Sex is more complicated than just cumming —she explained—. It's great, yeah. And not reaching the high shouldn't be the norm. But going back to what I'm trying to say —she tried to gain some sense back after realizing how confused he looked—: don't put pressure on yourself, and just let me guide you.

—I'm in good hands, that's for sure.

—Don't doubt that.

As she said that, her hand worked like a pulling string on him, softly pinching his cheek to trap him on a soft kiss. In contrast with the conversation, and with the intensity they went through the previous night, her lips moved to ease all the nervousness inside of him, instead of waking up that side of him she was eager to see coming out. San moved carefully, placing his hand next to her hip on the floor so his weight wouldn't fall on her while she kept pulling him over her.

—I really really like you —he admitted, breaking the kiss to look at her.

Instead of answering back, Y/n pulled him in for another kiss. It never had the intention of going far, it was never meant to act as a wick to the ticking bomb between them. It worked as a connection, as a way to express with actions words that she wasn't used to saying while she invited in a feeling she had closed for years.

She was finally feeling what she had been seeking for so long in different people, and it made her dizzy. As she said the previous day, they were throwing themselves into the void, but it didn't have to be something negative. The collapse didn't have to hurt, it didn't have to be something negative. And it was something that she needed to start learning with him.

The black and dark cloth that covered their eyes turned slightly clearer, interrupting their kiss so the both of them would look at the origin of the sudden brightness.

The warm rays of sunshine were starting to reflect on the windows of the big skyscraper in front of her penthouse, slowly tinting the whole place with the golden tone. She had never seen something as beautiful and amazing as that. At least until she turned to look at San, mesmerized by the way the golden rays kissed his tanned skin gently, giving it a slightly toasted tone.

She had never seen the sunrise from her house, and it didn't surprise her that the first time was with San. It just had to be like that.

He turned instinctively, because there was something inviting him to look at her, only to meet her eyes suddenly and unexpectedly when all he wanted to do was to admire her in secret.

Her smile added a quirky lightning in her pupils, making him wonder if he had ever paid so much attention to those small details on other people.

—Did you know that the sunlight is actually white? —San commented, trying to distract himself from his own thoughts.

—Really?

—Yeah. From Space, the Sun is white. But as the sunlight reaches the atmosphere, it mixes with molecules and water drops that change its color. It scatters, and...

Her lips felt soft against his moving cheek, breaking off every thought to just have him thinking about the electricity shock that ran through his body with such a simple contact.

—Let's stay like this —she suggested, interrupting him before he could go on with his explanation.

Y/n liked how random he was, but that time she needed him to be silent just for a few minutes. And he also needed to relax, to understand that some types of silence didn't need to be filled with words. Sometimes it was enough with each other's company, while her head sneaked in the curve of his neck, resting on his shoulder while her fingers traced invisible lines over his forearm.

Her head moved down slightly when his muscles relaxed, smiling to herself when she realized San was finally giving himself some rest.

It didn't surprise her the fact that it was with San when she took the time to admire the pretty vision she had in front of her, and that she had never had time to enjoy. It just made perfect sense for her that the first time happened like that.

A sound of a stomach roaring interrupted whatever thoughts they had on something they both felt special, shifting their eyes from the big windows to her belly. Their gazes met again in between, while her smile hinted at what was hiding inside her head.

—Shall we prepare breakfast? —he suggested, smiling cutely.

—Even better: why don't we go out for something to eat and spend the day together? —she shrugged— It's Sunday, and I don't have anything to do. Unless you have something to do, or want to go back home, I'll drop you off...

His kiss was so sudden and out of nowhere that Y/n could feel her cheeks turning a light tone of red as blood piled up in that area. And it quickly turned into endearment as she saw San's expression turning shy after he realized what he did.

—I still need to drop you off so you get changed —she giggled against his lips—, and showered.

—Are you saying I smell bad?

—I'm saying —she almost overlapped with his question— that it's been two days since you last showered. And you're starting to abuse your pretty privilege a little bit too much.

—Pretty privilege? That's the first time I'm being told something like that. But yeah, I'm kinda hating it —he grimaced—. It's a good idea.

They were walking next to each other, in complete silence while San tried to guess the way to get a word out of her. It was all going well, they actually managed to talk about random things during breakfast, until they stepped outside the cafe and decided to go for a walk.

Panic installed in his brain when he thought about the possibility of Y/n realizing there wasn't much to expect from him. Or, at least, there wasn't much left to discover about them and it was all said and done. Although, almost as if she had felt the way his tension kept increasing with each thought, her digits first rubbed his, slowly moving in between the spaces on each finger to intertwine them and hold their hands together.

—I was thinking... —she finally commented— you've never had a crush or something? No one that got your attention?

—That's why you were so silent?

—Oh, sorry —she smiled cutely—. I tend to go mute when I'm deep in thought. It's even worse when it happens in the middle of a meeting —she admitted.

San just shook his head with a smile filled with relief. Knowing that question was the only reason she was so lost in thought was endearing. It was another detail of her he'd keep in his pocket full of all the details he kept discovering about her.

—Hmm —he tilted his head—, can I be completely honest?

—Nah, actually it was a question so you tell me you only liked me —Y/n joked, playfully hitting his arm with hers without letting go of his grip.

—I haven't —San confessed—. Of course I've found girls attractive, but it never went beyond that. In real life, I never really looked for anything to go forward. In dating apps, I deleted everything before I got to match with any girl. I guess I got so used to the idea of being by myself that no one felt right. What if she doesn't like how quiet I am? What if she turns out to be someone I don't see myself with? I don't know...

—So you were scared of opening up and taking the risk —she softly added.

San's nature was so interesting, yet at the same time so complicated. As much as she thought about it, she couldn't understand what made him to be so overprotective with himself.

—At least until someone showed up in my dms with the worst pick up line I've seen to date —he joked—. What was it? You wanted to mix your moans with mine?

—Oh, shut up —she tried to cover her face with her free hand—. You were so intimidating back then, I was sure you weren't going to answer my message.

—Hey —he called her out—, I'm loyal to fans. Especially those who have stuck around for so long.

—So you're loyal to fans, huh? —her eyebrow raised gave him cold sweat all of a sudden.

—You're making me regret every cent I spent on you —she admitted, trying to let go of his hand.

San's fingers were quicker, holding a tight grip on her hand so she wouldn't be able to escape. Her fake straight line broke out as soon as he motioned her to turn in his direction, moving his arm to wrap it around her shoulder and sneak a kiss on her neck.

—No, you don't —he answered back.

—Don't taste your luck —she pushed him again with a giggle.

His grip was so determined and tight on her neck, that they almost stumbled with her push, having her holding onto him tighter by his thin waist.

—I'm taking every risk with you though —San finally broke the jokes, using a serious tone while he looked at her in the eyes—. I meant it yesterday. I'm willing to do anything to make this work, I'll follow you on whatever you choose and I'll adapt to your pace. That's how sure I am that all of this is worth it.

—Pff, you for sure know how to get your way with words —her words sounded harsh, but her tone was light. Again, she was trying to get rid of some of the seriousness by playing it nice and funny.

She hated saying that, instead of admitting she was willing to take any risk as well. Her heart found a place of joy, and her mind was finally able to rest, to pause for a minute whenever she was with him. Y/n didn't care about how hard it'd be, she was ready to put everything she owned over the table and become the most fragile human being if that meant making things work out. But her feelings never left her lips with those words. She wished it could've been so easy for her so San wouldn't have to accept the small squeeze on his side and the rub of her cheek on his shoulder as the reply to his words.

The rest of the morning went by exactly like that, with their hands mingling on any business that didn't belong to their own bodies, with their lips stealing more than one kiss, and their laughs and cackles feeling like music to the other's ears.

—I'm not sure if I want the Bacon, or the Chicken Burger —San thought out loud, looking at the sign in front of them.

—Why don't we order both and split them? —she suggested.

—Didn't you want the Cheesy one?

—Hmm, I think it has too much cheese —she lied.

Actually, she didn't quite know what to order, but out of all the options, the cheese burger was the one who got her attention, like every single time she ordered take away from there. At the same time, she kept hearing San yapping about each one of the choices he had in mind since they arrived at the place. It was his first time there, and she just wanted him to eat what caught his attention.

Luckily for her, the only ones who knew her were the delivery guys. So her lie was safe with her.

After insisting on paying their order and succeeding, with Y/n almost getting to get away with her attempt to give her credit card, he left to go to the bathroom. He only left for three minutes, she was by herself for only three minutes, and some young boys -not a lot younger than them- had all of their eyes on her, in a way that was making even him uncomfortable.

Before he joined her back on the queue, he tried his best to think of a way to get Y/n to not look in their direction, he even thought about joking around as to make the tension lighter. He knew Y/n long enough to know if he noticed it, she most definitely did, too.

—Put your hand on my ass —she whispered—. There's a group of guys being weird over there —her explanation came before his features could form a confused expression—. If they see someone with just a tiny bit more of toxic masculinity, they'll look away.

His hand slowly moved down her hip, tracing the curve of her ass to dent his fingers on the fabric of her jeans.

—Now look in their direction. Don't do anything. Just look at them with your face as it is now, and bend to kiss me.

San didn't need to pretend he was angry. He was. They made her uncomfortable to the point of her coming up with a scene so it'd stop. Because she knew words would probably make little to no change, or even make things worse.

For the first time since she met him, his lips were owning her. He trapped her mouth, and he wasn't going to let it go until he was done. San was possessive, and tactic, only sliding the tip of his tongue through her lips, enough to make her knees weak and secure his grip on her ass cheek.

At some point, neither of them were thinking about those boys, neither of them were thinking of where they were. They just thought of each other, and how good they felt together, and how good it'd feel to just let it go a bit longer.

—Thirty six —a female voice called—. Thirty six?

The numbers went from an empty sound to a clearer call as Y/n was holding a tight connection with reality, having San moving his head onwards when she suddenly broke the kiss with glistening lips.

—Yes —she nervously answered, quickly turning to the counter to pick up their order.

When San turned again to that same group of boys, they were all back focusing on their own things, trying their hardest not to look in their direction.

Some sense was slowly kicking back in his brain, totally settling in his system as he looked at her when they found a free table. He didn't know what it was, but he always lost control of himself when it came to her. With the only difference that maybe he went a little bit too far that time.

—Did I make you uncomfortable? —Y/n, who was chewing on her fried fry, looked up to him— I mean...

—They were making me uncomfortable, you were just making me horny —she blatantly said, dipping the tip of another fry on ketchup—. I really appreciate how you care about that. Really —she could only giggle when she saw some mayonnaise on the corner of his lip—. But if I pull you in instead of pushing you away, it's because I like it —she cleaned the sauce off his face—. And we will work on that so you don't overthink what you do, hmm?

He nodded with a smile, going back to eating the half of the chicken burger, only leaving it back on the box to tease her.

—I didn't know you had an exhibitionist side...

His sentence was cut off by her feet playfully kicking his leg, making him move suddenly on the chair while he laughed out loud.

The rest of the day was perfect.

For the first time since they started seeing each other, San was the one who kissed her goodnight after dropping her at home, walking back to his place with a stupid smile on his face. Whatever it was that Y/n had, he wanted it forever.

—Oh, look who dared to show up after a day —Mingi called him out from the couch as soon as San opened the door.

—Says the person who went missing for a whole week, and showed up on a random Sunday evening with a goat.

—Ah, Missy was part of the family for so short —he sighed.

—Aww, the lovebird found his way home —Wooyoung joined the tease, crossing his door to sit next to Mingi on the couch—. Is everything alright with Y/n?

—Everything's perfect —San assured them.

—Why wouldn't it be okay? —Mingi joined, looking at the two of them.

—Nothing.

—She acted a bit weird after I had the conversation with her —Wooyoung answered.

—Ahh, did she get mad at you? —Mingi turned to San again.

—No.

—She was acting a bit weird —again, Wooyoung replied on his behalf.

—But you spent the day together, so I'm guessing it's okay already —the taller one focused on San.

—Or it's better than okay. Look how bright his skin is —the man with longer hair pointed at him.

—And his eyes are shiny —Mingi giggled—. I bet they didn't leave the room —he coddled Wooyoung.

—Everybody knows what comes after a fight —Wooyoung raised his eyebrows—. What? You aren't intimidating anyone with those eyes.

San rolled his eyes after his attempt to get his friends to shut up didn't work out.

—Nothing came after the fight, because we didn't fight —he sat on the armchair at their right—. And it's not like I'd tell you if something happened.

—So that means something happened —Wooyoung insisted.

Before neither of them could lengthen the tease, San got up and walked to his room, closing the door behind him to make his instance clear on their bickering.

He needed to talk about what happened the previous night, he needed to talk about his feelings. And the only thing he was sure of is that he wouldn't talk about that as long as they were together, because he knew there was nothing worse than having those two thinking as one.

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ladynamida · 5 months

Note

DMC Questions Anon here!

DMC 5 did a great thing a gave us dates! It also gave us a Patty cameo that revealed it's her birthday on May 3rd. So my question for you is, how will her next birthday go after DMC 5?

The heady scent of incense burned through the air, the dark night sky hidden behind curtains so thick they felt as if they could keep the entire world at bay. Furniture pushed to one side of the room, scratch marks still visible in the parquet floor. It was now or never.

She was alone. She had never felt so alone. Desperate. No matter how many people she surrounded herself with, no matter how many flashy names with their flashy smiles and even flashier cars, she never felt safe anymore. Those marionettes with the double-barrelled surnames that had never stared down death and been protected by the barrel of a gun. They didn't understand. They could never understand. How could they, unless they had seen what she had seen? She wasn't cruel enough to wish that on anybody.

She remembered a simpler time, when she was told everything would be okay if she closed her eyes. When she dared to trust a stranger, in eternal optimism that there were good people she could trust, and she would be taken care of. Rescued.

It was her turn to do the rescuing now. She closed her eyes and took a breath.

The sigils outlining the circle began to glow as she fell to her knees and slapped bloodied palms on the floor. She recited the words, not knowing exactly what they meant but trusting them anyway. Lady would be furious, but what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her. She poured every ounce of hope she possessed into every syllable she uttered. They came from her gut now, and from the darkest recesses of her heart.

She felt pressure, pressing on her from all sides, suffocating, but she pressed on. She had spent months nurturing her skills, learning the words down to the last inflection and growl. She'd be damned if she would give up now. Giving up was not a phrase in Patty's vocabulary.

The pressure reached a crescendo, crushing her chest inward and pushing her down toward the floor, bowing to a deity not even there, but with the last demonic growl the sigils disappeared from sight, the magic poured into them spent, and the room was draped in darkness once more. She leaned forward, bowing her head, trying desperately to hold herself upright and hear anything beyond the rushing of blood through her ears. Darkness.

---

Heavy breathing, then the glow of a small summoned sword faintly lights the room with blue. Eyes immediately pick out the girls silhouette, slumped on her side but knees still drawn up toward her chest. A flash of red - he knows that silhouette.

"...Patty?"

She feels him speak more than she hears it, and cracks her eye open, frowning against the pain in her head and rubbing her forehead against the cool wooden floor. He's beside her in an instant.

She knew what to say: she had spent almost as much time daydreaming about it as she had studying the dark arts she would need to make it happen.

"You're a whole year late, you know."

#dmc fanfic #dmc questions anon #dmc patty #i feel bad for patty when the ptsd hits #she really went through a lot #but i believe in badass patty supremacy who would definitely take matters into her own hands #and never give up on dante #maybe devil summoner patty is a cliche #but i dont think that detracts from it's value

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emira-addams · 7 months

Text

Hazbin Hotel - Odette x Velvette - Juliet and Juliet in Hell

Chapter 05: The Daughter‘s Dilemma

"Come on..." Odette grunted under her breath. Frantically, she tried to pry open the window into the living room, the rusty hinges jammed. "J-Just a little bit more... Yes!" She suppressed a squeal as the hinges gave way with a piercing creak and the window sprang open. Resting her hands flat on the windowsill, Odette scrambled hastily through the opening.

The living room light switched on.

With a strangled shriek, Odette startled. Stunned, she froze, sitting on the windowsill, her legs dangling over the parquet floor.

"Really? The window again? You know we have a front door, Odette, but instead you're sneaking into this house again like some criminal..." Carmilla's sharp voice cut through the silence. Shoulders strained and hands on her hips, Carmilla stood in the doorway. Her gaze was blazing with anger. "What do you think you're doing?"

Odette swallowed sourly. The heavy feeling of a guilty conscience settled like a rock in the pit of her stomach. "Good evening, Mother, I-"

"A rhetorical question," Carmilla cut her daughter off, the tone of her voice deceptively calm. Her jaw gritted. Her blazing gaze fixated her daughter, pinning her firmly to the spot.

"Mother...," Odette restarted her words. "It’s no big deal..." This choice of her words proved to be a mistake...

"No big deal?" spat Carmilla, the composure in her voice completely surrendering to her anger. "No big deal? Skipping a crucial Overlord meeting to disappear with Velvette and stray around with that brat is 'no big deal', Odette?" Carmilla shook her head in disbelief. "I really can't believe it..."

"I'm sorry, Mother, I-"

"I was worried about you!" scolded Carmilla. "Velvette is a insolent, immature and irresponsible brat. Anything could have happened to you in her company or she could have done who knows what to you! I'm trying to protect you, but you're making it impossible for me!"

Odette tightly clenched her fists. Fingernails dug into her sweaty palms, her heart hammering in her chest. Its loud pounding echoed in her ears. "Protect me?" she spoke slowly, but the words on her tongue trembled with anguish. "Protect me?" she repeated her words. A bitter laugh fled her lips. "No, you're trying to control me, mother."

"Odette..." Carmilla warned her daughter, desperately trying to keep her composure in front of her daughter. "I'm not trying to control you. The point is that you should make wise choices in your second life and-"

This time Odette cut her mother off. "Wise choices?" She spat the words back at her mother laced with venom. "Please explain to me the difference between wise choices and choices you advocate? I don't really believe your problem is that I make bad decisions or that Velvette is a bad influence, but that you fall for her provocative attitude over and over again. You can't stand Velvette because you constantly lose your temper around her and when you lose your temper, you lose control and you're terrified of losing control. You're a control freak, mother, aren't you?"

"Control freak?" Carmilla growled. Her face twisted into a grimace, her daughter had struck a nerve. "I can't believe my own daughter dares to call me a control freak and accuse me, when all I want is to protect you and your sister from harm and from hell. You think you know better?" Carmilla spoke coldly. "Maybe I'm a control freak, because if wanting to protect my daughters is controlling, then so be it... I forbid you from all contact with Velvette, you will not see her and you will not text her. You are grounded, your sister can help me at work and you will stay in your room while I keep your phone."

"You're acting like a selfish control freak!" cried Odette as her eyes glazed over and her field of vision drowned in tears. "We've been living in hell for decades! I'm not a little kid anymore and your punishment is just silly!" Again and again she wiped her tears away with her sleeve, her vision blurred. "Mother-" Her voice drowned in heavy sobs, choked by her emotions.

Suddenly Rosie entered the living room. Dressed in her nightgown, she stood between the two arguing and looked tiredly at mother and daughter. Yawning, she rubbed the sleep from her empty eye sockets, Carmilla's absence under their shared sheets had been noticed by her. "What's going on here?" she wanted to know as concern filled her voice. "Why are you two arguing in the living room in the middle of the night and robbing me of my precious beauty sleep? I'm sure this matter can wait until the next morning." Rosie sighed in exhaustion as Carmilla and Odette both shook their heads. "We all need a good night's sleep first and it's much easier to sort out these arguments with a cool head anyway..." Rosie desperately tried to be the voice of reason.

"Yes, we live in hell," Carmilla spoke sternly and crossed her arms in front of her chest, not heeding Rosie's words. "But even in hell, I am still your mother and I will still punish you. You won't see Velvette and you won't text her."

"Milly, please..." Rosie cautiously interrupted her. "I don't think that's the right way to handle this right now. Please come back to bed with me and we'll deal with this first thing in the morning..." Gently, Rosie placed a hand on Carmilla's shoulder. "My love?" Rosie's pleading and beseeching fell on deaf ears.

"I just want the best for you and your sister, for our family!"

"Ugh!" sneered Odette. "My mother has no faith in me to make my own decisions and my own mistakes..." she snarled. "Maybe you'd have more faith in me if my life on earth hadn't been cut so horribly short, thanks to my mother's criminal business, so that I could be smarter, because I have lived through all these missed experiences..." With clenched fists and suppressed tears, she stormed out of the living room, leaving her stunned mother behind.

"Odette!" Rosie called after the girl as a door slammed shut the next moment.

The sudden sound made Carmilla jump in shock. She stifled a sob as her shoulders slumped and she wrapped her arms protectively around herself. Suddenly, a thick veil of tears began to cloud her vision, drops of tears falling and making their way down her cheeks. A heavy silence fell over them.

"Milly?" Rosie whispered cautiously as soft fingertips delicately wiped the tears from Carmilla's cheeks. The hand on Carmilla's shoulder pulled her into a tight hug and slipped under her nightshirt. Slowly, Rosie's hand began to trace soothing circles over her back. Carmilla's body trembled in Rosie's arms, shaken by heavy sobs that broke the silence.

"I-I... I just want to protect her..." Carmilla buried her tears in Rosie's shoulder.

"I know, Milly, I know..." Rosie sighed. She stroked sweaty strands of Carmilla's long hair out of her face and looked lovingly into her eyes. "Please stop crying for now..." Rosie wiped away her tears again and again. "I will make sure that everything between you and Odette will be fine again, yes?," she promised her, "I'm with you."

Carmilla looked at her, her eyes shrouded in tears. "Thank you, Rosie..." she sniffled.

"Now let's get you back to bed, my love," Rosie spoke. "You really need your sleep..." Rosie cupped Carmilla's cheeks and pressed a loving kiss to her lips.

Interlude: Ink-Stained Slumbers

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oneshotnewbie · 2 years

Note

Olivia comes home finding Reader painting and she knows that Reader paints whenever she us anxious or feels weird. Reader doesn't hear her when she comes home and Olivia cuddles her from behind while kissing her before she disappears in their room,bchanges her clothes in some old ones and goes back to Reader which already has set up a painting wall and some paint int the pallets ready for her wife?

---

Ever since you woke up with a cold side of the bed next to you that usually belonged to your wife, you have had an oppressive tightness in your chest, accompanied by a lump in your throat that steadily increased in size with every outside noise your body perceived as a threat. Your body was shaking, your fingers sweating as you felt as if fear was running through your nerve tracts and taking up all of the space your body could offer.

However, you didn't know where this fear came from this time. There was no origin to which you could assign this episode. It was just there and you did what always helped and relaxed you when you were alone in such a situation- You let out your feelings with paints and brushes.

These moments of fear only occurred most of the time when Olivia were at home, but there were days - like today - where you were alone and had to deal with it until she came back to help you. Even if she told you that you should call her whenever it's got too bad, you didn't wanted to bother her.

She had enough work to do and you didn´t want to stop her from catching suspects and order her home. You would get through the hours without her until she was by your side and she could hold you in her strong and protective arms.

Standing on your heavy legs, you walked into the living room and opened the blinds to let in the natural light. The sun that greeted you and the warm rays that fell on your skin made you shiver and your eyes narrow as your heart began to beat faster when you saw the crowd and the many cars rushing by below you; like an unfounded warning sign.

Immediately you closed the blinds as fast as possible and drew the curtains to dim the light again. The apartment was now completely dark, only a few rays of light had sneaked in through the small air holes of the blinds.

You leaned against the couch before you sat on the armrest and closed your eyes. Your heart was pounding like crazy and you couldn't calm down. You didn't even know what to calm down from - nothing had happened.

You shook your head to banish the thoughts and suppress them- your clammy hands holding each other tightly as you walked into the guest room where your creative office was. There were drawing on paper and playful paintings on canvases everywhere. Others would think that chaos broke out in this room, but it just reflected how you felt inside on days like these.

With a quick wave of your hand, you grabbed the headphones from the table and paired them with your cellphone, which you threw next to you on the couch. With the colors pressed onto the palette, you just started drawing on it. You didn't know what it was going to be, just that your emotions were suppose to express what you didn't understand on paper.

---

Olivia hurried up the stairs with quick and wide footsteps to the apartment you shared. You hadn't answered any of her messages all day, her calls had been routed to voicemail and she had all sorts of horrific scenarios in mind.

She decided without further ado to see for herself that everything was okay and to make sure you were fine during her break at work. Even the silence when she unlocked the door made her heart beat faster. She called your name but got no answer except the echo of her own voice. Again, but this time louder and slightly panicked, she screamed your name in line with the bang from the door pushing into the lock. "Y/n!"

Her handbag fell to the floor and her shoes clattered on the old parquet floor as she walked quickly down the hall into the living room. Before she could take another step, her eyes started moving and scanning the large room, her eyes automatically moving to your studio and caught on you.

The brown haired immediately noticed the white little plugs in your ears and she began to grin - a great burden fell from her heavy heart as she exhaled deeply to balance the stress from just now.

Silently she kicked her shoes off her feet and walked towards you in gentle and quiet steps, her long and strong arms first touching your waist before they wrapped themselves around you and pressed you smoothly against her body. Her lips already searching for the sensitive spot on the side of your neck, your head already tilted - patiently waiting.

Olivia's fingers of one hand slid from your stomach over to your face, brushing away a few strands of hair before removing one of the earplugs from your ear. "Honey, are you alright?"

You nodded and lay your head on her chest. Again the brunette hugged you tightly and continued kissing your sweet skin. You closed your eyes and enjoyed the warmth and closeness that she gave you. You put the paintbrush you were holding aside and put your hands on top of hers while you snuggled up against her. "Now that you are here, yes."

Both of you stayed like this for some time and enjoyed the attention before Olivia tore herself away from you and disappeared into the bedroom, leaving you with nothing but coldness. When she came back, she had put aside her office clothes and had only a shirt of your on that was already stained with paint and shorts that were allowed to get dirty.

You smiled when you saw her. You had already set up everything for her and just pressed a palette and a brush into her hand before she started painting next to you.

She knew that this day was not good for you - you were always painting when such days came and she wasn't there to take care of you; leaving a message to Finn beforehand, letting them know that she won´t be coming back today. She saw the sadness and the anxiety in your eyes. With a small kiss on your nose, she stole a headphone from your ear and plugged it into hers.

Before you started working on one of your paintings again, she turned you around once more and used the red paint for a heart that she painted on your cheek. "I love you and I am here for you, no matter what."

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anamelessfool · 9 months

Text

Ribbons & Ties (AO3 Link) Chapter 4

M/M, GEN (Ch 3 Here) 2000ish words

Terzo x Omega, Terzo & Family, Terzo & His Ghouls, Cardinal Marian is in there for like ten minutes

Tags: Domestic Fluff, Commitment, Rom Com Energy, There's a Wedding, Secondo is Papa Emeritus, Gift Giving, The ghoul names are all messed up sorry it is for plot purposes, I can't have Fluff without some Angst sorry

For reasons beyond Terzo's understanding, he wants to give Omega a present for the ghoul's "birthday". It proves to be a lot more complicated than Terzo realizes.

Art by @kabukiaku used with permission

Chapter 4 Below the Cut! (We like Reblogs, Comments and Kudos omnomnom)

Refusing the gift was an innocent decision. But tonight it felt personal.

The Satanic Church of the Void was populated mostly by humans, and therefore their wedding receptions followed the typical ebb and flow of drama and joy. There would be at least one person crying in the bathroom over someone else. Later on, maybe someone would trip over an errant step, or pull something from dancing too intensely. The bride’s bewildered family was already slipping table decorations into their handbags.

But the moon was perfectly at first quarter and the paper lanterns above gave a cozy glow over the entire courtyard. It was going to look fantastic in the pictures that nobody would go back to see.

Nihil had entrapped Copia in an excitable one-sided conversation about either plant emotions or the lost experimental recordings of Syd Barrett’s cousin’s next door neighbor that were perhaps too far out for modern society. Copia, well practiced in how to nod politely, discreetly read a book under the table.

Secondo and a few other magicians had created an impromptu Conclave meeting, a brooding theological discussion over cigars that was way too intense for the occasion.

Smiley baby Paul was in his glory, biting every unsuspecting family member he could before falling asleep in his mother’s arms.

Terzo watched most of this play out from the stage, occasionally striking up the band for a few numbers. He felt protected on his perch, although normally he would find a way to collect as many eager Siblings as possible for a raucous private “party” nearby. And some siblings all night had been attempting to get such a party started through a variety of tactics: staring at him through their wineglass, or lingering close to the stage suddenly deeply interested in the dance floor parquet or the lighting situation. He chose to ignore them, a rare action that surprised him.

There were a lot of things that surprised him about himself that evening. For one, the image of the couple standing united would not leave his mind. A crowd of people cheered them, celebrated them. Terzo felt a hungriness that he had no idea what could sate.

And the gift. His gift thoughtlessly chosen, and then politely declined. Refusing the gift was an innocent decision. But tonight it felt personal.

Marian appeared with a platter of hors d'oeuvres for the musicians. Alpha quickly grabbed it from her, pulling it up onto the stage and away. He paused, slightly offering some to Terzo. YOU FIRST, IF YOU WANT.

Terzo had his feet on the ground, leaning against the side of the stage, arms crossed. He had been feeling a combination of wistful and guilty this entire time, which ended up becoming a general sense of seasickness. He waved it all away. Alpha shrugged and dropped the platter on a stool, the rest of the ghouls drawing close. They snatched at the little appetizers, swallowing them under their masks toothpick and all.

Marian raised an amused eyebrow at them, then considered Terzo. “Wow, they can really tuck it away. Literally.”

Terzo shrugged. “They eat mostly for fun.”

“That so?” Marian frowned just thinking about it, then switched gears. “Did he like the gift?”

Terzo stared hard at the ground. “Didn't open it. Refused to open it.”

“Oh. Damn.” Marian blinked her eyes. She had been blinking them slowly this entire time and Terzo realized it was a desperate attempt to keep her makeup from running. She added, “Are you doing a speech later? At dinner?”

“Secondo didn't ask. He asked Copia, actually.”

“Damn,” Marian repeated. “That's…wow.”

A sudden tide of bitterness swept over him, and as usual he felt the compulsion to drag someone down in it with him. If he was going to feel this exposed, then there was going to be some collateral damage. “You and Copia have a lot in common, you know.”

Marian snorted. “Don't even…”

“You're both weirdly over-invested in Secondo,” said Terzo. “My brother’s had over half this room and nobody else is dabbing at their makeup about it.”

“Over-invested? Do I look—” Marian blinked furiously at him, her lips attempting to twist into a neutral expression. “Besides, I bet Copia’s mouth tastes like boot. Pass.”

Terzo cackled, a little too loud.

“Well I'm off to get drunk, if you want to join,” Marian announced as she straightened the cape of her vestments.

“With you? No thanks.”

Marian froze, her gaze sliding into his. She adjusted her biretta. “Get bent, your Eminence,” she said, then left.

***

STILL CAN'T WAIT FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST? Omega’s eyes crinkled into a smile behind the mask. IT WILL BE WORTH THE WAIT. TRUST ME.

Dinner had been over for nearly an hour and the party was winding down in preparation for the wind up of after dinner drinks and debauchery. Terzo and Omega had slowly made their way to a far corner of the stone arcade surrounding the courtyard. They sat on the low wall there with their backs to the festivities, shielded by the stage itself. They took the opportunity to hold hands despite Terzo's glum restlessness.

“It frustrates me you can read my mind but I can't read yours,” muttered Terzo. His eyes searched the floor. His blood was still boiling over about the gift for some indeterminate reason. He crossed his legs, uncrossed them, then resorted to resting his head on the ghoul’s chest. That action seemed to calm him down.

Omega wrapped his arm around him, softly petting. THIS WEDDING IS DIFFICULT FOR YOU.

“Perhaps that's it.”

EVERY PATH IS DIFFERENT. SO FAR YOUR PATH HAS BEEN WONDERFUL. They were in a secluded enough spot that Omega lifted his mask slightly and brought his face down to kiss the top of Terzo’s head. BECAUSE IT LED YOU TO ME.

“Stop,” Terzo muttered.

WHY STOP?

“You're just…” Terzo felt a stabbing guilty pain in his heart as he looked up at the ghoul. “You're too good for me.”

NOT THIS AGAIN. The thought almost sounded like a grumble, the frustration amplified through Terzo’s anxious mind.

“The gift I picked for you doesn't compare. Doesn't measure up in any way.”

YOU HAVE EXTRA TIME NOW TO THINK ON IT.

Terzo let out a bitter laugh. “I won't. I'll wait until the last fucking minute and then just find something useless to solve the problem. Like always.”

Omega cleared his throat and Terzo met his eyes. They were their usual clear blue-grey, but in that moment they had an uncustomary hardness to them. Terzo waited for the reprimand.

STAND UP. Omega watched as Terzo obeyed. The ghoul guided the smaller man in between his legs and pulled him forward, nearly against his chest. Their eyes met. YOU TRUST ME, YES?

“I do,” Terzo murmured. “But I'm always a little afraid when you ask me that.”

I NEED TO KNOW FOR CERTAIN, THAT'S ALL. Omega brought one of Terzo’s hands in his own. He began slowly, almost teasingly slipping the glove off, finger by finger. He finished one hand, then brought it to the front of his mask, pressing it to the metal as if planting a kiss. NOW THE OTHER. He repeated the process with the left hand.

Terzo felt the leather slide across his skin, and his mouth parted as his breath hitched. His vision blurred, his face collapsing in a near ecstatic grimace. Blood rushed across his neck, down his legs as he let out a small unconscious groan. The ghoul removed the other glove and it felt like Terzo was now more bare before him than if he truly was naked. “What are you--” Terzo could barely catch his voice, and the low purr of Omega's breath behind his mask smothered his senses.

The ghoul gripped Terzo’s hands now, and brought them to the back of his own blackened neck, encouraging Terzo to slide them up under his mask. Terzo’s fingertips studied the firm muscles that quickly faded into the incorporeal essence bound by the metal mask. A black hole. The rim of his physical vessel.

Terzo knew ghouls had no head or skull to speak of, and Omega himself had bared all to him on several occasions. Under the mask it felt as if Terzo had dropped his fingers into a warm bath, except there was no feeling of wetness, just a strange static across his hands. In his mind’s eye he saw the bones of his hands, stark white against an infinite blackness, as articulated and intricate as paper cutouts. He heard Omega exhale deeply, watched his chest fall, and he felt the weight of his lover’s breath envelop his entire body like a blanket of calm.

WORDS ARE STRONGER THAN THINGS. AND IF WORDS WON'T COME, SHARE WHAT YOU FEEL.

Terzo’s eyes flicked from side to side. They were in the far corner of the arcade, concealed by the stage. He had thrilled himself before with erotic games, near misses and fumbling just outside the public eye. This felt even more intimate to him with just his hands under Omega’s mask. The ghoul breathed out again, and again Terzo sank into his miasma of affection.

He thought about the hands clasped and bound. He thought about cutting the ties, rising to their feet as one. For an instant afterward he thought about a moment in his childhood blurred by the decades that had passed. Crawling through darkness, his shoes tied around his neck so his feet and hands could feel their way. He remembered the thrill, of what he did not know. It was perhaps lost to him. There was the feel of papered wood, cold stones across his back—cold stones all around him, holding him secure, safe. He opened the wooden box and opened his heart.

There was an overarching fear, a hesitation. Omega gave Terzo’s waist a supportive squeeze. Terzo felt a bolt of nerves, a shiver shoot up his arms, and he pulled his hands away, gripping Omega’s shoulders. “Too much,” Terzo whispered.

MORE THAN ENOUGH. Omega leaned his large head forward to rest across Terzo's chest.

“What was I even seeing?”

SOMETHING WITHIN YOU ALREADY. SOMETHING YOU NEEDED TO SEE.

“A prophecy?”

NO, A MEMORY. Omega stroked Terzo’s back with a huge hand.

NOW TERZO THERE IS SOMETHING THAT I WANT TO ASK OF YOU. ONE REQUEST.

“Anything,” Terzo said, wrapping his arm around the ghoul’s head and peppering the sculpted metal hair with kisses. “Anything and I'll get it for you, amore.”

Omega pulled away from him and wiggled his fingers excitedly. THE MINI BEEF WELLINGTONS. THERE HAVE GOT TO BE MORE ROAMING AROUND. I DIDN'T GET A CHANCE FOR SECONDS.

Terzo finally laughed out loud, planting another kiss between the ghoul’s eyes. “I'll move Hell and Earth for you, my ghoul!”

HAVE FUN. I WANT YOU TO HAVE FUN. Omega stood up to full height and gently replaced Terzo’s gloves on his hands.

“The cake will be out soon. They've been making it for days. Six tiers.” Terzo’s face cracked into a wicked grin. “I'm going to bring you the entire top, my love.”

I’D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY.

“I was quite the little thief in my day,” said Terzo. “Perhaps he's still in there.” Again the shred of memory returned, the feeling of his bare feet and hands on cold, pitted stone, scurrying through the dark, his younger heart hammering with excitement in a much smaller chest. Somewhere.

The ghoul’s moment of bonding must have knocked something loose inside him, something that had been buried for decades.

I'M SURE HE IS, TERZO. Omega rested a heavy hand on Terzo’s head. AND I'D LOVE TO MEET HIM.

NEXT CHAPTER (5)

My AO3 | Tumblr Fic List | My Terzo/Omega Fics

Please reblog! Thanks and have a lovely Solstice season!<3

#ghost scenes from the void #ghost band fic #terzo x omega #terzomega #domestic december #domestic fluff #papa emeritus iii #omega ghoul

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makethiscanon · 1 year

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SnowFall: Krel & Fem!Reader [Part 1]

'Krel wanted to stay home, but his ski trip turns out to be far more interesting than he'd ever thought it could be.'

Rating: G

Word Count: 900

Warning: none

Tags: General Fic, Plot Focused, First Meetings, Friendship, gotta squint to see any romance, Third Person, Winter, Skiing, Canon Typical Violence.

------

“Ay-yi-yi,” grumbled Krel.

The grandeur of the ski resort’s lobby was lost on him when he categorically did not want to be there. “It is bad enough you drag me away from Mother. I should not have to see … that.”

He pointed at Aja and Steve accusingly. They were currently wrapped in each other’s arms over by the check-in counter, ignoring everything around them in favour of mashing their faces together. Varvatos shook his head, his booming voice at odds with his stout, geezer body.

“Varvatos promised the king and queen he would protect you both. He cannot do that if you are apart.”

Krel scoffed.

“You could have said no to this trip.”

“The queen-in-waiting assured me her ski-resort tickets were none-refundable.”

Krel waited for the rest of it. He couldn’t believe that was the reason they were here. But nothing came. He watched Varvatos turn to the check-in counter, slamming his wrinkled hand on the desk to demand the clerk do his job quicker. Then Krel’s gaze fell back to the lovebirds.

It wasn’t long before he was sure he would puke.

“Great Gaylen, this is ridiculous.”

Refusing to watch any more of the mushy spectacle, Krel turned to walk away, but fell into someone immediately. He stumbled, but she stumbled harder. She looked ready to fall over, but managed to catch her footing and only lost her chunky headphones instead. They clattered to the parquet flooring with a heavy thwu-tu-tunk.

“Sorry,” said Krel hurriedly, though he held Aja and the blonde oaf responsible. He picked up her headphones, held them out as if to hand them back, but paused when he heard the song playing out of them. “Hey! I know that music. You like Tiësto?”

He was surprised to find someone on his musical wave-length. But instead of reciprocating, the girl looked wide-eyed nervous. She nodded, but took the headphones from him then dashed off as quickly as she had come.

Krel watched her go, raising a puzzled eyebrow.

“Smooth move, buttsnack.” Said Steve, his voice dripping with its usual cockiness. Of course. The only reason he would break away from Aja’s face for a few seconds would be to interject his unwanted opinion.

“My movements are always smooth, thank you.”

After checking in, the quartet retired to their room on the tenth and highest floor. It was a room more akin to an apartment. Originally, Steve had booked a double just for him and Aja, but Varvatos had insisted on upgrading to one large room. He insisted everyone be within rescuing distance should the moment arise. It had left the clerks with very little choice but to put them in the penthouse, equipped with three bedrooms, a lounge, kitchenette, and cushy balcony hot tub. Krel’s digitally-adept fingers had made swift work of the resort’s membership cards, loading one with enough points to pay for the entire trip upfront.

“If I must be dragged away from fixing Mother, I should at least be comfortable.” He said, flopping down onto one of the large, sunken couches surrounding their personal fire-pit. Aja was over by the floor-length windows, looking out at the grand, snowy mountain peaks.

“So lively.” She cooed. She could see people on the hills, zipping down them on poles attached to their feet. “I want to try that.”

Steve came up alongside her, slipping his arm around her waist.

“That’s why we’re here, babe. We’re going skiing tomorrow.”

“Glorious!” Bellowed Varvatos, his hulking Akiridion body pressing up against the glass next to them. “We shall battle these who-mans on their powdered-water terrain. Varvatos imagines he is even more terrifying speeding towards his enemies on pointed sticks.”

The others laughed, hardly willing to tell him that skiing was not a contact sport.

The next morning, two of the Akiridions eagerly transducted into their human guises, while the third had to be bullied into it by his sister.

“I upgraded your serrators so you could go out whenever, and this is the thanks I get?” Complained Krel, shifting into his human form after Aja’s endless pestering. “Go without me! I have no desire to be cold or wet on some hill.”

“Please, little brother.” Aja begged, already wrapping up in thermal gear on the couch. “It will not be the same without you.” She paused to punctuate her point. “You need a break from duty, too.”

Krel knew she was right, in essence. But his idea of a break was something separate from the outdoor escapade she clearly wanted. But when she looked at him like that, he could hear his mama and papa telling him that all they had was each other. And with a sigh, he caved in.

“Fine. It should be no harder than riding your hoverboard.”

------

PART 2: [Click here]

[WRITING MASTERLIST]

#tales of arcadia #toa #krel #tarron #x reader #friendship #imagines #x you #x yn #Christmas #Winter #Aja #varvatos #steve palchuk #skiing #snowfall #arcadia #3below #trollhunters #MTCfics

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thesims4blogger · 1 year

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The Sims 4: New Game Patch (July 18th, 2023)

There is a new game update for The Sims 4, preparing the game for the Horse Ranch Expansion Pack release this Thursday (July 20th).

This patch brings several bug fixes as well as new features, like paintable ceilings and “free camera mode” on Build/Buy Mode.

Your game should now read: PC: 1.99.264.1030/ Mac: 1.99.264.1230 / Console: Version 1.75.

Hello Simmers!

Those horses will be comin’ round the mountain in just a few days. To get ready for their arrival in The Sims 4 Horse Ranch Expansion Pack, we have rounded up a number of exciting Base Game updates and bug fixes to share with you. Let’s get into it.

-SimGuruGeorge

What’s New?

First off, let me introduce SimGuruAsh.

Heya, Simmers! Today’s update has an array of new hairs and Create a Sim presets.

Braids and long, flowing hair is important to the cultural identity of Indigenous People in America. To reflect this in-game, we are enthused to add three hairstyles in the form of a Double Braid, Single Braid, and Lengthened Hair that extends down to your Sims mid-back.

For our East Asian Sims, we have a large selection of new Eye Presets and Brows in tapered, straight, and wavy shapes.

You’ll also see three new under-eye bags in the Eye Details category.

To bring something delicious to the table, the Three Sisters Chili is now available to cook on the grill. In Native American tradition, “the three sisters” are corn, beans, and squash. They grow best together in the same plot. The eldest sister, corn, provides a strong foundation for the beans to climb. The beans enrich the soil with nitrogen. The youngest sister, squash, covers the ground, protecting all of their roots.

We can’t wait to see what kinds of Sims and stories you create with this update!

SimGuruGeorge back now. Traits have had a bit of a reorganization. You will now find traits more evenly distributed under the Emotional, Hobby, Lifestyle, and Social categories

I’m so excited to tell you about Ceilings! The ability to apply colors and patterns to the ceilings is now yours. When you open up Build Mode you will find the update where you would previously apply Floor Patterns (now renamed Floor and Ceiling Patterns). Simply select Ceilings by Tile or Ceilings by Room. Then select your pattern and apply it to the ceiling of your choice. This does not apply to the underside of roofs.

You can now enter Free Camera in Build Mode to get the best look at those Ceilings. Simply enable it as you would in Live Mode. There are a number of Wall, Floor, Fence and Door patterns which have been updated with additional colors. The full list is below so you can find these updates in your game.

New color variants have been added for the following wall patterns

Essence of Pastel

Desert Skies

Above Deck

New color variants have been added for the following wood floor patterns

Heartwood Plank Flooring

ForestFine Wood Flooring

Elegant Parquet Flooring

Herringbone Hardwood Flooring

Rustic Subfloor Slats

Bowl of Cherrywood Floors

Chestnut Flooring

Kwality Wide Plank Flooring

Old World Wide Plank Flooring

Walk the Short Plank Hardwood Floors

Eco-Craft Hardwood Flooring

Handscraped Wood Flooring

Limber Lumber Fashion Hardwoods

Chipper Tanbark

New color variants have been added for the following stone or brick floor patterns

Perfect Pebble Paver

Throwback Cobblestone & Brick Pavers

A Clean Slate Tile

Great Gravel

High-Style Concrete

No Moss Stone Pavers

Antique Stone Tile

Rockstone Pavers

Rustic Sandstone

Concrete Pavers with Gravel Accent

Quaint Flagstone

Brick and Blush

Dulcet Duet, Brick & Plaster, and Plaster Makes Perfect wall patterns have been updated with matching color variants.

New color variants added for Ladder-Style Horizontal Fencing.

New color variants have been added for the Simple Single-Panel Door as its own door, the Simple Single-Panel Door – Ranch.

Bug Fixes

Consoles

Fixed an issue where the cursor would become unresponsive after selecting an aspiration.

When reviewing the “My Packs” tab in the Main Menu, Players will now see Growing Together first when selecting that pack.

The Sims 4 Live Mode

Sims now more consistently wash hands in the sink closest to the toilet.

The Items Removed error message will no longer appear if you own everything on the lot.

The Have a Baby Neighborhood Story will no longer cause pregnancies for Sims that are listed as unable to become pregnant in their Gender Settings.

Knafeh now remains visible even from a distance. If you have not tried this delicious dessert in real life, we highly recommend it!

The R&B station now includes ”BMO” by Ari Lennox, ”breathe again” by Joy Oladokun, and ”Blessed” by Becca Hatch & Tentendo.

Flowers no longer sometimes break when loading a saved game..

Sims now receive satisfaction points from confronting their Fears.

Reaching the top of the Military Career will now reward the player with the appropriate celebration screen.

The ‘Help with Needs’ animation on Infants now is smoother when a Sim picks them up.

Cleaned up animations for Teenage Sims while they are angry, seated, and focusing on a Sim adjacent to them.

Build Mode

Stacking intersecting curved walls on top of each other no longer creates gaps in the ceiling of the lower room.

Doors can now be placed on the wall under circular roofs.

Interior corner walls with stilt foundations can now be deleted.

Curved walls no longer cause seam lines to appear on terrain

Raising terrain and then undoing that height adjustment or placing a platform no longer prevents objects from being placed in that area.

Fixed a rare issue where placing stairs at the edge of a platform would cause floating planks to appear above the stairs.

Raising and lowering a platform with stairs attached no longer sometimes cuts out a segment of the wall.

The Sinks category icon in Build Mode now lines up perfectly.

Double and single gates no longer sometimes pop up one floor level when being placed on exterior fence walls.

Players will now be able to click and drag the sledgehammer across curved walls to delete them.

Stair railings have been added to multiple pre-built homes. Safety prevails!

Create a Sim

When using a mirror, applied skin details are now saved after exiting Create a Sim.

When using a mirror, birthmark skin details are now saved after reentering Create a Sim.

The tops ymTop_SDX016Rolled_HeatherDustyPink and ymTop_SDX016TouristShirt_TropicalRed no longer give female Sims rough shapes.

Fixed an issue where the jersey (yfTop_EF26HHCJerseyMrCartoon_ButterflyBlue) caused incorrect fingernail colors to display.

The tank top yfTop_TankShort_SolidBlueNavy now tucks underneath pants, skirts, shorts, etc.

Create a Sim UI has been updated so that the Select Traits title won’t overlap with other visual elements.

Misc

Entering the wrong Twitter credentials or completing the email verification requirement no longer causes the game to crash.

The game now gracefully handles disconnecting Bluetooth devices.

Get to Work

The Robot on the Invention Constructor will now respond to requests to chat.

Invention Constructors have been repaired. They now properly display their holographic displays in the construction area and not on top of the Sim operating the device.

Sims in the Doctor Career can now calibrate X-ray Machines. This info has been added to their medical training.

Alien fertility increased. Male Sims that are abducted by Aliens can now get pregnant.

Cats & Dogs

Townie Sims no longer occasionally unleash their Dogs before walking out of a neighborhood. There will be no more flashbacks to Seymour waiting in front of a pizza shop.

Paint Mode for Dogs had a white swatch that now properly is brown..

Seasons

Hang This Support Beam spandrel no longer turns white when it snows outside.

Interactions for lighting a Menorah or Kinara now have unique icons.

The interaction to build a Snowpal will no longer fail while visiting Mt. Komorebi.

The outfits ymBody_EP05SkateOutfit_swanGray and ymBody_EP05SuitVelvet_SolidBlack no longer distort Sims legs.

Get Famous

Hairstyles unlocked by the Acting Career now show all newly added hair swatches.

Island Living

Mermaids previously would not die due to starvation or aging up. That has been fixed. Remember to feed your Mermaids!

[MAC] Fixed a small shader issue on the Lagoon Look lot in Sulani.

Discover University

Listen To interaction has been added to the Party-Bot.

Thick window frames will no longer stick out when the camera pans behind them.

The amount of Robotic Scrap gained when performing an Experiment on a Chemistry Lab has been tuned down.

Sims will now get a 200 simoleon higher bonus for starting the Chef Career track after getting a university degree. It practically pays for itself.

Eco Lifestyle

Fixed an issue where the Wood Ear Plugs (yfAcc_EarringsEP09EarPlugsWood) appeared discolored when paired with specific hairstyles.

Fixed a rare issue where the Eco Inspector would still issue fines to Households that had upgraded their appliances.

Fixed an issue where Neighboring Sims could not be sent home. Neighborly manners have been repaired.

Removed a duplicate Place in World interaction that appeared on Trash Fruit in the Sim’s inventory.

Snowy Escape

Ski Boots no longer appear in the ‘Change Outfit’ picker. Sims will also remove Ski Boots when bathing. A ‘Take Off Snow Boots’ interaction has been added.

Hang This Support Beam from the Seasons Expansion Pack no longer appears blank when placed on the Yukimatsu lot.

Fixed an issue where Snowy Escape Doors would cause a small shift in the wallpaper on the wall they were placed on.

Cottage Living

Animals no longer age up and die when the ‘Animal Aging’ option is turned off in Game Settings.

Fixed an issue where Earbuds would occasionally play multiple songs at the same time when listening to Cottage Core music.

Cows and Llamas come out of their sheds autonomously and no longer are unhappy when their shed is clean and full with feed.

Fixed a few cases where Sims would not autonomously choose to Knit & Cross Stitch.

Sims are now able to socialize with Rabbits.

Fixed an issue where Chickens would not eat treats.

Residents of Henford-on-Bagley will less often mention how local residents are in need of help.

Animal friends now appear in the Relationship Panel filter for ‘Friends’.

Various translation fixes have been applied to the Wild Rabbit Home.

The Start Gardening Help for All Rabbit Residents interaction is no longer missing from the Wild Rabbit Home.

Rooster images now show more of the Rooster.

Matzah Ball Soup and Challah now are available for the Simple Living Lot Challenge.

Sims now immediately join cooking during the Cook together with interaction.

High School Years

Sims will no longer return from work or school early on the day they change the color of their Phone Case.

Townie Sims are no longer all pansexual.

Ship to Buyer no longer breaks when the Sim replaces the Mailbox on their home lot. Trendi sales can now be completed.

The Want to Listen to Music has been tuned to occur less frequently.

Fixed High School Years hairstyles that were applying hair color to Sim’s ears.

Fixed an issue where Teen Sims would stay at Career Day too long which prevented them from serving detention. This would then get them expelled.

Fixed an issue where Sims who left graduation early were occasionally stuck in their graduation outfits.

Infants and Toddlers no longer use the same animation as adults when using the EZ Access Window object.

Fixed rare situations where the Angry About Crush sentiment was triggering incorrectly.

The Ask about Graduation interaction is no longer available on Sims that haven’t been greeted.

Growing Together

Karmine Luna no longer appears with a random personality trait in each new save.

Broken objects on Activity Tables no longer are observed when placed in Treehouses.

Fixed a rare issue where food made by Eleanor Sullivan could not be cleaned up.

Fixed unusual cases of Adult Sims refusing to pick up and interact with Toddlers that had returned from daycare until those Toddlers had changed outfits.

During the New Born��s Age Up interaction, the Baby’s First Rug object is now placed in more appropriate locations.

Fixed an issue in specific languages where the Title on the Self-Discovery Personality Trait pop up would overlap with other text on the screen.

Sims sitting on couches can now perform social Crib interactions.

Dine Out

Fixed a rare issue when running a restaurant where Hosts and Chefs were not able to be hired from the Manage Employees menu.

Fixed an issue where sometimes opening the Sim Profile of a Chef would instead open the Sim Profile of the last Sim the player had looked at.

Vampires

Vampire Sims can now do group dances on the dance floor.

Realm of Magic

Sims now hold Valerian Root properly when eating it from Inventory.

Star Wars: Journey to Batuu

The Batuu Radio Stations are now available for Likes and Dislikes in the Music Genre category in Create a Sim.

Dream Home Decorator

Sim Preferences now support custom pronouns in English.

My Wedding Stories

Fixed pricing for a few pack items.

Dance floors now have the ‘Dancing skill’ tag in Build Mode

Decorative objects now have an ‘Environment’ value.

Werewolves

Players are now able to add, change, or modify body scars during the game.

Moon textures are no longer the same in all worlds.

Added new Clean Up Books interaction on most genre books (not including homework or skill books) that are in the open street and not owned by the Player’s Sim . This will allow books to be cleaned up.

Movie Hangout

Sims can now watch TV without needing player direction.

Knifty Knitting

Added new text to show that Sim’s are able to knit onesies for Infants and Babies as well

Moschino

Moschino item prices have been adjusted to fit the style.

Bust the Dust

Vacuum Cleaner game performance now is even more… sucky…. In a good way, of course.

Courtyard Oasis

The ‘Functional Off-The-Grid’ stat has been added to the Sunset Glow Lantern object and the incorrect ‘Power Consumption Rating’ on the object has been fixed.

Items from Courtyard Oasis Kit, Industrial Loft Kit, Decor to the Max Kit, and Little Campers Kit have been tuned to have more sensible pricing and environment values.

Carnaval Streetwear

The Carnaval Radio Station is now available for Likes and Dislikes in the Music Genre category in Create a Sim.

#news #the sims 4 #ts4 #sims 4 #game patch #updates

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sayahs-corner · 1 year

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You Live Like This?

Rating: E

Pairing: STONY

Summary:

Mob-AU in which Steve Rogers in the head of the organized crime ring known as the Avengers. They rule New York with an iron fist and a take-no-prisoners attitude. Howard Stark has been getting in his way, bungling his deals, and selling SI weapons on the black market to the Avenger's enemies. Not to mention he is actively helping the police track down and capture his people. Steve can't let that stand. What better way to get back at man then to capture his only son? Tony is out of the frying pan and into the fire. Living under an alias in a rundown apartment in Brooklyn, it's been a little over a month since he escaped out from beneath the press of his father's thumb. Disowned for the crime of being gay, Tony has been flying under the radar and trying to keep a low profile. That is, until he is captured by his father's enemies. They want their money back, and someone is going to pay. Tony knows it won't be Howard.

Tags/Warnings: Rape/Non-con Elements, Mob Boss Steve Rogers, Twink Tony Stark, Angst, Whump, Beating, Non-Consensual Bondage, Blackmail, Humiliation, Face-Fucking, Enemies to Lovers, Implied/Referenced Homophobia

@stonyauniverse

Chapter 1: Chapter One

Chapter Text

Tony stood in the doorway to his new apartment, tired whiskey eyes drinking in the sight of the amber afternoon light streaming in through the windows and dancing across the well worn parquet floors. It cast dancing shadows against the white, pock-marked, walls and across the freshly painted white kitchen cabinets. It was a studio apartment, small by most standards - Tony was actually sure one of his old closets had been bigger than this place - but it was solely his. Or, rather, it was Anton Valentino’s apartment. His new and improved alias. He shifted the small box on his hip with one hand, fingertips indenting the warped cardboard, while the other hand curled protectively around a small and rather sad looking potted fern whom Tony had named Geoff. It looked like Geoff had definitely seen better days, but then to be fair, so had Tony.

The last couple of weeks had been nothing but a series of rather unfortunate events, starting with his father catching him in flagrante delicto with Chuck, the pool boy. Well, considering that Chuck was actually thirty six to Tony’s mere twenty two, he supposed it was safe to say that his father had caught him fucking the pool man. And if he wanted to go a step further he’d suppose that, technically, he had gotten caught getting fucked by the pool man. Semantics. What could he say? He had some pretty severe Daddy issues that he was doing his damndest to work through. With sex.

Sex with older men.

Okay, so he wasn't doing jack-all to work through any perceived traumas. Daddy or otherwise. Old, young, it didn't matter. Tony just liked men.

Which, you know, was kind of a major faux pas in the Stark household. He had been able to see the vein in his father’s forehead pulsing clearly enough that he was able to gauge the old man’s heart rate. So when dear-old-dad had exploded in a fit of rage, Tony had not been surprised. His tongue darted out to wet his still sore lower lip from the backhand that had sent him sprawling to the floor. Howard had stood there, murder in his eyes, and called him all sorts of homophobic slurs before disowning his only child.

Tony rolled his eyes. How trite. Being disowned over his choice of bedpartners? Gag.

How pedestrian.

Someone call the 90’s and tell them they’re missing their textbook homophobic father-figure. The old man had even dragged out the whole “No son of mine” speech before throwing his ass out of the house with nothing but the clothes on his back.

As a teenager, and then later as a young adult, Tony had run the gamut of rebellious behavior aimed toward getting Howard to do just that. With all the underage drinking, drugs, and generalized assholery, Tony had not once ever considered that it would be his sexuality that would be the straw that broke the camel’s back.

He wasn’t complaining.

Not by a long shot.

His mother’s death ten years ago had changed his father irrevocably, turned him into some sort of control freak. Only, this particular control freak was in charge of a multi-million dollar company with endless power and money at his fingertips. Especially when he was using Tony’s original designs and formulas to turn more of a profit. Tony had been working, under the table, for his father since the time he was knee high. There weren't many pies at Stark Industries that Tony had not dipped his finger into at one point or another. Howard had been fine with that once, encouraged it even, as one day the company would fall to Tony. The heir. The golden goose who just kept laying. So Tony’s every minute of every day had been micromanaged to the nth degree.

If he had known that all it would take for his father to loosen the leash he had wrapped around Tony’s neck like a noose was to be caught in the act of sexual congress with another man then…

Well…

It didn't matter. Tony shook the thought away, lips compressing into a thin line before he stepped fully into his new home. He pinched off that spark of hurt, ground it out, refused to feel it or acknowledge it. He had a new lease on life, a chance to actually do what he wanted, to prove that he didn't need dear-old-dad or his wealth to make it in this world. How many nights had he sat up, staring at his vaulted ceiling, and dreamed of having the opportunity to do just that?

He was going to win, prove them all wrong. He didn't need his father’s name, or his vast wealth, to make it in this world on his own. He was freakishly smart, with a photographic memory and an eye for detail. His ideas were good ones, no matter what Howard said to the contrary. He was so sick of people telling him who and what he could be. Telling him his worth.

For the first time in his life he was going to be allowed to determine that on his own. He was excited at the prospect. He knew his father thought that Tony would come back eventually, tail tucked between his legs, begging for his chance to be welcomed back into the family fold.

That was never, ever, going to happen. There was no forcing the rainbow colored skeleton back into the proverbial closet. Tony wasn't going to give up who he was to pander to his father. He was done with all of that, and free for the very first time in his entire life.

Sort of.

Certified genius that he was, Tony was going to have to pump the brakes on the whole tech-savant thing. He knew that once his father calmed down he was going to realize just how much Stark Industries depended on Tony. He was, afterall, most of the R&D department. Once that happened it was going to be a matter of time before the old man started to keep tabs on him. Tried to manage him again. The last thing he needed to do was start making waves.

Hell, it had only been three days after Howard had kicked him out that Jarvis had pinged him, letting him know that the old man was looking for him - not with any real urgency, not yet. But the old man was putting feelers out there to see what cropped up. Jarvis was his new personal AI, named after the family butler who was more a father figure to him than his actual father, and although it was still a work in progress, he was far more advanced than any other AI that Stark Industries had to offer. Or anyone else, for that matter.

It was a matter of a few swift keystrokes to send his father looking westward, toward California to be exact. With the help of his AI he was able to plant a trail of false breadcrumbs, pointing Howard’s security team toward the opposite side of the country. If they ever did go looking for him, it would take weeks before they figured out that Tony wasn't where he was supposed to be.

No, he was right under his father’s nose. He had never left New York, and he had no plans to either. It was the last place Howard would come looking for him. Most people would run, if given the chance, to try to put as much distance between themselves and Howard Stark’s empire. Tony wasn't so naive. He knew exactly just how far his father’s reach extended and Oceans apart wouldn't be far enough to escape that megalomaniac’s grasp. No, it was better to hide where he’d least expect it.

Instead he had taken on an alias, Anton Valentino, and over the past couple of weeks had managed to beg barter and steal enough cash to get him a deposit on the cheapest apartment he could find. It hadn’t been easy. He already had an interview lined up at the cafe three blocks over. His plan, for now, was to keep his head low and just… live his life.

Talk to strangers. Make mistakes. Have fun. Maybe, hopefully, make some friends.

He was finally going to get to live life on his own terms. He couldn't wait.

Nudging the door closed with his foot, Tony took a deep breath before a broad, unadulterated, smile broke out across his face.

This…this was going to be great.

________________________________

One Month Later…

This fucking sucked.

Tony fought off another jaw cracking yawn, his hands automatically going through the motions of wiping down the front counter of Bea’s Beanz. It was nearing eight o’clock at night, and Tony had arrived bright eyed and bushy tailed at about five am that morning to help open. The closer had never showed up, leaving Tony to pick up the slack. Again. Taylor was officially on his shit list. No sob story was going to cut it this time. Tony had barely been there for a month and he’d already had to cover for Taylor at least three times this week alone. Not that he couldn't use the extra hours, if he was being honest. Making a living in New York was exhausting when his options were so limited. The first week he had sold plasma twice so that he could actually afford to feed himself. Right now his diet consisted of ramen noodles, rice and beans, and free espresso which was miles away from the caviar and steak dinners he was used to.

But he liked his new job. Loved the smell of fresh ground beans, the scent of espresso wafting in the air. He liked that he was busy, that it was one face after the other, all perfectly unique in their own way. He liked making small talk, getting to know the people in his neighborhood, and making his customer’s laugh and blush. Especially the old ladies. Tony was a hopeless flirt, a natural born charmer, and often used that to his advantage. Even Bert, the owner, had mentioned that the tip cup seemed to fill up faster when Tony was working the register.

Working with Bert was great. Tony got to manage the counter, flirt shamelessly, and make money while doing it. At the end of his shift he got to keep all the tips - Bert never took any. With anyone else he’d have to split those tips, and potentially lose face time with some of the hot college boys and blue collar workers that rolled through the cafe.

He even had a couple of dates set up for later this week. Not that he was actually interested in the sex. If he were being honest, Tony was just looking for a meal that wasn’t rice and beans or maruchan beef ramen. If that made him a bit of a user? Well, color him shamelessly guilty then. It was well worth it, in Tony’s opinion. And it wasn’t as if he was going to dine and dash. Tony was a great conversationalist. People enjoyed talking to him as much as they enjoyed his flirtatious banter. There was no way anyone was going to leave a date with him and say they had a terrible time.

Not possible.

Making people feel good made him feel good. And hey, it just so happened that he made a mean cup of coffee. It had not taken him very long at all to master the art of coffee making. He was, afterall, a genius with a photographic memory. His latte art was, admittedly, going to take some practice though.

All and all he seemed to be doing okay. Except, right now, there was nowhere he’d rather be than at home, slurping down some noodles and munching through the three day old pastries that had been slated to be thrown out. Working at a cafe did have its perks. Bert didn't mind if he took home the pastries, happy that at least someone would get to enjoy them.

His gaze flitted over to the clock on the far wall, watching the seconds tick by with a sort of agonizing slowness. He’d already wiped down the tables, swept the floors, cleaned the machines, and restocked for the opening shift. Tomorrow would be his first day off this week, and Tony was planning on spending the majority of it sleeping.

Being poor was exhausting .

He’d have to wake up at some point though, and get ready for his date with Craig, the very nice personal trainer that had asked him out on his first day at the cafe. Big bulky muscles, broad shoulders, and a receding hairline. They were going to meet at the pizza place about a twenty minute walk from Tony’s apartment. It was Craig’s second choice of restaurant, Tony had to veto the nicer Italian place Craig had wanted to go to originally. Too close to his old haunts, and too far to walk. Tony wasn't paying money to uber anywhere. If he couldn't get there by foot, he wasn't going. His lips quirked upward at the thought. He’d become a bit of a stingy penny pincher.

He really didn't have a choice in the matter, though.

He’d gotten an air mattress a few days ago which had sadly depleted most of his funds. It would be a long time before Tony forgot the way his hands had trembled a bit as he counted out the bills. A few months ago he wouldn't even have sneezed at that amount. But he had been able to stumble across a dented, slightly wobbly, folding chair out by the dumpster. He’d get around to fixing the wobble sooner or later, and he’d also been able to slap together a table using broken wood pallets.

Was it pretty? Not by a long shot. Did he have to eat his ramen sitting on the floor? Also, no.

The rest, like a real mattress and dresser, a couch and tv… that would all come in time. There was a second hand shop that he’d stumbled across a few blocks from here that looked promising. Next paycheck Tony would see if he could find something to make his home… more home-ish. Cuz right now? It was actually rather home-ly.

But it didn't matter. Because it was his. Soon he’d fill it with things that sparked his passion, that spoke to him. Books and projects, art and tchotchkes. He didn't exactly have a five year plan lined up right now, but he liked to imagine that he wouldn’t always be in the little flat in Brooklyn. That eventually he’d find his way out from beneath the firm press of his father’s thumb. He wondered what that freedom would look like. What he would do then, completely unfettered, able to pursue whatever dream struck his fancy. He knew whatever it was, it would change the world.

He was Tony Stark, after all.

He was startled out of his thoughts by the sharp chime of the door. His eyes flicked again to the clock on the far well. 7:58pm. Tony managed to stifle the sigh that wanted to escape him. It wasn't too long ago that he would have been the type of person to just waltz into an establishment that was mere minutes from closing. He wouldn't have thought anything of it. Just smile, charm, and flash his palladium credit card. Oh, he had always been generous, leaving big tips and big smiles, but for the first time in his life Tony was realizing that he had also been kind of an asshole too.

Perspective was crazy like that.

So he did what countless other service people had done for him over the years. He simply put on a bright smile that didn't quite meet his eyes and a chipper “Good evening gentlemen, what can I get started for you?”

The gentlemen in question did not seem impressed by his cheery customer service if the scowls that marred their faces was anything to go by. There were three of them, all kind of broad of shoulder and a little rangy, dressed mostly in black. Tony wondered if that was an accident, or if they had coordinated their outfits - like some sort of grumpy looking boy band. The thought brought a smirk to his face. One of them hung back by the door, arms crossed over his chest with an irritated look on his face, as if he would rather be anywhere than right here right now. Tony felt his pain.

The two men approaching his counter moved at a steady pace, their faces unsmiling. One was blonde, with short, spiky hair and bright blue eyes. The other had deep brown eyes, and close cropped jet black hair.

“Yeah, I’ll take a salted caramel Latte.” His friend turned to stare at him, rather pointedly, to which blondie simply shrugged.

“I need coffee. I was up all night last night.Judge not lest ye be judged.”

Tony shook his head, his hands already going through the motions of preparing the latte as he listened to the two of them bicker in furtive whispers.

“Can I get anything else started for you guys?”

“No.” Stocky, dark, and handsome spoke up - his voice colored with irritation. “That’s gonna be it.”

“Though, I wouldn't mind a blueberry danish - if you’ve got one left.”

Tony slid the latte across the counter, a smile twitching at his lips. “One blueberry danish, coming up. Looks like you got the last one.”

“Shit this is some real good coffee.”

“For fucks, sake, Clint. What is wrong with you - we have a job to do.”

It was as Tony was bending down in the display case to grab the last blueberry danish that he saw, through the frosted glass of the display case, that which he had missed earlier. He’d blame it on a lot of things. The first being that he was so goddamn tired his eyes were starting to cross. The second that it had been almost two months, and he’d been given no warning of people looking for him through Jarvis. He usually prided himself on his attention to detail, both large and small. He had definitely missed the mark here, though. Both of these guys were packing heat. And the angry one actually had his fingers wrapped around the gun, safety off. It was an SI weapon. One he had designed himself five years ago.

Fuck.

It was him. Tony was the job. Were these his father’s men? They didn't strike him as the type of goons dear old dad usually hired. They weren't starchy enough, for one, and certainly not professional by any stretch of the imagination.

It was a monumental effort to keep a smile on his face as he took the danish out of the case with one hand, and reached for the full carafe of decaf coffee he had brewed only an hour prior. As the two turned away from their bickering, Tony threw the carafe in an arc. He didn't stay to watch as that scalding hot coffee splattered both of them. Nor to see if the danish that he had thrown at the blonde met its target. He was already bolting toward the back room.

You Live Like This? - Chapter 1 - sayah1112 - Marvel [Archive of Our Own]

#stony #tony stark #steve rogers #AU mob #mob boss steve rogers #twink tony stark #stony fanfiction #r1stonyauniverse

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octuscle · 1 year

Note

Hello, Chronivac support line? I think I need some help with my app. You see, I am a masculine guy, but I don't consider myself very manly, or what people thinks it's "manly". I am not into sports, beers, bars, camping, survival... you know the "alpha macho stuff". I tried fixing that with your app, and I decided to go all the way. I wrote "Make me the living enbodyment of manliness, the most macho man possible, a big, macho dude", but it didn't work. Well, to be accurate, it worked, but... I just gained some healthy muscle , some beard... but I am not even close to what I asked. I checked the app and it says something about safety limits blocking the full extent of my change? I'd like those removed, please... fuck, see? a macho man shouldn't be begging for this :( see how much I need this change? Go all the way, let the app do its best, or its worst!

A colleague asked me to take a look at the case…. I have time right now, I can do it with pleasure. Indeed, there are security settings. For your protection. And for the protection of the environment. I will deactivate them now. On your responsibility.

You and your colleagues are sitting in a meeting about your employer's diversity strategy. Shit, you have to piss now. Did you just say that out loud? The way your colleagues look, obviously! Actually, you hate pissing in a closed room. You prefer a tree or just a doorway. But here it is different. Fucking rules. But you don't give a damn about lifting a toilet lid. Or to aim at the bowl. Actually, you'd like to jerk off now. Or even better, if the guy from the HR department would blow you now… Fuck, you have to go back to that fucking meeting. So you put your cheesy dick back in your filthy jockstrap and go back to the meeting room.

If you can't smoke here, then at least chew tobacco. With a beer, that would be it… At least there's coffee. Otherwise, these discussions would be unbearable. Gender equality. What a shit! A man is a man and a woman is a woman. Are you supposed to clean up the mess you leave behind in the toilet yourself now? Or the horny pig from the HR department? You said that out loud again. And your boss thinks that maybe you should take the rest of the day off. The first sensible word of the day! As you leave the building, your loafers become work boots. And the parquet floor becomes oil-smeared concrete. Before you get in your pickup and drive out to the workers' barracks, you check your giant dump truck again. Everything is ready for the next day's work in the open-pit oil sands mine.

You spit out your tobacco. You need a beer now. And a colleague whose ass you can fill.

Thanks for the inspiration, @greasemuscle!

#male tf #muscle tf #chronivac #reality change #inked man

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ninhaoma-ya · 1 year

Text

Chapter 1086 — The Five Elder Planets

What a great chapter to leave off on a break for! The theorizing will go wild…

First, Igaram's concern for Vivi is touching:

…while Pell and Chaka are looking out for their king, as the guardian deities of Arabasta should.

Something is in the air, if the faces of the other royals are anything to go by. They don't look like a happy bunch; rumours from the last leg of the Reverie?

Second, have I already said how much I love the WE HQ? It's a flying kettle! That shoots out News Coos!

I love it.

I wonder at what point Wapol caved and told Vivi what had happened to her dad. They said she'd been crying when they arrived at the WE HQ, so before current day events, but here he's still trying to deflect her questions. Maybe she figured it out from his denial? Maybe he just told her? Who knows (I want to know).

And then, totally unnecessary fandom speculation!

About a ship!

(Poor lil' Bonney. I'm sure being pint-sized helped her get aboard the ship easier, but it also underlines her quest: she is literally a child on her way to save her father.)

(By the way: in our universe, Tajine is a North African dish, also known as maraq or marqa.)

The drawing order and perspectives makes it look like Sabo is lying in the stem/front. Normally the sides mainly bulge outward from the keel, but here the planks curve distinctly up. However, when looking at traditional sailing ships, the shape doesn't work that way there:

(Link)

It can look like that in the aft:

(Link)

The other explanation might be an assistant's perspective mistake when drawing the bilge, or Lulusia's ship has a quite rare inward-bulging bow.

One of the few examples I found is the dhow, an Arabic ship:

(Link), although the 3D model can give a better view of the keel and curvature:

(Link)

So either Lulusia has a really, really cool royal ship, or there's some perspective shenanigans going on.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled analysis.

So.

…the floor is so horribly at odds with the rest of the room. Just sayin'.

Presenting: the SECOND tangent of the post.

During the 15th to 17th centuries, so covering reneissance, baroque and rococo, intricate decorations were the thing to have. The exact style and execution varied, of course, but you still were supposed to have so much detailing all over the place, both due to structural reasons (hiding those load-bearing columns and beams and servants and such) and style (look at all the money I have to put on this stuff).

Pangea Castle looks quite a bit like the Château de Chambord, so smack dab French reneissance architecture. Normally, you'd do parquet floors in the fancier parts of the castle, which means geometric and rectangular, like so:

(Link)

Of course, you could do circular, but then it'd probably be inspired by Roman mosaics, and thus geometric and repetitive, like so:

(Link 1, Link 2)

The floor in Pangea Castle is… just weird. I know there's probably art-related reasons for it (looks interesting, not as boring as a grid, etc), but the polka dot pattern really sticks out.

End of second tangent, s'il vous plaît.

Oda truly is a master storyteller.

The readers have been going bonkers for a few months now, trying to figure out what Devil Fruit powers Imu has based on the complete eradication of Lulusia. Is it star power? Is it nuclear? Is it pure light? Is it something completely different?

And then it turns out to be the One Piece-version of nuclear weapons, completing the parallells between Vegapunk and Einstein: both brilliant scientists who wanted to work for peace and the good of humanity, but whose insights were quickly weaponised.

It i also interesting to see how quick the Five Elders are to accept that Imu wants to eradicate a whole kingdom who is part of the World Government. I figure this might lead to more rebellion. After all, what is it worth to be a member of the WG if you're still not protected against horrible acts of violence? The only reason shown so far for people want to join the WG is based on pirates and the navy: they get protection and pay for the Celestial Dragons upkeep. I can't see this continuing much longer when the news about Lulusia get out – because at least Vegapunk will put two and two together. It was his invention being used, after all.

We have names!

Which might change when the official translation comes out!

But still. Interesting selections. Finance might comprise all financial activity, but why is then agriculture (food production) separate from environment (nature itself)? Mercantile activity is quite far from macroeconomic theories, which makes the lumping of all economic stuff under one heading quite interesting.

THERE IS A S-FLAMINGO!

My life is now complete.

I wonder why S-Croc looks so sad, though. S-Gecko and S-Flamingo looks like they're having the time of their lives, after all.

Also: what powers do they have? All the possibilities!

I wonder what Dragon is wondering about. He has a lot of ellipses this chapter and few words to spare. Does he agree with Sabo's decision to keep silent and live the lie? Does he disapprove? What does Iva-chan think about it all?

Ancient weapon, my old friend? The Arc Maxim 2.0? Something Completely Different?

(Also: traditional European-style ship depicted here as Lulucia's vessel. Yet the dream for a dhow still lives on!)

Jumping a bit, but Iva puts all our thoughts into words here so neatly:

In Egghead, Vegapunk says it's his dream to create the ultimate energy source. However, he doesn't say he's managed to do so yet: he's still working towards it. Therefore the thing Sabo saw probably wasn't an ancient weapon – or if it was, it wasn't at full power. Or then it was a "fire once and find another mother flame"-solution.

Whatever it was, it was horrible news for the people of Lulusia.

And then: the identity of Imu.

There's so many theories going on, tying Imu to the Roman emperor Nero or the city of Verona or the small coastal village of Nerano , also in Italy. From where we get to another Roman emperor, who is actually called Nerona: Tiberio Nerone, also known as Tiberius, an able politician who spent his last years on the island of Capri.

I'm sure we'll see where Oda draws his inspiration from sooner or later.

And the other big reveal of the chapter: the Figarland family.

(I don't think Oda will kill off Mjosgard. He is sentenced, he is not dead yet. Will the solution be banishment, a figurative death? We'll see, I'm sure.)

(I like the moon hair!)

(Edit: The cake line had me wheezing. Seriously. Scared the cat.)

I haven't seen Film Red yet, but as I gather from others, it's revealed that Shanks is a Figarland. He was also found on God Valley by Roger, so putting two and two together, we get a family connection.

However, what I'm interested in is the rankings of Celestial Dragons.

a) Saint Figarland Garling was a king

b) He is a Celestial Dragon

c) He has the power to be both judge, jury and probably executioner

How does it all fit together?

CDs are hitherto shown to just laze around in Mary Geoise and sometimes descend into the plebeian world for their own amusement. None of them is shown to be involved in the world as kings – that's the thing they specifically abdicated from 800 years ago. So why was Figarland a king? What was his role on God Valley – and what was God Valley?

So interesting! Much to think about.

I give the chapter thumbs up for lore drops and the chance for a well-deserved rest.

#one piece #ch 1086 #nin reads one piece #opspoilers #one piece spoilers #science!#history #ship facts #architecture

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gothgril69 · 1 year

Text

Levi Ackerman/Fem!Reader Royalty!AU

Summary: You dream of another life, a simpler one under the rays of the warm sun, where you find love and your brothers live happily.

And the one you thought always hated you, will be right by your side to catch you when you fall.

Overall Warnings: themes of sexism, minor character death, angst, depression, minor character death, smut (please check ao3 for all tags)

Chapter warnings: none

Chapter Length: 7.4k

ao3 link

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

You wish you never stood up from your chair. You feel like you’re going to faint where you stand.

You wish this was all some sick joke Theo wrapped Auguste into playing on you and they would walk through those doors and relieve you of all your nightmares, but Levi’s features tell you it’s anything but. His eyebrows are furrowed again in sympathy and you look away to avoid the pity that seems to be the only thing he can look at you with lately in favor of looking back at Hange.

“No,” you whisper.

“We’ll hold your coronation–”

“No,” you interrupt, louder this time. “I can’t. I’m not– Auguste was supposed to– No, this isn’t right.”

“Aeron,” Erwin’s clear voice cuts through the fog in your brain. “Have a seat.”

You don’t object. You take a seat in the chair you sat in before, not bothering to push it closer to the table, and put your elbows on your knees so you can bury your face into your hands. You stare at the parquet flooring below your boots.

“Your coronation will be held in three days time,” Hange starts again. You’re silent, absorbing everything they’re throwing at you. “The people of Mirlenas need a queen to look up to, not a military force. We have a plan on how to get Zeke out of the picture if you’re willing to cooperate.”

You sigh and lift your head, crossing your arms in front of your chest as you lean back in your chair. “Do I have a choice?” You want to help your kingdom, but you never expected to be thrown into something so asinine.

“No, not really,” Erwin states plainly.

“Of course she has a choice,” Levi argues. It’s the first time you’ve heard him sound so strong since he’s come back.

“I don’t see another way of removing Zeke from the throne without her being involved, Levi.”

“She still–”

“I’ll do it,” you interrupt the two men. Whatever it may be, has to be better than what you are going through now; lying in your bed as an almost corpse. You can avenge your brothers, Furlan for Isabel, and prevent yourself from Zeke ever laying a hand on you.

“Aeron, we can talk about it first,” Levi tells you, walking towards where you sit.

You look up at him and frown before standing. “It would be for Auguste and Theo,” you mutter, “for Furlan.” He stops.

You look over at Erwin and Hange and they both give you a curt nod before going over the plan. It’s complex, full of uncertainties and gambles, but you trust them both. It doesn’t guarantee the safety of Grisha and Carla Jaeger, but it would save both of your kingdom's fates and you’re willing to do just about anything to prevent Zeke from getting his hands on anything he wants.

When traveling to Kaslogon yourself comes up in Erwin’s plan, Levi vehemently refuses. “Absolutely not.”

“Levi,” you try.

“No,” he cuts you off. “Absolutely not. I promised Auguste I would protect you and letting you onto their territory is quite the opposite of that.”

“You’ll be with me,” you try again, “you can protect me.” You look at him with pleading eyes, but you can see the pain in his grey gaze as he looks back at you from how close you are.

“I’m one man,” he states. “I couldn’t protect your brothers, or Furlan. If you died there it would just be another promise broken. Another meaningful life gone.”

“You’re well aware my skills are above theirs,” you argue.

“She needs to attend for negotiations. This is too urgent to wait on messengers, Levi,” Erwin intervenes – you’re grateful for the intrusion. “If we have any chance of sparing the Jaegers' lives we must act swiftly.”

Levi spins to face Erwin, helplessly arguing with him. “We should meet on neutral territory. Navarre–”

“Navarre will want no part in this.”

“It’s worth the effort, do you not think so?”

You stare at Levi, at the way his eyebrows furrow slightly while he practically begs Erwin to compromise – to anyone else you’re sure his frustration wouldn’t be so obvious.

Erwin is quiet for a moment before muttering. “We don’t have time for messengers to come back and forth.” The room is silent. You can feel the defeat radiating from Levi and the sympathy from Erwin as the two stare each other down, silently communicating.

“It’s settled then,” your voice cuts through the tension. “I’ll be going, and so will everyone in this room.” You walk towards the table and place your hands on the surface, staring down at an updated map of the lands of Mirlenas and where the front lines currently reside – your country has at least held their ground.

Levi curses and walks towards the balcony doors. “I need a moment,” he grits out and the doors slam shut behind him after he walks out.

—

He shouldn’t be as frustrated as he is. He should trust you, trust in your abilities and Erwin’s plans, but Erwin’s a gambling man that doesn’t mind losing nonexpendable people and you’re too stubborn to realize a bad idea. You’re smart, but he can tell you have the need to prove something – he’s not sure if it’s for anyone else but yourself – and he understands the feeling, but this has to be the most idiotic thing you’ve been willing to do.

Levi can’t fathom losing another person in his life even if it’s you, especially not when the two of you have seemed to have made some progress on whatever your relationship is. You let him hold you, found comfort in him, and he was surprised when he enjoyed the feeling of holding you and protecting you; enjoyed knowing you felt protected by him.

Now here he was, forearms leaning onto the pale stone railing of the balcony and trying not to lose his mind at the concept of you going head first into danger. He thinks you’re underestimating Zeke’s abilities and his scheming ways, not fully grasping what the man is clearly capable of, but he wants to believe you’re smarter than that. He’s not sure if it’s worse if you know and you’re still diving head first into the conflict or not.

He doesn’t know what the letter from your brother says, but he hopes Auguste told you not to be stupid.

He also has a feeling your brother has, instead, encouraged you, but you have yet to read it.

He shakes his head as he stares off into the castle gardens – the chrysanthemums have died off, leaving a brown spot in the flowers. Everyone has continued as normal, the servants doing their usual chores to keep the castle grounds in check and Levi wonders if they care about the deaths of his friends or the current state of war they’re in – or if they’re even aware. He spots Isabel tending to a tree growing yellow mimosa flowers and he sighs, knowing this plan has to work for not just the sake of the kingdom, but the people he cares about most. He has to trust you to make it happen.

—

It’s staring at you in the face, begging you to just snap it open and begin reading the perfect lettering you know that’s waiting for you on the page. The blue wax with your kingdom’s emblem on it, unbroken and sitting next to that spot of blood. You beg your mind not to wander on how it got there.

You’re sitting on your balcony chair, the white painted wood being quite uncomfortable even with a cushion under your body, as you stare at the letter from Auguste on your table. The biting autumn air doesn’t bother you despite only wearing a black silk robe over your thin nightgown; it’s the least of your worries. Your legs are drawn up to your chest, balancing your heels on the edge of your seat as your arms wrap around your legs. You want to open the letter, need to open the letter, but you can’t bring your muscles to move. You know as soon as you see the familiar handwriting on the paper that you’ll fall apart all over again, you’ll lose the streak you’ve gained of not crying.

It’s been two days since your meeting with Erwin and Hange – your coronation is tomorrow – and Levi hasn’t left his guard of your bedroom door ever since, remaining insistent that he’s always within your presence even if it’s behind closed doors. You’re grateful for his protection, knowing that his vow to protect your family has been extended to you and has remained even after your brothers and father are gone. He’s the only thing that’s remained static.

You take a deep breath, exhaling loudly as you abruptly reach out for the letter and snap the wax seal with a sudden burst of courage before pausing. You’re so close, so close to just reading those first words on the page, but you can’t bring yourself to do it. You groan loudly, setting down the paper on your table so you don’t wrinkle it.

A knock on your door. “Aeron?” Levi’s voice sounds through the painted wood. “Are you alright?”

No, you want to say. No, you feel like your heart is about to be ripped out all over again. “I’m fine,” comes out instead in a small yell so he can hear you.

He doesn’t respond, but you can hear his feet shuffle a bit before all is quiet again. You look back at the paper and grab it, unfolding it quickly so you can’t back down.

To my lovely Aeron,

Tears are already pricking your eyes, threatening to spill over and down your cheeks as you look up at the moonlit sky in attempts to quell them. You can do this, you tell yourself with a small, shaky exhale.

If you’re reading this, then I apologize with my whole heart for leaving you. You mean the world to me and always will, but I understand if you can never forgive me for leaving you alone on this earth.

He knew. He knew you’d feel unbearably alone, but you can’t imagine not forgiving him for leaving – it was never his fault, never something he would’ve done with malicious intent. He had to have known you would never think ill of him.

I want you to know that you are not alone, and you never have been. I’m writing to you with purpose, to inform you of who to trust when I’m gone and can no longer protect you myself.

Your eyebrows furrow in confusion, but you continue on as you swipe tears away from your face that have managed to escape.

I know going on the mission myself is a risk, but it’s a risk father insisted I make as the next heir to the throne and you must understand I would have never left if that wasn’t the case. You know how insistent the man can be.

But Zeke is an evil man and I could never leave you without protection against him – he will never have you, I assure you. I’ve spoken with Erwin about a way to prevent the marriage and I know you are an intelligent woman that is capable of ensuring your own safety.

I also know you are intelligent enough to know that Erwin was going to be my mate once I was king. A taboo surely, but one that I could not escape from nor would I want to. I can only hope that you find your own once the conflict with Zeke is no longer.

You’re smiling now, tears still trickling down, but despite your sadness you’re happy that Auguste found his true mate before passing instead of an arranged romance. Your smile falls when you realize how Erwin must feel, how devastating it must be to lose your own mate and live on.

I trust him with my life and I hope you will do the same, but I must also tell you something you may not be pleased to hear. You must trust Levi.

You frown. Not because you don’t trust Levi – you do – but Auguste knows how difficult the two of you can be together. You’re willing to put your differences aside to not condemn yourself to living in hell with Zeke if your brother is telling you to trust him. It seems Mrs. Kirstein may have been onto something.

He is the only one I truly trust to do everything within his abilities to protect you. Levi is an extraordinary man, in battle and in my personal life. The man has more depth to him than he cares to admit and I can only hope you give him the chance to do right by you.

I hope that Theo is still with you.

At this your tears are unstoppable, a small sob escaping you before you manage to slap your hand across your mouth.

If he is not then I apologize for him as well. He loves you as much as I do, dear sister, he was just not a man to express his feelings. Our care for you runs so deeply, second nature to us. You’re our whole world.

You’re strong. You’re capable. I’ve always known you would achieve greatness and I can only hope it comes easy to you. Don’t do anything to endanger yourself if you can help it. Only trust those that I’ve spoken of.

I love you,

Auguste

You set the letter down onto the table so you don’t tarnish the parchment with your tears before pulling your knees to your chest as tight as possible. Your teeth are clenched, your whole body tense as you try to reel in your sobs, but you feel like another one of your walls has been broken down. You know Auguste would have never meant to make you cry, but how can you not when the only two people who had wholeheartedly loved you are no longer with you. They’re simply another addition to the sky, two stars looking down at you with such sadness even through their soft glow.

You aggressively swipe at your face to rid the dampness from your skin and stand up, pulling your silk robe tightly over your body. The stone flooring of your balcony is cold against the soles of your feet as you pad your way inside and straight to your bedroom door, straight to the one man your brother told you to confide in despite your personal feelings. You turn the nob and whip the door open in one fluid motion, clearly startling the man that was leaning against the wall nearby.

“Levi,” you whisper, staring at his wide eyes that are regarding you with such surprise and worry.

“What’s wrong?” he frantically asks, seemingly snapped out of his reverie once he hears your voice ring through the solitude of the night.

“I– the letter,” you stutter. Your hand is still on your doorknob and you know you must look absolutely frazzled with red rimmed eyes and tear tracks on your skin.

He pauses at this, mouth opening and then closing, as he seems to think of what to say. You know he’s a man of few words, at least when he’s not replying with snarky comments back at you – you almost miss those. You stand back from your door, taking it with you to open wide in a gesture for him to come in.

“You’re hardly dressed for my company,” he mumbles, looking down at the ground. Of all the times for him to instate his chivalry, this couldn’t be a worse time.

“Get the hell in here,” you snap, your voice sounding weaker than you intended, but still having the same effect. He walks in quietly and you close the door behind the two of you before gesturing for him to take a seat on the bench at the end of your bed.

Levi watches you pace back and forth in front of him, arms crossed over your chest and your black silk robe flowing slightly behind you. You’re hardly dressed for this meeting between the two of you and certainly not for the chilling breeze that’s flowing through your balcony doors now. He stands for just a moment to close the doors and spots the letter on your table outside. Levi grabs it before continuing his task so it doesn’t blow away in the breeze that’s continuing to pick up outside and sets it down on the edge of your bed. You haven’t even looked up from the ground as you continue to pace back and forth.

“Aeron,” he mutters, breaking the atmosphere that was previously filled with the sound of your footsteps and the fire crackling to his left next to the balcony doors. It seems to work at snapping you out of your train of thought, but only for a moment as you glance up at him and move on to doing something else.

Your silence is killing him. He wonders if it could have been that bad, or if you’re just overwhelmed with your feelings after reading Auguste’s words to you. He sits there patiently as you grab the metal bed warming pan by the fire and stick it in the flame. You don’t move after that, just watching the fire dance in the hearth.

“Aeron,” he tries again.

“I read it,” you mutter, still staring at the fire. He figured as much with the way you were behaving. You look just as empty as the day you attended their funeral. “Do you want to read it?” you quietly ask, eyes finally coming up to meet his own. There’s no tears – you just look tired.

“What would you like me to do?” He doesn’t want to breach your privacy even if it might be easier to understand how you’re feeling. He’d rather hear it from you.

“I don’t know.” You abandon your stance in front of the fire and slowly pad towards him, your robe coming slightly undone as your arms fall to your sides and exposing your décolletage. He averts his eyes until you sit right next to him, his gaze coming up in surprise as you settle the side of your head onto his shoulder. You must be truly exhausted to be leaning on him like this. He doesn’t move, instead acting as your pillar of support as long as you need.

“Why don’t you tell me,” he suggests quietly, his voice barely a whisper in fear of spooking you away like a wild animal.

“Him and Erwin were going to mate,” you sigh. He blinks, digesting the news. Is this what you’re so upset over? It can’t be. He knew they were partners at least, but Erwin never hinted at the two of them becoming mates.

You continue on. “He told me to trust him and… I think I do now that I know that,” you mumble and lift up your head to look at him, your irises swimming with so much hidden emotion. He wonders if you still hate him. “He also told me to trust you.”

You stand up and walk towards the fire, grabbing a mitt off the wall next to the hearth to grab the bed warming pan to let it cool a bit before you stick it under your bed sheets. “Do you?” he asks instead of his real question, thinly veiling his insecurity about your feelings towards him. He never wanted you to hate him.

“Of course,” you reply easily, as if it was second nature. “I trust that you’ll protect me like you did with my brothers. I…” your voice trails off as you turn back to him, remaining your distance as you fidget with the tie of your robe in front of your torso out of nervousness. “I know now that you did what you could. I’m sorry, Levi, for ever saying otherwise.”

He forces himself to meet your eyes now that you’re apologizing. You look so sincere, so sad and sympathetic towards him when he should be the one looking at you that way. The warm light from your fireplace is flickering on your skin, illuminating you in the most ethereal way as you look back at him. He knows you’re waiting for a response, but what can he say to you when he should be on his knees begging for the forgiveness you’ve given to him so easily.

“I never hated you,” is what comes out instead of a thank you, instead of a returned sorry. He needs you to know.

“You’ve said that before,” you sigh.

“I meant it.” Levi stands and walks towards you, his body moving before his mind can catch up. He grabs your hands from the ties of your robes to prevent your fidgeting, looking down at your hands before meeting your eyes. “You’ll ruin the fabric with all your fidgeting.”

“That’s not really my main concern,” you breathe. He ignores your rebuttal.

“I’m sorry for all that I’ve done to you,” he tells you sincerely, holding your gaze so you know he means every word. “I’m sorry that you couldn’t trust me before now, and I’m sorry I couldn’t bring home Auguste and Theo.”

“Levi–”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be there for you when you needed someone to hold you,” he interrupts you. “I promise I will do everything I can to protect you, to ensure your safety above my own if I have to.”

“Levi–”

“I’m not done–”

“It’s okay,” you insist, eyebrows dipping with sympathy. You gently take your hands back from his own and look down. “I know you mean every word,” you mutter. “I know I trust you because of Auguste’s reassurance on top of my own, but my–” you sniff and turn your head to the side to gaze down at the fire. You’re avoiding him. “My heart has been so torn.”

He wants to be the one to put you back together, to make it up to you and mend your heart when you thought only Auguste or Theo were capable of such a thing. How are you supposed to heal when you’re required to deal with a war you never thought you’d be a part of?

“Let me help you,” he gently pleads, sounding desperate even to his own ears as he practically begs you to let him in. He can’t allow another person around him to fall apart and leave.

“I’ll get there,” you tell him, meeting his eyes to assure him you mean it. “At least I think I will.” You shift your body away from him to grab the metal bed warmer now that it’s cooled off enough to place under your silk sheets. Levi takes it as his que to make his leave.

“I’ll be there tomorrow,” he promises, looking back at you with a hand on the doorknob. He wouldn’t miss your coronation even if he was on his deathbed – he owed it to your brothers as well as you. You set the metal bed warmer back next to the fireplace before walking back to the edge of your bed.

“Thank you,” you mutter back to him, looking down as you begin to slide your silk robe off your shoulders so you can get in bed.

Levi doesn’t stick around to see it fall to the ground.

—

You abruptly wake up sweating, shaking, as you throw your sheets off your body. Your thin nightgown is sticking to every part of you and you swipe the little hairs off of your forehead, panting as you try and catch your breath. The moonlight is casting a soft glow into your room through your floor to ceiling windows, the waxing gibbous soon turning into a full moon that would bless your coronation day. You assumed it would make you feel more calm, but you’re still reeling from your nightmare, Auguste and Theo’s marred faces staring back at you still.

It’s only a matter of a couple seconds after you wake up that Levi is turning the handle to your door and stepping through the frame, eyes wide and searching for any threat that could be lying in wait. “Christ, Aeron,” he breathes, leaning against your doorframe once he sees that there’s no threat, only you sitting up in your bed after waking from a brutal nightmare. “Are you alright?”

“Yes,” you mutter, your voice sounding hoarse, hollow. Your breathing has leveled out by now as you bring both hands up to wipe more hair out of the way and swipe your cheeks free of any tears you may have left behind. You need some air. You stand up from your bed, disregarding Levi’s presence completely, and pad your way over to your balcony doors to allow some fresh air to flow through. The fire has dwindled down to a pile of embers and you relish in the cool breeze that soothes your sticky skin and allows the nightgown that’s barely hanging on your shoulders to flow freely once again.

“You’re going to catch a cold,” Levi’s voice sounds from behind you, closer than he was last time. You glance back to see that he’s closed your bedroom door and stepped inside, patiently observing you from the foot of your bed where he’s taken a seat on the bench.

“I’ll live,” you sigh, wrapping your arms around yourself. Your nipples have pebbled under the thin fabric, but you stand still despite the chill, knowing you’ll have to turn around to grab your silk robe.

Levi stands up behind you and lays your robe around your shoulders, ensuring the fabric falls over the front of your torso as well so you can slide your arms through. “Nightmare?” he inquires gently.

You turn around as you put your arms through the sleeves and face him. “Of course,” you mumble. He’s regarding you with one of the softest gazes you’ve seen on his features and you know he understands what you’re going through – he was the one to witness the events after all. “I’m assuming I wasn’t quiet.” You look down at the ground, embarrassed that he’s even here to observe your disheveled state.

“No, not quite,” he mutters, pausing before continuing, “I have them too.”

You look up at him. “You don’t sleep.”

“I know.”

You frown and move to sit on the bench. Maybe you should start your fire again now that you’ve allowed the chill from the night’s air inside your room. Levi beats you to it, wandering over to the hearth to stack the firewood that’s precariously placed next to it. “Tomorrow shouldn’t be happening. It should be Auguste,” you mumble, staring down at your fingers that have started to fidget again with the fabric of your robe.

“You’re right,” Levi says, his voice coming out strained. “I wish for your sake that it was so you would not travel to Kaslogon.” The fire is roaring with life now, flickering against his features and illuminating him in such a way you almost think he looks beautiful despite the furrow in his brows that tells you he’s upset.

“Levi–”

“I know you’ve made your choice,” he interrupts your distressed tone. “You are capable, fully, and I respect your decision, but I wish you never had to make that decision in the first place.”

“What’s done is done,” you sigh as Levi strides over to your bedroom door.

“Yes, I know,” he mutters. “I now intend to keep my promise this time of protecting you, even if it means my life is yours. I do not regret making that promise.”

You stare at him, wondering just how traumatized the man must be to devote his life to you. It crushes your soul to observe how broken he is – how broken both of you are – and you wonder if you would be able to stitch his heart back together like Auguste and Theo could always do for you. You wonder if he would try to do the same for you.

When you don’t say anything back he opens your door and steps through the frame, only glancing back to let you know, “Isabel will be here at dawn with Mrs. Kirstein and Mrs. Springer to help you get ready. I’ll be your escort.”

The door closes softly behind him.

—

It’s almost too much to handle as you open your door to allow Mrs. Kirstein and Mrs. Springer into your bedroom as they carry full buckets straight to your bathtub, Isabel following shortly behind with a large bundle of fabric in her arms. The two of you make eye contact when she looks up from the ground, freezing in her footsteps as she takes you in and you do the same.

“Let me hang this before you attack me,” she giggles and you can’t help the smile that graces your features when seeing the young woman’s youthful features light up. You missed her. You allow her to pass and shut your bedroom door, noticing Levi standing guard in your hallway and looking the other way as you do.

Once the dress Isabel brought in was hung next to your floor length mirror, you rushed her and attacked with a strong embrace – one she returned with equal enthusiasm. “I missed you, Is,” you mutter. You lean back and separate from her, grasping her hands in front of you. “I should’ve been there for you more. I’m sorry.”

“No,” she’s quick to speak, barely allowing you to get all your words out. “I’m sorry. I should’ve been there more for you. We needed each other and I abandoned my duties to you.”

“You have no duties to me,” you chide. “The only thing I ever hope for is your genuine friendship, and friends are there for each other just like we will be now.”

She nods, giving you one of her signature bright smiles as a strand of hair falls out from her updo. You tuck the strand behind her ear. “You’ll make a great Queen, Aeron.”

You give her a sad smile and recognize her own on her face as she regards you with such sympathy. She knows you don’t want to be doing this, but she’ll guide you through whatever you need and be there for you until her last breath just like you would for her. “Thank you,” you mumble.

“Aeron!” Mrs. Springer shouts as she exits your washroom. “Now is not the time to dilly dally! We’re running behind schedule!”

You share a look with Isabel and laugh, dropping her hands as you start to take off your silk robe to get prepared to bathe. “I think we have plenty of time, Mrs. Springer. It is hardly after dawn.”

The blonde woman frowns at you with Mrs. Kirstein’s sweet face appearing behind her. “Come on sweetheart, the water will get cold,” she coos at you, as if to coax you into the bath like you’re a kitten.

“I’d like to bathe by myself today,” you tell them, hanging your robe precariously over the stool for your vanity. It’s been a while since you’ve had a quiet moment to yourself in the bath, usually having Mrs. Kirstein bathe you when it felt like such an overwhelming task.

Mrs. Springer sighs while Mrs. Kirstein and Isabel nod at you and you finally slip yourself inside your washroom, closing the door behind you to give yourself the much needed solitude. You slip off your nightgown, allowing the thin fabric to pool around your feet before stepping out and into the tub next to you. The warm water feels nice on your skin, soothing your aching muscles from tensing up during your nightmares as you slide your whole body under the surface. You close your eyes under the rippling water, allowing it to soak your hair and block out any intrusive noises from your environment. It feels nice to just simply exist in the dead silence, all of your senses numbed so you can’t hear, can’t see, can’t smell, can’t taste anything as you only feel the soothing warmth of the water along your skin. The lavender and oats in a sachet they had added make the water silky and nourishing.

You lift your head out of the water, overwhelmed by the rush of water that flows off of your head and all of the sounds coming back. You press your fingertips into your eyes to rid the water so you can open them, lips slightly parted as you take a deep breath in after holding it for so long. You enjoy the sensation of your senses flooding back into you, feeling alive for the first time since Auguste and Theo left for their dreadful mission. You breathe in deeply, allowing the scent of lavender to calm your nerves – you wouldn’t allow your mind to go there right now. You needed to be strong in front of your kingdom, in front of the people that were relying on you to guide them despite your young age. Your people were not going to wait two years for the military rule to end – the conflict needed to end now.

You rush through your bath to keep yourself distracted from your thoughts, thoroughly scrubbing at your skin to the point where you almost rub your skin raw. The water drips off your body as you stand up, landing below with soft sounds of the droplets hitting the water. It felt good to bathe alone, to feel just strong enough to help yourself and not rely on someone else for such a simple task. Some days had felt hardly worth getting out of bed and now you felt like you could do the bare minimum despite the hollowness of your heart – perhaps you were just growing accustomed to the feeling.

You wrap your silk robe around you and exit the washroom, ready to have them dress and prep you for the day.

“She is in desperate need for a wax,” Mrs. Springer tells Isabel and Mrs. Kirstein right when you walk through the doorway.

“I don’t think that’s necessary,” you state plainly. You were not one to partake in the new trend of waxing. You’ve heard that it’s painful and you found the idea of being perfectly smooth odd, but you suppose you wouldn’t know for yourself unless you tried it. Today was not that day.

“It was merely a suggestion,” she offers, slightly caught off guard by your appearance.

“I do not have a mate,” you sigh, “besides, they will love me regardless of my grooming habits.”

Mrs. Kirstein intervenes before Mrs. Springer can get a word out. “You’re absolutely right. Let’s get you dressed.” You stifle a laugh at Mrs. Springer’s mouth snapping shut.

You didn’t pay attention to what Isabel had been carrying when she arrived, too focused on the young woman herself, but now you’re gaping at the extravagant gown hanging near your mirror. It’s the most gorgeous dress you’ll ever wear in your life, clearly specially made just for your coronation day and you wonder if they began making it as soon as they knew you were now in line to become queen. Mrs. Kirstein takes your robe off your shoulders and you stand still, watching in the mirror as they work on you. Mrs. Springer throws a chemise over your head the moment the silk fabric is cleared, tying a small bow in the front to keep it secure. Isabel ties the skirt support around your hips at the same time, making sure the knot is secure before moving on to your corset that will go under the dress. Its more intricate than normal, the bodice practically glittering with how fine the fabric is. It’s a navy blue, matching your nation’s colours, with silver detailing – it should show through the dress. Isabel pulls it as tight as possible, practically squeezing the life out of you as she does it with a smile. You glare at her in the mirror.

Mrs. Kirstein and Mrs. Springer both grab the dress, carefully guiding it over to you to slide over your head. When they finish lacing it up you practically gawk at yourself in the mirror. The dress has a high neckline, coming up to almost your jawline and contouring your face. It’s a dark blue, just like your corset, but it has silver metal detailing that frames your shoulders and scatters down the front of your dress and the long sleeves. Silver accentuates your breasts and a sheer lace allows your corset and cleavage to peak through the fabric just enough to be slightly alluring. Its form fitting, but the skirt of the dress doesn’t stick to your skin, it flows freely with a slender form.

The three women usher you in front of your vanity where they can primp and prep you for the ceremony. Mrs. Kirstein and Mrs. Springer work on your hair, carefully accentuating your natural hair texture and keeping your hair flowing freely. Isabel does your makeup, but keeps it relatively natural with just blush and a lip tint – she knows your preferences.

By the time they’re done you have little time left until the ceremony where you’ll greet your nation that has gathered close enough to the castle walls for you to address them. From then on you know you have a long evening awaiting you full of entertainment and addressing public officials – all people your brother and father knew well, but not you.

You’re guided in front of the floor length mirror again and your breath hitches – you look beautiful. You resemble a Queen. You hold your head high as you stare at yourself, tilting your head so you can see your hair and makeup.

It makes your heart ache, desperation seeping into your wishes for Auguste and Theo to be here just so they could witness your coronation. You push the thought away again – you won’t allow tears to ruin Isabel’s hard work.

You see her walk up behind you slowly. “One more thing,” she mutters. She steps in front of you with a tiara in her hands, gently grasping the sides as she raises it to place it on the crown of your head. It’s simple, glittering with small diamonds and a sapphire gem in the center, but the metal encasing them isn’t too intricate. It still must have cost a fortune.

You stare at yourself for a moment longer when she steps away before you turn to all three of them. “Thank you,” you start. “Thank you for taking care of me, and being there for me when I could not be there for myself.” You give them a sad smile, hoping you convey just how much you truly appreciate them.

“We love you,” Isabel says, and you desperately wish to wipe the tears from her eyes.

“We’ll always be here for you,” Mrs. Kirstein mutters softly.

“We would hug you, but we’ll ruin our hard work,” Mrs. Springer grumbles, and you know that’s her own way of telling you just how much she cares.

You grin. “I love you too,” you laugh. “Is it alright if I have some alone time before the ceremony?”

“Of course,” Isabel says fondly. “Levi will knock when it is time.” You nod and the three of them disappear through your doorway.

You let out a sigh of relief, grateful to be alone before you must put on a face for your kingdom. Auguste was always so much better at it than you. You were hardly prepared to rule a whole kingdom without any formal training at all. You only had the education you were lucky to receive with Auguste when he taught you everything he knew from the regular education he was offered as a male.

You pace your room, completely lost in your thoughts, when Levi’s knock echoes through the room. “Come in,” you address him as you stop to stare at your door. He opens it and suddenly freezes – he’s staring at you with wide eyes. You panic for a moment. “Do I look alright?” you ask as you walk over to the mirror to inspect yourself. You seem fine.

He clears his throat and you turn around. He’s managed to close his door after shaking himself out of his stupor. “You look beautiful,” he mutters quietly – you blush. “Like a true Queen.”

You can feel your cheeks heat and you turn around to look at yourself once again in the mirror. You try to think if Levi has ever given you a compliment before and come up empty. You spin to face him once again when you’re sure the flush of your cheeks has gone away and find him standing much closer, looking down at your small bottle of lavender oil.

“You forgot something,” he mumbles when he notices you staring. He gestures for your wrists and you tear up at the memory. “What is it?” He’s inspecting your face, honing in on the tears that form on your waterline.

“Auguste,” you mumble, “he um,” you clear your throat. “He was always the one to…”

“I see,” he states, effectively cutting you off, but you’re grateful for the interruption. “I can allow you to do it yourself?” he questions, uncertain of whether or not you’d like his assistance like Auguste had given you.

You gently pat at your tears and Levi hands you his handkerchief, a soft white cotton with the letters “L. A.” stitched in the bottom corner. You dab at your eyes and offer it back to him. “Keep it,” he tells you gently.

“It’s yours,” you state the obvious.

“I know,” he mutters, “I have another. Keep it for now.”

You nod and set it down on the edge of your bed behind you, carefully folding the piece of fabric into a square. You gently offer your wrists to him once you turn back around and it only takes Levi a moment of confusion before he realizes what you want from him. He gently places one drop of lavender oil on each wrist and you smile.

“One more,” you whisper, gently guiding him to place one more drop on your wrists like Auguste had done before. His cheeks flush and he drops the lavender oil on your wrist and you spread the scent to your jaw and behind your ears since your dress neckline goes so high. Levi walks away to place the lavender oil back on your vanity. “I’m scared,” you confess now that there is some distance between the two of you.

“It’s only natural,” he provides, slowly walking back towards you. “You did not have all the preparation your brother received, but you’ll rule just as well.”

“How can you have such confidence in a woman that hardly knows anything,” you mumble, looking down at the ground.

“Because that’s not the woman I see before me,” he sighs and you look up. “You’ve had an education, you’ve been trained for combat, and you know every useful skill there is to know. I can see the self doubt you hold and I know it will soon turn into a strong insistence to prove everyone wrong that has ever spoken poorly of you. You are a stubborn woman.”

“You hardly know who I really am, Levi,” you frown.

“I have lived next to you for nearly half my life,” he huffs. “I think we know each other more than you are willing to admit.” He reaches forward and straightens your tiara on your head, a look that you can’t place in his eyes.

You turn away from him, knowing he’s right, and look at yourself in the mirror. You practice a small smile and notice how it doesn’t quite reach your eyes, but it’s the best you can do in the moment as you try to tell yourself that you’ll be okay. You realize you’re not as alone as you thought you were as you think of Erwin and Hange’s guidance, your companionship with Isabel, and whatever possible friendship is blooming between you and Levi as you glance at him through the mirror. He’s standing by the door, looking down at his hands that are clasped in front of him as he waits.

“I’m ready,” you state confidently.

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