#So far only two of my friends heard the full story I put together for her cuz' my god it's a mess

[heckhellstuff]

My AUs ? Incomprehensible

Here's a doodle dump of bestie Guide Ranging from few days to 6+ months old

I have so so so much more But my dumb little AU went off the rails so badly i have no idea if anyone would listen to my insanity- Guide mentioning she used to lead an Inquisition gave me terminal brainrot and whatever this is crawled out

[dragonismo]

— of lies and empty promises.

pairing: Aemond Targaryen x Strong! Reader.

trope: something between star-crossed lovers and friends x enemies x lovers.

synopsis: while you enjoy a pleasant afternoon together, the differences between your families begin to make their way into your friendship, giving rise to moments of discontent between both of you.

word count: 1.4k

warnings: Both Aemond and reader are young. I believe there is no more warnings. Only Aemond is a tad bit possessive, jealous, and manipulative, but is purely innocent.

an: I've had this story saved in drafts since season 1 ended, but I've been neglecting it. Now, after seeing how hot handsome Aemond looks in the season 2 trailer, my fixation is back and so is my desire to publish this. This is something like a small introduction to what I have planned, so please, if you are interested, stay tuned for the next chapters!

You and Aemond were resting under the shade of the weirwood, with the sunlight filtering through its branches and red leaves. It was the most tranquil place in the Red Keep, ideal for doing nothing but enjoying a well-deserved rest after a day full of study and sword training, and as it was a rather warm summer afternoon, the mood was truly pleasant.

"I wish every day were this peaceful," you commented as you lay on the grass. "I would spend my entire life here if I knew no one would dare bother me. Can you imagine? Just lying in the sun, with no one behind rushing us to our lessons. And so, perhaps we could spend more time together."

"As far as I am aware, no one keeps you from my company," Aemond replied as he lay down next to you, palms flat on his stomach, legs crossed.

His comment made you frown: was he playing the fool, or was he really oblivious to certain glances? While shading your eyes from the sun with one hand, you tilted your face towards him before responding. "Oh, but they do, they sure do. I bet you know it is so."

"Oh, and by whom?" he inquired with a mischievous grin, one that vanished as soon as he heard the answer to his own question.

"The Queen."

Oh now that made him roll his eyes.

It was an immediate reaction, as Aemond was more than used to hearing you refer to his mother as if she were an impediment to your friendship, being that she never raised any objection despite her own opinions regarding Rhaenyra's children.

And how could she not have them? It was more than clear to him not only the truth hidden behind his mother's suspicions, but also how they were much more than mere prejudices towards the Princess.

"As I have told you countless times before," he said, not bothering to hide the subtle hint of frustration he felt at bringing up the issue again. "My mother holds no grudge against you."

"Then maybe her face hasn't caught on," you countered. "Or have you not seen how she scowls upon seeing me?"

"Believe me, you are not the source of her complaints. Mother spends more time grumbling about your brothers than about you, and rightfully so. They are fiends. You are not to deny it."

But to you it didn't seem such a far-fetched idea. You were about to argue once more, but then suddenly refrained from voicing your own opinion on the matter. You knew Aemond's position; how he preferred to turn a deaf ear and therefore often dismissed the matter. After all, what could the Queen do? She was not going to succeed in separating you both when the King was more than delighted with your bond.

Moreover; was it really worth arguing? It would do nothing but sour things between you two, something you feared greatly, for you held Aemond in high regard.

"Do as you wish," you replied. You did not want to interrupt the peaceful mood with reminders of the many quarrels that prevailed in your family, and so as usual, you decided to remain silent and put the whole matter aside. Still, your discontent showed on your face. "I was only expressing my desire to spend each day as I do now. I wish my only duty was to lie here and take a nap."

Aemond chuckled. "I fail to see where I fit in."

"I m afraid you are too irritating to be a part of it."

"Well, that is rather unkind of you. And selfish, I would say, as I want to be included anyhow," Aemond retorted stubbornly.

As he sat now with his hands on his knees, he looked at you with a determination unbecoming of someone his age, for not even men sounded as certain when they chose their greatest pursuits. But in Aemond's eyes, at nothing but ten years old, there wasn't a hint of doubt when he said, "Every time I imagine where I wish to be, you are by my side. Even in my dreams I relish in your company. I believe it is only fair that I am part of your ambitions and yearnings too, would you not think so? I would like it that way."

"But I never asked for such a thing," you replied. "Why am I to even consider it? I want my dreams to be my own, and not shared with anyone else. Dreams are one's own thing after all. So I wonder, why share them with me?"

"Because I love you, of course," Aemond answered you without further regard. "And if you love me as much, you must include me in yours, for not to do so means our friendship is not as important to you as it is to me," he added that last bit with a hint of playfulness.

You then turned to look at him. "Not as important?"

How confusing. It should bother you to hear him claim such a thing, for after all, were you not the one who had always defended him from the ill-treatment of your brothers? Were you not the one who had shown him unconditional affection despite the growing differences between your family? Were you not the one who, even in these moments, and as hard as it was not to, had never been upset with him? For even when you were accused of loving him less or branded as egotistical, you worried that those concerns were far more than harmless banter.

"Of course I love you as much. I would say more, even."

Aemond's smile widened, as he had expected such an answer. "And yet, it is I who always has you in mind. Who loves whom the most, then?"

"Me," you wanted to say. But was love not too big a concept for such young people?

You were taken aback. Not because the answer would be disheartening, and certainly not because you doubted the extent of your affection for him, quite the opposite: for one as young as yourself, the dephts of your feelings frightened him.

Then, instead of answering his question, you sat up, wiped the dust from your hands on your robes, and with sudden curiosity asked, "And what is that dream of yours, pray tell? I reckon it is no more mind-boggling than mine, where I gorge myself in lemon tarts as I ride the Black Dread."

Aemond snickered at your comment, but his words sounded a bit too serious to be a jest when he uttered them. "Well of course it is simpler. It is just about…"

"Your highness," a voice interrupted him.

A handmaiden approached from the opening, looking somewhere between hurried and delighted, something that intrigued you as much as it annoyed Aemond, who hoped this interruption would be brief so he could resume his comment. After a bow, however, he found her words rather daunting.

"Your mother sends for you, your highness. She wishes to introduce you to a new brother," the woman announced, which caught your attention so much it made you forget all about your previous conversation with him.

"My mother, you said?" you beamed before you pushed yourself up from the ground in no time, dusted off your clothes and bade Aemond farewell with such haste he could barely make out an "excuse me" as you and the handmaiden walked away.

He watched you as you ran ahead of her, clearly excited to meet what awaited you in your mother's chambers. As for him, he remained seated under the tree for a few seconds longer, a hint of jealousy souring his smile as his brow furrowed.

What a pleasant afternoon you were having so far. And yet again, your siblings always seemed to interrupt you both, even if they were not doing so directly. Will he ever be free of the burden of kinship?

How you could choose your brothers was beyond him. Was he not the one who often amused you? He had always considered himself closer to you than Jacaerys and Lucerys, but what was it about those bastards that always pulled you away from him nonetheless? And now there was a third!

Were his concerns correct then? Did he love you more than you loved him? But no, the very idea seemed so absurd it brought a scornful laugh from him.

You would never dare choose them over him!

"Damn them," he exclaimed before standing up as well. There was no use in staying here now that he was alone.

[catholicfacade]

are you ever gonna post the whole fic u posted the wip of ? 🥺🥺

hiiii, so im still working on it :(( im a suuuper slow writer unfortunately and im genuinely like +10k words deep into just chapter one and its probably only halfway done !!! real slow burn enjoyers rise !!! i might end up splitting chapter one into two parts because of this, i appreciate everyones patience who's cared about my work thus far !!! i know it's not what you want but i'll post another snippet since it is wip wednesday ! i hope you enjoy it in the meantime🤍 -ego⋆♱✮

WIP

pairing: joost klein x f! OC

content: RPF!!!, yearning, pining, slow burn, miscommunication, angst, anxiety, insecurity, val is so sensitive

word count: 2.4k

authors note: still chapter one except things are not so happy rn and they wont be for a while after this :(( my first wip 🤍

It shouldn’t sting, but it does.

Valentine has tried to brush off the moments of painful self-awareness where it’s clear, at least to her, she doesn’t entirely fit in here. All of these new friends in her life are nice! An unexpected but welcome addition to life in The Netherlands. But sometimes, it is so excruciatingly obvious she is not as welcome in their lives as they are in hers. She tries not to feel guilty about being the introvert in a group full of extraverts, it just always hits her so hard at the worst times.

Some nights the conversations are easily flowing, Stuntje, Appie, Lyon, and Daan telling stories, upon stories, upon stories of crazy things the group has done together. Joost is of course standing a little too close to Val for her liking, she can smell his cologne and his cigarettes, it’s making her light headed in the best way. He’s smiling so brightly at his friends, his arm nearly grazing Val’s every time he doubles over with laughter. And then all of a sudden the conversation switches to Dutch and Val gets thrown off, she can maybe understand half of it, but she feels so lost all of a sudden, like she disappeared. Then she feels guilty about feeling guilty, understanding that she is the only non-Dutchie standing amongst this group of people. Of course they’re all going to speak Dutch together. It wouldn’t be fair to make them speak English.

And yet there’s this unavoidable wave of loneliness that washes over her whenever it happens. It’s isolating to be standing amongst friends who are so deep into a story, laughing together, nodding and smiling at one another, while Valentine is forgotten, sometimes even unintentionally pushed out of the circle, doing her best to sneak away quietly to hide in the bathroom. It’s childish, she thinks, to be on the verge of crying because no one is talking to her. It’s selfish to think she’s invisible. But she feels like an intruder in these peoples lives, suddenly aware of how much she doesn’t understand about them. Maybe will never get to understand about them.

When Valentine goes home early, she feels like she’s just doing what’s best to mitigate this awkward situation. She tries to collect herself in the bathroom, swallowing that empty feeling down as far as it will go and walks back out with a fresh excuse made to end the night early. It’s always work, “I just remembered I have a blouse that needs stitching,” or “April needs me in the store early tomorrow, gotta go sorry.” It was only a matter of time before someone caught on that this was her only way of getting out of things, and it was only a matter of time before they stopped caring to have her around. She just wished it wasn’t Joost who would make it so obvious.

Standing all togther in their private section of the club, Apson is in the middle of telling a story about how he almost got beat up for filming a tik tok in front of some guys store, “I tried to say, ‘it’s for a video, it’s for a video’, but he kept cursing at me in Romanian, man! I put my hands up, right?” He recreates the gesture, “I said ‘I do it for tik tok, you ever heard of tik tok, man?’ And he went berserk!”

Everyone begins losing it over the way Appie starts mimicking the store owner’s yelling. Joost seems like he can hardly breathe he’s laughing so hard! As Valentine stands directly next to Joost, she can’t help but sneak a few looks at him, the way his whole face expresses joy, it lights up instantly, there’s no emotion he could try and hide on that face. She thinks it’s beautiful. He’s beautiful. His laugh is so genuinely infectious. The butterflies she feels in her stomach flutter, happy that Apson is the star of the show right now so no one can see her stealing glances at Joost every couple of seconds.

After a minute everyone begins to calm down, including Apson who even managed to make himself laugh super hard. Something in Val’s memory clicks for her as she speaks up, “I guess that’s why you had to get permission from April, huh? Didn’t want her to beat you up?”

“Jesus, Val—” Joost genuinely seems taken aback by her presence, brows lifted and eyes widened as he turns to her, “You’re still here? You’re so quiet—I thought you would’ve left hours ago!” He looks immediately to his friends who laugh in loud validation at Valentine’s expense. Joost laughs the hardest of them all.

Is that really it then? She’s so insignificant to him he hasn’t even realized she’s been standing next to him the entire time? No one even bothers to acknowledge what she said. They just keep laughing as Joost starts telling them another story of his own.

Val feels weak, the cup in her hand suddenly weighing 20 pounds, her knees are wobbling. Alanis is the only one not laughing, she catches Valentines eye and gives her a soft, sympathetic smile, probably having suffered some burns herself at some point, being the only girl in the friend group. Val smiles back, though the feeling of smiling is currently foreign to her, she’s just going through the motions.

Once Alanis looks away, Val slips away from the group quietly, grabbing her bag and her coat, heading out the door as quickly as possible without full on running.

The deep January freezing temperatures hit her like a ton of bricks but maybe it’s what she needs…or deserves. Fucking Joost—she thinks to herself. Valentine starts walking in the direction of her apartment.

Why did she have to feel so drawn to him? They clearly have nothing in common. He clearly doesn’t even think about her. She is this invisible little thing to him. Fuck fuck fuck Joost! Why does she care so much about him? It shouldn’t matter anyway, it was just a joke. She’s being such a sensitive little bitch about everything. And now all of her “friends” are going to think she’s super weird and melodramatic for leaving like that. If they can even be bothered to notice she’s gone that is.

Tears prick her eyes as she tries to blink them away, to no avail, they fall, freezing almost instantly on her face, leaving her so unbearably cold. It happens the entire walk home. Valentine is genuinely freezing half to death by the time she makes it back to her apartment. She sighs deeply once inside, cupping her face in her hands. Her teeth are chattering, her fingertips are frozen, and so are her cheeks, the tears she cried having turned into little flecks of ice.

Her body barely has enough strength to strip herself of her frosty clothing and run herself a bath, but she somehow manages it. Sitting against the edge of the bathtub, running the hot water, Valentine reaches into her discarded bag and takes out her phone. Battery dead. Oh well. It will have to wait until after her bath to be charged. It’s not like she stupidly believes anyone will reach out anyway, she’ll never get her hopes up like that ever again. It ends up forgotten on top of the pile of clothes now adorning the bathroom floor. 

-

“—daarna boekte ik altijd mijn eigen optredens!” [after that I always booked my own gigs] Joost nods while finishing his story, Appie and Stuntje laugh, Daan shakes his head, and Alanis has gone off somewhere.

“Heyyy jongens,” Stuntje calls out suddenly, “Who wants another round~?” He says in a sing-song tone while shaking his empty cup.

“I need one, man.” Daan says.

Appie shakes his head, “Ik ga naar huis. Waar is Alanis?” [I’m going home. Where is Alanis?] Appie walks away toward the bathroom, the other three guys just shrug at each other.

“A drink, Joost?” Stuntje asks, pointing to Joosts cup.

“Nee, man.” Joost shakes his head, swirling around his cup which sits half-full.

Daan and Stuntje head to the bar leaving Joost by himself in their section. A familiar, lingering sweetness in the air makes his lip twitch unconsciously into a smile, only one person enters his mind now that he’s alone. Joost searches for Valentine in her usual places, he wants to have a good sit down with her, watch her eyes light up when he gives her all the attention in the world—completely undivided now, he wants to hear her laugh because he hasn’t heard that sweet noise even once tonight! He wants to casually throw an arm around her and watch her blush, offer her a friendly rub on the arm as he innocently tucks her closer to his chest. But Valentine’s not sitting at the table or on the couch, she’s not standing in her corner or getting a drink at the bar. Joost furrows his brows, she couldn’t be on the dance floor could she? He strains his eyes trying to search the jumping crowd from afar but there’s absolutely no sign of that fiery head of hair anywhere.

Joost stares into the crowd of moving bodies for a while and then looks down at his watch, barely a few minutes past 10pm, where could she be? Out of the corner of his eye he catches Alanis coming back to grab her bag.

“Hey, is Valentine still in the bathroom or something?” Joost asks.

Alanis frowns slightly as she swings her purse over her shoulder, “She went home, Joost. I think your little comment made her feel stupid, she looked upset.”

“What?” Joosts heart nearly stops beating. He’s genuinely confused. “But I was joking…why would she leave?”

Alanis shrugs, “She never says anything, and that was the first time she decided to speak up, and you really embarrassed her for it.”

Joost goes red in the face, blinking rapidly, realizing that he had unintentionally probably fucked up Valentines entire night by humiliating her. And that was the last thing he ever wanted to do.

“Shit.” He breathes out, a weight crushing his chest.

“You coming?” Appie calls to Alanis from outside of the section, loud music still pumping through the club even though it feels like mere noise to Joost right now.

“Ja!” Alanis yells back, reaching out and giving Joost a squeeze to the arm, “You didn’t mean it and I’m sure she’ll get over it.” She tries to cheer him up but Joost only replies with a weak nod. “Goodnight Joost.”

“Night Alanis.” Joost watches her walk away and he waves one last time to Appie as the two head home.

-

Exhaustion. It hits Valentine so hard. Her eyes feel so heavy it hurts. The hot water still stings her previously frozen flesh, that hurts too. And so does her head. The image of Joosts face haunting her, replaying back his words and his laughter, the shocked look in his eyes when he acknowledged her…it almost looked like he’d never seen her before. Valentine cringes physically, shoulders coming up close to her ears, she hugs her knees to her chest and hides her face as though it’s all happening again. The water splashes around her with her repetitive movements as she rocks back and forth. She just wants the laughing to stop.

And she wants Joost to disappear.

She stays like that until her body can no longer bare still being awake. Her obsessive, circling thoughts have turned her brain to mush. And everything that happens after her bath goes by in a haze. But at least she’s warm.

The last thing Valentine does is fumble in the dark for her phone charger, slipping it into her phone before instantly passing out in her bed. Not a single thought passes through her mind that someone would want to call her tonight. She easily falls asleep feeling forgotten.

-

Stuntje and Daan have gotten into a heated conversation over at the bar, drinks sitting forgotten in front of them as they drunkly converse loudly with the guy sitting next to them. Joost is now completely alone in the section, heat still sitting under his face and heart still beating wearily.

He goes and sits in his usual spot, right next to where Valentine would usually be this time of night. He looks at the empty space next to him and realizes again that he’s been so stupid with his mouth when he hadn’t meant to be. If only Valentine could know that her absence is being noticed, more than that, it’s hurting him. Joost is alone. Friends are not far away, but he feels more alone now than ever. He hurt the girl he’s been admiring for months, she should be here, she should feel like she belongs, that she isn’t going to be embarrassed because she’s different, that she isn’t going to be made fun of by some stupid Dutch guy that’s actually so enamored with her.

It’s a cold night, snowing, she was definitely wearing a skirt…and heels. Joost is sick to his stomach, he pulls out his phone and quickly pulls up Valentines contact, their previous messages flashing in Joosts eyes, filled with brief small-talk, niceties, and nothing more.

22:18

J: Did you leave? :(

J: Sorry if I said something wrong. Really didn’t mean it.

J: Please call me.

J: I just want to know if you got home safe, I’m worried :(

J: I’m really really sorry Valentine.

--delivered--

Joost watches his screen for any sign of Valentine reading his messages, his leg bouncing up and down rapidly, he re-reads his own words over and over again, wondering if it’s too forward—not that he really cares actually—his stomach is twisted with anxiousness and nothing could stop it unless Valentine called him.

Joost hates waiting more than anything so five minutes passing, watching that little delivered icon never change, it feels like a fucking lifetime. He has to step out to smoke and standing there in the heavy snowfall just makes him feel even worse. The cigarette barely eases his mind so he tries to call Val. No answer. There’s not much more he can do, he assumes she really hates him now, and he just wants to know if she’s okay.

Reaching the last long drag of his cigarette confirms his decision, tomorrow if Valentine still hasn’t replied, he will go to April’s store and check on her in person.

[sweetcheeksschemmenti]

Happy Birthday, Cowgirl!

Melissa Schemmenti x fem oc

Summary: You wake up expecting it to be another forgotten birthday. Melissa makes sure it’s one for the books.

WC: 2.2k

Today is my 25th birthday! I wrote this for myself and figured someone else might enjoy it, too.

♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

Growing up, your parents never made your birthday a big deal and you didn’t understand it. All of your friends… and even your brother… got to celebrate their big day with cupcakes and parties filled with presents and excitement. Not you. November 5th was just another day as far as your family was concerned. Occasionally they would remember and mumble a simple ‘happy birthday’ as you walked out the door to walk to school, but there was no fanfare. Despite the fact that you always went out of your way to celebrate the birthdays of those close to you, you’d grown accustomed to not celebrating your own.

You had been dating Melissa Schemmenti for almost a year when your 28th birthday rolled around. Normally on a Saturday morning you would wake up with a mouthful of red hair and a hand full your girlfriend’s breast. Unfortunately, work had sent you to Nashville for a truly unnecessary- yet mandatory- conference, so instead you woke up alone in a ridiculously themed Margaritaville hotel suite. Jimmy Buffett himself stared down at you from the wall like a tacky Jesus portrait at your Grandma’s house. You glanced at your phone on the nightstand to see a missed call from the redhead. What the hell was she doing awake at six in the morning on a Saturday? There was no voicemail so you picked up the phone and called her back. Your brows knit together in confusion as you were sent straight to voicemail, something that very rarely happened. Assuming she had put her phone on ‘do not disturb’ and gone back to bed, you shrugged and got up to get ready for the day.

Once showered and dressed, you grabbed a granola bar and banana from the mini fridge and sat in front of the television to watch the morning news. After listening to a couple of local stories you tuned out the noise and stared out the window as you ate. The granola bar was stale and the banana wasn’t quite ripe… pretty on brand for your birthday. You gave up a couple of bites in and tossed them in the trash, opting for a half-eaten candy bar from your purse instead. With a deep sigh, you gathered your things for work and headed towards the door. You paused to look at yourself in the mirror once more before you left, staring a little too long at the bags under your eyes. Time was already leaving its mark on you. “Happy birthday, Y/N,” you whispered to yourself before you left for the day.

Around noon the team split from the conference for lunch with plans to return at two. Instead of joining your coworkers, you decided to grab take out from the restaurant at the hotel and eat in your room with hopes of maybe getting to talk to your girlfriend too. You scarfed down your hot chicken sandwich before dialing Melissa’s number; again, it went straight to voicemail. Disappointed, you tossed your phone onto the bed with a huff and sat on the edge with your head in your hands. You had hoped for at least a ‘happy birthday’ text from Melissa, but now you were starting to think that even she didn’t want to celebrate your day. You set an alarm and laid down for a nap thinking it might make the day go by faster.

The alarm blared and you sat straight up with a gasp- something Melissa always teased you about. ‘It’s like you remember ya left the stove on or somethin’,’ she’d mumble. It had only been two days without her, but you missed her. You decided to try the phone one more time before heading back to work, disappointed when you heard the voicemail message yet again. In a bit of a grumpy mood, you left the room and met back up with your coworkers.

“What’s that face for, Y/N? You look like someone kicked your puppy,” Seth said as you approached. You rolled your eyes and shrugged.

“Sorry, my face doesn’t have an inside voice. I’m alright. Ready to get back to it?” You straightened yourself out and slapped on a smile.

Seth and the rest of the team nodded and followed you out to the van knowing better than to question you. The rest of the work day dragged by as slow as molasses. Luckily, you were able to score a new deal on printer paper for the office through one of the new connections you made; it was a small something, but it brightened your day a little. By the end of the work day everyone was ready to head to Broadway for the annual bar crawl. You told Seth you’d catch up with the team in a few hours and caught an Uber back to the hotel. The day had really bummed you out and you just wanted to sleep for a while before forcing yourself to be social with your drunk coworkers.

Just as you sat down on the bed to call Melissa one last time, the landline rang. You blinked at it for a second before picking it up. “…Hello?”

“Hello, is this Miss Y/L/N?”

“This is she.” You toed your shoes off as you spoke, setting them next to the nightstand.

“Good evening! This is Jasmine from the front desk. We have a guest down here that wishes to visit by the name of Seth Kagan. Do you give your permission for us to give him your room number?”

You shake your head in confusion. Why wouldn’t Seth just text you? “Uh, yeah. That’s fine. Thank you for checking.”

Minutes later, there was a knock at the door and you knew it had to be Seth. You swung the door open without looking and held it for him to enter. “Don’t just stand there, man, come on.” Your eyes were on the floor.

“Well that ain’t no way to greet your girlfriend after she flew six hours to see ya,” Melissa chuckled.

Your eyes widened as you finally looked up to see the redhead standing in the doorway with an arm full of flowers and a small square box. “Baby?! What are y-, how did.. hello?!”

Melissa entered the room and set everything down before turning to face you with open arms. You eagerly wrapped yourself around her in a tight embrace. She felt like home, a comfort you’d not known until you fell in love with her. She held you close and pressed sweet kisses to your head. “Happy birthday, sweetheart,” she whispered.” You pulled away just enough to capture her lips in a passionate kiss, moaning quietly when she nipped at your bottom lip.

The kiss broke and you leaned back just a little. “Mel, what is this!?” You gently hit her shoulder as tears welled up in your eyes, her arms still wrapped around you.

She smiled, a twinkle in her eye. The way she looked at you made you actually believe that she hung the moon and stars in the sky just for your enjoyment. “It’s your birthday, ya dork! I wanted to surprise you. We brought cake and presents.” Gently and lovingly, she wiped the tears from the corners of your eyes.

You cocked your head. “We? Who’s ‘we’?”

Just then, there was another knock at the door. Melissa released you from her grasp and pointed towards the door. “Go on, open it.”

You moved towards the door quickly and opened it, peeking out from behind the door to see an empty hallway. You’d expected to see a couple of your coworkers, but there was nothing. “Huh…”

“SURPRISE!!” Your friends, chosen family, and Seth shouted as they stepped in front of the door. Barbara, Jacob, Janine, and a handful of other folks from home had made the journey from Philly to Nashville… for you. For your birthday. You were in shock. No one ever put in this kind of effort for your birthday.

“Oh my gosh, come in! Wow… you guys! This is… this is too much,” you stammered as they all entered the suite, tears streaming down your face.

The small group greeted you with hugs and kind words, handing off gifts to Melissa for you to open later. Thanks to Janine and Jacob, your suite was transformed with cowgirl decorations and a birthday banner in the matter of minutes. Shots were poured into little cowboy boot shot glasses and passed around to everyone. Melissa held hers up, an arm wrapped around your waist. “Cheers to the birthday girl,” she shouted and everyone cheered in response.

You gleefully mingled with your loved ones, occasionally meeting eyes with Melissa across the room, causing a delightful pink to grace your cheeks. Once the sun had set, the group made moves to head down to Broadway to hit the bars. Barbara handed you a bag before she left, “we’ll see you down there, honey. Drinks are on Sea Barbara tonight!” You took the bag and thanked her as the group left, leaving just you and Melissa.

Melissa sat on the edge of the bed and crossed her legs. “You havin’ a good birthday, hon?”

You leaned on the back of the couch with the bag still in hand as you thought about your day. “I really am. Thank you for putting all of this together, baby. I’m… a little overwhelmed, honestly. No one has ever done anything like this for me. How’d you get everyone down here?” You set the bag down and stepped towards your girlfriend, straddling her lap.

She held grabbed your hips and pulled you down onto her lap, leaning forward to kiss you. “ I know a guy, “she smirked. “And you don’t have to thank me, Y/N. You deserve to be celebrated.”

“Ya know… in all my 28 years, I’ve never felt loved on my birthday. It’s always just been another day on the calendar. You’ve changed that for me… that’s something special.”

“Like I said, you deserve to be celebrated. I love you, hon. As long as I’m around you’ll never have another shitty birthday. I promise.” She made a cross on her heart to show she meant it. And you believed her. You hummed in response and raked your fingers through her fiery locs before you leaned in for another kiss. Melissa immediately deepened it, darting her tongue out to taste you.

In the middle of the lazy make out session, Melissa’s phone buzzed with a text from Barbara- signaling that it was time to head to the bars. You chuckled as your lips parted. “Oh, so NOW your phone works, huh?”

She swatted at your ass. “I’m sorry! I did try to call you at the ass cracking of dawn to be the first to wish ya happy birthday, but you were asleep! Then my phone was on airplane mode until we got here because I forgot to turn it off.” She gave you a smile she knew you couldn’t resist and you shook your head with a grin.

“You were still the first one to wish me a happy birthday…. I forgive you.” You placed one more kiss to her lips before you stood up and smoothed out your shirt. You took Melissa’s hand and started pulling her towards the door. She paused and picked up the bag Barbara had handed you earlier, placing it in your hands again.

“Open it.” You did as told and pulled the tissue paper out. Inside was a bright pink cowgirl hat that matched the decorations in the room. The smile on your face grew, so much so that your cheeks began to hurt. Melissa took the hat from your hands and placed it on your head, fluffing your hair for you before turning you towards to mirror to see. “Oh this is perfect,” you laughed.

Melissa snatched the hat off your head and put it on her own. You gasped and turned towards her, “Melissa! Do you know the cowboy hat rule?!” She shook her head and you bit your lip. Nine times out of ten, Melissa was the leader in the bedroom. Your cheeks warmed at the thought of this night being the one time out of ten. “If you put on a cowgirl’s hat… you have to ride the cowgirl.”

She pulled you in for a heated kiss. “That’s one of the few rules I’m willing to follow,” she whispered in your ear before nibbling at your lobe, earning a whimper from you.

“Later, baby. Gotta at least have a few drinks on Broadway tonight.” You took your hat back and settled it on your head. “Can’t lose the hat. A cowgirl can’t ride without it,” you winked at her, enjoying the blush that spread over her cheeks.

Melissa smacked your ass as you walked out the door. “Oh, don’t you worry. I’m not lettin’ that hat outta my sight! We gotta find a screw driver or something on the way back to take Jimmy off the wall though… I don’t know if I can uh… focus with Mr. Margaritaville staring me down.”

You pulled a screwdriver from your jacket pocket and held it up. “Already ahead of ya, baby.” You laughed together as you walked down the hall hand in hand.

No more shitty birthdays.

[psychickiss]

i’m not too late

— saiki kusuo x reader (gn, 2nd pov)

— summary: You come over to Saiki’s house to give him a (kind of last minute) birthday gift, which ends with you two hanging out in his room.

— notes: nottt beta read also!! maybe ooc kusuo 😵 also also! dt @kusuokisser

— things: confessions... blah blah... romantic!! quite awkward

— masterlist | request form | retrospring

Saiki’s mom calls out to her son, “Ku! Check who’s at the door for me, please?”

Saiki nods. He’s already heard the inner voice of whoever rung the doorbell to his home– he knows it’s you, and he knows why you’re there.

“Belated happy birthday, Saiki! Sorry I’m late, I didn’t know your birthday at first.”

Now, he needs a way out.

First, he accepts your gift. Maybe you’ll leave after he takes it. Of course, Saiki can’t just rudely shut the door on you– he doesn’t want to hurt your feelings get scolded by his mom. So, he engages in small talk. “It’s alright. You got the month right, at least. The only ones who greeted me correctly are Mera, Aiura and– to my surprise– Toritsuka.”

Confused, you ask, “And who... got the month wrong?”

“Everyone else. We partied in May. Is that all?”

Saiki tunes in to your thoughts, and he’s hopeful he’ll spend the rest of the day alone. Yes? No? I wanted to hang out, but maybe not? He clings onto that “maybe not” of yours.

Like any other person, you get curious. You ask him again, “No...? May? You guys partied in May?”

“It’s a long story,” he says. He’s hearing your (still) inquisitive thoughts. Saiki internally sighs. I need to get this over with, quick. There’s a show I want to watch that airs at 4:30 PM. It’s only 1 PM, but time is fast. He steps to the side, allowing you to walk past the gate. He doesn’t know why he’s letting you in. Saiki takes off his footwear before entering his house, and you do the same.

Saiki announces his presence to his mom, as well as yours. “Oh, dear! Are you here to celebrate Ku’s birthday? Have you eaten lunch already?”

You nod in response to both questions from Saiki’s mom. “Well, I’m not too sure about the celebration part... I figured I’d just give Saiki his gift, then leave–”

Saiki’s mom shakes her head. “No, stay! You obviously made the effort to come all the way here. Stay as long as you’d like.”

Good grief. Saiki forgot to take his mother’s friendly nature into account...

“Okay, I’ll stay.”

... As well as your politeness. Not to mention, the fact you’ve been looking for opportunities to be alone with him.

So, you and Saiki head up to his room.

You two aren’t the closest of friends. Sure, you’d go straight for him when you needed a partner for school and you two would sometimes walk home together, but you aren’t as close to him as Nendou and the others.

That doesn’t stop you from having feelings for Saiki, though. What started as a silly crush to help you pass the time in class developed into full-on fantasies of going on dates with him.

Usually, Saiki wouldn’t mind such things when it came to people like you– people who don’t act on their feelings– because that means he wouldn’t need to actively avoid you, but you confused him.

Saiki sometimes wanted nothing more than to ask you about your feelings for him, but that just felt uncharacteristic for him to do.

He wants you to act on your feelings– tell him how you feel. For what reason? He cannot put a pin on it. Not yet.

Saiki opens the door to his room, letting you enter first.

You sit on the foot of his bed and ask, “Did you have fun?”

Saiki sits on the chair in his room, which isn’t too far from you, before answering. “I don’t really celebrate my birthday in the way others would, but I splurged and bought lots of coffee jelly. My mother baked cake too.”

You give him a small smile. “So, is that a yes?”

Saiki nods.

Saiki didn’t really have much of a plan or intention to kick you out of his house. You didn’t talk his ear off as often as his other friends, so he figures you two can sit in his room alone in silence. He doesn’t hear you mentally complain, anyway. Most of your thoughts at that moment were in regards to the way his room looked.

Most of your thoughts.

I should ask about the show that’s going to air later this noon. Oh. My god. I can’t believe I’m alone with the guy I like, it’s the perfect time to confess!

Saiki hears your thoughts, yet he does not do anything about the confession part. He and you both know you’ve thought of confessing your feelings multiple times but chickened out everytime.

Hm. Saiki wonders if this time, you get the courage and finally tell him. He knows what he’ll say.

Your eyes dart nervously to Saiki, then at the TV right next to his bed, where you’re seated.

“Have you... Do you know about the show that’s airing later? 4:30?”

Saiki nods.

“Would you want to watch it together?” You take a deep breath after asking. Fortunately, he nods.

“Would you like something to drink? Or eat?” Saiki asks. If you’re staying, he might as well be a good host.

“Ah, just water. Maybe, uhm, coffee jelly– if you’re going to get some of your own.”

Saiki nods and he exits his room, leaving you alone.

You eye the gift you handed to Saiki. You had only gotten him a cardigan, unsure of any specific tastes of his, although the design was quite... un-Saiki; it wasn’t plain, but it wasn’t too much design. It just didn’t look like something he’d wear often, though you figured he could probably try out new things.

You just hope he likes it. To be safe, you had bought him a gift card to the store you got his gift from.

Saiki opens the door with a tray in his hands. Two cups of coffee jelly and one glass of water.

You make yourself comfortable on the floor of his room, Saiki sitting across from you and setting the tray down.

You take a sip of water before muttering, “Thank you.” Saiki gives a small nod before silently eating his coffee jelly.

He doesn’t really like being talked to while he’s eating, you think. You’re left to just look at Saiki with that expression he’s always wearing when he’s eating anything sweet. It’s cute.

You’re opting to confess, Saiki feels it. As unromantic as the scene seemed to be– two friends sitting on the floor without talking– he figures if he should be confessed to, it’d have to be nothing grand.

Plus, he knows what he’ll reply, anyway. He’s prepared his response since the first time you backed out of confessing to him.

You grab a plastic spoon and open your cup of coffee jelly. Before you take a bite of the sweet treat, you finally say the words.

“I like you.”

I know. I’m still chewing, hang on.

You quickly eat a spoonful of coffee jelly before Saiki could even respond. Say something, please?

You anxiously eat your coffee jelly, waiting for Saiki to finish eating his.

...

Finally, finally, Saiki replies.

“I don’t really know yet, but I might like you too.”

You feel as though a wave of relief washes over you. At least it’s not a rejection. Oh my god. “Really?”

Saiki nods. He doesn’t say anything else, and in shock, neither do you.

“Don’t ask me how I know this–”

Mentally, you interject, I probably won’t, but continue.

“–but I know you’ve liked me for a while now.”

You sigh in frustration. “I thought I was hiding it well...”

I can’t help that I have telepathy. Saiki discards that thought, instead saying, “No, you were pretty obvious.”

You laugh quietly. “God, I’m sorry! Glad that you might like me back. At least that being obvious wasn’t in vain.” You smile at Saiki. “Belated happy birthday, again. Next year, I’ll be sure to greet you on time.”

Saiki lets out an amused hum. “We’ll see.”

[caxde]

You said I can send requests and I'm gonna take you up on that offer, my friend.

I'm still in my SoftDad!Eddie brain rot. I'm rolling with the "Dada's Princess" here and imagining little Lua making a flower crown for Princess. Or them making them together to both be "Dada's Princess". Because I knowwwww just the sight of it would make Eddie just melt into a puddle.

Also, love your writing and your beautiful mind for creating such a cute story so far!

💜

Omg thank you soo much <33 i love getting request so this is ideal i ran with the flower crowns idea hope you like it <33 feel free to request anything you like!

bright eyes universe drabble ~1.6k girl!dad eddie

Spring was in full bloom. 

You had a day off, and you decided to sleep in, letting the sun rays that sneak in through your window slowly wake you up. It was recomforting, the mundane feeling of it all. 

So you enjoyed a hot long shower, singing every song that played on the tape that Eddie had gifted you as a thank you to watching over Lua. It had a little of them both, Bowie and The Smiths had been Lua’s idea -that much was clear- Metallica and Iron Maiden had to be his, but the Led Zeppelin and Fleetwood Mac -you thought- Eddie had chosen because he had heard you singing them when you didn’t even notice you were doing so. A level of attention you were just realising now, in that moment as the hot water hitted your sore back. 

A slow morning called for a hot tea, like the ones you used to make for yourself before you had any real responsibilities. 

Your hair still somehow wet, brushed away from your face, and that gow that a much needed shower left on your face, you felt clean, soft from once. You grabbed the first clean top that was on your folded laundry pile, a baby blue colour that complimented your skin, some washed up dark jeans to cover your legs. 

You walked to your porch, wanting to let your hair dry while you just drank your cup. 

Little did you know, a little surprised waited in your door. 

A letter was hanging on your door, with a small yet thick piece of duct tape. 

Lilac drawings of misshaped stars and hearts decorated the page. 

It read: 

“Duchess Lua of the mighty Hawkins Trailer Park would like to invite Princess to her court outing this afternoon. We shall have a refreshing picnic by the lake, please, confirm your assistance with Eddie the Once Banished. 

Sincerely your dearest friend, Duchess Lua Munson.” 

It made you giggle, and blush at the same time. You could tell Eddie had put some thought into it, and the drawings Lua had made to the best of her ability made you want to keep this letter forever. 

Which you did, you folded neatly, letting it rest on your bedside table, before you found a place in your wall to hang it on. 

You walked back up. The cup let out a clicking sound when the little spoon made contact with it, once you set it down into the floor. 

You sat on the little steps, writing on your little pad that was pressed against your thighs, a response that was just as grandiose as the ask had been. 

It read: 

“Princess is more than happy to accept her Duchess Lua Munson invitation, and would like to know at what time she’s expected to arrive at her delightful trailer for the outing. Princess would like to inform Lady Munson that she’s excited to see her, and will make a treat for the picnic.” 

You decided to leave a little red kiss as your signature. A little present that Eddie will cherish for a longer time that you had thought. 

A stupid thought crossed your brain -more than a thought, an image- the two letters resting side by side, the paper now turning yellow, framed on a wall that the both of you share, Lua’s older now, maybe not the only daughter. 

You had to shake your head, so you wouldn’t get too caught into the dream, snap back into reality. 

-

Maybe it was stupid, or a bit childish but you were excited nonetheless. You switched your jeans for a flowy white sundress, the skirt reached your knees, the fabric had a faded small flower print all over. It was girly, but it was also spring, and for once, you didn’t care. 

Your hair was free of any ponytails, or buns or anything like that, and it felt good to let it fall down, being so used to pushing it away from your face when you were working. 

Eddie was a bit lost in you, not really focusing on what he should. 

Lua was holding your hand, and you both were walking in front of him. He was holding the bags with the food and everything you had prepared -with the added things he already had- and he let himself be lost onto the fantasy. 

Lua was telling you about the book he had just started reading for her as a bedtime story, and you kept asking questions, and she yapped in her mumbling voice as much and as excitedly as she could. He saw himself in her in those moments, when her tongue moved faster than her brain and she’d choke on her own words. Her free hand swanged in the air, and when she got caught on a word, she touched it, as a way to comfort herself. Eddie was starting to struggle to not tell you right there how he was feeling. How he was starting to get those scary big feelings. How he could actually see a life with you in it. 

Eddie didn’t want to scare you. 

So when you got close enough to the Lover’s Lake, and while you and Lua looked around for some spring flowers, he set the cloth down, the little sandwiches he had made on one side, chips for Lua, and a bit of cheese that you liked on the left side. The sponge cake you baked, and the rest of your -half eaten- chocolate bar on the right side. He got the drinks, begging you not to spend more things. 

He got a thermos of your favourite tea -he had finally learned how to make it and was eager to see your reaction- water and chocolate milk for Lua, and soda for him. Though deep down he knew he’d end up drinking your tea. 

He opened his arms as soon as he saw Lua running to him, her arms opened, her fist holding tightly to the wildflowers she had picked, you followed her closely, your laughter filling the air in his lungs. 

You kept laughing, everytime Eddie found something new to do, just so he could hear you. And in consequence, Lua chuckled along. From afar, it already looked out of a picture book, but what he couldn’t quite understand is how it felt like it too. 

“Dada?” Lua asked, once she had finished her piece of cake, spinning around so she could look at him. 

“Yeah?” 

“Can you braid?” She pointed at her hair, a question he had to avoid a bit too often. 

“Bug, I’m rubbish at it, you know it.” He tried to plead with her, once again his voice gave in, breaking a bit. He had a tendency to do that when he had to tell her no, as if it would soften the blow. 

“Please?” She asked again, her eyebrows raising just like he did when he was asking for something he deeply wanted. You had seen that look when he didn’t want you to leave, or he wanted another kiss. With a soft giggle, you looked at the little scene, hoping to not intrude too much. 

“I can, if uh… if that’s okay.” Lua cheered and sat on your lap before you even knew if it was okay or not. 

You knew it was, Eddie had that thank you look on his face. 

He decided to do what he actually had learned, way back when he wasn’t living here, back when his mother lived. He knotted some of the wildflowers together, concertraing enough on it that his tongue covered his top lip, hearing his mother's voice singing low one to the top and knot over and over in his head. 

For once it wasn’t a painful memory. 

Rather a joyful one. 

Now it was his two little princesses and his mother’s voice. 

He placed it on top of your head, a kiss on your temple following it shortly after. 

“What’d you do?” You asked, touching your head with care. 

“Your crown, you needed one.” He points out, Lua’s eyes widened as she saw it. 

“No braid but yes crown?” She asked, not really believing the ability his dad had been hiding from her. 

“You know what we can do?” You asked her, trying to distract them both from the way your blood rushed to your cheeks. “Look.” You whispered it to her, as if it were a secret you both shared. 

You started grabbing the wildflowers that were scattered around the cloth, placing the stems in between the knots of her braids, small flowers blooming from her hair. As soon as Lua realised what you did, her hand touching it with as much care as she could gather she started screeching from laughter, a type of laugh that not only warmed you, but Eddie as well. 

She kind of jumped, though it felt more like a push, to your arms, screaming thank you repetitively, her excitement evident in her tone and gesture. 

Eddie just looked at the both of you, his little dream -much similar to yours, even if you didn’t know- nearing the reality right in front of him. 

You whispered to him, still holding Lua close to you “You’re full of surprises, huh?” 

“Anything for my girls.” The sincerity in which he said it made you blush, the widest smile on your face as you shook your head at him. 

“Idiot” You mouthed, no actual sound coming from you, careful that she wouldn’t hear a bad word. 

He inched closer to you, leaving a kiss on the highest point of your cheek, right next to your ear. 

“Hopefully yours.” He whispered. 

A promise he intended to keep.

-

requests! are open

@took-me-hours-to-steal-those @edens-vices-art @micheledawn1975 @peachystenbrough @mewchiili @bylermaxmayfield @yujyujj @honeymoonmunsonn @paleidiot @ali-r3n @sunshineandwitchery @supernaturalstilinski @womencriedpower @saramelaniemoon @cultish-corner @babyloutattoo89 @witchwolflea @serenadingtigers @readergf @guineveresghost @saramelaniemoon @angel-upon

[cheeeeseburger]

Dream girl Part 8

Next part

Sidney Crosby x Reader

Masterlist

A/N: IF YOU HAVE RED PART 7 BEFORE PART 8 WAS POSTED, PLEASE GO BACK BECAUSE I HAVE ADDED SOMETHING AT THE END! Wow, three parts in a day, is this really me? And they're the parts with the most words so far? Anyway, English is not my first language, apologies for the mistakes, enjoy!

Sidney noticed you crying on the porch immediately, then he saw the other car in the driveway. He put his car on park and got out instantly.

“You’re such a fucking slut!” Your boyfriend spited out those awful words and Sidney saw red.

“Hey, hey, what’s going on?” He went up his teammate, trying to prevent him from getting closer to you.

“What’s going on is that my girlfriend is a whore who’s mad that I’ve been cheating on her when actually she’s the one playing behind my back!” He kept trying to go forward, but he blocked him. Sidney heard you sobbing and immediately trying to justify yourself.

“It’s not like that, I swear!” The desperation broke his heart.

“Shut up!” The whole neighbourhood was sure to have heard him now.

“Woah, come on now, stop that. You don’t get to speak to her like that.” The rookie’s eyes widened and he snapped at Sidney.

“You don’t get to tell me how to speak to my girlfriend when you’ve been fucking her behind my back. What a good captain, eh? I saw the fucking notes on your locker and put two and two together when her friend told me she was no longer living with her. I didn’t expect to actually find her in your house, but I guess you two have become quite comfortable, huh?” The rage in his words was palpable. He was truly furious.

There was a million thoughts running in Sid’s head. Of course, his priority was you. He saw you crying on the porch from the corner of his eye. He had to think about his position in the team and his role as captain. Of course, falling in love with your teammate’s girlfriend was a pretty shitty move, but that was not your fault. You had done nothing wrong. Admittedly, there was that almost kiss, which he initiated, and that real kiss, which only happened a few weeks after you had stopped talking to your boyfriend.  Anyway, all of this mess only started after he cheated on you. In fact, even though it sounds awful, Sidney believes the rookie is more mad because his pride has been bruised, not because he believes you’re having an affair.

Sidney was not too worried about his position, but for someone who did not know the full story, he looked like a shit captain who stole the rookie’s girlfriend. The media would have a field day. A few neighbors were outside, clearly aware that they were spectators to a big scene.

“Okay, I get it, you think your girlfriend has been cheating on you, but she has not. Can you say the same thing? I don’t think so. Calm down, and we can talk about it inside. Let’s not cause a scene.” Sidney was surprisingly calm, given the situation. Years of dealing with situations on and off the ice had turned him into a sharp mediator.

“I’ll give you a fucking scene, dick.” He shoved him. Like, actually tried to push him. The attempt was laughable.

Of course, being a defenseman, he was taller and all, but he didn’t have the experience that Sidney had. Also, he didn’t have the fury that now inhabited his mind.

“Don’t fucking play with me.” It was just like on the ice, except he didn’t have to throw away his gloves. There was no penalty box here, but the girl of his dreams was the prize. The Stanley Cup was nothing compared to you. The first punch came swiftly.

“No, stop, guys, please!” You ran down the driveway frantically. “You have to stop or else the cops will show up!” But it was like the two guys couldn’t hear you. They were in a trance. If this was in an actual game, the entire arena would go crazy. He would be expelled for sure.

“Stop! Stop!” Your screaming didn’t change a thing. Sidney was too blinded by his rage, otherwise he would have stopped as soon as he saw you. You had no other options.

You squeezed yourself between the two hockey players, and your boyfriend didn’t even notice you until Sidney yelled “Stop! You’re going to hurt her!” Both guys snapped out of it.

The whole scene felt like a cringy high school soap, but the blood on the faces and the knuckles of both guys was very real. This wasn’t Riverdale.

“Let’s just go inside, please. Please, I beg of you!” You took your boyfriends hands in yours and although it hurt Sidney a bit, he knew why you were doing it. He was going to follow you inside anyway, but the rookie might not.

It was like he finally noticed your mascara-stained tears. It seemed like he really did care for you still. Panting, he agreed. “Okay. Let’s get inside.”

Instinctively, Sidney’s hand made its way to the small of your back. He sensed that it was not the time, nor the place and he dropped it, although it pained him to do so. The sound of your tears echoed in the entryway while regret coming from both guys filled the atmosphere.

The three of you gathered in the living room. You sat down and there was an awkward moment when Sidney and his teammate did not know whether to sat down next to you or not. Ultimately, they both decided to stay standing. Sighing, you stood up too.

“First of all, I have to make things clear. I have never cheated on you with Sidney or anyone else, and I do not deserve to be called a whore or a slut.” The words came out distorted from all the tears you spilled. You choked up when speaking and your voice trembled. Some guilt flashed in your boyfriend’s eyes, but not enough to stop his next spiteful words.

“How can I believe that? You have been living with him for Christ’s sake!” His left eye was turning black. Sid should feel bad, but he just felt satisfied.

“Only because you moved back in the condo, and I obviously could not go back there! I lived with my friend for like a week, but then she kicked me out because of her boyfriend!” You seemed ready to pull out your hair. You had to make him believe you, because your reputation was on the line. The double standards were crazy and hockey was a small community and you did not want to become the black sheep of the sport nor did you want to stain Sidney’s golden boy reputation.

“Why the fuck did you not go back home with me?” The captain ached to order his teammate to watch his tone, but it was not his place to interrupt now. You two were in duel, both waiting for the other to actually pull the trigger.

“Are you freaking kidding me? You cheated on me, and that was just the first time that I had proof, because I know you have cheated on me before, I was just too naïve to see it! In what world would I want to go back to living with you like everything is normal?”

“How the fuck should I know? You refused to talk to me!” It was like having to fight with a toddler. You took a deep breath.

“Okay, I admit that that was not the most mature reaction, but put yourself in my shoes. You came here acting crazy because you thought I had cheated on you! I think my reaction was not outrageous given that I had proof!” It took everything in you not too roll your eyes at the ceiling.

“So you admit that you’ve been cheating on me with?” Sidney knew this guy had next to no hockey IQ, but he was starting to believe he had no IQ in general.

“I do not admit to anything! Goddammit, you really don’t know me, do you? Otherwise you would not for a fact that I would never cheat on you. I’m way too loyal for that. I stood by your side through everything! Your junior hockey days, the draft, I even moved to Pittsburgh for you! Heck, I guess I don’t know you that well either because a year ago I would have never thought you could play behind my back like that!” Your boyfriend pinched his nose and cursed at the ceiling.

“That was a fucking mistake! Okay, maybe a few fucking mistakes, but I swear they did not mean anything and I have regrated it every single day since!” Wow, the arrogance of that kid.

“You only regret those hookups because I finally found out!”

“No! I regret everything that went down because we were supposed to get married, to be endgame! You’re the one I want to have children with, not those sluts!” Oh, he was digging his grave deeper.

“Oh, like that’s supposed to make me feel better? And don’t call them sluts, you’re the one that can’t keep his dick in his pants!”

“You’re such a bitch! Can’t you see that I’m trying to say sorry?”

“Okay, that’s fucking enough! Shut the fuck up!” Sidney shouted and his words echoed all over the house.

“Well, it’s not freaking working, because you keep insulting me!” You burst into hysterical tears.

That sobered him up. “Oh God. I’m so sorry, baby. I should have never said that. You’re not a bitch or a slut or a whore. Forgive me please. I’m so, so, sorry.” He sensed that he had gone a step too far. He tried to get closer to you but got the message when he saw you flinch. It seemed he only now realized all that he had done. For the first time in the last hour, real guilt crept up in his eyes.

Sidney stood there, helpless. He did not want to make the situation worst and he knew that it was not his place to step up. You managed to speak between hiccups. “I’ll forgive you, because I know you and I know you don’t mean those words. But on one condition. You have to say that you trust me and you believe me when I say that I have never, ever cheated on you. I did kiss Sidney, but only after we had not spoken for over a month, and I know you have not been a saint either. Please, just say that you believe me, and all will be well.” This was incredibly generous of you, but that’s who you were. His sweet, sweet girl.

He took the part where you confessed to kissing Sidney better than the captain though he would. Slowly, he nodded. “I trust you. It would be extremely out of character for you to do that. I’m sorry for insinuating you had.” Sheepishly, he turned to look at his captain. “I also have to apologize to you for how I reacted, Sidney. I’m sorry.” He offered his hand and Sidney happily shook it.

“Hey man, no hard feelings.” That was kind of a lie, but he would let it slide. For now.

Sidney finally breathed right for the first time in what felt like months. He hadn’t realized the guilt was consuming so much of his energy, nor had he realized that it was there in the first place. It warmed his heart to see you wiping the tears with the sleeves of your sweater and to see a shy smile peaking through.

“Perfect! Now that that’s done, I want a divorce. I mean, I want to break up. And I want to sell you my share of the condo.”

“And also, I’m in love with your girlfriend. I mean, your ex.”

"Sidney!"

[ladykailitha]

Grief (A Friend Indeed) Part 6

And we're back on this story. I didn't get as much Halloween stories in as I wanted, but there is still a week and half left in the month so I might get a couple of one-shots out before the big day. I have one with the older teens dressing up as RHPS characters for a midnight showing I'm part of the way through that might get done in time. We'll see.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

***

Eddie hadn’t seen Steve in close to an hour and it was starting to worry him.

He been bombarded with commiseration after commiseration from friends of his grandma and their families. All the Munson family was already here.

Almost.

As far as Eddie knew, Al Munson was still in some jail in Texas for grand theft auto. His third strike in the state of Texas. Who knows how many strikes he had in other states. Wayne wasn’t telling, and Eddie wasn’t asking.

He was standing there in his best jeans and nice black button up. It wasn’t what he was going to wear to the funeral, Wayne had raised him better than that. But he thought it was nice for a wake.

And it wasn’t as though Steve was dressed up either. He was wearing khakis and a grey Henley.

But all around him Eddie could feel the eyes of the other mourners, looking at him, judging him, and absolutely finding him wanting.

He stood in the corner, sinking further and further from view as he felt assaulted by their glares.

Suddenly there was a warm hand on his back and voice in his ear telling him to take a walk outside with him.

He let Steve lead him out of the house and onto the porch.

Steve pulled out a cigarette and lit it, handing it to Eddie and then lighting one of his own.

“You grandma must have been one hell of a lady to have that many mourners at her wake,” Steve said after a moment or two of smoking in silence.

Eddie snorted. “You ain’t seen nothing yet, pretty boy. This is just close friends and family. Tomorrow’s gonna be the real shindig. It’s going to be standing room only in the church.” He paused. “Ah, shit. That’s going to be okay, right? Going to a Catholic church?”

Steve scoffed. “Yeah, that’s fine. Not religious myself. Kinda hard to be when you’ve seen the worst of humanity and actual fucking monsters.”

Eddie look a long drag of his cigarette. “I feel that. Stopped believing in God when I heard that AIDS was one of God’s modern plagues against the unrighteous.”

Steve shook his head. “That fucking blows. I figure if there was a Jesus, he was like El, you know? Just extra human, no God required.”

Eddie laughed. “Yeah. I bet that’s what it was. Thanks for that.” He raised his cigarette. “And this.”

Steve bumped their shoulders together. “No trouble, Eds. I could hear what they were saying about you behind your back and I thought you could use the break.”

“You thought right, Stevie,” he agreed. “Not a Christian heart in a single one of those church goers.”

Steve hummed. “This is what I’m here for on this trip, okay? I will put myself between you and those hateful people.”

Eddie laid his head on Steve’s shoulder. “God, it’s on top of everything else, you know. The six hour drive yesterday. My aunt being a bitch to you even though you didn’t deserve it. Putting on my second best clothes and still not being good enough for them.”

“They look at you and see your dad, huh?”

Eddie froze bringing the cigarette to his mouth and turned to Steve in shock. “How the hell did you know that?”

Steve shrugged. “My parents used to throw these big parties for Christmas and their anniversary. Like BIG parties. Blow your uncle’s yearly wages on a fucking party, big. The last was when I was sixteen, right? And I could hear all the whispers about how much I looked like him and how I must be just like him. Booze, women, and lavish parties full of people that wanted to kiss my ass.”

The cigarette fell out of Eddie’s mouth and landed on his lap. He brushed it off quickly, cursing and patting at his crouch so that he wouldn’t get burned.

Steve laughed.

“Fuck you.”

Eddie stomped out the cigarette to ease his bruised ego. He huffed out a sigh. “Is that part of the reason for the attitude change? Because everyone credits Nancy and Jonathan for the cognitive readjustment, but it started before that.”

Steve frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Before you started dating Nancy, you stopped the big parties at your house,” Eddie said. “Hagan told me it was because your dad caught you, but that wasn’t it, was it?”

Steve’s eyes went wide and his jaw dropped. “Holy shit. I didn’t even realize.”

“You started to clean up your act for Nancy, sure,” he continued. “But you started down that path before you started dating.”

Steve stubbed out his cigarette. “I saw you listening to Depeche Mode earlier when we had finished cleaning up the house...”

Eddie straightened up. He had listened to the tape. The song Lauren had queued up for him, especially. That one over and over.

“You into BDSM there, Stevie boy?” he said with a teasing grin.

Steve laughed. “Oh god, that one. Yeah, no, man. You know the song I mean.”

“You want to tell me what went down there?” Eddie asked. “Don’t spare Nancy for the sake of my feelings, okay? You’re more important to me then some chick.”

“She had a thing for Jonathan,” he explained. “Broke up with me for a month and then came running back. I didn’t think too much of it, you know? I was just happy that she was back. I tried to be the best boyfriend I could. I don’t think I succeeded. Then I made the mistake of using the words ‘normal teenagers’ because I wanted to go to some Halloween party.”

Steve let out a shuddering breath. “She started drinking heavily that night. Like more than someone her stature should. I tried to get her stop and I spilled the drink all down her white dress. So we went to the bathroom to clean it up. She called me bullshit. Said our relationship was bullshit.”

“Holy fucking hell, dude,” Eddie whispered.

Steve shook his head. “I thought it was just a bad fight. Even though everyone at school was calling it a breakup. I didn’t believe it. I bought her flowers to apologize. Fucking roses.” He was on his feet and pacing back and forth, running his fingers through his hair. “But she wasn’t home. Oh no. Her and Jonathan were on a fact-finding mission. And a fuck finding mission, apparently.”

Eddie leaned forward in shock. “She slept with Jonathan?”

Steve stopped, frozen still. He took a deep breath and let it out slow. “I still thought we were dating. She didn’t. It’s why I don’t tell people. Because she thinks she didn’t cheat on me and I think she did.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah,” he said, looking down at his stark white tennis shoes in utter despair.

Eddie was on his feet and giving Steve a huge hug. “Thank you for telling me. I get why the music spoke to you and I won’t begrudge anyone loving music that helped them through rough times, okay?”

Steve nodded into Eddie neck, trying to not to sob.

When Aunt Penny came out a while later she found both boys just crying into each other’s arms.

“Boys,” she said gently. “It’s time for the toast to Gina.”

They reluctantly let go of each other and wiped their faces with their hands.

Wayne handed them glasses when they entered the front room. Penny picked up her glass.

“To Gina Munson!”

“Salut!” they all cheered.

Eddie and Steve knocked back their drinks with the rest of them.

There was more socializing after the toast, but this time Eddie had Steve at his side and every time they glared at Eddie, Steve would wink at them causing them to flush in embarrassment and turn away.

Finally everyone had gone, the food had been cleared away and the mess cleaned up.

Eddie and Steve silently made their way to the room they shared.

“I wanted to thank you for earlier,” Eddie said as they slowly got ready for bed.

Steve straightened up from where he had been pulling on his pajama bottoms. “For what?”

“For everything, I guess,” Eddie murmured. “For fending off bullshit...not even relatives, but friends of the family, I guess. For telling me about Nancy even though it was clear you didn’t want to. For coming on this trip in the first place. I probably would have thrown hands already if it wasn’t for you.”

Steve pulled up his pants and padded over to him to pull him into a hug. “I do it for any of our friends, Eds. But I’m glad I’m helping. I’m glad that you told me you needed me for this.”

“Single best decision of my life so far,” Eddie mumbled into Steve’s neck. “Wayne thinks so too.”

Steve laughed. “Well if Wayne says so it must be true.”

Eddie chuckled. “He is pretty smart.”

They crawled into bed and faced each other under the blanket.

“What’s really bothering you, Eds?” Steve whispered. “I can tell there’s something bothering you, but I can’t figure it out.”

Eddie pursed his lips. “It’s the stares and snide remarks, I guess. I know that like back home they all think I did it. That I killed Chrissy and Patrick and Fred. That I’m just like my dad. Maybe even worse.”

Steve pulled him close. “We know the truth. Wayne knows the truth. The people that love you know the truth. You’re a bona fide hero, Eddie Munson. They can all burn in hell if there is one.”

Eddie shook his head. “It’s more than that, I think. It’s that despite seeing me for a month every summer, that they would even think me capable of such violence. I had grown up with these people. How could they think that of me?”

“Small-minded people will always think the worst of you,” Steve murmured. “I know, it sucks. But here’s the best part about being an adult. If you wanted to, you never have to see them again in your life. You can cut them out and that’s all the say they have in the matter.”

Eddie sighed. “Thanks.”

Steve just held on until they both fell asleep.

*

The day of the funeral dawned cloudy and grey as if nature, too, grieved the loss of Gina Munson. Cherished wife, beloved mother, and devoted grandmother.

Eddie and Steve dressed in solemn silence. Eddie pulled on a pair of black high-waisted trousers that he had found at a thrift store before they left. He put on the black button up from the night before and rolled up the sleeves. Over the top went a nice dark grey vest. He wore his nice, white sneakers. He strapped on bracelets and bangles on his wrists and chains and necklaces around his scar on his neck.

His wasn’t as noticeable as Steve’s but he had had enough of his grandmother and aunt’s friends eyes flicking toward it and sneering last night to last a life time thank you.

Steve was dressed similarly. The nice black slacks, the black button up (buttoned neatly at his wrists), a dark grey sweater vest. He wore a suit coat over the top and nice silver tie. His shoes were shined mirror bright and his hair artfully done.

Wayne, Steve and Eddie decided to all go in Steve’s car to the funeral. They pulled into the spots reserved for family and made their way into the church. As Eddie predicted it was standing room only. They walked all the way up the aisle to where the first row had been designated for the family, too.

They sat down and the service began.

Eddie sat there, tears streaming down his face, tucked into Wayne’s arm. Steve took his hand and held on as the Father droned on and on about the life of a good woman.

The pallbearers stood up. Wayne, Oliver, Eddie, Danny, and two good friends of Gina’s lifted her coffin onto their shoulders and marched down the aisle to “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” played on the organ.

They carried the casket out into the cemetery and slid her gently onto the straps that would be used to lower her into grave.

Eddie moved back to stand next to Steve and looked out into the crowd.

He stiffened as he spotted someone near the front of the throng of people paying their respects.

Steve followed his eyes to the man standing next to a portly fellow in a black suit.

He had dark curly hair shaved on the sides. He had a neatly trimmed beard that highlighted the sharpness of his jawline. His cheekbones were as hard as his jaw and eyes. It was the eyes that really struck Steve. They were the same color as Eddie’s but so, so cold.

He bowed his head and Steve could see that his hands were clasped in front of him.

Or so he thought.

The cold man shifted from one foot to the other and Steve could see the glint of the handcuffs.

There was no doubt on who this was now.

Allen “Al” Munson had been allowed to come to his mother’s funeral.

***

Pt 7|Pt 8|Pt 9|Pt 10|Pt 11|Pt 12

Tag List: @spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @artiststarme @swimmingbirdrunningrock @gregre369 @pyrohonk ​@a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @chaoticlovingdreamer @messrs-weasley @goodolefashionedloverboi @maya-custodios-dionach @val-from-lawrence @i-must-potato @danili666 @carlyv @rozzieroos @emly03 @wonderland-girl143-blog @justforthedead89 @bookworm0690 @itsall-taken @bookbinderbitch @redfreckledwolf @vecnuthy @littlewildflowerkitten @scheodingers-muppet @mira-jadeamethyst @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @gutterflower77 @genderless-spoon @hel-spawn @ellietheasexylibrarian @anne-bennett-cosplayer @mamafaithful @yikes-a-bee @dragonmama76

[scarredwoods]

Leosagi Beauty and the Beast AU

I few weeks ago I created the idea of a Beauty and the Beast Inspired AU for Leo and Usagi so I shared it on a Discord server I was on. I wasn't planning on doing anything more with it, just sharing it, but a lot of people on the server seemed to enjoy it including @el-pada who created some beautiful artwork for it, so I decided to get out of bed and start writing it.

A few people from the server gave me some ideas and themes to add to the story, so they were definitely a big help in building this story together. Including _Grayson_Robin_ who helped me with any editing, spelling, or mistakes in my writing.

For anyone who doesn't want to read the fanfic on Ao3, here's the entire fic down below

Chapter 1

The day began beautifully with clear skies and the sun shining brightly as children played. Unfortunately, two little boys, a dog and a bear, decided that the best way to spend it was to play keep away with a little girl. a fox half their size. They mocked her relentlessly as they flung her little straw doll between them. Frustrated and desperate for her toy, the girl began to cry and screamed at the boys to return it. That only made them laugh harder as they continued their cruel game.

Finally reaching her breaking point, the girl lunged at the dog's leg, sinking her teeth in it as hard as she could. The boy yelped in pain, dropping to the ground and shaking his leg in a desperate attempt to get her off of him. She finally let go and received a kick on the shoulder for her troubles. The boys were relieved to see no blood coming from the bite mark.

The little girl huffed and went to reach for her doll. But the bear boy was faster and managed to grab the doll before she could.  Angry at the girl for hurting his friend, he took the toy and threw it as far as he could into the deep dark forest. The little fox cried out as she watched her precious doll fly into the air and disappear into the dark abyss. 

“If you don’t go fetch your doll, you’re never going to see it again!” one of the boys said. Without a second of hesitation, the little girl lunged at the dog once more and started beating him to a pulp. As best as she could, anyway. She tried to hit him as hard as she could with her small hands balled up into fists. “Bring her back! Bring her back!” she shouted. The bear had enough of this. He grabbed the fox in an effort to get her away from his friend, but he struggled to pick her up. Even as she was lifted up into the air, she kicked and punched as if her life depended on it. “Put me down! I’ll make you sorry for this!”

It wasn’t until the bear heard the call of a young man that he finally dropped her. “What is the meaning of this?” the young man said. It was another dog, coincidently the older brother of the younger dog that was bitten. 

“He threw my doll into the woods!” the young girl shouted.

“Is this true, brother?” he crossed his arms knowing full well that the little girl was speaking the truth but wanted to hear his brother admit it himself. 

“She bit me!” the little boy showed off his leg with the bite mark still on it. “And then she beat me-”

“Because you took my doll and then he threw it!” she interrupted.

The Young man pinched the bridge of his nose and put a hand up to stop them all from talking. “Alright, alright, that’s enough. I want all three of you to apologize to each other. Preferably closer to the village. None of you should be this far out anyway.”

“But what about my doll?”

“I shall go fetch it for you. Now all of you, back to the village. And I better not catch you all out here again.”

His younger brother was not happy with the order and wrapped his arms around his leg. “But Father said no one is allowed to go deep into the forest alone.”

“It’ll be quick,” he pulled him off his leg and pushed him into the direction of the village. “Besides, how far could you have thrown it? It will only be a moment and then I’ll come right back.”

Once the three children started heading back in the direction of the village, the young man ventured into the dark forest in search of the little girl’s doll. Despite the sun still being out, he felt a chill run through his spine as he ventured deeper into the forest. He started growing concerned when he couldn’t find the toy, creeping farther and farther from the village. “Tsk, where is that doll?” the sound of a branch breaking stunned him. He slowly looked around for the source of the noise. His head sharply turned left as he heard the rustle of bushes. He could faintly see something solid blending in with the green bushes. 

“I mean no harm!” he called out, hoping that whatever person or spirit would leave him alone. “I only wish to find a little girl’s doll! I will leave after my search.”

The bushes rustled again. At the bottom popped out the faint legs of a doll. The man crept closer to it, thinking that the spirits of the forest were giving him back the lost object. Once he was a few feet away, the entity pushed it out more to reveal the toy. Finally, the man crouched down to grab it, but before he could quickly snatch it away, he looked up and focused on the inside of the bush, only for his face to pale. There he saw the face of a ferocious beast! A hideous monster! Now realizing that this was a trap, he released the doll and ran straight to his village screaming in fear. 

—

For many years, a samurai ronin has traveled throughout Japan in a path of purpose and fulfillment. For the purpose he once had, his late master, Lord Mifune had died in a war against the soldiers of Lord Hikiji. Having failed to protect his master, Miyamoto Usagi now wanders the land on a warrior's pilgrimage, continuing to serve him even after death. Occasionally, Usagi would sell his services as a bodyguard to make a living. But he does his best to help those in need, and sometimes those people are generous enough to reward him for his selfless help. 

This day felt like any other. After wandering for what seemed like hours, Usagi finally spotted a village next to a riverbank, where many farmers were seen tending to their crops—finally, a place to rest for a bit before continuing with his travels. He looked in his coin purse and tried to figure out if he should rent a room for the night, or buy something to eat. Perhaps if he asks around, he could find an abandoned temple to sleep in so he could have a warm meal.

As he ventured into the village, he saw everyone running in the same direction. Being the nosy rabbit he is, he couldn’t help but get drawn into the crown and see what was happening. That’s when he heard the shouts of a young man. 

“Monster! Monster! It was horrible! A hideous ferocious beast! It will come feast on this village at nightfall!”

Once again being nosy, Usagi turned to the woman next to him and asked her what the young man was going on about. “Nonsense, if you ask me. The young man over there went too far into the forest and claimed to have seen a beast.”

“It is not nonsense!”  The young man said, “I saw it with my own eyes. It bared its teeth at me, luring me closer to it to have me as its next meal. If I had not run away, I would be good as dead!”

 “Bah! Youngsters these days.” the lady turned to walk back to what she was doing before. 

Despite what the lady thought, everyone else believed the young man and grew concerned for the safety of their village. Usagi watched as the village started going into a state of panic. A man who seemed to be the village’s magistrate stood on a crate and told everyone to quiet down. 

“I know you are all worried for your safety but we must not panic. If this beast knows that we are afraid of it, it will believe it has an advantage over us.” Everyone nodded in agreement as they continued to listen. “Now, if anyone is brave enough, I shall give a reward to whoever volunteers to slay this beast and bring me proof of its death-”

Without hesitation, Usagi raised his hand. “I volunteer to slay the beast!” The moment he heard that there would be a reward for this, all he could think about was getting both a bowl of warm food and a cozy place to sleep in. After sleeping outside in the cold for so many nights, you just become desperate. It didn’t help that he absolutely hated the cold. Besides, after everything Usagi has been through, and all the strange fights he’s gotten into, a so-called beast was nothing new to him. The young man might have misinterpreted a regular animal as the beast because of how dark it was. And if it turned out to be a spirit of some sort, he’d just use any tricks that his old “friend” Sasuke taught him. 

Everyone turned their head to the samurai and cheered. The magistrate stepped off the crate and walked towards the selfless hero. “That is wonderful to hear. If you end up coming back alive, make sure to have evidence of the slain beast.”

“That will not be a problem, I am sure this is something I can easily take care of. Perhaps the woman was right and it might have been something else.” Usagi walked to a stand and decided to buy a small fruit to eat on his way to this so-called beast. 

“Good, good,” he said, “But if you do not end up coming back, we will assume you are dead and will not be able to recover your body.”

The rabbit paused right before he could take a bite from his fruit and stared at the magistrate. “Ah… Okay. I suppose that makes sense. But again, do not worry.” he took a bite from the fruit and continued once he swallowed. “I am not so easily killable. Surely I would end up being able to escape if it ever comes to it.”

“Ha ha! Of course, of course,” he patted, well more like slapped, Usagi’s back in a sort of reassurance way, causing him to drop his fruit but catch it right before it could hit the ground. “Like I said, IF you come back alive, I’ll be sure to have a reward ready for you. Thank you for your brave services, samurai.”

Usagi wasn’t gonna lie, he did feel a little hurt hearing that they had such little faith in him coming back alive. Of course, he’d just have to prove everyone wrong. Was he feeling a little cocky? Maybe. But after everything he’s been through, it’s safe to say this is just another walk in the field.

The young man from earlier stood behind Usagi, shaking with his tail between his legs, at the spot where the doll was thrown from. He dared not step anywhere near the forest until he knew for sure that the threat had been eliminated. All he could do was point in the direction of where he saw the beast. “O-over there. Deep-deeper into the w-woods is where I saw the… the beast.” the last word was said in a whisper, afraid that simply saying the word would anger the monster of the forest. 

“Alright, this shouldn’t take too long.” Usagi began his descent into the forest. “I will be sure to bring back a souvenir on my way back.” was the last thing the young man heard before Usagi was completely swallowed by bushes. He couldn’t believe how confident the samurai sounded as he went on his way to his certain death. 

Usagi did his best to follow the directions he'd been given, but it became increasingly difficult to remember to stay on the path when there wasn't one to begin with. Adding to his frustration were the numerous leaves and branches that seemed determined to smack him every time he tried to push them aside to make his way through. Around the third branch to the face, Usagi finally realized just how dire the situation was. It could’ve been his stomach talking, but entering an unknown part of the forest to confront a beast that could potentially end his life started to sound like a completely idiotic idea. Did it align with his morals and code of honor to help people and prevent harm? Yes, but perhaps he could have entered the danger zone a little more prepared.

He decided to pause and look around. Unfortunately, with everything looking the same, it was safe to say he was lost. Because of that branch, he couldn’t remember which exact direction he just came from. He cursed under his breath and decided to close his eyes for a bit to listen to his surrounding area. Suddenly, a bush rustled right next to him. Usagi wasted no time unsheathing Willow Branch and cut the top of the bush clean off. He held his breath waiting and listening for any other reaction. A tokage scurried out from the bush and paused to look up at the Samurai. Usagi relaxed, he crouched down and sheathed his sword.  

“Hello there, little friend,” he extended his hand to let the reptile smell it. “I apologize for frightening you, I am just a bit on edge.” After the tokage finally licked his hand, Usagi sat down and continued to pet them. “Say, you wouldn’t have happened to see a ferocious beast roaming around, hm? There’s a village around here worried for their own safety.” The tokage could only squeak at the samurai as it rubbed its head on his hand to continue being pet. Usagi smiled and used his non-occupied hand to stroke his chin. “Hmm, that’s what I thought. I suppose it only makes sense that someone as small as you would try to avoid being near anything that could harm you. But some direction would be nice.”

Not wanting to waste any more daylight, Usagi got up and dusted himself off. “Well I best be going, little friend. You are welcome to join me in my small adventure. I could use the company.” He smiled down at the little critter and continued in what he hoped was the direction he was first heading in. 

It only took a moment for Usagi to hear the sound of running water. He grew worried wondering if he accidentally circled back to the village. It would be a pain if he had to go through all those bushes and tree branches again. To his relief, he pushed a leaf to reveal not a village, but an abandoned temple. Separating him from the temple was the river he had heard earlier. 

“Well, this is certainly surprising. I was not expecting a temple so deep into the forest. Did you know this was here, little friend?” Usagi looked down at his new companion, but it was too busy drinking from the river to notice his question. He pouted and placed a hand on his hip. “Didn’t your mother teach you not to ignore someone when they ask you a question?” Finally, the tokage looked up at him but all it could muster was a squeak before it ran back to Usagi to demand more pets. Usagi couldn’t help but smile, he crouched down enough to give it a small pet like it wanted. “Perhaps this beast is hiding in the temple. But how do I cross- Ah!” In the distance, he spots a bridge that is hopefully in good enough condition to bear someone’s weight. “Alright, let’s go. The sooner we get this done, the better.”

As the rabbit tested the bridge to make sure it was stable enough for him to stand on, he was unfortunately unaware of a pair of eyes watching him from the waters. It did its best to watch them from a distance but be close enough to hear his intentions. Right before Usagi leaned over the bridge to look at the river, the owner of the eyes submerged himself into the river and swam away. 

“Wow, this river is filled with so many fish. We should come back later and catch some of them. Maybe I can find someone to prepare them for me. What do you say, little friend?” Usagi turned to look at the tokage but instead watched as it ran towards the temple without him. “Hold on, wait for me!” once he caught up with the tokage, they ended up at the entrance of the temple. It wasn’t very big, but it could certainly have a few rooms in it. It still looked to be in good condition but it was very obvious that it’s been abandoned for a long time. Usagi wondered what had happened to the people who once lived in this temple. And who it was dedicated to. He was pulled from his thoughts by the tokage’s squeak. “You shouldn’t run off on your own like that. What if something happened? But let’s not stay out here much longer. I can feel a chill run up my spine just standing out here.”

The inside was not exactly what Usagi expected. And by that, he meant he expected the place to look run down with broken furniture and ripped walls, filled to the brim with dust and dirt. But surprisingly it looked a little more well-kept. Granted there were still ripped walls and broken furniture, but everything looked organized. There was barely any dust or dirt and there was makeshift furniture around the room. Anything salvageable was put to use and anything wooden that was beyond repair was placed in a corner close to a fire pit. He continued to look around to see that all the rooms were the same as the first; well-kept and tidy. There was only one room he wasn’t able to inspect, only because there was a giant tree that looked to have fallen, blocking the sliding doors and preventing anything or anyone from entering. 

With how well-kept everything is, at first he couldn’t help but wonder if he had stumbled into someone’s home. But despite everything looking neat, there wasn’t exactly anything here that someone would need to continuously live here. Perhaps there was someone who would regularly come and clean the place, unable to let the old temple go to ruin. “Yes, it certainly would be a shame if this temple went to ruin.” He finally left the temple and made his way back to the bridge, the sun already beginning to set casting a golden hue. “Once I finish dealing with this problem, perhaps I can tell the villagers of this temple so that they can restore it. Maybe they can even find out who was worshiped here and build them a new shrine.”

Usagi only made it halfway through the bridge, turning to a complete stop. He stood still, pushing the hilt of his sword up with his thumb, and turning his ears to listen to the surrounding area. Something wasn’t right. The splashes in the river were no longer sounding like the swim of fish. That’s when he heard the sound of a faint growl right underneath him. 

The beast.

A fist punched through the wooden floor bridge underneath him, causing him to almost lose his footing. Usagi quickly regained himself and ran off the bridge, towards the direction of the temple. The attacker jumped out of the water and began to chase. As much as Usagi wanted to turn around to see what was chasing, he knew that stopping for even a moment could end in his demise. He headed straight into the temple and quickly looked around for a place to hide. Luckily he found a table with a torn cloth that he could immediately duck under. He sat still and tried his best to control his breathing, worried that his rapidly breathing heart was going to give him away.

Great, this was just great. Just when he thought there was no beast and that everything was fine, that thing jumped out from the water. It’s fine, everything is going to be fine. He just has to see what he’s dealing with and come up with a plan to bring back its severed head to the villagers. A heavy stomp made it feel like the entire wooden floor shook, making him realize that this would be a big guy. He moved the cloth slightly to peak at the beast and quickly clamped his hand over his mouth to prevent a gasp from escaping. There in the middle of the room was what Usagi could only guess was a Kappa. But it didn’t look like any ordinary kappa. It was a turtle with a bowl on his head, yes, but it was far bigger and bulkier than any other kappa he’d ever seen. Spikes were growing from its shell and had small horns on its head. It looked more like a demon, to be honest. 

Usagi was so confused as his eyes scanned the supposed kappa. It wore a set of hakama pants, torn at the hems. When the beast turned around to scan the area, Usagi spotted a piece of blue cloth wrapped around its arm and… a sword? No, it was two swords. The kappa had its left clawed hand wrapped around them both in a death grip. Looking at the material and patterns, it was without a doubt katana samurai swords.

Upon seeing the swords, Usagi felt rage and anger realizing that this monster must have taken the lives of possibly two samurais, keeping their swords as trophies. It sickened him. The kappa must’ve also taken their clothes as well and wore them to mock them. He refused to let their deaths be in vain. His sword will not be another prize for this beast’s enjoyment. 

The kappa looked around the room to find some sort of clue on the whereabouts of the trespasser. He knew he had to be cautious, knowing that this samurai planned to end his life. He blamed no one but himself. If he hadn’t left the temple, the villagers wouldn’t be fearing for their lives and sending out others to take his. But he’s sure this samurai is going to be like all the other bypassers. All he had to do was scare him enough to send out a message to leave this place alone. Right when he turned to head into the next room, he heard stomping behind him and the next thing he knew, there was a heavy weight on his back. In a state of panic, the Kappa tried to buck off the rabbit, but he held on tight. 

Despite Usagi's plans to jump on the Kappa’s shell and use his sword to pierce through its neck, upon trying to accomplish that, he failed to realize that the spikes on its shell were making it difficult to find a place to hold without hurting his hand. Unfortunately, he was not quick enough, and the kappa managed to reach back and grab his kimono, throwing him to the ground and slamming down his fists, but Usagi rolled away before any contact could be made. He immediately regained his footing and ran into one of the other rooms, the beast chasing right behind him. 

‘Alright, time for plan B,’ he thought to himself. What is plan B you may ask? Well, that’s just facing the monster head-on. If he didn’t time this perfectly he could end up with a missing limb, but he didn’t have many other options at the moment. ‘If I knew I was going to be dealing with Kappa, I would’ve bought a cucumber when I had the chance.’ 

He grabbed a broken chair and threw it behind him. The Kappa paused for a moment and blocked the chair from his face, but that pause was all Usagi needed to take out his sword and lunge at him. However, the kappa was quick as well, grabbing the chair and using the seat to block the blade. He drove the blade deeper into the chair to get it stuck and then threw it across the room. 

Usagi admits that he was a bit stunned to see his sword stuck in a chair fly across the room. That allowed the kappa to grab Usagi by the chest and slam him to the floor, knocking most of the wind out of him. Gasping for air he could barely muster out the words,  “Okay, plan B is not working so well.” 

The beast lowered his head to look straight at the trespasser beneath him and gave a threatening growl. “Take my words as a warning, Samurai,” his voice gruff and hoarse, “Leave and never come back. Tell that village that if I ever see them step foot into my forest again, they will become my next meal.”

After finally gaining some air into his lungs, all Usagi could do was give it a deadpan stare. “Is that all?”

Baffled by his choice of words, he slightly lifted his hand up from his chest. “What do you mean ‘Is that all’? I am telling you that I will kill and eat everyone if you do not leave.”

“No no, I heard you, it’s just,” he sighed, “You would not believe the amount of times I’ve heard that same threat over and over again. And it always ends the same. Me alive with something bad happening to the enemy. Would you like to test your luck?”

“Tsk, you must be the most foolish Samurai I have ever met.”

Usagi couldn’t help but snicker at the remark. “I admit to being a foolish man, yes, but YOU are the foolish one for leaving your weakness so vulnerable.”

The kappa finally took his hand away from the other’s chest. “What?”

Without a minute's notice, Usagi lifted his legs to his chest and kicked the beast’s head with all his strength. The beast fell backward and as a result, a good portion of the water from his bowl fell out. Realizing what his opponent was doing, he pushed himself back up and ran towards the river. Usagi wasted no time to get off the floor and grab his weapon. Which proved to be difficult considering it was still wedged into the chair. He struggled, pulled it, and even wiggled it around until it was finally out and ran back to catch up with the kappa. 

Unfortunately, the kappa already jumped into the river and could be seen swimming away. “Oh great. I was really hoping to avoid the water this time. I should’ve kicked harder.” Much to his dismay, he began to chase after the kappa, staying on land as much as possible.

—

‘Gods that rabbit was crazy.’ The beast thought as he swam down the river. ‘He didn’t even flinch, what was I supposed to do?’ To be honest, this whole thing was completely unexpected. He should’ve known that a guy crazy enough to pretend to have a whole conversation with a tokage would willingly go toe-to-toe with a giant monster. But hopefully, that rabbit won’t be stupid enough to chase him. He didn’t want to leave the temple but from the looks of it, he’ll have no choice but to find a temporary place to stay. It was better than having to deal with any more people-

“Hey come back! I’m not done with you!”

No. 

The Kappa took a glance behind him to see that the rabbit was, in fact, chasing him. And seemed to be getting closer, too. ‘Forget crazy, this guy is insane!’ Instead of swimming faster, he dove under to the bottom and slowly turned around to head in the opposite direction. He needs to find a way to outsmart this guy. But he’s slowly starting to wonder if this guy is too dumb to be outsmarted. He’s unpredictable, that’s for sure. So he needs to be more careful from here on out if he doesn’t want his night to end with his head on a pike. 

Usagi stopped to a halt once he saw the kappa dive under. His grip tightened on his katana as he scanned to the water but the sun had already set at this point and it was much too dark to peer in. That’s when he heard the yips of his little friend barking at the water in the direction that he came from. The kappa was trying to misdirect him.

He quickly made his way to the tokage, “Do you see him, little friend?”

Unfortunately, he stepped a little too close to the edge of the river, and a hand shot out, pulling him into the water. But Usagi wasn’t going to let himself get taken so easily. He dug his hands into the grass and tried to kick the beast away, but the beast kept his hands tight around his ankles, pulling him under ever so slightly. Not enough to make him fully let go and be submerged underwater, but enough that he has to fight for his freedom. Usagi knew full well that the water was a Kappa’s domain where it would have the full advantage, but he needed to take the risks if he were to win this. 

Taking a deep breath, he let go, turned, and slashed at the Kappa's arm that was taking hold of his ankle as he was pulled under. This caused it to let go and allow Usagi to pull himself back onto land. His body felt heavier now that his clothes and fur were wet. He took off his upper layers of clothes, unsheathed his swords, and dove right back into the water. Was this a bad decision? Absolutely. But there he saw the beast in range, licking its wounded arm before being startled at the rabbit coming back into the water.

The kappa couldn’t believe it. Who was this guy? He almost drowned him and then he came back right after escaping!? He just doesn’t quit. Something has to be wrong in his head, why would someone keep putting themselves in danger like this? If fear won’t work on him, then he has no choice but to fight back. The samurai was already charging at him, he was slow, but he made it obvious that he was getting to him one way or another. He was quick to doge his sword, but the rabbit could barely keep himself from getting caught in the kappa’s claws. It didn’t help that every so often he had to come up for air. The kappa grew more and more tired of this game that he had no interest in playing in the first place, so he gained some distance and then swam as fast as he could to slam the samurai into the rocks at the side of the river. 

The impact made Usagi shout out in pain but he closed his mouth as quickly as he opened it and slashed the beast across the face. The beast let go and Usagi continued to slash him until it swimmed a bit away. He tried to go after him again but something prevented him from doing so. Usagi looked down and much to his horror, his pant leg was caught between the rocks. His eyes widened as he pulled and tugged at it but the impact from the collision caused the rocks to pile on the fabric. To his dismay, his tugs became weaker as it was getting harder to hold his breath. 

No no, not like this. He was so close to getting the beast! After everything, were his final moments going to be his drowning dismay? Soon he was having trouble keeping the water out of his mouth. Everything started to feel hazy and foggy. 

Once the Kappa regained himself, he looked over at the samurai and wondered why he wasn’t coming after him again. That’s when he saw him struggling to pull the fabric of his hakama. He was caught and he was having trouble getting himself free. Once he watched him instinctively try to gasp for air, he realized that he was drowning. 

“Shit!” He swam to the samurai, pulled him by the waist to free him from the rocks, and threw him back on land. 

Usagi landed on his chest and desperately gasped for air, coughing out any water that managed to get into his lungs. Thankfully it wasn’t a lot and he managed to recover rather quickly. He looked behind him to see the beast leaving the water. “Hold on,” he breathed in, “Just give me a few minutes and we can continue our duel.” he continued to cough out more water.

“Continue our- Are you insane!? You almost drowned!” The Kappa couldn't decide on whether he should be angry, confused, or concerned.

“Yes, I was fully aware that is the consequence when jumping into a river with a Yokai.” Usagi squeezed his ears to rinse out the water, “Although I was not expecting you to save me. Wasn’t my drowning your end goal of all this?”

“My end goal was to get you to leave! I wanted you to leave terrified and warn the village never to set foot here again, but you are so persistent in killing me, it’s like your fear left out the door along with your common sense. YOU TRIED TO FIGHT ME IN MY OWN HABITAT! And you almost drowned yourself because of that.” He grabbed him by the shoulder and roughly pulled him forward to face level. “No more other warnings. Leave this place, and tell everyone to never come here again. This is MY home. MY territory. And if I see anyone here again, I will not show mercy and kill them on sight.”

Living the life of Miyamoto Usagi, threats like these are nothing new. It’s something that he hears constantly and over time grew numb to it. That’s why he’s like this. Because these words are nothing new. Every other day there’s someone always threatening his life. But with those other guys, he can at least tell they’re genuine. But at this moment, he couldn’t help but carefully listen to the kappa’s words and hear how hesitant he sounded with his threats. Sure hearing threats were nothing new but at least those were genuine. Those people actually had the means to kill him. Not to mention he’s encountered other kappa before. None of them have ever acted the same way this one does. They never hesitated one bit to strike at him and they never once tried to stop him from getting drowned. Yet this one saved him. It had a way to get rid of him for good and it saved him. That’s when something clicked. 

“You know… I’ve met many yokai before, yet none of them have ever acted like you.”

“You better choose your next words carefully.”

But he didn’t. He said his next words calm, plain, and simple. “You’re bluffing.”

The beast’s eyes widened. “How dare yo-”

“If you wanted me dead, you would have let me drown. What’s stopping you from ending me right at this moment? You want me to deliver a message to the village? You can simply do that by rolling my cold body in front of them and telling them to never come near here.” Usagi watched as the kappa’s face twitched, struggling to keep the snarl on its face. “You do not want me dead. And frankly, I’m curious to know why. I mean, not only do you not act like a kappa, but you also don’t look like one. The only thing giving you a similarity to them is the bowl on your head and the fact that you’re a turtle.”

The kappa huffed through his nostrils and let the samurai go. He stood up and sighed, rubbing his eyes with his thumb and pointer finger. “Fine. You caught me. I don’t want to kill you. I don’t want to kill anyone, for that matter.”

Usagi didn’t know why but it felt so strange hearing that. He’s been in danger so many times, it was hard to hear that someone as monstrous-looking as him never had the intention of killing him in the first place. Then he looked down at the monster's left hip and saw the two swords that he had from the beginning.  “Then what about those swords attached to your hip? Those are samurai swords. Did you kill one and keep them as a trophy?”

The Kappa looked at the swords and placed his left hand on one of the handles. He squeezed and closed his eyes. “No. I never killed a samurai for their sword. Anyone I have ever killed died with their belongings. To take one’s weapon after death is dishonorable. These twin katanas are mine. I made them with my own two hands with my father and they have been by my side ever since.”

While Usagi was relieved to hear that no samurai were killed and had their swords taken from them, he was confused about why a kappa would need a sword. He wasn’t even using it during their battle. 

“And you are correct. I don’t act or look like a normal kappa. That’s because I’m not. Nor am I a samurai. I’m a ninja. Or was one, at least. I…” He turned to look at the river. “I haven’t been a ninja for quite some time now. It pains me to carry these swords, knowing I will never be able to use them again.”

The kappa didn’t have to say it, but Usagi could already gather what was happening. He was cursed, and this is not what he’s supposed to look like. “What happened to you?”

He took a deep breath and let it out. This has been the longest conversation he’s ever had with someone in a long time. He turned to face back at the rabbit. “Would you like to know over a cup of tea?”

[sotc]

IT'S JOEVER.

I BEAT ORIGINS. my heart is so full and i have so many feelings but ahhh I loved it SOOO MUCHHHH!!! Honestly surprised with how quickly I attached to my Warden and her story, all the companions are SO SO great. 10/10 best dragon age game by far.

I really enjoyed leaving Milana and Alistair to very much caring for each other after everything was said and done despite the unrequited romance. 😭💗 My heart is so full about those two being such such good friends. And I especially love that Morrigan and her became so close like sisters in the end too. Live well, my friend. Live gloriously. BABY GIRL I LOVE YOUUUUU. Special kiss to the wind for SHALE. Honestly the best person Milana loves to be snarky with fr. lol. NOW ONTO ZEVANA....

Just before the big battle with the Archdemon and I was exploring a few options and I personally headcanon it's a combination of these two scenes that Milana and Zevran share. Milana worried to put him in danger of the Archdemon only for him to tease and insist to come with her before she relents/agrees and finally admits that she loves him. There's something so profound in him not saying it back and yet equally so with Milana saying it to him. She doesn't even need to hear it back in this moment. She knows what he feels mirrors her own; he would choose to be by her side at the end in a shared suicide mission than not at all. That alone is her courage, her strength, her resolve. And Zevran knows it love despite himself but how fucking painful and scary is it to hear those three words in the face of uncertain death? When the last time he heard those three words from Rinna he had damned her and himself? To recognize once more his heart has been touched so irrevocably? He may be grateful fate has brought them together but the circumstances of it all are so, so cruel. Fate is a tricky whore!!!!! What a lovely and incredibly intimate character moment for the both of them. Ugh <33

... BUT ANYWAYS THEN THEY BOTH LIVED YAYYY!!!

MY FUCKIN BABIESSSSSS. SOBS. JUST-- RUN AND JUMPS INTO THAT MANS ARMS AND SMORCHES TF OUT OF HIMMMM. If only to slap his shoulder and roll her eyes when he teases her at the end there LOL. Sooooo... now to play Awakening and all the other dlcs I have yet to do? :)

[blossomwritesthings]

𝐚 𝐟𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 | 𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫𝐬

⬷ 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞┊ 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 ┊ 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 →

pairing: minho x felix (minlix)

genre: dancer!minho/artist!felix. brothers best friend troupe. college au. age gap (abt 4 years). minho pov. extremely dark themes throughout, including smut - MDNI, 18+ only.

word count: 3.2k

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a/n: I've written sooo much of this recently, I'm literally on chapter 10 already!! 😭 I have plans to probably make it 15 chapters long, which I feel like is a good length for the type of story and narrative im fitting into once piece. I wanna make sure all of the loose ends are tied off in a perfect kinda way before I move onto the next project. ☺️ this is the first chapter where we get some TRUE backstory on what really happened between minlix during the time when they were growing up... there's some insinuations in this chapter that will make a lot more sense later on in the story haha... but for right now, I hope you guys are enjoying slowly putting the puzzle pieces together~ 💗

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ᴅᴏ ɴᴏᴛ ʀᴇᴘᴏsᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ sɪᴛᴇs (ᴛʜɪs ɪɴᴄʟᴜᴅᴇs ᴛʀᴀɴsʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴs). do not copy, spin-off, or write inspired work based off of this fanfic without full permission to do so. ©ʙʟᴏssᴏᴍᴡʀɪᴛᴇsᴛʜɪɴɢs ⤐ ᴀʟʟ ʀɪɢʜᴛs ʀᴇsᴇʀᴠᴇᴅ

̶﹒⊹﹒ʏᴏᴜ ᴛʀʏ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴜsᴛᴇʀ ᴀ ғʟᴀʀᴇ  ᴛᴏ ᴛᴇʟʟ sᴏᴍᴇʙᴏᴅʏ ʏᴏᴜ'ʀᴇ sɪɴᴋɪɴɢ ！،، 🌌  𖥻 𓂃 ʙᴜᴛ ᴀɴxɪᴇᴛʏ ɪs ᴀɴ ɪɴᴅᴇx ғɪɴɢᴇʀ  ᴘʀᴇssᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʟɪᴘs╰╮ 🌑

  After the night of the party at Felix’s place, Minho never uttered another word about it. As soon as he had stepped into the door of his shared dorm with Chris, and his best friend saw the defeated grayness of his face — the stormy crimson rage in his eyes — Chris quickly figured out what had happened. 

  But Chris never dangled it over his head that he had been right the whole time. Instead, he just gave Minho a long hug and said goodnight to him. 

  Minho’s other friends acted similarly, pretending that everything was fine and that they definitely hadn’t heard rumors about the party that night and what had gone down at Felix’s Dorm.

  So instead of focusing on the past and shit he couldn’t change, Minho threw himself into his studies. He and Hyunjin had a big project they were working on together for one of their fall semester exams, which took up most of his time. And when he wasn’t spending hours at the studio practicing on campus, he was at his apprenticeship gig, teaching young middle-schoolers classical and modern dance styles. 

  Lee Minho was a very busy man, that, everyone knew. And he also knew that the more cloudy his mind was with dark thoughts, the more he’d push himself. The more he’d work, work, work, until one day… he'd face an ugly burnout. 

  But for right then, he was completely fine. Surely, the burnout was very far down the road… 

  He couldn’t help but hear the rumors, though. About Felix and his crazy friends and the times he was caught having sex with all kinds of people around campus. Minho even saw it with his own two eyes once — when he stopped at the cafeteria to grab a quick bite for lunch before heading to his critical dance theory class. He noticed movement in the very back corner of the place, and there… Felix was. 

  Blond locks disheveled, immaculately dressed, and dripping in pearls and light violet hues. There was a girl with fire-engine red hair right beside him, seemingly resisting the urge to climb onto his lap at that moment. They were making out like there weren’t at least a hundred people around them and it wasn’t an open, public space.

  Felix had his hands wrapped in the girl’s firey hair, and the purple against the red of their aesthetics caused a shocking display of colors in Minho’s mind. But mostly, he tried to ignore it all. Just like everyone else around him was doing. So he quickly grabbed his food and escaped from the cafeteria as fast as he possibly could. 

  There was no use sticking around to watch another person stick their tongues down Lee Felix’s throat. There was never any use in crying over spilled milk. 

  “Minho— what the fuck has gotten into you? You keep misstepping on this part when just a few weeks ago you were doing fine.” Hyunjin said a week later, frustratingly running a hand through his dark locks. They had been in the practice room on campus for most of the day, tirelessly running through the choreo for their routine. The exam’s deadline was in a week and they couldn’t afford to laze around until then. 

  Taking a long swig of his cold water bottle, Minho pressed his back against the practice room’s mirror, offering his friend a deep frown. “I’m sorry Hyunjinnie, I just— I don’t know, haven’t been myself lately…” 

  He let his voice drawl on into the silence after that. Because they both knew the catalyst for why that was. The practice room grew quiet after that since it was just the two of them what with it being so late on a Friday night. Everyone was busy partying outside the campus grounds or in their dorms sleeping off the stress of exams. 

  “Is it… Felix?” Hyunjin asked, slowly sitting down beside Minho and taking out one of his fidget toys from his gym bag. The guy always had at least five on him at all times — claimed it helped calm him down when he was stressed. Spinning the pink and black fidget spinner between one hand, he reached over and squeezed Minho’s knee in a comforting gesture. “You know, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. But it’s just that… we’re all kinda worried about you. We just wanna help as much as we can.” 

  Turning his head to look at Hyunjin, Minho noticed the way his friend's dark brows were wrinkled with concern. The way his eyes sparkled as they searched his face, pulling for any answers he could find there.

  “I know, and I’m really sorry. It’s just… I guess, I didn’t expect to see him again, after such a long time. Chris never talked about him or where he was planning on going after high school, so it kinda came as a shock.” Minho said slowly, trying to find the right words as he shrugged nonchalantly. But the feelings he had were anything but nonchalant.

  “Are you mad at Chris for not telling you? I mean, it is kinda weird that he never really mentioned his younger brother, but I suppose that’s because he felt there was no need to. It’s not like you and Felix were best friends growing up, right?” 

  Even though Minho knew Hyunjin was right, his words still hurt. Hurt like ice picks digging into his heart, ripping it to shreds with each bit of truth and reality. 

  Even still, Minho could feel the wallowing sadness bubble up inside of him. “Y-Yeah… we had an… interesting relationship growing up. He was always seen as the annoying, little innocent younger brother. We didn’t hang out that much, but the times that we did— it was nice, I guess.” Minho found himself playing with the battered hem of his oversized t-shirt, completely avoiding Hyunjin’s gaze. Because Hyunjin was perceptive like that and could read anyone like a book with just a single glance. 

  Hyunjin let out a long sigh, slumping against the mirror behind them. “I think I understand, though. To some extent. It must feel weird, seeing him again after so many years, and to have him be so changed,” Minho watched, as Hyunjin’s long fingers spun the fidget in his hands over and over again. It was relaxing for Minho too, even if he wasn’t the one playing with it. “He’s the opposite of how you always knew him, you know? That’s gotta hurt in some way. I’m sorry, Min, that’s a lot to deal with.”

  Minho’s eyes trailed over to the studio’s windows, noticing how dark it was. How late it was becoming. He could just barely catch a glimpse of the moon shining high up in the sky, already halfway across the sky. “It’s not just that, though… sometimes, we’d hang out without Chris. When he was out of town for a school field trip or some dumb shit like that.” Minho’s voice came out as quiet and soft as a dove’s feather. Almost like, if he said it too loudly, the whole campus would hear and berate him for details. 

  There was a long bout of silence after that. It felt like a confession that he had never made before. He could feel Hyunjin tense up a little bit next to him, just from knowing that this was extremely sensitive information and vital to the situation at hand. 

  “Does… Chris know about this?” 

  Of course, that’s the first thing Hyunjin would ask. Always putting others first. It was a sensible thing to wonder, too- since Chris was their best friend and Felix’s younger brother. 

  “Not really,” Minho whispered, swallowing against the dry lump that was starting to form in the base of his throat. He could feel his heart slowly constricting in his chest at the topic change. He was fine talking about their childhood and shit, but not… that part of it. “I mean, yeah— he knew we sometimes hung out when he wasn’t around, but I don’t think he realized how… impactful that shit was to us.” 

  He was still staring out the studio’s nearby window, still studying the half-crescent moon. And the more he looked at it, the more he was reminded of… his face. Milky, like the moon, shining always and— 

  “When you say impactful… what do you exactly mean by that?”

After Hyunjin's question, there was a long bout of silence. As Minho's thought paused in his head, and he weighed his options... tell the truth, or keep lying about the past once again? In the end, he chose the former. 

  “I mean like, we fucking fell in love with each other.” 

  After that admission, the air in the studio suddenly constricted. Like a bowstring, everything drew taught and frozen. And just like that, Minho was turning his attention back to Hyunjin. Studying the look on his face. For a moment, he was entirely surprised, and then that melted into gentle understanding. 

  “And I’m assuming Chris never knew about that part?” Hyunjin simply asked, raising a quizzical eyebrow as he spun the fidget in his hands a little faster. 

  Letting out a sardonic kind of cackle, Minho flashed his friend a fake, bright grin. “Yeah, because it’s definitely not weird that an eighteen-year-old was in love with a fucking thirteen-year-old.” He gave Hyunjin a thumbs up, trying to brush it off like it was simply a funny joke. But in actuality, it was a lot deeper than that. 

  Hyunjin stopped playing with his fidget then, reaching out with one hand and taking ahold of Minho’s. He squeezed it tenderly, forcing Minho’s attention back onto him. Hyunjin’s face melted into sympathy, eyes dancing with a myriad of emotions. “I’m sorry, that must’ve been a lot to deal with. But really, the age gap isn’t that absurd. I mean, I knew plenty of couples growing up that had even bigger ranges than you guys.” 

  Minho squeezed Hyunjin’s fingers back, noticing how the feel of human touch was keeping him grounded in reality at that moment. Helping to stop his heart from beating out of his ribcage and chest. “I know. But it just… it felt different between us. I don’t know, it’s really hard to explain. We just— we bonded over our shared depression and love for video games and art and—” 

  “Sounds like you guys had a lot of similarities.” 

  “Yeah. And now… it’s the opposite.” 

  Slowly, Hyunjin began drawing senseless shapes across Minho’s palm. And Minho knew why he was doing it — Hyunjin could always understand when Minho needed help, needed someone to guide him through returning his thoughts to normal. 

  “I can see that. I think, you probably liked Felix for who he was back when you were growing up. That innocence, and how it sounds like he looked at the world with rose-colored glasses on,” Hyunjin started in a quiet tone, tracing hearts on Minho’s skin and making the older man giggle a tiny bit. “But now, he’s changed a lot and it feels like a bucket of ice water was just thrown over your head. Even still, you have to remember that you’ve probably changed a lot too— you’re not the same young boy that Felix fell in love with. And five years is a big gap of time to have not seen each other, so you have no idea what Felix went through during your absence to have such a metamorphosis in his adult life now.” 

  And just at the mere thought of Felix going through such bad hardships in his past that he turned out to be so degenerate and crazed in university, Minho could feel his entire body tightening up. He squeezed Hyunjin’s hand, practically feeling his racing pulse in the pit of his throat. 

  “Oh fuck— I hope nothing like that happened to him. I don’t… I don’t know what I’d do if—”

  Hyunjin squeezed his shoulder tightly, bringing him out of his reverie of panicked thought. “Min, stop. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. But what I meant is… He’s probably experienced things that have made him change into the person he is today. Try to understand things from his point of view." 

  Minho leaned his head against the mirror at his back, squeezing his eyes shut. And as soon as he did, he saw visions of Felix. Of being in high school alone back in their hometown, suffering all kinds of shit at the hands of the cruel kids there. He didn’t want to imagine it, but he also couldn’t be naive. He knew the kinds of people that lived in their small coastal hometown in Busan. He knew how mean the kids at school could be, how merciless. And Felix probably had walked in there as a beautiful beacon of light. Minho didn’t even want to imagine the kind of shit he was probably put through at high school alone. 

  “He threatened me when I was leaving his place during the party. He told me to never come back to his dorm.” Minho blurted out, clearing his head of the depressing visions of Felix growing up. Instead, he focused on the way the younger man had looked at him that night, near the elevator. So full of rage and anguish. “He was so fucking angry with me— and goddamn it but I was so mean to him.” 

  “Having a shitty college house party be the first time you guys hang out in almost five years probably wasn’t the best idea,” Hyunjin said slowly, finally pulling his hands away from Minho and focusing back on his fidget. “It’s understandable why you two would be on edge with each other. There’s a lot of water and shit under the bridge.” 

  Carding a few fingers between his hair, Minho pulled at the roots as he held his head in his palms. “Hyunjin he was teasing me at the party with his friends— he was trying to fucking make me jealous, I swear to God.”

  “Well… did it work?” 

  “I— I guess… I don’t know!” He burst out, throwing his hands up in the air in defeat. “Sorry, I just… I hate feeling this way and not knowing what to do about it.” 

  Hyunjin let them sit in the quietness of the practice room for a little bit after that, allowing Minho to collect his words and thoughts. Minho could slowly feel his breathing regulating again and his heart beating at a normal pace once more. 

  “So then does that mean… that you still love him, Min?”

  Staring down at his clasped hands, Minho studied the way his hands were so calloused from dance practice. He did as much as he could to help the problem — exfoliated and moisturized — but nothing seemed to work except taking a break from dance. Which was never going to happen. 

  “No,” He finally said, shaking his head slowly. But even as the words left his mouth, they didn’t feel quite right. “I mean, it would be stupid for me to. We’re both so different from who we were during our childhood. And we're too far apart in age and maturity."

  Hyunjin shrugged slowly before he shoved his fidget toy away in his duffle bag and took a long swig from his Pocari Sweat bottle. “I mean, it really isn’t that far-fetched. At your core, you guys are still the same people. You just hang out with different friends and lead different lives these days. But you’re still interested in the same things as before— art and video games and whatever other shit.”

  “Hyunjin, no. It’d be fucking weird. I’m a senior and he’s a freshman. I'm going to be graduating in under six months and he just started. There’s no way in hell I’m dealing with that bullshit.” 

  Just then, Minho’s friend finally stood up from his spot on the hard, wooden floor. He gathered up his things and then offered a hand out to Minho. Taking ahold of it, Hyunjin hoisted him up and offered a slow grin as Minho grabbed his bag. 

  “You guys are both adults now. That kinda taboo shit you felt back in the day is irrelevant now,” Pulling out his car keys, Hyunjin started leading them to the front doors of the studio. Hyunjin shared a dorm with Changbin that was about a twenty-minute drive from campus. “So my advice on everything? Just go with whatever your heart and mind wants. If that’s to never speak again, great. But if that means something more… I’d say, do it.” 

  Minho offered him the best smile he could muster at that moment, completely depleted of all energy and emotion. “Thanks, Hyunjinnie. You’re the best and I’m glad you’re such a good friend and listener to my crazy problems.” He said, squeezing Hyunjin's arm just as they made their way outside into the chilly autumn air.

  “Now we should both go home and get some rest. We need to replenish our energy for that stupid exam next week.” Hyunjin said, stepping over to the nearby parking lot and unlocking his electric Toyota Camry. “Oh, also— I’m gonna be gone all weekend. My family’s celebrating my grandma’s ninetieth birthday back in our hometown in Jeju.” 

  “Have fun and take it easy Jinnie. I’ll see you on Monday for another ball-crushing week of practice.” Minho shouted across the parking lot, giving Hyunjin a wave as his friend rolled his eyes sarcastically. 

  And then Minho was watching Hyunjin pull out of the lot and drive off. Suddenly faced with the silence of only his presence, he realized how heavy his shoulders had felt before talking about everything. Just like that, Hyunjin had helped him tremendously. Without Minho even realizing it, he had been holding onto a lot of shit for the past few weeks. Seeing Felix, and going to the party that night, definitely stirred up a lot of murky feelings inside of him. 

  Sure, nothing was solved and he still had a lot to process and work through. But the fact that he was even strong enough to get it out of his system accounted for something. 

  As Minho walked back to the dorm that he shared with Chris, he decided to fling himself into the work of perfecting the choreo for their exam. That way, once Hyunjin came back from his weekend trip, they’d be all ready to go for the final few practices. 

  Besides, distracting himself from everything with a long weekend in the studio would do Minho a lot of good. 

  Help him take his mind off of it all. 

  Take his mind off of thinking about Felix and what they used to be and what they could’ve been and— 

  Yes, dancing would suffice as a therapy.

─── ⋆⋅ ♰ ⋅⋆ ───

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[pyromegalomaniac]

*Knocks down the door* Hey there! Could you write a Yandere Wally x GN!reader where they go stargazing together?

Wally thinking that the reader is too naive, but in reality the reader has known since being there for week.

Hey, Anon, that's my door!! Now I gotta fix it!!

ヽ(`0´メ)ノ Well... okay, okay, since this is such a good prompt I'll do my best to make a good story out of it... Enjoy!!!

(♡˙︶˙♡)

Way out there, and right here with me

🍎🌌💗

☆°•☆°•☆°•☆

We'd heard there was going to be a cloudless sky tonight, and perfect conditions to see the Milky Way and maybe even a shooting star or two.

It was the perfect end to a wonderful first week of being in the neighborhood, and I already loved it. I'd even gotten gifts from a few of the residents, though none were as memorable as a huge gift basket wrapped in a big bow, full of apples.

It had a little card in it signed by Wally, and in the short time I'd known him we'd gotten to spend a lot of time together, becoming freinds. Though there was something... off about him I couldn't quite place. He seemed... overeager to please me. Maybe he was like this with all his friends, and I just hadn't noticed, but he was definitely... clingy.

He'd asked me to come to his favorite skywatching spot, a secluded hilltop surrounded by trees so we could stagaze together.

I was headed that way now, with a picnic basket under my arms. I made it to the top, waving to Wally as I neared him.

He watched me the whole way up.

He'd already set out a nice big checkered blanket for us to sit or maybe lay on.

"You made it, y/n!" He exlaimed, already sitting down and patting the spot beside him. I put my basket down and sat next to him.

"What's with the basket? Did you bring goodies? You know you didn't have to do that... you're such a sweetheart!"

"Ha, yeah," I chuckled. "I got some cheese and crackers for us to share. Man, the sky sure is pretty tonight, isn't it?"

"It sure is," Wally said quietly, although he was looking at me.

I just kept my focus on the sky above, even as I could feel his eyes on me. I fidgeted with the fringes of the blanket absent-mindedly, a little nervous.

After a moment I could feel an arm drape around me, and his lips brushing against my ear.

"You look stunning in the moonlight," he whispered.

I had to supress a shiver from running up my back.

"You, um, really think so? That's... very nice of you to say," I muttered in response.

"I know so," he whispered back.

He pulled me close to him gently, so I was pressed against him. I just kept my eyes on the stars. I wouldn't move my head or my eyes, I couldn't tell you why, but I was terrified of meeting his gaze.

"Y/n"... he whispered. I didn't move.

"Come on. Look at me. I want to see your beautiful eyes..."

I felt the tips of his fingers on my cheek, pulling me to him. I could resist for only a moment before I complied.

"Ah. There you are."

We looked. We looked and looked and looked.

Not at the scene above us, so so far away, but right in front of our faces, we looked at each other.

☆°•☆°•☆°•☆

I wasn't really sure how to end this, so I kinda just left it open to interpretation or maybe continuation!! This was fun to write, so I'll forgive you for my door, Anon... I look forward to writing more in the future!!! Much love!!!

ヽ(>∀<☆)ノ

[tokkibbang00]

WHY CAN'T WE BE FRIENDS? - C. YEONJUN (TEASER)

MINORS AND AGELESS BLOGS, DO NOT INTERACT. UNEDITED.

synopsis: Being caught in a series of scandals and controversies, Yeonjun's company has had enough of his attitude problems and finally decides to send him off to university. Despite his arguments towards management, he has no choice but to follow them or else he can kiss his modeling career goodbye. You're a fashion major attending university. You'd think you'd be delighted hearing the news about a famous model coming into your department, but as soon as you were seated beside him in one of your classes, you'd soon come to realize that you absolutely hated his guts

rating: (n)sfw

pairing: model!choi yeonjun x fashion major!afab reader

genre: college!au, enemies to lovers!au, kinda angsty, reader and yeonjun are idiots.

warnings: cursing, yeonjun's kind of an asshole at first, mentions of alcohol, suggestive, (will add more when the full story is posted)

a/n: i was originally planning on posting my han jisung fic first but i got so excited about this one that i knew that i just had to post this. i was also writing a part 2 of a certain fic, but that's a conversation for some other time 👀 I'm currently working on 3-5 fics but I'm also taking in requests!! Feel free to message me or Dm me~ Enjoy the teaser and watch out for the full fic in a week or two 💙

teaser posted: 05-18-23

MODEL CHOI YEONJUN RUMORED TO BE DATING WORLD-STAR IDOL HUH YUNJIN... AND MODEL JEON SOMI?

CHOI YEONJUN SEEN BAR HOPPING THREE NIGHTS IN A ROW IN ITAEWON

CHOI YEONJUN'S EXPLOSIVE EPISODE ON PAPARAZZIS. READ HERE !!!

BAD HABITS AND BAD ATTITUDE? INSIDER WHO WORKED WITH CHOI YEONJUN SPILLS IT ALL!!

Seungjin's eyebrows meet at the middle as his forehead starts showing lines and wrinkles, obvious dissatisfaction etched on his face. His fingers were rubbing his temples out of frustration while he continued to read article after article about their oh-so-beloved model, Choi Yeonjun.

The CEO sat at the end of the table, his back leaning on the chair while he reads along with Seungjin on his iPad.

Every article has been stating one common issue— Yeonjun's superiority complex and attitude problems.

The company already knew about this... issue, before the articles came to surface and has warned the young man every time.

He never listened.

Now here they are, reaping the consequences of the man's actions. They did all that they can to scold him, reprimand him, and even cover for him. Nothing ever stopped Yeonjun.

At the other end of the table, Yeonjun had his legs up on top of the meeting table and his back resting on the chair. His fingers brush his slicked back hair, making strands fall down his face.

The only sound you'd hear around the room was his loud chewing from his gum and his pen tapping.

The CEO, Shihyuk, let out a sigh, placing his iPad down. His elbows were perched on top of the table as he rested his chin on his hands that was clasped together.

“Yeonjun, I'm guessing you know why we've called you and Seungjin here today... Right?”

The young man raised an eyebrow, a small smirk forming on his face. He puts his feet back down on the floor and copied Shihyuk's posture on the table.

“I don't know Sir Bang. You tell me.” Yeonjun teased, “I've been nothing but the perfect role model as far as I can see!” He said sarcastically.

Shihyuk wasn't phased by him at all. A stern look remained on his face as he continues the conversation.

“We have been thinking of ways to better your reputation.”

“Oh? Do enlighten me, please.” Yeonjun held himself back from rolling his eyes. He has heard things like these more than a hundred times already. “It's not like most of those articles are fake and heavily fabricated.”

He was confident that his company would cover for him or would keep shut.

On the contrary, Shihyuk and the PR team has seen the increase of negative articles towards the model. They knew that keeping quiet or finding a cover up will not work anymore.

Shihyuk cleared his throat, a small smile creeping on his face. It was his turn to be smug.

“We have decided to send you to University.”

Every ounce of confidence that was evident on Yeonjun's face immediately disappeared. His eyebrows immediately furrow while his jaw prominently clenching.

“What. The. Fuck.”

TBC.

NOTE: Characters presented do not represent anyone mentioned in the story. This is a work of fiction and is not real.

[sillyone05]

A chaotic project sekai au I've thought of

Hello again, everyone. I've decided to come back from the shadows to share my one of two fantasy aus that I have based on the newest wxs set (alongside some others)

So we focus on the story of Nene, a witch traveling in an attempt to find some rumored "legendary song" to help her friend Minori who accidentally made a mistake on a spell and accidentally cursed her voice away with the only cure being someone singing this song to them.

Along the way, Nene first meets Emu, a strong traveller who heard of Nene's goal and would like to assist her due to her own grandfather's lifelong dream of wanting to witness and learn this song.

They also encounter MEIKO! A pretty traveling merchant who is looking for a solid place to settle down her shop in. She also joins in on the travels, since maybe while they're looking for the song she can find a decent place to stay!

The trio continues, gathering Intel on the whereabouts of the song and getting to know eachother better before encountering Rui! A fairy sent by the newly found fairy princess Len to learn and study things around this land that could help them grow as a society.

As the group continues their travels they eventually find a nice seaside village. They're exhausted, they travelled for a while, so they need a break from everything. And then they meet Tsukasa, a normal guy who wants to collect shells on the beach since he finds joy in them (...right?)

He asks the group if they'd like to help him collect shells to take a nice relaxing trip with him, and while Nene thinks it's a waste of time, everyone else agreed to take a break and to do this fetch quest. So she reluctantly agrees and thinks nothing of it when the group leaves the town.

---

Until at a later day, they make it to a very distant area, and take a break at a nearby restaurant in the place. They immediately notice him, yet he's working as one of the many chefs of this place.

Everyone is confused. How did he get here? The village they met him at was so far away, how is he casually putting 110% into all of the meals he makes?

---

So basically, Tsukasa in this AU is like a NPC that is everywhere for no explainable reason. Wherever the group goes, he somehow is there as well. Going into a new village? They eventually bump into him, completely different outfit and job in hand. When he's asked how he can manage doing everything, he just claims that "Ahaha, I am just a person of many talents!" And never elaborates further. The group really wants to know how he manages to travel effortlessly and manage to remember all of these jobs, but they can't find any method to find out. They ask the villagers? They just shrug and don't have an idea. They ask his siblings, Saki and Toya? They don't have an explanation either, despite them being basically siblings!

So they take initiative and decide to make it a side quest to figure out how this multi talented man manages to exist anywhere and everywhere!

---

Some side points for this au

-More more jump is a full group of witches! They each specialize in different types of magic, and while they don't travel with Nene and the others, Nene can communicate with them and help eachother and any clues they find! They all communicate via bird messages :) (Haruka uses penguins)

-Len is indeed a pretty fairy princess! Originally, Rin was supposed to, but she didn't want to so he stepped up to the throne. He wears the prettiest of dresses!!

-Vivid bad squad is a group of bounty hunters, their bossman (Ken) asked them to search for this song in an attempt to help reawaken the long lost hype for his tavern. They basically act as a rival travelling group to Nene's!

-Leo/Need might seem like normal villager girls by day, but at night they dive into the Sea of Dreams! Working together, they make sure to help as many people as they can have good dreams while they sleep!

-Rumors of a mysterious group called "Nightcord" have been showing up often. Some people say they may take you to the afterlife. Others claim that they give you bad luck for the rest of your life. Some claim that they've been taken to a land of lost memories. Nobody truly knows for sure...

That's all I really have for right now. If I have any other ideas in the future I might make more posts related to this. Idk.

Thanks for taking the time to read this though 😊

[sunnyrealist]

Chapter 62: The Last Eight Years

The Sun, the Moon, and All Our Stars

Summary and Details…

Previous Chapter Recap/Context: Sebastian spent two horrible days in the field with the Kelpies gang, during which his assigned partner went too far with the interrogation of a man. His partner lit the man's house on fire with his children inside, and Seb had to covertly create a way out so that the entire family could escape. Sebastian and his partner were severely punished afterwards, and Kate tried her best to make Seb comfortable when he returned home. The next day is one filled with promise - Sebastian finally reunites with his friend Ruby McKinnon (the Hero of Hogwarts) after nearly a decade. There's a moment of surprise when Kate and Sebastian realize that their company ordered one too many butterbeers. It turns out Ruby got in touch with Ominis and invited him as well. The Slytherin trio finally reunites. In this chapter, Ruby and Sebastian spend time catching up on the past eight years.

Pairing: 25-year-old, post-Azkaban Sebastian Sallow x 24-year-old Kate Mayflower (my OC), the assistant librarian at Hogwarts

Art Credit: @giselsann-opencommissions 💛

Content warnings: In general, this is rated 18+, so minors should not read or interact with this story. This chapter features the sharing of trauma and pain, admitting one's faults, talk of loneliness, and somewhat judgmental comments coming from friends.

The full chapter is available below the cut; it can also be found on AO3 (link is posted below). Please leave some feedback if possible, especially if you like what you read! 🥰

Chapter 62: The Last Eight Years

“Hi, Poppy.” Ominis gives her a friendly smile. He then nods towards Kate. “And who is this?” 

“This is my girlfriend, Kate Mayflower,” Sebastian replies contentedly. “Kate, this is Ominis Gaunt.”

Kate reaches out a hand.

“Well, well… so many surprises,” he replies, shaking her hand. “I’m glad to meet you.”

“I’ve heard so much about you,” Kate explains. His hand is cool to the touch, and right away, she notices a silver ring on his left ring finger. “It’s so good to put a face to the name.” Ominis’ hand lingers for a moment longer, and she realizes it must be because he is blind, trying to make out any features he can.

The five of them take seats around the table, and Sebastian passes the extra mug of butterbeer to Ominis, who accepts it gratefully. He takes a long drink, then relaxes. “There’s nothing quite like butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks. Seems like an eternity since we three were last here together.”

“You have no idea,” Sebastian murmurs. 

They all sit in silence for a moment, and Kate isn’t sure what to say. Though she feels welcome, this is not her friend group, so she decides to let Sebastian and his friends lead. 

“Where do we even begin?” Ominis finally breaks the silence, appearing thoughtful. “How do we even recount eight entire years?”

Ruby smiles softly. “I suppose… Well, perhaps we all just take turns.”

Sebastian nods, quiet, still stunned to actually be in their company.

“I can go first,” Ruby volunteers. “Hmm… I guess I’ll start with sixth year at Hogwarts?” 

“Agreed - that sounds sensible,” Ominis murmurs.

Ruby takes a sip of her butterbeer and laces her fingers with Poppy’s. “Quidditch came back in sixth year - maybe Kate told you that, Sebastian. Not even a week after the announcement was made, Imelda broke up with me.” She chuckles. “I was upset at the time, but looking back, it made sense. Her only true love was Quidditch, and she spent the rest of her time at Hogwarts on the pitch every chance she got. She’s been playing for the Holyhead Harpies since graduation and lives in Wales now. Poppy and I have been to a few of her matches over the years. We’re still friendly.”

Sebastian nods appreciatively. “I’m glad to hear she made it. She was such an intense captain. Quidditch practice with her was exhausting, but she made us one hell of a team.”

Kate can see Ominis’ lips curling upwards as Sebastian speaks and notices his fingers curling tighter around the handle of his mug.

“With you… gone, Sebastian, and… Ominis mostly unavailable, I ended up spending more time with Natty and Amit and Poppy starting in sixth year. Especially Poppy,” Ruby continues with a cheeky grin. “And one fateful day in April, Poppy and I were chasing off some poachers from a den of Giant Purple Frogs. We slipped on some rocks and splashed into a bog, and we were laughing like crazy. The next thing I knew… we were kissing.” She blushes a little, glancing at Poppy. “We decided to start dating… and, well, we’re married now.” Ruby brings Poppy’s hand to her lips and gives it a peck.

“I know you still go by Ruby McKinnon,” Sebastian acknowledges. “I saw how you signed your name in your letter. But how about you, Poppy? And… what do you both do for work, since you mentioned traveling for work?”

Poppy smiles, glad to be included. “I go by Poppy Sweeting-McKinnon. And… as far as work, I always knew I wanted to be a magizoologist, but it’s not an easy field to break into, so I started with the Ministry in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Beasts as a Centaur Liaison. Before I came along, the Ministry saw the role as a joke, but I showed them that we of the wizarding community could actually have good relations with centaurs. Ruby, on the other hand, had it so easy when it came to jobs! Every department in the Ministry was chasing her down, absolutely begging her to work for them. I mean, even other ministries around the world approached her, and rightly so. She’s… a gem. Pun intended.” She smirks.

“Oh, stop it.” Ruby giggles, waving her hand. “I wanted to live with Poppy, but I knew her dream job as a magizoologist would take her all over the world. I had to find a career that allowed me to travel with her - or at least near her. The Department of Mysteries was the most keen to offer me a job and told me I could name just about any area of research as long as it related to my ancient magic, and I could work anywhere I wished. In the end, I chose to research the connection between creatures and ancient magic, just like San Bakar of the Keepers once did.” She looks at Sebastian, gauging his reaction.

“The Keepers,” he murmurs. “Merlin, it has been so long, but… I still remember asking you to…” he trails off, suddenly looking sheepish. “Never mind.”

Ruby gazes at Sebastian for several moments, pensive. She opens her mouth and then closes it. She takes a long swig of her butterbeer.

Kate smiles, trying to quickly cover for her boyfriend’s awkward moment. “I know someone who works for the same department you once did, Poppy. I wonder if you might know him - Henry Finch? He’s an old friend from my Hogwarts days.”

“Henry Finch?” Poppy repeats incredulously. “I do know him!” She laughs. “What a small world! I actually trained him as the new centaur liaison before I left the Ministry. Wonderful fellow - smart as a whip and so good-natured. Funny, too! He was patient with the centaurs and eager to learn about their culture. I’m certain he did quite well after I left.” 

Grinning even more widely at Poppy’s response, Kate glances at Sebastian, who tenses at the mention of her ex-boyfriend. She squeezes his hand in reassurance, as if to say let it go. “Small world indeed! Henry is actually going to be an interim Beasts professor at Hogwarts starting this fall. Howin is researching Wampus cats in America for about five months.” She pauses, then lights up. “Maybe in the fall we can all meet up, and I’ll invite Henry to join!”

“Lovely!” Poppy exclaims, chuckling. 

 There’s a moment of quiet, and everyone sips their butterbeers thoughtfully. 

“So, when did you marry? Where do you live these days?” Sebastian asks.

“Summer of 1896,” Poppy replies. “The wedding was very small - we preferred it that way.” 

“I was there,” Ominis chimes in. “I’ll never forget the moment you realized your niffler stole Ruby’s ring.”

The entire group cracks up.

Ruby continues, “We travel most of the year for work, so we don’t really have a permanent home. In the past year, we’ve been to… oh, let’s see… Austria, Japan, India, Brazil… and now we’re here again. We always return to Scotland in the summer and around Christmas to spend time with Poppy’s gran. This summer, we are actually staying in her house.” She glances at her wife to see if she wants to go into more detail.

“My gran’s health is declining,” Poppy explains. “We thought we could help her more if we stayed with her.” She looks off into the distance. “If she continues to feel poorly, we might stick around this area for a while - or at least stay in Western Europe.”

“I see,” Sebastian acknowledges.

Kate can sense that they’re just about finished telling their story. “Shall I order another round? And perhaps some chips?”

“I’ll come,” Poppy offers.

They stand, strolling towards the bar. Sebastian watches Kate admiringly.

“She’s lovely, Sebastian,” Ruby murmurs, following his gaze.

“Yes, she is.” He gives her a small smile. “And I think you and Poppy are a great match.”

“We are,” she agrees. 

Kate and Poppy return with the butterbeers, passing them out.

Sebastian looks to Ominis, noticing the ring on his finger. “What about you, Om-”

Ominis looks as though he is about to open his mouth, but Ruby swiftly interrupts. “Sebastian, Poppy and I aren’t going to stay the whole night. I thought I might give you and Ominis some privacy to catch up on your own. I don’t mean to be rude, but… I was hoping we could hear about you next.”

Both Sebastian and Ominis frown, their brows furrowed. Kate sits again, scooting a little closer to her boyfriend. She takes his hand in hers under the table.

“I suppose,” Sebastian replies, then realizes he isn’t sure where to even begin. “I… I’m not sure what to say. I… am not sure I even can tell you all that much.”

The rest of the group seems to lean in as one. Ruby props up her head, her elbow on the table. Ominis closes his eyes.

“The last time I saw you two…” Sebastian begins, “...was probably at my hearing.” He swallows thickly, his head spinning with terrible memories. “Obviously, you know what happened there and what came next for me.” Kate squeezes his hand to urge him to continue, and he glances towards her as he speaks. “I… I’m not sure I’m ready to t-talk about Azkaban,” he adds, his voice breaking. “It’s too painful. M-maybe someday I… will tell you some things. I’m sorry… I’m just… not ready to share that. It was hard enough to explain to Kate. And she- she still doesn’t know everything,” he adds uncomfortably.

Ominis is silent, a troubled expression on his face. 

Ruby nods solemnly. “Very well. I understand.”

There’s a long pause, and they all sip their butterbeer.

“But… How are you here?” Ominis asks. “I don’t understand. You were given a life sentence…”

Sebastian opens his mouth, then closes it, his mind working overtime. “I… I actually can’t tell you that. I’m working with the Department of Magical Law Enforcement on a special project - it’s the reason for my probation. It’s… dangerous and demanding and exhausting - physically, emotionally, even magically. I wish I could explain, but… I am making progress in my assignment, and I hope to be off of probation soon. I truly feel like I am doing what I must to- to make up for the past. I… I left prison at 21-”

“21? We’re all 25 now…” Ruby points out. “Why… Why wait so long to contact us?” She shakes her head, looking at Ominis. “Sebastian, you have no idea how horrible we felt for years…”

“And you think I didn’t feel horrible?!” he replies loudly, his tone sounding more aggressive and snappy than intended. He sighs upon seeing a frown on Ominis’ face. “Sorry… I… I was not in a good place. Truth be told, I haven’t been in a good place for nearly a decade. Not until I met Kate.” Kate nods, trying to give him confidence. “I’m… not the person I once was - the person you once knew. Azkaban… changed me forever. I’m… working on it. At least… I’m trying to.” He pauses. “The things I saw… the things that were done to me… have taken a toll. I’m… I’m just going to be honest about this. I am insecure. I have a terrible fear of abandonment - that others will… turn on me, give up on me, leave me. I have a hard time believing I’m a good person and that I’ll ever be good enough for anyone I care about. I never feel worthy of happiness and peace. I often can’t sleep… and when I do, I have relentless nightmares that force me to relive trauma and pain I still haven’t figured out how to manage. I’m… well, frankly, I’m a mess.”

Kate holds his hand tighter.

Ruby’s eyes fill with tears. “Sebastian… we never meant for this to happen…”

He narrows his eyes in confusion but continues on. “For years… I convinced myself that you probably both hated me. Those kinds of thoughts had been deeply reinforced by guards in Azkaban. When I entertained the idea of writing to either of you, I would soon change my mind - that you were better off without me - that I would cause nothing but harm again - that you were probably both living full lives - peaceful ones that I would interrupt. I also wondered if you would just… reject me outright, which I just could not have endured.”

“No,” Ruby murmurs. “We would never have turned you away…”

Sebastian looks away. “I know that now. But… that’s why I never wrote to either of you. For so many years, I just continued to feel miserable and… lonely beyond words. I’m trying so hard to change how I see myself… but it’s difficult after years of believing I don’t even deserve to be alive.”

Ominis appears troubled, shifting nervously in his seat.

“Kate… has been infinitely patient and understanding. We’re going to find a Mind Healer for me at St. Mungo’s so I can… better process all that has happened to me… and the things I’ve done to survive.” He looks to his girlfriend. “I owe Kate a great deal. She’s changed my life. She’s like… a light in the darkness, always encouraging me. She was the one who ultimately convinced me to write to you both.”

One of the bartenders comes by to drop off two huge plates of warm chips and a bottle of malt vinegar. Poppy and Kate quickly murmur their thanks while the rest of their group sits in a thoughtful silence. Everyone reaches for a chip but Sebastian, who is trying to figure out what else he might share.

“How did you and Kate meet?” Ruby inquires.

Although Kate could jump in, she lets Sebastian continue leading the discussion. “It wasn’t by any means an unusual meeting. I was at the Leaky Cauldron on a Friday in May, trying to get pissed, if I’m honest. There was a loud group in the pub, and at first I was annoyed by them, but… I might not have noticed Kate otherwise. She was celebrating her birthday with friends, and I… I couldn’t stop watching her smile and laugh all night. She just… seemed so warm and happy… and it didn’t hurt that she is extraordinarily beautiful.” Kate swats at Sebastian bashfully, turning pink. “What? You are.” He chuckles. “As the night went on, I finally had an opportunity to talk to her alone. Something just kept urging me to take a chance. We were both drawn to each other, as though we were meant to meet.” A lopsided smile appears on his face. “We ended up spending the entire night together. We apparated to Hogsmeade, since this is where Kate actually lives, and now, I do, too… and we just walked around the village and talked. It was clear that there was a strong connection between us - neither of us had ever felt anything like it before. We both love to read and learn, want the same things out of life, and have similar senses of humor. We like to say she’s the sun to my moon.” He makes eye contact with Kate and confidently adds, “We are soulmates - absolutely positive of it.” 

“May of… this year?” Ominis asks, surprised. 

“Yes.”

“That’s rather fast,” the blind man responds. “You’ve moved in together already? How do you know you’re… soulmates? You’ve hardly been together a month.”

Sebastian and Kate exchange glances, their eyebrows raised and eyes wide. They’ve never discussed how they might… or if they might… tell others about their reincarnation. 

“We… erm… We just know,” Sebastian answers cryptically.

Ominis seems skeptical. “In my experience, love takes time.”

Ruby, trying to keep the visit comfortable, chimes in, “Well… When you know, you know.”

“When’s the wedding?” Poppy jokes, and they laugh it off while Ominis adjusts his posture.

Suddenly, there seems to be some kind of conflict near the bar. The voices of two men suddenly become louder and aggravated, and their party watches as one of the bartenders intervene. One of the men stomps outside.

“Well then,” Poppy murmurs with a chuckle.

Ruby speaks up again after a few moments. “So, Kate, what do you do for a living? Tell us a little about yourself.”

“Oh… erm…” Kate spends a moment deciding what to share. “I’m 24. I was at Hogwarts when you lot were, too, but I only vaguely knew Poppy because I was in Hufflepuff.” 

Ominis smirks at Sebastian when he hears that. “Not a Slytherin, huh?” to which, his old friend shrugs.

“Kate’s friends were a lot of fun. I was always jealous of them,” Poppy admits.

Kate smiles at that, then continues, “I grew up in Epping Forest - near London. I have a very close-knit family. But as Seb mentioned, I live here in Hogsmeade. I moved when I took a job at Hogwarts - I’m currently the assistant librarian, but I should become the head whenever Scribner finally retires. I hope to own my own bookshop one day.”

“A librarian,” Ominis notes. “And not just any librarian - one at Hogwarts.” He chuckles. “How perfect. The two of you - a bookworm and a librarian. Your family would have gotten a real kick out of that.”

“Did you know that Sebastian was an absolute menace to Scribner?” Ruby asks playfully. “One of the very first things he and I did together was sneak into the Restricted Section, and we got caught. Scriber was so disappointed when he covered for me.”

Kate rolls her eyes. “Scribner is disappointing in many ways herself. I just don’t see eye to eye with her on many aspects of the library. She’s told me for two years straight that she is going to retire and both years changed her mind at the last minute. It’s been rather frustrating.”

“You’ll get your wish. Just give it time, love,” Sebastian murmurs. “You’ll be the best librarian Hogwarts has ever seen.” She blushes again as he nudges his shoulder against hers. 

She could go on and tell them so much more, but this get-together really isn’t about her. She smiles at the group, expecting to move on to a new topic of conversation. There are only a few more chips left, and Sebastian finally reaches for them. Kate finishes her butterbeer, as do Poppy and Ruby. Ominis and Sebastian still have a ways to go, but she wonders if they’ll move on to something stronger after what has been shared so far. 

“Would anyone like something more? I’m happy to order more drinks or snacks,” she offers, glancing specifically at the gentlemen at the table.

Ruby puts her hand on Poppy’s arm. “We actually have to get going. We have morning plans, and… well, I think it would be best for you two-” she gestures to Ominis and Sebastian, “-to catch up without us.” 

Though he is unsure of her meaning, Sebastian nods anyway. His tone is so hopeful when he says, “We’ll meet up again soon… right?”

“Absolutely,” Ruby replies, standing up with her wife. “Sebastian, I still just can’t believe it…” He stands as well, and she hugs him tightly. “It’s so good to see you. Please… don’t be a stranger.”

“Never again,” he affirms. 

“We’ll settle the tab,” Ruby mentions.

“No, please - allow me,” Kate offers, her eyes sparkling. “You have no idea how much this has meant to Sebastian, and I would like to be the one to pay. Please.”

Ruby and Poppy glance at each other, then nod. “Thank you,” they both murmur. Before they walk away, they say goodbye to everyone. Poppy swings the basket of shortbread biscuits in Kate’s direction, nodding in appreciation of the gift.

Kate is left standing alone, and she looks at the two long-lost friends still seated at the table. Sebastian would welcome her to stay - of that, she is sure - but it feels wrong to intrude upon this moment.

“I… I think I’ll actually head home early as well,” Kate says kindly. “You two deserve some time to talk by yourselves. I’ll pay and be right back to say goodbye.”

When she returns minutes later, she places two glasses of fine aged Firewhisky before the two men. “I’ll be on my way now.” She kisses Sebastian’s cheek. “No rush at all. I’ll see you whenever you two finish up. I won’t wait up all night if you’re home late. Don’t worry about me at all.” 

Sebastian rises to embrace her. “I love you.” He kisses her cheek in return. “Thank you for this. It wouldn’t have happened without you, sunshine.”

“I love you, too.” Kate gives him a sweet smile, then says goodbye to Ominis. 

It’s still warm outside, and the sun is setting slowly. Kate considers walking home but ultimately decides to apparate. She changes into more comfortable clothing and completes some prep work for tomorrow’s meals until she feels sleepy. She leaves a light on in the living room for Sebastian before retreating for bed, where she reads for another half hour, then finally succumbs to sleep with a little smile on her face. Her Bash had found his true friends once more.

[blissfulstarsfics]

Black And White

Hi, everyone! It was suggested to me to make a tumblr to promote my A!A Fanfic. I'm very new to tumblr so please bear with me.

Black And White is a friends to lovers story set after the fall of the Netherbrain. It's currently up to 12 chapters. I hope you enjoy!

Here are chapters 1 and 2. Rated M. Feel free to like, comment, or reblog.

Summary: With the ritual complete, Astarion endeavors to make Baldur's Gate his. When his partner in crime, Tav, leaves for the hells with Wyll to save Karlach, he begins to build his web of influence while patiently awaiting for her return. Will he be able to convince her to join him in the Crimson Palace? Will their friendship become something more? Astarion dreams of having her be his for eternity, but will he succeed? Or will their respective pasts get in the way?

Read on AO3

Chapter 1

One evening. This is all that was left for the companions until they faced the Elder Brain, their penultimate foe. While their leader, Tav, distracted them from their worries by playing her lyre and singing elvish songs, the vampire ascendant’s thoughts were elsewhere. He smirked at the others’ lack of mettle, their worry of what tomorrow will bring, the idle chatter of “will we die” or “will we succumb to the tadpole?” Laughable, all of it. In his mind, the powers of his ascension all but assured their victory.

Setting down his cup, he discreetly exited the Elfsong Tavern to take in the night air. Outside he began taking in the full scope of the world around him in ways that were denied to him for two centuries. There was no compulsion, no scouting for victims, no mechanical movements or lines to be rehearsed on potential meals for Cazador.

Ah, Cazador, his former master and tormentor. Astarion smiled knowing he was now counted amongst Mephistopholes’s 7,000 newest playthings. In an ironic twist, he felt a small surge of gratitude for the bastard. After all, he did much of the work for two centuries in putting together the ritual which Astarion and Tav gleefully usurped from him. The research, the turning of spawn, the marking of the runes. 

I shall enjoy every moment of this, he thought to himself, still grinning. A gentle breeze swept through his curls that was warm, slightly humid, and aromatic from the bustling kitchen inside the tavern. Closing his eyes, he attuned his hearing to the whispers of the night. They were so close, yet so far out of reach. 

Astarion had to remind himself that it had only been a few days since the ritual and to be patient, difficult as that was. As he had told Tav, it would take time for him to become acquainted with his new self. His powers would grow, they had to. Despite himself, a kernel of insecurity floated in the back of his mind. The last thing he wanted was to go through all that effort only for the ritual to give him a minimal power boost. Astarion shook the doubt out of his head, focusing on the rather interesting conversation his companions were having.

“Do you really think we can trust him now?”

“I’m not too sure. He had no qualms with sacrificing 7,000 of his own kind to an archdevil for power. We’ll need to keep an eye on him tomorrow.”

“Should he try to take control of the brain, he will meet the end of my blade.”

“Let’s not be hasty. Astarion is currently our ally…”

“Currently, yes. Now that he’s a vampire lord that could change on a whim.”

“Don’t be fools,” he heard Tav interject, “Astarion is still the same person that he was before the ritual. He wants to be rid of the tadpole just as much as we do.”

“Ha! You say that and claim we are the fools,” this time it was Jaheira’s voice, “His whole personality and demeanor have completely changed, or haven’t you noticed? Who’s to say he won’t be another Cazador? After this is over, I plan on being a very nosy neighbor to his lordship.”

Oh Jaheira, I would love to have you for supper, he thought with a chuckle. 

“No, he’s still the same as before. Had you been paying attention you would realize that this is who he is,” he heard her get up, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going for a walk.”

He rested his head against the exterior of the tavern, smiling. One of his companions understood him, knew him. The rest only saw the superficial side of him, the overbold hedonist that was a bit workshy when it came to helping those in need. Tav was the first person in two centuries to ever give a damn about him, to ever bother helping him. All the heroes up and down the sword coast only saw him as what Cazador made him. With her he was never a mere spawn, he was a person. Suddenly the door swung open and Tav walked out in a huff. 

“There you are,” he called out in an almost sultry tone. Tav let out a startled gasp, not expecting him to be lounging behind her. With his heightened senses he could hear her heart begin to flutter and her cheeks redden. These little quirks of hers made it difficult to read what he was to her. During their travels she would favor his company, assist in his schemes (he would never forget how she distracted a group of travelers with lively songs while he pickpocketed them), occasionally she would even give him a sweet peck on the cheek. Yet, when he propositioned her she politely rejected him.

“I should say the same thing,” she smiled sweetly, “You left without a word.”

“Yes, and it gave our friends a wonderful opportunity to decide what to do with me once we finish our quest.” 

“I’m sorry you had to hear that, but,” Tav made her way to him, taking his hands in hers, “They have to get through me first, so don’t worry.”

“My great protector,” he laughed, “While I appreciate the sentiment it is no longer necessary. My strength will only continue to grow while theirs will fade with age and die with them. What reason do I have to worry?” 

“True,” she squeezed his hands, “Anyway, I was going to take a walk and clear my head.”

“Then I shall accompany you,” he took her hand in his, looping it around his arm, “It wouldn’t do to have such a beautiful elf wandering by herself in the city after dark.”

“Now who’s the great protector?” Tav mischievously smiled at the apparent role reversal. 

“It wouldn’t be very lordly of me otherwise. Shall we?” Astarion gestured to the mostly empty street before them. Tav replied with a nod and a curtsy. The sudden etiquette took him by surprise for a moment, but quickly realized this was his new reality. He was now entitled to the privileges and respect due to a patriar.

And he liked it.

They walked arm in arm through the Lower City in near silence, basking in the simple pleasure of each other's company. A lord and his lady. 

“Oh gods,” Tav laughed, pointing at a poorly hidden couple on the docks near Heapside Strand, “Are they even trying to hide what they’re doing?” 

“I feel bad for that poor girl. Look at him,” he waved his hand in their direction, “He looks like he’s spearing a whale! There’s no satisfaction to be had in such poor form.” The girl peeked over the boy’s shoulder and pointed at them. In turn, the boy whipped his head around.

“It seems we’ve been caught peeping, my lord,” Tav giggled, “Let’s go, we’ve embarrassed them enough.” But Astarion was just getting started.

“Hello down there!” he shouted, “Having a bit of fun are we? A bit of advice, my boy, be more sensual with your partner. She will never finish with you rutting her like a pig. Would you like me to come down and show you how it’s done?” A pair of hands fiercely dug into Astarion’s arm, forcibly dragging him away. Behind them they could hear the fading laughter of the girl and the confession that her lover was, in fact, terrible. 

Continuing their walk, now with an occasional snicker, they made their way to the now closed weapons and armor stalls. Tav looked anxiously at the one run by Karlach’s friend, Fytz, her thoughts now turning to the one loose end of the journey.

“Is everything all right, darling?” Astarion asked.

“We never found a way to calm her engine,” she sighed, resting her head on his shoulder, “I can’t let her die, Astarion, I just can’t.” 

“Worry about that when the time comes. I seem to remember that someone was trying to clear her head right now.” He was more than a little annoyed at Tav’s sudden distraction. Tonight was to be about them and he didn’t appreciate her thoughts being diverted elsewhere. Notably, he didn’t appreciate her thoughts wandering to one of those who, not even an hour ago, was contemplating whether he should be left to live when the dust had settled. 

“I know. You’re right. For now, we focus on the elder brain. After that we focus on Karlach’s engine.” She smiled and nodded. It was almost cute how she said “we” as though he was going to tag along for a post tadpole adventure. Should she wish to help the barbarian not burn to death, that was her prerogative. His endeavors lay elsewhere.

“And after that? What will you do?” Astarion lifted her chin to meet his gaze, “I could always,” he thought carefully about his next words, “use an advisor. You have proven quite useful.” An advisor, yes. That would suffice for the time being. 

Unsure of how to respond, Tav inhaled deeply as she gave the offer sincere consideration. Before she could give an answer, Astarion heard footsteps rapidly approaching. Looking at the source of the noise, he was bemused to see it was the boy from earlier. This time with a knife in hand.

“Finally caught up with you, ya loudmouth fucker!” He looked to be in his late teens or early twenties, cocksure, foolhardy, and a full head taller than the pair. Astarion and Tav took one look at him and rolled their eyes. He even turned his head to laugh.

“You made me look like a bitch in front of my girl,” he pointed the knife at Tav, “Now you can either- HEY! LOOK AT ME!” Despite the knife that was aimed at her throat, Tav was scanning the area for guards thus fueling the boy’s chagrin. Her body language made it painfully clear that a petty thief of his station was of no threat or concern to her.

“Coast is clear,” she said, ignoring her would be assailant’s command, “Tell me, my lord, have you had dinner this evening?” She patted Astarion’s arm while looking deviously at the boy. Confused, the boy turned his gaze from Tav to the now livid vampire ascendant. Astarion’s face was that of preternatural anger, inhuman, and utterly frightening. Before the boy could scream, his throat had been gripped with a force that left him struggling for air.

“I have not, darling.” With that he sank his teeth harshly into the boy’s jugular. Tav watched the boy’s futile attempt to struggle from his fate, shaking her head.

“So young. So foolish,” she lamented. Soon he went limp and ceased to be. Hiding the body was easy. With the cult running around there was no shortage of piles of bodies or mass graves. One more on the stack wouldn’t be noticed. 

“I’m growing tired of this riffraff, shall we tour the Upper City?” Astarion suggested. The hour was growing late and he decided he didn’t want to be spending what remaining time they had dealing with common criminals or, worse, beggars. At least with the criminals he could kill them and be done with it. Society felt differently when you slit the throat of the downtrodden asking for a handout. 

“Hmm,” was all she responded with. Tav looked toward the Upper City, her face full of apprehension. Astarion cocked his head, intrigued.

“Are you all right, darling?” There was a long pause from question to response, with Tav blankly staring into the distance. Then, as if nothing had happened, she resumed her confident demeanor.

“Lead the way,” she nodded.

“Very well.” Astarion was unsure of what to make of the now awkward situation. Continuing their stroll, they crossed through the Lower City Central Wall to the park where they had a playful spat about whether or not flowers were truly beautiful. Astarion, of course, had to mention the “little garish things,” as they went by. Tav pretended to not hear him. Soon after they arrived at the gate to the Upper City where they were stopped by the guards.

“Halt! No one’s permitted through at this time.” The Fist took a firm stance and placed his hand on the hilt of his blade. Astarion took a step forward, mustering a polite smile.

“Surely the gates are not closed to those of us who dwell in-”

“Piss off. I ain’t letting a couple of bumpkins in blood stained rags who I never seen before through to the Upper City.” 

“You…” Astarion snarled. He took a step forward, but Tav pulled him back. He snapped his head toward her, a bit humiliated that she would stop him from reprimanding the contemptuous guard. 

“What are you doing?” he hissed through his teeth.

“Now, now. He does have a point,” she calmly gestured at their travel worn attire, “We aren’t exactly dressed to impress. Besides,” she leaned in and whispered, “after we’re done you can always talk to his superiors about his poor conduct and get him fired. Or he could become one of many in your new spawn army.” Astarion thought for a moment and smiled.

“I do love the way you think.” Truly, he did. He loved how in sync she was with him, how he could plant an idea in that brilliant mind of hers and watch it grow and blossom into a full blown scheme. 

While he ruminated on the thought of the guard crying from unemployment, they made their way back down the street and passed the Facemaker’s Boutique. Tav abruptly stopped, her eyes widening with amazement.

“By the gods, Astarion look ,” she gasped, pointing at the window. At first, he thought Figaro had some pretty dress on display that caught her eye but then he saw it. Specifically, he saw himself.  

“It’s…me,” he walked to the window, “The ritual gave me back my reflection. After all these years. Hello again! Gods, I missed you! How did I go 200 years without seeing that face?” Astarion began posing in front of the makeshift mirror, “Oh yes, I can see what all the fuss is about!” Tav was covering her mouth the whole time, stifling her giggles.

“My first gift to you after we remove the tadpoles will be a floor length mirror. Then you can preen and primp to your heart’s content,” she gibed. Paying her no mind, he continued to study and relearn the features of his gorgeous face. Astarion pulled her in, equally impressed with how they looked side by side. 

“We are rather excellent together,” he commented, “which brings us back to my question. Will you return with me when this is over?” More footsteps approached, this time they belonged to their favorite warlock.

“There you two are! I need you to come back to the Elfsong on the double,” Wyll’s breath was heavy from his sprint, “Karlach and Minsc have had two cases of Ithbank each and now they’ve decided to make a merry contest over how many of the empty bottles they can smash over each other’s heads until they knock the other out. Jaheira and Halsin are trying to stop them, but we could use some added assistance.” 

At this point, Astarion made no attempt to hide his frustration at his complete and utter absence of luck. It was as if the gods themselves were finally taking an active role in his life after two centuries and not in a good way.

“What in the hells, why do you need us? Can’t Gale use a spell on them” he shouted.

“Oh, I’m sure he could if Minsc hadn’t missed Karlach during the first round and hit Gale instead.” Wyll laughed sheepishly.

“Lae’zel and Minthara are there, are they not?”

“As spectators, yes.”

“This is not what we need the night before we face a would-be god.” Tav ran toward the tavern, shaking her head, with Wyll not far behind her. Astarion’s eye twitched, his mouth agape.

“I should kill every single one of them,” he grumbled.

The final battle was a long, drawn out, grueling affair. Wave after wave of cultists and mindflayers tried to bar their way with no success. After what felt like an eternity, they triumphed. The tadpoles painfully shriveled and died in their skulls, taking with them the possibility of ceremorphosis. 

Safely on the docks, the group began to celebrate. For the first time in months they could finally breathe. It was being suggested that they return to the Elfsong for a well deserved rest when Karlach began to swelter.

“We did it, soldier,” she said to Tav, who immediately ran to her side. Saddened, she knew what this meant. They all did. Astarion had mixed feelings. Loathe as he was to admit it, he didn’t wish for her to meet her end like this. Yet, Tav would no longer be beholden to fixing her engine. She would be free to stand with him during his eventual takeover of Baldur’s Gate.

“No! Stop! I won’t allow this! Karlach, you’re coming with me - back to Avernus,” Wyll cried, “We can’t let her die, not like this. Not now”

“You can’t. You…” she protested.

“Enough, Karlach. The three of us will make a new life in Avernus. Together,” Tav pleaded. Gods no, Astarion thought.

“So, what do you say? Die here or live on with people who love you. Zariel won’t touch you. I swear it, Karlach.”

“All right, but we have to go now. I can’t hold on much longer.”

“Come, to Avernus! Where our next adventure awaits.” Wyll and Tav quickly opened a portal to the hells, pulling Karlach with them. And with that, she was gone. 

Chapter 2

Summary: Astarion is approached by an unknown entity during a masquerade he is hosting with an invitation for a reunion of allies. How will he feel when he sees the object of his affections once more? Will the battle hardened Tav reciprocate or play coy?

Wine was flowing, the dance floor was full, and the new lord of the crimson palace basked in the adorations of another well executed event. With the refurbishing of the ballroom now complete, Astarion thought of no better way to break it in than with a grand masquerade.

Gone were the dark walls, the heavy drapes, the dim lighting, and the overall foreboding feel of the former owner’s tacky style. Astarion chose a pale blue for the walls that he adorned with gold trimmed mirrors and light fixtures, crystal chandeliers hung from the now frescoed ceiling, and as for curtains? Why would the vampire ascendant need them? It would be a pity for his guests to be denied a view of the lush garden outside.

The attendees complimented him left and right on the new style, on how the lighting danced off the metallic fixtures and chandeliers to create an iridescent illumination. Outward, he took it in the stride befitting a lord. Inward, he loved having one more triumph over Cazador.

In truth, the new ballroom wasn’t entirely to his taste. One important lesson he learned from a certain bard was the importance of appealing to your audience. A light, cheery room would be better suited for merrymaking, which in turn would win over the city’s elite and powerful. The more they loved him, the less suspicious they would be, and that was what he needed at the moment. His plans for the city were still in their infancy, so he took no issue with sacrificing one room’s color scheme in order to build his great web.

Across the dance floor was a guest he hadn’t recognized. He was peculiarly dressed with a skull shaped mask and mingling with no one. The figure made his way across the floor, somehow managing to evade the dancing couples, and silently handed Astarion a letter of sorts. Upon inspection he noticed that its parchment quality was unremarkable, the wax seal was plain, but the writing was somewhat familiar. Obviously this wasn’t sent by one of his peers. No one in the Upper City would send such a ghastly looking note. Remembering his manners, Astarion looked up to thank the individual but by then he had already disappeared. Curious. He placed the letter on one of the servant’s trays and told them to place it on his desk. Right now he had more important things to attend to.

Hours later the masquerade came to its conclusion, allowing Astarion to retire to his private chambers to finally read whatever was on the parchment. He inspected the letter carefully by smelling it for poisons, feeling it for powders, but there was nothing. Not that any of that could cause lasting harm to him, but it’s still nice to know if he had made an enemy or two. He broke the wax seal on the envelope and pulled out the contents to reveal an invitation from Withers of all people.

“Thou art invited to return to the place where thy journey began,” he read aloud. At first he wanted to discard the invitation, but then he wondered if perhaps Tav would show up. While he had little interest in reuniting with most of his former friends, he could spare an evening for the woman who still captivated him. Perhaps she could even be convinced to return to Baldur’s Gate with him. No, that wouldn’t happen. Not yet at least. Tav was a woman of her word and she wouldn’t come home until Karlach’s engine had been repaired. Still, he hated knowing she was on another plane where he was unable to ensure her safety.

“Matteo,” he called out. Moments later a middle aged man, a thrall who served as the new chamberlain, entered the room and gave a deep bow. Astarion nonchalantly handed him the invitation and said, “Make preparations. I will be going out of town in a tenday.” Without a word, the man bowed and left. 

~~~~~

Hellwasps swarmed the trio in a vain attempt to either overwhelm them or distract them from Commander Zhula’s heavier hitters. They were quick, but Tav was quicker. She sliced and parried the insectoid devils, rapidly diminishing their numbers.

“Fuck, soldier, I’m never making fun of your little flourishes again,” Karlach laughed, sinking her axe into a magma claw. When they first met, the tiefling thought Tav’s acrobatic fighting style was ridiculous looking as it relied on graceful spins and twirls versus the brute force she was used to. That is, ‘til she saw it in action. Tav was more than happy to change her fiery friend’s opinion by cutting down scores of absolutists. Suddenly, the elegant maneuvers seemed more like a lethal dance.

“Duck!” Wyll shouted, readying a volley of arrows. Both ladies got down, letting him finish off the wasps. They readied themselves as another wave of devils began their approach when they heard an unexpected voice in their minds.

“Heroes of Baldur’s Gate! I am summoning thee to a gathering of thine allies at the place where thy journey began.” 

“Withers?!? Did you two hear that?” Tav asked.

“Don’t question it, let’s go! Withers get us out of here,” Wyll called out into the air. A portal to Faerun opened next to them and they didn’t hesitate to dart through it. The air was fresh again, the screams of the damned were replaced by chirping crickets, and the greenery. Gods, how she missed the beauty of nature! 

“Withers you mad bastard, you did it!” Karlach scooped Tav and Wyll into a hug, ecstatic at having a night of reprieve, “Commander Zhula won’t know where the fuck we went. Ha!”

“This will be perfect,” Tav noted, “Just what we needed. A night of proper rest, some good food and friends, perhaps some time to form a proper strategy to take the forge. The end of this nightmare is already in sight.” They high fived each other, then took in their surroundings. True to his word, their allies were there. Well, all but one. For the first time in months, Tav felt as though she could relax.

“Look at that spread! I plan on having half a bottle of wine myself. Oops, did I say half a bottle? I meant half a dozen.” Wyll rubbed his hands together as he made a beeline for the food and drink. Tav took a slight detour, opting for a fully clothed plunge into the nearby water. That decision was instantly regretted since the water was as cold as Avernus was hot. Still, it helped wipe some of the muck, grime, and sweat away. 

When Tav felt she was as clean as she was going to get, she followed Wyll to the table. She’d scarcely begun filling her plate with the first bits of real food she’d had in six months when her friends flocked to her. Understandably, they wanted to know all about her adventure in Avernus with Wyll and Karlach.

“It’s been hell,” she quipped, taking a seat by the bonfire. Shadowheart picked up a nearby roll and threw it at her. Not wanting to waste food, Tav happily stuffed it in her mouth, “We found blueprints that we think can fix Karlach.” The news delighted everyone. 

“Does that mean the three of you can come home soon?” Shadowheart asked enthusiastically. Wyll tried to respond, but his words were muffled by a mouthful of venison.

“That translates to yes,” Tav clarified, “But enough about us. What have all of you been up to?” Each of them took turns updating everyone about their goings-on. Some things Tav expected, such as Jaheira rebuilding the Harpers, but others surprised her. For example, she never expected Halsin to settle down and establish an orphanage. She sighed, content, listening to everyone’s stories.

An hour went by and Tav was trying not to show her disappointment that Astarion didn’t show up. When she left with Karlach and Wyll there was no time to say goodbye to anyone. It was either leave then or she risked dying. She wondered if he was upset with her, not that she would blame him. Another half an hour went by when she heard a distinct rustle. Tav ignored it, believing it to be Scratch or the owlbear.

“FANGS! YOU MADE IT,” Karlalch blurted. She stumbled a bit as she drunkenly got up and lifted Astarion off his feet in a massive hug. The look of shock and horror on his face made a few of them giggle.

“What in the hells? Put me down you insufferable oaf!” Astarion broke free from her grasp and regained his composure. Tav studied everyone. To her relief, their moods didn’t appear to be soured or hostile now that the vampire ascendant had arrived. Cautious would be an accurate description.

“Will his lordship sit with us?” Gale motioned to an empty seat next to him. Astarion side eyed the spot in question, smirking. Instead of the seat offered, he took the vacant one next to Tav.

“Hey, I was sitting there!” Karlach whined.

“And you got up,” he retorted, still riled from the earlier embarrassment. She pouted and sat next to Gale. Tav picked up an opened bottle of wine, offering to pour Astarion a cup. He politely nodded. She took great care to not spill any on what was no doubt a very expensive outfit. 

“How is ascendant life treating you, Astarion?” Jaheira asked with a stony expression. Tav winced for a moment, knowing that this was no mere question among friends. The old Harper was fishing for information.

“Splendidly! I’m finally living a life worth living,” he sipped the wine, “Cazador’s mansion has become my palace and played host to every kind of banquet, soiree, and masquerade imaginable. I would have loved to have hosted tonight’s little get together, but it seems old Withers beat me to the punch. Perhaps next time.” Astarion took another sip, purposely being vague about his activities. He and Jaheira stared at each other in uncomfortable silence.

“Is that all, Astarion?” The druid’s fierce look was accusatory, untrusting. The vampire began to wonder if she knew something or was bluffing. Tav noticed Astarion’s face slowly shift from being smugly confident to outright irritated. 

“Watch your tone, Jaheira,” he said in a low growl. The atmosphere was quickly deteriorating, so before blades could be drawn Tav stood up.

“I need some air,” she announced, “Astarion, would you like to join me?” Neither he nor Jaheira were taking their eyes of the other. Calmly, he got up and resumed his smug confidence.

“Darling, I would love nothing more than to accompany you.” He gave a slight bow and followed her to the shoreline. Tav looked over his shoulder to assess how much privacy they’d been afforded. Most of them were back to enjoying each other’s company, except Jaheira. It was obvious she was trying to listen in. Tav turned her back to her and pressed close to Astarion.

“All right, what have you really been up to?” she bluntly asked.

“Oh my dear, you wound me,” he chuckled, “All of what I said was accurate, but I may have left out the clandestine deals, unrestrained hedonism, and the occasional disappearance,” he paused when Tav snorted, “I’m spinning my web. Power grows slowly, but I have nothing but time now.”

“That sounds more like you.” She liked this new self assuredness of his, this certainty about him. Most of all, she loved that after all this time he looked happy. In his element. Although it did make her increasingly self conscious being next to him. Here he was in fine silks, jewels, and gold while she was in scorched rags. 

“I do miss you, you know. There’s a sense of loneliness that comes with power. We did share a great adventure together. A pity to see it end, in some ways. But, we have great new lives stretching before us.”

“Just don’t get too soft in your great new life,” she teased, “I would hate to see a merry band of adventurers show up at your doorstep because they found out you’ve been spending your days in revelry and not training.” 

Astarion laughed, waving his hand, “I almost wish they would. I have yet to have an opportunity to flex my ever growing powers.”

“Oh? Perhaps you’ll spar with me when I return from the hells. I’d love to test my mettle against the vampire ascendant. I want to see what you can do now.”

“Darling,” he slid his hand around her waist, pulling her close, “I would love to show you everything I can do.” Astarion felt her heart pound as he leaned his face to her ear, “Is Mother Dear still watching?”

“Uh,” she stammered, quickly glancing at the now sleeping Jaheira, “Ha! She’s asleep. Old woman can’t stay up late anymore it seems.” She felt a second hand make its way to the small of her back, his lips brushed against her neck. causing her to shudder.

“Just a nibble? For old time’s sake?” he cooed. She nodded in consent. Fangs pricked her neck in a familiar way, her heart throbbing as he took just enough of her lifeblood to be satisfied. This time, in a break from his traditional feeding habit, he sensually licked the puncture wounds. Tav certainly wasn’t expecting that and she certainly wasn’t expecting to moan when he did. Mortified, she pulled away, her face beet red.

“I think I should lay down. Too much wine.” No one was buying that excuse. She nodded and returned to the tents. 

~~~~~

Astarion felt a sense of pride well within him as he watched Tav make her way back to the party, taking great pleasure watching her stumble and waver over the terrain. The steadfast leader, now flustered and shy. It was kind of cute, in a way.

The festivities had begun to die down at this point. Everyone was either fast asleep or on their way to their bedrolls. Lae’zel’s astral projection had evaporated and Minthara was long gone. Astarion tilted his head, seeing the humor of how six months ago they were discussing whether or not they could trust him. Now, they were peacefully asleep in his very awake presence. He could end them all right now if he chose.

Such a motley crew they were. He looked at Karlach, Wyll, Shadowheart, Minsc, and Jaheira huddled under one tent, Halsin meditating next to the owlbear and Scratch, Gale resting with Tara on his chest, and he honestly wondered how in the hells they managed to beat the Absolute. Then he looked at Tav, feeling no envy for the task she bore for so long. It must have been like herding cats.

Tav was deep in her trance in a smaller tent. He laid down next to her, stealthily as to not disturb her rest. Gods, she was beautiful! As much as he hated laying in the dirt like the pathetic spawn he used to be, he would tolerate it to be next to the one he deemed worthy of his obsession. 

Her eyes began to rapidly flutter and her body twitched. Astarion recognized this all too well. Unlike other races, elves did not sleep. They relived memories of their pasts and if your life was full of torment, well, rest did not come easy. Gently, he shook her out of her trance. She awoke with a start, breathing heavily. Astarion brought her groggy head to his chest where she immediately fell back into rest. Yes, this could be tolerated.

Morning came far too quick. The camp stirred, coming to life one more time before they would again part ways. Tav shifted against him as she woke up and was a bit surprised upon seeing where exactly she was. He gave no indication of being put off, that is until Gale called her over to speak in private. 

“I’ll be back,” she said, getting up. Gale looked to and fro, giddy as a schoolboy. He took her hands in his and whispered some nonsense to her that Astarion couldn’t care less about. He didn’t like the way Gale was speaking to her, the laughing, the giggling, it made him boil with jealousy. 

“Hey soldier, the engine’s starting to act up. We’ll need to leave soon,” Karlach hollered. Tav and Gale finished conversing, giving each other a quick hug before she ran off to do the same with the others. Finally, she came to him.

“I guess this is it,” her hands fidgeted, “Will I see you again?” A smile formed on the vampire’s face. 

“Of course my dear. In fact, you’ll need to come to the Crimson Palace if you want your precious harp back.” During the ruckus on the docks between the Netherbrain’s defeat and Karlach’s impending doom, Tav dropped her harp. It was a gift from her grandfatherly figure and held great sentimental value to her. Astarion thought it best to keep it safely stored in his mansion. 

“My harp? You kept it for me?” She looked elated when he nodded, “Astarion…Thank you!”

“Then you will come to me when you’re done?”

“Hmm,” she grinned impishly, “I just might.” Tav waved one last time, then stepped into the infernal portal with Karlach and Wyll. Six months and he finally had his answer.