#Sorry but no. You’re not smarter than everyone else and you’re not fooling anyone; if you want skills you have to work for it

[theres-whump-in-that-nebula]

lmfao someone who commissioned AI generated images from Bing and tagged them as “fanart” tried to follow me, an actual digital artist. Blocked.

[chaoticspacefam]

What’s Your OC’s Core? Meme

Late to the party (as always) so sorry!! But I was tagged by @walk-ng-d-saster , @raven-of-domain-kwaad & @darth-bagel. Of course, as any proud parent would, I’m going to use this as an excuse to do 3 characters XD Tagging: (no pressure, only if you want to!) @a-master-procrastinator @vihola @tearlessrain @outcastcommander @mercurypilgrim and anyone else who hasn’t been tagged yet but wants to do it!! Rules: Take the "once you're stripped clean, what's at your core quiz" here. Answer as your OC and share your results.

These were freakishly accurate and I’m a little scared /lh

Rippling Sunset - Saarai Ahaszaai

you’re the nicest person i’ll ever meet, probably. with an undying passion to protect those who can’t protect themselves, you’re energetic and bubbly to a fault. it’s cute, watching you run around trying to tie up loose ends. i feel bad for you — out of everyone you know, you probably have some of the deepest trauma, more than anyone’s aware of. this isn’t something that you want attention for at all, and you’d really just rather forget it exists at all… even then, it seems like you can never escape it. i wish you a pleasant rest of your life, full of rippling sunsets and free of prying eyes. 

Acerbic Wit - Ni’kasi Ahaszaai

you're a mentor — an old scarred wolf, an injured soldier, a disgraced paladin. your teachings read as shamelessly pretentious, speaking in rhymes and biting down hard into anyone stupid enough to make the wrong move. this isn't your first life, nor your second, nor your sixth — you'll make the most of your time shackled to this world, no matter how many loops it takes to get it right. with every defeat, you reincarnate; a little smarter, a little quicker, crueler and nastier. will you choose to be brutal, equalizing, that final strike in the face of your enemies? will you go soft, become tender and domesticated? the choice is yours. it's not like i can stop you.

Silent Admission - Aria Saal-Shenly

in tarot, the fool is numbered 0 – the number of unlimited potential. as the protagonist, he is ever present and therefore needs no number as well as no introduction. the world revolves around you in ways that i can't begin to describe, though you'd shrug it off if i were to begin to explain. i need you to know that time is running out. if you want to get this done, you need to start now. sloth is your greatest enemy in this world, and you can only run so far from the opposition when you start with such a disadvantage. keep your head high, yeah? the kid you were is still in there somewhere. you need to show him that it was worth it.

[1kook]

card swiped (4)

→ jeon jungkook x (f) reader

→ “I’ve known Jungkook was a virgin since he first tried to tell me he wasn’t,” you tell him, arms crossed over your chest. “I’m pretty sure everyone knows.” GENRE romance (romcom?), eventual smut, teensy angst WARNING mentions of a hand job, talk of virginity OTHER college crushes, volleyball player!jk, student council president!oc, idiots to lovers, besties to lovers, childhood friends au RATING m (18+) bc brief sex ment WC 1.6k

NOTES (!) sorry for taking so long to update </3 school be kicking my ass. anyway here they are! an idiot couple. lmk what u think!!

[ masterlist ] 

In the past, whenever something had bothered you, the first person you ran to was Jungkook. Low grades, fights with your parents, boy drama— as your best friend and number one confidant, Jungkook was always your first choice. He was always willing to lend you a shoulder to cry on, even if that meant staining his white t-shirts with streaks of your mascara. He was always ready to go beat up a mean boy who had hurt your feelings during lunch, even if he’d miss his favorite special. And he was always down for some good old fashion i hate my parents ranting, even if he adored your parents. He was a great listener, an even better best friend, and had rightfully won you over from a very young age. 

That being said, how were you supposed to talk to Jungkook about something that bothered you when that something was him? 

You could easily tell any of your numerous girl friends, those of which would probably understand your predicament better than Jungkook or any man ever could. But after years of vehemently denying any notion of a romantic relationship between the two of you, you get the feeling your call for help will be met with more unimpressed glares than actual assistance. Besides, as much as you bring up Jungkook, none of them really know Jungkook to truly offer you any worthwhile advice. 

Your next option: Kim Taehyung. Now, Kim Taehyung held a similar background as Jungkook (translation: he also went to the same high school as you). He knows both you and Jungkook—frankly, more than you’d like him to—so he would be able to dissect the issue easily and offer trustworthy advice. The problem with Kim Taehyung, however, is that aside from knowing you at your embarrassingly dorky teenage prime, he doesn’t know how to keep a secret. Anything he knows, Jungkook knows. So if you were to, hypothetically, ask Taehyung for advice on Jungkook, well. Chances are, you’d probably get a rather confused text from Jungkook two minutes later. 

Which leaves you with one option— Park Jimin. There’s a reason Park Jimin isn’t your first option, and that reason presents itself now as you glare at him from across the empty room. For as long as you’ve been in university, Jimin has always lingered around the student council meetings, giving everyone he sees the prettiest, meanest stink-eye. You suspect it’s because he waits around for Min Yoongi, your Vice President (which isn’t an issue; Jungkook also frequents student council meetings while waiting for you), and doesn’t really care for anyone else. Your problem with Jimin doesn’t lie there but rather with the fact he’s adamant on taking up space and not lending so much as a finger to help. 

Today he is sitting with his feet on the table, dirty volleyball bag tossed on the floor. He’s watched you for the last fifteen minutes wrestle with the broken copy machine and hasn’t said a word since. He pretends he doesn’t see you struggling, because if he does, he’d be obligated to help you. 

To summarize, Park Jimin may be the fastest libero your university’s volleyball team has seen in years, but he’s a good-for-nothing bum everywhere else. 

And despite all that, he’s your best choice. There’s no one quite as blunt and honest as Park Jimin. There’s no one in this world who truly doesn’t care enough about anyone’s problems to gossip about them as Park Jimin. You plop down beside him, rumpled papers in hand. Without warning, you jump straight into it. “Jungkook is going to take my virginity,” you announce, like it’s the most casual thing in the world. If any of your fellow student council members heard you, you’re certain you’d shrivel up and die. 

Jimin hums. “That’s nice.” His eyes don’t leave his phone, thumb hovering over his screen. It’s a testament to how much he truly does not care. His extended silence plants a seed of doubt in you— was this the right person to tell? you begin to worry. But after a beat, Jimin’s thumb taps against his screen and he says, “Jungkook is a virgin.” 

You clench your jaw. “I know.” 

The thing about Jimin is, with the right wording, you can get him interested in something. Not interested enough to genuinely care, but interested enough to at least listen and offer his own piece of straightforward advice. His thumb comes to a standstill over his phone, eyes momentarily going blank. It’s a minute gesture, one that’s taken you four years of paying attention to catch. Just as quickly as it appears, it’s gone. “Really,” Jimin sighs, back to, you now realize, playing CandyCrush on his phone. “You’re gonna let a virgin take your virginity.”

Not a question, but you nod anyway. “Yup.” 

There’s sweat building on the back of your neck, nerves at an all time high, but you’re trying to play it off. Just a little bit more and you know you’ll have caught him. Beside you, Jimin’s jaw twitches. 

Finally, after what seems like an eternity of trying to act calm, Jimin clicks his phone off and turns to you. He’s as intimidating as ever, ash blonde hair pushed back today to reveal his forehead and dark eyes. “You’ve known Jungkook was a virgin this whole time?” he asks, has this calculating look in his eyes that makes you feel like you’re being questioned by an officer of the law and not the shortest person on the volleyball team. 

With a practiced air of nonchalance, you shrug. “I have,” you confess, and it’s the truth. 

While you may have been initially fooled that night two years ago, you weren’t that oblivious. Oh, you knew clear as day that Jeon Jungkook was still a virgin, just as well as you knew that he religiously washed his sheets every weekend or that he had a specific color coded system for his underwear drawer. Jungkook was a fool to try and lie to you, not only because you had found out, but because you had found out that very next morning. 

It had been subtle. The night at the party, you had watched on with a throbbing heartache as some pretty girl led Jungkook up a set of stairs, had barely fought off a wave of emotion when he returned twenty minutes later, his hair a rumpled mess. “Did you… ?” you had mumbled, pressed closely against him by the back door. Your eyes had been glassy, from your emotions and from the drunken stupor you had gotten yourself into while he was away, wondering what he was doing. A sense of jealousy you would never admit to had curled around your heart. His hand had landed on your hip then. He smelled like flowers and vanilla, a smell unlike his own. Your heart clenched, hand mindlessly reaching up to cup his jaw, so drunk and heartbroken, you couldn’t stop yourself from trailing your fingers along his pretty cheekbones. 

Jungkook had graced you with a simple nod, and then, “do you wanna leave now?” 

You’d left, stumbling down Greek road on your way back to his dorm. Jungkook had held your hand the whole way, tucked you into his twin bed, and then promptly knocked out on the floor between his and Taehyung’s beds. The latter was nowhere to be found, wouldn’t appear until the next morning when he’d accidentally step on Jungkook’s ankle and wake both of you up. 

Jungkook had yelped, and your eyes had fluttered open. You remember debating rolling over, checking on him like you wanted to, but Taehyung was already there doing just that. So you had laid still instead, listened as the two boys clattered around the room. They chatted mindlessly, about the party and tomorrow’s practice. Taehyung had been bragging about some girl he’d slept with last night. “What about you?” he had asked, and your breath caught in your throat. “Did you and…”—a pause, the distinct ruffle of fabric—“finally?” 

“What— no,” Jungkook had said, and you felt the bed dip as he sat down on the edge beside you.

Taehyung pushed on with a snort. “Well, did you get lucky at all?”

Jungkook groaned, placed one warm hand on your back soothingly. You tried your best to level out your breathing, relaxed your facial expression as you clung to the sound of his voice. “Just a handjob. Some girl I didn’t even know. Does that count?” You could hear your heartbeat in your ears, felt it beneath your fingertips when you fisted the sheets. 

And that curt admission sat in the back of your mind everyday for two years. 

You turn to Jimin. “I’ve known Jungkook was a virgin since he first tried to tell me he wasn’t,” you tell him, arms crossed over your chest. “I’m pretty sure everyone knows.”

Jimin lets out a low whistle. “You’re smarter than I thought,” he grins, this conniving little smile that is a genuine cause for concern. “So you’re letting him think you don’t know?” You nod. Jimin’s smile grows. “My, my. If I had known you were this evil, maybe we would’ve hung out more.” 

You roll your eyes. “I’m not evil,” you insist, flicking him on the nose. Jimin huffs indignantly. “I think what he’s doing is sweet…” you confess, feel your entire body heat up as you recall that wide-eyed look Jungkook had given you just yesterday afternoon, your kiss print fresh on his cheek. “And, well,” you look down at your shoes. “I used to dream about him being my first.” 

Jimin groans. “You two make me sick.”

Copyright © 2021, 1kook on tumblr. absolutely NO reposts allowed.

[dreme-inc]

Carol, Maggie, Michonne, Alpha , Andrea reacting to a female reader who has fainting spells fainting against them/in their arms?

A fainting spell and hiding an injury from them. Carol, Maggie, Michonne, Andrea, and Rosita (no explicit gender mentioned). Alpha is missing because I don't know too much on her character, so sorry. Please enjoy, friend :) Please forgive, too, but I hope it was worth the wait ❤️‍🩹😔😊

Will you catch me if I fall? ⟻

⟼ Carol

If you're prone to fainting, she's likely more aware of when it'll happen than you do. She does keep a closer eye on you, but by the time you could even realize being unwell, she's at your side with hands on your arms- gently holding you and steadying you before your chance to fall. She's your anchor, really.

The first time you fell into her arms, she, like quite a few of these females, was very business. Get you somewhere safe and her thoughts swear to anyone out there listening you better be alright when it's all over. Reminded you and herself you're in good hands because you're in hers; she'll keep you safe, she promises.

Peletier is understandably quite angry when she discovers you hiding an injury. She speaks in a light scold, any injury no matter if deemed insignificant needs to be brought to light. If saying it's to the group's safety isn't enough, she'll say it's to her own peace of mind then.

⟼ Maggie

She's very worried, but if you're alright with it, very open and responsive to learning. Is it a condition? Is there anything she can do to ease the burden on you? She's very understanding and without judgement, and while it'll admittedly be a bit of a challenge, she'd fight anyone who dared bring it as a reason to leave you behind. It'll be tough, but you're both tougher, together.

You're in her arms when you fell the first time, and she is panicked, but it's interestingly conveyed. On your sake, she's aware you'd want her to concentrate on the safety of everyone, but you're a priority to her regardless. She's commanding the others quite effectively whilst fueled by adrenaline to carry your body (in whichever position is appropriate and realistic to your body definition, of course :)). Stay with her, love.

Greene's annoyed when she finds the injury you've been hiding but it doesn't show when she's speaking to you. It's only really referred to if you ever consider doing it again. Please, tell her these things, she'd plead to you if she must. She wants you to say because she needs to get you both out of a situation if it arises.

⟼ Michonne

Much like Carol, she is incredibly aware and very observant. Fainting doesn't even have to have happened to you before and she's beside you, questioning if you're alright or if you need a break. She either keeps you in her peripherals or stays close enough to brush her fingertips on your arms in gentle reassuring touches, sharing small stolen smiles with you all the while.

What she does doesn't match what she thinks as she catches you fainting straight into her arms. On the outside, she's very calm. On the inside, she's fighting against the worry pooling in her gut. Not again, not again. She's tearing through the horde, and if you could see her, you'd likely fall in love all over again if it weren't such a dreary circumstance.

Hawthorne understands. She recognizes what you're trying to do really, is the way she starts the conversation concerning your hidden wound. She tries telling you these times aren't the same as they once were. She laughs a little then, and shakes her head affectionately. The world surrounding you both is changing, while her love towards you never will.

⟼ Andrea

She's very business but you're aware she means well when she starts her questioning on what's best to do if you have fainting spells. Even if it didn't appear so to anyone, she's softer when it comes to you, and listens intently on your preferences and suggestions should you fall anywhere. People're going to use this against you, she's no fool, and so she needs as much information as she can if she were to protect you.

Is just so stunned and caught off-guard the first time you fall down, crashing into her arms... why? Who did this to you? Admittedly, her brain is on pause as she watches you for only a moment, but it's one of those to seem like a long time. She never thought she'd have one happen, but she sees you resting peacefully despite everything, and it doesn't sit well. If she could protect you from the world.

Concealing a wound could cause an argument because it boils down to it scaring her. You managed getting injured and even then wanting to hide it from her, and it hurts. It's a time seeing her really vulnerable. Please don't do this, you're smarter and better than this.

⟼ Rosita

Very much like Maggie and Andrea, is interested in speaking on what it is and what can be done. Is there anything she can do? Anything you'd prefer her to do when you're unwell? She'll make it work for you, somehow.

You can see the concern on her face the first time she spots you starting to fall. She's running towards you before she's had a chance to think. Noticing when no one else did, and the next moment you're safe in her arms. It proves to drive her more than it distracts, and her first move is finding you someplace safe. Everything else, the why, the when, the what, it'll all wait until you're both in a better circumstance.

Espinosa is a little lost at first since she's hit with a lot of thoughts at once when she finds your hidden injuries. It's a combination of being shocked because she respects you as much as she respects herself (you two're the couple to beat) and not knowing the reasons why you'd try to hide from her. She'd tell you, please tell her because she'd despise it if she heard of your wounds through someone else. It meant she wasn't with you right away. Any reason for hiding pales compared to what you two have.

[syllvane]

muscle memory pt. 3- sylvie x reader

a/n: i said i was going to post tomorrow but i couldn’t help myself. anyways, spoilers for episode 2 and 3 of loki, minor spoilers for the beginning of episode 3. final word count is 1.7k words!

read the previous part  read the next part   read the series  

“How is Loki doing?” You asked Mobius, walking with him to the mess hall.

“He’s doing great. Making real progress, I would say.”

“Didn’t you have to have a meeting with Renslayer this morning because of his actions?” You asked, raising your eyebrows. His face scrunched up for a second.

“It’s like every time he is making progress, he takes two steps back.”

“That sounds more believable. You still think he’s worth all the trouble though?”

Mobius sighed slightly. “I really do believe in him. It’s not just an issue of whether I believe in him though, it’s whether Ravonna and the Timekeepers do.”

“Oh, you’re on first name basis now, with Renslayer?” You turned and grinned at Mobius, who immediately flushed after realizing his mistake.

“Not a word of this to anyone.” He said strictly, although there was a smile on his face as well.

“Yeah, yeah.” You said, standing in line with Mobius as he ordered his lunch before sitting down at a two-seat table. “Ravonna and Mobius-”

“C-7.” Mobius said strictly, although you could tell he was partly amused by your antics.

You continued in the same quiet, sing-songy voice as before.

“-on a jet ski. K-I-S-S-I-N-G.”

Mobius finished taking a sip of his drink and then applauded quietly, so as to not draw attention.

“Has anyone ever told you that you truly have all the originality of a grade-schooler?”

Before you could answer, you were interrupted by a tall man with long dark hair speed walking over to where Mobius and you were sitting.

Although he seemed to be in a hurry, you could tell that he was sizing up everybody in the room, including yourself.

“I found- oh, sorry. Didn’t see you there. Would you mind moving so that me and my partner could discuss something?” He asked politely, even smiling.

You locked eyes with him, smiling back at him.

“I’m good, thanks. You can just pull up a chair.”

His smile wavered and he maintained eye contact for a couple of moments longer before breaking it, going to a different table and pulling over a chair.

(You ignored the pointed look Mobius shot at you, like he was asking you to be the bigger person here. Unfortunately for him, you had no such intentions.)

“Right. I know how the Variant is hiding.”

Mobius leaned back.

“Talk about burying the lead. How?”

Loki smiled slightly, this smile much different from his last- he was proud of himself.

“He’s hiding in apocalypses.” 

There was a moment of silence. You and Mobius exchanged a glance.

“Which one? There’s like a million all across history.” Mobius pointed out and Loki took a second to compose himself before starting his explanation.

You sat back as he explained his reasoning, watching with amusement as he put more salt and pepper into Mobius’ salad, handing him your own drink when he realized that Mobius’ drink was empty.

He gave you a nod of recognition and Mobius sent you another, even more exasperated glance as Loki poured your drink into the salad (although, in your opinion, seeing Loki grin like that made it worth it).

                                                             —— “How was Pompeii?” You asked, not even having to look up from the apocalypse case files to figure out that it was Loki who was approaching you.

He stopped for a minute, almost taken aback by your observation, before continuing and taking a seat in front of you.

“I was right, naturally.”

You scoffed slightly.

“Naturally.”

You looked up at him to find that his piercing eyes were already looking at you, almost curiously.

“You’re already sorting through the apocalypse files.”

“Naturally occurring disasters with no survivors, cross-referenced with the candy that Mobius picked up. You were confident that you were right so I figured I should start looking.”

Loki raised his eyebrows and smiled slightly.

“You’re smarter than you look. Could’ve saved me and Mobius some time.” 

“He forgot to cross-reference?”

He nodded, hesitating for a moment before he grabbed some of the files that you hadn’t started looking over yet.

You looked at him appreciatively, though he wasn’t looking at you anymore. 

The two of you sat there, looking at the case files in a comfortable silence for a couple of minutes before Mobius walked into your office as well.

“What’s this?” Mobius asked, taking a cursory glance at the file on top.

“Kablooie.” You said simply and Mobius sighed slightly, frustrated that he hadn’t thought of it.

He grabbed a couple of files as well, standing up as he started reading.

“I think I have something,” Loki said a couple of minutes later, splaying the case out on your desk so that everyone could see. “Class ten apocalypse. Alabama, 2050.”

You looked it over and even just with a cursory glance, you could tell that this is where the Variant was hiding- you looked over at Mobius and saw pride on his face.

“You’re gonna take my job if I’m not careful.”

“Now to pitch it to Renslayer.” You said and Mobius nodded, already halfway out of your office. He closed the door behind him and you looked at Loki. “I don’t think I’ve seen him this excited in a while. In fact, the last time I saw him this excited, I think we saw a jet ski on a mission.”

Loki smiled to himself, though the expression disappeared when he looked back at you.

“And what about you?”

“Hm?” You tilted your head slightly, caught off-guard by the question.

“What excites you?” 

You held his gaze for a couple of moments, feeling uncomfortable with how he looked at you, as if he knew something about you that you didn’t know about yourself. 

You finally looked away, standing up.

“We should go meet Mobius. We’ll be heading out as soon as he gets the approval.”

“You say this like it’s a sure thing.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Renslayer say no to him. Come on.”

                                                          ——

The rain sounded a hundred times louder when you were listening to it hit the roof of the Roxxcart, so loud that you could barely hear the sound of your own voice above the noise.

“What are you doing here?” You asked, positioning your reset baton defensively. The man standing by the plants seemed to hesitate slightly, although he was still much too calm for this kind of weather.

“Hurricane sale. Azaleas are half-off.”

“Could that be you?” You asked Loki, your eyes never leaving the man. Although his eyes continued to look between you and Loki, his gaze lingered on you longer.

“I… mean… I would’ve worn a suit, but it could be.”

You took a couple steps towards the man and he backed up, looking at you pleadingly.

“I don’t want to do this.” He said quietly and you tilted your head slightly, confused.

You took another step towards him.

“What-”

He grabbed your arm and a warm feeling came over your body.

A woman’s voice in your head lulled you to sleep, promising to bring you home and then everything went dark.

…

“Sylv, why are you acting so weird?” You asked, taking another sip of wine.

The blonde woman across from you smiled, although you could tell that she was forcing it for your sake.

“Another one of my suitors came and visited me today.” She said. You made a face and she laughed slightly.

“Complete fools, every one of them.”

“Fools for being deeply in love with me?” She asked, raising an eyebrow, almost as if she was allowing herself to play the part for a couple of brief moments.

“No, I’m above self-flagellation. They’re fools for thinking that they could ever win your heart.”

She laughed.

“And why is that?”

You leaned back in your chair.

“I have it on very good account that someone already has it.” You said and Sylvie‘s smile faded and her gaze didn’t quite meet yours, almost as if her mind was preoccupied elsewhere.

She looked back at you, her look apologetic.

The scene around you grew distorted, nothing quite clear anymore.

“I’m sorry.”

Her words repeated everywhere around you like you were in an echo chamber rather than…

Rather than…

Where were you?

The blonde woman that had been there a moment ago disappeared and with her, everything else.

…

When you came to, Mobius was kneeling beside you, waiting for you to wake up.

“C-7… are you okay?” He asked slowly, looking at you with more concern than you think anyone else ever has.

You propped yourself up and you looked around wildly for Loki or for the blonde woman- Sylvie- who had been in your head.

“Where are they?” You asked and you hated how desperate your voice sounded.

“They escaped. Take it easy, the Variant did a number on-”

“Mobius, I have to find her.” You said, trying to stand up only to be overwhelmed with nausea and dizziness.

Mobius supported you, keeping you from falling back onto the ground.

“I know. And we will, but we have more pressing issues right now. Come on.”

You didn’t protest, knowing that you wouldn’t be able to convince Mobius even if you promised to get him a jet ski afterwards.

What you had to do now, you would do alone.

He helped you through the portal back to the TVA and the rest of your team followed, all of them being immediately assigned to different Nexus events that were happening simultaneously.

You, being injured, were given the pass to stay back at the TVA. 

You wondered if the Timekeepers knew what you were about to do, if they could’ve predicted it- after all, they were the ones who had made you, right?

You headed to the sector of the TVA where they issued TemPads, looking at the data of where all the TemPads were jumping to and from when you stumbled upon something odd- there was a TemPad that only had one jump registered in its entire history.

TVA to Lamentis-1, 2077.

Huh.

The Variant- Sylvie- whatever her name was, must’ve found out a way to stop the TemPad from feeding data into the system, but it must’ve reset when she jumped to the TVA.

You grabbed one of the TemPad’s that were out of commission for charging, unplugging it. 

It was low on battery, but it would have to do.

You opened a portal for yourself using the exact same coordinates and time that they had put in and without any hesitation, you walked through.

[sebsbrokentoe]

Supply Closet

masterlist

warnings: nothing, pure fluff, nosy Sam but we love him, nothing else i could think of. all mistakes are mine.

please like and reblog

word count: 1696

“What are you doing?” Sam eyed you curiously at the way you were hiding behind him, seeing as you were the same height as him, it was like a giraffe hiding behind another giraffe. 

“I’m looking for my dignity, can’t you see” You sarcastically replied to him as if it wasn’t obvious you were trying to hide from Bucky. 

You didn’t realise when you had a crush on Bucky, it just developed over the moments you had with each other. You both had gotten close over a few months. It started just as small glances when you passed each other in the hallway but then it became sneaking off in the kitchen talking about anything. Then it became more, you knew he had nightmares, which is why he came at any hour of the night to see you. You, on the other hand, just couldn’t sleep at night, you didn’t have nightmares or anything, you just couldn’t so instead you started to bake or cook whenever you couldn’t sleep. Tony had an unlimited amount of supplies so why not use them. You rarely shared your treats with anyone, so when you started offering them to Bucky and eventually making what he liked, you, along with the rest of the team put the pieces together, well everyone except Bucky. 

You tried to make your flirting obvious but every time you tried to flirt, you’d just make a fool of yourself and he’d laugh. Normally your flirting came naturally, especially with Bucky but you didn’t think he saw it that way. You were fine with things that way, you didn’t want to tell Bucky about your feelings in case you ruined your friendship, so you hid your feelings, horribly.

This time you decided to hide from Bucky because in your idiotic mind if you didn’t see him you wouldn’t have feelings for him. You swore you were smarter than that but not when it comes to Bucky. So now here you are, trying to hide behind Sam and doing a horrible amazing job. 

“Why the hell are you hiding from Barnes?” Sam stopped in the midst of his walk to turn around to talk to you.

“Don’t move he’ll see me, just keep moving and stop looking suspicious” You squatted behind him in case Bucky turned this way. 

“He’ll see us when we walk past him anyway and answer my question, why are you ignoring him?”  Seeing as your disguise wasn’t working, you quickly pulled Sam away in the opposite direction of Bucky, but he saw both of you and quickly misinterpreted the situation.

 Seeing as every time you ignored Bucky you would go to Sam, Bucky thought of the two of you becoming more than friends and he didn’t like how he felt about it. He was just bad at saying what he felt, especially when it came to his feelings for you. Normally he could talk about anything with you but he always felt flustered when it became about what he felt for you because you were special to him. When you came on the team and saw him around the compound, you didn’t hide from him and you weren’t scared of him either. You always greeted him with a smile on your face and since then instead of glaring at everyone who would give him a second glance he would give them a small smile as if your joy rubbed off on him. 

He didn’t even second guess himself when he started to talk to you about his nightmares. Every night, when he couldn’t sleep, he knew he would find you in the kitchen making something and just the sight of you standing in the kitchen with flour all over you was enough for him to calm down from whatever woke him up. So your conversations came naturally, there was no push to talk about anything and if it got awkward, you would quickly talk about something else, while Bucky listened to you. Bucky for the first time in a long time felt peace. Of course, he had Steve, but you were different, you didn’t know anything about him yet it felt like you knew each other for your entire lives. 

So when Bucky saw you heading off with Sam, he didn’t like what he felt. He didn’t want to come to conclusions but you’ve been acting weird lately. You haven’t been baking when he came into the kitchen at night, he never saw you around the common room anymore. He didn’t want to let anyone know, but he was worried, he was worried that he was losing you and he didn’t want to but he wasn’t one for a confrontation so he thought he’d try to forget about it for now. 

You successfully pulled Sam away from anywhere near Bucky and steered him towards a closet, not completely closing the door. To anyone else, it may seem like you were more than friends about to have a hot moment in the supply closet, but it wasn’t anything like that.

“Okay, you need to listen to me and don't interrupt me and I swear to God you better not tell anyone about this, got it?” Maybe you were overreacting but you’d rather not die of humiliation if everyone finds out that you have a crush on Bucky. It didn’t matter if they probably figured it out but both you and Bucky brushed the rumours, with the excuse that you were just friends and for a while you believed it, thinking that Bucky didn’t need to get in a relationship right now, so you never thought of it. But now, after all the time you two spent together, getting closer than others in the compound and the fact that he trusted you to talk about anything, you cherished that and part of you didn’t want to ruin the wonderful friendship you had. 

“Jeez woman alright, I won’t tell a soul that you’re in love with Barnes' “. That smirky ass held his hand up like he was being sworn in, almost laughing at you, but hiding it with a cough. 

“I’m not in love with him” You scoffed at that, even though he was right, but you didn’t want him to be right, because if he is, then if this got out to Bucky, you’ll be screwed and not in a good way.

He raised an eyebrow at your confession, not believing a word you said, but urges you to continue. 

“Okay, maybe I have feelings for him, but I can't let anyone know, especially Bucky. I don’t need my heart broken because I couldn't keep my mouth shut.”. You started to ramble not seeing what signals Sam was giving you, trying to ignore his distractions to continue your rant. 

“Hey um, maybe we should talk another time-” You interrupted him again, not understanding what he was h trying to do. 

“Stop interrupting me, I need to talk to someone about this and while you’re not my first choice, you’re here so shut up and listen” Before Sam could say anything, the door opened wider, with the last person you wanted to see behind it. Staring at Bucky with your mouth slightly opened, not saying a word, Sam slipped out between the two of you, not needed anymore. 

You tried to move but of course, you were having a dumb moment, which you had a lot around Bucky, but usually, you hid it better. Before you could say anything, Bucky closed the door behind him and walked closer to you and suddenly, the room seemed a hell of a lot smaller and jeez was it harm in there. He stopped right in front of you, which made it easy for him to hear your shaky breaths. 

“Why have you been ignoring me?” You were surprised, thinking Bucky would ask right away about what he heard between you and Sam, but you knew he wouldn’t understand your stupidity. So instead of beating around the bush, you decided to get to the point.

“I’m sorry, I just-, I was just being immature. I thought that I should stay away from you because I thought my feelings would get in the way and make you uncomfortable. I know you don’t like me like that so I didn’t want to tell you to mess up our friendship and I’m sorry for how I’ve treated you recently and I’m-”

Suddenly you were cut off by warm lips and you felt every emotion from that kiss. It was better than you could’ve ever imagined. He pulled back way too soon, showing that special smile that only a few have had the pleasure of seeing. You smiled back, the small curve on your lips turning into a full-on grin. 

“Do you need an explanation for that or do I need to do it again?” He said cheekily while holding your face with his large hands, both of you now laughing at his statement. 

“I don't think I quite got that, you may need to do it a few more times” You giggled again, linking your arms around his waist, pulling him closer to kiss him again, only this time being interrupted by cheering behind the door.

“Fucking finally” You knew that had to be Sam, who probably brought everyone else to see what was going to end up happening. 

“Shut up dickhead” Bucky yelled from your embrace, trying to sound stern, but you saw the small smile on his lips. 

I think we could finish this in the bedroom, don’t you think, I may still need help understanding what you meant” before you could even finish your sentence, you were lifted in the air, your legs latching around his waist, while he tried to get through the herd of ‘supporters’ outside the supply closet. Both of you were laughing, trying to get to the bedroom before someone followed you, knowing that someone definitely would.

“Remind me to tell F.R.I.D.A.Y not to let Sam near our room” You giggled in his neck, nodding slightly as he gripped your thighs more, leaving a small kiss on your temple. 

tags: @especially-obsessed​ | @leyannrae​ | @becca-e-barnes​ 

[lilyharvord]

The Chain (Part 10)

Main concept: Two love struck idiots get sent back to a pretty UGH time period in their lives (that required me to reread all the books again) and have to hide the fact that they know everything.  

Find the rest of the fic here: part 1 / part 2 / part 3 / part 4 / part 5 / part 6 / part 7 / part 8 / part 9

Tag list: @delilahlbard, @king-maven-calore, @thatoddgirl777, @elliekratzzz, @evangelineartemiasamos, @evangeline-of-montfort, @scxrletguardsdawn, @freaky-freiday, @petergrantkavinsky, @kuwei, @whatsup-gorls, @katiemoore,  @redqueenetwork, @tranquil-dusk (I’m trying to add you but for some reason it wont @… the same problem happens with @thatoddgirl777 and I have no idea how to fix it)

(/Mare/)

I’ve been freed from Protocol for the time being. Cal pulls the same strings as last time, and I am put into Training. It makes my blood sing to know that I am going to be joining him there too. One more place where we can protect each other and plan without anyone knowing. We are a secret, united front that the Silver’s will never see coming.

         It’s been a week since my first meeting with Farley. I almost expected Maven not to show up to join us, but just as he did before, he appeared out of the shadows with the servant Holland. He was just as full of the righteous fire I remembered, smiling at me and promising things he will never give. Swearing fealty to Farley and her cause for the good of everyone. I wish I had the courage to ask him if he had meant those things.

         I’d gone back to my rooms cold and shaken, feeling in all senses of the word numb. Walsh had to practically guide me back to avoid me taking wrong turns and getting lost. In bed, I drown in the memories of the future that I am rapidly stumbling towards, trying to keep my head up as the tides suck me deeper. I toss and turn for hours, kicking the blankets off before pulling them back on when I wake from my hazy doze shivering uncontrollably because of invisible silent stone walls.

         I’d slipped through the secret door in my closet and felt my way through the dark tunnel to Cal’s rooms. It was silent in them, not even the sound of his breathing disturbed the space. Sure enough, his bed was empty and neatly made. He wasn’t even in Summerton. I’d sunk onto the bed before slipping under the blankets and burying myself in his smell.

         I’d woken to warm hands lifting me out of the blankets. Gripping his shirt, I’d whispered sleepily to him as he carried me back to my rooms. His voice was soft as he’d replied with a gentle, “you’re fine. I’ve got you.” I had to enter my room alone though, just to avoid the cameras seeing him.

         Now standing in the training room a week later, I still can’t shake the blanket of cold that envelopes me. Dread pools in my stomach the closer we get to the Ball and the closer I get to those names Maven will deliver. Everything is working perfectly, I have no reason to worry. And yet, a part of me quivers with nerves. Maven is as charming as ever, but something bubbles behind his eyes. Maybe it’s because I know what to look for now and I see it. But I had been just as untrustworthy the first time around. I would have seen it then too.

         Standing off to the side with my arms crossed I watch the young Silvers prepare for a session of tearing each other apart. Inhaling slowly, I take in the scent of the freshly washed matts and the summer breeze from the open windows. It’s been sweltering for the past few days, and sure enough a bead of sweat rolls down between my shoulder blades, tracing the track of my spine.

         On the other side of the training room, Cal catches my eye. He quirks a brow before pushing off the wall he’s leaning against. Strolling across the room, he tucks his hands into the pockets of his training jacket. When we’re standing side by side he rolls his shoulders a few times and says, “I’m sorry that I wasn’t there a few nights ago.”

         “You were off being a crown prince.” I say and wave my hand for emphasis, “doing crown prince things.” My lips quirk up a little bit at the edges when his frown deepens. I haven’t teased him much since we got stuck here, I forgot how much fun it is.

         “I won’t lie; I did think someone put a dead body in my bed.”

         “Don’t be dramatic.” I tease him, hiding my smile behind my hand. On the other side of the room, Evangeline holds court around the targets. She hasn’t made any moves like she did in the breakfast room weeks ago, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have something planned. If I recall, today is dueling day, and this was when she decided to take a piece out of my face.

         “Hard for him not be, he’s so very good at it.” Maven’s voice cuts the air between us like a knife. I spin to face him quickly, throwing up a smile to hide the fear that rushes through me. He tilts his head to the side and smiles as well. “What is he being dramatic about now?”

         Cal clears his throat, and hides his discomfort with a laugh. Setting his hand on Maven’s shoulder and squeezing he says lightly, “something to do with Shadow Legion. It’s been… difficult.”

         If Maven is fooled by our game, I cannot tell. A part of me sends a silent prayer that he didn’t hear anything. But a smarter part of me chastises myself for even falling prey to my fears and searching out Cal. Have I doomed us with my little slip up?

         “So I’ve heard, has Rhambos been giving you trouble again?” Maven grins at Cal in the way only brother’s sharing a private joke can.

         “You have no idea.” Cal’s relief is near invisible, and I have to force my own to be that way as Maven comes to stand next to me. His eyes dart to me and he gives me a small, tentative smile. I return it, wondering exactly what is going through his mind. What I wouldn’t give to be a Whisper just so I can know if we are in the clear.

         He turns his eyes forward as Arven calls Tirana forward to duel. His name comes next, and as he leaves my side, the little bubble of heat I didn’t notice him exuding leaves with him. His shoulders are tense as he steps into the makeshift arena to face the nymph. Next to me, Cal’s hands clench into fists.

         When he comes sulking out, dripping water all over the floor, his eyes are burning. They dart to me and soften for a heartbeat before hardening once more. Mercifully, Cal keeps his mouth shut and turns to watch the next match when Maven steps in between us. The air crackles with heat, and a few of the other Silvers take a step back, making it appear as if they are simply interested in something else.

         “Nothing to say?” Maven murmurs when Cal continues to sit in silence. My eyes dart to them, and my hand slowly closes in a fist at my side.

         “There’s nothing to say.”

         “You always have something to say, forgive me if it’s a surprise when you don’t.” Maven turns those eyes on Cal, and I imagine his stare could turn Cal into a puddle of human parts if he weren’t a burner as well. He’s instigating, something I never saw him do. Or maybe it’s happened before and I never got the chance to see it. Cal makes no move to show me panic, so maybe Maven being this bitter has occurred sometime in the past before I met them. Maybe nothing is wrong and he’s picking a fight because he’s upset about the embarrassment of his loss.

Straightening his shoulders, Cal turns a neutral look onto Maven, sweeping him over with his eyes. “You could have beat her if you had given her a bit more space. You were stronger than her the whole fight.” Cal assures, his eyes dancing to me for a moment. We both know that isn’t what he said last time. But this didn’t occur last time, and without a script Cal struggles.

Maven’s entire body tenses, even as his expression cools. It’s such an odd contradiction that I’m not quite sure what will happen next. Reaching out, I close my hand around his wrist and squeeze. He’s cold as ice, and I shiver involuntarily as my skin makes contact with his. I don’t know why I expected heat.

His flips around to look at my hand, his lips pursed in a tight line. I swallow my grimace and offer him a gentle, knowing smile.

“There will be more fights. More important fights.” I raise my brow, hoping he takes my hint. The anticipation of his reaction practically drives me to dig my nails into his skin. I’m surprised he doesn’t flip around and demand to challenge Cal right here, right now. It would be a short fight, but it would be no less damning.

His shoulders soften though, and his stance shifts to one of embarrassment. “Of course.” He murmurs, his other hand coming to rest on mine. “There always are.”

 Hiding my relief behind a smile, I try to pull my hand away. I can’t believe I thought he would actually go to blows with Cal. He’s smarter than that, and better at playing the long game than I give him credit for in the moment.  

Before I can pull my hand away completely, he grips it tighter and stares me down, daring me to pull away. He puts up the mask then, the one that I loved dearly and searched for during my months with him in Archeon.

 “Even if some battles are already lost.” He whispers as he leans close to me so his words are only for me.

He’s a desperate boy now. I can hear the ache in his voice. What does he know? What does his mother know? Nothing, I’m certain they know nothing. Elara didn’t get anything from me, and she hasn’t gotten anything from Cal. We’ve been careful enough, we’re never together in a way that anyone could question. We haven’t even gone into that moonlit room yet. I haven’t put a knife in Maven’s back yet. Maybe he was more jealous of my escapade to the Stilts than I initially noticed. That’s the only thing he has to work with, and maybe the fact that Cal and I were obviously teasing each other before training just now. He’d never been so outwardly jealous of Cal though. His jealousy was always a quietly simmering pot that never overflowed. He was so much more dangerous because of that.

Pulling away from me when I stay silent, he gives me a rueful smile and turns to face the arena where Elane and Sonya are tearing each other to pieces. I can’t focus though; my mind turns into a tail spin of panic. Have we slipped up? Did I damn us a few nights ago? Are we even off track? What if we are? What has changed?

I am so lost in my own thoughts I almost miss Evangeline demanding our fight. Lifting my eyes to her, I take in her gloating smile. She senses my panic, but has no inclination of the source.

Maven jumps to my defense like a cat would to a mouse. Evangeline doesn’t back down though. I should be grateful for this, at least something is back on track. It’s been a while since I’ve been glad for Evangeline Samos, and even though she is not my friend now, she is the closest thing I’ve seen since training started.

 (/////)

 Sitting in the darkness of my room that night, I watch the moonlight as it passes over the floor. Are the Sentinels watching me on their screens, wondering if I’ve lost my mind? I doubt it. Unless Elara had told them to keep a closer eye on me. I wouldn’t be surprised, when she’d corned me and Maven in the hallway I had felt her creeping in my mind, searching in the mirrored halls I’d barely had enough time to drag up to protect my memories.

Sighing, I let my head fall into my hands as I breathe. Focusing on the hum of the cameras, I follow the source of the electricity along the wires. The purr of the current fills my senses and drowns me. For a moment, I let myself just exist in the peaceful darkness behind my eyelids. Things will only get harder from here. I regret not tuning for Montfort more than anything now. 

A gentle knock on the door drags me out of my meditation. Raising my eyes to the door, I wrap my robe tighter around me as I stand. My steps are near silent as I creep across the room and crack open the door.

Leaning against the frame of the doorway, Cal looks more exhausted than I’ve ever seen him. With a shadow creeping along his jaw, he looks more like he did in Montfort. He was on the verge of doom and greatness here, and there too. He wears the years he’s already lived tonight in the bags under his eyes and the weariness of his shoulders. 

When he spots the sliver of my face behind the door, he gives me a tentative smile. “Up for a dance?” He asks quietly as I open the door a little wider. 

Nodding, I let him pull me out of my room and toward a moonlit room where I can at least pretend for a little while that I’m safe even if I’m the furthest from safe that I’ve ever been.

 (////)  

 In the hours leading up to the ball, while I am being painted and primed, the names Maven gave as targets ring through my head. When he had visited me late in the dark to tell me them, I had expected him to give me different names. I’d whisper to Cal that I thought I had messed up, and given us away. He’d tried to assure me that everything would alright. And when we kiss this time, there was a desperation to it. Like Maven, he is terrified to lose me, and he poured that fear into the kiss he gave me. 

Reynold Iral, Ptolemus Samos, Ellyn Macanthos. Belicos Leorlan. Those names chase me and haunt my waking hours. The prospect of them being wrong, and Maven adding more names, or different ones, haunts me even more. 

Belicos with his two young children who will die tonight too, Ptolemus Samos who will live to someday kill my brother but father a beautiful daughter with Wren, Colonel Macanthos with her sly eye that can see right through Elara’s schemes, and Reynold, a man I’m pretty sure is lost somewhere anyway dance behind my eyelids and in the corner of my eyes. I don’t think I will ever be rid of my ghosts. 

I couldn’t breathe when I stood before Mareena and saw her in the mirror. She was lovely and wicked in the light of my room, and I’m sure she’ll look the same way at the ball tonight. The dress is the same riotous mess of gemstones and purple fabric that I hate even more this time around, especially when I have to stand next to Maven and observe him in his beautiful charcoal suit. He is beautiful in it, as beautiful as I remember. It makes my stomach twist every time I look at him.

The pleasantries leave me just as breathless, and I can feel Evangeline’s eyes on me as she glares down the line at the people who are to come. It’s almost a relief when Maven pulls me out onto the balcony, just so that I can inhale fresh air. As we go, I feel the brush of Cal’s hand as he reaches back to catch my skirt. My eyes dart to him in warning, but he’s already hiding the movement behind setting his hand on Evangeline’s back and smiling at Belicos as he steps forward to greet them.

Even as Maven pulls me onto the balcony, my heart is pounding. Seeing Belicos a second time does nothing to ease the ache in my heart. His children, I remember their bodies laid out next to his like they were nothing. Was Maven’s emotion in the moment a scam? Had he felt anything seeing their little bodies. I don’t know what’s real and the closer we get to the moment, the more my fear increases. .

         “You’re giving them a father.” I whisper, the words like poison on my tongue. He’d give anything to topple the Guard, and he did give everything. Even if I hadn’t been enough to completely crush us. At the same time though, he wasn’t the one to truly give those names. Elara told him who to pick and he acted like a good little mouth piece.  He could have chosen not to give that name though. In the moment he could have chosen to spare a father and his children. He’d made that choice. I know he’s braver than he claims, especially where Elara is concerned. Farley was right to call him a coward.

         He lets go of me but doesn’t step away when I speak. He stays close instead, his hands just ghosting over my skin. He looks like a marble statue in the moonlight, his lips drawn in a tight line. Achingly beautiful, a boy on the cusp of manhood and his own demise, an angel teetering over the edge of the abyss. 

He backs me into the wall, his eyes like chips of ice in the pale plane of his face. Slowly he places his hands on either side of my head, trapping me so that I have to listen to him.

         “Reynald is a father, too. The Colonel has children of her own. Ptolemus is now engaged to the Haven girl. They all have people; they all have someone who will mourn them.” The words are forced and cold. A part of him believes those words but the larger part of him, the one Elara has groomed to be king someday knows it must be done. “We can’t pick and choose how to help the cause, Mare. We must do what we can, whatever the cost.”

         My skin feels like it’s alive. I might electrocute him right here, right now, until he backs away from me. I have half a mind to press my hand to his chest and shove him over the balcony. It would take one push, and I know all the weak points to knock someone of balance now. It would be so easy. I could claim it was the Scarlet Guard, that they appeared on the balcony and pushed him.

         His breath is warm on my face as he whispers, “I want this to be done with the least blood shed possible.”

         His hand trembles as he brings it up to brush his fingertips along my cheek, a ghost of a touch, like he can’t bear to let his skin connect with mine. “Tonight will change everything.”

         My heart pounds harder against my ribs as he pulls back enough to give me space. His eyes dance away from me and back to the line of dwindling nobles. The pleasantries are over, it’s time. Even if I’m not ready. I’ll never be ready though.

         The shadows break again and I recognize Cal’s familiar outline as he steps onto the balcony. “You two all right out here?” His expression is hesitant, probably worried that he’s interrupted a moment that I am supposed to be getting information. His eyes linger on me, his expression softening. These next moments will be the hardest. “You ready for this, Mare?”

         Maven jumps on my silence. “She’s ready.”

         Taking my arm in his, he pulls me along. He was never this aggressive with me. At least, not that I remember. Maybe I had been so blinded by my emotions of the night that I hadn’t realized how he was acting. He’s agitated though, and monsters are dangerous like that. 

         Still, Cal’s fingers brush against my wrist, his touch somehow colder than Maven’s. I wish he actually took my hand and held it. When I look over my shoulder at him, his expression is stormy. He’d never been so outwardly nervous about Maven. At least he’s not afraid. We know what comes tonight. I told him what to expect, and he knows what he has to do. I wonder if he will be able to put Farley through the pain of the Gilican shiver’s torture now. I have to rely on him to do just that though.

        Evangeline appears at his side, her jewel encrusted fingers enclosing his arm. She squeezes tightly when she sees my eyes lingering on him. 

     Oh Evangeline. I wish I could help her now. She has her own battle to fight though. 

         Maven’s lips almost brush my ear as he whispers to me, “This is the hard part.”

         Even with all the eyes on me, I don’t blush. He pulls me into the frame but his skin is warmer than I remember. And as we start the dance, his eyes never leave my face. What is he looking for there?

         As we move in the box formation, he raises a brow and his lips curl into a smile. “You’ve been practicing.”

         “A bit, didn’t want to step on your toes.” I reply with my own smile. I put as much true joy as I can behind it. 

           His eyes flash for a moment and he leans a little closer to whisper, “You’re just full of surprises.” He chuckles, and the grin he gives me as he pulls back makes my stomach flutter. There is the boy that had captured my trust and my heart. I turn away at the sight of it, my stomach dropping.

         I spot Cal spin Evangeline, who looks more like a glittering ball of spikes than a human. I’m surprised she doesn’t slice Cal’s hands open when he rests them on the back of the dress. I miss her more casual regalia that she wears in Montfort. I never saw her casual outfits that she wore here, but I imagine she carried that style into Ascendant.

Sensing my gaze, Cal’s eyes meet mine. His fingers close around Evangeline’s waist, and a million memories of him doing the same thing with me come back. I can almost feel his hand sliding around my waist in the tiny living room of our apartment as he hums the song playing on the radio. I can remember laying my head on his chest and listening to his heartbeat and the sound of his humming reverberating in his chest. He can’t carry a tune to save his life, but it is still wonderful.

We spin through two songs until I feel dizzy with anticipation. Just when I think Maven will pull me to the side though, he leans close to me. I almost pull away, but instead force myself to stay close and turn my head slightly to give him a shy smile. His eyes are darker than I’ve ever seen them though.

         “I told you that everything changes tonight.” He breathes against my ear. I nod, confused where this is going. “And I do have to admit that I’ve… kept something from you.”

What? What is he getting at? I pull away, panic flaring through me as I search that face for the truth. He’s too good at hiding it though. I grip his hand tightly, prepared to push as much electricity through his body as I can muster.

His hand burns in my grip instead. My lips curl in pain, but he ignores it and spins me so that my back is to the crowd around us. Forcing me to step into the next dance, he tilts his head forward again to whisper. “I did give Farley four names. But I lied to you about one of them.”

“What are you talking about?” My voice is cold, dangerous too. He senses it, pulling back a fraction. We stop dancing, and his hands drop to his sides. My heart beats so erratically, I worry it might beat right out of my chest.

He tilts his head to the side, his lips falling. “Ptolemus is a good target. Removing him would send the officers into chaos. But there was… a better target, one that would cause more chaos.”

“Who did you give?”

Who did your mother give? I want to grab him by the shoulders and shake it out of him. His lips curl up slowly, a remorseful smile if I ever saw one from him. My blood goes cold at the sight of it.

“Farley agreed with me that you were getting too close, that your attention was becoming divided. She also agreed that if there was ever a time to cut the head off the snake it was now.” He takes my hand and squeezes my fingers. “I’ll step up in his place. My father will never recover from the loss, so Farley can do what she pleases. It is a win for all of us.”

Realization burns through my stomach, followed immediately by frozen panic. “What have you done?” I wheeze as I flip around, searching the crowd, desperately trying to find Cal’s silhouette. In the mass of bodies, I can’t find him and my fingers twitch at my sides as I glance up in the rafters. The Sentinels pace, searching the crowd but they are looking in the wrong places. Above them, shadows move too. The Guard is already in position, ready to carry our Farley’s plot. 

“I know that you two have become…friends.” Maven begins, taking my hand and pulling me back around so that I face him. I try to turn my head and search the crowd still, but he grabs my chin and drags my eyes back to his face. “That’s why I asked Farley to take the shot. She’ll give him a quick end. One bullet and a dynasty will end.”

One bullet that won’t miss. One bullet that will tear my future away from me. One bullet that will break me, because Farley never, ever misses.

My blood boils and sparks dance on my fingertips as I glare at him. Cold calm washes over me as the rush of adrenaline leaves. I am in battle mode now; survival is all I can think about when I stare down the man before me.

“Farley removed you from the mission. That’s why I didn’t tell you I gave her his name. She thought you might compromise us.”

We were wrong. I gave something away. Elara never would have dared to target Cal. She needs him to get rid of his father, she needs a scapegoat. But if she looked in my head or his and saw the future, she would have seen that he is more trouble than he’s worth. She would have found out that cutting him from the equation might someday save her and Maven.

If I turn and run after him, I will confirm whatever they believe about us, whatever they have found. But if I sit here, I will lose everything. I can’t go after him; I can’t save him or else I risk Farley and compromising this whole mission.

I am a selfish creature though. I always have been, and I always will be.

Ripping my hand from Maven’s grip I flip around to push my way through the crowd. I have time, there’s still time. I am racing against a clock I can’t see though. It’s like push through mud as I shove my way through the crowd. People gasp and glare at me, but I have eyes only for one person and I can’t find him.

My eyes start to water, and my breathing comes in ragged gasps.

Farley doesn’t miss. And she will make sure she doesn’t miss this time.

Memories of him lying on the sand of Harbor Bay, grey and lifeless threaten to overtake me. I shove them down. He won’t be made into a symbol tonight. I still have time.

There.

He stands with his back to me, speaking quietly with some military personnel or another. I shove through the last of the crowd, my hand extended for him. Elara’s eyes are on me, I can feel them, but I don’t care. I don’t care about keeping things on track. Jon can damn himself to the hells. I won’t lose him.

“Cal!” I scream his name, making him turn. His brows furrow, his expression confused by my panic and fear. I’m five steps away. Then four, hand outstretched as he takes a tiny movement forward as if he might meet me halfway. He never gets the chance.

The lights drop and four guns fire at the same time.

I scream so loud that my own ears ring. The lights around us flare to life on their own by the sheer force of my ability. My vision tunnels, even as someone slams into me from the side, screaming in panic as the lights directly above me explode in a shower of sparks. 

I shove them away from me and sprint to his downed form. The man he’d been speaking to is gone, probably lost in the panic. People are screaming, shouting and pointing to the roof.

I slide the last foot between us on my knees and come to his side. Blood, there’s so much blood. I choke on a sob as I try to find the source of it. His eyes are open though, and his mouth opens and closes like a gaping fish.

Relief like nothing I’ve ever felt rushes through me, and I choke on his name as I feverishly try to find the source of the blood. It’s staining his uniform and pooling around his shoulder. His hands press to his chest, and I immediately press my hands on top of his. Sticky, burning blood pours through my fingers though.

“Mare.” His voice is ragged as he gasps my name, and I tear my eyes from the wound long enough to meet his eye. His going grey, the black undertones starting to appear under his eyes.

“No, stop trying to talk. You have to keep breathing.” I cry as I press the heels of my palms harder into the wound. More blood pours out and I feel like I’m fighting an uphill battle when I reach down and rip some of my dress off to press it to the wound. “Healer! Someone get a healer!” I scream to the panicked crowd. They’re like spooked animals though. No one notices their crown prince on his back bleeding out.

His hand closes weakly around my wrist and squeezes, trying to get my attention. His eyes are wide, but his expression is anything but fearful. “Don’t—” he begins, but ends up coughing on blood instead.

“No, no, no.” I sob as I push harder and glare at him. “No last words Calore. Not tonight. You’re going to be fine. You’re going to sit and drink coffee and talk with Julian again, and see Clara and my family again. And—and we’re going to see our baby, we’re going to hold him and watch him grow and become a better person than either of us. It’s going to be fine. Everything will be fine!”

His grip weakens on my wrist even as he smiles. My throat closes and I drop my chin to my chest. It’s a pretty picture I paint, but it fades with every slow beat of his heart. “Help!” I scream uselessly one more time, hoping someone will hear, that someone will come to my aid.

The crowd parts for a moment, and Sara who whipped around at the sound of my scream finds me. She barrels her way to us, and drops to her knees on Cal’s other side.

“Help him, save him.” I sob at her.

Her lips twist at the sight of all the blood, but she immediately pushes my hands away from the wound and replaces my hands with hers. Cal’s head falls back and his eyes close the minute she does. I leap for him, grabbing his face and trying to get him to open his eyes again. His neck falls slack in my grip through and I end up almost shaking him.

“Open your eyes, open your fucking eyes.” I scream at him, tears pouring like rivers down my cheeks. Hands grab me and try to pull me away, but I thrash against them and scream. When I’m flipped around, I meet Julian’s tortured expression.

He pulls me to him, keeping me out of Sara’s way as she works. His eyes never leave his nephew’s face. I wonder if he is seeing his sister in his grey features. Cal looks like a corpse, and my entire body feels like a live wire set to explode at any second.

“Don’t let him die. Please, don’t let him die.” I beg Sara, reaching a hand out to grab Cal’s hand. It’s cold in my grip and I almost vomit when my stomach clenches.

Her eyes dance up to me, and I see the resolve there. Is he lost? I don’t know if I will be able to bear that burden, if I will be able to survive this crushing blow.

She pulls her blood stained hands away and I dive out of Julian’s arms to grab at Cal. For a moment, I think he’s truly gone and a pained sob leaves my chest, sounding more like a scream than a moment of weakness. Underneath my hands though, his chest hitches with a breath, and then begins to rise and fall slowly.

The ballroom is practically empty around us. The royals have fled, the Sentinels have gone after Farley and the others. All that is left is us and the corpses. But there is one less among them.

“Cal,” I whisper to him as I brush his hair off his forehead. His eyes open for a moment only to close in a grimace.

“I wasn’t one of the targets.” He breathes, and I slowly let my forehead fall to rest on his chest. He wasn’t, but he survived. Turning to answer my call had saved his life. He’d changed his positioning, too fast for Farlet to correct her shot before the lights went out. She’d shot blindly, and almost succeeded in killing him.

“This sounds like a conversation for more… private chambers.” Julian’s voice is a dangerous rumble. I glance at him over my shoulder, belatedly realizing that he saw me sob over a prince that is not mine. He heard Cal mention targets, and judging by the fury behind his eyes, he is rapidly putting two and two together.

“Julian,” I reach for him, but he pushes to stand and then steps up to Cal’s other side.

“Sara will finish her work in my rooms. You two will come with us.” He bends down to grab one of Cal’s arms and help him sit up. I almost try to stop him, but he glares down at me. “Help me get him up and moving. We will have to move quickly.”

I crawl over Cal and grab his other arm before helping him to his feet. He stumbles, barely able to take his own weight. I grunt underneath him, and press into his side. Already I can feel the heat returning to his skin, and it sends such a thrum of relief through me that I have to swallow more tears.

 (////)

 Julian’s rooms are dark and after he helps me deposit Cal on one of the couches, he works quickly to shut all the curtains and lock the doors. I search for the cameras, but there are none for me to turn off.

He lights a few candles and brings them to the side table to light Sara’s work space. She shoes me away and takes my place at Cal’s side before tearing his ceremonial suit off. While she healed the artery that was severed, there is still a bullet in his chest. I can just catch one of the edges reflecting in the dim light.

Sara holds out an expectant hand and not even a heartbeat later, Julian sets a small cloth wrapped set of tools in her hands. She sets them in her lap and goes to work as I edge around the back of the couch and take one of Cal’s hands in my own. His pulse is getting stronger with every passing second, and his grip increases as Sara digs the first tool in to get the bullet out.

“Both of you, talk.” Julian’s fury is like nothing I’ve seen before. Even when I came to him for help in freeing Farley and Kilorn, he had still been soft, quiet. This fury is the fury of a man that has seen horrible dark places and is terrified to be forced back into them. 

I glance at Cal who grimaces and grinds his teeth together when Sara starts to tug on the bullet. He won’t be able to make this decision right now.

“You wouldn’t believe us.” I say quietly before looking up at Julian and begging him to understand my hesitation. 

“Try me.” He grinds out past his clenched jaw.

My stomach turns and Cal squeezes my hand. I glance down at him, and he nods slowly. We have been compromised. It’s time.

“You have to… listen the whole time. Don’t waste time with questions.” I urge, and in the low light, Julian’s nod creates dark shadows across his features. He looks older than I’ve ever seen him. Bowing my head, I inhale slowly and then launching into the story, starting with the most dangerous truth.

It takes more time than I want for Sara to finish with Cal, and for me to finish the story. As he gets stronger, Cal interjects, adding bits and pieces that I forget. Julian keeps true to his word and stays quiet, but his expression pulls into a deeper and deeper frown as we go. 

“How could you not trust me with this. If you know what I am to be to you, why would you not seek out my help immediately?” He pushes to his feet and begins pacing the space before us. Sara watches him, her eyes solemn.

“We—I didn’t want to put you in danger.” Cal whispers, pushing to a sitting position. I try to push him back down, but he fights me off.

“I end up in danger anyway.” Julian turns his gaze on Cal, but it’s softened considerably. I relax as he steps forward to look both of us over. “You’re certain Elara knows the truth?”

“Cal wasn’t a target. But Maven made him one tonight and pushed me off the mission. He knew about me and Cal and if he knows about that, then he knows about everything else.” I whisper, and take the rag Sara had brought a few minutes ago. Wiping some of the blood of Cal’s chest, I shake my head. “I gave us away completely tonight by saving you.”

Cal closes a hand over mine and squeezes softly.

“You must have given yourselves away some time before that.” Julian stops his pacing to set his fists on his hips. Glaring at the carpet like it is the sole reason for his worry, he says, “and now you are once again at the mercy of Elara’s mechanisms.”

“Not exactly.” Cal argues, sitting up completely and starting to shrug his uniform jacket on. Julian raises a brow at his words, but waits until Cal gives up with the buttons to let him speak. 

“We know what her ultimate end game is, and there is more than one way to get to the point we want.” Cal glances at me warily. “You and Maven are supposed to meet with Farley when we get to Archeon. You are going to have to warn her, and tell her the truth. All of it.”

I jump to my feet, shock coursing through me. “Have you lost your mind? Julian would understand, but Farley?”

“Farley will understand if you tell her the truth and give her proof.” Cal urges.

Sara and Julian watch our responses bounce back and forth like spectators at some sports match. It’s my turn to pace though, so I start wearing a trench into the floor, grabbing fistfuls of my gown as I do so. “Even if I did manage to get her to believe me, what are we going to do?”

“Elara doesn’t know that I know right?” He reasons with a tilt of his head. I pause my pacing to glance at him. He finishes buttoning up his jacket and nods at whatever plan is forming in his head. “She may think you are the only person that knows the future. That only you are here.”

“What are you talking about? If she’s seen my memories—”

“Then she’s only seen the ones formed before.” Julian jumps on the plan. His eyes dart between the two of us. “You would know if she was in your head Cal. And you are certain she has not looked. She has only seen your memories Mare. As far as she is concerned you are the only person with knowledge of the future.”

“Then why get rid of Cal tonight?” I wave a hand at him for emphasis. My fingers are still shaking, and my body still feels numb from the near death scare.

“You said so yourself. He plays a role in toppling her and Maven. Remove the tumor before it becomes cancer.” Julian offers with a shrug. Setting his hand on my shoulder, he gives me a tired smile. “You may still have a card up your sleeve. Go to… Farley, and get her to believe your story. Make a new plan, one that will put you back on track.”

How am I going to do that? How will I keep Maven in the dark? I’m smart, but he’s always been so much smarter than me, and with the knowledge Elara now has, the game has just become that much harder.

Cal rises on shaky legs, his expression cold. “Speaking of Farley, she might be done in the cells now.”

My blood goes cold and I blink stupidly. “But you didn’t catch her this time. She got away.”

“I didn’t catch her the first time. The Sentinels had already apprehended her by the time I caught up to them.” He nods to Sara and with a slow dip of his head whispers, “thank you, for saving my life.”

She smiles at him, a tiny weak expression but it lights up her face. She takes Julian’s hand and rises from her chair.

It feels good to have the two of them on our side now, playing the game with us. Maybe with them, we can actually win this time around.

[turning-dreams-into-chaos]

hey could you do a marauders headcanon where the reader broke up w them because she feels like she’s not good enough? a little angst (they can find out the reason or not, that’s on you) thank u!!

I tried not to make them all the same so of course some happy endings and some not so happy endings. And sorry I meant to post this yesterday but I fell asleep lmfao 😂 

Also I like, played around with the idea a little and put insecurity on the boys too, I don’t know why, it just happened I guess, sorry. 

These are so long, I got carried away I’m so so so sorry

———

Remus Lupin-

- Remus deserves the world, he always looked out for everyone, he protected everyone even though he didn’t have too, he always knew how to make you or the boys feel better, the list went on

- Of course you believed you’d never be good enough

- You were just you and he was... well he was Remus Lupin

- You didn’t tell him why you broke up with him

- You just said you thought it would be better if you did

- Remus was heartbroken

- He knew he loved you and in his mind, he would never be good enough for you

- Finding you was something Remus never could’ve prepared for and he definitely didn’t want it to end just like that

- He’d ask you to stay, beg you to give him a second chance and it just furthered your thinking of not being enough

- He shouldn’t beg for someone like you

- You and Remus had been broken up for almost week

- You were both miserable and all you wanted to do was just be with each other but it wouldn’t happen

- You were sat in the quidditch stands one day, just admiring the view when James, Sirius and Peter all showed up

- It didn’t take a genius to know what was going on

- We just wanted to talk about it, Y/N

- Remus was no where to be seen, so you told them everything

- I’m not good enough for him! He deserves someone as amazing as him.

- When the boys finally left you alone, you started crying

- But listen, you didn’t cry alone for long because soon Remus came running in

- The boys totally told them what you had said

- He was shocked you’d ever think you weren’t enough

- So now that he was here and you were here, both sobbing messes, there was no denying the truth

- Remus would immediately shut down any and every thought in your head about not being enough

- You are good enough for me! You’re more than good enough!

- He would tell you every good thing he loves about you and every reason why you are more than enough for him

- Remus only stopped when you kissed him, promising that you’d believe him eventually

- And Remus promised he’d do whatever he could to make you see the truth

James Potter-

- James Potter, Hogwarts Golden Boy

- You didn’t have any right to be dating him and you knew it

- He deserved someone like Lily Evans, someone who could be good for him

- He had no idea you were going to break up with him, it just came suddenly in his eyes

- He hadn’t seen the weeks you spent questioning whether James would be happier with anyone else

- You’re breaking up with me? Why are you doing that?

- You didn’t tell him the truth, obviously

- Instead you lied

- I just don’t love you the same anymore

- James didn’t believe you, he loved you more than you knew

- He watched you walk away without crying, unknown to how you cried the moment you were far enough away

- James cried too that night in his room

- He hoped the next day you’d come to your senses or something, but that wasn’t the case

- You didn’t even look at him

- James tried to get your attention so many times, but you pretended as if the last months of saying “I love you” meant nothing

- It was breaking him as much as it was breaking you

- You didn’t tell anyone the truth, no one knew you broke up with James because you didn’t believe you were good enough

- Remus, Sirius and Peter tried to get it out of you, but you just told them the same thing you told James

- You fell out of love

- You and James didn’t talk for a month, James thought you were avoiding him but really was just that it hurt too much

- You were still in love with him, you just believed James could do better

- And apparently he did

- You walked into the common room with Remus, both of you talking about your latest charms class before you walked in on James and Lily kissing on the couch

- It hurt

- It really fucking hurt

- But he deserved her, he deserved better

- You finally had that first chat again

- I’m happy for you, James

- Y/N

- She’s good for you, more than I was

- James wanted to disagree with you

- He was still in love with you and he knew that wasn’t fair for Lily, but it was the truth

Sirius Black-

- How you started dating Sirius, you didn’t know

- Before he was dating you he was a flirt, he had flirted with girls and boys alike and yet somehow you were the one he’s dating

- You had no clue why

- There were others who were so much prettier, smarter, and funnier than you

- You couldn’t help but believe Sirius should’ve been with someone popular 

- You actually brought it up to Sirius one time in the beginning of your relationship

- You had heard some girls whispering about your own relationship, but most importantly how Sirius was “settling” 

- That wasn’t something you want to hear

- Sirius assured you he wasn’t settling and you believed him

- for a while

- but as you watched everyone flirt with him day after day, you could help but come to the conclusion you were holding him back and if you weren’t in a relationship then he could get with someone better for him

- So like the dumb fool you were thinking as, you broke up with him

- Sirius, I’m not good enough for you. You shouldn’t have to be in a relationship with someone like me.

- Sirius shut that thinking down right then

- Someone like you? You mean someone who’s always been there for me through anything with my family? Or who at the end of the day can make me happy again just by smiling? 

- You started crying, not because you were upset but hearing Sirius say all those things about you and more made you really emotional

- Sirius knew you were crying and he sat there wiping away your tears, but he didn’t stop assuring you he loved you and never wanted you to ever think you weren’t good enough

- If you ever heard another person talk about you and Sirius you ignored it, Sirius’ words running through your mind over and over

~Headcanon Master~

Permanent: @literal-fand0m-trash @just4muggles @nathaliabakes @colored-confetti @wiseeggspickleslime @btsiguess-kpop @galacticstxrdust @independentgirl @hollymac79 @delicately-important-trash @emcchi @rauwz @herondalescecilys @chewymoustachio @smilexcaptainx @faith-quake @clarkesplaylist @johnmurphyisbisexual

Harry Potter: @accio-rogers @songforhema @hahaboop @paigeyisme @missmulti @daddyloonglegss @ellie-emb @angelinathebook @marauderswhisperer @emmaloo21 @obsessedwithrandomthings @jackryanplz @dreamer821

Marauders: @onthebroadway @fanficflaneuse @mysterioustruffle @siriuslysirius1107 @rexorangecouny @caffeineaddictedravenclaw

Remus: @serenefreakgeek @screennamealreadyused

[izlaria]

Someone you like (part 4)

This is the fourth chapter of my “Someone you like” inspired fic. It’s also available on AO3 in case you prefer that platform. Please hit me up to talk about Plance!

Summary: In the days following their arrival on Earth, Pidge finds that conflicting feelings don't just disappear because there are more people around. On the contrary, with the approach of the final battle, they seem to get worse.

FYI, we’re still on Pidge pining hour.

18 and 16 years old

Life was not easy when you were a soldier fighting against an evil, intergalactic empire, but Pidge had found a sort of balance to it all. Now that they were back on Earth and she knew her family was relatively safe, much of the sorrow she’d carried had dissolved into hopefulness.

Much, but not all.

Pidge leaned her head against the wall, hugging the papers to her chest. Being on the Garrison made it easier for her to ignore her erratic heartbeats, because she could just avoid Lance most of the time, but it also sent her into overdrive when she accidentally met him in the hallways. She could usually depend on her mother to be there – Pidge was grounded, after all –, but there were times when not even Colleen could protect her.

She wanted to talk to Lance, of course. He was one of her best friends and no crush could ever change that, but it took a lot out of Pidge to hear him drone on about Allura and all the places he wanted to show her on Earth.

Maybe her evasiveness wasn’t the most mature of Pidge’s choices, but she was tired and lovesick and feeling neglected. She would have to be excused a little pettiness.

“Do you want to tell me why I just saw you ignore Lance?” Matt raised his brows at her, an expression that Pidge herself often mimicked and that was especially irritating to be the target of. He was standing off to the side of her station, gloves still on.

Pidge pushed away from the wall, feeling flustered. She hadn’t realized her brother had witnessed the scene.

“Did I ignore Lance?” Pidge opted to feign innocence. “I was so lost in thought I didn’t really see him there. Or you.” This last bit she said with a touch of hostility.

Matt crossed his arms and hummed, sounding disbelieving. “You always were the worst liar out of the two of us, Pidge.”

She shouldered past Matt with a glare. There was a lot of work to do until the Atlas was completed and the last thing she needed were distractions like her feelings for Lance or a fight with her brother.

“When did you land on Earth, anyway?” Pidge put the papers down on her table and moved to one of the computer screens, where she’d left a new code running. It was an improved version of her and Matt’s previous software for predicting Galra presence. “I could use your eyes on this.”

Matt stood at her back, looking over her shoulder at the lines that lit up the computer.

“This is interesting…” He squinted down at Pidge. “Don’t think for a second that a new challenge will make me forget what I just saw.”

She took advantage of Matt’s positioning to elbow him in the gut.

Truthfully, Pidge knew her brother wouldn’t tease her too much about her circumstances. Matt was caring and even protective when it came to her well-being, so he would never rat her out to Lance or any of the others, even if he disagreed with her actions.

Despite that, she struggled with being vulnerable around him.

Pidge didn’t want to think about it, but the years they’d spent apart had certainly affected their relationship. Before going to space, Matt was more than her brother, he had been her closest friend. But now she had Hunk, Lance, and even Keith and Allura. If she needed guidance, Coran and Shiro were only a call away.

She would always be close to Matt, but he was no longer the only person whose company she valued.

“We should finish this up before mom comes around,” Pidge said, trying to refocus. “She comes to collect me at the end of the day.” She rolled her eyes.

“That still going on?” Matt chuckled as he pulled a chair over to her station. He scanned the reports she had just brought in.

“I can’t even go out to eat with the team. We’ve had to meet in the cafeteria, of all places.”

“I’m just glad the cooking staff changed since I was a student.” Matt wrinkled his nose. “That was just nasty.”

“Except for the burgers.” And here Pidge smiled, suddenly reminded of all the times Hunk and Lance had dragged her to lunch and how they always ended up making a mess of their table.

“On Mondays, that’s right!” Matt glanced at her and Pidge couldn’t quite read the look in his eyes. “Until when are you grounded, anyway?”

“Let’s see, I was fifteen when I was whisked into space, so…” She pretended to do the calculations. “Until my twenty-first birthday, unless dad intervenes.”

Matt snorted. “Good luck with that. He doesn’t really have any weight with mom right now. She’s still upset about the whole being-pronounced-dead thing.”

Pidge groaned, burying her face into her hands. “I’ll be going to war in a month, but I still have no freedom here.” She raised her eyes to look at him. “Can’t you talk to mom?”

“And risk my newfound position as the favorite? You’re on your own, kiddo.” He continued to stare down at the papers for a moment, before turning to face her properly. “You know why she’s doing this, right? You spent three years MIA. We thought you were dead.” He exhaled forcefully. “I thought you were dead.”

Pidge didn’t really know how to respond. Since her arrival on Earth, she’d had versions of this conversation with several people, but her brother had always stood back and given her a little space. He probably knew better than most how overwhelming such a welcome could be. “I am sorry, Matt.”

He gave her a tight-lipped smile. “Turnaround is fair play, I guess.”

“Stop.” Pidge put a hand on his arm. She worked her jaw, trying to figure out what to say. “I never wanted you to find out how that felt.”

Matt nodded once, swallowing hard. Pidge could tell that he was putting his emotions back in check.

“I’m proud of what you’ve done, Katie. Mom might act like you’re still a kid, but I was out there before you came along.” It reminded Pidge that, though he hadn’t been present for her battles, Matt had seen his own share of horrors. “Voltron turned the tide, in no small part because of you.”

“Thank you.” She tried to blink away the tears. Matt smiled and brought his hands up to cup her face.

“My little sister is a badass, so I don’t want to see you hiding behind corners because of some stupid boy.” When she tried to protest, he just squished her cheeks. “Who does not deserve you, by the way.”

Pidge couldn’t help but laugh. She could always count on Matt to make her smile through her tears.

“I thought you liked Lance,” she said once Matt had let go of her face. He grimaced.

“He’s eighteen and a flirt.” Her brother didn’t even try to go back to work, he merely kicked his legs up onto a workbench and crossed his arms. “I would feel better about Keith, even.”

“You say that because Shiro would be just as bad of a protective older brother as you.” She pushed at his chair, making Matt almost lose his balance.

“You would never be alone unchaperoned, it would be great,” he confirmed, still pulling himself back into position.

“You realize that I’m technically nineteen?” She aimed a sharp look at him.

“You realize you look twelve?” Matt shot back, looking unbearably satisfied with himself. This time Pidge had no mercy for him; she sent his chair rolling down the aisle and Matt with it.

“Honestly, you have nothing to worry about.” She wrapped an arm around her middle. “Lance is so enamored with Allura that I could yell in his ear that I like him and the goofball would think I meant it platonically.”

Matt wheeled himself back to her. “Then he’s a fool.”

“You’re just saying that,” Pidge scoffed. “You were just as bad as him when meeting Allura.”

“Look, Allura is beautiful, that’s true, but it doesn’t diminish your qualities.” He put a hand on her shoulder, leaning in close so that their voices didn’t echo in the empty laboratory. “You are funny and witty and smarter than anyone in this damn complex. Don’t you dare compare yourself to Allura.”

Pidge dragged her chair until she was resting against Matt’s shoulder.

“It’s sort of inevitable. She’s the one he likes and I have to accept it.” She looked at the computer, where lines of code kept appearing and disappearing. “It’s just hard to be near him. I feel like I’ll do something and everyone will… know.”

“You spent almost a year pretending to be someone else, I think your acting skills are a little better than that.”

“Didn’t you criticize my lying just a few minutes ago?” she deadpanned.

“Well…” Matt gave her a cheeky grin. “I’ve known you your entire life, so I’m a Katie Holt expert.”

“Of course,” she drawled out, rolling her eyes.

Pidge felt her brother put an arm over her shoulder, squeezing her to his side.

“You’re perfect, okay?” he murmured into her hair. “Don’t ever let anyone convince you otherwise.”

She closed her eyes and let herself fall into his embrace. It was something she had missed, even now that the team was back on Earth. Everything had changed since the Kerberos mission and, while a lot of it was good, Pidge couldn’t deny that she wished Matt would stay with them more often.

“Okay.” Her voice trembled, but Matt didn’t mention it, choosing to tighten his hold on her.

“Knock, knock! Anyone in here?” As soon as the voice sounded, Pidge scrambled to hide her face. She got up and pretended to check a different monitor, turning her back to the door. She heard Lance approach their station. “Oh, hey, guys!” Then, seeming to notice the mood of the room. “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, man.” Matt was the first to recover. Pidge felt him move, probably trying to keep Lance from getting any closer. “We were just discussing some Holt secret coding.” She almost snickered at this, despite the heartbeat that still hammered in her ears. It was the sort of thing that only a non-techie would believe.

“And I thought us McClains were bad with our ropa vieja recipe.” She chanced a look over her shoulder to catch Lance’s smile. He was always at his brightest when talking about his family.

“You needed something, Lance?” Matt was being a bit more brusque than normal, but his expression was thankfully still amenable. Pidge would have hit him if he just started being a jerk to Lance.

“Not really,” the other boy responded. He looked around Matt to smile at Pidge. “I was just hoping to catch up with Pidge before your mother comes around.” He shuddered. “Let me tell you, that’s a scary lady. She could almost beat mami with that I’m-not-mad-just-disappointed face.”

“You tell me?” Matt sighed. “That’s one thing I don’t look forward to when touching down at the Garrison.”

“You wanted to talk to me?” Pidge interrupted before they could keep going. Putting two of the friendliest people she knew in the same room was only a good idea if she had the patience for a long conversation. Which she didn’t.

“Ah, are you done ignoring me, Pidgeon?” Lance cocked his hip to one side, looking too sure of himself for his own good.

“I’m working, Lance, something you should be doing as well.” She pretended to fix her glasses, if only to have something to do.

The boy waved a dismissive hand at her. “I’m done for the day and I know for a fact that you’re just working on pet projects until Colleen comes to get you.” When he tried to lean down towards her, Matt moved to stand between them. Lance hesitated, before letting the strange behavior go. “Matt can keep your mom busy if she shows up, right?”

It was difficult to say no to Lance. He was jovial and charming, in particular when he wasn’t actually trying to impress anyone.

“Can you, Matt?” Pidge found herself asking. Her brother frowned at her with uncertainty.

“If that’s what you want, Pidge,” he yielded, when she didn’t back down.

“Let’s go before you get me in trouble, McClain.” Pidge gave a long-suffering sigh and moved past the two boys, who were saying their goodbyes.

Lance caught up to her at the door, opening it with an exaggerated bow.

She walked briskly down the hallway, but Lance had the advantage of his height. For every two, quick steps Pidge took, he only had to take one long stride.

“In a rush to get away?” There was laughter in his voice.

“You’ve seen how mom gets,” she replied, peaking around corners as they moved. “If she doesn’t know where I am for more than five minutes, she seems to think I’ll jump into a ship and disappear for another four years.”

“As if I had it any better.” He gestured to a hallway Pidge knew led to the analytics department. “I’m just lucky Veronica is the only one in my family with clearance to come into the Garrison.”

Pidge snorted. “I should sic my mom on you and Hunk, to make things even.”

Though she’d spent so much of their time on Earth making up excuses not to see Lance, the conversation between them flowed naturally. He had an easy-going energy that calmed Pidge’s more tense nature. While they were in the castle-ship, he had been able to soothe the worst of her worries, until Pidge could actually have fun, despite the fears that troubled her mind.

She didn’t know what would have become of her in this war, if Lance hadn’t been there.

“On the subject of your family…” Lance sent her an anxious look. “Is everything really alright with your brother?”

Pidge could tell he was actually worried, which sent a wave of affection and pain through her chest. She struggled to keep her expression blank.

“We were just talking about the war.” She allowed apprehension to seep into her tone. “I know he has a role to perform out there, but I wish he could stay longer.”

Lance twisted his mouth to the side, an unhappy expression he often adopted when trying to look empathetic. “What has Matt said about it?”

“He misses home, but he can’t really ignore what’s going on with the rebel forces.” Pidge rubbed at her temple. “If we are actually able to end the war, then things might be different, but for now…” she trailed off.

Communications from all around the universe told them Voltron wasn’t the only force preparing for battle. There were a lot of moving parts to consider, especially with the still unknown variable of whose influence had been affecting the Altean colony.

“I know what you mean. After this is all over, I think I’ll take a long vacation to just enjoy good, old Earth.”

This surprised Pidge, startling her from her previous line of thought.

“What, is the Tailor going to retire?” She knocked Lance lightly on the arm, trying for a playful mood.

“No,” he objected. He bent at the waist to look her in the eye and winked. “You know I can’t deny the rest of the universe the beauty of my presence.”

Pidge pushed his face away. It was easy to pretend to be annoyed at Lance when he insisted on acting like this. He was most dangerous when he was genuine. “Be real, man.”

“I am!” He laughed as he stood upright. “It’s just… We’ve been off-planet for so long, I kinda want some time to spend with my family, maybe travel around. I’ve only ever been to Cuba and the US, can you believe it? I’ve seen more of space than of my own planet.”

“Yeah, me too.” Pidge frowned. She hadn’t thought about the situation in these terms before. “I’ve been to Italy and England, but that’s it.”

“We should come up with a plan, get the others in on it.” Lance shot her a smile.

They had walked all the way to the MFE taxiway and Pidge focused her attention on the aircraft that Ryan Kinkade maneuvered across from them. She didn’t want to think of Lance’s warmth so close to her, nor of the future he described.

It didn’t matter how long she avoided him, Lance always found a way back into her life and into her heart. This awareness was painful, when Pidge knew he would never look at her as more than a best friend or a younger sister.

She felt something hit her cheek and looked up at the sky. Dark clouds gathered over them and soon there was another drop.

“Oh, it’s raining,” Pidge commented offhandedly. By her side, Lance let out a laugh. He sounded so joyful that she couldn’t stop herself from staring.

Lance had opened his arms and raised his face to the rain. It reminded her of something he had said months ago, about the aspects of Earth he missed while in space. She was once again struck by how attracted she was to Lance: his cheerfulness, his stupid humor, the curve of his Adam’s apple and the way his uniform clung to him in the rain.

“I really missed this!” he exclaimed mid-laugh.

Pidge stood still, admiring his delight even as her hands closed to fists at her sides. “Yeah,” she breathed out, “me too.”

--

After they left the mall, there was still some time for Allura to kill before her date and it was decided that she, Romelle and Pidge would stop to grab something to eat. Rizavi and Ina had previous plans, but they encouraged the girls to have some fun together, leaving unsaid that it might be their last chance to do so.

“I cannot emphasize how thankful I am, Pidge.” Allura reached across the table to grab her hand. She and Romelle had insisted on going into a coffeeshop that had recently reopened; the design was minimalist but cozy, a step-up from anything else they’d seen outside downtown.

“And I’ve said it a hundred times already, princess, I don’t mind.” Pidge let her hand go slack in Allura’s, trying not to snap at her friend. While she appreciated the gratitude, the constant touching was starting to grate on her nerves.

“You do mind,” Allura contested, with the kind of serious but diplomatic tone she used when arguing with Garrison officers. “I could see your hesitance when the vendor first offered the trade. None would have denied your right to keep the item.”

Allura pulled back into herself as she spoke. It was strange to see her uncomfortable, since the princess usually kept either a tranquil or a powerful front in the face of adversity. Free from her touch, Pidge suddenly felt bad for not responding more fervently to Allura’s efforts towards a closer bond. In the castle-ship, she had pretended they were simply too different and, on Earth, too busy.

The truth was much less dignified: Allura had seemed like an unapproachable ideal, made solid only to remind Pidge of all that she could not be. She was prim and beautiful and feminine. Once upon a time, before the complexities of her multiple identities, Katie had aspired to this image, to some degree.

“You’re more important to me than a video game.” Pidge tried to be casual with the way she said this, but the knowing glint that shone in Allura’s eyes told her it was unsuccessful. “I’ll have plenty of time to find it again after the war is over.”

“Perhaps you could teach me these games once we are back.” Allura smiled at her, the picture of earnestness. “I was always curious about the time you and the other paladins dedicated to them.”

“It can be pretty frustrating,” Pidge warned, thinking of the hours she’d wasted with Hunk and Lance just to get past some particularly difficult levels.

“I have noticed that you scream a lot while playing,” the other commented thoughtfully, “but that appears to be part of the bonding experience.”

“You can say that again.” She scoffed.

“Why would I say it again?” Allura tilted her head to the side in confusion and Pidge had to disguise her laughter.

“I’m just agreeing with you.” She sometimes forgot that the Alteans weren’t completely used to Earth culture. In the Castle of Lions, the paladins were the ones to adhere to new patterns. Now, Allura and Coran had to slowly learn their customs, like with this date.

“I suppose we did have something similar in Altea,” Allura mused. “Activities like the maze we had in the Castle were quite popular among the youth.” She leaned over the table to speak in a lower voice. “The element of danger was a point of interest, though I couldn’t quite comprehend why.”

“That’s a lie and you know it!” Pidge pointed accusingly at Allura. “You’re almost as bad as Keith with throwing yourself into dangerous situations.”

“Am not!” It was always funny to rile her up like this. Allura was so calm and collected that getting her to sound immature was a reward in itself. The other shook her head and settled back into her seat, straightening her posture. “Oh, I know what you are doing.”

Pidge continued to grin at her. “What am I doing?”

The princess narrowed her eyes at Pidge, but her mouth struggled with a smile. “You and Lance have such a way of getting me to lose my cool.” She tapped a rhythm on the table. “I must admit it is endearing.”

There it was again, the shock of warmth and sadness that had troubled Pidge the entire day. She loved Allura and was even happy for her, but her heart was conflicted by the news of her new-found interest in Lance.

It just seemed so sudden, Pidge hadn’t had the opportunity to prepare herself. Or maybe those two had grown closer in the Garrison, while she tried her best not to see them, and this was simply the outcome of her bad choices.

Pidge was saved from responding by the arrival of Romelle, her arms full of napkins.

“What a bargain!” She proclaimed as the packages fell from her hands and bounced across the tabletop. “They have agreed to serve us their best delicacies in trade of Pidge’s autographs, a video of her endorsement and an appearance once every phoeb for the next five moons!” The blonde beamed down at them. “On that regard, what is an endorsement?”

Allura and Pidge shared a dismayed look over the piles of napkins.

“Surely they do not expect Pidge to autograph all of these.” Allura gave Romelle an hesitant smile, as if her politeness could change the answer they all knew was coming.

Romelle blinked at them. “The cook assured me it was an amazing deal.”

Pidge pinched the bridge of her nose, calling on any patience she could muster. She had nothing against Romelle and the Altean was nice and cheerful most of the time, but her naivete when dealing with human conventions never failed to amaze.

“Oh dear,” Allura fretted. “I should go deal with that.”

“Think you can convince them to give us food without getting me stuck here for the near future?” Pidge teased, to disguise her vexation.

Her friend slid off the booth. “I have reasoned with beings from several galaxies, I cannot fathom a Terran entrepreneur will be more stubborn than certain members of the coalition.” Allura straightened her spine and clasped her hands over her stomach, looking every bit the princess she was. The determination in her expression made Pidge smile.

“I can autograph one pile of napkins and I agree to do a video endorsement, but I’m not changing back into costume.” She turned to look at Romelle, who seemed to be accompanying the conversation with good-humored confusion. There was something almost sly about the look in her eyes. “I’m going into space tomorrow, how was I supposed to come back? Besides, I’m grounded. If mom found out we were finished shopping, she’d already be here to drag me home.”

“I might have been swayed by the delicious smells wafting from the kitchen,” the other admitted in a manner that could pass for sheepish. She eyed the napkins, before picking up a package. “I suppose these are a little excessive.”

Allura sighed. “I will be right back.”

They watched the princess move towards the front of the coffeeshop, where the human owner was talking to another set of customers. Romelle sat down where Allura had previously been.

“Alone at last.” She clapped her hands together and faced Pidge with a seriousness that contrasted with her usual vibrancy.

Pidge narrowed her eyes at Romelle. “I knew you were plotting something.”

The blonde shrugged. “I wanted to talk to you privately and I didn’t think we would get the chance in the Garrison.” She glanced back to where Allura stood waiting for the other customers to leave. “The owner was a darling, but he was a tremendous flirt, so Allura won’t be here any time soon.”

“Do I even have to sign anything?” Pidge rested her chin on her hand.

“He wants a picture with you and the princess and an autograph to hang on the wall, but that’s it.” Romelle winked at her.

“So what do you want?” Pidge tapped a finger against her cheek. She didn’t mean to sound so suspicious, but the girl’s orchestrations made the situation feel a little like a trap.

“To thank you.” The emotion in her voice sounded almost like pity. “For your sacrifice today.”

Pidge groaned. “I already told Allura that the video game wasn’t that much of a loss.”

“I am not talking about the game.” There was a moment of silence, during which Pidge kept very still. “I saw your reaction when we told you about the date. It was only then that I realized: you like pointy chin.”

“What makes you think that?” She raised a brow at Romelle, doing her best to appear natural.

“It makes sense.” Romelle looked up at the sparse decorations that adorned the coffeeshop, her expression pensive. “He’s the one you spend the most time with, after Hunk. I didn’t think you were interested in romance, given your almost complete lack of sentimentality,” and here she made a face at Pidge, “but I suppose we’re all dealing with high emotions right now.”

Pidge didn’t know how to reply. So far, Matt was the only one who had realized her crush on Lance and he’d been thankfully quiet since. The whole day left her feeling off-center, especially with what Romelle now wanted her to confess. Pidge didn’t want to talk about her feelings. She wanted to take her bayard and carve the jealousy and affection and misery right out of her chest.

Romelle took her silence as a sign to go on. “Look, I know we are not close, but you can talk to me.” The expression on her face was so eager that Pidge didn’t immediately protest. “You are… not kind. Not always, at least, but genuine.” Romelle hurried through her words. “Which is more than can be said about others I’ve met since arriving on Earth. And I can see how much you care for Allura, though you hide it beneath your sarcasm and reluctance.”

“Has anyone on Earth given you trouble?” Pidge chose to focus on the subject that was easier to approach. Romelle clearly knew what she was doing, because the blonde gave her a very annoyed look. “The team and I have tried to shield you from the politics of having non-humans around, but it’s not always possible.”

“I grew up worshipping a man who turned out to be harvesting quintessence from the bodies of my family and friends,” Romelle stated coolly. “I can handle the Terrans.”

“Well, this thing has to go both ways.” Pidge leaned back against the booth to gesture forcefully in the other’s direction. “If you want me to talk to you, then you need to talk to me.”

Romelle seemed to consider this, her eyes narrowed. “Fair enough.” She glanced quickly over her shoulder, then leaned forward. “I know we both want what’s best for Allura, but I hope you will be happy, too.”

Her eagerness brought a small smile to Pidge’s lips, even as her chest constricted with the acknowledgement of her feelings.

There were many things in the universe that she valued more than romance: her family, her intellect and ability to continue learning, and now her friends. Pidge would do anything to keep them safe and content, regardless of how she felt about Lance. She would eventually get over him, of this Pidge was sure.

She loved Lance, but she loved herself more.

“I don’t need a boy to be happy, Romelle. I just want this war to be over.”

The blonde nodded at her response. “You have already done so much for me by going against Lotor.” She sighed. “You will always have my loyalty for that.”

Pidge took a moment to study her. Romelle could be energetic and joyful, but she had also suffered more loss than Pidge could really comprehend. She had never believed Matt and her father were dead, even on the early days of the Garrison’s declaration. Hope had moved her forward, but Romelle hadn’t had that privilege.

“Have I ever told you how I became a paladin?” she asked, much to Romelle’s surprise.

“I don’t believe so, no.” The other furrowed her brows in puzzlement. “Are you changing the subject again?”

“I was just thinking that we have more in common than you know.” Pidge lowered her eyes to the tabletop, tracing a series of scratches with the tip of her fingers. “You have met my brother Matt, haven’t you?”

Allura approached as she said this, a tray of food balanced on her hand. “Oh, has Romelle heard of your search for Matt?”

Pidge stood up to help Allura place the coffee without spilling it and grinned at her friend’s enthusiasm. “I was just about to tell her.”

The princess sat down next to Romelle and put her hands to her chest in a show of sympathy. “It is a lovely story, please go on.”

With a laugh, she did.

[opalmaplehibiscus]

Rubies, Diamonds, and Self Reflection

HC of Kalim and Leona’s Senpai-Kouhai relationship + Kalim and Jamil in Kalim’s POV after Chapter 4

·       It would be a lie to say Kalim wasn’t crushed from what Jamil said

·       The last thing he wanted was to be hated by the person he treasures the most

·       It was understandable why Jamil resented him. He was the reason why Jamil wasn’t free anymore and made him feel burdened

·       If only he had known, if only he had known, Kalim would’ve done everything he could to free Jamil and the rest of his family

·       Yet he didn’t and it was because he wasn’t able to catch the hints

·       For once, he didn’t know what to do. He tried to extend his hand to Jamil, in hopes that it would help them move on and start a new relationship

·       It took everything in him to not flinch when Jamil slapped his hand away and said “No way”

·       No one ever found out about him crying during every night as he was successfully able to weep quietly to the point Jamil wasn’t able to find out

·       Betrayal, hurt, sadness, pain – he couldn’t take it anymore. He didn’t know what to do to mend their relationship or even know how to feel at this point

·       But when Kalim remembered  a certain line, a certain wish Jamil had yelled at him, he started thinking. Then, staring at his head scarf that was hanging on a chair, Kalim started to take actions with his own hands

·       When Jamil comes to wake up Kalim out of habit, he finds Kalim’s bed well-made, pajamas folded in his drawer perfectly

·       Panic and worry were the only two things Jamil felt before he finds Kalim sitting in the lounge with the rest of the Scarabia dorm members

·       Kalim had his eyes closed while one of the freshmen was applying the finishing touches to his make-up as another was tying the headscarf

·       When he had initially gone up and asked the dorm members’ if they could help him, he remembered how they looked worried after seeing the sunken, dark circles beneath his eyes

·       He was thankful they were willing to look it over, accepting the excuse that he wasn’t able to sleep because of the heat

·       When Jamil calls out Kalim’s name, Kalim jumps a bit, causing the freshman to apologize and worriedly ask him if they had accidentally injured his eyes

·       Reassuring him the student that he was fine, Kalim opens the eye that was done and greets Jamil normally…or at least tried to

·       He didn’t understand why Jamil seemed to be worried about his whereabouts, giving Jamil a confused look

·       When Kalim replies “Wasn’t this what you wanted though?”, he got more confused when he sees a flash of shock and hurt cross Jamil’s face before he sees his former best-friend agree and stomp past the doors

·       The want to grab Jamil’s hand and ask for an explanation nearly won him over, but Kalim was able to hold it in

·       It would be a lie to say he felt lonely. He wasn’t used to walking the hallways alone or eating by himself

·       He missed the times he and Jamil would talk to each other, whether it was Jamil scolding him for forgetting his homework or eating messy

·       But in the same time, in the corner of his heart, he was hoping Jamil felt hurt as well. And the fact he felt that way made Kalim ever more guilty and led him to stay away from Jamil even more

·       It was for this reason that during the Fairy Gala operation, he said that he would support Leona

·       He was aware that Leona got the hint that it was an act of desperation – an excuse to hopefully make Jamil stay away from him

·       Kalim didn’t want to hurt anyone anymore. He didn’t want to see his most precious people feel burdened because of him

·       He was sick and tired bringing only pain to others

·       So when him, Leona, and Jamil ended up being paired together as the main “attraction”, Kalim breathed out a relieved sigh

·       He was hoping he would get paired with Ruggie or Yuu/MC, but as long as he wasn’t alone with Jamil, he was fine

·       But when Jamil kept on trying to help Kalim despite our sunshine boy pointedly asking for other’s help, frustration was building up inside of him

·       He thought Jamil wanted to stay away from him? Feel free and not be under the Al-Asim influence?

·       Was Jamil worried that his dad might hear that he wasn’t looking after Kalim? Well…Jamil didn’t need to do that since he already written a fabricated report for the headmaster to submit to his dad. Sounding exactly like how Jamil would’ve written the report to a T

·       Kalim doesn’t expect for Leona to actually help him out, acting as if Leona was frustrated with Kalim on how “slow” he was despite being the one to help fix his hair ornaments and the finishing touches of his looks

·       And this small interference made by Leona continued until their mission ended in success

·       He knew Leona was going to confront him about him and Jamil, but he wasn’t expecting it to happen on the very next day

·       Kalim’s hands were in fists as Leona was jeering at Kalim for “not noticing” what Jamil was doing to him as frustration bubbled along with the salt rubbing on his wound. Like bro, come on. He’s not even over it yet and you’re seriously going to do that? Really?

·       When Kalim questions Leona back on his reasoning to help him out, he huffed when he sees Leona’s eyes widen from the unexpected question

·       What he didn’t expect was for the 3rd-year lion to bark out laughter before commenting how it seemed like he had seen everything wrong

·       He didn’t enjoy being on the receiving end of Leona’s predatory look, but continued to hold his stance, giving a sneering look of his own

·       He could only sigh internally as the cat was out of the bag when Leona realizes that Kalim knew about everything this whole entire time and only had Jamil continued to do his “little dance” because of consideration of Jamil being his friend and safety of everyone else

·       But confusion covered his face as Leona started to criticize him of his judgement and told him what he would’ve done in Kalim’s stead

·       It doesn’t take long to realize Leona was giving him advice. For free. Without asking him back for anything

·       Seeing the suspicion on his face, he’s given a ruffle on his head before Leona tells Kalim that he wants to see what more Kalim could potentially do in the future though Kalim knew Leona was more interest in him and…Jamil’s confrontation

·       Kalim knew this was his only chance to ask for help, to help him getter stronger. Pivoting on his heals, Kalim grabs Leona, who had now walked past him, by the wrist before asking Leona to help him get stronger

·       Cause Kalim knew that if he doesn’t get stronger one way or another, he’ll continue dragging people down. And he knew that he wouldn’t be able to make himself stronger if he trains by himself

·       When Jamil trained him, Kalim was able to get criticism of what he needed to get stronger on but now that he was trying not to rely on Jamil, Kalim had no choice but to seek for help by someone who’s smarter and stronger than him

·       When he sees Leona about to reject him with his usual “Hah, hell no. That’s too much of a pain”, Kalim ends up making a deal with Leona that he would help his senpai avoid Ruggie’s nagging if he helps him just an hour per day

·       It took him literally everything to get Leona to agree on those terms, going as far as being dragged across the ground while clinging onto Leona’s arm

·       Leona: Let go of my f-king arm before I use my Unique Magic on you Kalim: *clings tighter* Never! You can’t make me! Leona: Hoh? And why? Kalim: *sparkles and holy light radiates from him* Pwease? uwu

·       On their first session….things were bad. Leona kept on napping ever 5 minutes as Kalim was doing some of the exercises Leona had him do

·       …Listen. He doesn’t like hurting people, okay? However, even he has a limit to how much crap he can deal with, his patience starting to wear thin because of his stress

·       So, when Kalim “accidentally” makes it rain over Leona, the feeling of satisfaction and smugness only lasted a second before he was running away from an angry lion while screaming sorry

·       When  3 days passed though, Kalim started to realize that not only has he become stronger – Leona seemed to start doting on him

·       At first, Kalim thought nothing of it when Leona chucked a water bottle at him, telling Kalim how he needed to stay hydrated if he was going to continue training under Leona

·       Yet, slowly, the training between Kalim and Leona starts to get longer and when Kalim points it out, Leona would end up just nonchalantly say how they seemed to have been carried away

·       The last evidence that Leona actually cares for him was when Kalim accidentally had fallen asleep during their break. He wouldn’t imagine coming to see the day that he would end up waking up in none other than Leona’s room with a freaking blanket covering him

·       Soon, Kalim finds himself hanging around Leona more with Leona showing annoyance as his tail would flick or ears would twitch whenever Kalim comes over to hang out. Kalim knows though that Leona didn’t mind being around him seeing how Leona never attempts to push him away

·       He should’ve seen it coming that not everyone was going to accept his new found friendship as one second, he’s next to Leona, the next Jamil was dragging him down the hallways

·       Others were fooled into thinking that the relationship between him and Jamil must’ve gotten better for something that had always happened in the past is occurring again now

·       Kalim, though, knows that that wasn’t the case. Jamil’s grip is too tight and the way Jamil was walking wasn’t out of annoyance but from anger and….jealousy?

·       He keeps on asking Jamil what was wrong and that his wrist hurt throughout the whole journey until the two enters an empty classroom

·       Jamil was already questioning Kalim, telling him did he know how dangerous it was for him to hang around Leona of all people, reminding him that he needed to be more conscious like Jamil had always mentioned before

·       In the past, when Kalim had trusted Jamil with his whole heart and thought they were friends, he would’ve accepted this

·       Now, Kalim is feeling more cornered and stressed. It seems as if no matter what he did, Jamil wasn’t ever going to forgive him or realize how much Kalim was trying to mend their relationship

·       When Jamil mentions how he wasn’t going to be there for Kalim and asks if Kalim still intended to burden him when he thought Kalim was willing to free him, Kalim was reminded of the words Jamil had said in chapter 4 and tries to hold the tears that were threatening to pour out while making fists with his hands

·       By the time Jamil finished, Kalim used all of his will power to muster his usual sheepish grin before he replies that he understands before, not helping himself, shooting a shot back at Jamil

·       When Kalim asks Jamil why he decided to drag him and lecture him like this when it’s only going to waste Jamil’s time, he sees Jamil’s face flash a sign of confusion before turning into frustration and anger, not at Kalim, but at himself

·       Jamil replies that he still holds the responsibility of having to keep Kalim safe somewhat for the sake of his own family before he shoves Kalim to the side and leaves

·       Numbly, Kalim leaves the classroom as well, feeling hollow and broken. He doesn’t think where his feet take him until he found himself in front of Ramshackle’s dorm

·       Surprise from where he was and panicking that he was going to be late with his training session with Leona, Kalim starts to turn around again only to meet with Yuu/MC and Grim

·       When Yuu/MC asks Kalim if he came again to offer fixing part of the dorm, Kalim could only sheepishly laugh and rub the back of his head cause to be fair, Kalim did came over a few times to help Yuu/MC fix their dorm after helping him out with Scarabia’s scandal

·       He isn’t sure what could’ve possibly hinted that he’s feeling down since he was sure his acting was still on point as he makes an excuse on spot that he was only passing by this

·       He doesn’t expect Yuu/MC to drag him into Ramshackle Dorm’s lounge with a complaining Grim following right behind them nor be seated and drinking tea, like a normal person. By that, as in, not excessively pouring sugar cubes like the time when he wanted to pull on Jade’s leg

·       The two start off having a small talk with each other, Kalim sounding like his normal bright self and Yuu/MC ever being considerate before they asked Kalim what was making him stressed out

·       Kalim blinks owlishly, not expecting for that question to be asked out of the blue before trying to assure them that he wasn’t

·       No matter what he did, Yuu/MC didn’t buy any of his excuses, pointing out every little sign that Kalim isn’t okay

·       He tries telling them to drop it as gently as possibly, purposely making the conversation go in circles

·       When Yuu/MC reveals that Kalim wasn’t the type to get lost aimlessly - that made Kalim become alert

·       He asks them what they meant before they state how they knew Kalim was smarter than he leads others to believe, evening calling him out for lying about the fact he couldn’t memorize things when they brought up the time when Kalim held a banquet for the headmaster

·       Kalim felt offended for being called out and having his hidden side be revealed before he narrows his eyes and asks what did they know about him

·       Starting from there, everything pent up poured out as Kalim raised his voice and continue asking what in the world Yuu/MC knew about him

·       Did they know how much he suffered from not being able to eat whatever and wherever he wanted? To not be able to trust anyone or anything? To have to believe that whatever was around him could possibly kill him because of his fate and position?

·       Did they know how much he work he did to become powerful and smart enough just so he could stop becoming a weight that sinks people down and instead, do the reverse and help them? To have to pull an act of seeming carefree so he wouldn’t worry anyone from his own emotional burden?

·       How much pain he had to swallow in and do his best to act normal after Jamil’s betrayal and confession? How broken hearted he was to have been seen that way by the person he had trusted his whole life while feeling guilty to be the one to make said person feel like that?

·       Kalim doesn’t realize he was being hugged or, in fact, crying as he let everything go

·       When he calms down, he quickly apologizes to Yuu/MC while Grim comes over and places a box of tissue on the coffee table

·       Yuu/MC assures him that it was fine and asks if he now felt better, especially when he was able to stop holding everything in

·       He could only nod as he hides his blush of embarrassment behind the tissue he blew his nose into

·       Sometimes Kalim wonders if Yuu/MC intentionally tries to frustrates people when Yuu/MC points out how it was because of his weakness – that he cares too much about the people he holds close to and his naivety- that led to Jamil to treat him as a pushover

·       Yet he realizes that Yuu/MC was trying to comfort him as they tell him that it was okay for him to be selfish and exert some authority, that it was okay to show he was actually smart beneath his mask as they point out that had Kalim had shown that side of him, he would’ve been able to get Jamil to at least not pull off the stunt seen in Chapter 4 or at least realize by now that Jamil was in the wrong, not him

·       Kalim wants to defend Jamil but Yuu/MC didn’t give him the opportunity to as they started to talk about how Jamil had every opportunity to become free without using the whole “use my Unique Magic to the point I overblot” method and finally convinced Kalim that the relationship between him and Jamil wasn’t completely his fault

·       Kalim, realizing all of this, felt satisfied and peacefully come in terms with everything as his heart didn’t weigh so heavy anymore. For the first time in a while, Kalim smiles from the bottom of his heart and thanks Yuu/MC before quickly rushing out and head to Leona as he saw on his phone that he was about to be late

·       When he meets Leona, Leona doesn’t ask why his eyes seemed swollen up or slightly red as he has Kalim start on his warm ups like usual

·       It was during break Leona gruffly asks him if he was alright

·       Seeing how Kalim was giving him a questioning look, Leona huffs before he tells Kalim that he heard about “him and Jamil were starting to become friends again” and huffs about how the herbivores in their school aren’t able to notice the tension between the two when the whole hallway thing happened

·       Kalim starts grinning, feeling warm and happy that Leona was showing that he cares about Kalim’s wellbeing, before he laughs and tells Leona he’s okay

·       He could see Leona holding back his worries and frustration seeing how Leona’s eyebrow was twitching and raising his hand-raising his hand? No, that wasn’t supposed to happen. Leona please put your hand down, I’m sorry, I said I was-!

·       Starting from that day, Kalim went back to his normal self. Yet instead of focusing on Jamil, for once, Kalim starts to care for himself as he now hung out with Yuu/MC more, visiting their dorm and hang out with them every so often and continuing his training under Leona

·       It was at this point Kalim also became buddies with the Octavinelle trio and having Vil become his “sensei” again, but this time on clothes and make-up

·       So, when Yuu/MC suddenly tells him that there was going to be a party held in one of the second year’s classroom, Kalim knew it was lie but still goes there anyways

·       He knew Yuu/MC wasn’t the type to lie without a reason

·       He never would’ve expected to get locked in a classroom with Jamil, of all people

·       The only way to describe the atmosphere between the two of them is awkward

·       Sweat rolls down the side of his face as he tries to lighten the pressure between the two of them, starting up small talk and asking the basic pleasantries

·       Kalim gets surprised when Jamil, out of nowhere, asks him if he was having fun with his new friends

·       Thinking that it was an opportunity, Kalim answers with a yes and went on and on about the things that happened with the people he now hangs out with

·       When Kalim started to talk about how he seemed to become closer to Yuu/MC and Leona and unconsciously show his endearment for the two, he stops abruptly after hearing Jamil snort

·       He calls out Jamil’s name only to have Jamil suddenly sneer at him for still being “naïve and not learned anything”

·       Anger, hurt, and disappointment fills Kalim as Jamil continues to insult him, going on about how he felt bad that his new friends were stuck taking care of a person who didn’t even know how to cook for himself except with magic

·       To say he felt satisfied when he surprises Jamil was an understatement. Yeah, Kalim felt mean when he shot back at Jamil mentioning how Jamil would’ve been freed if only he told Kalim

·       Making a sneering expression of his own, Kalim points out how, because he’s probably one of the few to know him to the point of reading his mind, Jamil has been trying to get Kalim to accept his offer for help

·       Kalim scoffs how Jamil only ended up making enemies despite being able to increase his social status in the school and that he can’t help but think that all of his troubles could’ve been prevented easily

·       The two continues to insult each other until they  yelling at each other, holding the other one’s collar until they start to emotionally confess everything they had felt during the time they stayed away

·       The hands that were holding the other one’s collar slowly and gradually wrap around each other’s shoulders as both Kalim and Jamil sinks onto their knees and hug

·       They continue to sob in each other’s embrace, for comfort and forgiveness until they calmed down and let  go

·       Kalim ends up being the one to break the atmosphere as he couldn’t help but find Jamil’s crying face hilarious. It’s his first-time seeing Jamil look like that and to be honest, it made Jamil look like a kid that cried from a tantrum

·       When Jamil shouts at him to shut up, Kalim continues to tease Jamil before he got up and extends his hand to Jamil

·       When Jamil looks at the hand then to his eyes, Kalim gives Jamil his famous cheerful grin

·       He still counts it his victory when Jamil sighs and took Kalim’s hand

·       Feeling as if things were alright, the two started to discuss how to open the locked classroom without damaging it before they hear the classroom’s door bang open

·       The two were surprised when they see Leona growling how long they intended to stay in the classroom before they realized that the door wasn’t locked from the start and the whole thing was set up

·       Kalim starts complaining to Yuu/MC who comes in behind Leona while turning a blind eye to Leona and how he was threatening Jamil to not think about hurting him anymore

·       The two were found walking back to Scarabia Dorm with each other, fooling around just like back then as everyone headed back home

[ilooklikeaburntchickenugget]

Only Mine Pt. 2

A/N: Part 2! I’m really sorry if there are any grammatical errors. I haven’t updated in a bit, wanted to give you guys something, so I haven’t really proof read... like at all. So yeah, if there’s some weird mistakes it’s that. Pairing: Gerard Way x F!Reader Word count: 2339 Warnings: Implied smut, a few curse words (I think one, tbh)

The Grammys. An artists dream award.

To even be recognized by the Grammys was already a huge deal for any singer, songwriter, or band. But to be nominated for 10 awards? That was a whole other ballgame.

That’s where you stood tonight though. On the large red carpet in a formal ball gown, an off shoulder look with a slit next to your leg, and it was a beautiful emerald green color, Gerard next to you in a solid black tux. Usually he would say no to these events, but it was you. And this could have been the night you received your greatest accomplishment ever, so he was not going to miss it for the world.

Just like Gerard had predicted, My Midnight Boy was an absolute hit. Many were already considering it the album of the decade, and was placed on to Billboard Top 100 at #1 for over 12 weeks, with over half of the songs reaching the top 5. While that was exciting for so many reasons, a lot of other things in your personal life took a 180. For starters, paparazzi were everywhere. Anytime you or Gerard walked out of your New York apartment, a line of at least half a dozen paps were suited with large cameras to take as many photos as possible. When the two of you were together, there were usually 20. So naturally, you both had to hire security. It was never a decision that you wanted to make, it was one that needed to happen.

Next, your band broke up. Apparently, the boys there couldn’t take your individual success and broke up in a screaming fight which left you crying in a studio, and Gerard having to come and console you for a few hours, reminding you that they left because they couldn’t handle your fame and success.

Your fandom also grew immensely, which was great. You loved scrolling through your Instagram and Twitter everyday, only to see hundreds of fans show off your merch. Some even had Y/N Y/L/N themed parties, rooms, and costumes. It was all so overwhelming, in a good way.

You and him had both done numerous interviews at this point. You were especially glad that Gerard was being asked about My Chem, and not just you. And the questions that did come about you, he would always have the sweetest most genuine answers. “She’s honestly the most incredible woman I’ve ever met, and I’m so lucky to have her as my best friend and fiancee.” “She’s a musical genius, honestly. She’s way smarter, way more beautiful, and way more talented than me. Which I’m okay with because she deserves and has earned everything she has.” “She surprises me everyday. She has new, crazy ideas for music. And they all work. She just makes it work.”

And every time you would stand off with a huge smile and even more prominent blush on your face. Finally, at one point, you were asked about Gerard. After all, it was pretty well known now that “My Midnight Boy” was, well, Gerard.

“He’s honestly the best man ever.” You smiled and looked over at him as he just smiled, “I wouldn’t have written as genuine, and heartfelt songs about anyone else. He just makes me feel every emotion, and he’s the one who brings out the best me. He’s my number one supporter, and he always reminds me of that. I couldn’t dream of a more perfect person to spend the rest of my life with.” You could feel your lover squeeze your hand in a small gesture of thanks. You both smiled, departing from that interviewer where your manager met you at the end of the carpet.

“You both did great.” He smiled, “Now the official show starts in about 20 minutes, so they’re beginning to urge everyone to take their seats. Since both of you are done with interviews, it’s probably a good time to head in.” The two of you nodded, being led into the auditorium where you were seated in the first row. Best of the best.

You had an insane amount of people, stars who you had never even dreamt of meeting, coming up and introducing themselves, starting small talk about just how incredible your album was.

You were quite overwhelmed by everything, being at the Grammys hadn’t really sunk in until you were actually there. Gerard could tell, pretty easily, and simply placed his hand on your knee, giving it a lightly squeeze. “It’s okay, sugar,” He whispered into your ear, “You’re doing great.” You gave him a tight smile, him returning one back.

Only a few minutes later, the awards started. You had to admit, it was less glamorized than what seeing it on TV made it out to be. Of course the performances were great, but the moments of complete boredom during commercial breaks and such made you realize were so many stars had complained some about the Grammys.

“After this,” You yawned during once of the breaks, placing your head on Gerard’s shoulder, “Can we go home and eat get some Chinese take out?” “Whatever you want, love.” He kissed the top of your head. You and him were not into much PDA, so anything beyond a hand hold or kiss was a lot.

“And a movie?” You asked next and he smiled.

“Of course, darling.” You smiled back, picking your head back up. The show restarted, both of you sitting back up as they continued going through some of the smaller categories, finally hitting the large ones.

“Next up, we have song of the year.” The two announcers smiled. They went through a list of artists along with their songs, Ariana Grande, Beyonce, and a few more were included, “Cardigan, Y/F/N Y/L/N.” They said and you smiled, Gerard next to you smiling as well as the cameras flashed to the two of you.

“And the award goes to...” It took them a few moments to open the card, your heart beginning to race. You grabbed onto Gerard’s hand, giving it a squeeze, and him squeezing back as your eyes went wide in anticipation, breaths caught in your throats.

“Cardigan, Y/F/N Y/L/N!” You heard cheering as you let out both a breath and a huge smile. You stood up with Gerard, who was already standing and clapping as you gave him a hug, him immediately hugging you back and giving you a kiss on the lips as the cheers continued. You only stayed for a few seconds before smiling at him again, and running up to the stage to the best of your abilities.

You hugged the two announcers as they handed you your very own Grammy. You looked at it only for a brief moment, holding it while you walked up to the mic. “Okay, so this is absolutely insane.” You sighed as a few people began laughing. “This is my first Grammy ever, and to even be able to be nominated for something like this was enough for me. But winning is beyond my wildest dreams.” You took a brief pause to actually breathe, “I want to thank all my friends and family who let me follow my passions and dreams of being a musician, I would like to thank my wonderful fiancee and muse who, without him, this song and no other song on that album would have been written. And I would like to thank every single fan who has stuck by me through thick and thin. You guys are what keeps me running every day and give me motivation to keep pushing my music further even when it may seem like I can’t, or it’s impossible. This is just so crazy, but thank you everyone!” You smiled as the cheers re-erupted, the trophy being taken away from your temporarily.

You found yourself right back in your loving fiancees arms before sitting back down. “You just won a Grammy.” He sat in awe and began lightly laughing, “You just won a Grammy!” “I know!” You responded, too in shock. “I really hope you do realize I couldn’t have ever done it without you though.” You smiled at him.

“Oh, please,” He scoffed, “You’re a musical genius. You could easily do anything without me.” “But you’re my muse!” You defended.

“Which is extremely flattering, thank you.” He gave you a peck on the lips, “But seriously, you deserve every inch of that award. You worked hard for it. You deserve it.” You smiled up at him.

“You’re incredible, you know that?” “Oh, not nearly as incredible as you darling.” By the end of the night, you had managed to do what almost no other artist had done. Won 10 Grammys in one night.

You stood on the large red carpet, dozens of Grammy logos behind you as you yourself held 10 trophies, stacked on one another, up to your chin. You smiled at all the cameras, flashing from a million different directions, your name being yelled over and over as they tried to get your attention.

Finally, you got the okay to walk off, a few people helping to retrieve your awards, which would later get your name engraved into them. At the end, behind everyone and all the chaos was your manager and Gerard, who both stood and smiled at you. You ran into his arms, giving him a tight hug as he gave you one back.

“I’m so proud of you.” He smiled down at you, your height difference pretty visible.

“Thank you.” You smiled like a fool giving you a quick kiss.

“I can’t believe it, Y/N,” Your managed spoke, “You did it!” You nodded and gave him, too, a hug. “This is huge. I mean, absolutely huge!” You nodded. “You set a record, you have 10 Grammys, I mean-” “It feels too good to be true.” You commented and he nodded. “Are you two heading to any of the after parties?” You shook your head, “I assumed not.” He smiled, “Which actually makes my life easier because I don’t have to go and monitor either.” You lightly laughed, “Well you two go home, and relax. Have some fun, but not too much fun.” He smirked.

“Oh shut up.” You rolled your eyes and waved as you and Gerard went to the back entrance to be picked up by a driver who was taking you back to your LA home.

Gerard opened the front door, letting you in first, and closing it once he got in. You slipped off your shoes with a sigh. “I think I’m gonna go upstairs, take off my makeup and all.” You lightly smiled at him. “I’ll come with you.” He smiled back. The two of you ran up the stairs like foolish teenagers in love, stumbling from one stair to another before reaching the top floor and running to the master bedroom, Gerard shutting the door eagerly behind you.

He immediately ran up to you after that, giving you a long and passionate kiss. You melted into him, letting him gently push you onto the plush bed. “So we’re on the same page?” You pulled away for a brief moment to catch some air. He lightly laughed.

“Yeah, babe.” He went right back to his assault on your lips, moving down to your neck and collarbone, finding your sweet spot quickly where you let out a loud moan. “Gee,” You begged and he hummed.

“Yes, baby doll?” He inquired, looking up to you from where he continued to plant kisses on your collar bone.

“Please.” Your strained and needy voice sounded.

“Please, what, baby?” He teased you a bit and you lightly huffed.

“Just fuck me.” You said with confidence this time.

“Your wish is my command.”

That led you to laying beside him, your body covered in both his and your own sweat. His arm was tightly wrapped around you as he played with your hair. He gave you a quick kiss. “Where’re you going?” You whined. He looked back and lightly laughed.

“To clean you up, sugar.” He lightly smiled, walking into the en suite. “I don’t deserve you.” You muttered and smiled, pulling the duvet over your bare body.

“I could say the same for you.” He smiled, coming back with a towel. “You’re just too damn perfect.” He sighed.

“Oh, c’mon Gee, don’t lie to you or me.”

“I mean it,” He climbed into bed next to you, “You are perfect.”

“Sure,” You sighed, he leaned in and gave you a kiss.

“I’m going to work my entire damn life to make you understand you’re perfect if I have to.” You placed your head on his shoulder.

“I love you.” You smiled up at him.

“I love you too.” He smiled back.

“Now can we get Chinese food.” He lightly laughed.

“Yes, of course.” He got up, wrapping himself in a towel, “And then watch Star Wars?” He asked hopefully.

“Yeah, what else we would watch?” “I don’t know,” He sighed, “A horror movie-” “I don’t like those, Gee.” You whined.

“I know,” He smiled, “That’s why we don’t watch them.” You got up yourself, taking part of a throw blanket to cover yourself as you walked into your walk in closet, grabbing your Star Wars PJs.

“Gee,” You called into his closet, “You better be wearing your-” “Star Wars PJs? Yeah, I know.” He walked out with them on, and you with yours.

“Perfect.” You smiled and he wrapped an arm around you.

“You know I am so proud of you, right?” He looked over at you as you were walking down the stairs. You smiled, blushing and involuntarily covering your face with your sleeves to hide it. “Oh c’mon! I wanna see your pretty face.” He complained.

“Thanks.” You looked up at him lightly, still shying away from the praise.

“C’mere sugar.” He opened up your arms which you walked in as he held you tightly, kissing the top of your head. “You really are perfect. Too perfect, but perfect.”

[twoidiotwriters1]

Written In The Stars CXIV (Harry Potter xF!Oc)

A/N: Book 6 is oficially finished but I still have a lot of editing to do bc I still don’t like it much jsdjs -Danny

Words: 3,387 

Series’ Masterlist

Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

Listent to: ‘Say Something’ -by A Great Big World

Chapter Twelve: The New Routine.

Mel was making zero progress on Occlumency, but she was quite good at Legilimency. 

She blamed this on the fact that she was now having one lesson every two weeks instead of once a week, which made her progress go slower.

Thankfully though, Dumbledore hadn't mentioned his brother at all, so she assumed her grandad had kept things to himself. On Monday, the girl walked into the common room and noticed a small group of her friends around the notice board.

— by order of—

The High Inquisitor of Hogwarts

All Student Organizations, Societies, Teams, Groups, and Clubs are henceforth disbanded.

An Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club is hereby defined as a regular meeting of three or more students.

Permission to re-form may be sought from the High Inquisitor (Professor Umbridge)...

Mel stormed out of the place. She didn't speak until she reached the Gryffindor table at the Great Hall. Fred, George, Neville, Ginny and Dean sat around her.

"We didn't say a thing."

"We promise, Mel."

"I know you didn't," She said. "Hermione jinxed the parchment you signed, she told me yesterday. You wouldn't be all lively have you been the ones to blame."

"What was supposed to happen?"

"Dunno, but it was supposed to hurt and it was supposed to be noticeable," She forced a spoonful of cereal down her throat, just to have something to do and calm her spirits.

"No one looks injured," Ginny looked around the Great Hall. "Most of the people that were in the meeting are here, but we would've heard if any had woken up with their faces all messed up, right?"

Mel dropped her spoon.

"I told Hermione this would happen! If my Grandfather wasn't the one–"

"Your grandfather?" Neville asked.

"–Then someone heard us, someone who clearly doesn't want us to learn," She ignored Neville's question.

Hermione, Harry and Ron sat close to the group, immediately they all dropped questions on them as well.

"Did you see it?"

"D'you reckon she knows?"

"What are we going to do?"

"We're going to do it anyway, of course," Harry looked at her. "If that's okay with you."

"Why wouldn't it be?" She asked grumpily. "Oh, how I'm wishing to vanish that silly grin of the Toad's face..."

"Knew you'd say that," George hit Harry's arm lightly.

"The prefects as well?" said Fred, looking over at Ron and Hermione.

"Of course."

"Here comes Ernie and Hannah Abbott," said Ron worryingly. "And those Ravenclaw blokes and Smith... and no one looks very spotty."

"Never mind spots, the idiots can't come over here now, it'll look really suspicious — sit down!" She gestured to rejoin their tables. "Later! We'll — talk — to — you — later!"

"I'll take care of them," Mel got up.

"I'll tell Michael," said Ginny, getting up as well. "The fool, honestly... are you all right?"

"Peachy," She replied dryly.

"I saw the way Cho and Harry were ogling at each other the day of the meeting... I'm sorry."

"I don't care," Mel raised a brow, still looking forward. "I'm actually considering asking Fred on a date, you know?"

Before she could hear Ginny's reaction, she quickly approached Hannah and Ernie.

"Morning, guys!" Mel smiled tightly, putting her arms around their shoulders. "Come, let's go to your table..."

"Mel, have you seen–?"

"I have," She insisted, turning them around gently. "Now let's go to your table so we can talk about it calmly..."

"We need permission to re-form the Quidditch team," Ron told her as soon as they sat down to hear Binn's lecture"

"I know, it said so in the parchment," Mel gave him a sorrowful look. "Don't worry Ron, she can't forbid the team to play, it would be unfair, and as long as Harry doesn't give her more reasons to punish him everything will turn out fine."

"Did Ernie and Hannah gave you trouble?"

"Not at all, they were quite understanding," She smiled softly. "I like them, they're good... Very discrete as well, promised they would let their friends know but only when they were sure they were the only ones listening, so you can cross Zach out of your list, he didn't spill the potion."

Twenty minutes into the lesson Hedwig appeared in the window seal, Harry went to get her and came back with a dreadful discovery.

"Oh, Merlin..." Mel gasped in horror.

The bird's wing was twisted in a way it shouldn't have been possible. It was obvious that she was not okay.

Harry stood up and told Professor Bins he didn't feel well, and he needed to go to the hospital wing. Most of their classmates glanced curiously at them but didn't stop him from leaving. The expression on his face was enough to break her heart. Harry was extremely worried about Hedwig, and she was too.

She wondered how was he taking all the news, must've been frustrating for him, after being so excited about standing up for what he believed in. She tried to talk to him after breakfast, but the words simply didn't come, she felt stuck, not knowing how to interact with him anymore.

"Poor Hedwig!" Ron frowned. "It's weird, she'd never been injured before, had she? D'you reckon she was attacked by another animal?"

"This is too much of a coincidence," Mel shook her head, "first the notice board, now this... they're watching us, every form of communication..."

Then it occurred to her. Not every form of communication was being watched, she still had one.

"I need to talk to Erick," She rummaged through her pockets and pulled out her watch.

"Why him?" Ron rolled his eyes. "Do you really think he has the solution for everything?"

"No you dunce," Mel scowled at him. "But for this particular problem, he does..."

She tapped the front of her watch with her wand, then she closed it and held onto it tightly.

"I hope so, at least."

"Who's the letter from anyway?" asked Ron, taking the note from Harry.

"Snuffles," said Harry quietly.

" 'Same time, same place'? Does he mean the fire in the common room?"

"Obviously," said Hermione, also reading the note. She looked uneasy. "I just hope nobody else has read this..."

"But it was still sealed and everything, and nobody would understand what it meant if they didn't know where we'd spoken to him before, would they?"

"I guess so..." Mel put a hand in her pocket and touched her watch. She was hoping her friend could make it on time. "We need to be smarter, though. She clearly has gone through it all."

"It wouldn't be exactly difficult to reseal the scroll by magic..." Hermione agreed. "And if anyone's watching the Floo Network... but I don't really see how we can warn him not to come without that being intercepted too!"

Draco Malfoy was standing just outside Snape's classroom door, waving around a piece of parchment and talking in the tone Mel knew he only used when he wanted to show off, which was always.

"Yeah, Umbridge gave the Slytherin Quidditch team permission to continue playing straight away, I went to ask her first thing this morning. Well, it was pretty much automatic, I mean, she knows my father really well, he's always popping in and out of the Ministry... It'll be interesting to see whether Gryffindor are allowed to keep playing, won't it?"

"Don't rise," Hermione whispered. "It's what he wants..."

"I mean, if it's a question of influence with the Ministry, I don't think they've got much chance... From what my father says, they've been looking for an excuse to sack Arthur Weasley for years... And as for Potter... My father says it's a matter of time before the Ministry has him carted off to St. Mungo's... apparently, they've got a special ward for people whose brains have been addled by magic... reckon the Dumbledores would feel at home there as well."

Before Mel could stop him, Neville launched himself towards the Slytherins.

"Neville, no!" Harry seized the back of Neville's robes. Malfoy could not believe his eyes. "Help me!"

Crabbe and Goyle closed in front of Malfoy. Mel stepped forward, trying to stand as tall as she could. Ron grabbed the boy's arms and he and Harry dragged Neville away.

"I wouldn't move if I were you," Mel said quietly, so calm and composed she surprised herself. "You're way slower than me even with your wands ready. Get lost."

"Not... funny... don't... Mungo's... show... him..."  She heard Neville panting behind her.

"I know, Neville," She said, though she kept her eyes fixed on the Slytherin boys. "He didn't mean to be so stupid. Right, Malfoy? Aren't you going to ask them to stop, Prefect?"

Malfoy, maybe because he could sense he wouldn't be able to win this fight, growled to Crabbe and Goyle to step back.

"Fighting, Potter, Weasley, Longbottom?" Snape walked out of the dungeons.

Mel turned to the boys and mouthed 'let him go!'. The boys obeyed her right away.

"He was feeling ill, Professor," She turned around and held Snape's sneer.

"Inside. All of you." He said shortly before entering his dungeon again.

Neville turned to look at his friends in a way he'd never done before.

"I had to stop you," Harry said slowly, picking up their friend's bag. "Crabbe and Goyle would've torn you apart."

"I would never let that happen," Mel walked up to Neville and put a hand on his shoulder. "You hear me, Nev? I would never."

Neville remained quiet, he brushed off her hand and snatched his bag away from Harry's grip. Entering the room in a flash.

"What in the name of Merlin," said Ron in awe, "was that about?"

Harry and Mel were aware of Neville's parents, but it was still a secret, much like every thing in her life right now. Harry said nothing, he was looking at her with a strange scowl, she felt like he was almost mad she had decided to step in. Mel didn't care about it, she let out a tired sigh.

"Everyone has their limits, Ron. Malfoy found his..."

She passed the table she would usually occupy with the group and instead joined Neville, thinking he would be needing extra help being too distracted to pay attention to the lesson.

"I don't need–"

"No need to act all tough and proud," Mel sat down determinedly. "I'm not here to pity you. I'm here to make sure you don't blow up anything."

He lowered his gaze to his cauldron, he didn't try to usher her away after that.

"You will notice," said Snape suddenly, "that we have a guest with us today."

Umbridge was sitting at the darkest corner of the dungeon, it surprised her how she hadn't noticed her there, even though she was wearing her usual blinding pick robes.

"We are continuing with our Strengthening Solutions today, you will find your mixtures as you left them last lesson, if correctly made they should have matured well over the weekend — instructions... on the board. Carry on."

Mel poured her whole attention on her work, she made sure Neville could be a decent student this time as well. She would glance from time to time to Umbridge, trying to guess what she was doing.

"Well, the class seems fairly advanced for their level," Umbridge commented to Snape. "Though I would question whether it is advisable to teach them a potion like the Strengthening Solution. I think the Ministry would prefer it if that was removed from the syllabus. Now... how long have you been teaching at Hogwarts?"

"Fourteen years."

"You applied first for the Defense Against the Dark Arts post, I believe?" Professor Umbridge asked Snape.

"Yes," said Snape quietly.

"But you were unsuccessful?"

"Obviously."

"And you have applied regularly for the Defense Against the Dark Arts post since you first joined the school, I believe?"

"Yes..."

"Do you have any idea why Dumbledore has consistently refused to appoint you?"

"Because Snape's a git," Mel mumbled under her breath.

"I suggest you ask him," said Snape dryly.

"Oh I shall," Professor Umbridge smiled.

"I suppose this is relevant?"

"Oh yes. Yes, the Ministry wants a thorough understanding of teachers' — er — backgrounds..."

"Of course they cared about their backgrounds now," Mel scoffed, still talking in a whisper. "They care about their hobbies, don't they? If they have a knack for fighting governments during the weekends? What a bunch of–"

"Mel, your potion," Neville warned her, noticing the way it was starting to show a green smoke.

"Woops!" She quickly did some arrangements, and the potion was back to normal. "Thanks, Neville."

"I reckon I did well enough in today's lesson!" Neville said proudly, beaming at her. "Thank you for your help..."

"It was a pleasure," She smiled back.

"Sorry for Harry though... you saw how Snape vanished his potion again?"

"Yeah," Mel frowned. "What a twat, but Harry should really try harder..."

"It's weird to hear you talk about him like that," Neville said innocently. "You usually are the first to defend him..."

"I'm the first to defend any of you," She corrected. "I'm not going to support him blindly– I mean, you did well today and you were having a bad morning too, right?"

Neville's smile faded.

"Reckon so, yeah..."

"Hey, I know it's not my place but..." She pondered how to say it without scaring him away. "Whatever got you all worked up, well, I'm always here if you need to talk. You're my friend as much as Harry or Ron..."

When they reached the marble staircase Mel remembered she had a meeting to attend, so she said goodbye to Neville and told him she would meet him in Divination. She ran to the very back of the library and found Erick standing in the corner, peering over a shelf towards the hall. Mel tiptoed until she was right behind him and scared him.

Erick jumped, hitting the side of his face on the edge of the bookshelf. The boy cursed rather loudly and stepped back, a hand rubbing his cheek.

"What is your problem?!"

"Lower your voice!" Mel said in horror. "I'm so sorry! Let me see your face–"

"Don't–"

"C'mon, I can help!"

Mel pulled his hand away and tilted his face towards the light. His cheek was slightly red, but it was uninjured.

"I don't think it'll bruise..." She said, getting closer to him. "What in the name of Godric were you doing? Who are you stalking?"

"I'm not stalking anyone," He complained. "I was... Lately I've been– Move away, will you? You're making me nervous..."

He pushed her aside gently and moved towards the nearest table.

"Let's make this quick," He told her, sitting down. "I want to eat something before Potions, Merlin knows I need it..."

Mel quickly told him about Hedwig and how they were obviously being watched after their meeting in Hogsmeade, Erick listened so intently that he even forgot about making his usual sarcastic remarks, once she ended, he half-smiled.

"You already found a solution, didn't you?"

Mel put her pocket watch on the table and looked at him with resolution.

"We want to keep going," She pointed to the little object on the table. "And we need something like this to spread the news safely and with the certainty that only those who belong in the group are the ones getting it."

"You clever girl..." Erick supported both arms on the table and stared at the watch, his brain already going a thousand miles per hour. "What do you need?"

"Well, for starters, I need to know the charm."

"It'll be easy, you're talented enough– Protean charm, don't forget it."

"We need something like this," She lifted the watch and stared at it. "But people carrying similar watches around the school would be too suspicions... and they're not exactly cheap..."

"You don't need to buy several of the same," Erick replied. "Just reproduce one."

"What?" Mel blinked.

Erick rolled his eyes.

"A doubling charm, you goose. Learn how to do it and you'll get copies of anything in the blink of an eye."

"Oh! Okay..." She smiled.

"Tell Hermione about it," Erick peered over her shoulder anxiously. "I would help you, but we can't take risks and I rather not know a lot about your plans in case... you know..."

"Yes," Mel nodded. "Thank you."

"No problem," He nodded, the concern coming back to his features.

"It's everything okay?"

"What? Why?" He blinked, stepping away from the table. "I'm fine, just tired... haven't slept well."

"Why?"

"Doesn't matter..."

"Erick..." She insisted, grabbing his arm and forcing him to stay in place.

He looked everywhere but her, until finally, Erick let out a strange noise that sounded like half a growl and he rubbed his eyes furiously before pushing her hand away and starting to speak.

"My Grandad..."

Mel felt something heavy on her chest and nodded in understanding.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. If it helps... I'm right here."

He nodded, eyes fixed on the ground.

"I know."

Mel continued with her day, spending most of it with Neville to make sure Malfoy wouldn't take advantage of him if he were to find him alone.

Back in the common room, she saw no reason not to waste her night away with the twins, who were currently showing to a curious crowd their newest products. Her mind had started to drift to what she'd said to Ginny a few hours earlier, but was soon interrupted when she witnessed Fred vomiting into a bucket and forcing a purple candy down his throat.

She was still having fun though, collecting the money and giving the Skiving Snackbox to their new owners. Lee Jordan and George Weasley would take turns with Fred so he wouldn't get all weak from the constant vomiting. She was highly thankful for the vanishing spell, otherwise, that bucket would be beyond disgusting.

Hermione would constantly glare at her and scoff, but Mel smiled innocently through it all. It wasn't her fault what the twins were doing, and they were technically doing nothing against the rules. Her housemates needed this kind of entertainment considering the shitty year they were all having.

"Here's your part, lady," Fred held out a small bunch of sickles for her to take. The crowd had dispersed a while ago, and they've been counting their money before going to bed.

Mel frowned and pushed it back.

"What are you talking about?"

"You were the beautiful assistant back there!" Fred said. "Half of our sells occurred just because you were the one taking the money– Am I wrong, George?"

"Those third-years have it bad for you, Lady," George smirked.

"You've become quite popular overnight," Lee raised a brow. "Don't you remember what the older Gryffindors used to say?"

"Oh yes," Mel laughed. "I was the little feral thing, wasn't I? They would compare me to peeves and all... can't say I miss it."

"You were never like Peeves, though," Fred smiled. "Peeves is quieter."

"Sod off!" She exclaimed over the boys' laughter. "I've changed, haven't I? Didn't really think about it until now..."

"Well, you don't yell at strangers in the halls anymore..."

"And you don't want to fight everyone either..."

"I did all that for stupid reasons," Mel glanced towards Harry. "Really stupid reasons, if you ask me..."

The boys shared a knowing look. Everyone knew at this point that asking her about what had happened between Harry and her was useless, neither of them would say a thing.

"Time for bed, I s'pose," George yawned, getting up from his chair.

"You're sure you don't want this?" Fred raised a brow, showing her the money one last time.

"I don't need it, Fred."

"No need to brag about it," Lee scoffed, taking the money. "It's mine, then."

"Hey!" Fred slapped the back of his head. "Give it back! We're gonna split it!"

They continued their bickering as they disappeared behind the door to the boys' dormitory. Mel had a lazy smile on her face than soon worn out as she realized she'd been left alone in the room with Hermione, Ron and Harry. She got up slowly and made her way towards them.

Next Chapter —>

Taglist.

@dee123ksha @vampiregirl1797 @siriuslysirius1107 @stardusthigh @mikariell95 @vernon-dursley @thesuitelifeofafangirl @tomshollandz @kylosleftbuttcheek @reverse-hxlland @bloodorangemoonlight @omiwashere @t-rexs-world​ @sarcasticallywitty15 @21bruhs

[purplelurkinghini]

Switching Gears

I promise I never planned on writing 3k+ words of Arkham Knight Riddler X AFAB!Reader fanfiction. He’s not even my favorite version of The Riddler, but he is the one that inspired this tall order of hurt/comfort, fluff and smut.

If you’re an adult and enjoy the idea of Edward Nigma being a switch as much as I do, check out what’s been collecting dust in my Notes for the past month under the cut!

"Boys, could you give us a moment?"

"Sure thing, boss," the hired knucklehead nodded towards you before even addressing his actual employer. "Hey, boss, think you can stand?"

"What are you implying, you meathead?"

The fact remains that it was these meatheads who caught him when he fell off the malfunctioning assembly line. He’d been a sleepwalker’s step away from being dismembered and reassembled into one of his riddlebots. It stung like salt sprinkled in his wounded pride, but he could ignore the sting.

What he couldn't ignore were his own men (he doesn't employ boys, thank you very much) taking orders from you. Who do you think you are talking over him? Nobody talks over Edward Nigma! 

"I can stand just fine, thank you," he sneered even as he struggled to straighten himself. He was on his own two feet again and he'd be damned if he'd depend on anybody to walk on them. "Some privacy, please." It was him they should be following, not you. When they exited the restroom, it was his order they were following, not yours.

"When's the last time you ate?"

The man with all the answers was perplexed by your question. He knitted his brows closer, one of them even twitching as his eyes (more bloodshot red than brilliant blue) watched you approach him with no regard for the rage that was boiling just underneath his frown. 

"Or slept? Or took a goddamn break?" 

You bellowed and it bounced off of the tile walls to beat against his eardrums. Each step you took closer made each word ring louder. And, as if the volume of your voice alone knocked the wind out of him, he sunk back against the sink, holding himself up with one hand while the other rubbed at his temples.

"Could you talk any louder?" He grunted out, gathering his thoughts. Eating? Resting? Sleeping? None of those are on his schedule and they haven't been for a while now. Halloween was only weeks away. Everyone was expected to make sacrifices, but was he really ready to lay down his own life? He almost did just that tonight. He was at a loss for words, but he found enough of them to speak a full sentence: "I can’t hear myself think."

"Edward," he hardly heard you huff out his name. And, once he removed his grimy glove from over his eyes, he barely saw your face and how it contorted with concern. "You're tired." 

A warm hand of yours on a cold cheek of his had him slumping his head forward in defeat. You were right, of course. He was tired. Beat. Drained. Bone-deep.

"I finally got the boiler running." You needed both hands to hold up his head, so you cupped his scruffy chin. "You're not getting into bed with me while smelling like an abandoned auto repair shop."

That should've stung like the dash of salt that it was. It was soothing instead, much like the circular motion of your thumbs against his sunken, unshaven cheeks. He could do little more than scoff. "I already bathed."

"Yeah, but that was before you took a tour of the sewer system," you smiled and he mirrored you, just as broken as the actual mirror behind him. You took his gloved hands into yours and he held onto them like his life depended on you. Given his sorry state, it was highly probable that it did. "Everything’s set up in the locker room. I bought new towels and everything."

"Green?" Edward learned to walk again as he followed you.

"How did you know?" You gladly guided him, never letting go of his hands.

"Just a guess."

•••

"Boss, the food's here! Where should I-"

The boss cut him off while almost cutting into the other boss' cheek: "In the office, please." 

You were in the middle of shaving him and Edward must have been exhausted to trust anybody wielding a sharp object that close to his throat. And he was exhausted. Beat. Drained. Bone-deep. It was a good thing he had your bare legs wrapped around his waist (about as snug as the towel covering it) keeping him up on his feet.

He couldn't see through the walls, but his employee sounded embarrassed from behind the one he was hiding. "Sorry, boss and...boss. I didn't mean to-"

"Wallace, is that takeout?"

"Thank you, Wally! In the office, okay?" You shouted from atop the sink, running the straight razor under the tap."It's sushi from that place you like. There should be some orange juice and waffles in those bags, too."

"You sent him grocery shopping and he...went shopping for groceries?" He wrecked through the wrinkles in his brain for another answer, a less obvious one. "Why?" Playing the fool never put anyone in a flattering light and it sure didn't make The Riddler seem any smarter.

"They need to eat and so do we."

For once, he'd been asking the wrong questions. He had to work on rephrasing it as you worked some aftershave into his sore skin. "Why did you send my men to do your bidding?"

Not even your hands could massage the wrinkles out of his morose face. "Who else was I supposed to send?" You combed back his damp hair (you had to get under the makeshift shower to shampoo it yourself) with your blunt nails and looked down into his eyes. "There! Handsome again!"

Vanity and curiosity made up the cocktail that sloshed around in his stomach as he looked over your damp shoulder and into the steamed mirror. With one hand clearing it for view and the other still secured on your thigh, he scrutinized his sour expression. His eyes were encircled by dark rings where they laid inside his sunken sockets and his hair, slicked back and shiny, was turning grey just above his ears. He'd never admit it, not even to himself, but Edward Nigma has seen better days. 

"I told you, didn't I?" You tore his attention away from himself by bringing the two of you that much closer together, your towel-covered chest pressed against his bare one. "The scruff had to go." You threw your arms around his neck, prompting his hand to return on your thigh. You breathed the words so close to his lips, it felt like you were feeding him air.

"You didn't cut me twice," he moved his lips against yours, but his own didn't catch. He moved his mouth again, this time to stretch it into a grin."I'm sure to recover from the one time that you did." 

"Asshole," you huffed, as if you'd been holding your breath for a kiss. "Stop playing."

"You forget who you're talking to, boss," Edward enunciated the last word by squeezing your side. "You forget who's in charge."

"Wasn't it you?"

His smug smile was all but slapped off his face when you tightened your thighs around him. He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth as he was faced with a challenge: you. You were always a challenge.

There was more merriment than malice in his words, yet he still snarled them: "You shouldn't talk while on your high horse," There was more pride than playfulness in the act, yet he still slid both of his hands under your thighs and snatched you up. "You never know when it's going to throw you off."

"Edward," you shrieked, startled. "Put me down!" Securing your arms around his neck and squeezing your legs around his middle, you braced yourself to be bucked off your high horse. "You're gonna drop me! Put me down!"

There was something almost soothing to be found in your screams. The sound of your sudden surrender was better than the pity party you'd been throwing him. "When have I ever let you down?" It was a rhetorical question. He had been literally leaning on you just a shower ago. He was tired of feeling helpless, control slipping from his fidgeting fingers. He was tired of being held like some invalid, thoughts slipping his mind. 

Yes, he was tired, so it was about time he retired. And, since his office was as good as any bedroom and the cot he'd build in the back could accommodate two, you were joining him.

"I think it was just an hour ago that you let yourself down."

"But not you." Edward was elated by the return of the roaring fire in your belly, and by the lingering looks of his men (yes, they were his) as he passed them. You had towels (and each other) to cover yourselves with, but that was enough to give them ideas. Ideas only he alone was allowed put into practice. 

•••

The computer screen displayed the time in neon green. 4 AM was mere minutes away when he tossed you onto the cot's cold covers and collapsed on top. His head wanted nothing more than to be laid on a pillow, but his other head was restless. You ended up rolling a sleep-humping Edward off of you. 

"And you called me a tease." He didn't have time to whine or wrestle you into submission. His stomach was doing both of those things to him. 

"You're literally starving and so am I," you had to leave him and his makeshift bed in order to grab the takeout Wally had dropped off on the desk. 

By the time you fed him his first sushi roll, it was 4 AM.

"This might just be the best meal I've had in weeks." He sucked the tips of each of your fingers clean after inhaling his last roll. "Remind me to talk to Crane about sparing the old and his business." 

"The doctor owes you one." You returned the favor by licking the length of the two fingers offering the last spring roll to you. "He owes me one, too. If I hadn’t fished him out of the harbor-"

“He never would've gotten his first."

"It was mouth-to-mouth, Edward."

"It was the closest he ever got to being kissed," he laughed, but the bitter taste of it lingered for longer than he would've liked. He let his fingers linger against your sweet mouth, just to balance out the flavor. "He wanted to get closer still."

"What are you talking about?"

"He'd asked about you as soon as he could use his jaw again."

You grinned behind the digits you'd drooled all over. "Jealous?"

"Don't be ridiculous-"

The digital watch on his wrist started beeping at 4:30 AM.

"What's that?"

"It's time to wake up."

"Wrong. It's bedtime." Then, like the tease that you are, you wrapped your hand around his wrist to turn off the alarm just as your lips wrapped around his middle finger. You sucked him into your mouth, all the way down your throat and up to his knuckle.

Once his hunger had been satiated, he could tame his tiredness. Edward felt like he had enough energy to play. And he wanted to play with you

"Your mouth is saying one thing," he tipped your chin up with his wet fingers for a closer look at your salacious smile. "And acting out another. Double-meanings and double-entendres. Is that a riddle of your own? You're adorable!"

He was pleased with the pout he made you put on. He even chuckled as he chased your mouth with his own. You were being quite childish by moving your head from side to side, but he's sure you'd say the same thing about him and his games. 

"Don't patronize me," you spit fire at him, but he didn't even flinch. He was feeling up your scorching skin under his shirt's (he was wearing the matching pants) collar. The grip he had on your throat was weak, yet it knocked the air out of your lungs.

He'd finally caught your lips with his and you tasted as sweet as the victory you surrendered to him and as intoxicating as the sake you shared. 

"Patronize you? I wouldn't dare," he followed you down once the back of your head hit the pillows. "Why, you'd swallow me whole before I opened my mouth."

"Maybe I will," you held onto his hand that lay resting instead of flexing around your neck.

So confident he was in his coercion of you, he took his hand along with your own off of your throat. He pushed the both of them against his clothed crotch and the burgeoning bulge it covered. 

"Oh, I know you will, little sphinx." 

Edward enjoyed the sound of surprise that almost slipped out if you, even as he suppressed it with a kiss. He enjoyed the feeling of your fingers on his erection even more. He should've expected his watch going off for the second time and you immediately taking advantage of the distraction it provided. He didn't anticipate either.

He huffed as he was pushed off of you and back into the pillows "Did you press the snooze instead on the off button on purpose?" 

It was your turn to tease again, so you didn't hold back. Pressing your palms against his bare and breathless chest, you picked at the scabs of his wounded pride. "You're the Riddler. You figure it out." You didn't give him enough time to figure it out, however. You went straight to straddling his hips and squeezing your thighs around them.

His old pajama pants weren't enough to protect his crotch from being set on fire. With no bottoms getting in its way (you were wearing nothing but his top), the searing heat sipping through your slit had soaked all the way through the flimsy fabric. 

"Well, aren't you clever?" His voice was strained as he spoke. He was straining himself trying to stand still. How long would that last?

There was nothing logical about that little cunt of yours collapsing the colossus that was his reason. And that was just it, wasn't it? This had nothing to do with logic - it was all about instinct. 

When he bared his teeth and sunk his claws into your sides like some animal, it was all about instinct. 

"Enough games," Edward erupted. He didn't even sound like himself anymore, but rather a snarling beast. "Because of you," his growl was low as he pushed his pants down his pelvis. "I can't even think straight." 

His cock sprung up and slapped your pussy. Oh, it stung so sweet!

The sooner he emptied his balls, the faster the blood would come rushing back to his brain where it belonged. 

"I'm not done playing," you hissed as Edward's erection hit you. And, before he could grab it himself, you flattened it against his stomach by slotting it in between your slit. "I don't think you are either."

"Why, you little-" He gasped like a dying man. Your labia moving up and down his length had him gulping on all the air he lost. "I knew you'd be the death of me." His hands weren't his own after being cuffed by your own on either side of his face. "I knew you'd...you'd swallow me whole."

"Only if you ask nicely," your moaning was marred with mockery.

He'd give you a piece of his mind, if he had anything left to give. He'd lost it between your legs, between your second pair of lips and that inebriating liquor you were drooling all over his dick.

"Ask me to fuck you, Edward."

"You. Ask. Me." His hips couldn't stop moving, snapping against his will, like he was trying to buck you off. "Nicely."

"Eh-Edward," you warbled your words above him, your hold on his hands weakening. "Ed-OH!"

And, when he thought all his brains had already been blown away, you made them explode (and his other head almost do the same) all over again.

It all happened in a blink of a neon light. Your thighs tightened around him and your spine arched all the way back, taking your torso with it. You whipped your hair back as you fell on your hunches. Finally, your chest expanded and contracted, your skin shining with sweat (he had a peak of your puckered nipple once his shirt slipped off your shoulder) in the green glow of the monitors. 

He'd only halted his hips out of fear of disrupting the dreamlike image. He might've stopped breathing altogether.

"Edward," you sighed, slumping your head forward. 

He hissed your name, sucking some much-needed air through his clenched teeth. 

With your knees now up and your hands spreading them further apart, he got a front-row view of your red slit, his purple hard-on, and the slick that spread out between the two like spiderwebs. "Do you want to come?" 

"Trick question," he growled as he gathered himself. "A valiant effort." Yet, he still fell. He was on his hunches and threatening to overthrow you when you pushed him back into his place.

"An honest question." You had a hold on him, one hand pressing down on one pectoral as the other squeezed his shaft.

"N-naturally," he inhaled through his nose, eyes blown into two black holes and his lips chewed red. 

"Ask me to fuck you," you grinned, the grip on his cock loosening to move up and down the length of it. 

How many times did he have to remind you who is in charge? At least one more time? So be it! Wrapping his hand around your smaller one, he started stroking in a hurry. Oh, but you couldn't let him, could you? You just had to smack his hand away and secure your own around his wet and spongy head. 

"What are you-"

"You said I could swallow you whole if I wanted to," you licked your lips as you slid down his body, slowly stroking him again. "Don't you want me to?" When you were eye level with it, you spit in your other hand before wrapping it around the base. 

"Rhetorical question," he swallowed, tasting the last of your saliva on his tongue. Your last kiss was just a memory on his lips. Your next one would be tainted with his own taste, he'll make sure of it. "Of course I do."

"Say it," you demanded, his entire dick and life in your hands. "Say 'please'."

"Let me come," he ordered, your entire head of hair in his hands. 

"You didn't use the magic word." You held him still, stroking no more. And, with your cool and calculating tone, you spoke searing words against his shaft. "Please let me come."

"Puh-please," Edward endured the sound of his own submission, that pathetic plea of his. He could no longer endure his own erection. "Please swallow me whole."

"Good boy," you praised him, finally (oh, finally) pressing your pursed lips against his penis. "Such a good boy." You peppered him with kisses as you climbed all the way up to his painful, purple cockhead. 

"Please," he pulled your hair with one hand and pushed it away from your face with the other. "Please let me come."

Edward Nigma himself couldn't tell you what did the trick. If he were to guess, he'd say it wasn't just one thing. Your loving praise, your talented mouth, and your playful teasing were all contributing factors. Therefore, when he came down your throat as you finally (oh, finally) swallowed him whole, it was you in your entirety that had made him come.

"Edward," you whispered into his ear. "Are you asleep?"

"What is the only question you can't answer yes to?" With his weary eyes closed, he used his trembling fingertips to locate your lips. He kissed them, suckled them, tasting the tang of his own come on them. "I'm not, but I will be soon."

"Fucking finally," you sighed into the side of his neck. 

You must've been tired yourself after all the trouble you went through cleaning his cock. He'd almost fallen asleep to the feeling of your kitten licks. Now, with a leg and an arm swung over his side, you started snoring against his spine.

It was 5 AM when his alarm went off for the third time. 

"What the fuck is that?"

"It's bedtime," he ripped the watch off of his wrist and buried it under the pillow.

"Good night," you kissed him between his wing bones and he felt like he might fly away with the Sandman, if only for one tonight.

"Good night."

[stvlti]

2020 Creator Wrap

I was tagged by @irolltwenties to do the 2020 Creator Wrap: Favorite Works tag! Thank you, lovely (*˘ ε ˘*)

Rules: it’s time to love yourselves! choose your 5 (or so) favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought to the world in 2020. tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

Before I begin, let me just tag some friends:

@reaperlight @3dnygma @drowthelynes @transdankovsky @fantomn @lawliyeeeet @dressed-to-keehl @setfa @0akdown @reidsnor @clubolive @mermaides

No pressure, but it would be fun if you guys share some of your works this year ( ˘︶˘ ) let’s see those fics and edits and artworks!! Get the clicks and views y’all deserve 💕 💕

And now, onwards to my 2020 Favorite Works List!

I didn’t write nearly as much as some of you guys did. And though I did exceed my goal of putting out 1 fic per month, I don’t have 5 solid ones I’m proud of. So I’ll just list 4 fics here:

01 // Growing Pains

I’ve always been very nervous about reccing this one, because it broaches a topic that I don’t really have a right to claim? I’m not transgender myself, but I simply adore the trans Dick Grayson headcanon so much it singlehandedly brought me back to the DC fandom and restarted my fanfic-writing habit for 2020 😂😂 plus the writing quality isn’t half bad, and I still really like the idea/metaphor this little story started with and grew from. 

Fave moment (besides the obvious):

"Ka-Pow!!" The boy ventriloquised. Lego Robin sailed through the air in his fingers. One stubby, outstretched leg made contact with a Lego henchman, knocking all the surrounding baddies over like bowling pins. "Sorry Mr. Bad Guys, guess it's way past your bedtime too!"

"Good job, Robin." The boy lowered his prepubescent voice and tried to affect Batman's gravelly timbre as much as possible. In his other hand, he walked Lego Batman across the floor of the crime scene. "How about we round them up and leave it for the Commish? It's getting quite late."

"Oh oh! Can I have cookies on the ride back?"

The boy swivelled Lego Batman's grinning face around. "I don't see why not."

Another night out in Lego Gotham City, another day saved by the Dynamic Duo. This called for a celebration indeed. The boy set the pair of heroes down by the Lego Batmobile and reached over to his own plate of Alfred's after-school chocolate chip cookies. He took his sweet time with the last piece, savouring each bite, sighing at the way it melted on his tongue.

02 // Transference 

This is my best-performing fic in terms of the kudos to hits ratio, so I feel validated in being proud of this one :’) It’s a pretty good marker of the distances I’ve covered since getting serious about reading the comic source material end of 2019, as you can see from the much broader and varied cast of characters I focused on for this story. It also definitely cemented - to me, at least - the fact that I can write action scenes. When I went into “Second Chances” (a fem Jay fic) earlier this year, I was so nervous about writing the action sequence there, because I’ve never written a serious action scene up until that point! To me, this fic definitely showcases the growth I’ve experienced as a writer this year ^_^

Fave moment: (CONTAINS SPOILERS, PLEASE READ THE FIC FIRST IF YOU HAVEN’T!)

When the trio return, Ivy takes her place at the meeting table with a severe expression on her face. She chooses her words carefully, when she speaks. "The odds aren't pretty. We just accepted 100 refugees over the weekend, and the Green is still repairing itself after last week's attack."

Rose exchanges a glance with Jason. He gives her hand a reassuring squeeze, though he's not looking any better than she feels.

"But, each and everyone of us stayed behind to defend the Garden, because we all believed in giving a sanctuary for the civilian survivors out there.

"So bring them here. I'll take them in."

No sooner has Ivy finished the sentence, than Zatanna and Constantine have fired up their teleportation portal, and Harley's cheerful "Good luck!" is lost to the mad dash off to the rescue mission. The rest of the Shadowpact scramble after Rose as she launches herself through the portal—

—and slams into Arsenal, pushing him out of the way seconds before a meteoric explosion of green fire incinerates the very spot he'd been standing in.

03 // Paying It Forward

This one is important to me if only for the reason that it’s the first time I’ve written character dialogues that flowed. And I didn’t even need to plan them out meticulously beforehand! Do you know how rare that is for me as an ESL writer? Dialogues have been the bane of my existence since I started writing as a wee teen. Luckily, the Titans TV show has some solid character dynamics for me to fall back on. And from there I started reading NTT era Dick & Donna, and I just fell in love with their friendship. And now, I can turn to this fic as proof I still got it whenever I doubt my abilities as a writer c:

Fave moment:

Dick glanced at her, eyebrows raised. "She ran out on you?"

"No, no, we never really... I don't think it counts as running away if it never led to anything more."

"But you wanted it to be more." Dick paused, taking in Donna's silence, which would've fooled anyone else but him. "You still want it."

"I-- yeah." Donna sighed and held her hands up as if to say you caught me. "I'm... Sorry? For stealing your girl?"

Dick laughed, bemused. "She was never mine. She knew what she wanted, what she needed - and I wasn't in the right place to give her that."

"And you? You think I'm what she needs?"

"Better you than me. You're Donna Troy. Older, smarter, prettier..."

Donna gave him a deadpan stare.

"... And you know who you want to be. She likes that in a partner. I'm still figuring that one out for myself." Dick stretched his arms up and then leaned back into his seat, lacing his fingers behind his head as he stared up into the ceiling.

04 // When I'm down on my knees, you're how I pray

I’m including this one just to showcase I got the range, babey. And honestly, the fact that I was able to write this fic and actually receive positive reviews for it was a surprise to me too!! This was the first time I ever attempted to write a real darkfic with dead dove subject matters, and I managed to nail the emotional manipulation, somehow ;__; It was a real learning experience too, learnt so much about Catholicism just to write about Dick’s guilt issues in an AU setting nobody asked for 🤡

Fave moment: (dead dove warnings apply)

"Not at all, Richard," Roman said. The boy would come to him, eventually. "Now, it's getting late. If that's all, I'll have Jason fetch your room keys. Seven Hail Mary's before bed, and think about everything we've just discussed. Tomorrow we'll do a proper debriefing."

"I... Okay." For a moment, Dick sounded like he had more to say. Instead, Roman heard a muffled sniffle, one that Dick likely tried to disguise with a hand over his mouth. Silly boy.

"Thank you again, Father," Dick said, after a beat.

"All in a day's work, my child." Roman unlatched the door and stepped out of the booth. He nodded at Dick as the younger man ambled out of the booth after him. "Goodnight now, Richard."

As he set off for the living quarters, Dick called out. "Wait!"

Roman turned around, inclining his head.

"Will you stay?" The candlelight chased shadows away from Dick's face, and for one glorious moment, Roman could see the depth of the desperation shining in Dick's blue eyes.

"Guide me through my prayers. Please."

Roman smiled.

-

Oh did you think I was done? 😂 It did say Favourite Works and not just Favourite Fics, so I gotta include this one on the list too:

05 // 2020 Jason Todd Birthday edit

I said Robin Jason deserves better and I meant it! 👏👏 This edit took me 12 hours and 67 layers ‘cause I made a mistake on like my 8th hour into the editing process o__o but it ended up being my most popular serious graphic edit, so it was worth it. I guess! 

I mean the likes to reblog ratio is still fucked but hey, I broke 1k, which is more than I can say for any of my other edits

[koala-smiles]

Liquid Courage

My friends found my AO3 account and started reading my fics. Here’s a request of theirs.

Shirbert College AU

Read On AO3 When Gilbert’s professor had assigned everyone study groups, he didn’t think he could possibly be lucky enough to be in the same group as the cute redhead who sat in front of him every day. It completely surprised him when he was put in a group with her. The english class wasn’t part of his major, but he figured it was important for doctors to know how to write well, so he signed up anyways. He was glad he did, because even on the off chance that he didn’t learn anything, he got to meet the cute girl in front of him.

He had tried to make a good first impression with her on the first day, he really had. But, looking back, he supposed that calling her “Carrots” to try to get her attention probably wasn’t the best idea. After smacking him over the head with her textbook, she had stormed out of the classroom, and he could only think that it was lucky he had waited until the lecture was over to try to talk to her, or else she might have gotten points off for her absence. 

--------

The first time they met up as a study group, he was running late. He tried his hardest to be on time, but there was a big group in front of the library that he couldn’t, for the life of him, get through. When he finally got through and got to the table, he was out of breath. The three girls in the group didn’t seem to mind, though, as they were deep in discussion about some advanced literary topic that he didn’t understand. 

“Are you all in the same major then? You seem to get along well. I’m Gilbert, by the way.”

The girls looked over at him. The brunette, who’s name he remembered was Diana, smiled along with the blonde, Ruby. The cute redhead, he noted, was not.

“I’m Diana, this is Ruby, and that’s Anne. And yes, we are all English majors, but we’ve been friends for years.”

Anne met his eyes, tilted her head. “You know what they say, birds of a feather flock together.”

Lost in her gaze, he could hardly think as he finished it for her. “Until the cat comes.”

Her eyes got as fiery as her hair. “Excuse me?”

“You know, the full phrase? ‘Birds of a feather flock together until the cat comes’? It’s a warning about fair weather friends.”

“Are you saying that my friends are going to abandon me?”

He took a step back in surprise. “No, not at all, I wasn’t thinking, I’m so sorry. I had assumed that, as English majors, you guys would know the full phrase. I’m really sorry.”

This seemed to only make her angrier. “Oh, so you think that you’re smarter than us, mister high-and-mighty pre-med? You think you know more than me?”

“No, I just read it somewhere, I know I’m definitely not better than you guys at English. This whole study group will probably be you guys getting into higher stuff while I’m stuck on the most basic concepts. Again, I’m really sorry, I wasn’t thinking when I said that.” He was stumbling with his words, trying his best to smooth over his stupid mistake. Diana and Ruby just looked amused at this.

 Anne closed her eyes, seemed to calm herself, and sat back down. “Alright then, let’s get started actually studying.”

Gilbert couldn’t say he learned very much, as he spent much of his time stealing glances at the cute girl in front of him.

So her name was Anne.

He couldn’t get it out of his head.

-------

Anne loved studying in the library. She wouldn’t say she romanticizes life so much as that she enjoys the little things in life. And to study as people go about their lives around her? She couldn’t help loving it. It made her feel like the protagonist of a novel. 

What she could not say she loved, was her friends bailing on her study group for it’s fourth meeting. 

She couldn’t truthfully say she was still upset with Gilbert. They seemed to get along just fine when they weren’t arguing, which seemed to be happening less and less. At the last study group, they actually got into a really long conversation about coffee beans. She couldn’t pinpoint when it started, or why it lasted for an hour, but she really enjoyed it. 

She sat down at their usual table with her coffee, wondering how she’s going to explain to Gilbert that Diana and Ruby decided that they were going to a party at Charlie Sloane’s rather than come to the study group. She didn’t even realize it when Gilbert sat down.

“Small crowd today, huh?”

Her head jerked up and she almost spilled her coffee. “Gilbert! I’m so sorry, Diana and Ruby wanted to go to a party and I told them that they should come to the study group because it’s really important that we learn this week’s lesson but they absolutely refused and—”

“Hey, no worries, I was actually going to go to my friend's party after this. I completely understand.”

She smiled. He had a way of putting her at ease. They dove into their notes, determined to understand the really hard lesson.

Thirty minutes into studying, they were already off the topic of English. 

“I don’t understand how you’ve never had a latte!”

Gilbert shrugged at this. “I’ve never really thought about trying one. I always drink my coffee black, so I never have much of a reason to go to the fancier coffee shops.”

She shook her head in amazement. “Come on. We’re going right now. I know for a fact that the Starbucks down the street is still open. We’re going.”

“But the lesson—”

“It’s not like we were studying anyways. Besides, this is a more important lesson. The lesson of good coffee.”

As they walked down the street, his hand brushed hers. She pulled hers back and fought down a blush. There’s no way she liked Gilbert Blythe, right?

---------

As Gilbert sipped his overpriced coffee, he had to admit that Anne had a point. It was just sweet enough that it tasted nice without hiding the flavor of the coffee. He was sitting across from her, trying to think about anything other than how pretty she looked. Then he noticed the clock over her shoulder.

“Shit!”

This made Anne jump. “What’s up?”

“I promised Charlie that I would be at his party half an hour ago. I’m so sorry, do you mind if I go?”

“Charlie? Charlie Sloane?”

“Yep, that’s the guy. Do you know him?”

“No, but that’s the party that my friends are at. Do you mind if I come with you? If you can stand anymore of my presence that is.” She smiled during the last part and bumped his arm to let him know she was joking. 

“Of course! It’s not far from here, if you don’t mind walking.” His heart actually skipped a beat just thinking about spending more time with her.

As they set off toward Charlie’s, he noticed that her hand was brushing against his more and more. He smiled and looked over at her.

“What?”

“Oh! Nothing. Sorry.”

She shook her head and smiled. 

He made himself look straight ahead. 

Of course she doesn’t like you, you idiot. Stop fooling yourself.

He could dream. At least she seems to like spending time with him. He could be happy as friends, if that’s all she wanted. He focused on the road again, leading her to his friend’s house. He’s probably just jittery from the caffeine. Yeah, that’s gotta be it. 

When he opened the front door, Anne looked surprised by the number of people that fit in the house. 

“Charlie is known for his big parties. It gets a bit loud.”

She nodded, and made her way inside through the moving bodies. They found a quiet corner, as much as the corner at a party could be quiet.

“Can I get you something to drink? There’s usually a full bar, but there’s always non-alcoholic drinks if you’d prefer.”

She shook her head, “Get me something to take this edge off.”

He nodded and made his way to the bar. 

By the time he got back with their drinks, Diana and Ruby were talking with Anne.

“I see that you guys found each other!”

Ruby, clearly drunk, just giggled when he walked over. Diana took her by the arm, gave Anne a look that clearly meant something, and dragged Ruby back to the living room, where people were dancing.

Gilbert and Anne were just talking and drinking for a while, when suddenly Anne perked up. “I love this song! Come on.”

He let her lead him to the dance floor, and loosely danced as she let herself spin, wild and free, usually braided hair flowing behind her. He was captivated. After a couple spins, she seemed to get dizzy, and he thought it might be best to get her sitting down. He brought her to a bench behind the house to get her away from the noise, and was surprised when she leaned her head on his shoulder. 

“I see why they call alcohol liquid courage. I would never dance like that in front of anyone otherwise.”

He smiled at this. “Well I think it was beautiful. You looked free. And you should really let your hair down more often.” He twirled a piece of her hair around one of his fingers. “It looks as fiery as your personality, and as beautiful as your heart.”

She was silent for a moment, before asking a small “Really?”

“You look gorgeous either way, but you truly look like yourself when you let it down.” He dropped the strand he had. “Taking that elective class was the best decision I’ve ever made, just because it let me meet you.”

She pulled her head off his shoulder. “I’m sorry, I’m being too forwa—”

He was cut off when she pulled him in to kiss him. He was surprised, but quickly met her passion with his own.

When she pulled away, seconds or eons later, he let out a quiet “Wow”.

She smiled, put her head back on his shoulder, took his hand in her own, and looked up at the stars.

[seyaryminamoto]

Matching Heartbeats: Sokkla Saturdays 2020

Day 6: Making a deal

On FF.net//On AO3

If only someone other than Aang had claimed to have been warned in their dreams that some dangerous threat lurked in the shadows of Ba Sing Se's Palace, tailing the king and his family, Sokka would have never taken a break in his duties as a White Lotus agent to investigate it. It wasn't that he dismissed spiritual matters the way he had in his younger years… but something as vague as "threat lurking in the shadows" didn't sound as serious to him as a confirmed, verified menace would…

But here he was, paying a home visit to King Kuei, smiling awkwardly as him and his wife talked his ear off about the baby they were expecting, who would arrive any day now. They had the highest hopes for the baby, and couldn't seem to consider that maybe their bright enthusiasm was a hazard, a beacon that attracted unwanted attention: countless dignitaries, envoys from noble families of Ba Sing Se and other cities, even representatives of other nations, had been arriving across the weeks leading up to the birth, all be it to congratulate the king before and after his child was born.

And that meant the threat, whatever it might be, could be anywhere. It could be part of any of those retinues, whether a highly-ranked official or a mere servant, even someone within Kuei's own people, hiding in plain sight for years, gaining his trust, until the right moment to strike arrived. It wouldn't be any surprise, would it? The trusting fool had reinstated the Dai Li after they turned on him, no less…

Thus, Sokka was to work in subtle secrecy, without the king's awareness. He would unearth the threat somehow, before Kuei could come any closer to unraveling there was one at all: it had taken forever for the man to ease up on his antagonism towards the Fire Nation, and Aang's grand project to establish a United Republic hadn't helped matters in the least… too much rode on keeping the damn king safe. They could be on the verge of yet another war if either him or his loved ones were harmed by this problem.

He smiled as enthusiastically as he could while Kuei recited his genealogy for the umpteenth time, eating his dinner while trying his best to attune his other senses to their surroundings. What was the best place where a killer might hide? Where would he hide, if he were an assassin? What would he use to do away with Kuei or his wife…? Or maybe both? It could be an attempt to treasonously kill every member of the royal family, come to think of it… while Kuei and his wife appeared to look forward to having a huge family, this one would be their very first child. Without these three, the Earth Kingdom's royal bloodline would be gone for good.

If so… the closest way to stealthily strike at them would be from their side. But would this threat have waited this long to act, if they had been in the king's employ for all this time? The pregnancy had only been announced officially to the whole world two months ago: anyone who had intended to kill Kuei and do away with his child would have likely acted sooner than this. That Aang had only gotten that warning after the pregnancy was announced could only mean that, whatever this threat was, it had found out about the truth when everyone else had… it was an outsider. And what would an outsider do to get closer to Kuei, enough to kill him or his child…?

Sokka's eyes raked the servants in the room slowly, assessing each of the maids with careful regard. All appeared perfectly Earth Kingdom, clad in elegant yet humble robes of palace servants… nothing stood out amongst them. Not the maids, then? Perhaps the soldiers?

Just then, he glimpsed one shadow at the threshold of the door behind Kuei. Sokka's eyes narrowed as he glanced in that direction: he couldn't identify it right away. He gritted his teeth before setting down his chopsticks and excused himself, saying he'd have to go to the bathroom because he'd eaten too fast. Used to such antics on his part, Kuei dismissed him with a laugh, and he lingered in the room with his beloved wife while Sokka walked through the opposite door… and then turned sharply on the next corner, slipping through the corridors he had learned by heart during his brief stay in the Palace back in the years of the war. He had to move slowly, as cautiously as possible, if he hoped to catch this lurker…

He glanced past the corner warily, and from this new angle it was far easier to spot the dark shape hidden in the corridor: even if he hadn't been warned that there would be danger, he would have been alarmed by it.

Slowly he made his way towards that shadow, knowing there was a pretty good chance he'd be heard… knowing it could mean trouble if he was. The whole idea was to resolve this problem without Kuei finding out there was a problem at all. If he even knew anyone was trying to assassinate him, every bit of progress made for the harmony of nations would come to an abrupt end, and they couldn't have that, not at all…

The shape was so focused on the dinner scene, apparently, that they hadn't sensed him yet. One more careful step, then he could sprint towards it and disarm them before questioning them thoroughly, perhaps…?

The shape turned sharply towards him and launched a potent kick at his face.

Sokka lost his balance but regained it quickly just before the other person tackled him: he was larger, stronger physically, and he planted his feet firmly just before the opponent collided with him: the feeling of that body against his own… those were breasts. It was a woman.

Ugh, that was no reason to hold back if she was here to kill Kuei anyhow.

He clasped the enemy by her shirt and pinned her to the nearest wall, perhaps a little more violently than he should have: the next thing he knew, the dark corridor was lit up by an eerie blue light that came from the enemy's fingertips…

An eerie blue light that allowed them both to see each other's faces, and recognize one another immediately.

"Sokka…?!"

"A-Azula?!"

She hadn't intended to be discovered at any point in time, but if anyone tried to attack her, she wouldn't hold back if they were strong enough to withstand her non-bending combat abilities. She had conjured her fire with the intent of putting a rather final conclusion to this sudden setback… but just before she could strike in a violent, lethal way, she found herself recognizing the man as someone she absolutely couldn't kill if she truly hoped to get out of this mess unscathed. The very fool she had been surveilling a moment ago, as he excused himself from the meal he had been sharing with the king…

"Guess you didn't need the bathroom that much, huh?" Azula said, with a dry grin. Sokka gasped, staring at her in anguish.

"You're… you're kidding. Zuko said you'd changed, that you'd proven yourself…!" Sokka said, keeping his voice down despite his outrage threatened to change that. "I believed him! And yet now you're trying to kill the king?!"

"You… ugh, you utter imbecile," Azula sighed, closing her eyes and dropping her head against the wall. "I'm not trying to kill anyone… well, not anymore, I did think I'd have to kill you just now, until I recognized you. But I'm not here to kill that fool of a king, I'm here to save his sorry hide. Same as you."

"You… you are?" Sokka said, blinking blankly. Azula smiled dryly again and nodded in the most sarcastic manner possible. "W-wait, but why? How? You know that someone's going to try to…?"

"I don't know it, my stupid brother knows it, apparently," Azula growled. "He says he had a dream, some damn vision said King Kuei would be in mortal peril, and I suggested I could come here and deal with the matter myself."

"He… he dreamt that too?" Sokka asked. Azula raised her eyebrows.

"What, so did you?"

"No, Aang did," Sokka answered, biting his lip. "That… still doesn't explain why you weren't sent as an official dignitary, though. You're dressed like a servant, aren't you? Why…?"

"Why else?" Azula hissed. "I can't expect to play nice with the king the way you did. Technically, I'm still largely despised in this damn city, and even though I'm no longer public enemy number one, I'm not exactly far from that position either. If Kuei ever realized I'm the very same girl who aimed a fire dagger at his throat and stole his throne? He'll likely either sentence me to death right then and there, or eject me from the Palace, and his damn assassin will have a free path to doing away with him."

"And you're helping out… why?" Sokka asked again, blinking blankly. "Just because Zuko had a vision…?"

"More because I'd really like to come to this damn city whenever I so please without needing Zuzu making a thousand diplomatic agreements to allow it," Azula hissed. "You don't know it yet, do you? I'm his top intelligence advisor: his spymaster. I've been doing his dirty work for the past years. Why do you think he's faced next to no rebellions as of late? Because he's doing a fantastic job, and all the people indoctrinated into Fire Nation supremacy for the past five generations have changed their beliefs immediately thanks to his preachy speeches?"

"Uh… no. I guess that wouldn't make too much sense, not when it's only been a decade since the war ended, but…" Sokka admitted, before sighing. "And well, if he's going to have an intelligence advisor it makes sense it'd be you. You're far smarter than anyone else in that nation, as far as I know…"

"Flattering… though you're an idiot," she said, smiling a little. Sokka grinned too, despite himself. "That's not the sense of 'intelligence' I was referring to, and you know it."

"Still true," he smirked. "But… you do swear you're here under his orders? You promise you're not just messing with me for your benefit?"

"Ugh, and why on earth would I do that?" Azula sighed, rolling her eyes. "If I were here to kill them myself, I would've offed you immediately, whether I recognized you or not."

"I suppose…" Sokka pouted. "Though I thought we were getting along better, you know…?"

"That's no reason not to kill a guy who's pinning you to a wall like he likes it, you see…"

Her words echoed in Sokka's head for a long moment, throughout which he stared at Azula in utter disbelief. She raised her eyebrows meaningfully, before glancing down at the contact between their bodies: his hands on her shoulders kept her pressed to the wall, as did one of the legs that held down hers. By the time her eyes returned to his, Sokka's face was deeply flushed, even under the blue light of her bending.

"S-sorry… I didn't mean to… sorry," he said, pulling away and releasing her from his grip. Well, his heart was racing now… and not the same way it had when he had thought he'd caught the assassin.

"You didn't?" Azula asked, smirking still. "And here I thought you were doing it deliberately because you somehow adore being in close quarters with me… it's happened an awful lot of times, hasn't it?"

"U-uh…" Sokka blinked blankly as Azula lowered her fire, extinguishing it after a few moments, leaving them in the perfect shroud of darkness once more. "Yeah, well, that was then, this is now. I didn't really want to cause you trouble, Azula, it's just…"

"You were sent here for the same reasons I was" Azula said "And that means… that as much as I'd rather work alone, we may be better served by cooperating with each other going forward."

"Cooperating?" Sokka repeated. Azula nodded promptly.

"I'm on the inside. I will keep Kuei and his family safe because, so far, I've been posing as a maid in their household for five days and they still haven't noticed something's off. Odd, you'd think, but they're royals of the careless kind, much like my father was: they don't pay that much attention to the help so long as the help knows how to pass unnoticed."

"And you've learned how to go unnoticed over the years, huh?" Sokka asked. Azula nodded.

"You, though, can investigate by talking with all those dignitaries who poured into the damn Palace in droves. Assess them, figure out which one is the likeliest to strike against the royal family, and keep watch over them. I can't quite perform background checks here as easily as I would have in the Fire Nation… but fishing out any Earth Kingdom loyalists who believe Kuei's latest policies are an insult to their great nation will, hopefully, yield results soon."

"You're quite confident, huh?" Sokka asked, raising an eyebrow that he knew she wouldn't see, not while they stood in such a dark corridor. "Do you have any leads on anyone in particular so far, or is it you haven't been able to investigate much on your own?"

"I've looked up only a few people, but they appear to be irrelevant," Azula admitted. "I'll keep an eye on the other servants, even the Dai Li and every soldier, for whoever's behind this could've had the same idea I did to disguise themselves in the palace's own staff… eventually, something's bound to pop out as suspicious."

"Alright… alright," Sokka said, biting his lip. "Then I guess… we have a deal?"

"We might," Azula said, enigmatically. Sokka smiled before stretching a hand towards her. "But only if you pull your weight. I'm not slowing down just to wait for you to catch up with me."

"Same here," Sokka said, haughtily. "We, uh, should meet at least once a day? To discuss anything we've discovered for now?"

"Good idea," Azula nodded, clasping his hand in hers gently: her warmth shouldn't have been any surprise, and yet Sokka felt a thrill rushing under his skin upon their contact. "There's some unused rooms in the basement, choose one of those and I'll meet you there at midnight, I suppose. No one should be keeping tabs on a maid at those hours."

"Alright," Sokka said, breathing out slowly. "I'll, uh, go back now then. Sorry for scaring you…"

"Oh, I'm sure I'm the one who scared you," Azula smirked. Sokka scoffed.

"Just because you kicked me? You really think that scares me?" he smiled. "I've been through worse than that many times, Princess."

"I bet you have," Azula said, raising her eyebrows as Sokka walked away, raising his hand in farewell towards her.

"See you tomorrow," he said… though he had a feeling it wouldn't be quite so long before he saw her again.

He was right to guess as much: she appeared frequently wherever the king was, always keeping her head uncharacteristically low, walking at the same hurried, nervous pace as the other servants, shyly complying with every order and command. She appeared the picture of humility and perfect obedience… except for whenever she locked eyes with him. By then, she'd send him a quick glare, as good as commanding him wordlessly to stop staring at her. Sokka would obey quickly, again bothered by how his heartrate quickened upon being in her presence. Something was definitely wrong with him…

He had continued his research, though, and he had tried to make his acquaintance with the many visitors Kuei had received. He'd shared drinks with some, helped others heave in their large gifts for the king, offered directions to those who couldn't seem to find their way in the large palace… in the end, he always found a way to coax enough information from each person about who they were, and what they were doing in the palace.

He would share that information with Azula at midnight: despite he should know better, it had startled him to find her wearing her palace-acquired nightgown – a full-body, near translucent white outfit – upon their first nighttime encounter. She had made fun of him for how flustered he was, and he had tried his best to ignore her jabs as he conveyed what he'd discovered. Even though it'd been a week of this procedure already, he could never seem to hold back from admiring how those simple clothes hugged her womanly figure perfectly… but he wasn't here to swoon over beautiful women, he was here to work. And work he would. Even if she was making it rather difficult by stealing away his attention when he should have known better.

So far, not much progress had been made: everything seemed perfectly harmless. They were growing slightly frustrated over their assignment, even spending the latest midnight meeting drinking together while dissing their respective employers, Aang and Zuko, for having ridiculous dreams that they'd forced them to act upon… Azula was rather interesting with her inhibitions lowered, Sokka thought, but he hadn't dared act on his damn impulses even then. She had given no sign of reciprocity, so as far as he could tell, he was the only fool whose loins seemed to soar whenever they were near each other. This was work, too: he couldn't lose control and had to focus on the duty, the situation at hand. It wouldn't do to fail to protect Kuei because he was too busy gazing at Azula's cleavage, wondering just when she had filled out that much and how he hadn't noticed until then…

And if they kept up at this rate, he might have just failed to read the signs of danger when they finally arrived at their doorstep: a week after Sokka's arrival, another lordling, landowner in the western Earth Kingdom, had appeared in the Palace with as much pomp as any other noble had… and yet he immediately stood out as a menace to Azula and Sokka, as they watched him in his encounter with Kuei.

"So much has changed in the Earth Kingdom for the past years, my king… it has been difficult to keep up," the man had said, sipping his tea quietly upon each pause. Kuei eyed him remorsefully. "But this child of yours…! It will be the very first good change in a long time, won't it? A strong boy, I'm sure, who will uphold every ideal our nation ought to strive towards…"

"I am hoping so, yes," Kuei smiled. "I do regret that there has been very little to be done about the United Republic's demands, though, Lord Yao… it has taken me so long to accept the Avatar's project because I had no intentions of hindering my own people. It all boils down to that spoiled Fire Lord, really…"

"Oh, but he's just the spitting image of his father, only, with a damn scar across his face," said Lord Yao. Sokka's eyes flickered towards Azula, and he was impressed to see she hadn't reacted, not even once, upon hearing either the king or his lordling badmouthing her brother. "His colonial pursuits cannot be denied. He knows it's more convenient for him to keep a foothold in our continent, that's why he can't be reasoned with, why he's been so adamant about keeping Yu Dao as it is. I'm sure he'll start demanding for his other colonies to be reinstated too…"

"I do hope not…" Kuei said, though his eyes flickered towards Sokka then, and he smiled awkwardly. "I know you're personal friends with the Fire Lord, but surely you understand…"

"Oh, I understand completely," Sokka nodded, tightening his lips into a line. "I thought I was lucky to be born in a place with next to no resources anyone else would want to exploit, but ever since they found oil… the North has been pestering us nonstop, you know? I used to think it was fine, they were only giving us a hand, but by now I'm starting to wonder if maybe the rebels who didn't want this were in the right, instead… even Fire Lord Zuko has economic interests in the area now. He may be my friend, but he's still a Fire Lord. And Fire Lords… sadly, they can't be trusted."

It impressed Azula that he would sound so sincere… that he would speak ill of Zuko without missing a beat, with such believable naturality that both Kuei and Yao appeared perfectly, blissfully happy to hear him. While she had schooled herself into becoming the best spy she could possibly be, it didn't escape her notice that Sokka had, in all likelihood, spent his latest years perfecting his own skills on the matter all the same, in the White Lotus's ranks. And this way, he had gained Kuei's sympathy… and perhaps Yao would go to him for support, if he needed it.

Yet… Yao seemed to be ambitious, and he seemed to already have a plan, Azula realized. He wanted Kuei on his side, he wanted the king's support… he wanted the Fire Nation gone. He wanted the Earth King to father a boy, too…

Slowly, the pieces of the puzzle started to make sense in Azula's head. She gritted her teeth as she tuned back into the conversation, only to find that they were now boasting about the greatness of their respective nations and how they were the truly superior ones to the Fire Nation – a matter that she found utterly stupid to discuss, though to her relief, Sokka had enough sense not to pretend to be a pushover in every regard, claiming the Water Tribe was the greatest of all nations playfully while the other two laughed and declared otherwise.

She didn't wait until midnight this time: she waited only ten minutes after the meeting was done to slip away from the other maids unnoticed, rushing to the room she had long identified as Sokka's. She knocked on his door quickly, urgently, glancing anxiously around herself – no one should notice her here, not when the rounds of cleaning guest rooms were long finished, and when she should be down at the kitchens, working to ensure dinner would be served safe and soundly…

The door finally opened, and she would have rushed inside quickly, locking the door behind herself immediately… if only she hadn't been greeted by the sight of a shirtless, soaked Sokka with only a towel around his waist.

"A-Az…" he started, as she gasped at the sight of him. "W-what are you…?"

She snarled and rushed in anyway, bumping lightly into his body before closing the door in a rush. Curses, no. This wasn't fair. This wasn't right. She had been keeping herself in check, doing her best to disguise her body's reactions to his proximity for as long as they had encountered each other in that dark corridor… as, of course, no hot-blooded woman could be at the opposite end of those intense blue eyes, pinned against a wall by him as she had been, and not feel her very soul shudder with the urge to be kissed by him… but she was no fool. She had no intentions of acting on attraction, not when she was here for very serious, professional reasons…

But that glistening body, and that loose, wet hair, certainly seemed to taunt her into doing the exact opposite of what she had intended to. She had nearly damn forgotten why she was here, outright, as she stared at Sokka with what she hoped he'd interpret as outrage… rather than the arousal it truly was.

"I had no idea you'd drop by, sorry!" Sokka grimaced. "I was cleaning up before dinner, I thought…"

"Well, that's too bad because you'll be skipping dinner," Azula determined. Sokka's confused stare only made his train of thought obvious to the Princess after a short moment of tense silence. "B-because we have to investigate something, damn you! Not for any other reason!"

"Oh. Hah, here I thought you'd… haha, never mind," Sokka grinned awkwardly, scratching the back of his head as he made his way to his temporary closet. Azula gritted her teeth, watching his strong back, her gaze shifting lower, to the rear so tightly marked by that towel… no, no, no, she wasn't that stupid, she didn't think with her loins, no she didn't… "Why do you want me to skip dinner, though? Is it Yao? I did think he sounded fishy, but did you catch anything suspicious enough about him already?"

"No strong evidence yet, no, but I'm sure I know what his plan is," Azula said, tearing her eyes off him once he turned towards her, putting on a shirt slowly as he gazed at her. "He wants to be in Kuei's good graces like any other noble, but by incensing him further against the Fire Nation. He'll have Kuei killed, frame the Fire Nation for it, detonate another war and position himself as the ideal leader to carry forward this new conflict…"

"Wait, wait, wait… he'll have Kuei killed?" Sokka repeated, frowning as he put on a set of trousers: had he put on any underwear? Azula hadn't seen him do so. Oh hell, was he going to wander the damn palace without any on? That… didn't help. Not in the least. "You mean… he'll hire someone Fire Nation to kill the king?"

"And then, in all likelihood, he'll take down the material assassin himself, turn him in to the authorities, endear himself to the queen, all in a bid to become her next husband," Azula declared, staring pointedly at the wall. That certainly made it much easier to focus, yes. "He'll pin the murder on the Fire Nation, and raise the child himself to make sure he will hate our people. It's a perfectly stupid plan, and yet one that would likely work smoothly if only some weird spirits hadn't sent messages to my brother and your Avatar about what was going to happen…"

"That's distressing to even think about," Sokka sighed. "Okay, but then… what will we do? Without solid evidence there's not much we can present to Kuei, and Aang doesn't want me to present anything to him anyhow. He thinks that if Kuei finds out there's anything going on, he'll lose his shit and turn against the nation coalition all over again…"

"Zuko told me the same thing," Azula said, releasing a breath and turning towards Sokka anew: he had fastened his sash, and tied up his still wet hair, and surely still had no underwear on. Ugh, she HAD to stop thinking about that… "We'll look for the evidence now. Once dinnertime arrives, Yao will surely either eat with Kuei or take a group of lords out into the city, attempting to gather more supporters for his cause once he sets his plan in motion. He shouldn't be in the palace for a while, and that gives us enough time to search through his room to find any signs of communication between himself and his likely hitman."

"I'm not sure," Sokka frowned. "We'll both go? Not that I mind investigating with you, Azula, but we need to keep Kuei alive too, remember? One of us should…"

"There's literally no way the queen's water will break and she'll deliver a child, all within the next three hours," Azula said, skeptically. "Yao won't act until the child is born, and worse yet, he seemed to be quite certain it would be a boy: it's entirely possible that, if it's a girl, he might not act at all."

"Or that he might kill the child," Sokka suggested. Azula's eyes widened. "It's… sickening. But he could have his hitman killing Kuei's daughter. There's no better way to ensure Kuei sees red and doesn't stop until he immolates his entire nation in a war against the Fire Nation, if need be, than by killing his child… or is there?"

"I hadn't even thought of that." Azula admitted, frowning. "But it's a perfectly logical way to proceed, even if…"

"If utterly appalling? Yes," Sokka growled. "Just the thought that someone would want to kill a newborn makes me want to bash in their heads with my club, that they want to do it for a political reason makes me want to… to bash in their heads multiple times with my club."

"A valid feeling," Azula said, breathing out slowly. "But it means we have a short window of time to act. Once the queen's water breaks…"

"We'll have to be there. To protect her, for sure," Sokka said, gritting his teeth. "But if we can stop this beforehand, all the better."

"Indeed," Azula sighed, gesturing at the door. "Let's go. I know where Yao's room is."

Sokka obeyed promptly, slipping his knife inconspicuously inside his pocket, unwilling to bring any larger weapons than that. He followed Azula dutifully, urging his foolish heart not to overreact about Azula's flustered behavior earlier: she wouldn't have necessarily reacted any differently to any other guy she had seen like that, would she? It wasn't an indicator for anything serious, not really… no matter how he wished it were. It was stupid, a really bad idea, to see Azula in this light as of late, he knew as much, but why couldn't he seem to stop doing it…?

The undercover Princess led him to one of the topmost rooms in the Palace: most of them were occupied by now, and the newest arrivals were often given the least comfortable rooms of all, even as far as seven floors up. However luxurious it was, many of them had already complained about knee pain climbing so many stairs… fortunately, neither of the stealthy investigators were quite as quick to exhaustion as nobles were. They reached Yao's assigned room as quietly as possible, constantly hiding in corridors whenever anyone came close to them, switching stairs frequently to throw off anyone who might see them… until finally they arrived, and Azula produced a handful of servant keys with which she unlocked the suite quickly.

It was, naturally, empty: her guess about what Yao would do during dinner had been spot on. Sokka locked the door again behind them, and they analyzed the place cautiously. Yao hadn't been here for long, so he evidently hadn't unpacked much so far. They'd be able to search his bags, then, of which he had plenty, stacked on one side of the bed.

"Seems like he does intend to move in, huh?" Sokka asked, reaching for the first of the bags.

"You'd think, but most these nobles brought similar amounts of luggage," Azula said. Sokka flinched.

"Must be awful for you to clean after all those people," he said. Azula scoffed. "I'm surprised you've put up with it for so long without a hitch…"

"'Put up with it' is the right phrase, yes," Azula admitted, opening another bag: clothes, apparently. Many changes of them. She still stuck her hand inside for good measure, in case she found anything other than fabrics within, be it paper or a weapon or just anything…

"I'd have never expected you to deal with this. Serving others… doesn't really suit you," Sokka said. Azula smiled and shrugged.

"It's a pretense. And Zuko pays well, at least," Azula said. "That being said, I lived like most these pretentious fools long ago. I had their same complaints, saw the same faults in everything servants did, which means… I know exactly what they want to see, exactly how to clean to their satisfaction, exactly how to respond so they'll ignore my very existence. A double-edged blade, you could say."

"Wow," Sokka smiled. "Sounds like you should hate this job, but maybe it works well for you…"

"Oh, I hate pretending to be a servant, don't get me wrong," Azula said. Sokka chuckled. "But I don't hate being a spy. I don't hate investigating, and putting up a front… I masqueraded as your ex once before, remember? In this very palace…"

"Ah… I never did see you in the Kyoshi Warrior outfit, though," Sokka smiled. "Just in the Dai Li uniform."

"Your sister did. She was so fearful, telling me all about how Zuzu was in the city…" she said, smiling mischievously. "I know I shouldn't take joy in any of those events these days, but it was highly ironic that she'd beg the worse of two evils to save her from the other one."

"I'll say, in retrospect? You pulled off something incredible with that coup," Sokka smiled. "It was wrong, yes, but… I wish I'd ever come up with a plan as big as that. The scope of it, the way you had everything working smoothly, exactly as you needed it to…? It sure was something…"

"It's the main reason I managed to sabotage your big plan, too," Azula said, glancing at Sokka almost remorsefully. "Kuei himself blurted out that your people would attack the Fire Nation on the day of the eclipse. Obviously, I asked him to keep talking and the fool did…"

"Ugh. So, I could've impressed you that day with my strategic abilities, just as you blew me away with the coup, and he sabotaged it?" Sokka asked. Azula, despite herself, laughed at his outrage. "Damn him. Maybe I shouldn't be helping him at all. I'll leave and tell Aang to send someone else in my stead, now I'm angry…"

"If it makes you feel any better, you weren't half bad a strategist," Azula said. "Still aren't. But… I'm better."

"Heh! I'll get you yet, Princess," Sokka hissed playfully. She smiled as she set aside the fourth bag and started with the next one.

Sokka had been looking through a rather big bag, one carrying a few more implements rather than clothes. Hygiene implements, as far as he could tell, in general… but then he felt a small scroll at the very bottom, squashed against the rest of the items. He shifted the contents of the bag, fishing out the scroll with difficulty… when Azula suddenly whipped her head around to the door and urged him to be quiet by pressing her finger to her lips.

Sokka froze in place… just in time to hear footsteps. Footsteps, approaching.

Azula grimaced, closing the bag she had been searching and piling them together at haste. Sokka followed suit, tucking away the small scroll inside his pocket… but where to now? They were on the seventh floor, there was no way they'd be able to get out through the window, and the front door was ruled out, for if this was Yao, it was evident he'd enter through it in a matter of seconds. Under the bed? The frame was solid, there was no way they could hide there…

Azula clasped his forearm suddenly and dragged him to a corner of the room: Sokka had very little time to process what was happening before the Princess pulled the closet door open and tossed him inside. She closed the door quickly, its creaking sound matching the one of the front door, that was opened at the same time.

It was a small closet, and Sokka's head scraped its ceiling if he tried to stand at his full height. It resulted in him crouching lightly over Azula's frame… while she, in turn, was pressed fully into his chest, her face against his quick-paced heart.

Both breathed heavily, but as quietly as they possibly could, too. They heard footsteps out in the room, but no voices, nothing to ascertain this was Yao other than strong footsteps… then a sigh.

And then the sound of the mattress being pressed: he was sitting down, or laying down altogether. Why? How come? Wasn't he supposed to be going to dinner?

Sokka glanced at Azula – or at least tried to, for it was hard to see her in the dark. She raised her head towards him too, and when he tried to mouth some thoughts towards her, in a desperate and fruitless attempt to communicate, Azula pressed a hand to his lips before leaning into his ear.

"Be quiet," she whispered breathily, so softly Sokka almost missed the meaning of her words. Yes, well, being quiet went without saying, but what were they going to do next? How would they get rid of this problem? How would they get out of this damn closet?

It wasn't the first time Azula was in a complicated position in the middle of her espionage. She had been forced to hide behind bookshelves covered in dust and cobwebs, she even had to conceal herself in garbage one time, and the damn stench had taken forever to rinse off. But this time around she was stuck in a rather cramped space… and worse than that, she wasn't alone.

Try as though either of them might to be as professional and steady as they did, their bodies were in full contact as they held each other safely. What to do? How to ever excuse this, if they were caught? Even if they played this as some sort of twisted situation where they had developed a fancy for each other and taken to making out in dark corners, why would anyone choose to hide in a closet of the Palace's seventh floor to make out? They had no choice but to stay hidden indeed… for however long as possible, until whoever was outside left the room again, or fell deeply asleep and they were free to slip away unnoticed.

Sokka leaned closer, his lips grazing Azula's ear. She shivered, again trying not to let her damn system misunderstand what was happening… but then he spoke as she had, in that hushed, husky whisper, and his breath tickled her neck, sending tingles up and down her spine, as good as tickling the private places she knew she shouldn't be responding to him with…

"What do we do?" he had asked, and he lingered right where he was. Azula shivered involuntary, clinging to his waist, her long nails scraping his skin lightly.

"We… wait," she decided, in the same voice tone. "Just… stay put. Like this."

Sokka swallowed dryly: he would do his best, yes… but holding this beautiful woman so closely, feeling her breasts pressed against his body, inhaling her light perfume, would make it far more difficult not to move than any other challenge he could think of right now. The closet was so small, he had no idea how any nobleman would be granted such a small clothing storage… surely Yao would have complained nonstop about it to Kuei if he didn't have an agenda to push forward.

That being said… the man could easily climb out of bed and decide to tuck away his things sooner than later. If that happened… well, he'd punch the lights out of him, before Azula could do anything more final. While it seemed she used her abilities for better purposes these days, it was clear the Princess had become even more lethal in recent years and wouldn't hold back from executing anyone who might have caught her in a compromising situation… and that wouldn't work for their purposes either. If she killed anyone in this Palace, and it was discovered that any firebender was responsible, the precarious peace would shatter all over again…

His grip on her arms tightened, as though to keep her right where she was. To ensure she wouldn't do anything too dangerous, to ask her nonverbally to leave this to him, if need be. The man outside rustled in the mattress, and Azula's head whipped quickly towards the sound only for Sokka to lean closer yet, their cheeks colliding.

"Don't… do anything," he whispered. "Leave it to me."

Azula gritted her teeth, again tickled pleasantly by his voice. Again, stirred in a way she hadn't intended to be by him. She turned her face towards his… and in that darkness, she could sense him less than an inch away. She could feel his breathing against her own skin… just as he could feel hers, no doubt.

"How…" Azula mouthed softly, "… how do we always… end up in close quarters like this…?"

Her words rang true, and stirred further confusion and excitement inside Sokka's body: without needing a light source, he could imagine the way her eyes would glisten upon meeting his own. Her breaths brushed against him… breaths she released through her mouth. Her lips were parted… those full lips he couldn't help but want to kiss since their arrangement had begun – most powerfully once their midnight encounters had started.

The chance of being caught was terrifying. That had to be why his heart was racing… why hers was, too – he could feel hers against his chest, drumming through her breast… oh, he wanted to touch her. He wanted to kiss her, to pin her to another wall and show her the best of times by doing so. An unwise course of action, he guessed, for as much as they had gotten along for the last years of the decade, he hardly knew her that well… let alone did he know her well enough to jump into any wild dalliances without looking back, did he?

Oh, but she was so tempting, and she shivered in his arms, and he heard as her tongue slipped out of her mouth, licking her lips… he wanted to lick them, too. He could have done that for her…

No, no, no, he couldn't, he shouldn't, this was stupid, his brain had stopped working, that was the only explanation for the slowly surging erection that bulged inside his trousers… free from the trappings of underwear he had neglected to wear merely because the situation sounded quite urgent.

The man outside rustled in bed again, and Azula shuddered, leaning forward again… pressing further into Sokka. He flinched, she noticed… and that was when she grew aware of the dangerous problem that hung between his legs. She lowered her head, despite knowing she wouldn't be able to see anything… had he been turned on earlier, for some other reason, and the situation wasn't helping? Or… was it because of her?

Well, he was a man. No doubt, having a girl's bosom pressed into his body could have triggered a rather hormone-driven, impulsive response in his system… and yet that realization amused Azula, somewhat. She had teased him a few times by now, by saying he had a crush on her, somehow… but that his manhood would rise up to a challenge no one had posed for it certainly spoke for itself.

She raised a hand and then froze in place, once it was mere inches from his shaft: what on earth was she doing? That wasn't something she should touch, was she insane? That wasn't teasing, that was harassment. Sokka would report her to Zuko as soon as they got out of this damn closet, tell her brother she was some sort of horny nymphomaniac who had dragged him into a closet and had her way with him there… eh, maybe she really should be one. It would be more fun than standing here, raising her head towards his, merely chasing after those soft breaths he released, while she inhaled that delectable, masculine scent of his body… there was something breezy to his natural musk, as though he had only just been rolling in waves in the sea: that same sensation brushed through her senses, much as her own scent, akin to a spicy incense with a dash of saffron bittersweetness, was slowly overwhelming him. She seemed to embody a fireplace, burning steadily, but ever ready to take a wilder surge and burn everything in her wake, if need be… and he longed for it. He wanted to be burned, just as she wanted his waves to roll across her. Maybe if they both did it together, as one, neither one would get hurt…

His hands slid lower over her arms. Hers rose to his strong chest, the one she had been so enraptured by earlier. Any moment now, the other would pull away, somehow, despite they couldn't possibly put much distance between them in such cramped space. Any moment they'd snap out of the intoxicating daze they were in. Any moment, that bastard right outside would pull the door open and find them, flustered and undeniably excited, gazing into each other's eyes with unabashed lust…

A second ticked by.

And then another.

And nothing happened. Nothing changed.

Sokka swallowed hard: Azula could imagine the sight of his throat's movements, despite being unable to see it for herself, only to hear it. He was growing bolder, once his hands trailed down the sides of her elbows… and fell upon her waist. Azula shivered, and her own fingers probed the muscles of Sokka's chest, slipping lower, between their bodies… yet with no intent to push him off, he realized, for those fingertips caressed his abdomen… caressed it with greed.

Her irregular breathing soon accompanied his: what was the other thinking? What on earth were they doing? Azula raised her head again, intending to ask just how far those hands of his would go…

Her lips grazed his by sheer accident.

And the next thing she knew, his hands had clasped each of her ass cheeks as he kissed her hard, powerfully, overloading her already thrilled senses by finally caving in to the temptations they had failed to resist.

Azula didn't have a chance to reason with the situation: he had succumbed, though he had fought it longer than she had expected, but he had succumbed nonetheless… and as those willful lips collided with hers, she found herself completely forgetting all about professionalism. What did it matter to anyone if she made out with her associate in closets if she so wished? His lips tasted heavenly, and his tongue darted out to seek hers… her whole body shuddered as she leaned further into him, her hands touching him with now unmistakable erotic intent. She needed this, whatever it was. She wanted him, no matter the risks. And she'd get him, if not now, later…

Sokka nearly yelped when her hand slipped recklessly, quickly down his chiseled abdomen to tug off the sash that held his clothes together: undoing it proved enough for his trousers to drop, for his shirt to spread open… for his manhood to spring up, uncontested and free, and she caught it in her hand without the slightest hesitation, shivering with anticipation instead. Her hungry kisses rivaled his own perfectly, and while one of his hands lingered on her rear, the other ventured forward, cupping her left breast even over her clothes. Oh, he was bold, just as she was reckless, and she simply loved it.

She wasn't sure whether she was lucky or unlucky when it came to her servant's uniform: there were far more layers to it than to Sokka's simple apparel. He struggled to find her skin underneath the clothes, hiking up her outer tunic to find a long-sleeved shirt underneath, and beneath it, at last, her underwear. Ugh, but pulling off her clothes would be near impossible in this damn closet, so cramped, with the constant menace of that man outside, who would catch them if they made any noise they shouldn't…

Their kiss broke apart with a sweaty gasp: they breathed hotly against each other for just a moment, yet that Azula refused to let go of his erect cock convinced Sokka to cast the rest of his reservations to hell: he raked up the clothes of her upper body, slipping his hand through the hem of her trousers. And when Azula gasped, whether out of sheer pleasure, outrage or disbelief, Sokka pushed her back against the closet's wall and caught her sound with his own mouth, kissing her voraciously once again… and the whole world was fading in blissful wonder as those fingers prodded her clit delectably, stirring so much wet heat inside her Azula could barely hold her own against his touch. It was too good, he was too good… and by the soft, purr-like sounds that poured from his throat, perhaps she was good too, as she massaged his shaft, rubbing her whole hand over it, pressing her palm to his tip and prompting his breath to hitch for it.

She wanted to see his face… to know what he was thinking. Her other senses took control as it was, for she could barely make out his silhouette, even when kissing him with her eyes narrowly open… weird that she'd feel even more excited about trying to see him as they kissed, when his fingers were already doing a brilliant job at riling up her arousal: just how embarrassing would it be, in any other circumstances, for a man to dip his fingers over her folds to find them sopping wet right away? She knew she had no excuse for that kind of reaction… but to be fair, Sokka had no excuse for the massive erection she was still stirring further. Unable to see it, she dared caress it from hilt to tip, basking in how strong and potent it felt… she wanted it. She really wanted it inside her… whether it fit or not, she simply wanted it.

He groaned softly when he started thrusting into her hand, and Azula moaned back, their heavy breathing and intimate caresses paired in perfect synch. Their free hands traveled across the other's body, teasing and testing the waters by touching everything they dared: it was Azula's turn to wrap her hand around his rear… she wanted to spank him rather irrationally upon caressing the soft, round mound. Meanwhile, his own hand slipped under her clothes, struggling to push so many layers out of the way, all be it to find her nipples. He could have settled for her thighs, but he went further… Azula's lips wouldn't leave his anymore, and to his delight, the two were thrusting into each other's hands together, moaning, panting sweating, needing more than just these caresses to find full satisfaction… but, to be fair, the caresses were doing a damn good job at pushing them to the edge all the same.

Sokka's lips trapped Azula's tongue briefly, just as a surge of pleasure nearly caused her to pull away from their kiss: there was something impossibly erotic to being kissed this way… almost as though he were claiming her for himself. As if he was deciding she'd be his, from now on… and as she shivered violently under the fingers that dipped inside her entrance, while the thumb continued to toy with the clit, Azula found that notion perfectly agreeable. Yes… yes, she wanted to be his. She wanted more of this, whatever the hell it was, because it certainly felt like more than just impossibly hot sex to her…

He tensed up: he was close as well. He released her from the capture of his lips so he could pant heavily against her, but Azula stole another wild kiss from his open mouth: her hand jerked his organ faster than before, and by the groans that left his lips, that was exactly what he needed right now…

He came in spurts, shooting his load mere instants before her own lower body seemed to catch fire: they melted into each other's hands, moaning with more abandon than they should've risked. And again, they devoured each other's lips with savage kisses as they rode the last of their climaxes together, aided by the other in climbing down from the heights of pleasure.

They still breathed heavily when their releases were finished… and he still stole another kiss from her lips. And another. And yet another. Azula moaned, wondering if he'd want to take her in this stupid, cramped closet… she wouldn't mind one bit, if he did…

And then another sound, outside their tight, ever-heating closet, reminded them that they weren't alone in the damn room… and that a wild tryst was NOT the reason they were here.

"W-what…?" Sokka pulled away, turning his head towards the closet's door, his ear sharp and keen… Azula's crumpled clothes rolled down again as Sokka released her from his grip, though she had to tug everything properly back into place anyway…

And then that sound again.

A snore.

The bastard outside had entered the room to take a nap.

The two of them released louder breaths than they should have, at the same time. Oh, this was absurd. It was stupid. Either they had the best luck in the world or the worst, and it was near impossible to tell which it was.

Sokka leaned down, searching blindly around the floor to collect his sash. Azula shook her head, reaching a hand towards the door.

"We… are going to move very carefully, and quietly," she said. Sokka nodded. "If that bastard wakes up…"

"I'll stab him," Sokka said, bluntly. Azula smirked.

"Sounds good," she decided.

His hand found hers on the closet's door once he was ready, by sheer chance. Azula swallowed hard, but together they pushed it open as quietly as they could, hoping it wouldn't creak if they were careful…

She slid out of the narrow opening first, walking so silently across the room Sokka grimaced, while closing the closet behind himself: he could never be that stealthy. But he'd try anyways, even if he couldn't walk that lightly. He followed her as she reached the door, opening it just as quietly, and she urged him to move faster: he was still halfway across the room, walking cautiously while keeping an eye on the man snoring…

A rather large, bulky man with shaggy hair and beard. Sokka frowned as he studied his appearance: that wasn't the perfectly groomed Lord Yao he'd met earlier. He gritted his teeth as he slid out of the room, and Azula closed the door silently once more… before clasping his forearm and guiding him to the nearest flight of stairs.

He only followed blindly, carelessly, his heart racing so bad over the tension and adrenaline he didn't even think twice about whatever their destination might be. He only came back to his senses when Azula tossed him inside another dark room… a room he soon recognized as his own. She closed the door behind herself, locking it quickly before releasing a long, tense breath.

"That… was so close. Way too close," Azula said. Sokka nodded, finally finding his voice again to ask:

"You okay…?"

"Okay?" Azula said, turning to look at him in disbelief: the sunset's glow fell upon the room through the windows, and now she could see Sokka's face clearly… his reddened lips beckoned her yet again. She wondered if hers did the same to him…

"I-I mean… that was… intense," Sokka decided, swallowing hard. "That guy… that wasn't Yao."

"Yeah… I noticed when I was waiting for you to get out," Azula said, nodding. "The… the hitman, then?"

"Maybe. Could be… oh!" Sokka gasped, reaching into his trousers' pocket, fishing hastily past his knife for the small scroll he'd put away just before the stranger had showed up.

Azula stepped closer upon noticing he was holding what might be their only useful lead so far. She swallowed hard and stopped a little closer to him than she should have… close enough to smell her own perfume on him. Even to smell a certain, rather intimate scent that still clung to his hand… oh, she was insane. She really was insane. Getting fingered on the job and growing so utterly excited over it… what was the matter with her?

"It's… encrypted somehow," Sokka grimaced. "Feels like they purposefully broke the ideograms into nonsense so no one could intercept the message."

"That so…?" Azula asked, reaching for the scroll: her hand brushed against his. Sokka didn't even flinch as she angled the paper towards herself.

Sokka let go of the scroll once Azula walked away with it, towards his desk. Watching her body sway with each movement sent jolts of excitement through his body… threatening to reawaken his shaft after it should have been, by all logic, calmed after she had relieved him earlier… curses, how on earth had he scored a handjob out of Princess Azula, of all people? He swallowed dryly at the thought… too dryly. There was water in the jug, he could drink that. And he could offer her some too, why not? It was just the gallant thing to do… especially after having jerked off each other in a closet.

Azula had already gotten started deciphering the confusing code when Sokka deposited a small cup with water beside her. Her whole body jolted for it, and she shot him a quick, awkward, grateful smile before getting back to work. And then she glanced back at him, most deliberately, to watch as he swallowed each mouthful of his own cup of water. Oh, the bob of his neck's triangle with each swallow… that was a true spectacle. He was impossibly attractive, and she wasn't sure how to stop admiring him…

He lowered his head and she whipped hers around quickly, her face fully flushed as she returned to work. Sokka blinked blankly at her sudden movement, but he placed his now empty cup on the desk while leaning over Azula's hunched form…

"You're in my light," she said, though her voice wasn't too antagonistic. Sokka bit his lip.

"Oops. Give me a sec," he said, stepping away… and Azula's heart sank for it. Which it shouldn't have. Curses, she had to FOCUS.

She continued to work quietly: she had already deciphered the first part, but then he returned to the room… with a set of lanterns that he distributed across the room, lighting them one by one.

"It'll be dusk soon anyway, so…"

"Good call," Azula said, working on the next set of ideograms… and then he set down the last lantern right on the desk.

"And now I'm not in your light," Sokka smiled, leaning again. Despite herself, Azula grinned too.

"So clever," she whispered.

"How's it looking?" he asked.

"I think I've nearly got it. It's not a long message," Azula said, jotting down a few more possibilities on the paper she was using to unravel the cyphered missive…

Within another two minutes, two phrases had formed across the paper:

I'll arrive in the afternoon. Keep the room empty until the job is done.

"The job…" Sokka said. Azula snarled.

"Yes, it sounds bad, but not bad enough," she said, turning to look at him. "That guy, the one we saw… he's the murderer. He's the one Yao hired for his scheme."

"And if we take him out now…" Sokka said. "It'll cause trouble anyway. Worse yet if you do it personally: he's an ally and associate of a guy Kuei seems to like plenty. If a firebender is found attacking, or killing him…"

"The story will be spun into making me the enemy, yes," Azula said, gritting her teeth.

"They haven't acted yet," Sokka sighed. "I'm not sure we can make our move until they make theirs. There's so many potential risks…"

"The thing is… we do have the upper hand," Azula said, turning towards him. "Because they don't know I'm here. They don't know which team you're working for. You've said what they wanted to hear, but you're the Avatar's friend. They can't outright assume you mean them any harm… just as they can't assume you don't."

"Exactly," Sokka said, breathing sharply. "And they're completely unaware of your presence. So… we'll use those things to our advantage."

"You'll stick to Kuei. Follow him around, tail him, especially on the day of the birth," Azula said. "I'll wait on the queen, offer my services during the birth…"

"Sounds fun," Sokka said, with an awkward smile. Azula scoffed.

"A little blood won't faze me," she declared, boldly.

"I think it's more than just a little… but I think the worst part is the ridiculously loud baby crying," Sokka smiled. Azula grimaced.

"Fair… but I'll endure it," she said. "If the baby is a girl, I'll stick to guarding her and the queen. If it's a boy, you'll stand guard with Kuei and I'll try to reach you before the enemy does."

"Might be I'll make quick work of him before you do," Sokka smiled. "Though… we're not supposed to let anyone know what's going on, right? We're supposed… to keep our operation secret, quiet, without Kuei or the plotter's awareness. Should I try to take down that guy in front of Kuei? For real?"

"Hmm…" Azula bit her lip, tapping her chin with a fingertip. "I'd think it's the safest way to proceed… but maybe it isn't, you're right. If anything… we should figure out the layout of the birthing location, and where Kuei will be kept in wait. Then it's just a matter of figuring out where this guy is likeliest to break into either room… and then stop him before he does."

"We can… research that tomorrow?" Sokka asked, innocently. Azula blinked blankly. "You with the servants… I with Kuei himself?"

"Tomorrow?" she repeated. Sokka bit his lip. "Well, that's…"

She wasn't so stupid as to not understand his implication: he wasn't disregarding his work, not at all, and neither was she, that was stupid to even think about…

But they had started something in that damn closet.

And one climax was certainly not enough to consider it finished.

"If you agree…" Sokka said, closing his eyes raising his hands defensively. "If you'd rather we go right back out to track down someone who can get us all the information on royal birthing protocols, that's fine too, I just thought today had been a tiresome enough day to…"

He had been betting on it. He had been waiting for it. And he damn smiled when he felt that hand clawing at his blue shirt with enough strength to rip into the fabric.

And then he was swimming in the bliss of their joined lips for one more moment, as he nearly knocked her chair over upon kissing her back too enthusiastically. Her arms wrapped around his neck, and this time he didn't hesitate for an instant before swooping her into them, carrying her towards the fancy, elegant bed Kuei had granted him for this visit. He was quite fortunate for having gotten along with the king, and encouraged him to find his true calling by traveling the world, back when Azula herself had taken his kingdom. Otherwise he might have received a lesser suite… and this obnoxious opulence seemed to him the perfect environment in which to devote himself to Azula.

He dropped her on the mattress, and she nearly bounced with recoil as he pulled the sash and his clothes came undone yet again. Azula smiled as she watched them fall off his body… his glorious body that seemed to shine pure gold under the brightness of those lanterns. Sokka only had to shrug off his shirt, and toss off his boots to be fully naked… and Azula devoured him with her eyes, taking in that impossibly attractive body as she began undoing the fastenings of her own clothes.

"I thought… it had been a tiresome day?" Azula teased him. Sokka smirked.

"Yeah. Because I just wanted it to be nighttime already," he said. His insinuation made her laugh as he finally did away with all his clothes and climbed atop her, stealing a quick kiss from her lips that left her aching for more.

"You're clearly desperate to get some sleep, right…?" Azula said, smiling as he pulled her tunic over her head slowly. She never thought being undressed by a man could be this exciting, but her skin felt delectably feverish wherever his hands grazed her.

"With you? Hell, yeah," he blurted out, tossing the tunic aside before diving for another kiss.

Azula moaned, raising her legs awkwardly so she could remove her own shoes. She tossed them carelessly away, just as Sokka undid her own sash and pulled her clothes open… just as he had wanted to, from the first moment he had seen her wearing that damn revealing white sleeping gown… unlike him, Azula had underwear, but he didn't wait to remove it before covering her breasts with kisses, even over the bindings of her chest. Azula moaned, arching her body against him, struggling to shove off her own trousers… and, upon being unable to push them lower than mid-thigh, since his body pressed into hers, she took to caressing his strong back instead. She moaned delectably into his lips, appreciating his powerful build notoriously… and then he broke off the kiss to attack her neck next. Azula threw her head back, moaning far more carelessly now: she knew he wanted to hear her, to feel each vibration of her vocal cords, and she'd give him exactly that… was she being too generous? Too easy? Somehow, any such concerns were so superfluous that night she couldn't bother pondering them more than once. This felt right… it felt good. Better than good. He knew what he wanted, and he was chasing for it, and what he wanted was nothing other than her. Who could say no to a marvelous man who was giving himself so willingly…?

He sat up again, doing away with her lower body's clothes… and he smirked mischievously as he unabashedly gazed at her exposed nether region. Azula kicked at him playfully, smiling as she made to close her spread legs, but Sokka grunted in a sensual manner, clasping her knees to keep them apart.

"If you think I'm a sick pervert for wanting to look at every bit of you… then yes, I'm a sick pervert" Sokka smirked. Azula laughed and shook her head.

"I have no right to complain, do I…?" she said, gazing lustfully at his groin.

"True… you've been checking me out for a while, haven't you?" he teased her, urging her to sit up too. Azula snorted, her cheeks flushing as she closed her eyes: she raised her arms, allowing Sokka to undo her chest bindings slowly… revealing her to his greedy gaze with each loop he undid.

"How's someone not supposed to check out their partner in crime… if he shows up soaking wet, wearing just a towel, at the door?" Azula smiled. Sokka snickered.

"Liked what you saw…?"

"You like that I liked it…"

"Damn right I do," he whispered, stealing one more kiss from her lips as the last of her bindings came off…

And her full, plump breasts were revealed to his gaze at last. He groaned, leaning in to press his face to the mounds. They had been held down tightly, he thought… maybe they hurt a little, right? And now, free from those restraints, they'd need some massaging for the sake of relieving Azula from any potential pain… that made sense, right?

He didn't even know why he was making up excuses to fondle her chest, let alone once Azula began moaning heartily. Her nipples hardened against his palm, and Sokka groaned teasingly at the delectable sensation. Whether she needed a massage or not, clearly her chest was sensitive… and very receptive to his touch. And as far as he was concerned, he could continue touching it for hours if she allowed it. Oh, he really hoped she'd allow it… he was fine with her branding him a depraved fool if she wanted to do so, he simply needed to have her, all of her, and unless she stopped him, he intended to do as much right away.

She didn't stop him… but she did tighten her legs around his waist and swapped them on the mattress, all be it to find her own chance to devour his neck at leisure, to caress his chest just as he had hers. Whenever she rose, the glow of the lanterns would fall upon her body, and every curve wound be highlighted in such an exciting manner Sokka's mouth watered for it. He took Azula by surprise when, upon rising once after nibbling on his neck, Sokka's lips landed on her collarbone, moving lower slowly… she knew what he was up to, and as embarrassing as it was to moan in such a careless manner, she couldn't stop doing as much. She threw her head back and cried out, letting him lavish her breasts in turns, his mouth toying with her nipples in particular as he cast quick, teasing glances at her. His blue eyes appeared black with desire tonight… and that was how Azula wanted them to be. She wasn't often the recipient of anyone's lust… fear, yes. Envy, all the time. Spite, everywhere she went. But lust…? Let alone this much of it, so unabashed and unrestrained…?

She knew her sounds were more than a little embarrassing, but so what? Yet again, this was convenient. If the entire damn palace discovered Sokka was sleeping with an apparently common maid, he'd merely look like a lecherous idiot who picked up a girl at random… and she'd look like a fool who got swept up by the charming war hero. And no one, especially not that damn lord Yao and his associate, would ever suspect they were onto them.

That thought brought her to smile as she gave herself to her pleasure wholeheartedly. Let them hear… let everyone hear. She didn't care, for there was no reason to hold back. It felt amazing, and it would protect them too, should any danger befall them. Who'd have thought sex could be the perfect answer, and the ideal cover, in the middle of a job…? She'd have to drag Sokka into more of her missions, it'd be an amazing side activity to keep herself as inconspicuous as possible in the eyes of the people she had to investigate…

Sokka tugged down her clothes again, wrapping an arm around her to hoist Azula onto her side: he dragged the clothes off her legs, taking advantage of the situation to touch her thighs as boldly as he dared. And all the while, his mouth toyed with her breats, providing Azula with more surging pleasure than she knew what to do with.

"Y-you… really seem to like that…" Azula managed to say between moans.

"Here I thought you were the one who liked it…" Sokka said, with a toothy smirk before nibbling on her nipple. Azula cried out, half-laughing, half-moaning as she allowed him to pin her down again as he had his way with her. Oh, let it be. He wanted her, and she rather enjoyed the consequences of being the object of his desires right now.

Her body thrusted upwards towards him, urging him to take care of another part of her body, and Sokka complied, slipping a hand south once again. A hand he intended to replace with his mouth shortly, but he just needed a little longer of those soft mounds, just a little longer…

"Y-you're… y-you're going to be the death of me… if you keep this up…" Azula moaned desperately. Sokka snickered before delivering one more long, defiant suck to her nipple, eliciting yet another cry of pleasure from her.

"You sound amazing now that you're not trying to stifle everything in a closet," Sokka smirked.

"Like making me moan, do you…?" she asked. "There's… other ways to achieve that pretty easily, if you must know."

"Oh, my… I wonder what you mean…?" he said, teasingly, as he crept down her body, pressing slow, open mouthed kisses across her toned abs.

Azula smiled, closing her eyes: he sucked every bit of her skin his mouth fell upon, as though branding her his own… why did that thought stir so much excitement in her heart? Was it because her every partner before Sokka had been lackluster, quick encounters that went nowhere? Or was it knowing he wanted her, to the point of behaving almost possessively, had driven her mad with joyful pleasure…?

Sokka's brain was nothing but a cloud of bliss: her body was impossibly alluring to the eye, even more delightful to touch and taste directly. And while her perfume's fragrance certainly did a number on him back in the closet, there was yet another scent catching his attention now… a scent that demanded he buried his face in her sopping wet core, something he did without holding back at all.

"Y-you…! Oh shit, you glutton…!" Azula gasped, nearly kicking out when his mouth fell upon her folds. He was devouring her as though he were famished… which he possibly was, in quite a literal sense too, considering he'd skipped dinner. Was that why his mouth took her in so hungrily? If so, she'd make sure he wouldn't eat much right before the next time they…

… Next time? Would there be a next time?

Well. She'd certainly do her best to make sure there was one.

She only spread her legs further, giving Sokka all the room and opportunity to take her in as he pleased. Shivers rushed across her body, concentrating at her core, as though all her energy was focusing, ready to explode. She didn't quite need another release to be ready for his magnificent manhood… but if he would be selfless enough to gift her one, she wasn't about to refuse it.

More moans poured from her lips, and she thrusted at his face lightly, begging him to keep going. Sokka grunted right back in his masculine, sensual manner, and Azula felt as though she were about to catch fire for it. Who could've ever imagined that boy she'd fought against in a war, so long ago, would prove to be the best lover she had ever had…? It defied reason, she thought, and yet it was such a welcome discovery…

She kept her eyes closed as she navigated her excitement with him: she gasped when she felt his hands traveling over her abdomen again, right over her ribcage, and then he was squeezing her breasts yet again… Oh, he was a menace. He wanted to take every part of her body for himself, Azula guessed… and she wanted to give them to him, impulsively so. Why not? Why hold back? She bit her lip in a failed attempt to stifle another moan, and then he sucked on her clit with such devious power, while rubbing the tip of his tongue insistently on the rawest spot, that she climaxed chaotically once again, her whole body an erupting volcano, lava rushing through her veins at alarming speed with each pump of her heart. Sokka lapped at her folds eagerly, taking in every juice that appeared to escape her entrance, and he chuckled at each jolt of her body, every involuntary shudder upon the surging pleasure.

"Y-you… you're just… oh, to hell with you…" Azula moaned, clasping his hands in her own… but not to remove them from their spots at her breasts, rather, to encourage him to touch her further. Sokka chuckled.

"Much better than dinner, I'd say," he smirked, rising slowly. "Looks to me like I've conquered Ba Sing Se's conqueror, huh…?"

"You what?" she said, opening her eyes to level him with an outraged glare… one he fielded with a still proud smirk, as he pulled his right hand back, wiping his lips with the back of his hand.

"You heard me," he said, defiantly. Azula scoffed, shaking her head.

"Proud of yourself, are you?" she asked, as his smile widened. "Why… I'm afraid I won't acknowledge that title you've bestowed upon yourself."

"You won't?" Sokka asked, amused.

"No… at least, not yet," Azula said, and a smile spread over her face. Sokka raised his eyebrows, intrigued… more so when Azula spread her legs even more shamelessly, exposing herself completely to him. "Surely you realize… you have one stage left still?"

"Ah… I breached the outer wall with the first kiss?" Sokka asked, teasingly, leaning towards her. "Then maybe the lower ring with the first orgasm… middle ring with the second. Now it's time for the third?"

"Give me four and you'll be sitting pretty on the throne, too," Azula smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck. Sokka couldn't hold back a laugh as he pressed his brow to hers.

"You're… you're hot. Extremely hot," he decided. Azula scoffed.

"Tell me something I don't know… I am, after all, a firebender," she declared, proudly. Sokka laughed and dared kiss her lips quickly, unsure if she'd be comfortable upon tasting herself on his mouth.

"That's not quite what I meant, but you're funny anyway," he smiled. "Never expected you to be so playful…"

"Never expected…?" Azula asked, smirking. "That suggests you've thought about this before. About pinning me to your bed, and not just to a wall…?"

"Hmm… the thought did occur to me, once in a while," he said, pressing soft, slow kisses over her cheek. Azula's smirk widened.

"When?" she asked. Sokka snorted.

"Why do you want to know?" he asked, deliberately angling his body so his hardened shaft would rub against her sensitive clit: Azula jolted and cried out, only for Sokka to smirk deviously. Curse him, he had a dark, mischievous streak, on top of everything else… he was a tease, in the best of ways. To hell with this, if they kept this up, she'd wind up asking him to marry her before the night was out… "I might as well ask you the same question, Princess… did you think about me this way before? When?"

"Nuh-uh… you'll tell me first," she decided, reaching down between their bodies to clasp his shaft in her hand again. Sokka gasped as she smirked knowingly. "Look at that… fully charged and ready to shoot your lightning bolt, are you?"

"Something like that," Sokka conceded, laughing softly. "Ugh, you know what? You like games. I like games. Whoever comes first… answers first. 'Kay?"

"That… is not a bad idea, actually," Azula smiled. Sokka snickered.

"Good. Because I know I have leverage," he said, lowering himself again: her hand released his sturdy cock, and he dragged its head across her folds teasingly. Azula moaned heartily, rolling her eyes back over the sheer pleasure. "You're as sensitive as can be, after all…"

"And you're fully erect… and looking glorious," she said, smirking as she ventured a devious glance at his shaft. Sokka actually laughed at the shameless remark. "I don't think it'll be quite as easy for you to win as you hope, Sokka…"

"I'll conquer the conqueror… if it takes every last bit of my willpower," he decided, speaking with feigned seriousness. Azula could only laugh, even though he overtook her lips with teasing kisses moments later.

And slowly but surely, his cock's head began breaching her entrance: Azula moaned even more sensually than before, embracing Sokka urgently… most intentionally, hoping he'd go deeper once she pulled him closer. Sokka caved in, letting their hips loom closer until they were in full contact once he was deep inside her… and her moans were amazing by then. With her neck fully exposed, he couldn't help himself but kiss her skin, nibbling on it teasingly as he rolled back slowly, withdrawing himself to the tip… and them ramming back through her, faster than she expected. She yelped, clawing at his back, and Sokka groaned – the pleasure made him lightheaded too, no matter how strategic he was trying to be. She was so warm and wet… how would he ever resist until she finished again? It felt heavenly, being inside her…

He breathed out slowly before latching onto her neck next, biting lightly, but sucking harder. Her fingers clutched at his back, lightly when the pleasure was bearable… and clawing at him when it was overwhelming, as it was with each of his violent thrusts. And yet the smile on her face every time he stopped once he was buried to the hilt… she liked this. She loved this. It was as intense and savage as she needed it to be, apparently. Only…

"Y-you tease…" she said, between moans: he had done it again, drawing far back again: her breath hitched with anticipation and she cried out again once he rammed inside her potently. "Ah, just…! Go all the way, damn you…!"

"I… thought I was…?" Sokka smiled, reeling back again. Azula's chest heaved delightfully against his… and he smirked mischievously. "You sure you want me to stop the teasing?"

"Yes… yes," she said, letting her hands move up to his face: she pulled him in for a clumsy, sloppy kiss he couldn't seem to get enough of. "Fuck me like you mean it…"

"If you say so…" he smirked, stealing one more kiss…

Before drilling into her raw and powerfully, rolling his hips back only to thrust anew instants later. Azula's loud moans surged further, her nails catching his back once again as he thrusted and thrusted, faster yet, like a train-tank doing away with every line of defense…

And it was incredibly pleasant, both for the man who thrusted powerfully, rhythmically, even if his heart seemed to be about to fail him with how fast it was beating, and the woman underneath him, who thrusted right back into him, yielding her control of the situation only enough to let him understand that he only fucked her as he did because she allowed it… because she wanted him to. And her conditions and terms were perfectly agreeable for him, just as well.

Anyone else might have faltered at such a rhythm, Azula suspected, but her partner had the stamina and strength needed to power through while continuing to adorn her neck with the most delightful hickeys, to match with the scratches she couldn't help but trace across his back whenever he overwhelmed her. Sokka hardly seemed affected by the scratches, just as Azula was only stimulated by everything his mouth did to her neck… for both their conscious minds were focused on the joining of their bodies above anything else. The pleasure was rising, threatening to burst with the violence of a geyser, and neither one wanted to stop. Their challenge and bet forgotten, they couldn't seem to slow down their pace, and neither one wanted to do so anyway. Sokka only pulled away from her neck to gaze at her excited face for a moment… to take in the sweaty pearls trailing down her face before stealing a powerful kiss from her lips. She returned it tenfold, licking and sucking his lips as she moaned seemingly endlessly: his thrusts were powerful, hands clutching her thighs to further control the spread of her legs… and to Azula's surprise, he actually closed them rather than pushing them further apart. He wanted to tighten things, did he…? Well, if that's how he wanted it, she'd gladly relent.

Sokka yelped when her walls suddenly squeezed him. Azula moaned softly, but the knowing smirk on her face spoke lengths about how sure of herself she still was. Sokka gasped against her lips when she squeezed again: he kept thrusting even though her latest course of action was threatening to throw him off completely… oh, but it felt too good. He gritted his teeth, only for Azula to cover his lips with kisses, compelling him to steal another wild, deep one from her mouth.

Another squeeze, and his brain seemed shot with a tranquilizer: he couldn't think anymore, he was all impulse and instinct, and that meant he was thrusting recklessly, kissing her lustfully, touching her boldly… and she squeezed again, and again, and again, encouraging him further, begging for more mindless thrusting until those deliberate squeezes weren't quite so intentional anymore.

"I… I'm close…" Azula announced. Sokka grunted back as he kissed her powerfully, encouraging her to reach for that peak as she wished…

Violent shaking overtook her, and she gasped and shuddered violently as her hands clawed harder at his back: her piercing cry probably was heard all the way to where the damn hitman was sleeping in the seventh floor, as loud and careless as it was. And even then, when her walls now squeezed him in a whole involuntary manner, Sokka thrusted savagely inside her until, in his mindlessness, his release loomed so close he could do nothing to slow it down, let alone when those shuddering walls were driving him mad with pleasure…

He finished inside her, carelessly, recklessly, disregarding all risks, forgetting to ask if she had taken any form of birth control, which she likely hadn't… oh, nothing seemed to matter right now. All he wanted was to deplete himself fully, and as he thrusted further, he achieved exactly that, gifting himself to Azula while he groaned and moaned with each sway of his hips.

He collapsed atop her when he was all done, and their heavy breaths matched as their bodies regulated again… that is, if they ever would. Somehow, it felt like they would spend the rest of their days with an unquenchable sexual drive, a primal urge to merge with each other without restraint… just as they had now. Sokka breathed out and pushed himself up with some difficulty, supporting his weight with his elbows.

"Didn't mean to crush you… sorry 'bout that…" he said. Azula snorted. "Though… if you don't mind, that's fine too."

"I like it, rather," Azula declared. Sokka chuckled, stroking her hair gently. "What's so funny?"

"You're… smiling. More than I think you ever have since I've known you," he chuckled. Azula snorted and laughed heartily now. "I guess it's fitting, eh? You just needed to have sex with me to feel better about life. Perfect remedy, eh?"

"Joke all you like, that was… that was something," Azula laughed, still unable to stop smiling. "And I… I finished first. Damn. You won, after all. Though… you're still missing one climax, you know? You're in the upper ring now, but…"

"Not in the palace yet?" Sokka chuckled. "Well, then, I guess I know what I'll be doing next, greedy Princess…"

"You're the one who wanted to conquer me. I'm just establishing the rules," Azula smirked. Sokka laughed, pressing quick, soft kisses to her lips.

"Still… you did come first. Tell me… when did you start wondering how good we'd be together?" he asked, prodding her nose with his own. Azula sighed.

"It's all your fault… yours and yours alone," she whispered. "If you'd just quit pinning me to walls that often, I wouldn't think about you sexually…"

"Huh… I've got to do that more often, then," Sokka teased her. Azula laughed and shook her head.

"You're a piece of work, aren't you?" she smiled. He grinned cheekily right back at her. "You?"

"Probably the same time, actually," he chuckled. "I liked talking up close to you in that corridor a bit more than I should've… and then you pointed out we were too close and I pulled away because I thought you were uncomfortable, but not because I didn't want to be this close…"

"Hmmm… good to know," Azula grinned, wrapping her arms around his neck and reeling him in for one more heartfelt kiss…

One that turned dangerous as his hand slipped between their bodies and took to prodding her clit. Azula gasped.

"H-hey, you don't have to try already…" she said. Sokka snickered.

"Might be I want to… I like your moans. They're sexy," he said, and his pronunciation of the word made her shiver against his strong body. She wanted more, forget all caution and sense, she was going to lose her mind if he didn't make her come again…

A knock on the bedroom door.

Azula damn near cursed out loud upon the sound… upon Sokka's abrupt pause, and wary glance at the door. He swallowed hard and offered Azula an apologetic grimace before uncoupling their bodies – his cock wasn't ready for another round yet, but with Azula's sounds, it was certainly starting to rear its head yet again… only to be disappointed by the interruption.

"Here," Sokka said, yanking the sheet off the bed quickly and covering Azula's body with it. The Princess groaned as Sokka collected his pants and pulled them up again – still no underwear. And now she found that a most agreeable choice. "It's probably nothing…"

"Nothing?" Azula repeated. No, her senses said otherwise…

It was late. It was very late at night, as far as she could tell. Most people wouldn't be awake by now… nor would they be eager to knock on the southerner's door unless they had a good reason for it. And Azula only reached a sudden conclusion about what the interruption might be mere instants before Sokka opened the door.

"Oh, e-excuse me, sir…" said the nervous young man at the other side of the door: he failed to recognize the woman in the bed, and he didn't stop to pay much attention to the clothes scattered in the room. That being said… he was flustered. Yes, he'd heard Azula. At this point, the whole damn city might have heard her. "But King Kuei… he asked me to inform you, since you were so keen on being beside him once the baby was about to come to this world…"

"W-wait, what?!" Sokka exclaimed. The nervous man grimaced. "How can that be?!"

"Well, seeing what you were up to, I doubt you don't know how it came to this…"

"What the…?! That's not what I meant!" Sokka squealed, his cheeks flushing. "Ugh, I'll be there! Just… take a walk! I'll be right out!"

Sokka slammed the door shut, and Azula wasted no time climbing off the bed: finding each clothing garment, regardless of the lanterns Sokka had lit, wasn't all that easy, but Azula managed to patch up her servant persona as best she could by the time Sokka managed to fasten his sash around his waist.

"I can help you with your hair," he offered. Azula grimaced, having been halfway through composing a clumsy knot, but Sokka took over for her as she sighed in defeat.

"Curse that damn baby for deciding this was the best timing to arrive…" Azula growled. Sokka chuckled, finishing her hairdo and hugging her gently afterwards.

"It should take a while before it's born. If it looks too slow, we can go find a dark corner and get right back to this…"

"I'd love that, but we do need to keep an eye on the damn assassin. If it's just one assassin," Azula said, glancing at Sokka warily. Sokka grimaced but nodded. "We don't know how widespread Yao's plan may be. He could have more than just one hitman…"

"He should have more than one," said Sokka, frowning. "Kuei shouldn't be in the same place as his child, right? So one hitman for him… another for the baby."

They exchanged a quick glance: each of them had a job, then, as they'd agreed upon before. And they'd do best to fulfill them, as fast as possible.

Sokka fisted Azula's hair before pulling her close for one more kiss. She relented most willingly, venturing to taste him with her tongue, to feel every ridge in his mouth, to memorize his every detail… their duty was dangerous, after all. What they'd do next… it might not end well if they weren't careful. A good luck kiss wouldn't hurt at all either, would it?

"We'll get back to it… as soon as this is over, if not sooner," Sokka promised. Azula smiled and nodded.

"I should hope so. I look forward to your final campaign, conqueror Sokka," she smirked, stepping towards the door. He chuckled and followed suit.

The palace wasn't as quiet as it ever was at these hours: maybe with all the ruckus over the baby's birth, their obnoxious coupling had been slightly less obvious than they had suspected. They rushed together to the birthing area, and Azula glanced at Sokka once more to confirm their plan. He nodded, smiled, and squeezed her hand gently before rushing away, towards the living room where Kuei was waiting.

The queen was crying when Azula entered the room, and her heart sank for it… until she realized it was just about the pain. She breathed out in relief for it, assessing her surroundings quickly… assessing the rest of the servants warily: nearly all of them looked exhausted, obviously displeased to be woken in case the queen needed anything… except for one young girl. She appeared completely alert, watching the queen intently… so intently she didn't seem to realize Azula was watching her.

Sokka barged into Kuei's living room… and Yao was there, of course, an arm wrapped around the nervous king who kept pacing nervously inside the large hall. Sokka approached, offering his support too… Kuei threw himself at Sokka, and Bosco sniffed Sokka's body, as though picking up an unexpected odor on him. The water tribesman grimaced, eyeing the surroundings with uncertainty: while he had been alerted because Kuei had thought he'd feel safer this way, there was obviously no reason why Yao should be here too. And it seemed Yao knew as much as well: he justified his presence by claiming he had been with Kuei when the news had been broken, and he had merely been worried about leaving the king to his own devices at such late hours.

Kuei's behavior was odd, Sokka found, though… and he only realized why when he unintentionally caught the scent of the king's breath: alcohol. He had been drinking, perhaps with Yao… it'd make it all the easier to target him.

Sokka eyed his surroundings anxiously: the living room had a few windows, could Yao's hitman be somewhere behind them, out of reach? If so…

"You know what you need, pal?" Sokka decided, grinning as he clapped Kuei's back. "A new environment!"

"A… what?" Kuei said, blinking blankly. Sokka grinned mischievously.

"Let's take a walk! Find the best room in the palace to spend your time in while we wait for the baby to be born. It'll be a while anyway."

Random as the idea sounded, Sokka didn't miss the disapproving scowl on Yao's face as he guided the Earth King out of the room. There were so many rooms, countless of them… and if he could pick up a retinue of soldiers in the process, better yet.

Meanwhile, as the queen cried further, complaining about every contraction, Azula managed to reach the one-track-mind servant, tapping her shoulder gently: the young woman nearly jumped out of her skin, as Azula bit her lip and asked if she could speak with her in private about something very important.

The fear in the woman's face was obvious: she thought she'd been had. She refused at first, but the others encouraged her to go, and promised they wouldn't fall asleep while the queen was struggling to bring the baby to the world. Azula breathed out and led the young woman through the hallways, biting her lip as she clung to her arm as any shy, nervous maid might…

"What's the problem? Did you… find out something surprising?" the maid asked. Azula bit her lip.

"Y-yeah. I definitely did," she said. "I'm a little worried. I… I don't think it'll sit well with the Earth King, or the Earth Queen, so I thought I'd get your advice. Everyone else looked like they were about to fall asleep, so…"

"Yeah, well, that's precisely why I should be there," the maid argued. "I'm the only one who had a proper rest over the evening, you see…"

"Ah, no wonder," said Azula, smiling awkwardly. "Why, though…?"

"Because I always take the night shifts," the servant declared, stubbornly. "Anyway, if you have nothing to say…"

"I do have something to say," Azula whispered, stopping at the end of a corridor that led nowhere but to a maintenance room. "The truth is, I…"

"What?!" the maid said, exasperated over the pause. Azula gritted her teeth, covering her face with her hands.

"I-I was seduced by a guest!"

The maid blinked blankly for a moment, as Azula turned an innocent gaze upon her. Ah, she didn't expect that, did she?

"I'll be in trouble, won't I?" she said. "Oh, but he's… he's irresistible. He just hit on me and the next thing I knew… ah, do you think the hickeys show too much? I'm going to be in so much trouble if anyone knows…"

"I… no!" said the maid, laughing carelessly now: good. Her guard was down, as Azula showed her the undeniable marks on her neck. "Oh, please, it's hardly the first time anything like this happens… you don't have to worry, truly. Come on, let's go back, the king and queen have bigger things to worry about than whoever their servants sleep with, okay?"

"You're sure…?" Azula asked. The young woman nodded. Azula sighed as the maid started to turn around…

And that was when Azula struck her hard, delivering a powerful blow to the carotid artery, knocking the woman unconscious immediately.

Azula caught the woman in midair, using her servants' keys to open the maintenance closet: she tossed the maid there, took the woman's own assorted keys, and locked her within. She'd come back for her later, once everything was safe. She couldn't know for sure if this woman was an ally of Yao's yet – despite she reeked of it –, but if she wasn't, the enemy would still be within the vicinity. She returned at haste to the queen's room, but instead of marching inside alone, which would garner a lot of suspicions, she only lingered by the door, listening… listening carefully. There was a lot of activity inside right now, and Azula flinched at each desperate cry of the queen's – oh, but she was a fool, wasn't she? She'd allowed Sokka to finish inside, with no countermeasures… and she damn refused to bear his child and wind up screaming for not-quite-fun reasons in the near future, just as the queen did right now. She'd find some contraceptive measures as soon as possible…

Ten minutes later, a piercing, shrill voice broke across the already noisy palace.

Azula grimaced and pushed the door open lightly, ready to act if need be…

"A baby girl! Oh, she is delightful!"

Azula's eyes widened. A girl. If it was a girl, then Yao and his people would likely target the child. She snarled and entered the room quickly, watching as the rest of the servants clapped excitedly as the baby was taken care of, wiped and cleansed for her mother to hold. No one had done anything suspicious so far… so had she chosen correctly? Had she found the culprit, or one of them, anyway?

"The king must be informed!"

Oh, hell. That could be trouble.

Azula grimaced and stepped closer to the queen and the baby – in her not so humble opinion, it was frankly a rather ugly child… – taking up a resting defensive position near them. She played it off as mere curiosity about the baby… while constantly casting glances at the door, wary about what would happen next.

Kuei nearly lost his cool when the servants arrived with a message. Sokka frowned, glancing about himself: he'd successfully gathered around five soldiers, but would they be enough in case the king needed help…?

"A girl…? My child is born! It's a girl, Sokka!"

Sokka froze. Oh, hell: they'd go for the baby.

Kuei only hugged him quickly before sprinting off at haste, followed by his soldiers… and not by Yao.

"Where are you going?" Sokka asked, smiling dryly. Yao froze. "Mind if I tag along?"

"W-why would you…?" he said, grimacing. "You wanted to be with the king…"

"To help calm him down. He's fine now, see? The baby is born. A nice, healthy little girl," Sokka grinned. "Are you so tired you want to go take a nap in your room? The… seventh floor, was it?"

Yao grimaced, and Sokka raised an eyebrow.

"Y-you… are you accusing me of something?" Yao asked. Sokka blinked blankly.

"Is there anything to accuse you of?" he grinned, dryly.

"No!"

"Then why so nervous?" Sokka chuckled. "Just let me accompany you to your room. I'm sure Kuei's fine on his own now that he knows his baby is alive and safe."

Yao snarled but complied. Sokka followed him, just as well. Back to the scene of the crime… to where he had started this wild, strange dalliance with Azula. And boy, he sure regretted nothing about it… but he needed to focus on more than thoughts of his new lover's delectable body and clever wit for now. He'd have more of those later, if she let him.

Yao opened the door, allowing Sokka to see inside the dark room… and yet Sokka stood outside, arms crossed, waiting for Yao to do whatever he intended to. Yao, of course, realized as much… and he entered the room slowly.

Only for Sokka to kick it shut and jam the lock by sabotaging it with his knife, violently.

"H-hey! HEY! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

He'd track down the damn killer. He wasn't in the room, Sokka had noticed… the man was in position somewhere, no idea where, but surely within range of the room… oh, Azula. She was there too, she might be able to stop him, he hoped, and if she was…

He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, feeling almost as though he were an airbender as he raced to the birthing wing once again. Yet he wasn't the only one reaching it right then and there…

"STOP!" Sokka shouted.

The shaggy-haired man, with the thick beard, froze in place for only a brief instant before attacking: he cast a smoke bomb at Sokka, but the warrior braced himself regardless, covering his mouth with one hand and withdrawing his boomerang from its scabbard. He launched it at haste, trusting his prediction of the killer's trajectory…

The man had only just opened the door when the weapon struck him on the lower back.

The happy room suddenly became a loud, messy pandemonium… but where everyone seemed to run away from the door, one servant ran straight towards it instead: a kick of blue fire slammed the already weakened enemy across the corridor and into the wall at its far end, and his head struck violently against it.

"Sokka!" she called for him, rushing towards the cloud of smoke.

It was so dense she could barely see him, but eventually a silhouette could be distinguished: Sokka crept out slowly, coughing as the unpleasant smoke bit into his system.

"Are you okay? Sokka…" Azula asked, pulling him closer. Sokka coughed again but smiled.

"I'm… alright. Better now that I'm seeing you again," he said. "Is he…?"

"Dead? Maybe," Azula admitted, casting a glance at the unmoving, bleeding tall man that had fallen in a heap on the floor. "But I've captured a suspect…"

"And I locked up Yao," Sokka said. Azula blinked blankly, surprised by how similar their strategies had turned out to be, as they heard footsteps behind them: the servants, the soldiers, and in all likelihood, Kuei, were on their way. "Which is why I think… we might just be able to spin this to our favor."

"Y-you… you saved us?! And our baby?!" Kuei asked, staring at Sokka and his companion in disbelief… a companion he had identified by her unique flames, naturally. "You… you're Princess Azula?!"

She turned around very slowly, with a rather guilty grin on her face. Kuei appeared to be on the verge of a breakdown, whether of joy, outrage, relief or confusion… and confirming that his dreaded enemy had entered his palace, disguised herself as a servant and lived amongst his people for over a week and a half, certainly wouldn't help his frequent nerves and constant anxiety.

"You sure about that?" Azula asked Sokka, uneasy. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pressing a quick kiss to the top of her head.

"Just… trust me," he smiled, before stepping towards Kuei.

Iroh's teashop was yet another strange location Azula had never thought she'd set foot on, but apparently it was the only place in Ba Sing Se that would allow her safe haven, for the time being. She sat on a far-end table, sipping a drink, ignoring her uncle's confused, pointed stares… and of course, reliving the latest events in her mind.

She could have been thinking of the aftermath, with Kuei fluctuating between panic and gratefulness at the drop of a hat, especially once both Yao and his female accomplice were brought before him, and the accomplice blatantly confessed the truth of their schemes – she had been working for Kuei for over a decade, but it seemed Yao had blackmailed her into working for him by threatening her family in the western Earth Kingdom, and she was more than happy to sell him out for it now. Azula could have also been reliving the action, the rush to take down the murder operation as fast as possible, splitting up with her partner so they both could keep every threat in check…

But no. She was, of course, reliving the sensation of a certain someone's lips and caresses upon her skin, of his manly shaft tearing through her with those slow withdrawals and sudden thrusts that made her mind swim in blissful pleasure. Oh, whatever happened next, she needed more of that, so much more of that… surely being spymaster for Zuko for about five years was enough community service for her misdeeds after the war, right? She could take a break, steal that handsome man away, spend about a month or two, or a year, even a lifetime, locked up in a private room with him, as they had their way with each other… she wanted to dominate him the next time around, yes she did, and pin him to the wall, for a change, and…

The door of the teashop opened, despite it was already closing time, and most customers were long gone: Azula's eyes lit up immediately when she identified the apparent new customer, who scanned the area quickly until he spotted her. That he smiled immediately was a blissful relief.

"Well… looks like you could stand being here, after all," Sokka grinned, sinking into a seat across hers. Azula bit her lip, wishing he'd sat beside her instead… kissing him would've been much easier that way. "Kuei's calmed down."

"Hard to believe," Azula smiled. Sokka laughed and shrugged.

"He isn't completely sure he can trust you yet, which is as predictable as can be from the guy," Sokka said. "But he says he'll credit you for helping save his family all the same. That being said… you're still not allowed to visit Ba Sing Se freely."

"Heh. Well, I'll just find something else to disguise myself as the next time," Azula smirked. "I was a servant this time, I pretended to be your ex the last time… who should I be next?"

"Maybe you don't have to pretend to be my ex… and you can just be my actual girlfriend," Sokka suggested. Azula snorted, staring at him in disbelief as he grinned cheekily. "Yep, I'm asking. Bluntly. Boldly. Why not?"

"… Would that get me access to Ba Sing Se's palace?" Azula asked. Sokka snorted.

"You really need access to it that badly?" he asked.

"A spymaster needs eyes everywhere," Azula smiled. "And access to all the places that might need her attention. If the palace is within my reach, I can better understand what's happening inside it… and then advice my dumb brother on how to proceed with his own ventures."

"Right," Sokka said, sighing. "Well, Kuei says that if you come with me every time you want to be in the palace, he'll relent and allow you to stay. But not if you're on your own."

"Really? And how about if we break up dramatically over something stupid?" Azula asked, teasing him. "Will I still be forced to travel to Ba Sing Se with you even if we're on terrible terms?"

"Eh, if we ever do have a bad argument, I can always pin you to a wall and we can resolve it the old-fashioned way… works like a charm, huh?" Sokka said, shrugging cockily. Azula laughed and shook her head.

"I have no idea what we're doing, Sokka… but I do know I like it," she said, smiling at him. "You're sure about this? About me? About asking me to be your… girlfriend? It's a rather juvenile term, in my opinion…"

"Want another one?" Sokka smiled. "Partner in crime suits you better?"

"Partner could be good," Azula said. "We did make a deal when this whole ordeal began, didn't it? And while you're splendid in bed, we worked together beyond that, too… it's not quite as simple as being your girlfriend, right?"

"No. But I'll still introduce you to everyone we bump into as my girlfriend from this day forward," Sokka grinned. Azula scoffed. "And myself as your boyfriend, of course."

"How's that going to work? 'Hello there, she is my girlfriend, I am her boyfriend'? Sounds like you won't be saying anything about yourself or me by doing that…"

"Isn't that how you'd rather keep things, spymaster?" Sokka grinned. "Juvenile as it may be… no one will suspect what your true job is, head of Fire Nation intelligence, if they think you and your boyfriend are just a pair of idiot twenty-somethings who can't seem to stop having sex wherever they go…"

"Ah… a rather useful cover story," Azula grinned. "Funny how so many chaotic problems get resolved whenever those two idiot twenty-somethings who can't seem to stop having sex show up at places…"

"It's a true mystery, isn't it?" Sokka said. Azula laughed and shook her head. "So… if I may do the honors this time as well: do we have a deal, Azula?"

He extended his hand towards her, and she smiled. With a quick movement, she rose to her feet and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him heartily while clasping his hand in hers. A cup broke near the counter – of course, Iroh had no suspicions she was doing Sokka, no one outside the palace would've known it yet – and decided that yes, it was a good cover story. A perfect relationship to both bask in for what it was… and to wield as a shield, allowing them both to remain perfectly disguised while playing the fools and resolving the many problems their respective friends and associations expected them to fix for them. And as Azula kissed Sokka long, deep and sensually, she could see absolutely nothing harmful in the new terms he had offered. Her lips were still pressed to his, her fingers intertwined with his, when she finally said:

"Deal."