#What would you be doing if you weren't out making yourself a better citizen

[killerpancakeburger]

Breaking point (2/2)

SUMMARY: Civilian!Reader, who works as Price's assistant, has a breakdown at work. Soap+Ghost help the best they can. Hurt/comfort. Can be read as platonic or romantic. Gender Neutral Reader.

PAIRINGS: Soap x GN!Reader

Ghost's version (1/2) Soap's part 2. Soap's part 3.

TAGS: Hurt/comfort. Military inaccuracies (I make shit up for the sake of the plot). Soap is tooth-rotting sweet.

WARNINGS: Mention of relative in the hospital, suicide ideation, depressive thoughts, swearing.

WORD COUNT: 4.3k

A/N: Very self-indulgent, Reader is going through it and so am I. 🙃Soap is Prince Fucking Charming (very cliché romance tropes). Yours truly suggest to listen to "Strong For Somebody Else" by Citizen Soldier to set the mood. (Song includes suicide ideation and depressive thoughts too, so listen at your own risk).

This bad good boy gave me a harder time than expected lol.

After ending the call, you put down your phone on your desk in a daze, hand shaking.

The news you’ve just been told cannot be real. Life could not possibly be that cruel. What did I do to deserve this? you wonder helplessly. It’s like every time you get back up, life knocks you down again, sending you tumbling on the cold, hard ground.

Clenching your fists, you stare into space, a thousand thoughts disorderly swirling inside your brain, all bursting with anguish, until a burning tear running down your cheek brings you back to the present. You’re at work, your boss is in the next room; a breakdown is a luxury you cannot afford right now. Better bite your tongue hard enough to draw blood than be caught sobbing. 

Inhaling a shaky breath, you take your head between your hands, shoving your fingers into your hair, trying to convince yourself to postpone your nervous collapse. Only one hour left, and you’ll be free to cry your eyes out at your flat. Or on the way home, even. It’s not like the other passengers ever paid you attention the other times you’ve cried on the bus.

But somehow your attempts have the opposite effect, and more tears roll down your face, staining the papers beneath it. As you furiously wipe your face with your sleeve, with a blend of frustration and despair, pissed at yourself, and wanting to get rid of the evidence of your fragile state as fast as possible, the unmistakable sound of your office’s door opening makes you look up.

Of freaking course of all bloody people that could have walked in on you, it had to be Soap fucking Mactavish. Only the most gorgeous man on base - according to you, that is.

You weren't proud of it, but you had a crush on him since you arrived, six months ago. His piercing cerulean eyes, rugged good looks and outgoing personality wouldn’t let you know peace. The mere sight of him was enough to bring a goofy smile to your face, and every conversation between the two of you left you blushing and elated.

You initially thought that this silly, juvenile infatuation would fade away soon enough. Ok, he was beautiful, and he had eyes to damn yourself for, so what? Surely with enough time and exposure, he'd feel mundane. But things didn’t go that way at all.

On top of looking stunning, he just had to be friendly. He made you feel welcome when you arrived. He made efforts to include you in conversations, asking questions to get to know you. He relieved you of the burden of small talk, appeasing your social anxiety, by happily keeping the conversation going on his own, never taking offense when you had nothing to say. He chose to spend some of his free time with you, escorting you back from the archives or dropping by your office.

He was even flirty at times. Flirty. With you.

You could have still disregarded all this; tell yourself he was like this with everyone, that it was just his personality; imagining things would only end up with you hurt in the end.

But then, during a meeting, you witnessed his sincere concern for civilian lives. His righteous anger against unjust orders, when you had fully expected a soldier to obey mindlessly.

This had been your undoing; the moment you knew you were a goner. A severe fondness for him had sunk its claws deep inside your chest and had no intent to let go. It didn’t mean you had any intention to declare your feelings though; you never entertained the thought that he could return them, therefore there was no need for any confession.

For him to be the one to have caught you in this state, it was downright humiliating. Especially since his good heart would make him feel obligated to care.

He was still wearing his leather, fingerless gloves, and some dirt lingered on the contour of his face, like he tossed his weapons and his flak jacket to the side right out of the heli bringing him back to base, and rushed here.

“Hiya hen, brought you the- Shite, what happened?”

His booming voice and cheerful tone fade away as his eyes widen with concern. He briefly freezes at the door in shock before closing the distance to your desk with great strides. You lower your eyes in shame, avoiding his gaze.

“Nothing. Nothing happened. Everything's fine.”

“No offense, bonnie, but yer not very good at lying.”

You bit your lip, forcing yourself to look at him. Staring at your own lap is only going to make you seem more suspicious.

You grit your teeth and lie some more, trying to sound carefree.

“It's nothing, really. I'm just being a crybaby.”

Crybaby.

Soap turns the word over in his mind, unconvinced.

He still remembers that one time when you showed up thirty minutes late to a meeting with the Task Force, panting, leaning on the threshold, the front of your clothes soaked in blood.

 “Sorry I’m late,” you started.

“‘Sorry’ isn’t going to cut it,” Price interrupted before laying eyes on you. “Bloody hell, what happened to you?”

You explained how Private what's-his-name bled out in the break room after carelessly reopening his stitches and you had to stop the hemorrhage with your bare hands and a bunch of paper towels while shouting yourself hoarse for help. Yet when Price ordered you to take the rest of the day off, you insisted on going on as usual, forcing their captain to make it clear that it wasn’t a mere suggestion.

You and him had a different definition of “crybaby”.

Clinging to what's familiar, you focus on the stack of papers under his arm.

“You have the latest reports? Give it here.”

You hold out your hand expectantly. Instead of giving them to you, he sets them down on the opposite side of your desk, out of your reach.

“Paperwork can wait.”

You blink in astonishment at him.

“No it cannot…?”

You roll your eyes at his behavior and get up to seize the reports, but he snatches them from you. You can feel your composure snap like a twig.

“Johnny, what the hell?!” you yell, throwing your hands in the air.

You could remember exactly the first time you called him Johnny, only because it had been such an embarrassment. You couldn’t get used to his alias; sure you had been warned beforehand that some of them were… original, but somehow "Soap" was the one that stood out as the most ridiculous. You briefly entertained the idea of using his first name, except that for you “John” already referred to Captain Price. Only once you tried to call him Mr Mactavish, and as a result Gaz and him guffawed so hard they almost fell off their chairs. Even Ghost let out a cough that was most definitely a concealed laugh. You were running out of options until you heard the lieutenant call him Johnny; you instantly liked it. It just… fitted him. 

From that moment on you used the nickname, but only in your mind. You didn’t have any of the liberties Ghost had and you wouldn’t take them, out of respect, and shyness. Or at least this had been the plan until you fumbled and called him that to his face. The ensuing silence felt deafening as you were realizing what you’ve just done, and you apologized immediately, mortified. 

He just laughed it off; said you could keep calling him that. True, he had appeared more surprised than irritated, but you didn’t want to take the risk of him simply being polite. This too, had been your plan, until he ruined it merily. 

Somehow he must have noticed your efforts to not slip up again because he teased you about it. 

“Not Johnny today? Did ah dae something wrong?”

You went back to “Johnny” quickly - anything to put an end to the mischievous glint in his eye and the rascally smirk on his lips aimed at you. Being the target of his undivided attention sent a pang in your chest and knots in your stomach. Those sensations weren't exactly unpleasant, but it led to an ominous feeling that this was too good to be true, and that at any second this vision would shatter to reveal the cruel reality; so you'd just grant him a timid smile to confirm he did amuse you, but then proceed to look away.

It's the first time you’re pronouncing “Johnny” with anger; real, raw annoyance, as well as animosity, instead of the fond frustration you usually display when he messes around.

To your utter disbelief, he smiles in response to your outburst. 

“There we go, talk tae me. Even if it’s just tae scream at me.”

The remark pacifies you instantly; you lower your arms, defeated.

“I'm not gonna… I don't want to scream at you.”

You sigh and sit back, setting down your elbows on your desk to take your head between your hands, overburdened.

“The hell you want me to tell you? That my mom's on the brink of death out of nowhere? That when she's gone I'll be all alone in this world?”

You swear, aggravated, as tears sting your eyes again, and this time you ignore if you'll be capable of holding back the flood.

Nevertheless you can still hear Soap curse under his breath, Scottish accent growing thicker, before moving to get on your side of the desk, to reach you, dispensing soft-spoken, soothing words along the way. You pivot to face him, your burning eyes and the sensation of dried tears on your face making you painfully aware that you must look as pathetic as you feel.

Your eyes widen in surprise when you see him kneeling at your feet. His hands reach for your face, slowly enough to give you time to back away if you wanted to.

“A'm sorry, ah didnae mean tae mak' ye cry, a'm a bloody eejit. …Can I?”

His fingers stopped a breath away from your tear-stained cheeks. 

At that exact moment you can’t quite believe what he's about to do, yet you nod your head in agreement - not trusting your voice to not break - all the same, the gaping void in your chest aching for any kind of contact he'd be willing to provide.

His warm fingers cup your cheeks as the pad of his thumbs gently, almost reverently, wipe the underside of your eyes.

“There we go,” he cajoles, meticulously drying any wet spot on your skin.

“A'm ‘ere whether ye want tae talk or not, aye? A'm not going anywhere.”

You stare at him in silence, thunderstruck by the scene unfolding in front of you. Never in your wildest dreams you would have expected to have this man at your feet. He sets his hands down on your knees, squeezing them softly, and is looking right at you, encouraging smile and tender gaze, reassurance radiating from his expression. The position allows you to greedily take in every little detail: the white line of the scar on his chin, the breathtaking shades of blue in his eyes, the gap in his left eyebrow.

As you lose yourself into the work of art that are his features, he keeps conversing.

“We should take yer mind aff things. We could play board games in tha rec room. Or ye could let aff some steam wi’ tha punching bag in tha training room! Ah could teach ye how tae shoot on tha shooting range-”

You open your eyes wide as his suggestions turn progressively more violent.

“I have a bus to catch, and that's overlooking the fact that I haven't done anything in my last hour of work today…”

“If anyone gives you trouble, just say ah forced you.”

You chuckle at the idea.

“You'd never compel me to do anything.”

You can’t repress a loving smile. Johnny just feels that safe to you.

He smirks mischievously at that.

“Na, but they'll believe ah dragged ye intae mah evil schemes.”

He punctuates his statement by a roguish wink that wrests a laughter from you.

“You should take my bed,” he declares suddenly, serious again.

As the silence between you two stretches and your smile is replaced by a mix of shock, confusion, and worry, he realizes how this may sound. Flustered, he starts rambling to defuse the situation.

“Wait, no- steamin’ jesus - Ah didnae mean it like that! I’d take the couch in the rec room, ‘f course. Ye shouldn't go through tonight alone.” 

“Oh my god, Johnny, I could never take your bed from you. You must already sleep on the floor so often for missions…” 

“Exactly, hen. This is nothing for me. The couch is a hotel compared to that.”

You open your mouth to argue more, but then he makes an expression that can only be described as sad puppy eyes, even going as far as slightly tilting his head to the side to perfect the impression. You gulp in response, stricken straight through the heart, and knowing pertinently that you could already hardly refuse him anything, so if he begins to gaze at you like that… 

“Pretty please?” 

Oh no. Not that line.

He's now excessively batting his eyelashes at you, which, while not exactly alluring, is both comical and endearing. Hell, who are you even kidding? You’re so smitten with this blue-eyed creature, is there any act from him you wouldn’t find endearing?

“Are you… pouting?” 

“Depends. Is it working?”

You sigh, aware it's a losing battle, and look away, a futile attempt to hide the ridiculously potent effect he has on you, or to at least shield yourself from his influence, if only momentarily.

“I think you know the answer to that.”

“Maybe ah just wantae hear ye say aye tae me.”

Your cheeks catch fire at the suggestiveness of the words. As if the regular rasp of his voice, that felt like an exquisite caress along your spine, wasn’t already making it incredibly difficult to keep your face at a reasonnable temperature.

“You're gonna get me fired, Johnny.”

“Over my dead body,” he retorted with surprising determination, solemnly pressing a hand over his heart.

You scoff indulgently. Coming from anyone else, the hastily taken oath would be preposterous, but Soap has always proved himself trustworthy.

“Let's go. Your knees must be sore,” you mumble, trying to sound casual.

“Wanna make a joke aboot mah stamina when kneeling but ah will keep it fur next time,” he slips as he stands up, way too smugly for your own good, so you pretend you didn’t hear anything. As if you needed any more incitement into picturing him on his knees in a different context. 

You get up quickly after, but he does not get out of your way. You rise a quizzical eyebrow, his close proximity triggering alarm bells inside your head. If he remains near enough for you to feel his body heat, you’re going to get dizzy.

He simply grins.

“Want a hug?”

You blink at the unexpected question. Yes, implores your touchstarved mind. YES, cries out your sensitive, enamored heart. 

No way, rebuffs your cautious brain. It will only hurt more knowing what you  can’t have.

He opens his muscled arms, smile genuine, almost blinding, like a tacit invitation, and all your reluctance seems to evaporate with that simple gesture. Before you can linger any more on the harmful consequences this lack of restraint will eventually cause, you throw yourself into his embrace. It feels like falling and flying all at once.

Your hands close on the back of his shirt, near his shoulder blades, and, pressing your face into his shoulder to make the world disappear for a moment, you cling to him like he could rescue you from the sinking ship that was your sick mind. One of his arms close around your waist while his free hand rubs your back, leaving trails of fire in its wake, but bringing you much-appreciated comfort nonetheless.

“You're too nice to me. I feel like I'm taking advantage of your kindness.”

He remains silent a drawn-out second, and you're terrified you just screwed everything up.

“Yer givin me too much credit, lass “ he finally says. “Ah don't go ‘round base comforting every person I find.”

His tone isn’t angry, per se, but it lacks its previous joviality.

Soap tilts his head back, biting his lips, thanking the universe that with your face laying against his chest, you can’t perceive his embarrassment.

He can’t tell you. Not yet. Not now.

He can’t tell you that he used to consider writing reports as the worst part of the job until you came along; until you awarded him a heartfelt, radiant smile when he gave you his; that he noticed how little you smiled outside of artificial ones you fabricate for work purposes; that when he manages to make you smile or laugh genuinely, it feels like a prize, that only he is privy to.

Months ago, he took the resolve to make you smile more; for a while now he started doing his reports more seriously, or even did the ones of Gaz and Ghost, just to have an excuse to see you, to behold the way your face lightens up when he brings you necessary paperwork before you even demand it.

And he certainly can’t tell you about that one time where he handed over his reports in advance, but you weren't there, so he left, heart heavy with disappointment, dragging his feet, until he heard your voice coming from the room he just left.

“What are those?” you questionned your coworker.

“Soap just dropped them.”

“But… I didn't even ask him to yet?”

Perplexity combines with glee in your voice.

“He's a good boy, isn’t he?” prompted your colleague.

You let out a fond, wistful sigh, before responding, half-joking.

“I know! Such a good boy for me.”

Getting to hear you beaming over his benevolent action was already a treat, but witnessing that compromising exchange? To be called a “good boy” by you short-circuited him. He swore - “Steamin jesus” -, ears burning, face on fire, covering it with one hand. He needed to leave badly. Seek refuge in his room, where he could be free to replay that tantalizing line on loop in his mind. “Such a good boy for me.”

Your heart beats a bit faster than usual as you obediently follow Soap through corridors you’ve never been in before. You trust him with all your heart, but that doesn't change the fact that what you’re doing is against the rules; and those rules aren't high school's, but the ones of a military base.

You flinch hard as a familiar voice screams in your direction.

“SERGEANT MACTAVISH!”

Oops, you think. That's Captain Price, your supervisor, and he sounds pissed. You never witnessed him calling Soap by his last name before, but that being said, you never saw him deal with a kidnapped assistant either.

You've been caught red-handed. 

Your mind begins to come up with plans to lessen the punishments that are without doubt about to descend upon you two, but Johnny grabbing your hand brings you back to reality. 

You lift your gaze to him. He doesn't seem worried at all, if anything… is that a spark of delight in his eye?

He only pronounces one word.

“Run.”

So you run, carried away half by adrenaline, and half by the sergeant dragging you. Thankfully Soap is aware that there's no way you can keep up with him and his training, so he comes to a halt a minute later.

Panting hard, you double over, hands clenching your knees for support, heart thumping in your chest, blood throbbing in your ears.

“Why… are we… running…!?” you manage to exhale. “It's only… gonna make… things worse…”

By your side, he's standing fresh as a daisy, barely ruffled by your flight. The sight would be infuriating if his eyes weren't glinting with amusement and he wasn’t offering you a dazzling smile.

“Because it's fun,” he affirms like it's evident.

Little by little, you catch your breath, throwing Johnny a look that's half in earnest, half in jest.

“More fun for you than for me.”

He doesn't get flustered by your moderate reprimand.

“Is it selfish o' me tae wantae spend more time wi' ye? Didnae want us tae git interrupted yet.”

The line feels like a punch to the chest, stealing the breath you just recovered and leaving you agape.

He takes your hand again with the natural of a well earned habit.

“C'm'on, ah have more than one trick up mah sleeve.”

You're unsure which of the views unfurling under your eyes is the most magnificent; the sunset in front of you that's painting the sky in shades of pink and orange, or the striking man by your side whose eyes could rival the most astounding sights.

Nibbling on the dinner Soap smuggled out of the cafeteria with too much ease for it to be his first time, you regularly sneak glances at him as he fills the silence with tales of his adventures - the parts that aren't top secret, at least. You two totally did not break onto the roof moments ago, no sir.

Goosebumps travel along your arms and any exposed skin as the night falls and the sun takes away the warmth with him. You furiously brush the outside of your arms for heat, and you're about to suggest finishing this inside, when a jacket lands on your shoulders.

It is still warm with his owner's bodyheat, deliciously so. You curl up and drag it closer, your face on fire. Realizing that Soap gave you his jacket without you even having to ask or complain about the cold… you’re conflicted between obsessing over this like a giggling schoolgirl, and feeling apologetic.

Once you more or less got your blushing under control, you turn to him, displaying a contrite expression.

“I don't want to take your jacket on top of your bed, Johnny.” you pout.

“A'm a bloody furnace. Wanna check?”

He asks, cheekily, even adding a wink for good measure. As if there was any more artifice needed to make you putty in his hands.

He presents you his bare arm for the taking, all golden skin, bulging muscles and a constellation of white scars.

You indulge him and lay a hand on his bicep, knowing he won't relent otherwise; that is definitly the only reason; it has absolutely nothing to do with your own desires.

Indeed, he's burning. As you envy and bask in the heat provided by his body, forgetting that your touch is lingering too long for someone who is just a coworker, he chooses that moment to flex shamelessly, showing off the impressive circumference of his muscle. You feel obligated to squeeze it in response, a way to finally meet him head-on instead of passively enduring his quips, and it feels like reinforced concrete under your fingers.

You fail to hold back your laughter at his facetious demeanor. 

“You're ridiculous.”

The comment holds no bite, a smile brimming with tenderness stretching your lips.

“I'll be the most ridiculous man on the planet if it makes you laugh.”

He's leaning back, hands propped on the ground behind him, head slightly tilted to gaze at you, and the earnestness on his face could almost make you believe his words.

Almost.

But instead a sharp pang pierces your chest, right between your lungs, at heart's level. The smile you return him in spite of yourself oscillates between content and heartbroken, before opting for the latter. 

Tomorrow you will ask him, maybe even plead; tomorrow you'll ask him to put an end to the flirting. You cannot bear it. 

But just tonight, you'll indulge it. You'll pretend to be normal, a well-adjusted human being, instead of a broken shell; you'll act like an adult for who flirting is a regular event and not the mental equivalent of a nuclear bomb.

You abruptly stand up, dusting yourself off, purposely ignoring the newfound lack of understanding on Soap's face and how his mouth opened for a question.

“It's getting late,” you state, not nearly as casually as you'd like. “I'm beat!”

You're running away and you know it; but you never claimed to be brave. Really, it is the best solution for everyone involved, or at least it's how it has always seemed to be your whole life.

He escorts you to his room - of course he does. Even if he already picked up his things earlier to crash on the couch, already showed the place to you.

As you awkwardly face him on the doorstep after saying your goodbyes and your thanks, unable to look away yet incapable of making eye contact, pain flares in your torso thinking of him, somehow intertwined with joy and gratefulness for his existence. Maybe your inner struggle shows on your face because next thing you know, he cups your cheek, forcing you to look up, but as the deranged idea that he's about to kiss you manifests in a remote corner of your mind, your brain swiftly shuts off as his lips make contact with your forehead.

The touch is light yet your entire being seems gathered on that point of contact.

“G'night, bonnie,” he half-whispers, as if to make sure his words exist only for you.

He grants you one last smile, small but so sweet you feel your heart tightens.

“Good night, Johnny,” you manage to articulate before sheltering in his bedroom. The room smells like him.

The moment the door shuts behind you, you rest against it, tilting your head back, letting out a deep sigh. Morbid curiosity pushes you to glance in the adjacent bathroom's mirror, if only to see what you look after this evening. A flustered mess? A sorrowful wreck?

Catching your reflection's eye makes you grimace as you realize an incriminating detail.

You forgot to give Soap his jacket back.

[akutasoda]

hello, may I request jing yuan with a teen!reader who is jealous of yanqing? - they are around the same age as him, a new cloud knight who is an orphan, they try really hard to get the generals attention, even making him tea, buying presents etc. they want to be like yanqing, and are a bit jealous of the relationship with jy and yanqing, so they always try to prove themselves, even sacrificing food and sleep for their training, and are reckless during missions (bonus points if yanqing or jing yuan is present at the mission, they would literally fight until they pass out)

to prove oneself worthy

synopsis - all you ever wanted was somebody to pay attention to you and the one person that does so is already doing so to somebody else

includes - jing yuan ft yanqing - all platonic

warnings - gn!reader, orphan reader, slight angst, fluff, sacrificing food and sleep?, passing out?, jealousy, wc - 1.6k

taglist - @teddirika

you're parents weren't around. it was a simple fact, whether they had simply disappeared or died was unknown to you. all you ever knew was that you had no outstanding memories of them and that they certainly weren't atound anymore. this fact made it so you couldn't really care less for where they were or what had happened to them, they were rarely a thought that crossed your mind.

an orphan roaming around the streets of the luofu would bring attention, especially when you were resorting to any means necessary to survive and get by. petty thefts and minor acts of aggression were regular occurrences in your day to day live, cultivating a set of skills that aided in your fight for survival - including swift escapes from the cloud knights. an honest part of yourself really believed that you'd be a theif your entire life but a silver haired general thought otherwise.

jing yuan had become aware of the young one evading capture and committing very basic and mainly harmless crimes, how could he not? a part of him could sympathise with your situation, he understood that it was clearly your only mean of survival and so he didn't think that someone with their whole life ahead of them should be confined to the four walls of prison. your skills were impressive, there was a reason you hadn't been caught yet, so jing yuan thought that with the right guidance you would become a fine knight.

he would set out to find you himself, to personally extend his offer and hr wouldn't force you. if you declined then he had no choice but to arrest you himself and so he could only hope that you would see what he was trying to do and accept the offer. luckily for the both of you, you took up his offer. you understood that this would be the better way to pay for your crimes and would help you build a better future for yourself - earning back the trust of the luofu citizens you stole from.

what became pretty apparent very quickly was your unconscious growing attachment to the general. in between your training you would seek out jing yuan and if he wasn't busy you'd stick by his side. jing yuan was always incredibly busy and so you always tried to garner what spare attention he had left and demonstrate to him that his faith in you had not been misplaced - even going as far to bring him legally obtained presents.jing yuan was the only person to ever give you some kind of hope, somebody who believed you could be more than a street thief. it was evident that you would eant to thank him in some way, prove that his help would not go wasted.

jealousy was a vile emotion that made prople do horrendous things, it could break people apart and even force someone's hand to do something vile and unforgivable. you were no stranger to taking to underhanded tactics and resorting to frowned upon actions, so in any scenario you wouldn't have an issue with jealousy. this time it was different. you had been introduced to yanqing and saw him quite often, he was jing yuan's retainer afterall. there was something about him that just made you jealous.

you soon realised that it was his closeness to the general paired with his skills as a swordsman. yanqing had everything you could ever want. he had the generals attention, he had impeccable skills with a sword and he even was a capable knight without one and that made a vile anger boil inside you. but you wouldn't act on your jealousy. if you did you knew that jing yuan would be disappointed in you, he probably wouldn't want to ever look at you again and you would've proved to be a waste of his efforts. so you opted for a slow fix to your jealousy, working day in and day out to improve your skills to prove that you could be better than yanqing.

practically every minute of your day was spent with a sword in your hand, eventually coming to tell yourself that you weren't doing enough. you had managed to best every cloud knight more than once and decided that they simply weren't going to help you anymore, so you started sneaking away. in the dead of knight you'd head to mara-struck areas and defeat them - you didn't care that you lost out on your sleep. meals soon became irrelevant aswell, only ever stopping for a snack when you physically couldn't continue no more. you told yourself that it would all pay off in the end.

jing yuan noticed your absence pretty quickly, especially when even the other cloud knights would start claiming they hadn't seen you for days. a small part of him wondered if you were slipping back into your habits for stealing but he didn't want to think you would. he started piecing things together when he would see how fatigued you look and would try and question you when he was informed of how often your weary body would end up in lady bailu's care. he would ask bailu and she would tell him how your body would often not have enough nutrients to function properly and that your sleep was limited. jing yuan tried to confront you multiple times but you always weakly pushed him away and told him that you just wanted to train more.

he started sending yanqing on missions with you to keep an eye on you but you didn't take it that way, to you it was a dig in the face. to you jing yuan no longer saw you as a capable fighter and was trying to get you replaced on your missions. you wouldn't let that happen. unfortunately due to the lack of sleep and prioer nutrients in your body, your thoughts clouded over and so all your fights became clumsy attempts to wield a sword. reckless actions would be taken and eventually you'd pass out with too many unnecessary cuts, only slightly mitigated by the fact yanqing was there but you pushed him away from helping.

yanqing would soon find himself carrying your unconscious body back to luofu's infirmary's and lady bailu would have to be called in as the other healers simply couldn't fathom your injuries. jing yuan would also be contacted and would be there as soon as he could. each time you'd wake back up, wearily push everyone away and leave before any asked you anything. the next time anyone would see you would be in the same scenario - you passed out on a mission being dragged back to the infirmary.

jing yuan began to worry. each and every time you looked worse and worse but bailu always said the same things about exhaustion and lack of nutrients. jing yuan knew you were purposefully skipping meals and sleep in the name of training but he didn't understand why. he had a small inkling that it was to do with yanqing but he refused to believe you would resort to such extremes over something like this. eventually he had enough, when you woke up again from passing out on a mission he stopped you from leaving and told you dead straight that he was withdrawing you from your duties and that you were going to stay under care in the infirmary.

you were broken by the news. you had worked all day and night to get better at being a cloud knight, to beat yanqing and know all your hard work was to go waste because jing yuan didn't want you on duty anymore. you insisted that you were fine and didn't need this but it became very clear that jing yuan was not going to budge from his decision. however you simply wouldn't listen and would still sneak away from the infirmary to train out of bounds with the mara-struck.

the general had enough of your reckless behaviour. he understood that you were trying to improve as a knight but you're quest to do so had made you weaker and farther away from your personal goal. jing yuan personally pushed aside his duties to seek you out when the infirmary had told him you were missing and when he found you it wasn't a new sight. he watched with a saddened expression as you sloppily and recklessly took down the enemy, he winced when he saw your body hit the ground after you finished. you were out cold again, the general carried you back to the infirmary. this time he waited, waited until you regained conscious and made sure you wouldn't run away.

he confronted you as it pained him to see your talent go to waste and it hurt him to see how you treated yourself in the name of training. eventually he managed to weed the reasons for your behaviour out of you and due to your sheer exhaustion you couldn't help but start allowing tears to slowly escape and roll down your face. in this moment of weakness, jing yuan saw the child he found originally and offered a hug. one you gratefully took.

[sopebubbles]

Four

Master list

Synopsis: in a world where alphas, betas, and omegas live along side modern humans as second class citizens, you've fallen through the cracks of a society that wants to take everything wonderful from you. Luckily a timely encounter with the boys just might save your life.

Chapter summary: the boys learn several uncomfortable things about you.

Warnings: nothing? that I can think of. Y'all know this shit is sad, but the pack is so comforting.

Wc: 4.5k

"Where are you going?" Jimin asked when he opened his eyes to find you only a few steps from the door.

You froze before pivoting on your toes. "Sorry. I was trying not to wake you," you answered in a nearly inaudible voice.

Jimin stretched his neck as he sat up. "I wasn't really sleeping. What are you doing?"

You relaxed onto your heels and looked around in confusion, as though you weren't sure yourself. "I was just feeling suffocated in the room and wanted some air. I thought I could step out without bothering anyone since you were all sleeping."

He started to ask if you were leaving, but then he swallowed his words. "We can go out to the backyard if you want to walk around a little," he said instead.

You nodded as an answer and walked toward him.

"You'll want this," he told you when you came near, grabbing Yoongi's hoodie off the arm of the couch. He had changed into it when he got home from work several hours ago, and had taken the time to carefully scent it with all the alphas before casually leaving it downstairs, as if by mistake. But Jimin knew better. "It's chilly out tonight."

You took the sweatshirt he offered you. You sniffed it and tugged it on with less hesitation than he expected. Maybe you knew what Yoongi had predicted: some comforts you just needed. You were still just in someone's shorts, but he figured you wouldn't be out too long. The beta moved a pair of slides by the door in front of you to slip your feet into before he held the door open for you. You smiled so softly at him that he felt his heart stop, over the moon at how easily you accepted his gentle way of caring for you, and he returned a smile back.

There wasn't much in the square patch of the backyard. Jimin watched your figure as you walked down the three steps to the sidewalk leading to the back gate. To the left of the door, in the corner, was a table with several chairs sitting on a slab of concrete. The rest of the yard was just grass, not yet needing a cut as spring had only just started. Hobi had been begging Jin to make a proper patio for everyone to enjoy since Jimin joined the pack four years ago, but Jin kept insisting they would move into a bigger house soon. When they had bought the house shortly after Kookie became an established member of their small pack, with considerable assistance from their families, they hadn't imagined their numbers would more than double in size, at least not without any pups of their own. A bigger house would be nice, of course, but there was something cozy to Jimin about stuffing the just slightly too small house to the brim with love.

Jimin sat on the top step and leaned his elbows on his knees, and his eyes followed you as you skirted along the fence. He could see you were still a bit shaky on your legs, and you seemed to be focused on putting one foot directly in front of the other.

"Where are you from, Y/N?"

Your head snapped to look at him with wide, startled eyes, as if you'd forgotten he was there. You stared at him a moment before you said, "Sorry, I don't remember your name."

He smiled again, softly. "I'm Jimin."

You nodded and began to walk along the fence line again, ignoring his question, so he asked another. "How long have you lived in the city?"

"What makes you think I'm not from here?"

It was your accent, a slight drawl on your words that you'd never quite managed to eliminate. Jimin shrugged. "Just a hunch."

You turned the corner at the back of the yard so you faced the house and looked up at the dark windows behind which his pack slept soundly. "How do you know about True Life?" you asked, clearly not wanting to give him the control of the conversation.

You weren't going to answer his questions, but at least you were talking to him, so he didn't mind answering. "I work at a shelter for teens, so I know about all the shelters in the area."

Your mouth made a soundless 'oh' as you continued along the fence toward the house. Jimin wondered if you were aware you were marking their property or if it was subconscious. Maybe you were claiming their space as your own. Maybe you were trying to draw in other alphas with your scent. Maybe you just had no idea what you were doing.

"How long have you been there?" He asked when you didn't say anything.

"A couple weeks." You shrugged and added a moment later, "I lost my second job and couldn't pay my rent and now I don't know what I'm going to do."

"I can help you find a job." Jimin perked up at being able to make the offer. "I know places in town that have no problem hiring omegas and who offer heat leave."

"I don't need heat leave, as long as I can afford the good pills," you told him. "I just ran out this month."

"The ones they gave you can cause long-term infertility," Jimin told you.

You snorted. "I don't care about that. I'm not ever having kids. I just didn't take them because they make my stomach hurt so bad." Jimin nodded his head and went silent for a moment as you continued tracing a path at the edge of the grass. "Is that what you do then? You help people get jobs?" You asked as you turned around and went back the other way.

"I'm a social worker. I help people get the things they need. Whether that's a job or school…or a pack." Jimin saw your back stiffen at the word, a minor hiccup in your pacing before you resumed. "Would that be something I could help you with?"

You turned the corner to walk across the back perimeter again, hiding your face in shadow. "I don't need a pack," you said quietly but firmly.

"Living on your own in the city can be really hard. Making ends meet, taking care of yourself. There are all kinds of packs. Not all are together for mating. Sometimes a pack can just be friends who care about you. When Taehyung came to us, he wasn't looking for partners, but family."

You sighed heavily at his words. "Your pack seems nice enough, but not all packs are like that. Everyone acts like packs are something you have to have, but not all packs mean safety. Shitty people don't stop being shitty just because they're pack."

Jimin's breath caught in his chest. Of course, he knew most packs weren't as good as his. And he knew that there were plenty of bad people out there, even Lykos. But he didn't like to imagine what could have happened to you to bring out such bitterness in your voice.

"But I'm sure someone like you wouldn't understand that," he heard you mutter under your breath.

Behind him, Jimin could hear the front door open on the other side of the house. It had to be Jungkook coming home from his shift. He heard the thick clunk of boots where he took them off by the door, and then nothing as the other beta moved with practiced stealthiness around the otherwise silent house.

Jimin didn't take offense at your assumptions of him. It was obvious enough that you spoke from a place of pain, and that was something Jimin could easily understand, and even empathize with. He rubbed his palms together and gathered his thoughts before speaking.

"My parents died when I was ten. My mom was sap, my dad was a beta, so we never had a pack. We never even had a normal family. After the accident, I lived in a series of group homes. Some were fine. Some were worse than others, but the one nice thing was being surrounded by other people like me. I met lots of people who had it worse than me. Kids who had been adopted only to be sent back when their new family didn't want them. Others who got kicked out of the group home when they presented and couldn't control their instincts. I was lucky because I was able to go from there to college without having to navigate those years all on my own. But after I graduated it was really difficult for me to live alone. Through some friends, I found out about a…collective of sorts, where young Lykos lived together. They weren't a pack per se but they were able to help each other out in ways like a pack. Resource sharing, budgeting, physical closeness. Like I said, it wasn't a pack bond, not like what we have here, but it was better than being all alone."

You had stopped at the other side of the fence and stood with your back against the wooden planks. He waited for you to say something, but he didn't expect the words you spoke next. "I would've guessed a pack would've wanted someone like you very early on."

Jimin's face heated, and he was glad you couldn't see it in the dark. "I'm not sure what you mean by that." Although by your tone it sounded like a compliment.

"I just mean that you're attractive and pleasant to be around. And doesn't everyone want betas in their pack? You're supposed to be stable and reliable, right?" You tilted your head to the right when you asked in a very endearing gesture.

Jimin cleared his throat. He could still feel the blush on his cheeks. "I was a late bloomer. For a while I thought I might actually turn out to just be sap like my mother. To this day, my scent is still fainter than anyone I've ever known. So I guess I'm not as attractive as you think."

You snorted again and pushed away from the fence. "If I had been you, I would've just pretended I was normal. You could live a perfectly ordinary life. Not like us freaks." You mumbled the end but Jimin wouldn't ignore it.

"There's nothing abnormal or freaky about who you are. And anyone who told you otherwise is just plain wrong. I chose this life because it belongs to me. Anyone who has made you feel like being alone is better doesn't know what they're missing, whether sap or Lykos."

You stopped in your tracks away from him and to his surprise, you turned to walk toward him. "I was born to God-knows-who, and the first thing my mother did with me was throw me in the garbage. Literally. And instead of leaving me be, some idiots hauled me out of the dumpster and gave me to a family who wanted nothing but a slave and who threw me out as soon as I got my first heat. Being alone isn't a choice for me, Jimin. It's just what I am."

Without waiting for a response you walked past him up the steps and into the house, letting the screen door slam behind you, causing him to jump. Jimin hung his head in his hands, applying pressure to his temples as he considered what you had said and his own stupidity. He knew better than to assume he knew anyone's story, or to tell people what he thought they needed instead of asking first. But something about you prevented him from thinking professionally.

Jungkook came home tired as ever. No, more tired than he'd been all week. He and his partner had been the first responders to an absolutely horrific scene of a murder. Although he spent most of his shift holding the police line, being the lowest man on the totem pole, it hadn't left him unaffected. As he pulled his feet from his shoes, he wanted nothing more than to plant himself face first on the closest soft surface and sleep for a day. He struggled clumsily with the buttons of his shirt, yanking the bottom free from his trousers before he fumbled with his belt buckle. He couldn't bring himself to climb the stairs to the pack's nest, so he shuffled to the spare room and left his clothes in a pile at the foot of the bed he now slept in more often than not. He kneeled on the bed in nothing but his boxers to crawl his way to the middle and sank into the warm space. The smells that greeted him were different but familiar. Hobi's sweet brown sugar was there, but faintly, hiding behind a saccharine apple. Jungkook registered the difference on some level, maybe even knew it was wrong to be there, but the scents were so comforting he couldn't help but melt into them. He pulled your pillow to his face and covered himself with the single blanket before he quickly fell asleep.

A loud bang had his eyes popping open. Alert to danger but still half asleep. Had he slept for hours or seconds? Moments later the door to the room closed harshly and the edge of bed dipped before a body collided with his. And then a scream. Jungkook scrambled off the bed for the light switch, nearly falling when his legs tangled in the blanket. After they turned on, Jimin appeared, throwing the door open to see what was wrong. All three of you breathed heavily as you looked at one another.

"What are you doing here?" You half screeched before the betas could say a word.

"Fuck! God. Y/N, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking." Jungkook sputtered, gasping. "I was just so exhausted that I forgot you were staying here. I sleep here a lot and I just…forgot."

Jungkook's chest caved in as he watched you shake in front of him. He had promised you safety and security, assured you that no one would bother you, but he was the first to trespass. Regret stole his words from his mouth, and you said nothing at all. He looked to Jimin for some kind of help, and luckily the other man was there to give it. He took Jungkook by the wrist and pulled him gently out of the room.

"Sorry, Y/N. Get some rest, and I'll check on you in the morning," he told you quietly. He reached for the light switch before closing the door.

"Leave it," you said, urgently, fearfully.

Jimin nodded and pulled the door shut. It clicked with finality.

"I'm sorry, hyung," Jungkook breathed out in the relative darkness of the hallway.

Jimin shushed him as he led the larger man to the living room. "Don't waste your breath apologizing to me, Kookie. It was an honest mistake. She's a little worked up, otherwise I'm sure she'd see that, too."

Jungkook stopped cold, making himself difficult to lead. "What happened? Why's she worked up?" He looked back over his shoulder toward your door.

"Jungkook, you look like you're going to keel over. Sit down for a minute," Jimin coaxed, guiding him to the couch. He sat and took the glass of water Jimin offered him, drinking without hesitation.

"Did something else happen?" he asked after draining the glass.

Jimin shrugged. "Not exactly. I don't know. We were just talking, and I might have said the wrong thing or at the wrong time. She just said some things…about herself." He sighed and reached out for Jungkook. Feeling the beta solidly beneath his hands always had a grounding effect. "Her troubles haven't started recently, Jungkook. I think maybe her whole life has been nothing but pain and trouble."

"I know," Jungkook said, sounding like he meant it concretely, not merely as a suspicion.

"Did you find something about her?"

Jungkook sagged against the couch and rubbed his face with his hands. "I did, but is it okay if we go through it tomorrow?"

Jimin smiled softly and ruffled his hair. "Of course, Kookie. I'll help you get upstairs so you can get some rest."

Jungkook yawned wide, stretching out his long arms. "I'll sleep here. You can go up."

"No, baby," Jimin shook his head.

"It's okay. I promise I won't bother her again."

"It's not about her, Kook. It's about you getting proper rest in the nest. Now."

Jungkook sighed. "I can't. I don't smell right after work. I don't want to ruin everyone's sleep."

Jimin's face crumpled. "Is that why you never come up anymore?" Jungkook nodded, eyes fixed on his knees. It's at least most of the truth. "Baby, no one cares. They'll get you smelling right in no time. C'mon, let's go."

Jimin pulled Jungkook like dead weight, but eventually got him to his feet. Jungkook was too tired to not let the smaller man bear his weight as they made their way up the stairs. When they got to the pack's bedroom, the door opened with a creak that Hoseok had been meaning to fix. The omega lifted his head from the bed in an attempt at alertness.

"Pup delivery," Jimin whispered, placing Jungkook gently on the edge of the nest. Hands from more than one person reached out to hold him and he was completely engulfed, snuggled in by his mates before Jimin closed the door once again.

Hobi could be nibbly in the morning. Jungkook had nearly forgotten about that. It had been a while since he had felt the omega's tongue lap at his scent gland, nudging him awake with his nose and gentle kisses.

"Morning, baby," Jungkook chuckled.

"Wakey, wakey," Hobi sang, though he was hardly awake himself, still feeling sleepy and far from ready to start the day.

"How did you sleep?" Jungkook asked conversationally as he carded his fingers through his omega's hair, keeping his voice low since he wasn't sure if the others were awake. The body on the other side of him—Yoongi probably—felt very still. Jungkook didn't know how he'd ended up in the middle of the nest, but he was pleased to be there.

Hoseok smiled against his shoulder. "So good, Kookie. I've missed you in the nest. I'll keep that girl here forever if it will make you sleep next to me every night."

Jungkook stiffened. Guilt for too many wrongs to count washed through him. But Hobi was quick to stroke a soothing hand down his chest. "I'm sorry," he choked out.

"Shh. I didn't say that to make you feel bad. I just love having you here. We've been together for so long that it doesn't feel quite right to have you missing. I feel like I wash the sheets twice as often because they don't smell the same without you," he chuckled. "But it's okay. I know you need space right now."

Jungkook pulled his mate tighter to him, inhaling the sweet scent from the top of his head. "I'll try not to be so distant. I know it isn't fair to you."

Hoseok shook his head. "I just want you to be happy, pup. But you don't seem very happy these days."

Yoongi shifted on his other side, wrapping an arm around his waist and nuzzling his other shoulder.

Jungkook hummed. "I'm happy right now."

"Now if only Jiminie were here this nest would be perfect," Hoseok mused.

"I'm here!" Jimin called from the hallway outside.

Hoseok lifted his head over Jungkook's chest. "Get your cute little butt in here then!"

Jimin didn't waste a second in following orders. He skipped to the bed where he was playfully pulled down to the mattress by a giggling Taehyung and squished into place between the alpha and Yoongi.

"Why were you out in the hallway, baby? Is everything okay downstairs?"

Jimin lifted himself up to hook his chin over Yoongi's shoulder. "Everything's…fine. I just missed you guys, and I thought I could do the job just as well from up here as down there," he admitted sheepishly.

"Was the door slamming and a scream last night real? Or did I dream about it?" Namjoon asked from the other side of the bed.

"Oh," Jungkook remembered. "I might have scared Y/N last night. On accident."

"After I made her upset, which is why she slammed the door," Jimin added.

Jin seemed suddenly aware, looking between the two betas with alert eyes. "How did you upset her?"

"I was trying to talk to her about the benefits of being in a pack. But I think I hit a nerve."

"How so?"

"She…she told me that she was abandoned as a newborn and adopted by saps who treated her horribly."

"And then I accidentally fell asleep in her bed and freaked her out."

Jin sat up, choosing for the moment to gloss over Jungkook's transgression to look at Jimin. "So she's basically always been alone?" Hoseok's hand found his, gripping him for comfort at such an unimaginable thought.

Jimin grimaced. "Not necessarily. Something she said last night stood out. I think she might have had a pack at one point. But based on what she said, it wasn't a good experience."

Hoseok tilted his head curiously. "What did she say?"

"She said bad people are still bad in packs, and packs aren't always safe," Jimin frowned.

Hoseok shuddered. "You might be onto something," Jungkook said.

Yoongi opened his eyes for the first time, though he'd been listening all along. "What did you find out?"

Jungkook cleared his throat but his voice came out nervously. "Before she came to this city, she served six months in a county jail in another state for solicitation."

"What?!" Several voices demanded, the whole nest suddenly in movement.

"A friend of mine who's on desk duty did some digging for me and found out she'd been arrested. In her testimony, she said that her alpha forced her to do it, but she pleaded guilty."

Hoseok thought he might actually throw up. He had heard stories on the news of omega sex workers before. Not just Lykos but even more often Sapiens would pay to have sex with omegas. But the thought that an alpha would do that to one they called their own chilled him to the bone.

Namjoon tugged his hands through his hair, his mind frantically trying to think of a way to make such an alpha pay for the crime. "Was the alpha arrested too?"

Jungkook shook his head. "She wouldn't give a name because she feared for her safety."

Jin's skin stretched painfully over his knuckles as he fisted the blanket. If his mother heard this she would use her family's considerable wealth and power to track down that alpha and make him suffer. Could he call in such a favor on your behalf?

Without a word, Taehyung got up and walked to the door.

"Tae, where are you going?" Jimin asked, anxious at the sudden loss of his mate.

"I don't want to hear anymore," Tae replied angrily.

"Sweetheart-"

"No. I don't want to hear any more about her from you. It feels wrong to know these things about her when she hasn't told me herself. It's an invasion of privacy and I won't listen."

"I'm sorry, Tae. I was just trying to figure out how we could help her," Jungkook defended himself.

Taehyung sighed, looking back at his lover. "I get that. And I want to help her, too. I just…ugh. I haven't even really seen her and I haven't gotten to talk to her. It feels weird for you to dig up information on her. It's like she's a character in a movie and not someone in our house. I don't know how to explain it but it makes me uncomfortable."

Jimin's heart melted. Taehyung's sensitive soul had a way of turning them all to mush. The beta slipped off the bed to wrap his arms around him. "Okay, alpha. No more digging, okay? Come back to bed. Don't be upset." Tae allowed himself to be pulled, always particularly sensitive to Jimin's coaxing. "Kookie won't do any more digging, right?" The maknae nodded. "Come back and let me cuddle you a little more, and then we can help Hobi get some breakfast going for her, okay?"

Taehyung followed Jimin back down into the nest with a pleased, boxy grin, wordlessly covering him with his body and nuzzling into his neck. While Jimin whispered sweet nothings into the youngest alpha's ear, the rest refocused their attention on Jungkook.

"Now, how did you end up in Y/N's nest?" Jin asked, appearing sterner than he ever was.

Jungkook blushed deeply. "I was an honest accident, hyung. I was just so tired and my feet carried me there. Jimin and Y/N were outside, so I didn't notice until she came back. Besides, it wasn't much of a nest. I usually sleep with more blankets than she had."

Hoseok frowned grumpily. He wondered if you would let him teach you. But it wasn't his most pressing issue in mind.

"What's wrong?" Jin asked, plucking a pouty lip.

Hobi turned to Jungkook once more. "I don't like that your first instinct is to go sleep in the other room." Jungkook opened his mouth to argue but Hobi wouldn't let him. "I know you have a long list of reasons why you do it, but I don't want to hear them. I don't care that you come home at 4 in the morning. You aren't bothering anyone. Do you think Jin and I sleep well knowing you're not here where you belong? I don't care if you come home smelling like the street and other people. I will make you smell like Jungkook again in no time. I'll make you smell like your pack. Unless you don't want your pack anymore. And if you're trying to pull away from us, then that's something we really need to talk about. Just be honest!"

A sad whine came from Jungkook's throat. Neither of them had expected those words to come out, though Hobi had been holding onto them for several weeks, only sharing them with Jin. "Hobi! I never want that. I never want to not be part of this pack. You're my home!" He whimpered, pulling the warm omega on top of him, forcing Yoongi to make way.

"Then act like it," Hobi mumbled into his chest.

"I will. I'll sleep here every night," he replied, holding his love close.

Hoseok smiled. At least that was one worry off the list.

A/n: Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you thought in the comments and reblogs! They mean the world to me 💜

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[awkward-halfhug]

listening ear | warren peace x reader

summary: you have a hard time getting your words out, but warren doesn't seem to mind

contains: stuttering!reader x warren peace (there are many kinds of stutters. this is similar to how I stutter when I'm stressed), fluff

0.6k

"And then um, Mr. um, Mr. Boomer, he he he said I couldn't, I couldn't save a um, save a kitten out of, of a, of a tree." You take a deep breath. Your stuttering has been getting better lately, but after Save the Citizen earlier today, you find yourself all wound up with nervous energy.

Warren, your coworker and fellow classmate is bussing the table that just cleared out. It's pretty much dead at the Paper Lantern tonight so you have time to talk and he has the time to listen. And he does listen. To your continued amazement, since starting work together the start of senior year your surly classmate and you have developed a slow, almost reluctant on his part, comradery. You would almost say you're friends, except his nonchalance in your interactions sometimes borders on apathy, so your confidence in the idea varies by the day.

But some days, you find yourself wondering if he likes you better than it seems. Perhaps he might even consider you two friends, deep deep down. Because when your shifts wind to an end and you both wind up at a table waiting for the hours to pass, you ramble about your day. And he listens, attentively, patiently, for you to get your words out. He doesn't roll his eyes. Doesn't huff an annoyed breath or check the time compulsively. He just listens, like he has all the time in the world. It calms you, his quiet stare, as much as it makes something in your chest flutter.

He's about the only one in your life to let you get your words out without cutting you off. Even your parents try to finish your sentences for you via guesswork, in the interest of saving time. You love them, but half the time, they're wrong, and while you know they love you, it makes you feel like they don't have time for you.

Warren doesn't interrupt your recounting of events. He fiddles with a fortune cookie absent-mindedly while you finish your sentence and then breaks it apart, handing you half. He pops the other half in his mouth, chewing while he comments.

"Boomer's a jerk."

It's all he says, but you've learned not to get offended by his short answers. His steady stare seems to prompt you to continue, so you do.

"He um, he he might be ri-right. I could barely even, barely even, reach the um, the the the citizen in time let alone think of how to, to, sa-ave him." You look down, shaking your head in self deprecation.

Warren nudges your shoe with his and you look up at him. He hands you another cookie. Waits till you're chewing before he speaks.

"I lost my first few Citizens". He says, confides, it with an affected casualness, though you know better. You recognize the hint of vulnerability when you hear it. It's a chink in his bad boy armor and he's allowed you to see it. You feel a surge of gratitude as well as a healthy dose of shock and disbelief.

"No way!" You exclaim, delighted.

Warren lifts his eyebrows with a "you can believe it or not, I don't care" kind of look and you shake your head in awe of this revelation.

"You just seem so, so, so…"

Warren waits, patiently as always, for you to finish your sentence before it becomes obvious you weren't intending to. He seems to understand what you were trying to say regardless.

"Yeah, well. Gotta start somewhere…look, you'll get better is what I'm saying." He looks away then, as if embarrassed by the show of support.

"Thank you, Warren. I um, I appreciate it. That makes me feel better."

It takes you a moment to realize your stutter has improved. He's calmed you, once again, and you look at him in awe, once again. He's realized it too, you can tell. He's got the faintest hint of a smile on his face, like he accomplished something, and you cement your assumptions mentally.

Whether he admits it or not, you and Warren Peace are definitely friends.

thank you for reading! if you enjoyed, please consider reblogging/commenting, it means a lot! ♡

[ballad-of-birdy-lamb]

Can you do Treech and Lamina (Se prate, in case you were wondering) with a VERY friendly S/O, like they wanna make friends with all the other tributes, coral, mizzen, and all, and are generally a very bright, bubbly person who likes to comfort people??

Thank you!! Have a good day!

Very excited to write for both since I haven't officially!!

Treech x friendly! Gender neutral! Reader x Lamina (separate romantic headcanons)

Summary: Reader is a very kind and outgoing person, entire headcanons for both Treech and Lamina (separate and romantic).

__

Lamina:

She's a very quiet and sad tribute, so to go into the Hunger Games with her lover is so much worse for her. She would have sobbed about you not being reaped and how she would have tried harder getting home if you weren't reaped with her.

But Lamina can't control what name is pulled and at some point, accepts that.

Your sweet spirits do help her a lot but doesn't stop her from crying consistently. But it's better than constantly.

Once you both got to the monkey house, she would sit near one of the rocks, keeping to herself and keeping herself alive.

Lamina rarely left the small area she kept at, but she left it to pull you away from making friends with the other tributes. It was more so the idea you were bothering them, and she didn't want you creating enemies on accident.

She would say something about not bothering them and "think of the situation we are in". Lamina's anxiety about the entire situation you were both in caused her to ignore the fact the other tributes did enjoy your presence. Many being fond of your kindness, especially people like Lucy Gray, who was just as high spirited as you.

It happened several times more, her pulling you from making a scene out of habit, trying to befriend others just for the sake of it. At some point, she stopped trying and accepted the fact that you were becoming friends with several tributes and gaining attention in the Capital for such friendliness.

__

Treech:

Treech had a similar reaction to Lamina, feeling terrible that you were reaped with him. He didn't have as much of a visceral reaction, like sobbing his eyes out but he's still sad about it.

He would keep you as close as possible, trying to make sure you don't run off with other tributes because you wish to be allies.

But he doesn't mind when you become friends with the District Eight tributes while on the train. He thought it was sweet how nice you were with Wovey.

He knew for a long while that you were very friendly and outgoing since he had dated you long before the reaping. So, it isn't a surprise that you try talking to the other tributes.

Treech would only be around you when you have free time, find food, and during the night. The other times are when he's trying to find plants to eat within the enclosure or when he tries juggling small stones for food.

As time goes on, to entertain yourself outside of finding plants, you'd go around talking to Capital citizens and other tributes. Treech wouldn't be as willing to pull you away since he knew you wouldn't get hurt from both groups.

At the end of the day, you accidentally brought attention to yourself, but it ended in being fed. So, Treech didn't mind it too much.

__ Not extremely romantic, so sorry!

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[rafa-jaja]

Asking for your help...(pt3)

Bruce Wayne x Gn reader

Chaos, everywhere, Talia was destroying the city completely, she had an army of assassins controlled by Prismon, a villain with telepathic powers.

But how could this happen? wasn't the Justice League supposed to avoid this kind of problems? where are the superheroes who swore to protect the world?

All those questions are easily answered, they were the focus of Talia's plan, she kept them captive in their own minds. This allowed her to easily attack the citizens and plant chaos in the world.

And where were you in all this? In the league's operations headquarters, not the wachtower, because that's where Talia and Prismon were. You were in a smaller, more rudimentary one, but that was better than nothing.

You were making a plan, but you knew the odds were not in your favor. But even knowing the consequences, your plan was to infiltrate the watchtower and free the supers.

- Okay, with all that in place I just have to-

- Did you think I'd forget about you? How bad do you think I am?

That voice...how could it have found you, you had barrier protection against mind tracking.

- I'm surprised you didn't realize that your friends have very weak minds.

Talia came out of the shadows, just looking at her made you remember everything she put you through, it was like a recreation of your nightmares.

- What do you want? I'm of no use to you, you already have an ally who controls minds.

- I felt that my collection was not complete without you, besides, I would like to relive the old times.

You knew that fighting her wouldn't do any good, she had a mental block that didn't allow you to enter it, and your current physical state is deplorable.

- Ok, take me with you, I'm not going to fight you.

- What a disappointment, I thought you wanted to take revenge on me?

You didn't answer, yes you wanted revenge, but she was giving you a free pass to the wachtower and you could come up with a plan on the way. Right?

Nothing, you had no plan, all the scenarios would end with you in the mental prison or dead, the worst thing is that they were about to arrive.

- You Know, you surprised me when you gave yourself up so easily.

- Well...I had no choice

- You've changed a lot since the last time I saw you. You're basically adrift, you have no one.

You would deny it, but inside you knew it was true, somehow you agreed with her.

When you arrived you were taken to the main hall with your friends, it hurt you to see their faces, you knew they were there, but nothing assured you that they were well.

- Now that you are here, it is time to lock yourself in that little mind of yours.

Without any warning Prismo appeared behind you and caught you, everything was dark, but... you weren't afraid, it was just being closer to your thoughts.

Suddenly a mowing light consumed you, and then a sound, well more like a voice...

- Hey, wake up, you know it's not good to fall asleep when you're a guest.

That voice seemed very familiar, you opened your eyes to try to identify the person who was talking to you, but you only saw a room with armchairs and a lit fireplace.

- BOOO!!!!

- FUCK...damn it John Constantin, do you want to scare me to death?

- Oh, you should have seen your face, it was worth it.

- what the fuck are you doing here? I thought you got caught with the others.

- you really thought i'd fall for that? I thought you knew me better than that.

- Okay, you're not caught, so where the fuck are you?

- Well... let's just say I'm in hell.

- ...What?

- You know, dont meke me explain it to you, you konw what i do.

- OK, i understend that...but you haven't thought about, I don't know, HELPING? The world is going to shit and you're in hell!

- Hey, if I wasn't here the situation would be different.

- What?

- No time for details, let's just say that Talia made a deal with a powerful demon and I'm down here holding him. But I didn't come to you to tell you this, you have to free yourself and help your friends.

- But how? I never had to get out of my own mind. I don't know what to-

- I don't have much time left, just find the way out, save the others and defeat Talia.

And without being able to say anything else Constantin disappeared, you had no choice but to investigate the place where you were.

You didn't know how much time had passed, but you felt like you were going around in circles, until you saw a light at the end of the corridor.

When you got to the place the light disappeared, leaving a door that did not look like the others in the place, without thinking twice you opened the door and entered it.

You saw a kind of fair? you didn't know where you were, but something seemed very familiar to you.

- I didn't know you liked fairs.

You quickly turned around, only to run into Bruce Wayne.

- And what are you doing here?

- I'm accompanying Dick, he's on the roller coaster now.

Oh no, you knew what this was, it's the memory of the time you and Bruce had a date by accident. Why this memory? It was the one you had been trying to forget the most.

You had no other choice, you will have to relive the memory as it happened, otherwise your mind will completely split and you won't be able to get out.

- It's good that you two are giving each other a break, you needed it.

- Yeah...sometimes I forget what it was like to be a kid.

- I understand, but you're doing great.

- Doing what?

- Raising Dick, he and you have things in common even though you're very different.

The three of you spent the whole afternoon together, sharing and enjoying watching Dick enjoy everything. But an uncomfortable feeling came over you, you hadn't shared with Bruce for a long time, you didn't remember how well you had lived together in the past. But this was a memory, you knew that in the present this would never happen.

- What are you worried about?

- Eh...it's nothing, don't worry.

- It's not true, you're thinking too much.

- It's just...I'm worried about the future.

- That's normal, we all worry about what might happen in the future, but the key is to take a deep breath and silence those thoughts.

I was right, you are overthinking the situation between you and Bruce too much.

- What a beautiful view," you said watching the sunset.

- Yes...very beautiful," said Bruce with his eyes on you.

Bruce put his hand on your chin and made you look into his eyes, those deep eyes that could make anyone's eyes glaze over. Little by little they got closer until they kissed, a tender kiss full of love. You felt how time slowed down, a stream of emotions ran through your body.

- That was... incredible.

-Yes.

- Hey, stop kissing or I'm going to pump," said Dick, grimacing dramatically.

Everything went on as normal, at the end of the fair Bruce offered to take you home. When you arrived at the door of your apartment, but before entering you stopped.

- Bye Bruce, see you soon

- I hope so, I can't wait.

With that said you went inside and a Reaper Glow consumed you once again. You woke up on the main hall floor, looked around and saw that all the supers were still there.

You knew what to do, without the guards noticing, you occupied your mental control and woke up each one of your friends, giving instructions to each one of them on what to do.

You had already woken up most of them, only Bruce was missing, when you entered his mind you noticed that you were in Gotham, but you didn't see Bruce anywhere.

You searched everywhere, there was no trace of him. About to have a crisis you saw a newspaper gliding towards you, you picked it up and saw what it said, "Death in the Wayne family...it's been two days since this tragedy happened and-" That's it! the cemetery, how could you not have thought of it before.

As you arrived you saw Bruce, sitting next to his parents' graves.

- Bruce, we have to go, Talia and...

- No.

- What? What do you mean, no?

- I don't want to leave. I don't want to go back to the real world.

- Bruce, this is not the time to do this, we need you.

- I don't want to," he said through tears, "I don't want to feel like this again.

- Like what? Like the richest man in the world? or like Batman?

- You don't understand, I thought you knew me well enough to see the real me.

- I thought I knew you, until you abandoned me years ago!

They both fell silent, neither of them could argue any longer.

- You know...I feel like a complete idiot, I've let down a lot of people I love and I don't have the courage to make amends.

- I don't know where you're going with this?

- I just...I want to make things right with you, I have never stopped loving you.

- Yeah sure, and the kid with Talia doesn't mean anything.

- Let's leave Damian out of this.

- So that means you do have feelings for her.

- SHE DORGED ME! fuck...when I woke up the next morning I felt so repulsive, I couldn't even look at myself in the mirror...but I didn't want to tell you because I knew it would hurt you. And when she left Damian in my care I didn't know what to do, and you didn't give me the time to explain...the last I heard from you after you left was that Talia had kidnapped you, she threatened to kill you if I tried anything. When she freed you I wanted to come and get you, but I thought Talia would keep her word.

- Bruce...I had no idea, but why did you risk asking for my help if you knew what Talia was capable of?

- We really needed your help...but it was also an excuse to see you again.

The two hugged each other tightly, neither wanting to let the other go. They needed it after everything they had to go through.

- Well, it's time to go back to the real world.

- But what about us?

- Maybe we could give ourselves a second chance.

In short, after releasing Bruce from prison, the league united to defeat Talia, which they did, and arrested all of her henchmen. Peace had returned to the world, thanks to the power of the Superheroes.

You and Bruce eventually got back to what you were before and were happy forever.

Fin...

[mono-dot-jpeg]

new universe - y. welt

summary; while you didn't mind playing hsr, you didn't want to be in hsr!

genre/extra tags; headcanons, isekai! reader, father figure! welt back in action, fluff, angst???

[platonic] [16 years old! reader] [gender neutral! reader]

a/n; never wrote for isekai'd reader but im down to try. this is probably gonna be unintentionally angsty bc idk abt u but no matter what world im waking up in, im gonna lose my shit too.

you played quite a bit of hsr

you had your fair share of liking a bunch of characters, gambling on them just for that 0.001% chance of feeling joy that you finally got that character

and you liked the story and all

but you didn't want anything more than that

so imagine the absolute panic of waking up like you were trailblazer.

march's face near yours sending you into freeze rather than flight or fight

"march step back, give them time. they just woke up."

you literally go through the 5 stages or grief as you slowly realize, oh shit, im not home anymore

and then it sinks in again

and then you start crying.

you're stuck in denial as you cry your eyes out

you're stuck in a fantasy space world where you are just as powerless as a citizen npc and you know there's a bunch of enemies in game that look really painful to deal with

you dont even realize that you've been taken to a room to wallow in peace.

welt's room to be specific.

you calm down after a while, sitting down in embarrassment bc oh fuck you just cried in front of some of your favorite character but to be fair you might be stuck in this world which does almost send into another panic

but welt comes in at the right time

"i'm sorry we didn't wake you when we found you, but we wanted to make sure that you weren't injured. do you remember anything of what happened?" he speaks calmly, making you feel calm in return

"i only remember my name.." you're really lucky to know that you speak the common language in this universe, or maybe they just know it. "i don't know what happened and..." your body shakes, feeling overwhelmed. "i don't know... 'm sorry."

he shakes his head. "you did nothing wrong. we didn't think or account for this. it's okay. it's okay to be scared. we're here to help you."

and it kind of breaks your heart bc you don't think there's a way to get back to your real home.

"would you like to know how we found you?" he hands you some water to drink.

you nod weakly, drinking the water.

and he explains how they found you in a different planet and stuck in a forest. "so you don't remember anything else?"

you hesitate. "i don't..i-" you close your mouth. "i don't think you'd believe me."

"it's okay if you don't want to tell me. but are you sure you don't know where your home is?" at the mention of home, you feel your eyes water.

"my home isn't where you think it is." you whisper weakly.

you don't elaborate and he doesn't expect you to elaborate.

"thank you for telling what you wanted to tell. i'm sure you're still scared and worried. and that's okay. but this does mean, you don't have a home.."

and he ends up taking you in.

you stick with him for a long while. it takes you a long time to get used to everything.

eventually you do get somewhat accustomed to it all.

with welt by your side you feel a bit more safe and less scared.

but on those nights where you remember that your normal is not the normal of this world, you find yourself looking for welt.

it's just silent comfort, just having his presence around you makes you feel better as you lay down by him as if you were a younger kid.

you just let him read his books as you wait for your body to make you sleep.

"thank you welt." you can't help but mutter.

and his reply is just a gentle pat on your head, a sign of him always listening to you and caring for you.

[cantdothis-nomore]

Beast Boy, Raven, Cyborg, Robin, Starfire with a reader who can't control their powers

Ok thank you so much for being my first ask ilysmmmmmmmmmm <3333. I decided to do these as headcannons as it wasn't really specified, so I hope that's ok but if you want I am willing to redo it <3

Beast Boy

-I imagine that beast boy would sometimes struggle with his own powers too, maybe when emotional so he'd relate to how you weren't able to control your own either.

-He'd be really sweet and loving and understanding towards you not being to control them and try and help you to understand them and control them better.

-If they hurt a citizen by accident and you threw that upon yourself as your own fault, I feel like he'd be the one to get you to take a break from crime fighting for a little while and help you train instead and support you on days when it gets really bad

-He'd probably not understand alot at first and underestimate it almost

-But after that he'd be right by your side ready to help at any point you feel it coming out of control again

-To me he'd be like the type of person to baby proof your room 💀

Raven

-Raven, to me, would be the type of person to understand straight away because of her having her own powers and obviously not knowing how to control them at first

-She'd help you work on them and improve your control but remove you from a fight if it was getting worse and there was possible harm about to be caused

-She wouldn't really know how to really comfort you if you got upset about it so she'd kinda just hold you and hope that made it better whilst whispering sweet little nothings into your ear to give some support and let you know she understands

-If you accidently hurt a citizen or a team member whilst using your powers and putting it upon yourself she'd go to amazing lengths to show you it wasn't your fault and assure you that youre doing amazing and that even though you may not be able to Control them now, that doesn't mean it can't change

Starfire

-Starfire would be the type of person to believe it was so cool that you could do whatever you wanted with your powers before you had to explain you couldn't control them

-After that she'd work hard to help you train to control them and help you learn more about them too and give you ideas on how to cope when things got really bad

-She'd collect you cool things and be like, 'Oh here! This could be calming for you!', after picking up little kits for you both to do to relax and to relax your stress levels to see if that did anything to help

-She'd overall be soooooo sweet and caring and willing to learn anything to help you cope and control your powers

-She'd be the type of person to force you to start drinking healthy smoothies and getting you to go to yoga classes claiming she read they'd help

-She'd have a constant sweet drawer stocked in her room for you to take from whenever you felt like it and like pre written notes for you to read when she was away and it started getting worse to make it feel like she was physically there

Cyborg

-He wouldn't really relate to not being able to control your powers just adjusting to having them yknow?

-He'd be shocked at first and then start researching and asking you questions about your powers to try and find a way to make then more manageable

-He'd let you train with him as much as you want as he's like 3/4 robot so it wouldn't hurt him

-If you hurt a teammate or civilian he would encourage you to take a break to work more on your powers and help you understand how you got them and try and find the reason they started

-He'd take you out on walks away from the city and help you calm down by having a picnic or watching the sunset

-he'd just be so sweet about it and have it in his best interest to make it better for you

Robin

-I think that Robin would understand like straight away what was wrong with you because of how many people with powers he's been around his entire life (nearly)

-He'd ask others about their powers to understand your situation better and do lots of research on what he can do

-He'd (try and fail to) make you food and after that didn't work he'd probably take you out into the city and find things to practise your powers on to give you better control over them

-When you're stressed or worried about your powers and not being able to control them he'd give you a hug and invite you to come and train with him and if you didn't want to do that he'd find a cute movie for you both to watch and get you to relax through take out and movie between you both <33

WOWWWWW MY FIRST REQUESTTT!!!

I AM SOO EXCJTED I HOPE YOU LIKE IT <333333

[corrieguards]

Home

Commander Mayday x reader Summary: Mayday gets rescued and reunited with his lover back on Coruscant, who brings him home and helps him get cleaned up. Word count: 1,7k C/W: sexually suggestive themes, but no explicit smut, slight angst, overall fluff. A/N: this man deserved so much more, so this is my way of making myself feel better about it. Also, thinking about a smuttier pt.2? Idk, let me know what you guys think <3

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The last few months had been some of the roughest ones in his whole life, and that was saying a lot for a clone. 

He’d lived through a whole war, witnessing countless battles and gruesome deaths. But nothing quite compared to spending endless days on a freezing planet, watching his men, his brothers slowly die off one by one and being completely helpless in doing anything to stop it.

They had spent years fighting for the Republic. They had fought tooth and nail time and again, to save lives, to give the galaxy a chance at a better life, while having no real hope of actually living in said galaxy as recognized citizens. They had done their job, the job that nobody else wanted to do, and yet what did they get in return? 

Left stranded on some planet with no communications or supplies. Completely forgotten and tossed aside. Left to die.

But that was over, he had to keep reminding himself of that fact. He’d survived, and he should be thankful for that.

He’d come across a contact that helped clones who wanted out, right back at the beginning of the empire's start. At first he resisted using it, simply storing it away as a ‘just in case’. He’d held on for as long as he could, telling himself that he was a clone, this is what he was made for and he should be able to deal with it.

But with the death of Hexx and Veetch, the last of his men gone, he finally snapped.

Not even a few hours after he’d sent out the message, he’d been rescued and was in a ship on his way back to Coruscant. 

One of the first things they’d asked him was if he had any contacts, any people he could get in touch with for help. Your name instantly popped into his head. He'd hesitated but, what other option did he have? It's not like he had any other civvies to run too.

So he gave them your comm number, one he could recite by heart, and hoped upon hope that you hadn’t changed it since he’d last seen you all those months ago.

—-

You recognised him instantly. It was like the world stopped, your ears ringing and eyes blurring with tears. Despite his overgrown hair and beard, you would recognise your favourite commander anywhere.

When you first got the comm you had to pinch yourself to make sure you weren't dreaming. Mayday, your sweet handsome Mayday was alive, and back here on Coruscant. 

The comm was quick, hurried, secretive. It was directing you to some place in the lower levels, so naturally your second thought was to think this whole ordeal was a little too sketchy for your liking.

But the possibility of bringing Mayday home won you over the fear. And kriff we're you glad it did.

He was sitting on a crate, quietly sipping from the steaming mug held between his hands. It was really him. He was right there.

“Mayday?”

Immediately his head shot up, eyes searching frantically, the mug being dropped carelessly on the floor when he finally spotted you.

He was already running towards you when you rushed to meet him, his body slamming into you so hard you had to take a couple steps back to avoid falling over. You felt your throat burn as tears of relief ran down your cheeks. His smell, the same smell you had craved on countless lonely nights, was filling your senses as you clutched on to him for dear life.

His arms were squeezing you so hard you were finding it difficult to breathe, but you couldn't care less right now. The only thoughts running through your head were He’s safe. He’s back. He’s home.

Pressing you face into his chest you sobbed as he rocked you gently, pressing a watery kiss to your head and whispering into your hair “I thought I’d never see you again meshla”

You pulled back just enough to press your lips to his, him returning the kiss in earnest, brows furrowed and hand cupping the back of your head. You could taste the salty mix of both your tears. 

Finally pulling back you laid a hand on his cheek stroking his beard and smiling teasingly before letting out a soft giggle

“Well, this is new”

He chuckled, tilting his head and smiling sheepishly “Yeah.. Not my best look I know"

You hummed brushing a thumb over his cheekbone before standing up on your tippy toes and pressing a tender kiss where your thumb had been.

“Actually I kinda like it. It suits you” you admitted, smiling lovingly at him. He huffed out a laugh, ducking down to peck your lips again. Squeezing him one more time you finally separated, hand still firmly clasped in his as you dragged him towards your speeder.

“C’mon trooper, let’s get you home."

—-

He looked extremely out of place in your cosy apartment, standing awkwardly in the middle of your living room. Everything had been happening so fast and he still hadn’t had a chance to clean himself or his armour and he was too scared to touch anything. 

“Hey” you spoke up softly when he still hadn’t settled down “What are you doing silly? Sit down. Make yourself comfortable. You know it’s as much your home as mine”

He hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck before his gaze flicked up to you nervously “Sorry I just don't want to get anything dirty. I’m- well I'm absolutely filthy” he chuckled nervously

Your eyes widened, mentally face palming yourself “Oh kriff I’m so sorry I completely forgot”

“It’s okay-” he started but you were already rushing over and dragging him down the hall way toward the bathroom.

He watched while you rushed about, opening the cupboard and carefully picking out the fluffiest towel, pushing it into his arms.

“Here, you can shower for as long as you want. Just chuck your armour and blacks outside the door and I’ll get them cleaned up for you, okay?”

You pressed a quick kiss to his nose, smiling and stroking his cheek softly before turning and heading out to give him some privacy. But he grabbed your wrist, stopping you and pulling you back around. You gave him a questioning look as he hesitated, glancing around nervously before speaking up.

“I um… I was actually hoping we could shower together?”

"Oh" your lips parted in surprise and he quickly let go of your wrist and hurriedly added

“Unless you don't want to. That’s fine too."

“No, no of course I do. I- I would love to actually” you immediately took a step back into the bathroom and he smiled, pulling you closer to give you a kiss on the forehead.

“Thank you" he whispered against your skin, his beard tickling you and making you giggle

“No need for thank yous Mayday"

"I know" he cups your cheek "But I want to" 

You turn your head slightly, pressing a kiss to his palm “Do you need some help with the armour?‘“

When he nodded in response you immediately set about carefully untying the many knots, eyebrows furrowing in concentration as you unravelled all the cloths surrounding his armour. He watched you carefully, loving eyes following your every move as you dumped the filthy wraps on the floor, kicking them outside the door.

Then you moved onto the armour plates, gently removing them with practised hands. You’d done this so many times before, it was comforting to do your little routine once again.

Mayday was thoroughly enjoying watching you as well. He had seen you do it countless times but it never got old. The concentration and gentle patience you exuded was something that filled him with the urge to pepper kisses all over you.

Gentle and methodical. Just like he remembered.

Putting everything in a neat pile when you finished, you turned and smiled when you saw him watching you.

“What?"

“Nothin’” he lazily lifted a single shoulder in a shrug "Just enjoying the view"

You shook your head affectionately "Smooth as ever I see"

"I try" he grinned. "The fact you're so beautiful helps a lot."

"Oh... I see someone's become quite the charmer while he was away" you tease making him scoff

"I've always been charming. I dunno what you're talkin' about"

Patting his chest gently you chuckled "How 'bout you stop teasing, get those blacks off and we can finally get you cleaned up?”

Smiling but complying, he slowly peeled them off as you started stripping your own clothes. He gave you a slow up and down, stupid smile on his face as he took in your bare body. Damn.

He let out a low whistle, making you scoff and raise an eyebrow at him playfully.

"You missed me that much, huh?"

"You have no idea" he groaned, pulling you into his chest. His hand splayed across the small of your back .

"Thought about you all the time. Especially on the extra lonely nights" he winked cheekily, making you laugh.

"Are you flirting with me, Commander? Or... are you just trying to get in my pants?"

He glanced down at your naked form before looking back up at your face "I'd say I've already got that one guarantied."

You rolled your eyes “Yeah yeah, whatever. There'll be plenty of time for that later”

He smirked, leaning in closer “Oh really?”

“Mhm” you teased him, hand slowly dragging up his chest

"I like the sound of that” he murmured, hand slowly dragging further down and giving your ass a light squeeze, making you giggle, his smile immediately widening at the sound.

"Kriff, you have no idea how much I missed that laugh." 

Blush spreading across your face, you took his hand in your own and dragged him into the shower.

“C'mon, we’re gonna get you cleaned up. Then-" you pointed a finger at him accusingly "and only then, we can have some more… fun”

He chuckled, pressing an adoring kiss to your hairline and purring against your skin “Yes, ma’am”

---

tag-list: @mirshebs-meshla @nekotaetae @softsunburstlove @lucyysthings

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[etsuven]

rating: fluff cw: none includes: childe, kaeya summary: the month of love has just passed, but i still can't help but wonder what type of kisses fit these genshin men...

note: was this supposed to be a valentines day thing? maybe... but its out now! just a tadddd bit later than originally intended... this was ALSO originally supposed to include venti and kazuha as well as four others but i really need to force myself to post since its been over 30 days and get over this awful writers block please someone tell me HOWWWWW this is awful im so sorry ill try to do better in future posts

Childe: I Miss You Kiss

you're waiting for him at the docks of snezhnaya, your heart pounding in your chest as the sound of the ship horn reached your ears. bouncing on your toes, you rubbed your hands together, trying to preserve some kind of warmth in your already numb hands.

the ship is getting closer, and you can only feel yourself getting more and more worked up as time went on. why were you so excited? you were able to finally see your fiance after weeks of sending letters of love back and forth. it was a coincidence that the ship was coming back right on valentine's day, it wasn't something you were complaining about.

you watched in excitement as the ship docked, a bridge laying out in preparation for its occupants to walk out. and walk out they did, but one seemed to be a bit more eager than the others, his ginger hair standing out from the pale white you had quickly gotten used to.

before you knew it, you were enveloped in his arms, his signature scent reaching your nose and making you inhale sharply. he was finally home... a gloved hand found its way onto your cheek, and you were quickly pulled into a kiss that made you let out a silent sigh. it was a sweet kiss, something that told millions of words without actually saying anything at all.

how are you? how have you been? i've missed you.

though you couldn't say anything right now, you were more than willing to do so later- however many times it took for him to truly understand it. you were going to spend your whole lives together anyways, ten thousand more 'i miss you's' wouldn't be that hard of a thing to achieve.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Kaeya: Tension Kiss

you and kaeya had a strange relationship, something bridging on the gap between friends and lovers. the tension between the two of you wasn't normal, and you've always hoped that behind those teasing words- were actual feelings.

kaeya was a naturally charming man. a fan favorite amongst the citizens of mondstadt, he indulged in the attention, though he never seemed to take it further than a few sweet words. at least, that's how he was with everyone else.

he was different with you... light touches that made your heart flutter in your chest, teasing words that made you retaliate back with words of your own. you weren't the only one who noticed how the (in)famous cavalry captain acted around you. in fact, one of those people was his own brother.

having grew up with the man, diluc wasn't a stranger to changes in his brothers' behavior. under the guise of wanting to keep kaeya from coming from him once more in a drunken rant (that's the reason he used to explain why he was doing what he was doing. it was a lie.) diluc decided to subtly reveal to you how strange he thought kaeya was being.

"he seems to be different around you, but i can't seem to figure out why. perhaps you should ask him." those were the words he told you, and while you did feel that there was some sort of ulterior motive as to why he even mentioned that, you still decided to listen to his advice.

and that brings us to tonight. kaeya was walking you home after a long night at the bar, and his reason as to why he wanted to do this was, "you had a few drinks, it would be improper of me to let you walk home by yourself, no?"

you initiated small talk, the conversation flowing smoothly between the two of you. eventually you made it to your front door, a small sigh leaving your lips once you realized that your time together was almost done. but you still had one more thing to do.

the question left your lips slowly, almost as if you were scared that he would shut you down the second you spoke. perhaps you were scared. you asked if there was a reason as to why he seemed so different with you. kaeya's uncovered eye widened with every word, eventually settling on looking to the side as you finished speaking.

you gave him time to process your words, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in your chest as you closed your eyes. seconds later, you were startled by the feeling of a slightly cool hand on your cheek. peeking an eye open, you watched as kaeya leaned in, a slightly flustered look on his face as he glanced down at your lips.

oh. so that's why he was acting this way.

"may i?" he asked, a slight tremble in his voice. you nodded slowly, taking the initiative and leaning in to kiss him. his lips were soft, and it almost seemed like they were made to perfectly fit yours. you shivered a bit, both because of the cold and because you were a tad bit nervous. but still, you didn't dare pull away.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

[desired-fantasy-writings]

Now That's How You Beat A Downa! - (Bobby X Female Reader)

Requested by: Nobody

Warnings: Murder and violence.. someeeewhat descriptive wording of the said violence.

Readers Gender: Female

Fanfic Type: Oneshot

Fanfic Genre: ehh idk, after said violence gets fluffy after

Word Count: 2,117

"Lovely day for it miss!"

"You look lovely today miss!"

You felt yourself blush from the random compliments you got from citizens around town as you walked down the street. Everyone there loved telling each other compliments. You weren't one of those people, when really you hated them. Not because you were a downer, goodness no. You just got flustered easily and didn't know how to take compliments too well.

You see, you has always been a shy women since you were a small pea, and that got some people suspicious because of it. Even the bobbies thought something was up. Of course you explained to the best of your ability that you were definitely not a downer, and never will be.

You were quite a gentle woman and never yelled at anyone, even if you were defending anyone. You thought discussing the problem is better then yelling at each other. Your parents taught you that from a young age.

You worked at a retirement home in Maiden Home. You always got along with older folk anyway, so why not get a job involved around it? Even if the job didn't pay well you still enjoyed the job very much. The con of it all was some of the old ladies would tease you from time to time, making you flustered and you would start stuttering like mad. They didn't mean no harm and you knew that too well. They were just having their fun.

Speaking of Maiden Home you were currently heading to Maiden Home to work. You lived in Wellington Wells, so you needed to walk to work which you didn't mind at all. Exercise is important after all! You hummed as you walked through the streets, smiling and saying "lovely day for it!" to people that walked past you. You were all fine and dandy until you felt someone sneak behind you and grab your arm harshly, putting something sharp against your neck. You screamed in fear and people around you gasped at the scene.

"Nobody move!" The stranger announced to the small crowd- "Or else this youngling gets to be beheaded!" The stranger shouted out, gripping your arm with his mostly likely disgusting nails. Whilst you hiss in pain you could see the crowd frantically panicking like any other citizen would do.

"Downa! Someone get the police!"

"HELP! HELP! THAT POOR DEARY IS IN GRAVE DANGA! SOME ONE CALL THE CONSTABLES!"

Most of the panicked citizens ran away in fear, leaving you with mostly no help whatsoever. Seeing this didn't make you reassured you wouldn't survive this situation. God you wished you could take more joy right about now... No dammit there's no time to worry about that. You just couldn't stand here and do nothing you'd be dead in the next matter of seconds!

In the moment you thought over what you could do to escape the downers grasp. Your best bet right now was to kick him right in the baby maker. All you needed was a distraction to make this work. To your luck though you heard blown whistles come from the right of you. You sigh in relief seeing the bobbies arrive.

"Ya downa bastard let the lass go or else!" One of the shorter bobbies threatened the downer with his baton in hand.

The older downer rolled his eyes not really caring for the bobbies threat, cackling mentally. "Not until you let the gates open for the rest of us. We want our freedom back!"

The group of bobbies didn't give two fucks about what the downer had to say and ignored his "deal". It didn't mean fuck all to the blokes. All they cared about was how to help get the filthy downer off of you without him hurting you in anyway. They thought over their options carefully, but they had to be fast. Luckily for you they helped your plan into action.

Bingo. A distraction.

With the newfound bravery you smirk ever wider

lifting your leg to kick the man's baby maker, making him cry out in pain and drop the knife he held you hostage with. You go to pick it up while he gasp in pain, running toward the man to kick him down while he's weak, aimed the knife into his forehead without thinking with all your strength. The man scream in agony trying to push you off but you only continued to stab his head that was gushing of blood and brain tissue

The bobbies lowered their batons and stared in shock of what you just did seeing the massacre that just occurred. You stop after a bit breathing heavily throwing the knife to the side standing up kicking the dead bastard that laid before you.

You took a moment to pause to look at the scene below you. You felt... almost thrilled? You thought anyone would after killing a downer, but it wasn't even for that reason. A new sense of blood thirst it felt like. Whatever it was you felt wrong in every way possible, and now your whole dress and mask were ruined by blood and brain matter.

You forgot the bobbies were even with you in the first place til you hear this coming toward you. You had this feeling in your mind that you were in trouble, but how could you be when this was how things were here? Turning around you quickly tried to come up with an explanation to what you just done.

"A-Alright Constables I-I'm-" You stuttered out in fear, lifting your hands up. "I'm never like this- I don't know-"

"Blimey! Now that's how you beat a downa lady!" One of the bobbies exclaimed approaching you. It was the shorter Bobby. He seemed too thrilled to see the blood massacre to your liking. Noticing the downers body he crouched down to look at the downers now destroyed forehead. "Whoa you'd need a lot of strength to do that... impressive." He points out like he was complementing you.

You didn't know how to take it to be honest.

"That was brilliant! Roight in the head there good job we can take it from here!" Another bobby complemented on your "fine" work patting your shoulder with a wild grin. All you do is laugh sheepishly, stepping away from the bobbies.

"Thank you thank you my good sir's, but I must head home now take care!" You tried laughing it off and walk off but you bump into one of the taller bobbies chest by accidental.

"Sorry there missy you alroight?" The kind Constable asked.

You turn around quickly and all you see was the uniform of the Constable. Backing up you could already tell he was half your height just by looking at the attractive Constable, a somewhat familiar Constable that had such an lovely voice too. You swore you met this Constable before, but you couldn't remember his name.

The Constable notices the remaining blood on your clothes. He knew he couldn't do much to clean it expect your mask, so he bent down on his knee.

"Sorry if this seems off putting, but you got some... blood on ya mask still. Ya mind if I wipe it at least some of it off?" He asks kindly pulling out a cloth.

What a kind gesture from a man such as himself. He probably had better things to do then this but here he was being ever so kind so how could you deny the gesture from one of the men that technically help you save your life? With hesitancy you allow him;

"O-Of course Constable! I have a few hours left till I got to go to work anyways." You explain, reassuring the officer of the law. "And it's... kind of hard for me to see anyway, so thank you."

The Constable chuckles from your response,  starting to wipe your mask. "Of course."

He tried as hard as he could to clean it, but a simple rag wouldn't do much. As long as you could see that'd be enough for you to get home safely in his mind. Whilst wiping down the blood off your mask he looked past you to see the downers body being carried by one of his colleague. You saw him cringe a bit from this.

"Jesus, you... really killed him real good aye?" The Constable joked with you to ease your nerves, but you decide not to respond. He could tell him joking about it wasn't going to help so he moved onto something else.

"So tell me miss."

You turn your gaze into his blu- wait. They were brown. Interesting. His eyes were bloody brown. How rare to see something like that on a Constable. Brown was a much gentle kinder colour then the regular piercing blue eyes of the majority of the Constables had.

"I'm surprised you pulled that off. From afar it looked like the downa had a tight grip on ya."

You rubbed your arm shyly with a chuckle "Well Constable, I saw an opportunity to strick when he got distracted by you and your lads. Simple enough."

He hummed at your answer, nodding. "That makes sense. You're one tough cookie when ya can be shy bee."

You feel your cheeks start to flush from the silly nickname brushing it off like you didn't hear it.

"What is your name anyways? You seem familiar to me. I just can't quite remember..." The Constable asks curiously tilting his head. He sounded genuine.

"It's Y/N, my good sir, and thank you." You introduce yourself with a smile.

The Constable seemed to perk up hearing your name. He smiled before removing the rag off your mask. It seemed like in no time at all at least half the blood was cleaned off to his surprise. "Y/N... oh that's right now I remember. You work at Maiden Home yea?"

"That's indeed right Constable, but I'm curious as to how you guessed?" You ask him teasingly, and he seems to get a little defensive.

"I ain't no stalker miss I promise. I just overhead the old ladies talking about ya, is all, and from some of the lads too. They all say you're really kind and of course they're right about that." He says quickly in his defensive, feeling flustered, but all you do is roll your eyes at him.

"You really think my first thought was that you were a stalker? Oh please." Your attitude turned sarcastic seeing his reaction. It was almost too cute not to mess with him- "Word can get around sometimes, but I didn't know such good things were being said about me how charming!"

The Constable sighs in relief now standing up, nodding. "You're a real cheeky one Y/N, but due to my line of work I must continue from here; but not without returning you home safe and sound first with the news of downas running about today." He presents his arm to you leaning forward. "I don't think I can handle seeing you in harms way again ma'am, and I really don't want you to go to work looking like bloody marry all day. Since I know people will freak out seeing your clothes all drenched I know a safer route to get ya back home."

You were shocked at such an offer. It was an offer you didn't want to refuse as you felt safe and comfortable with this particular Constable. You reach an arm out to wrap your hand around his arm with a chuckle.

"I'll gladly take your offer Constable thank you so much, but you really don't have to do this."

"Oh but I want to ma'am. It's my job to protect the citizens of this fine city after all." The Constable states as you two began to walk toward the back of the city. It would be a bit before this egging question got the best of you, but you just had to ask.

"This might sound a bit intruding, but you also look familiar to me as well, and I'd like to know the Constable that helped with my mask. What's ya name Constable?" You ask in a genuine way, you didn't want to seem rude after all.

The Constable then stopped to look down at you with a cheeky smile. "It's Constable Tommy ma'am."

You couldn't help but smile wider from his smile. It was ever so charming as you two began walking again. "Constable Tommy... a lovely name for a man in service."

You couldn't tell, but the Constable began to flush under his mask from your lovely complement, looking away from this unannounced feeling in his heart.

"Righto ma'am, righto..."

[aspiringwarriorlibrarian]

Hello,

Ive been following you for years and I love your blog. In all my years on this website I have never posted, sent an ask or a message, commented or interacted with anyone on this website in any way. However seeing your recent posts about Palestine made me feel like I had to say something.

Just because you support the “weaker” side, it doesn’t make you immune to lies and propaganda.

Please educate yourself before you spread misinformation and/or misleading info.

I am a citizen of Israel. This conflict started when Hamas brutally murdered hundreds of innocent civilians, including elderly and children. They kidnapped over a hundred more. They are known for being a terrorist organisation whose stated goal is to murder jews.

I am terrified. My people are forever scarred. I and everyone I know have lost loved ones in this war. And the fact that people like you in these terrible times choose to focus solely on the suffering of the Palestinians, ignoring and justifying our suffering, speaks volumes.

The bombings you speak of, are a retaliation for the slaughter of October 7th. Israel warns citizens in advance, in order to prevent as many casualties as possible. But we cant just ignore the murder, kidnapping, rape and harm to our people like you do. We have no choice but to defend ourselves.

We have no interest nor desire to commit genocide against the Palestinian people. If we did, we would have already done so. Instead we financially support Palestine, despite the fact they use this money not to better their lives, but to instead attack our civilians.

Beware of misinformation like the accusations against Israel for bombing the hospital in Gaza. That is a straight up lie that was proven false, and the Hamas spread it along with lies about how many people got hurt, in order to convince people like you that they are justified. And its working.

Before you accuse others, maybe check your own biases and think to yourself why a Palestinian life is worth something to you and an Israeli one isn’t.

Can you even imagine what it feels like to go online after such a tragedy for a little relief, only to see people like you calling for my death?

And yes, that is what you’re doing by supporting and encouraging the actions of Hamas. An organisation that cares more about killing innocent civilians like me than protecting its own people.

I hope that if you can’t take the time to properly understand this complicated situation, you will at least stop talking about something that you clearly don’t understand.

You know, I put all of this in a private post initially. I've been largely focused on spreading charity posts, actual concrete things that can be done to save the innocent people caught in the crossfire. But clearly, my message has been mixed, so I'll define it right here.

This is just something that seeps into my bones and I had to say it somewhere: the sheer refusal by both sides to admit what they're doing. Oh, we thought that music festival was soldiers....wait no we didn't, it was random Gazan civilians who did it instead, not us, hurt them instead. Oh we are going to wage all out war....no those innocent civilian casaulties weren't us, it was them! (No, the cause of the explosion has not been independently proven. It has, however, been proven that Israel shelled the place three days earlier as a "warning" then called ordering an evacuation shortly before.) Put down an evacuation order so short and so sudden the UN protests that civilians can't possibly get out in time, then bomb one of the convoys. Tell your countrymen the evacuation order was fake so you get more human shields. More rockets! More airstrikes! More "accidents" to the tune of hundreds of civilians dead, and you never have to carry the burden or the blame for any of it. Shoot from far enough away, target enough civilians, makes it easy, makes it fun. The glory of war with none of the guilt and none of the risk! Ain't that a wonderful thing. Ain't that a fucking joke.

I grieve for the innocent Israeli citizens slaughtered because Hamas cowards wanted to kill the defenseless. I grieve for the people in Gaza getting slaughtered because neither side cares if they live or die. The difference between the two is not that one life is worth more than the others. That is morally repugnant and fundamentally absurd. The difference is that Israel is getting aid from many nations, while other nations only give aid to Hamas, not the people of Gaza. They need humanitarian aid, they need someone to speak for them and beg for restraint, which is why I'm primarily reblogging posts that call for humanitarian aid to them and for a ceasefire so they can, at the very least, have the evacuation time they should have been allowed. It is not because their lives are worth more, but because to far too many, their lives are worth less.

I understand your pain and fear, and I am deeply sorry for your loss. I too find those rooting for Hamas or declaring that the victims deserved it for being settlers repugnant. But the people of Gaza did not do this, and if it's a choice between them living and Hamas dying, I will choose their lives every time. I will always choose life. And I refuse to apologize for that. Violence like this is a cycle, revenge and revenge and revenge again because you cannot kill an idea with bombs, only keep destroying until nothing is left to fight over. You cannot stop a cycle by continuing to spin.

[parsleysagerosemarytimemachine]

Citizen Sleeper

What if Disco Elysium, but in space, and you're an escaped robot instead of a cop?

I just got finished binging through Citizen Sleeper again to play the free DLC stories, and wanted to recommend it here because I think it deserves more love. It's a narrative video game that I think would really appeal to a lot of you - Disco Elysium is a good touchstone, I think, in that it's very much about game mechanical interactions revealing the story, being a stranger in a fascinating and complicated place, questions of identity and belonging, and different forms of struggling communities trying to exist together.

More ramblings about why you should play this below

So first off, it's relatively short - six to eight hours, so it's easy to get the whole story. Mechanically, you're getting a number of dice each 'day' to put into activities, and getting a bit of story back with the results. One of the major themes of the narrative is chronic illness/disability; your robot body is slowly (intentionally) falling apart, and so not only do you have to get money to eat each day, but you have to constantly source the medicine you need to keep yourself together - if you don't, your condition degrades and you have fewer and fewer dice to work with. But this also eats into the time you have for understanding the space station you're on, and making the connections with other people that will get you better opportunities and support when you have a day where all your dice are low and nothing is going to go right. It's a frustrating spiral that will feel very realistic to anyone who's trying to live with a chronic condition. (Although, because it's a game, there's some good hidden tricks it uses to make it feel frustrating without actually locking you out of progress.)

The other characters that you meet in the world are good; there are some longer storylines where you get to know them over the course of events, but also some of my favorites are the ones you see only briefly, but repeatedly - the mushroom seller that kept me fed, the barkeep at the place that I could reliably pick up tips, the stray cat outside the apartment you gradually put together for yourself... you don't have a constant companion, and the game doesn't provide romantic opportunities (because you're a robot? because you're a stranger passing through? because there's only so much writing they could put in?) but there's still some good connections to be made, queer and disabled bodies are everywhere, and if I had one regret for the game, it's that there weren't more ways to spend time with people once their arc of the story had 'closed' but the game was moving on.

And then there's the story itself, about an exploited and abandoned space station, and the ways people try to survive - by exploiting others in turn, by trying to protect themselves and what they have, by escaping to new communities, or just trying to get through the day. It is very much a story that believes the only way we'll make it is by helping each other, but also it's realistic about the obstacles in the way of that. It's very good, and I love the way all the choices you have to make are reflected back by the characters around you.

Anyway yeah, go play Citizen Sleeper - there's a set of free story expansions that came out too, so if you went through when it originally came out, there's a bunch of new fun stuff for you to look for as well! (I do wish some of the systems made more of a reappearance, but also, game design is hard. :)

[sunflower-ozzy-online]

What Wyll He Reveal?

Chapter 5 of

Where There's a Wyll There's a Way - Masterlist

Wyll (Baldur's Gate) /Reader - Enver Gortash/Reader (more a warning than a promise)

Additional Tags: Arranged Marriage - Angst

Spoilers for Baldurs Gate 3

What happened to you after the wedding? BIG SPOILERS

An hour into the reception Gortash had brought you to a small room to sign the wedding papers. He signed first then you signed in the spot reserved for you with your non married name. After the ink had dried he picked up the paper and tucked it away in his stupid pantsuit.

“As far as I am concerned your duties have been fulfilled. You may go to the reception or you can fuck off for all I care. As long as you don't sulley my name.” He grasped your chin between his fingers. “I couldn't care less what you do my dear. I however will be returning to my loving citizens. From now on you will sleep in your own separate room and will come out when I need you to make a Public appearance. You fail to keep up appearances for whatever reason I will have my Steelwatch destroy your city in the claims that they had joined the absolute.” He was grinning now. As if your life was just a chess piece on the board of his life and he was about to take the queen. He moved your face towards his and kissed your forehead. Dropping his hand he motioned for the guards to follow him, leaving you alone.

You weren't sure how you made it back to your room or if you talked to anyone. You were on your back in your bed letting the tears roll down your face. Staring at the ceiling, you hoped one of the more merciful gods would take pity on you. Mayhaps declare that you were required to dedicate your life to their services. Or just smite you on the spot. Either would be better than being trapped by that pompous asshole. You were under no illusion that this was supposed to be a marriage built on love but you could have never predicted this level of cruelty on your first day of marriage. You guess that's on you not being imaginative enough.

A creak of the door pulled your attention. You saw his horns before any other part of him. Obviously he was not quite used to them yet. If you were crying before, now you were bawling. The tears flowed freely as you were reminded of what could have been. He rushed to your side, repeating steps he would take to calm you during your meltdown in your shared youth, huddled under a staircase after being overstimulated at a soiree. You let yourself rest on him, trying to follow his breathing pattern. He said nothing, not pushing nor asking you anything. Simply holding space for you to express your emotions.

“I should have ran away with you.”

He looks at you, not able to fully see your face. Still not speaking.

“If you had asked, I would have ran away with you years ago.”

He tried to keep his breathing steady but he couldn't stop it hitching upon your confession. If not for the events of the day, it would have made your heart soar. Now you just sigh and pull away. “After our engagement was called off I mourned our relationship. By the time I was ready to see new suitors, everyone else was in arrangements. I felt so worthless. And I waited for you, for years I would stay up hoping you would come along to whisk me away. Take me on all of your adventures. You never came and no one wanted me. I felt so worthless. All my life I had been trained to be a good spouse and public figurehead and all of a sudden I had no meaning. My older siblings would inherit the land and I would rot and be a drain on their resources.”

He was avoiding your eyes now. Taking a deep breath in and out you, continued “Then earlier this year Gortash reached out. My parents were wary of him. He claimed he had big plans and that he wanted my hand in marriage. They had no other offers and so they went into drafting up a contract. It was around that time the Cult of the Absolute started making a name for themselves. Then the murders started. Brutal horrible murders. My city doesn't have an army. We barely have enough money to employ the Fists. And then Gortash was becoming the Arch-duke and promised to protect my city in exchange for a speedy engagement. It seemed perfect on paper. I would be useful and my people would be protected. It also wasn't like I had much of a choice. I wouldn't risk losing our relationship with Baldur's gate. We need the trading opportunities the docks give us.”

Rage started to bubble within you.

“ But that man is deplorable. I have done nothing to disobey him. I let him dress me like his little doll. Let him plan the wedding. Let him tell me what to say and who to talk to and he has the audacity. To treat me as if I am simply something for him to own. The fucking audacity to threaten my people of I step out of line.”

You're breathing heavily now. He moves to kneel in front of you. You stop to pay attention to him, noticing the tears in his eyes.

“I will do everything in my power to right this. If I had known….. had I known why. I would have struck him down on the spot yesterday.” His eyes full of sincerity and determination.

With a dry laugh you tell him “You couldn't have known. He puts on a perfect show. The people's prince.”

Guilt flashes across his face, no matter the changes you could see it written on him clear as day.

“Wyll?”

“Gortash is the Absolute.” he grimaces “ He's part of the killings and he's mind controlling a fair amount of the sword coast. He wants to force the citizens into a dictatorship under him.” His face betraying his guilt.

“How … how do you know this?”

“I've been fighting the absolute. I saw him, General Ketheric Thorne, and a shapeshifting Bhaalspawn bend an elder brain to their will. They're infecting people with mind flayer parasites and controlling them via the elder brain.”

The bubbling rage from deep inside you turned into a full boil. You felt trapped beneath your corset and the layers of lace and fabric. Your face flushed with heat, tears burning your face. Your hands finding the collar of your outfit and pulling fiercely at the lace, its rushed making lent itself to be easily torn at the connections. As you gave into your rage your fingers burned with the friction and you muttered nonsensically about how much you hated gortash. You had managed to rip most of the outer layers apart before giving up and collapsing to your knees on the floor out of breath with a face wet with tears. Slowly wyll came up to your side, like how one would approach a wounded animal.

“May I help you with that?” his voice calm and steady

Looking at him you nodded your head.

He took his place near you and delicately began to undo the laces keeping your outfit together. Keeping your eyes on the floor you focused on steadying your breathing. Through the many layers you can barely feel his fingers loosen the lace. You feel the pressure around your chest loosen though you still feel trapped.

After the lace is loosened enough he pulls slightly to give you more room.

“You can take it from here.” Unknown to you his face warmed at the thought of seeing you in your undergarments. “I'll turn around.”

Slowly you shrugged off what was left of the outer layer. Seeing the rips in the fabric filled you with a slight pride. Pulling off the multiple underlayers you were left in yet another corset, though this was one of your own which you were able to remove on your own. Completely nude besides your bottoms you threw on a dressing robe. "Alright, you can turn around now," you said, your voice a mixture of weariness and determination.

Anyone else, including your rotten Husband, would not be allowed to look at you in such a way without repercussions. But the thought of Wyll seeing you in this little amount of layers filled your heart with as much warmth and anticipation as you could muster.

As he turned back around he tried to hide the fact that his eye was taking in every part of you it could. You would have to ask him more about why he had a stone eye now but first you just wanted to enjoy being in his presence.

You sat back down on your bed with a sigh patting next to you, signaling him to sit.

“I’m not sure what to do now.” You admitted to him. “I was prepared to be a decent wife, a decent duke/duchess. I was never prepared for what to do if my betrothed turned out to be evil. Like really deep down in his soul evil. If I fight him my people suffer and if I don’t everyone suffers.” You flop down back onto the bed, lying on your back with your arms out. “You are not usually this quiet. Though maybe you have changed.”

Wyll chuckled slightly, “It’s not about me, I can offer solutions later. Right now I’m here to listen.” He’s still sitting up right on the bed, looking down at you. You could get used to his more rugged features, after all you know that underneath he’s still the person you feel in love with.

“Well that is a change, but I like it.” His lips curled into a lovely warm smile. “Will you stay the night? I doubt the Grand Arch Dick will even notice.”

“I’d like that”

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Masterlist

[odysseywritings]

Freedom or Reality

@flashfictionfridayofficial

Carter celebrated the dark New Year with a homeward walk across the synthetic parks covered in plastic trees. The blocky statues provided artificial oxygen, but Carter kept the gas mask on as the smog was getting too noxious, and it grew with the black smoke coning from the automated cars. It wasn't dangerous walking at night, though Carter had to calm down after hearing moaning howls breaking the silence.

There weren't many people even in daylight and the few out at night got their kicks pushing uppers, downers, and sidewinders to runaways looking for relief. The lost Johnnies seemed to grow in number, and their cybernetics are rusting almost as quickly as the seniors. Speaking of, the seniors out under the young and middle aged many times over, with retirement facilities every on street.

Carter felt listless and isolated in this electric rural wasteland. Perpetually bored of the misery and unable to care about the blood sports occupying everyone's head. What Carter really wanted was... Oh, it was never going to happen, so Carter saved the energy for walking and hearing for howls.

Carter returned to a shambled house with vines growing around neon lights. The inside fared slightly better with heaps of broken computers littering the floor like tiny mountains. Carter took off the gas mask to reveal a pale face covered in lesions and logged onto the computer to check the forums. A barrage of flashing lights and stimuli bombarded the numbed Carter, with a video of the president speaking monotonously, local moralists raising a stink about the number of books being burned, messages asking for donations for UFO investigations.

Carter went through the motions and clicked away, signing away money and signatures to make the posts end. It was part of being a model citizen to accept everything hitting you and drudgery meant patriotism. But Carter misclicked and went down a tunnel of information from an email meant to be spam. A name Carter never heard before.

It was from a user named Praxis. Inside was a link that beckoned Carter to open.

No one will help you but yourself. Not the government, not God. There is technology that shows reality like you have never dreamed of. We will no longer decay by flesh or silicon. This must be secret so that the police and pastors do not hunt you down. They will not believe that I am already dead and can communicate.

Carter felt a chill. Why did Praxis sound familiar? What was this message about? And more importantly, could there be an escape from the doldrums of life? Carter would no longer be a cog in the machine but something greater. Something freer. It was frightening to head into the unknown where death seemed so close yet trivial.

It tantalized Carter, however, with feelings. Honest feelings that felt human and full. A spirit of freedom that coursed throughout the body, or the parts that still ran with blood and not gas. It was sacrilege to turn technology into a deity, yet it was delicious to taste that ascension denied to common workers. The gas mask would be replaced with the interface.

[hanayori89]

{I meannn I could do a pic here but the theme of Hyrule Field in TP deserves to make an appearance because it is TOP TIER. At least, for me 😁🐺👑 I bet you’re humming it now too. 😉}

Hidden in the Sunlight

*Hyrule Field*

Had he seen them? You sat quietly behind the rancher who went by the title "Link." Both of you were straddling a striking mare he called "Epona." The Realm of Light used weird denominations for its citizens. Although you recognized that the Realm of Twilight would be just as unusual to them. 

Not much conversation had been exchanged between you both. You sat in silence, ruminating over the fact that your Twili markings had slipped out. You saw how Link's eyes rested on them, bemused. You had promised Midna you would protect your identity at all costs. Here, it was not even a full day in this realm, and you already let your secret slip. You were grateful for the fact that Link didn't mention them. You were also grateful that he stopped trying to pursue pleasantries with you. The less he knew, the better. 

Midna gave you a few rules that must be obliged while you spent time within the light. First, you must not let your Twili markings show. Midna cast magic upon you to disguise you as a Hylian. You never paid attention to what was known as your "vessel" or "body." The Twili did not care about such superficial things as appearance. But standing there in front of that mirror, you couldn't help but be smitten with what you saw. Smitten with yourself. For the first time in your minuscule existence. 

The second rule was that because Midna was using such heavy magic to keep your identity protected, you must succumb to the twilight. This meant that by midnight in the Realm of Light, you would lose all your Hylian capabilities. This would give Midna's magic a rest. It would also help prolong your time in the other realm. Once the clock approached 12 a.m., your appearance would revert to your Twili form. You would also no longer be able to converse again until the morning hours, beginning at 7 a.m. As far as language, you studied the language used by Hylians in confidentiality. You divulged your secret to Midna, who wasn't exactly pleased. You could understand what they spoke of, but the words still seemed to stumble out of your mouth. You tried your best to communicate confidently while saying as little as possible. Simply because you were insecure about the way you spoke. As well as making you afraid, it was another gimmick that could give you away. The most paramount rule Midna gave you was to protect the shard from the Mirror of Twilight at all costs. 

You were pleasantly surprised by how comfortable it was to share silence with Link. You inhaled deeply, enthralled by the different aromas that were in the air. You kept a hood over your head, as you weren't used to the mighty rays of the sun. You weren't sure if anyone at the village had noticed, but you couldn't fight the impulse to constantly squint. You did an exaggerated inhale once more; this time you could smell the fresh dew that mingled with the wild grass. Link must have heard you because he once again tried to assist in small talk.

He kept his eyes ahead but slightly turned his head over his shoulder, speaking in your direction. "I'm sorry. You must think I smell like a farm. I didn't want to keep you waiting; otherwise, I would have changed." 

"Oh, please. Thank you for your time." Why was he worried about his appearance? He had mentioned it a few times. You also noticed an odd red tint tinge his face. Blushing. That's what you heard it called. If he saw your true form, he wouldn't worry so much about how he looked. You suddenly felt morose. You thought of Midna and the Hero of Twilight. Any person you met in this realm would never accept your true form. They all loved this beautiful Hylian costume you were parading around in. Well, at the very least, you could enjoy the attention you were garnering. You've never been given much attention back in your home realm.

"What business do you seek in Castle Town?" Link did another quick glance over his shoulder, aiming his question at you.

How should you proceed to answer? You told Midna you wanted to meet Princess Zelda. You wanted to see how the Princess of Light compared and contrasted with your own. Midna was very fond of Zelda. You also suspected there was a hidden level of flattery. After all, you were making a pilgrimage to meet one princess and hear her opinions about the other. Truthfully, you also wanted to go try Hylian things. What did people do here for fun? What was it like to eat the things they ate? What did they do as part of their normal routines? 

You decided against mentioning Princess Zelda. Besides, how could a simple rancher accommodate you with a quest like that? You needed to get rid of Link. He was a threat to the mystery you were trying so eagerly to keep shrouded. Although you had to admit, he was very pleasing to look at.

You don't know where the thought came from, but you remember feeling the raw strength of his arms holding you up. Never has anyone made you feel so safe. You also kept thinking of the way his feathered, blonde bangs curled into his blue eyes. You couldn't look at the sky in this realm without seeing his eyes looking at you. 

Yes, it would be best to get rid of Link. 

"I am seeking out some family." You made sure to continue giving him clipped responses. You felt Epona's hooves topple over the cobblestones. You realized you were crossing a rather antiquated bridge. Beyond the bridge, on the distant horizon, you could hear the humming of energy. Peaks of splendid buildings jutted into the skyline. You must have been getting close. 

"Well, you will be reunited soon enough. We are almost there." Link's answer matched the glib energy of your own. You were so excited to meet the princess. 

Who knows? Maybe you would meet the Hero of Twilight as well.

*

Link lowered himself off of Epona. He looked up at the stranger who had been riding with him. She had put a hood over her head. Link's curiosity was mounting by the second. He knew for a fact that she couldn't have family in Castle Town. If she had, how could she get so easily lost all the way to Ordon Village? No, this woman was lying. Link wanted to know why. 

He also felt a pang of disappointment. She was so guarded that Link couldn't help but take it personally. His whole life, it was easy for him to make friends. He was very likeable; numerous people throughout his life told him that. It was also a blow to his ego. He was used to women flirting relentlessly with him. He had never had a woman treat him like he was repulsive. It seemed silly for a hero to take such trivial matters to heart. He just couldn't help but feel insecure. Maybe that's why he was convinced this woman was keeping secrets. It was just his ego trying to get back at her. 

Then Link thought about Ilia. How she was so loud and boisterous compared to this woman. He never sat in silence with Ilia. He never felt the sweetness of simply existing. She always had to fill it with chatter or noise. Riding through Hyrule Field with this woman had been the most relaxing experience he had had in a long time. With nothing but the sun beating down and the sound of Epona galloping freely. 

"Well, this is where we part ways." Link held his hand up to aid her landing off of Epona. Again, she avoided his hand, simply jumping down herself. What was it about him that made her not want to touch him? It was maddening. 

"Um, well." Link wanted to look at her face one more time. "Can I help guide you anywhere? I am very familiar with Castle Town. I recommend pulling your hood down; there are many people, and it may be hard to see."

She reluctantly lowered her hood, swiping some of her strands from her face. Then she covered her eyes with her hand and squinted at Link. 

"Sensitive to the sun?" Link gave her a friendly chuckle. He noticed she was squinting quite a bit at the ranch, too. He returned his thoughts to the markings on her shoulder. Link knew they had to be Twili markings. He wished he could ask, but she didn't seem like she wanted to engage with him.

"Yes. It's so bright he-" She began to whine, then stopped herself cautiously. "I mean compared to where I am from. But again, thank you for your generosity. Link, was it?" 

Well, at least she remembered my name. Link thought callously. "You're welcome. Take care of yourself." She gave Link an absent nod and scurried away.

It's so bright where she's from. And where exactly is that? Link pulled a carrot from his bag and fed it to Epona. "Stay here, girl. I have some business I need to attend to in Castle Town, it seems."

Link was ready to drag this girl and all her secrets out into the sunlight. 

Edited 10/23 /22

The secret you are so desperate to keep is being threatened by an overtly curious rancher. Can Link pull your secrets out into the light or will it take the darkness to reveal them?

Check out my other completed Zelda work- No Woman Beyond