#Whatever you do in the time in between is your business

[cressidagrey]

Holy Ground - Chapter 2

Summary:

Nobody knew that Azriel found his mate. Until she nearly died. This is the aftermath.

Warning:

Rhys Bashing (as usual), Inner Circle Bashing (kinda), Referenced/Implied Sexual Assault, Referenced/Implied Domestic Violence, Discussion of Religion(?), Chronic Injury/Pain/Illness, Minor Character Death (It's probably nobody you love), Magical Work Accidents, Explosions, Injuries

If any of this triggers you or makes you uncomfortable, please take care of your own mental health and don't read it.

Azriel’s shadows liked to spoil his mate rotten.

Not that Azriel could find anything wrong with that.

She deserved more for putting up with him. 

More than new tea from the Dawn Court and her favourite chocolate covered, wafer thin cookies from a small bakery near the Sidra…more than the occasional embroidery thread they snuck her…More than whatever animal he went to go hunt, to cover his bed in even more furs just for her. 

He nearly had enough Sable furs to have a blanket made for her for Winter Solstice…

Azriel also had half a mind to go sneak in her office later that day. 

Just as a treat for not killing either of his brothers. For being civil. 

Rhys had come over for sparring, unnannounced. 

Azriel had hoped to have some peace and quiet today, but it seemed like Rhys had other plans. 

Currently Cassian and Rhys were wrestling with less sense than they had had when they were just kids, and Azriel was cleaning his weapons, watching from the sidelines.

Azriel couldn't help but roll his eyes at the sight of his brothers roughhousing. It was typical of them to turn a simple sparring session into some kind of ridiculous competition. He focused on sharpening his knives, trying to ignore their antics.

"You know, we could also actually train properly," he called out, his tone dry. "Instead of wrestling like a bunch of children."

Cassian looked up from his grappling with Rhys, grinning. "Oh, come on Az. Don't be such a stick in the mud. Loosen up, have a little fun for once."

Azriel's expression remained impassive. "I'm perfectly capable of having fun, Cassian. But I prefer to do so without rolling around in the dirt like a wild animal."

Rhysand chuckled, standing up and clapping Cassian on the back. "It's good to let loose every now and then, Az. You should try it sometime. It might make your brooding sessions a little less depressing."

Azriel just grunted in response, not willing to engage in a verbal sparring match with Rhys. He continued to clean his weapons, hoping that the training session would end soon so he could escape his brothers' teasing.

“When did you even come home yesterday?” Cassian asked him.

Azriel looked up from his work, his expression neutral. "Around 11," he said simply.

“You didn’t come to dinner,” Rhys pointed out. “You were missed.”

He highly doubted that.

And maybe he had made that mission in Dawn just a little while longer, so that he knew that dinner would be over and when he came home, he wouldn’t need to be alone.

Azriel just shrugged. "I was busy," he said, offering no further explanation. He knew his brothers were just trying to rile him up, and he wasn't about to give them the satisfaction of a reaction.

*Are you still pissed of at me?* Rhys asked him mentally with a sigh. *I get it. But you don’t need to avoid everybody else, just because…*

*I’m not avoiding anyone,* Azriel replied, his mental voice tight. *I’m simply choosing to spend my time how I see fit.*

“I was busy,” he repeated aloud.

Cassian rolled his eyes. "You're always busy, Az. You know, there's such thing as taking a break once in a while. Spending time with your family."

Or he could spent time with his mate. He could spent time with his mate, who let him brush her hair and even braid it …who pressed kisses to his horrible scarred hands and smiled at him. 

If it was a choice between Irena or a family dinner where he didn’t want to stay longer than an hour or two, because he was still too fucking pissed off at Rhys…the choice was easy. 

“Or is there a special somebody?” Cassian teased him.

Azriel glowered at him. "It’s none of your business." He went back to working on his weapons, his expression tense.

*You can’t keep panting after Elain for the rest of your life,* Rhys said mentally. *Look, I know I didn’t…I am sorry. But she’s happy with Lucien and…*

*Don’t worry, I’ll go to a pleasure hall and pay for it if I want to fuck somebody,* Azriel shot back viciously.

Or his own hand would suffice. More than suffice, especially if…especially if Irena had let him kiss her the evening before…sometimes he waited until she disappeared into her room, and he buried his face in the pillows that smelled like her, fisted his cock and rutted like an untried boy for seconds before he came all over himself. 

It was still better than any other sex he ever had had before.

Cassian raised an eyebrow at him. "It sounds like you need to get laid," he said, chuckling. "Maybe that'll help with your bad mood."

Azriel shot him a glare. "Mind your own business, Cassian. My love life is none of your concern."

Rhysand gave him a sympathetic look. *We just want you to be happy, Az. You deserve happiness.*

“Ohhh, touchy,” Cassian said with a snort.

Azriel just gritted his teeth, his temper rising. "Cassian, if you don’t shut your mouth right now, I swear to the Mother, I’ll shut it for you."

Cassian just grinned at him. "Come on, Az. I’m just teasing you. Lighten up."

Azriel's grip on his weapons tightened. "I don't like your teasing, Cassian. And I certainly don't appreciate you making assumptions about my personal life.”

Mostly he just wanted his brothers to leave him the hell alone.

And then...then before he could say another thing...he felt the shaking.

And then the sound came. An eardrum shattering explosion, the very foundation of the House of Wind shaking. It was terrifying him.

Irena was down there in her office. Nesta was in there. 

He was moving before he was even thinking. 

*Merrill's office, Master!* the shadows screeched.

Azriel was already running.

Cassian hot on his heels, so was Rhys.

Azriel was faster, heaving shadows around his limbs as he rocketed down the spiral stairs of the House of Wind.

Level Two, Straight to the right. Clearly...Clearly the epicenter of the blast. Of the explosion…of whatever had happened.

He pushed as hard as he could, legs burning as he hurtled down the hallway to Merrill's office.

He wasn't the only one. "Merrill!" He could hear Gwyn's shrill voice screaming, coming to a stop in a hallway of what had once been Merrill's office but now was just...

It was a mass of wood and rubble.

He barely slowed down, scrambling into action. Gwyn was already digging through it, so where Nesta and Emerie. Cassian landed behind him, immediately moving some of the debris.

His shadows swarmed as he and the others quickly dug at the rubble. Looking, desperately looking.

He moved another piece of rubble out of the way...a piece of blue cloths. The same blue cloth that he knew covered Irena's body, the scent of poppies clinging to her...Without a thought, he grasped and then dragged, a hoarse shout that was her, that was her...

He felt as if he were choking, as if he were drowning as he dragged out her body. Bloody, bruised, broken but still...still there was a faint flicker, a faint, thready heartbeat.

His heartbeat pounding in his ears, he tried to pick up on her heart. There was barely a flicker. Too fast, too faint, she was barely holding on. Barely hanging by a thread.

There was blood pooling on her abdomen, dying the blue dress she wore bright scarlet red, He put pressure on that wound immediately, leaning on her with nearly all his weight, his fingers slick with blood. "Damn it, stay with me, love," he demanded sharply.

Azriel felt like he could barely breath. Like he was falling, tumbling down as he tried to will her to stay with him. Stay. Stay. Stay. Please stay. Stay...

Rhys was there suddenly, checking her pulse. "Breathing is erratic. She's in shock," he told Azriel with a grimace. "Mor is getting Madja..."

"Az..." her voice was so weak, but he turned to see dark brown eyes watching him, brows furrowing.

"Just keep breathing, Love," he told her, trying to stop his voice from shaking.

He could barely hear what was going on around him. It was as if he were in a bubble, a world of just himself and her and the desperate beat of her heart under his fingers.

"I am sorry," she whispered.

"There is nothing you need to apologise for her, Irena," he promised her sharply. "Absolutely nothing."

Irena's eyes drifted shut. Azriel felt like something was dying inside him as her heartbeat fluttered against his fingertips. His world was collapsing, shattering into pieces as her breath stuttered.

"Stay. Just stay..." he was barely aware of what he was saying, his eyes frantically searching hers. She had to stay. He would do anything to keep her here. Anything.

"I am still owing you that flight," he told her. She hadn't let him take her flying yet. They had snuck away in the library...in the rooftop garden...in her office. But he had never gotten to take her flying. He had never gotten to take her out into Velaris. They had never had a date at a fancy restaurant, had never gone to see the symphony. There were thousands of things that he hadn't yet gotten to do with his mate, because they had all the time in the world.

Irena just stared at him, her eyes pleading, as her heartbeat slowed, fluttering weaker and weaker. Azriel felt a sharp pain in his chest as fear clawed at his spine. "Just hold on a little longer, love," he whispered. "Please."

And then there Madja. Thank the cauldron. There she was.

Azriel could barely manage to let go of her, his mind consumed with the singular thought of Irena's laboured, erratic heartbeat as he moved back. Madja immediately set to work.

He lunged for her head, lunged to pull it on his lap, to touch her with blood slick fingertips, her normally rosy red lips pale, her skin even whiter than usual.

"Hurts," she whispered, as Madja set to work, barking orders.

"I know, I know, love," he whispered, touching her cheek with his fingertips as Madja got to work.

His eyes searched hers as he murmured those words over and over, as if he could somehow hold her in this world through sheer force of will alone.

"We haven't had enough time," he whispered desperately, leaning his forehead against hers.

She was slipping away. He could feel it. Feel her slipping, feel her heartbeat slow. Feel the thread that tethered her to this world fray, fray, fray...

No. He couldn't lose her. Would not let her leave him. He had waited far too long for her. Far, far too long to let her slip through his fingers.

"Stay with me," he pleaded. "Please stay with me."

But her eyes were slipping shut, her head lolling to the side. He gently patted her cheek, trying to urge her back to consciousness, but he didn't think he was even really aware of what he was doing, where he was. The world had boiled down to a desperate litany, in his head. Stay...stay...please...don't you dare...

“I am going to be so furious with you if you die. We may have our first fight,” he told her fiercely.

He needed her to know that he would be there to be furious with her if she dared to die, that she couldn't die. Couldn't. That she had to stay. Had to keep fighting. There were too many things ahead of them...a wedding to plan, children to have, years and years of life to live.

“Az,” she breathed his name, her eyes not even open anymore.

“Open your eyes, Irena,” he demanded. “Look at me, love,”

Her eyes finally fluttered open at his command. It was barely more than a slither of brown, but he latched onto it, taking it for what it was. A chance. A moment to get through to her.

He wasn't sure what he was saying, but the words spilled forth from him, a litany, a desperate prayer. "Please," he breathed, "don't go...don't you dare..."

He was dimly aware that the others had gathered, but he didn't dare look away. Didn't dare look away from her as he cradled her head, trying to pour all of his prayers into those words. All of his hope and desperation.

"You can't go." A statement. An order. An absolute certainty in his voice. "I will not let you go."

He wouldn't. Would never, ever let her go. Would drag her back from the Cauldron's grasp with bloodied and broken hands if thats what had to be.

She didn't speak. Didn't need to. He could read her answer in her eyes, the determination in those brown eyes as she tried so, so hard to stay.

It was as if she were holding on for him, because he had asked her to. Because it was him there with her. Like she would fight until her last breath because he told her too. He didn't deserve this beautiful creature, who was willing to fight for him, willing to live for him.

It was something primal, something desperate, something fierce as he whispered those words over and over, like a prayer. "Fight. Fight. Fight."

And she listened. She did. He could feel her hold on, just barely grasp hold of that tether that kept her in this world. Just barely keep her eyes open.

Just look at him.

And she did, those dark eyes unfocused but open, staring up at him, watching him. Trying so, so hard. It nearly made his heart stop in the most terrible way that she was struggling for him.

And he was so proud of her. Of the way she was fighting like she was. Of the way she was grasping, hanging on to life like she was.

The seconds stretched too thin, feeling like eternities and only the slightest of moments. But her eyes were open, if only barely. She hadn't given up. Hadn't let go.

He was dimly aware of the others, Gwyn hovering with a worried expression, Madja murmuring quiet instructions to the others, Rhys kneeling not far away. But he barely glanced at them, barely dared to take his eyes off Irena.

He was certain that if he looked away, if he let this tenuous thread sever, that she would die. That as long as he kept her here, she wouldn't slip, wouldn't let go.

He had one hand on her cheek, her skin still clammy and pale, as her eyes slipped open and shut. But everytime, they would find his face. His eyes, like he was the only thing tethering her to the world. It hurt. Hurt so much to see her barely holding on, only that last sliver of determination keeping her here.

"Please," he pleaded, whispering those words like a prayer, like he would be praying to a vengeful god. Those moments felt like eternities, stretching on and on with only his desperate whispers. "Please..."

The world felt so still, so silent as if the world was holding its breath. Azriel's eyes locked on Irena, silently begging her, asking her to please, please...

Live, live live... he whispered those words over and over, a desperate plea to the Mother, the Cauldron, to anyone who would listen. To Irena, the only person in the entire world who truly mattered in that moment.

Her eyes were growing glassy, slipping closed only to jerk open again. Stay he demanded. Keep looking at me. Please.

She tried. Mother, she tried. Her eyes drifted to him, the smallest hint of life, of a spark there in those dark brown eyes.

He hardly dared to breathe, hardly dared to move. Afraid that any wrong move could tip her over the edge, could pull her into that chasm of non-existence that she was desperately clinging too.

He felt something pricking at his eyes, felt something in his chest cracking, breaking at the sheer intensity of emotions thrumming through him. It hurt. Hurt so much to see her like this, so pale, barely holding on, barely conscious...

“Alright,” Madja said quietly. “Good girl. You were so very brave.”

"Will...will she be alright?" He asked, voice hoarse.

He didn't let his eyes drift from Irena's face, her half lidded eyes staring at him. It filled him with such an intense pang of relief and fear at the same time. Relief, because she was alive...and fear, because they had been so close to losing her.

"She's not out of the woods yet," Madja warned. "But she'll make it. She lost a lot of blood. It will take some time to get her vitals stable again."

He felt like he could breathe for the first time. It was almost dizzying, the sheer, intense relief that flooded through him. Irena was here. Irena would live. It filled his veins with an almost drug like euphoria, that made him light headed, a smile twitching at the corners of his lips.

He barely managed to keep that feeling in, the pure euphoria from showing as he smoothed a strand of hair back from her face. "Thank you," he whispered, voice hoarse, eyes finally dragging away from Irena's face to look at Madja. "Just...thank you."

He looked back at Irena, taking in her face. Alive. Still alive. Still here with him, not gone. The tension seeped from his shoulders, a strange sort of exhaustion taking over. As if all the adrenaline that had fueled him, the fear, was slowly draining out of him like water.

“Merrill,” Irena whispered, her voice near silent.

Azriel felt his fingers brush her cheek, just the gentlest touch as he tried to keep it together. It had been too close. Too, too close. He couldn't stop the overwhelming feelings flowing through him of elation and fear as he looked down at her as he looked down at her, alive. Alive and breathing and whispering soft words. "Shhh," he whispered softly. "Save your strength. Don't strain yourself."

He looked up finding Cassians gaze who just shook his head. Merrill was dead.

Azriel couldn't quite process that information, not in that moment. His eyes were still drawn to Irena, still unable to take his eyes off of her for more than a moment. His fingers brushed her cheek again, just the faintest touch as he pressed a small kiss to her forehead. "Rest," he instructed softly. "I'll be right there.” He promised.

“Being here to her room,” Madja said quietly.

“My room,” he corrected.

The priestesses dormitory was locked from males. If he even tried to get in there it would’ve end well for him. And he wouldn’t leave her side.

“Your room?” Gwyn asked sharply.

“Gwyn,” Rhys said quietly.Azriel didn't even acknowledge Gwyn's words, didn't have the energy. All he could focus on was the way Irena's eyes had drifted shut, the steady rise and fall of her chest. She would be alright. She was going to be alright. She was alive. Right now, in that moment, thats all that mattered.

“Az, how long have the two of you…” Cassian asked hesitantly.

Azriel just shrugged, his hand resting on Irena's hair, smoothing back from her face. “Two years. She’s my mate,” he said flatly as he gathered her up. 

“Mate,” she rasped. “Mine.”

“Yours,” he agreed softly.

[writerdownbookworder]

“Hey!” I cry out in shock. Jason obviously can’t hear me, up on the platform through the screaming crowds, as he kisses Ella soundly on the lips.

When they pull apart, Ella’s face is red. They turn to the crowd and bow proudly.

I am in shock. There are tears pouring down my face, but I can’t feel them. I stare numbly at the stage. I pinch my arm to make sure I’m awake. 

It’s not a nightmare. It’s real.

The tall guy next to me looks over and frowns. He shouts over the noise, “Hey man, are you okay?”

I can only shake my head, eyes locked on the stage where Jason and Ella are holding hands and staring at each other as they answer questions from the reporters.

The man takes my arm, leading me onto a side street a few blocks away, where the noise is significantly reduced. 

“What happened?” he asks, offering me a bottle of water. 

“Tha-that’s my girlfriend,” I say shakily. 

His eyes go wide. 

“And,” I continue, gulping the water. “My best friend Jason. We’ve known each other since we were six! And Ella…”

I can feel the tears now, hot tears falling down my face as I start to sob. 

The man sighs deeply. “I’m sorry, man. That’s rough. I’m George, by the way.”

He offers his hand to shake, and I accept it with a shaky laugh. 

“Dylan.”

I wipe my eyes roughly, trying to stop the tears. Now that I’m a bit less shocked, I’m angry. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” George asks carefully. 

My hands clench into fists. “We’ve been dating for three years! I was going to…”

My voice trails off and I reach into my pocket, pulling out the small box. I thrust it at George angrily, putting my head in my hands. 

George doesn’t have to open it to know that the box contains a ring.

“I was going to ask tonight,” I whisper. 

He tries to hand the box back. “Call her. Or him. Maybe it’s a misunderstanding?”

I know deep down that he’s wrong, but I can’t ignore the brief hope that flares up in my chest at the possibility. 

I fumble my phone out of my pocket and desperately press Ella’s name, putting it on speaker. 

George and I listen to it ring several times before she picks up.

“Hey, baby!” Her voice is breathless. “I’m kinda busy, can I call you back?”

I close my eyes, hearing the crowd in the background. “Where are you, Ella? I was going to surprise you at work.”

This was true. That had been my pan before the whole fiasco happened and the streets were blocked.

“Oh, you know,” she says. “Just…in the back, working on something.”

“Sweetheart,” I say quietly. “Have you seen or talked to Jason today? He was supposed to meet me for lunch, but he never showed up.”

“Jason?” Ella’s voice jumps up an almost imperceptible note. “No, I haven’t seen Jason today! Listen, I’ll call you back in a few hours, baby. I’m really busy right now, you can stop by then, okay?”

George shakes his head slowly, eyes angry for me, a bit sad.

I can’t stop the tremble in my voice as I say, “Never mind, Ella. I saw you. It’s over between us. You can tell Jason the same thing from me. I don’t ever want to talk to you ever again.”

I stare at the phone in front of me as Ella gasps and sputters, protesting. I can’t bring myself to hang up.

So George leans over and does it for me, turning my phone off and handing it back to me.

“I, uh, left my bag back there,” I mumble, pointing back to where we had come from, where the crowds were still screaming. 

George nods. “Look, I gotta get back to work, but I put my number in your phone. If you wanna catch up later, talk, get coffee, whatever, just text me.”

I nod, with a small smile. “Thanks, man.”

I push my way back through the crowds, miraculously finding my things right where I had left them. Ella and Jason are still on the platform, though now they look considerably less happy.

But their hands are still tangled together between them. 

Ella scans the crowd. Eventually, her eyes find mine. She nudges Jason and they both lock eyes with me, clearly pleading with me to talk to them.

I find it funny that in doing this, they ignore the reporter currently talking to them. He looks confused, trying to see who they are looking at.

I shake my head and turn around, pushing my way out of the crowd.

I hope my disgust was clear on my face.

You squealed as the heroes unmasked and kissed in front of the roaring crowds. Wait…you recognize their faces…that’s YOUR best friend and YOUR girlfriend/boyfriend.

[barcaatthemoon]

fireball || alexia putellas x reader ||

Alexia learns firsthand why you don't drink often.

The shots that many bars in vacation areas gave were much bigger than the shots that you wereused to. Alexia had warned you of this several times, and yet, you still hadn't slowed down one bit. The two of you were still in Barcelona for the night, but she had indulged you in letting the two of you go to one of the places only tourists sought out. It was a bit gimmicky and most of the staff spoke primarily English. Alexia hated it, but you absolutely loved it.

"Ale, come dance with me!" Alexia stared at you skeptically. You could barely stand up straight, having nearly fallen twice as you tried to get another drink at the bar.

"One dance, and then we have to go amor," Alexia told you. You nodded, more than happy to leave with Alexia. However, you didn't realize that Alexia wasn't taking you home for the reasons that you wanted her to. She needed to get you in a bed for some sleep, but you could feel a subtle hum in between your legs as Alexia held you for the dance.

You tried and failed to dance on Alexia to seduce her, instead managing to nearly fall onto the ground. Alexia caught you and simply carried you out of the club. You would have normally protested, but you were more than enjoying the view of Alexia's ass as she carried you over her shoulder.

"You're so strong. Will you hold me up against the wall and fuck me?" you asked her. Alexia's jaw dropped at how nonchalantly you asked her that. You were definitely the bashful one in your relationship, often trying to bat Alexia away when she started kissing you in public. For you to just say that on a busy night street where anybody could hear was a sign that Alexia should have made you stop drinking an hour ago.

"Amor, you are very drunk. I would not feel right taking advantage of you in this state," Alexia told you as she helped you into the car. You whined and pouted, nearly on the verge of tears as you mumbled incoherently. Alexia sighed as she realized just how long of a night she was in with you. It wasn't often that you even drank a glass of wine with dinner, much less got drunk. She had learned on a trip with your national team that you were a legendary drunk, hundreds of stories coming from just a couple handfuls of nights.

Alexia thanks whatever powers in the universe she needed to that you willingly let her carry you inside. You seemed eager to get out of the car, and you managed to make the ride without getting sick. Alexia knew that it was only a matter of time, most of the alcohol you had been drinking was cheap and full of sugar. Still, you had enjoyed yourself, and that was the whole point of tonight. Alexia had given you the green light to do whatever you wanted, promising that she'd stay sober to take care of you.

"Ale, now that we're home, we can do shots!" you cheered. You made a beeline for the kitchen, but Alexia stopped you. She held onto your waist as she guided you to the couch to sit down.

"Wait here, I'll be right back," Alexia told you. You pouted, but sat there anyway. She grabbed a couple of snacks that she knew you liked whenever you'd been drinking and a bottle of water. It was a struggle to get you to drink the water, claiming that it would completely ruin your buzz.

"I can't believe that Alexia Putellas has regular chips. You always get on me for snacks," you pouted. Alexia sighed, not having the heart to tell you that she kept those around for you. You stayed on top of your fitness better than anybody Alexia had ever met, so she didn't see the harm in keeping a couple of little snacks for you around at her place. It had been early in your relationship when she asked if your snacks were approved by the nutritionist, long before she knew how hard you really worked.

"Maybe you're a bad influence," Alexia teased. That seemed to be the wrong move as your eyes began to well up with tears. Alexia quickly backtracked, but as she continued to talk, Alexia noticed that your attention was elsewhere. "Amor, you aren't getting sick are you?"

"I don't like this," you said as you pulled your top off. Alexia quickly covered her eyes, despite having openly stared as you got dressed earlier that day.

"Why are you undressing?" Alexia asked, slightly panicked.

"Because it's hot. And I'm hot. God, it's almost the winter, and I am baking Ale!" you exclaimed. Alexia rolled her eyes as she dropped her hand, unsurprised to see every bit of your clothing on the ground. "Let's go to bed."

"Are you just going to sleep naked?" You nodded as you stumbled your way towards Alexia's bedroom. Alexia followed you in and watched as you fumbled your way through your nighttime routine. Alexia tried to help where she could, but you were stubborn about doing it yourself. Alexia went through her own routine and found you asleep in bed by the time that she was halfway through the second step.

[crescenthistory]

hi there love! i hope you're doing well 🤍 if it's okay w/ u, i'd like to request a regulus fic (are we surprised? no-) with an animagus! reader. maybe reggie and reader got into a fight about something and reader's still holding a grudge. they refuse to change out of their cat (or any animal u choose!) form and regulus is trying everything to get them to change back. ending in fluff probably :D

~🍓

i'm quite alright darling, hope the same goes for you<3 this little drabble is written with the same cat!animagus!reader i've written for reggie so far in mind (whiskers, my love) since she's known to be petty...

Words: 1.3k

Warnings: fem!reader, minor fight (lighthearted), embarrassment, you're petty, regulus grovels, black brothers have poor people skills, make-up, background wolfstar and (judgemental) bsf!remus

"How long has she been like this?"

Sirius was eyeing Regulus funnily, seemingly drawn between wanting to laugh at him and wondering if maybe he should comfort him. Remus felt none of the latter sentiments and all of the former.

"Since our last class on Friday," Regulus replied miserably from where his face was buried in his hands, resting atop his knees. "She shifted immediately after."

"So... for over 24 hours," Sirius surmised.

That was apparently the wrong thing to say, based on how Regulus lifted his head from where he was practically bent in half, just to glare at his older brother. "Thanks for doing the maths, Sirius. Not the problem I needed solving, though." Throughout his sentence, his eyes increasingly narrowed at his brother as if his irritation grew with every word.

"No, your problem," Remus volleyed. "Is whatever the hell you've done."

Regulus groaned and buried his face once more.

Across the common room from the trio, a white and grey cat was pettily walking back and forth along whatever furniture it could reach. Its tail was standing up straight, whipping about in annoyance.

Remus poked Regulus in the ribs to get a response. "What'd you do, Baby Black?"

"I may or may not have corrected her in Potions in front of Slughorn, even though she may have been working on gaining his respect all term," Regulus murmured.

The chuckle that escaped Remus was finally one of understanding. "Ah," he said through a smile. "I believe that is what we in the business call a rookie mistake."

Regulus sat up with a jerk, hands moving emotively as he made his case to his brother and brother-in-law, where they were sat on top of each other in a plush chair. "But I've apologised! Profusely, and several times! I don't know what else to do?" The last sentence was voiced as a question, though it was not formulated as one. Perhaps the closest the younger Black brother could get to asking for help.

"Maybe you should give Slughorn a speech about how great she is."

Regulus quirked up at that, eyes zeroing in on Sirius. "You really think that would work?" Remus could have burst out laughing at the lack of sarcasm in the younger boy's voice.

"No," Remus said softly, while chidingly patting Sirius' knee. "Don't listen to him, you lot have the same amount of people skills. Do you know your girlfriend, Regulus?"

"Yes?" Regulus' voice was uncertain, looking between the boys with furrowed brows.

"What usually motivates her to hold a grudge?" Remus prompted then, ever patient.

He was quiet for a minute as he thought. "When she feels wronged. Like when Evan apologised for her 'interpretaion' of what he said instead of for him hurting her feelings, and she disliked him for three years."

Remus nodded solemnly. "And is there a reason she might still feel wronged by you now?"

Regulus' gaze finally fixated on the cat across the room, nodding too as the puzzle pieces slowly assembled in his mind. "I apologised for correcting her... but not embarrassing her. She probably feels like I was lording over her or something."

"Meaning..?" Gods, Remus was really laying it on thick here. The curse of the Black family.

"I should go tell her as much." Regulus nodded and moved to hurry over towards you, swinging around at the last minute to give the two boys an almost-smile. "Uh, thanks Sirius. Remus."

Then he was off.

Sirius turned his face into Remus' cheek. "No idea what he's thanking me for; you did all the talking."

Remus sighed, melting further into his boyfriend. "That's what I've been saying."

Regulus tenderly approached you, sitting down somewhat gingerly in a chair beside the table you were currently parading around. "Hi, amour," he said softly. "Can we talk?"

You just wagged your tail in response, in a fashion Regulus has come to learn means displeasure.

"Please love, I want to give you a proper apology. It would be best to do so face-to-face, no?" He reached his hand out towards you, an open invitation. You stopped for a moment to regard him, but then lightly slapped at his hand to get it out of your face. Regulus decided to take it as a victory that your claws were retracted at the very least – you weren't out for blood.

“Okay,” he said through a breath. “I guess I’ll just… talk to a kitten and look crazy.” Upon your quiet hiss, he amended, “Talk to a cat, sorry. Gods, I’m sputtering today, aren’t I?” That final part you seemed to agree upon at least.

“Amour, I am truly deeply sorry for embarrassing you like that. It was such a little thing, and Slughorn has been so unfair towards you this year. I didn't mean to set you back in your progression with him, though frankly, he is in the wrong there, not you. As am I. For someone who feels like he can go around correcting people, that was quite air-headed of me, yeah? The one person keeping me grounded is you, amour, please would you come back to me? You can give me a proper scolding if you’d like, I can take it.”

Regulus was pouring his heart out, and if he dared to hope, he thought your feline face might have softened. You walked closer to him, seemingly studying his face.

Then, you jumped off the table and ran away.

He sighed heavily, letting his forehead fall down to the table with a light thump. If you were going to keep giving him the furred shoulder, he might just stay here. It was hard work being a tosser who’s missing his girlfriend.

Before he could wallow further in his sorrows, he felt a soft hand be placed on his shoulder. A touch he would recognise anywhere.

His head flew up from the table to look up at you – standing above him, smiling softly and somewhat sheepishly. The hand on his shoulder grew bolder, squeezing, while the other came up to cup the side of his face. Regulus ignored any instinct to cower away and instead happily melted into your touch.

“Hi, baby,” you whispered, and he knew he was mostly forgiven.

Emboldened by this new development, he turned in his seat so that his body faced you, slotting you in between his thighs and letting his hands come to rest heavily at the top of your hip. “Hi amour,” he breathed out, reverent. “Thank you.”

“For what?” you laughed, and he knew you knew what. He indulged you anyway.

“Coming back to me.” His voice was murmured, eyes hooded as he stared up at you. “I miss you when you remain as Whiskers, you know?”

“I do know,” you teased. “That’s kind of the whole point, yeah? Make you think.”

He shook his head and leaned his forehead tentatively against your stomach. “A cruel punishment, but an understandable one. I truly am sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

Regulus sighed when your hand migrated to scratch through his hair. “I know, baby. I just wanted to hear you say it. And–” at this point he could hear the blush in your voice “– at some point it just became principle. Too late to back out.”

Laughing against the fabric of your shirt, he moved to rest his chin against you, gazing up at you at an angle that was slightly uncomfortable but definitely worth it. He let a small grin slip. “Stubborn minx,” he whispered.

“Oi!” you chided gently. “You’re in no position to levy such accusations, mister.”

“I can’t imagine loving you more,” he said through a sigh, not even thinking over the words. They were just right, and demanded to be brought up.

If the way your body melted against his was anything to go by, you didn’t mind.

A booming voice cut the moment short. “You two are painfully dramatic,” Sirius yelled from across the room, clearly having paid attention to the whole make-up conversation. “Please never fight again.”

“And that’s coming from Sirius Black,” Remus added solemnly, earning himself an indignant swat from his partner.

“He’s right,” Regulus whispered conspiratorially to you. “I cannot be the most dramatic Black brother, that would be blasphemy.”

“Then I suggest,” you said before giving him a light peck, “you be on your best behaviour from now on.

A grin. “Yes ma’am.”

[bucketbueckers]

accounting - azzi fudd

pairing: azzi fudd x fem!reader (no use of y/n) wc: 2.8k synopsis: you're watching kk and the rest of the team fool around on live when azzi fudd walks in asking for an accounting tutor. deciding to humor it, you're surprised to find that azzi was completely serious, and even more surprised when your offer leads to something more between the two of you. notes: in honor of azzi fudd hoops last night - i was supposed to have this up before the game but i forgot i had a three hour lab and unfortunately i will not write fanfiction in the middle of the university food court. first tumblr post, lmk if we're rockin w it 🙂‍↕️

You’re settling into bed to unwind for the night when you get the TikTok notification.

KK Arnold has gone live!

For the better part of your day, you’ve had your nose in the books, trying to get ahead of your weekly homework. You have a terrible habit of letting most of it pile up during the week and finishing it all over the weekend. As an accounting major, you didn’t really have fun weekend plans, anyway, but it would be nice to lay in bed all day and not worry about something that was due at 11:59. You only had three classes today: managerial accounting, intro to auditing, and intermediate accounting. It wasn’t a rigorous schedule by any means; you were done and out of classes by lunchtime, but after two and a half hours of listening to your professors drone on, you were ready for the nap you couldn’t afford to take due to your piles of homework. 

Seeing the live notification is enough to remind you that you aren’t really that tired, so you click on it. KK’s face fills the screen and she’s unboxing Crumbl cookies. You say a silent prayer for the girls – Crumbl tasted terrible and that was a hill you were willing to die on. Paige sat behind KK, with Ayanna, Jana, Kayla, and a few other players milling about off-camera. For a painful few minutes, KK tries her best to get everyone’s attention so she can narrate about whatever monstrosity of a cookie they’re eating, but everyone’s laughing too hard to fully lock in.

Ayanna leaves to get a knife so KK can cut the cookies evenly. KK entertains the live while Ayanna is away, singing, chatting, and interacting with commenters. When Ayanna finally returns, she has the knife, but Azzi also trails behind her - a fact that the live is definitely appreciative of. “Oh, my God, look who it is!” KK intones in a shrill voice, much to Azzi’s clear bewilderment. You’ve never seen an expression of such confusion on someone’s face before. “It’s Azzi Fudd!”

Azzi buries her face in her hands and moves off-camera as everyone laughs. KK’s voice softens as she asks, “Azzi, wanna try a cookie?”

“No,” Azzi whines.

KK’s entire expression shifts, and admittedly, yours does, too. It’s no secret that Azzi was almost nationally known as the people’s princess. Perhaps you’d have to fight someone. You hope that no one’s actually done something wrong to her – first of all, you can’t even fathom the idea. It’d be like kicking a puppy. Second of all, you were just someone, along with 13,000 other viewers, watching the team interact behind a screen. You were sure that Azzi’s team would handle business, although you were willing to step in if needed, too, even if you stood a solid six inches shorter than Azzi herself. “What happened?” KK asks. Paige echoes her question.

“Ask the live if anyone can tutor me in accounting,” Azzi says forlornly.

You don’t think she’s serious until KK turns back just in time for the cowboy hat to return. “Hey, y’all! Is there anybody who’s really good at accounting for Azzi Fudd? Please send help. If you do have someone who’s really good at accounting, please DM me at k2times TikTok or at kamoreaarnold Instagram or at azzifudd Instagram! Thank yew.” The room dissolves into giggles as KK continues, “And if you DM me with edits or anything else but accounting help, I will block! Thank yew.”

You have the time today, so you switch over to Instagram as the live continues in the background, and you go to Azzi’s page and hit the Message option. You doubt she’ll see it, let alone respond, but as an accounting major, it’s basically your civic duty to help those in need, especially since you know these classes are hell.

hey do u actually need accounting help? i major in it!

Satisfied, you click back over to the live just in time for Azzi to comment, “KK, I might actually have a tutor,” she says in near disbelief. You think nothing of it as KK turns her head, humming at Azzi. “Wait, I think she’s in my class.”

That manages to catch your attention. Sure, you’re watching a live with a couple thousand people on it, but how many of those people are accounting students at UConn who happen to share a class with Azzi Fudd?

An Instagram notification pops up on your screen as Paige leaves the camera frame to most likely peer over Azzi’s shoulder. You’re shocked again to see Azzi has DM’ed you back.

Yes please this homework is killing me Are you in ACCT3201 with Cansler??? I recognize you

Discovering just how unobservant you are should not come as a great surprise. Apparently, you’ve been sharing a class with Azzi Fudd this entire semester and you didn’t even realize it. This is easily the most embarrassing moment of your entire life.

i am i can’t believe i didn’t know u were in it i’m a lot better at accounting than i am at paying attention, i promise

This draws a giggle from Azzi that you can hear over the live. It makes a flush rise on your cheeks. The fact that Azzi Fudd knows who you are combined with the fact she’s laughing at your jokes is enough for a feeling of anticipation to twist in your chest. This is your life now, apparently.

“Azzi is cheesing so bad,” KK teases. You can’t help but feel a little pride at that. “Who’s chatting her up right now? Lemme invite you. Accounting rizz is insane work.”

“Don’t scare away my tutor,” Azzi grumbles, coming back into view of the camera. True to KK’s words, a faint blush has settled on her cheeks. Feeling far too smug, you comment on the live, ‘calling it rizz is crazy, i’m just helping the people.’ Azzi’s eyes scan the screen before rolling slightly. “Look at what you did, KK.”

“Is that her?” KK shrieks. She leans in closer to the screen, blocking out much of the background. “Oh, she fine. Lock in, Azzi; she can help you with more than accounting.”

At that, you and Azzi both blush a deep scarlet red and Azzi turns on her heel. “Goodbye, KK!” The room dissolves into rambunctious laughter as Azzi walks out, calling, “I’m going to finish my homework!”

A moment passes before Azzi messages you again.

I’m so sorry about KK, she’s feral

You swipe away from the live again, grinning slightly. In your DMs, the typing bubbles appear for a few short moment. You heart her most recent message in the meantime.

Will you please help me? I genuinely don’t understand what I’m doing wrong

Yes, you’ve spent most of the day in classes and doing homework. Yes, you’re tired. Yes, you really only joined the live to unwind. But when Azzi asks for help, you can’t really say no to her.

of course, are u working on this week’s homework set?

Her affirmative response is swift, telling you what she’s having trouble with. Your fingers hesitate on your screen, trying to figure out how to put your thoughts into words before settling.

i know this is incredibly forward but would u want to ft? i can explain better verbally

Azzi sends you her number. After tonight’s events, you really shouldn’t be surprised anymore, but you can’t help it. Azzi is a nationally (and internationally) recognized college basketball player and, until now, you were just a girl who watched her team’s TikTok lives and cheered in the student section. Azzi had seemed so untouchable, by virtue of her celebrity and your lack thereof; it’s hard to believe you’re this close to her now, even if it’s just to help her with accounting homework.

The two of you talk well into the night, even hours after Azzi submits her problem sets successfully and she understands the material. You feel like you get to see a side of her so rarely seen by other people who aren’t her teammates. She’s softer, with a beaming smile on her face when she finally understands a difficult concept. There’s something so alluring about the way she speaks that you can’t help but listen to every single thing that comes out of her mouth, ranging from her frustrated rants to the smoothness of her giggle. The lamplight reflects off of the lenses of the glasses perched on her nose and you think she’s so incredibly beautiful – bare-faced and slightly delirious from staying up so late.

When the two of you finally hang up half past three, you can’t wipe the smile off your face, and somehow, you just know that this is the start of something new.

From then on, your friendship with Azzi all but flourishes. She’s incredibly sweet, soft-spoken, and so deliberate in the way she moves and speaks to you. When your next accounting class rolls around, she finds the seat next to yours, asking to sit there with an almost shy expression. When there’s lulls in the lecture, you entertain her with jokes, drawing red-cheeked giggles that she has to stifle. You’re almost like her personal TA, sitting next to her and clarifying concepts that she doesn’t understand. It helps you, too; the best study advice you’d ever received was to teach it to someone else. 

Your friendship progresses outside of the lecture room and outside of your texts. You both spend a lot of time in the library, studying in peace together or enjoying lunch in each other's company. You always thought Azzi was gorgeous, but now that you know her on a far more personal level, falling for her was a near guarantee. The far-away admiration transformed into something pure, genuine. You couldn’t imagine Azzi returning those feelings — she’s far too busy, too committed to ball — so you keep your rapidly growing crush close to your chest. 

You’ve always showed up to the UConn games, though there’s something distinctly different about them now. Azzi was never one for grand celebrations or trash talk in the way Paige was. She was intentional and lowkey, which is why you feel like you could float when she makes direct eye contact with you in the student section, throwing up three fingers to celebrate a particularly deep three. It’s why you cheese when she finds you after the game, after she’s showered and changed, and asks if you want to get ice cream with her. The better question was how could you refuse?

Azzi deliberates between vanilla and cookie dough for a long while before settling on the latter. Even as the clerk fills her bowl, she stares at the the vanilla and your choice of ice cream becomes obvious. Azzi stares at you as the clerk fills your bowl with vanilla. “What? It’s my favorite flavor,” you lie, and her lips quirk up as she studies you. 

“Said literally no one ever,” she says wryly. The clerk hands you the bowl and Azzi swipes her card before you have the chance to even contemplate otherwise. When you stare at her in disbelief, her smile widens and all fight leaves your body. What were you supposed to do about that? You were a puddle for pretty women — a puddle for Azzi, honestly — and your resolve should be commended for maintaining months of friendship with Azzi. 

The two of you find a secluded booth towards the back of the ice cream shop. Azzi shares her midterm grade — a solid 100, and you whistle lowly. “I got an 89,” you say, not hurt by it at all. As long as it was above an 80, you could care less. “You sure you still need me?”

Azzi swirls her ice cream around her bowl, suddenly quiet. The realization dawns on you immediately. Your words were meant to be a joke, but the truth to them stuns you. You really hoped Azzi would say, ‘of course not, it’s not like that!’ but her silence keeps you guessing. 

“I have a confession to make,” she says after a beat, finally glancing up at you. The vulnerability and nervousness makes your heart fall out of your ass. “Promise it won’t make anything weird?”

You open your mouth just to close it again. You clear your throat. “Promise, Az,” you say finally. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing!” she says quickly. “Um, so here’s the thing. I struggled a lot with the first problem set. You know, the one I needed the tutor for?” You nod, confused by her words. “You helped a lot. And, like, I haven’t really needed actual tutoring in weeks. I just really liked spending time with you.” You blink at her. She stares at you right back, brows furrowed with guilt and her doe eyes wide. “I’m sorry. You must feel like I wasted your time.”

At that, you can’t help but laugh, and Azzi pouts. “Az. I thought you were about to dump me,” you explain. “Plus, I kinda figured after a while we were just like, studying together, and not me actually tutoring.”

She sighs, burying her face in her hands. You laugh again, pushing your leftover ice cream towards her. Azzi glances up again, her eyes soft and fond. “I guess I just wanted an excuse for you to stick around.”

“You never needed one,” you tell her honestly, and a blush creeps up her neck. 

“You’re not really picking up what I’m putting down, are you?”

Her words almost make you recoil. It’s no secret at this point that you can be a little oblivious, but her words make your heart skip a beat. “Az, I have no idea what you’re putting down,” you admit.

“So, I just admitted to you that I liked spending time with you and lied about needing study help just so I’d have an excuse to hang out with you,” Azzi confirms. “We are sitting here, alone, after a game while my teammates celebrate at Ted’s. All of that, and you have no idea what I’m putting down?”

The realization hits you like a ton of bricks. “Oh,” you say smartly. 

“Yeah.”

“So, you like me?” you ask just to be one hundred percent sure. 

She smiles at you. You’re certain your heart almost stops beating. “How could I not?” she asks like it’s the easiest thing in the world. “You make me laugh. You’re always so patient with me, you make me feel seen — like I can just be myself. It’s… hard to find something genuine like this. You don’t expect anything from me.”

“I just want you to be happy,” you say simply. 

Her eyes confirm everything for you. You’re not observant, sure, but your main priority has always been what was directly in front of you. And right now, it’s hard to focus on anything that’s not Azzi. Azzi’s eyes are so soft, kinder than anything you’ve ever seen before. They hold so much understanding but there’s also a silent plea of let this be mutual that you’re too happy to give into. 

“I’ve been falling for you for a while,” you admit, and her face brightens. Your shoulders feel lighter; carrying around your feelings has burdened you, but if it’s the price you had to pay to make sure Azzi felt comfortable and that she could have friendships without people taking advantage of her celebrity, then so be it. You’d bear a lot more for her if it ever came down to it. “I kept it to myself for a while,” you continued. “You deserve normal. A friendship without expectations. But, God, Az, how could anyone not fall for you?”

Azzi’s cheeks flush a pretty red. You can’t help but smile at her, growing a little braver, and you slide your hand across the table. She wastes no time before intertwining your fingers together, giving your hand a gentle squeeze. 

She walks you home that night, refusing to let go of you until you’re halfway through your doorstep. She stops you; her height would be intimidating if you didn’t know she was the sweetest person to ever walk the earth. “Can I…” She trails off, her hands gentle on your waist. 

You don’t need much more convincing — you loop your arms around her neck and tug her down to your height, planting your lips on hers with a softness that she eagerly reciprocates. You can taste the vanilla on her lips, the sweetness of the cookie dough, and the promise of something distinctly reminiscent of Azzi Fudd. You’re suddenly thankful for KK’s stupid live, for Crumbl cookie, for the accounting class you shared together. It’s all led you to where you are now, in Azzi’s arms outside of your apartment, overcome with the knowledge that all of this is so new, but you have everything you could have possibly wanted.

(You ask her to officially be your girlfriend two weeks after that, having been on three dates since — it’s only after you pop the question and the two of you are settling in to watch a movie that she admits to you the real reason she was struggling so bad with the problem sets was because she’d spend entire lecture periods staring at you. You roll your eyes, feeling inexplicably cared for in a way you haven’t experienced before Azzi, and your only true response to her confession is the lingering kiss you place on her lips.)

[marysfics]

Through the Dust

Alexia Putellas x DownhillRacer!Reader

Status: Ongoing

Other Chapters: click here

This is a multichapter fic, and trust me, you’re in for one wild ride. Warnings: Fluff, Mentions of Grief, Kisses.

Word count: 1.8k

Chapter 6: ''The Brink of Something Real''

A few weeks had passed since the mountain cabin, and things had settled into an almost comfortable rhythm. You and Alexia had stayed in touch, messages and calls filling the spaces in between your busy schedules. She was back in Spain now, her pre-season training ramping up with the team, but even then, you could feel the connection between you two still lingering, soft and unspoken. You weren’t rushing into anything, not yet. You both needed time to figure out what it all meant—whatever "it" was—but there was a comfort in knowing that she was there. That you were talking.

You couldn’t say no when they asked you. It was an opportunity you’d dreamed of—an event that had long been seen as a men’s-only challenge. But now? It felt like everything had changed. And while the course scared you more than you cared to admit, it also pushed you to the edge in a way nothing else had. This was your chance. But, as always, the nervous buzz of competition made it hard to keep your mind focused on anything else.

Before the race, Alexia had called you. She’d been insistent, her voice a mix of teasing and something softer underneath.

"I’m watching, you know," she’d said, almost defiantly, like she was challenging herself to be there. "I’m dragging my mother and sister in front of the TV to watch you."

You had to laugh, picturing her usual unflappable self being so... invested. "Are they even into downhill racing?" you asked, a teasing smile on your lips.

Alexia’s chuckle filled your ears. "My sister is asking more questions than I can answer, and my mom keeps raising an eyebrow at me. She doesn’t get it, but... I think she knows it’s important. She sees me getting all nervous."

You felt a soft heat in your chest at the thought of Alexia’s family watching you. Nervous? You smiled, pushing aside the flutter of excitement and anxiety that came with it. "Tell them to keep their eyes peeled. I’ll show them how it’s done."

A little later in Alexia's apartment, Alexia was sitting with her arms crossed, her legs bouncing restlessly. She kept glancing at her phone, waiting for the race to begin. It was strange for Eli and Alba, having Alexia—who had never shown much interest in extreme sports—suddenly insisting that they watch a dangerous downhill cycling race. Eli had her reservations, but when Alexia had insisted so strongly, she knew something was going on.

"Why are we watching this again?" Alba asked, eyeing the screen with confusion as she adjusted the pillows on the couch. "Since when do you watch things like this, Ale?"

Alexia didn’t answer immediately, focusing instead on the screen where the pre-race interviews were playing. She had a nervous energy about her that Eli couldn’t ignore, the way her daughter’s foot tapped restlessly against the floor. It was clear to Eli that this race was more than just a race for Alexia.

Her eyes narrowed, a knowing look passing between her and Alba. “You’re nervous,” Eli said softly, watching her daughter closely. “Why? What’s going on?”

Alexia froze for a moment, her lips pressing together as she looked at her mom, but then her gaze drifted back to the screen. “I’m not nervous. I just… want her to be safe. It’s her last race of the season, Mom.”

Alba leaned in with interest, still oblivious. “Safe? Who are you talking about, Ale? You barely even know the riders."

Eli raised an eyebrow. “Is that so? You never watch anything like this, Ale. But now you’re glued to it?” She paused, a small smile playing at the corners of her lips. “It’s about more than just the race, isn’t it?”

Alexia’s face flushed slightly, and she avoided her mother’s gaze. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said quickly, but the slight blush creeping up her neck told Eli everything she needed to know.

Alba looked back and forth between them, her curiosity piqued. “What do you mean? What’s going on, Ale?”

Eli watched Alexia, sensing the moment of truth. Finally, she broke her silence, her voice soft but teasing. “Ale, are you seeing someone from this race?”

Alexia’s face turned bright red. “Maybe,” she mumbled, but it was enough to send Alba into a state of shock.

“Oh my God,” Alba gasped, her eyes wide. “Are you dating someone from the race? What is this? You’ve never been like this before!”

Alexia let out a small groan, her face still flushed. “It’s not like that, okay? She’s planning to visit soon. After this, she’s got the off-season. She’ll come here, and… we’ll see how it goes.” Her words were rushed, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her shirt, but there was something undeniably soft in the way she said it.

Eli smiled warmly at her daughter, sensing the subtle shift in Alexia’s energy as she spoke about you. "Well, it sounds like you’re really fond of her," Eli said, her voice gentle but knowing. "It’s nice to see you like this, Ale. I haven't seen you this excited about someone in a long time."

Alexia’s face flushed again, a little more this time, and she glanced at the TV where you were making your way toward the finish line. "It’s just... different, Mom. She’s different. I just... feel good when I talk to her." Her voice trailed off slightly, as if unsure of how to explain what she was feeling, but the sincerity in her words was clear. "And she’s been through a lot, too. I respect that."

Alba tilted her head, still processing the information. “Wait a second. Are you telling me you’re seeing a woman, Ale?” The question was blunt, but there was no judgment in it, just the curiosity of a younger sister trying to make sense of something new.

Alexia opened her mouth to respond but hesitated. There was something about this moment, a quiet realization that maybe she didn’t need to hide it anymore. She looked over at her mother, then back at Alba. "Yeah," she said, a small smile tugging at her lips. "I think I am."

Eli let out a soft sigh, her smile widening as she nudged Alba playfully. "You’re looking at her like she’s grown a second head. Relax, Alba. Your sister’s allowed to have a life outside of football."

Alba blinked, clearly still processing, but she finally shrugged. "Okay, fine. But you have to promise me something, Ale."

Alexia raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You better introduce us to her when she comes to visit," Alba said with a grin. "I want to know everything. You can’t just drop this bomb on me and leave me hanging!"

Alexia laughed, the tension in her body easing. "I promise," she said, her voice softening. "You’ll meet her soon. And you can ask all the questions you want, okay?"

Alba gave a satisfied nod. “Good. But seriously, Ale, I’m kind of in shock right now. My big sister is dating someone from downhill cycling? What even is that sport? How did you end up with someone so... different?"

Alexia let out a small laugh, trying to shake off the teasing but feeling a little flustered. "It’s just a sport, Alba," she said, brushing her hair behind her ear. "It's actually pretty intense. You'd be surprised."

Alba raised an eyebrow, not entirely convinced. "Intense? You mean, like, you just race down a mountain on a bike at insane speeds and call that 'intense'?" She let out a dramatic sigh. "Sounds like something out of a movie. Are you sure you're not falling for someone who’s just trying to get themselves killed?"

Eli shot a look at Alba, a quiet warning in her gaze, but Alexia couldn’t help but laugh again. "I wouldn’t put it that way, but… yeah, it’s a bit crazy. But there’s more to it than just the danger. It’s about skill, control, knowing yourself, your limits. It’s a lot like football, in a way," Alexia explained, though she wasn't sure if her sister really understood.

Alba crossed her arms, still skeptical but clearly intrigued. "I guess. But what’s she like, Ale? Like, really like? You’ve got me curious now."

Alexia hesitated for a moment, her thoughts wandering back to you. She was still processing everything that had happened since they'd met—how you’d slipped under her guard so easily, how your laugh made her stomach flip. "She’s different," Alexia said finally, her voice softer now. "I can’t even really explain it. She’s real. And there’s something about her that’s… refreshing."

Alba looked at her older sister, clearly seeing how this conversation was affecting her. "Uh huh," she said, a mischievous grin spreading across her face. "I bet she’s got you all twisted up in knots."

Alexia rolled her eyes but couldn’t suppress a smile. "Maybe."

Meanwhile, as the race continued on the screen, Alexia’s attention was mostly on you. You were approaching the final stretch, and every twist, every jump, every corner, had her on the edge of her seat. Her heart pounded harder as you got closer to the finish line.

She glanced over at her mother and Alba, who were sitting on either side of her, both of them oblivious to the quiet storm of nerves swirling inside her. Alba had a knowing look on her face, but she didn’t say anything more. Instead, she turned her focus back to the race, watching the way you maneuvered through the last few hurdles of the course.

Suddenly, Alba leaned forward, eyes widening. "Wait a minute… that’s her, isn’t it?" she asked, pointing at the screen.

Alexia’s breath caught in her throat as she watched you in action. It was one thing to hear about the race, another to see you in your element, your confidence and determination shining through every turn.

The way you held your line, how you pushed through the hardest parts without hesitation, made something in Alexia’s chest tighten. She could almost hear your voice in her head, that same soft but firm tone you had when you said you’d be okay. But now, watching you race, she realized just how much she cared, how much she hoped you would cross that finish line without injury, without trouble.

As you made the final push and crossed the finish line with the fastest time, Alexia let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. It was more than just relief—it was pride. You’d done it. And something deep inside her shifted.

Alba, still watching intently, leaned back with a grin. "Well, looks like Ale’s in love," she said, her voice teasing but light.

Alexia, still holding her breath from the race, turned to her sister. "What?" she asked, her voice hoarse.

Alba’s eyes gleamed. "Come on, Ale. I’m not blind. You’ve got that lovesick look in your eyes. I can tell. That’s her, isn’t it?"

Alexia's face went bright red, and she turned away quickly, her heart hammering in her chest. "I’m not... I don’t know," she mumbled, her words tripping over themselves.

But Alba was persistent. "You definitely know. Don’t even try to deny it." She glanced at their mom, who was watching with amusement.

"Mom, tell her. She’s totally into her."

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

End of chapter 6.

[chithereader]

stir crazy / aaron hotchner

pairing: aaron hotchner x f!reader

word count: 2k

genre: fluff/angst if you squint

cw: omniscient pov, hotch being vulnerable

“My agent has been asking me for the manuscript but it’s just not ready yet. And I’ve still got my day job that keeps me busy enough,” It’s a quiet day at the BAU. No urgent cases or serial killers, just a few feet worth of case files. Leaning against Reid’s desk, Rossi, Emily and boy genius himself have been talking about the next big David Rossi book.

“Oh c’mon, I see you typing away in your office and writing in that little notebook of yours– which I know is for your drafts by the way,” Emily teases. Rossi shrugs it off with a soft smirk and looks to the boy genius who has been uncharacteristically quiet for the past few minutes. 

“Nothing to say, kid?” lowering his head to catch the young man’s preoccupied eye but Reid’s sight is incredibly glued far away. 

It took Reid a good 6 seconds to realize he’s kid before he shakes himself out of the trance and answers, “Well, considering the hours he’s spent typing on his personal laptop as opposed to the office computer and adding the minutes he allots on the jet to jot down on his writing notebook– assuming he’s writing in a similar format to his previous books–  I’d say….you’re actually well into the third chapter of your manuscript.” 

Still with his eyes trained on whatever caught his attention in the first place, Reid unsurprisingly impresses Rossi again because he is indeed a little over halfway into the third chapter.

But Rossi and Emily instantly become interested with what or who Reid has been staring at for the past minute, noticing that even when going off on his boy-genius tangent, his stare had been focused somewhere else. 

Reid jumps in his seat a little as the two level their heads on either side of his to see where his gaze has been glued. He had been so focused on figuring out the worrying sight and what caused it that he hadn’t noticed how much of him wasn’t aware of his surroundings. 

To their surprise, they’re met with a seemingly everyday sight: Hotch, in the pantry, stirring his coffee. And by everyday, they mean that to any passerby they’d think this is incredibly normal. Nothing at all out of place or out of character. 

But to the trained eye- to profilers who also spend almost everyday with the man, they slowly see what Reid must have seen. 

Hotch is stirring his coffee. But he doesn’t even put sugar or creamer in his always black coffee. 

He’s doing it absentmindedly. Literally looking lost in his head. Hotch is a busy guy, a busy boss guy, with millions of things to think about, but Hotch is never absent. His movements are always purposeful, precise, and calculated. Never lacking and never excess. 

Hotch has his head tilted down and to the side. Like a perpetually confused puppy. One of the things that make Hotch Hotch is his posture. His rigid, firm posture. Back always so straight, hands always clenched, jaw always tight– Hotch is never just there, his presence alone is commanding. 

And worst of all, Hotch’s hair is neat. Too neat. Okay, Hotch’s habit of being neat -with his pressed suits and shined shoes no matter where he is- naturally extends to how he styles his hair. Over the years, he’s learned to gel it out of his face for both convenience and aesthetic. But this neat- this neat looks a little too flat and ruffled at the same time. Like he’s run his hand through it a hundred times in a matter of minutes. 

So Rossi and Emily finally understand. The two share a look of understanding, while Reid looks up at them with curiosity and a little worry. 

“Do you guys think he’s.. okay?” Reid asks quietly with a little grimace. He looks between the two, trying to figure out what they’re thinking, “I mean it has been exactly 12 minutes that he’s been stirring nothing into his coffee.” 

“12?!” If Emily had any sort of drink in her mouth, she surely would have spat it out all over Reid–for which he is silently thankful she doesn’t because as much as he adores Emily, he’s just not mentally prepared for… well that. 

Finally, there’s movement in the pantry. Unaware of his colleagues now watching his every move, Hotch wakes up from the trance he was trapped in and quickly retreats back into his office with his now-cold cup of coffee. 

Knowing that Rossi’s the only one to easily get through to Hotch, Emily and Reid turn to look at him, wordlessly nudging him to check on the poor man who spent 12 minutes stirring his painfully plain black coffee. 

Raising both his hands as he stands from where he was leaning, Rossi surrenders “Alright alright! But I am not telling you rascals what he tells me in confidence.” pointing at the doe-eyed pair. 

Rossi lets the possibilities run through his head as he walks up the stairs to Aaron’s office. Maybe Jack’s having trouble with that one kid again– what’s his name? Or maybe Jack’s having trouble with Mothers’ Day coming up. That’s never been easy. But the stirring and staring into space and the hair? What could possibly– Knock knock. 

Rossi doesn’t even wait to hear Aaron’s voice. He pushes the door open to be greeted with the sight of Aaron finally looking a little more him: writing on his desk knee-deep in case files. 

Aaron looks up for a second and continues writing reports, “What can I help you with, Dave?” Putting extra pressure on penning that last period before closing the case file and grabbing another to open. 

Dave stays quiet for a bit and takes in the sight. Looks fine to me. But his silence halts Aaron’s writing and he looks up to Dave who’s just studying him by the door. 

“You know you can sit right?” Aaron stoically jokes. 

And a joke?! Dave finally cracks and sits down to say, “Boy genius just watched you stir your coffee for 12 minutes which we all know is black. Your hair’s messy and too fixed at the same time, you were standing in the pantry just minutes ago glaring into nothing. And you were slouching with your head tilted to the side.” 

“Honestly whatever it is, it’s none of my business but you just scared two members of your team and I think this may be the seed of doubt in your leadership skills because you’re finally not a robot.” It was obvious that Dave was trying to play it cool, masking concern with humor and sarcasm. 

But Aaron is a painfully private guy. He’d think it over for days before he decides to open up or seek advice from a close friend. Only he has thought about it for days and not saying anything’s been driving him insane he genuinely feels like he could implode at any second. 

Aaron takes one big breath and through clenched teeth he grumbles out, “It’s a she.” Finally staring Dave straight in the eyes, he clarifies, “the it in whatever it is is a she.” 

Realization and more worry hits Dave at the same time which Aaron clearly sees on his face. But Rossi quickly recovers and gives Aaron a soft, comforting smile, “Well what’s so bad about your she that’s got you so shaken up?” 

In Dave’s head, he’s already preparing responses for the worst: 

She doesn’t approve of my job. Well she can suck it. This is who you are. 

Jack doesn’t like her. Aaron, the one thing I like about kids is that they give it to you straight. I think you should take that as a sign

She’s not comfortable with the age gap. She’s way older. She’s way younger. I’m scarred in more ways than one. I’m not sure I still know how to– 

Aaron could see the increasing concern in Dave’s face, “I just–” he started. 

Dave’s thoughts were cut short by Aaron’s voice, thankfully because his mind was starting to reach the point of no return. Anticipating Aaron’s explanation, he leaned forward in his seat trying to read Aaron’s expression. 

“A few months ago, I’d stay here. After a case, when I know my son’s fast asleep and Jessica’s with him- I’d stay here.” Dave kept quiet, intently listening and trying to piece together where this could possibly go. 

“I would choose to stay here and finish reports, make a dent in the never-ending pile of case files because when I’m focused on helping others, I don’t have time to think of how alone I am.”

Before Dave could try and quell this ‘alone’ sentiment, Aaron quickly follows it up “I love my son. And he’s always been more than enough. And I have the team but… you guys have people to come home to. Arms to fall into at the end of a grueling day.” 

“For the longest time, since Haley.. I haven’t allowed myself to feel. To want. And if I’ve just been honest then it’d be known, I want to be loved. All that I carry, I drop all of it at the door and then there’s just this exhaustion that hits me. And all I want is for someone to hold me.” 

Dave takes all of this in, feeling an immense amount of love and sadness for his friend who deserves nothing but happiness but hasn’t for the longest time allowed himself the one thing that can give him that. 

“I know you think that getting into a relationship makes you a bad father, splitting the only time you have left with someone else instead of your son. But the truth is Aaron, Jack’s growing up. He has his sleepovers, camps, and football now. Soon he’ll leave for parties and college, and as much as he adores you he’ll have his own family.”

“I know. And then I’ll be alone.” Aaron’s voice starts to sound rough. Like this fact’s caught in his throat and he can’t speak. Dave studies Aaron and considers all the things he knows are holding Aaron back.

“So give it a shot.” Dave insists. “Don’t make a big deal out of it. Just set a date, and show up.” 

Aaron looks at Dave pointedly, “You make it sound easy–” “You make it sound hard.” 

Aaron appears to recover. He smoothes a hand over his tie and straightens his back yet again. In an instant, he’s back to looking stoic and stern with brows furrowed and eyes glaring.

He’s not used to being vulnerable, even in the privacy of his own office. Feeling like an open book for others to read makes goosebumps trail up his spine- in a bad way. Dave quickly reads this and decides to lighten the mood. 

“So…. when will we meet her?” Dave asks smugly. 

“Funny.”

“I understand.. your concerns. But I don’t think you’d be so worried about it if you weren’t already serious about her. So, what’s really going on with her?” 

Aaron thought he could get away without revealing much about her. He’s uncomfortable enough talking about himself, and all the more protective he is when it comes to you. Especially as someone who wants to keep your little world away from the harshness of everything else–

He sighs. He knows Dave is relentless and as payback for his concern, he decides he has to give Dave something. 

“I don’t know. Really. I don’t– I told you one day I’m tiring myself out so I don’t have to come home and process my empty bed as empty..”

“Now I’m tiptoeing in my own kitchen so as to not disturb this crazy singing person washing my dishes while my kid wipes the plates. And I watch them for god knows how long, instead of going up to my office to attend to case files whose deadlines are a bit too close for my liking.” 

“I don’t know,” Aaron shrugs. A soft, weak smile grows on his lips at the memory of you.

Dave stands from the seat, a knowing smirk on his face, “Hmm.” Teasing Aaron as he walks to the door and grabs the handle. 

“I think you’ll be just fine, Aaron. Just fine.” 

[junebugsarchive]

manager nam x reader ; headcanons ver.

summary: headcanons of manager nam x fem! reader

pairing: manager nam x reader

details: mentions of using contraception . not much of warnings other than that . anon request . all headcanons are my opinion, i'm not forcing you to agree with them! . all dividers used are from @cafekitsune . all pictures used are from pinterest

a/n: i love him i love him i love him i love him when yall see this man i want you to immediately think of me and the im his main im his side im every woman that's in his mind sound because he's my goat oh my fosh 🤑 anyways, enjoy babes! thanks for the ask, this was highkey fun to make.

your no. 1 supporter

this man is the greenest green flag when it comes to support and encouragement

you saw this gorgeous dress on display but not sure if it'll look good on you? "go ahead and buy that dress, you look good in anything." you want to sign up for sewing classes? he's immediately doing extensive research on all the sewing workshops nearby and background-checking all the employees. you're struggling to carry all your shopping bags? he's dropping everything to rush to your side and help you carry them to the car.

date nights. date nights. i can't really envision him going out to expensive restaurants (idk why, i'm sorry), but i feel like he would prefer simpler date nights as well, like just sitting down on the sofa with a box of pizza and face masks bc u insisted, watching some corny rom com movie

this man is rich rich. given his job, there's no way you would ever be short on money. he feels bad because his job doesn't really give him a lot of time to spend with you, but he makes up for it by transferring millions and millions of won into your card every month to spend on clothes, manicures, skincare, whatever you needed

pouting to him because you accidentally spent all the money he had given you? no worries, he'll simply press a kiss to your crown and transfer more money, giving you a little extra "just because".

god i love this man

lives for forehead, hairline, crown kisses bc let's be for real, this man is huge. i'm not exactly sure of his height but let's just assume he's super tall, and you have to be standing on your tiptoes just to be able to kiss him properly

because of this, it would be more convenient for him to press kisses to the top of your head before he rushes off for work

very protective

his years as a mercenary have honed his awareness skills (??), and he's really good at detecting threats to you. for example, there's a man that keeps following you around, and you're not even aware of it, but manager nam's already excusing himself to go beat the guy up - or kill him, it depends on his mood that day.

you don't ever need to worry your pretty little head whenever you're around him, because he's already taken care of every threat in the area before you're even aware of them <3

if he's busy on a mission tho, he'll get a bunch of bodyguards to follow u around bc he's just gentlemanly like that

(borderline overly-protective but you beg to differ)

i feel like he would def be like manager kim and hide his occupation for you.

sure, he did mention lightly that he's a contract bodyguard, which is why he's so rich, but he refused to tell you anything other than that, because in his words he has to "protect the clients' privacy" (he's lying he doesn't mention the part he's also a contract killer / mercenary). i mean, it wasn't exactly a lie, right?

he can't say he's never thought of starting a family with you, but between his busy schedule and the constant threats looming behind his shoulder, he would want to wait until everything settles down before giving you a child. until then, he's very strict on using condoms and ensures you take the pills before and after yall do the deed.

but when you guys do have children, he would be an amazing father to the child, no matter their gender.

as a girl dad, he would definitely dotes on her like he does to you, but he's really strict on ensuring she doesn't end up too bratty and constantly trains her in self defense so that she's capable of protecting herself and her mother from creeps. your daughter would def grow up to be a total hothead and extremely protective of her mother, and insists on having "girls night" and literally kicks her depressed father out of their shared bedroom lol. tbh, manager nam's just a total softie for his family

if he was a boy dad tho, the tables would turn because i feel like he would have really strict training regiments and standards for his son, and they're both fueled by the constant reminder that they need to protect you <3 always fighting for your attention it's almost funny lol. until your son grows up and petty arguments turn into full-blown fights that leave you fuming and refusing to talk to them for days because they broke your favourite vase

in conclusion, manager nam is a total simp that would bend over backwards just for you. if he respects and admires manager kim, he 100% worships and adores you with all his heart. every day you spend with him feels like a dream <3

10/10, total green flag that would do anything to keep you happy. as long as he sees you smiling lovingly at him, he's happy.

[airas-story]

Kinder Worlds

“So,” Tony started as Nebula as carefully lined up her next shot. They’d played in silence thus far since Nebula had shown up out of the blue and demanded a game. “Something wrong?” he asked. “You normally don’t just show up.”

“Do you think I can see this Terra?” she asked, instead of responding to his question. “You spoke of ‘hamburgers’ I would like to try them.”

Tony considered her, then decided not to push. He grinned. “Oh, we can try all sorts of things. I’ve got a photostatic veil if you want to go out in stealth mode—“ He’d told her the first time she showed up that she was fine, but she seemed to like ‘stealth mode’. “—though if you want to go as you are, that’s fine.” Most people had gotten used to aliens, the few that hadn’t—Ross came to mind—Tony could handle. “Or we can order in. Whatever you want.”

Nebula gave this her standard due consideration. “I would like to go out,” she decided. “And I will wear the veil. Stealth is imperative; I would prefer people to underestimate me.” She paused. “Perhaps we can visit your spider child. Or your wizard.”

Tony considered that. It was a Saturday, which meant no school. “Peter will definitely join,” he told her. “Picnic in Central Park with hamburgers with you? Yeah, there’ll be no keeping him away. Stephen… Hit or miss if he’ll join.”

Stephen was, unfortunately, almost always busy with something, it could make it difficult to meet up with him, though Tony still thought that every opportunity was worth it. Especially after things had… developed between them in ways Tony would never have expected.

He pulled out his phone and sent out a text to ‘Team Titan’—or at least that was what Peter had named them—to invite them both.

From: Tony Stark

Picnic at Central Park! Nebula’s here!

I’ll provide the food—prepare for burgers.

He shifted so that he could take a selfie of the both of them—something Nebula put up with with a sigh—before sending that along as well.

From: Spiderling

Oh my word! Are we finally introducing Nebula to hamburgers?

Peter always had been quick on the uptake.

I’ll be there!

“That’s Peter decided,” Tony said cheerfully. Who knows if we’ll hear from—“

From: Merlin

I would appreciate far more warning for something of this nature.

I am not at your beck and call.

Tony rolled his eyes. Picnics were always best when they were spontaneous, everyone knew that. Or at least every picnic he’d ever been on had been of the ‘you know what, I want a picnic’ variety and the majority of them had been enjoyable.

Though there had been that time with the ant invasion… he shuddered. Not to be repeated.

And of course, a few had involved drinking and he honestly didn’t remember them, but he was sure they’d been great.

Alas, the difficulty of being sober, that wasn’t an option anymore.

From: Tony Stark

Oh please. Not like I knew Nebula was coming.

Where’s your spontaneity, Stephen?

“All right,” Tony said, standing up. “Let’s get you set to go and then we’ll go get us burgers and other delicious food so you can experience a proper Terran picnic.”

Nebula nodded, satisfied.

His phone dinged.

From: Merlin

I suppose—since Nebula is present—I can condescend to join you for a ‘picnic’.

Tony snorted.

From: Tony Stark

Please, don’t pretend you don’t like me and Peter. We’re absolutely in your top five people.

From: Spiderling

Top four!

Can we get ice cream?

Tony glanced up at Nebula. “How do you feel about ice cream on this spontaneous picnic?”

“I was partial to your ‘Stark Raving Hazelnuts’,” she told him seriously. “I would not mind if we were to indulge in some.”

Tony grinned at her. He still wasn’t entirely certain whether she really liked Stark Raving Hazelnuts, or if it was because she felt that choosing Stark Raving Hazelnuts was a sign of loyalty—and Nebula was nothing if not loyal—and refused to try anything else. “Stark Raving Hazelnuts it is.” And he supposed he could pick up some Hunka Hulk of Burning Fudge for Stephen’s sake.

The traitor.

They got Nebula suited up in a photostatic mask and glove set before heading out. The drive from the compound to the city wasn’t too long and Nebula spent most of the time factually relaying her adventures since the last time she had visited and texting with Stephen and Peter on his phone to finalize their plans.

They made several stops to gather the requisite food before Tony took them to Central Park.

Both Peter and Stephen were already there sitting on a blanket that Peter had brought, when he and Nebula arrived at the spot they’d ended up agreeing to.

Peter proved his priorities by grabbing the bags of food and setting it on the blanket, plopping down and immediately starting to divvy up the food. 

Tony rolled his eyes while Stephen stood, stepping close and pressing a quick kiss to Tony’s lips. Nebula and Peter made a simultaneous disgusted noise as though he and Stephen had started making out in front of them. Tony considered flipping them off, but then decided it was probably not a good idea to set a bad example for Peter and the gesture would be lost on Nebula anyways.

He stepped away from Stephen and grinned up at his sort of, kind of boyfriend.

Stephen smiled back at him.

“Food,” Peter called out, interrupting the moment. “And I’m starving, so if you don’t sit down and eat I’m stealing your food too.”

“I brought enough for even you,” Tony said. Still, he and Stephen both sat down and grabbed their plates and hamburgers.

Tony looked around at the group and their spontaneous picnic, Peter hoarding the food, Nebula examining everything with her careful scrutinization, Stephen sending a knowing smile in his direction.

Huh.

Kinda perfect.

[bunnliix]

Somebody I used to Know

I wrote this a couple weeks ago when I was feeling angsty, so this is not a reflection of my mood today, since I got Stray Kids tickets! But, have some angst with this fic because this fic hurts/

Pairing: Chan x reader Summary: You realize the distance between you and Chan, and think about your friendship with the idol. wc: 2.6k Genre: Angst Warnings: Angst (it's really angsty y'all), hurt/no comfort, reader being sad, crying, anxiety, reader having a really rough time here, panicking on the side of Felix and Chan, yelling I think, this is just really sad and we got no happy ending. Nets: @mirohs-aurora-society Beta'd by the lovely @palindrome969

It had taken you a while to realize just how distant you and Chris had become. You had been friends with him for years, even before he had left for Seoul to pursue being an idol. Despite the long distance between the two of you, your friendship had remained strong, both of you finding time to maintain it and spend time with each other.

Now, you had realized that more and more time passed between the times you would talk with him. It made sense, Chan had gotten busier as time had passed, Stray Kids shooting up in popularity. But it had really been in the last year that he had messaged you less and less. You had to message him first most of the time nowadays, and even then, the likelihood of getting a response quickly, or at all, wasn’t great. You felt like you found out more about what he was up to via social media, than from Christopher himself. You were used to hearing every little thing that happened, both for himself personally, and for his group. You didn’t quite know when that stopped, but it had, and that feeling and realization hurt. You had been one of his closest friends for years, and now you felt that he was an acquaintance, almost a stranger to you.

And now here you sit, in a hotel in Seoul, having planned a trip to see him and the others. Felix had helped you plan this trip, seeing as you hadn’t gotten a chance to see Chan in a couple years now, due to busy social and work lives. You were grateful to the other Aussie, but now as you sat here to unanswered texts from either man, you felt that maybe this trip had been stupid. You figured Felix would make sure that there was time for you two to meet, but you guessed he forgot, even as close as two days ago, when you checked in for the final time before flying here. 

You laid back on the bed, when your phone buzzed and when you pulled it up to your face, you saw it was a message from Chris.

‘Sorry, I can’t talk now. Can we talk later?’

You sighed, feeling tears well in your eyes as you responded, ‘That’s fine. Talk to you later Chris.’

You wallowed in your sadness for a while, losing track of time while you let yourself drown in the silence of the hotel room. You didn’t know what to do now. Felix still hadn’t answered you, and it’s not like you had ever gotten any of the other’s numbers. Sure, you could go to JYPE and try to see him there, but you didn’t think your chances of even getting in would be good. That left you with a trip to Seoul where you now had nothing to do.

After another hour of laying there, you decided to get up, decided to go and explore the city. Because why not? You should at least use your time here wisely, and despite being friends, you had never travelled to or explored Seoul before.

You decided to wander, letting yourself be guided wherever your feet took you, finding yourself walking down side streets filled with little shops and buying whatever caught your eye. You spent the majority of the daytime that remained like this, just finding the little family run shops and cheering yourself up by buying things that made you happy. 

When you returned to the hotel later that evening, having had dinner and carrying multiple bags, you also found yourself getting a message from Felix.

‘Sorry! I was busy today, the group had rehearsals for our concerts in a couple days. Also, there will be a ticket for you, for the concert in two days. You’ll also have backstage access after the concert ends.’ The message said, along with the location of the concert.

Well, you guessed this will be your chance to see Chris then, even if it was just at a concert. You moved to drop your bags on the table in the room, moving to figure out a suitable outfit for a concert. You found more than a couple options, leaving them laid out to ask Felix his thoughts on them later, figuring the idol might have some opinions.

(linebreak)

You looked up at the arena hosting the concert, finding yourself among thousands of your friend’s fans, and somehow seeing the pickets of him and those dressed up like him only made you feel sadder, not happier. You had been effectively ignored by Chris, the man not having messaged you. And that shouldn’t have surprised you, but it did make standing here today even harder. You no longer felt like a friend, you felt like one of their fans. And no hatred to their fans, they’re wonderful people, but you hated being reduced to coming to a concert for a chance to even see him, let alone talk to him. 

You found a staff member, and asked them for directions to where Felix had told you to go, to retrieve your ticket and anything else you needed. You were quickly directed to where you needed to go, finding one of their managers and after proving you were who you said you were, you were then ushered to the line up with the rest of those who had won the battle for floor tickets. You didn’t really care if you were at the front, and found yourself towards the middle of the line. Though this didn’t stay that way for long, finding yourself pulled by a staff member to your rightful place, at least as far as the number on your wristband told you.

Because you had arrived late, and maybe to the displeasure of those around you, you didn’t have to wait too long before you were let into the stadium. You found yourself right against the barrier, despite your wish not to be that close. But here you were, and within a half an hour, the group your friend led was walking out onto the stage for soundcheck.

You watched as they waved at all of their fans, and you guessed you were now included in that category, and you noticed that Felix saw you, smiling and waving at you, which you returned, though you knew your smile was strained. You could see how the blonde wished he could say hello, but this was not the time nor the place, and he was quickly swept back into the group to start the soundcheck rehearsal for the fans. You watched as they performed song after song, and interacted with their fans in between.

Somehow Chris never walked by your side of the stage, though almost every other member had. You instead watched him as he interacted with the crowd of fans, saw the genuine smile on his face as he did, remembering a time when you got those smiles too. You felt tears well in your eyes, and you quickly tried to blink them away, and just as you wished hadn’t happened, Felix walked by and saw the tears in your eyes before you could hide them. You know he saw them, his eyebrows furrowing in concern and worry, but before he could do anything, he was grabbed by Hyunjin, who dragged him away.

You just stared at the stage for the rest of the soundcheck, which thankfully only lasted for another fifteen minutes. You didn’t quite know what to feel anymore, all of your feelings hitting you at once. You moved towards the back of the area you were at, letting others take your spot at the barricade. You didn’t want to be up close anymore, you fear you would sob if you were there the entire time. And being at the back allowed you to stay away from the view of either Aussie idol when it came time for the actual show to start.

(linebreak)

“Y/n’s here tonight,” Felix said, as he sat down next to Chan.

“What? She’s here?” Chan said, confused. How was she here at the concert, let alone in South Korea? He didn’t know she was supposed to be here, and she should have told him that she was here.

Felix nodded, “Yeah, she’s out in the crowd. She looked like she was going to cry at one point,” he said, both to himself and to Chan, a bit confused at Chan’s reactions. Felix had told the older Aussie that his friend was coming to Korea to see him. How could he have forgotten? He remembered it clear as day, he told the older man while he had been in the studio with 3racha.

“Oh,” Chan said, not sure what to say. He didn’t really know what to do with that. Maybe she was just emotional to finally be able to see him performing? To his knowledge, she had never gotten the chance to see him or the group as a whole perform live.

Before Felix could say anything more, their manager stuck his head into the green room, interrupting anything the blonde was going to say, “Guys, five minutes till show time, let’s go.”

Felix lost any chance of saying anything further, as the group of eight men walked out to start their concert.

The start of the actual concert came very quickly, and you watched as they all came out, their energy insanely high, and even as your emotions swirled within you, and the realizations of what your choices were, you felt yourself be absorbed into that energy as well.

You were merely an observer within the thousands of fans, feeling like you were on the outside of it all. You watched every interaction Chan had with fans, and though you knew it wasn’t the same, you realized that his happiness here was more than you had ever received in recent times. He seemed lively, happy, enjoying life, and as the concert continued, you realized that you no longer had a place in his life.

You realized that no amount of effort you could put into this friendship would make it work. Chan had stopped putting the effort in, and maybe it was time for you to do the same. Taking one long look at your friend on stage, seeing him looking over towards you, though you doubt he even saw you, you saw him smiling and happy, and that was the best way you could think to remember him. You only ever wanted him to be happy, and maybe his happiness didn’t include you anymore. 

Feeling a tear trail down your cheek, you turned and started walking away from the floor, and walking away from your shot at talking to Christopher. You knew that you could have taken the chance to talk to Chris and figure all of this out, but would it really do anything with how much the friendship had died already? 

You silently walked out of the stadium, a clear contrast to all the happy and excited fans who filled the stadium. You had located one of their managers, who had been alerted to your presence, by their recognition of you, and returned the lanyard that would have granted you backstage access. You told them, when asked, that you weren’t feeling well, and that you were returning to your hotel.

It took a while to get back to your hotel room, and instead of changing, you just crawled into the bed and laid there, zoning out and staring up at the ceiling as tears fell down your cheeks. You didn’t know how long you laid there, until your phone started buzzing like crazy, and you found that both Felix and Chan were messaging you. You numbly read through their messages, and as you took a couple deep breaths, you created a group chat for the three of you. 

You first thanked Felix for doing his best to get you and Chan the opportunity to meet up again and hang out. Because you were thankful. He had been helping you do this, as well as informing Chan about it, all while being busy himself. You even thanked him for the concert ticket, and that you were grateful to see them live, just once. As you kept typing, messages from the two came flooding in, each one more concerned than the last. When Felix stopped typing, you think he must have come to one of two conclusions, either you were ending the friendship, or doing something worse than that.

‘Christopher, I will always cherish our memories together, the decade long friendship that we shared. But I think we’re on different paths now, I think fate has said that our journey ends here. So with a heavy heart, I wish you all the best, and I’ll always love you, even though we won’t get to talk anymore. Goodbye Chris.’’

You left the group chat after that, not seeing any of the responses from either idol, and while it took you a moment to push yourself to do it, you deleted both of their numbers. Setting your phone down and ignoring the buzzing, you pulled your laptop out, deciding to cut your trip short, and rebooking your flight to leave midday tomorrow. You knew that as much as you’d like to stay here longer, if you wanted to avoid contact with your now ex-friend, it would be better to leave.

You then moved to pack up your things, not that you had many to begin with, as well as laying out your comfiest outfit for the morning, and packing away the outfit you had on currently. But not before taking one last selfie in it, so you could look back on this day, as sad as it would be.

You had arrived at the airport a couple hours early, having checked out of your hotel room early, knowing Felix had known what hotel you were in, and hoping to avoid that interaction. Thankfully the check-in process was quick, seeing as you were there much earlier than others would be, and it was just under 30 minutes before you were making your way over to security. You were in line waiting to enter security when you heard someone call out your name. You turned your head to find Chan, a hat and mask on, but neither hid his eyes, his eyes that were red and bloodshot as he stared right at you.

“Please! Talk to me!” Chan begged you, standing on the other side of the barrier that separated the two of you.

You couldn’t find it in yourself to muster up the words to respond to him. You knew this was the coward’s way out, but you just turned around and moved into security all while he kept calling out to you, his cries getting more desperate.

You went through security, knowing that he was still on the other side hoping that you’d turn around and come back out. But you couldn’t.

Instead, once you passed through security, you opened up your phone to send him one more text.

‘I’m sorry it had to end like this, Chris. I’m truly sorry. I’m a coward who can’t muster up the words to explain why, but this is better for both of us. I won’t have to worry if you really still want to be friends or if I still have a place in your life, and you can forget about me and continue making your fans happy.’

You knew you could absolutely be the villain in this story, and you were okay being that. No matter what, you couldn’t hurt him. Chris was too good for you to ever do that. You turned your notifications off as you put your phone in your pocket, heading to your gate, and leaving this all behind.

Taglist: @bethelighthalazia

[sammysbrokenheart]

End of the day

Warning: no warning just fluff

Summary: Maya saw it all. It's just right that she brings everyone else up to speed. Part 2 of Hey Angel

After high school Maya convinced you to get your own apartment close to campus. Since your parents weren't interested in teaching you about being independent she would do it herself. Maya never agreed with your parents because to them as long as you complied with what they wanted they were willing to give you whatever you wanted.

They raised you in such a way where you didn't dare to have your own opinions in fear of them pulling back the little affection they gave you.

That is also why Maya decided to take a more hands on approach with you around the time you turned 11. She didn't like the angel system because she was only allowed 6 hours out of the day to be on earth before the pull took her back to her cloud, but she made the most of the time she had and she planned her days. Sometimes she would be on earth for 6 hours consecutively or she would break up the 6 hours throughout the day.

Your parents were okay with you living on your own in an apartment close to campus as long as you were studying for a business degree and getting good grades. This condition wasn't hard for you, you're a smart girl.

"Y/N go to that cute little coffee shop on campus, your usual spot is so out of your way," Maya told you one day.

As much as you didn't wanna admit it she wasn't wrong. Your usual spot is in the opposite direction of campus and you always end up being late because of your "quick" coffee runs.

"Fine, I'll try local. At least it has a good reputation," you said and Maya gave you a thumbs up before retreating back to her cloud.

That day 19 year old you met 20 year old Billie. She was a music major who worked part time as a barista. Maya could see that Billie was immediately smitten with you. You were also curious about her.

You went back the next day and the next day. Your mood instantly shifted the moment you saw Billie. At home you used Maya's hour to rant about your new best friend Billie as if Maya wasn't watching over you all day.

"This sounds more like a crush don't you think," Maya said and it was like something clicked. You stayed away from the coffee shop for a week and ignored Billie's messages. You even ignored Maya then one evening you broke down.

Coming to terms with the fact that you were gay was incredibly intense. Especially because at the time you had a boyfriend, his name was Eric. He was your mother's best friends son.

Breaking up with him was easy, but showing your face at the coffee shop was hard. Maya was at the edge of her seat, well, cloud. Neither knew what Billie was going to say. You rehearsed an entire speech, but what came out of your mouth was pure word vomit.

You laid everything out on the table bright and early in the morning infront of everyone and somehow that worked. It took three weeks for Billie to become your girlfriend.

Billie was good for you. She valued your opinion and always wanted to hear it which forced you to start thinking for yourself. You realized you liked having that kind of control. She taught you new skills like playing piano and you taught her where a person can find the best discounts in town. She always pushed you to dream bigger and that scared you a lot.

Maya watched you stay up some nights torn between the dreams you dream with Billie and the reality of what your parents would allow.

Billie knew about your family dynamic and she was patient. She didn't rush or force you into anything, but as the years went by she started expressing that so she wanted more with you. Then she proposed to you.

You panicked, asked for some time and left her room immediately, greeted her parents on the way out and immediately drove yourself home. She was patient and told you that you had a day and now it was time.

Maya held her breath. The scene looked like it was playing in slow motion. Your face was unreadable, Maya has never seen you like this. She had no idea what you were going to tell Billie.

You wiped your eyes and took a deep breath. Billie stood infront of you. She looked so anxious which mimicked the way Maya was feeling.

"Yes." Maya heard you say whiched caused her to jump up screaming in delight. Billie had you in her arms and she was spinning you around, tears streaming down her face.

Maya saw you look up to the sky and you blew her a kiss. Maya could feel something in her melt. She knew you were going to be fine.

Maya looked at her transition files that she refused to fill in because she didn't want to lose her 6 hours with you, but in this moment Maya realized that you truly were okay and that she'll also be okay watching over you permanently from her cloud.

[lucagray813]

Shadow - Chapter 5

Title: Getting Close

Rating: M (M rated sections are marked with the line break --M-- at the start so skip to the next normal line break (----) if you want to avoid them)

Word Count: ~10,000

Characters: Wukong, Macaque

Minor Characters: Mentioned Lady Bone Demon, Bǎi Hé

Relationships: Macaque/Wukong

Minor Relationships: Macaque & Bǎi Hé

Summary: Discussions about sex and sex-related shenanigans abound as well as some heavier talks about the Lady Bone Demon and the fact Bǎi Hé is growing up.

Additional Tags: Developing Relationship, Acquired Disability, Slice of Life, DBK is called Niú, PIF is called Gōngzhǔ

CW: sexual humour, impotence, sex talk, mentions of casual sex, morning wood, inappropriate artefacts?

Link to AO3 Version

Chapter Navigation: First | Prev | Next

----

Wukong was having a bad day. He'd slept poorly, had woken up in a terrible mood and now nothing seemed to be able to make it better. It definitely wasn't helped by Macaque raising an eyebrow at his "grouchiness" and deciding he'd rather be literally anywhere else than here and getting snapped at over nothing.

And you know, tomorrow when he was no longer feeling so irritable, he'd think that was totally fair. God knows, how many times he'd avoided Macaque or outright told him to go somewhere else because he was in a bad mood. Today, however, it only annoyed him further.

By the time Macaque had returned he had at least gained some awareness of his mood and was a tiny bit better prepared to try and not take it out on someone who really hadn't done anything to deserve it but he knew he didn't have much patience at his disposal today.

Macaque had come back in an odd mood himself, he seemed on edge and when asked about it, he'd replied shortly, saying he'd helped MK out with some hero stuff. Hero stuff that went fine by the sounds of it - bad guy was beat and no notable injuries or collateral damage. He pressed further but all Macaque would tell him was this bad guy of the week had just rubbed him the wrong way.

He wouldn't tell him what the guy had been up to or who he was but everything about Macaque's body language was screaming at him to drop it and huffily he did. Even refrained from making some snippy comment about how much he loved Macaque's habit of keeping him guessing for no good reason.

Whatever. He just needed to get through the day and then they could start a fresh tomorrow. After sitting on it for a while, he realised he probably hadn't exactly been giving off "non-judgemental, you can talk to me" vibes.

But it wasn't at all helped by Macaque flip flopping between seemingly wanting to be as close to him as possible and as far away as possible - with an in between that just seemed to consist of glaring at him from a short distance.

It was during the most recent glaring session that he finally snapped, "What is your problem? You're either clinging to me, nowhere to be seen or glaring at me! What is going on?"

Predictably, Macaque just crossed his arms and looked away from him. A little less predictably, he muttered an apology and disappeared into the shadows.

"Macaque! Wait-! Agh!"

He did not have the patience or tact needed for this today. Why couldn't this have happened yesterday or tomorrow? Or literally any of the hundreds of other days that he wasn't feeling so short tempered.

Macaque did not reappear and Wukong could do nothing but sulk about it. It didn't compare to how awful he felt though when he received a message from MK asking how Macaque was because apparently everyone had been a bit shaken up from hero business today.

And it wasn't at all surprising since the bad guy's whole deal had been death magic.

He buried his face in his hands. Of all the days, of all the bad guys... He took a deep breath before he picked up his phone and told MK that Macaque was a bit on edge but he would be alright before asking after the rest of them. Once he'd heard back that they were all okay and having a slumber party later he let any thoughts of MK leave his mind.

He hoped Macaque was still on the island and not somewhere he couldn't physically reach. He slid off the couch and took up his preferred meditation pose. He'd tried more than once today to meditate to get his head on straight but each failed attempt only added to his frustration.

Right now though, he had ample motivation and finding Macaque like this was almost something he could do in his sleep. He kept his focus light, he just wanted to know if he was still on the island, he wasn't planning to astral project if he was. He sighed in relief when he felt Macaque's soul nearby.

He didn't immediately get up and go to him however. He was going to take a moment and then approach him with compassion and patience. However he'd been feeling today would have to just deal with being moved to one side. Waking up on the wrong side of the bed was not comparable to facing literal trauma.

He couldn't say he was a big fan of the small, dark cave that Macaque had squirreled himself away in. The only reason he could vaguely even see at all without his golden vision was because of the violet glow being emitted from the ball of magic that Macaque held close to his chest.

Not something he'd ever seen him do before but he decided to take it as a positive sign that Macaque was letting him see it now. He could have disappeared the moment he'd heard Wukong's footsteps head in his direction.

He carefully picked his way across the uneven ground, before stopping a short distance away and cautiously starting off, "MK got in touch - wanted to know how you were after this morning. He told me what happened... You want to talk about it?"

The silence that followed was more than a little concerning, so he took a few steps closer, "Macaque?" He was brought to a halt by the dangerous looking shadows taking physical form around them. He backed off slightly and that seemed to appease the shadows.

Macaque hadn't left or forced him out though and Wukong decided to take as a sign his presence wasn't actually unwanted, so he sat down and waited. He was trying to figure out his next course of action when Macaque spoke, "Do you remember anything about being possessed by the Lady Bone Demon?"

Unfortunately, despite his many attempts to repress it, he could in fact remember most of it. Some of the fighting was a bit hazy but the desperate struggle to try and rid himself of her control was much clearer than he'd like.

Reluctantly he offered, "Some of it, yeah."

"Do you remember how it felt? To have her magic inside you?"

A shiver went through him as if he could suddenly feel that unfathomable cold coming from deep within him. It was quite possibly up there as one of his worst experiences - even without the whole being forced to fight his friends nightmare - just that feeling of being both too full, and yet achingly empty. Of having someone strangle his very essence with their own. It was enough to keep him up for nights at a time.

Quietly he admitted, "Yeah, I remember."

"Describe it?"

It felt like an impossible ask. They'd already established that magic didn't like to be put into words. And honestly, he'd rather do anything but make the experience all the more real but he was sure Macaque was going somewhere with this, and would hopefully share his own experiences if he did the same.

He clasped a hand over his heart as he tried to find the words, "It was like... a constricting weight on my magic, wrapped around it tightly with these smaller poisonous tendrils slowly trying to force themselves towards my very core. It was... awful. Violating."

Way, way back in the day magic had often been described as the blood of the soul. And Wukong couldn't help but feel there was some credence to that theory - the Lady Bone Demon's attempt to control him had felt like an attack on his very spirit. Although given the source of her magic perhaps it had been.

Macaque pulled the small manifestation of his magic away from him just enough to look at it. Even if Wukong had had a clear enough view of his face he had a feeling he still wouldn't be able to interpret the complicated expression he was wearing.

Macaque admitted, "Sometimes, I can still feel her magic stitched into mine." He continued before Wukong could offer any reassurances, "I know it's in my head." He held up the ball of magic as if to show him, "I know there's no trace of her left in me but after that run in with that bastard today I just can't shake the feeling that there is."

Wukong had obviously seen the terrible way her magic had engulfed Macaque's right side, had felt the scarring it had left in it's wake but he didn't think that's what he meant, quietly he asked, "Describe it?"

The ball of magic separated into two, one taking on a much deeper colour than the other, they started to move around one another leaving tangled trails behind them - like snakes intertwining themselves with one another.

It was almost beautiful, almost as if they were dancing, but as he watched it became clear that the lighter of the two orbs was following the other, occasionally looping possessively around the tail the darker one was leaving.

Macaque lifted a finger out to touch the darker orb and the lighter one spiked up, aggressively forcing the other to move away from the appendage. He dropped his hand and watched the orbs continue to move as he explained, "I could always feel it, this cold, dead magic running through me. It was only painful if I tried anything to get rid of it but even when it wasn't actively hurting me... It just felt wrong."

He paused for a minute before continuing sounding a little distraught, "It didn't matter where I went or what I did, she was always there with me, burrowed into the very essence of who I am. I hadn't known a moment's peace until she was finally fucking dead."

The cave went totally dark as he buried his head against his knees, "But it's still not enough. She's dead but she's still here with me. I just want her gone. How do I make her leave me alone? How do I make her stop?"

He was powerless to ignore the need to get closer and comfort him but as soon as he stood and took a step forward, he heard a panicked scramble. He stopped as he heard Macaque choke out, "D-don't! Fuck. Please, just- Don't come closer."

He very reluctantly sat back down and tried to make sure none of his own distress was audible as he replied, "Hey, it's fine. I won't come any closer. You're ok."

He couldn't resist the urge to use his golden vision to check on him however. Another time he likely would have been impressed by the strength of Macaque's glamours, all he could see was that there were definitely glamours there but not what they were hiding. Although with the way Macaque was hunched over he likely wouldn't have been able to see anything he wasn't allowed to see yet.

Voice muffled Macaque got out, "Shit. Sorry."

"Hey, we're fine." He tried to joke lightly, "I get it. The mood I've been in today, I wouldn't want to be near me either."

His poor attempt at a smile quickly fell at the sound of a small sniffle. He floundered for the words that would somehow make this better but Macaque spoke before he found them, "Sometimes, I think about how you overcame her control and think you could do the same for me. Just chase out all trace of her. But the thought of anyone's magic, even yours, getting close enough to do that... I just can't..."

Wukong felt his shoulders sink. Well, that went some way to explain Macaque's inconsistent behaviour today. It also explained another mystery that he'd been trying to solve.

Wukong was on board and up-to-date with Macaque's research into magic but there had been a surprising lack of experimentation into how their magic interacted together, they only tended to focus on how their magic reacted to various stimuli, even though he'd made it plenty clear he was willing and able to try out pretty much anything Macaque suggested. Well, within reason anyway.

He was really trying to follow Macaque's lead on this - let him decide how this should progress but he couldn't deny he'd been tempted to try and push him. But he was beginning to understand why Macaque had been so reluctant.

Magic could be combined in incredible ways, such as in show stopping feats that required a hefty amount of magic or to cast spells that needed mastery of more than one magic type. Magic could complement someone else's - just being in sync with someone whose magic you knew well could have both of you performing better, magic flowing smoother, spells easier to cast.

And he knew in theory that magic could combine on a much more personal level. He'd heard of ancient demon clans that shared magic with one another through various means. Personally, he'd never really experienced it but he had somewhat assumed that that's what Macaque meant when he'd told him he had wanted to know how their magic could interact.

He thought feeling his magic intertwined with Macaque's sounded like it could be something wonderful. It wouldn't be at all like the awful feeling of the Lady Bone Demon trying to control him and make his magic her own. It would be a new way to know each other. It would be good, he was sure of it.

Scarily deep and personal but well that's sort of what he aspired to have with Macaque anyway.

He took a breath and tried to soothe him, "I'm not going to do anything you don't want me to. On a better day we can talk more about it but right now all you need to focus on is the fact that the only magic flowing through you is yours."

He started talking him through a sort of basic meditation with the focus being on the way his magic felt. It was something Macaque could do in his sleep, and had quite possibly been doing something similar when he'd found him. In any other situation, Macaque probably would have been more than a little offended by the notion he needed guidance for something so trivial but as it was he seemed to be following along.

He kept talking long after he'd run out of things to say, repeating and reiterating the practice until he felt solid shadows wrap around his hand. He squeezed them gently, confident the gesture wouldn't be lost on Macaque. He asked, "You ready to get out of here?"

With less levity than he was sure was intended, Macaque responded, "The dark getting to you?"

Wukong shook his head, and lifted the shadows still holding onto his hand up to his lips for a moment, "We can stay here as long as you need."

He heard him take a measured breath before Macaque stood and made his way to stand in front of him and offered a hand, voice only sounding slightly unsteady, he responded, "Nah, it's close to dinner time. C'mon, let's go home."

Wukong took his hand and followed Macaque out of the cave. He blinked his golden vision away as his eyes tried to adjust to the late evening light. Macaque squeezed his hand once and then let go.

For the rest of the evening, Wukong had taken the tact to let Macaque do as he pleased when it came to space and touch without commenting or reciprocating. If he wanted to sit close to him for only a handful of minutes before retreating only to repeat the process moments later then Wukong let him without complaint.

It seemed to have been the right strategy as over the next few hours he seemed to settle, until he was curled up against his chest as they watched TV.

Macaque had looked somewhat guilty when it came time for bed but Wukong refused to make a big deal about him obviously wanting to sleep by himself. He just got ready as he normally did but he did appreciate the gentle kiss he got before Macaque wished him good night and left him to it.

----

It had taken Macaque a few days to properly bounce back from his unfortunate run in with death magic but almost immediately following it he'd quite determinedly told Wukong that they should work on casting spells together.

And then he'd dragged him off to the training ground he'd prepared before Wukong could offer any protests. Once he saw what Macaque had in mind however he was more or less on board.

The ground was covered in various seals that required two people to activate them. It technically involved their magic interacting together but it would all happen within the seal and depending on the seal it might not even require them to really synchronise beyond activating the right amount of magic at the same time.

It was by and large a very sensible first step and honestly, Wukong was pretty excited to see what spells Macaque had put together. Although, he decided a little wariness was warranted - he absolutely did not trust Macaque not to try and prank him in the process. For all he knew there was a seal here that would explode magic paint everywhere and only Macaque would know to take cover.

Explosions of all sorts had definitely been on the agenda and Wukong was definitely going to tease Macaque later for including so many firework-like displays. The big sap had clearly done it because he knew Wukong would love it.

And he definitely had. In fact, the whole exercise had been a lot of fun and he was sort of excited to put his own seals together for them to try. He could easily see this becoming a competition to see who could put together the most surprising or spectacular spell and he was here for it.

In his excitement however he had let his guard down and as they approached the last seal, any thoughts of foul play had totally left his head. He blinked in confusion as the seal seemed to do nothing when activated.

He looked over to see Macaque looking equally confused and couldn't help but tease, "You losing your touch, Mac? Better be careful or I'll snatch up your title as the resident seals expert."

Macaque scowled at him, and waved at the ink of the ground, "You think you know so much? Why don't you look at it and see what went wrong then?"

He grinned as he crouched down so he could get a proper look, "Don't worry. I've heard performance issues are common with monkeys your age."

He heard a snort from behind him, "You would know."

He didn't retort as he started looking at the seal in earnest and what he was seeing was absolutely nonsense, "Were you drunk when you did this? What even is any of this?"

That's what he had intended to say at least, he was interrupted by the boot in between his shoulder blades pushing him off balance and sending him tumbling through the shadow portal that had suddenly appeared on the ground.

Between crouching on solid ground and landing face first in the weird pond that turned everything that touched it green, he only had time to curse himself for falling for such an obvious ruse. Unbelievable. He was the King of pranks and tricks and he'd fallen for that? He didn't deserve his metaphorical crown.

He emerged from the water to an audience of hysterically laughing monkeys but his eyes were only for the smirking jerk standing well back from the splash zone. He was going to wipe that look of his face, he swore Macaque was going to be stuck being green with him for the days it took to wear off.

Macaque just grinned widely before he darted off and Wukong was out of the water faster than a blink of an eye. Trying not to take too much delight in the chase, lest he forget about his retribution.

--M--

Waking up with Macaque in his arms was undoubtedly his favourite way to start the day. Despite the number of times they had shared a bed, it was incredibly rare to wake up to one of them holding the other. He tended to toss and turn too much and Macaque generally tucked himself into a ball and didn't move at all, so rarely did the stars a line to allow it.

But today was apparently one of those blessed days and he intended to savour it for as long as he could. It was only as he nosed at the back of Macaque's neck and pulled him closer to his front that he became aware of an unexpected addition to this usually soft and precious moment.

Wukong was not one to be afflicted with morning wood often but he wasn't immune. He thought he could be forgiven however for reacting to Macaque's backside pressed up against him. He was quite happy to ignore it though in favour of dozing with Macaque bundled up in his arms, it certainly wasn't detracting from the experience.

Well, his experience, at least. Macaque didn't seem appreciative of the unexpected addition as he mumbled, "Wukong, if your dick doesn't stop poking me in the ass I promise you'll regret it."

He grumbled back, "As if you can feel it." But he did reach down between them and adjust himself. He couldn't help but pout slightly, he had been exceptionally comfortable, "Happy?"

Macaque absentmindedly grunted his assent, apparently more concerned with trying to go back to sleep than engaging with him any further. Instead of doing the same however he found himself idly playing with the fur on Macaque's hip as his mind wandered.

Sex probably wasn't on the table for their relationship, right? Not that that was a problem, Wukong had never really been that fussed about it in the first place, but he'd be lying if he said it wasn't something he would've never have been interested in trying with Macaque.

Well, trying it properly, at least. Because he and Macaque had actually had sex before - a handful of times a long, long, long time ago - but it was less the tender, loving thing he now was aware it could be and more... well, more like monkeys going at it in the woods.

And as one might imagine it was an activity that generally only benefited one of them and there were no prizes for guessing who. Although, he was sure if Macaque had ever asked it would never have been an issue to change things up but he generally seemed pretty unbothered by the whole thing.

In fact, he could vaguely remember him just rolling his eyes before obliging Wukong's requests. Or... not obliging him if he wasn't in the mood to deal with him. Wukong was no brute, he knew how to take no for an answer, but that didn't mean he hadn't been incredibly annoying about it, and as such, depending on how bad a mood Macaque had been in, he had on occasion found himself dumped in a cold lake somewhere in the world.

So sex hadn't happened often and that had been totally fine but he couldn't help but feel somewhat annoyed at his younger self for being so... monkey about it when it did happen. It could have been something really special, something that brought them closer together. Instead it had been about scratching an itch with the only available demon for miles around.

One more regret to add to the list.

He couldn't help but imagine what it could have been like though - for both of them to get something out of the experience, for both of them to care as much, if not more, about the other's pleasure as their own.

He had no real experience to pull from but a fantasy built upon the familiar was starting to take shape - making out was something they did on occasion and in his mind he could see how hands and lips started to wander. His little daydream however was rudely cut off before it could really get going by a deliberate elbow shoved into his stomach.

He groaned, "What the hell was that for?"

Macaque scoffed as he looked over his shoulder, "Because it turns out blood isn't the only thing that rushes south. Getting a bit excited, were we?"

It took him a moment to understand what he was implying but when it clicked his face was set ablaze, and he suddenly found it difficult to look Macaque in the eye, "You could feel...?"

Unfortunately, his embarrassment was something that Macaque absolutely lapped up and he turned to face him with a delighted grin, "Sure could. You want me to try and describe what it felt like?"

Despite his mortification, he was in fact very interested in the answer, but he in no way wanted to let on how uncool he was feeling about getting caught fantasising. So not trusting his voice he shrugged as nonchalantly as possible.

And he was absolutely not affected by the way Macaque twirled the fur on his hips around his finger as he teased, "What's the matter, Wukong? Cat got your tongue?"

He coughed awkwardly, "No... I just... Er, tell me what it felt like?"

"Tell you what what felt like?"

"Macaque!"

"What? Just tell me what you want. Who knows? Maybe I'll even give it to you."

His suggestive tone left his mouth dry and his mind in the gutters. He bit his tongue before he could say anything foolish. There was no way. This was a trap. It had to be. That coy grin was full of mischief. There was nothing he could say that wouldn't be turned against him somehow.

He bowed his head in defeat, "Just... Tell me what it felt like when I was... Y'know... Turned on."

He wanted to cringe. What was wrong with him? He shouldn't be so embarrassed, he was basically just handing Macaque the upper hand on a silver platter, but this atmosphere that Macaque had created was keeping him off kilter. He felt out of his depth.

Macaque's hand slid from his hip up to his cheek and directed his gaze back up. His amusement was clear to see and Wukong was really hating how none of this seemed to be turning him off at all.

Macaque leaned in a little closer, "What were you thinking about that had you so "turned on", hm?"

Against his will, his eyes flicked down to Macaque's lips briefly and he hoped against hope Macaque somehow wasn't able to "see" that. He heroically tried to gain some control of the situation, "Wh-What does it matter? You some sort of pervert?"

Macaque laughed, "Me? Who's the one so obviously excited right now?" Despite knowing the answer, he still glanced down between them for some reason, and unfortunately he was indeed the only one with any incriminating evidence against him.

Macaque slowly dragged his hand down from his face to his chest, at Wukong's audible swallow, he continued, "But it matters because I want to know exactly what is causing the magic pooling around your balls to feel so hot and heavy. You know I like to be thorough when your magic is involved."

As his hand slipped lower and lower, Wukong's thoughts had been reduced to something along the lines of Holy Shit! Holy Shit! What do I do? Is he really going to-? What do I do?

At the last possible moment, Macaque pulled his hand away with joyous laughter, "You should see your face! Oh, wait, maybe I can recreate it with the shadows for you. Hold on-"

He was cut off as Wukong brought a hand to the back of his head and surged forward to kiss him. Macaque managed a small sound of surprise, and half a second to laugh before he reciprocated, trying to keep up with Wukong's desperation.

God, he was the worst. He hated him so much. Stupid, mouthy jerk with his stupid, sexy teasing. He was going to kiss him until he looked as debauched as he felt.

He brought his hand down to Macaque's hip and dragged him closer but he wasn't so lost in the haze of lust not to feel how tense Macaque became in response. He pulled away with the intent to check on him but Macaque pulled him back in with a hand in his hair before he could utter a word.

Given the enthusiasm of the kissing he was less inclined to believe something was amiss and more inclined to believe that Macaque was perhaps a little less cool and collected than he'd let on. And maybe it was possible he was the teeniest bit nervous about this and didn't want Wukong to call him out on it.

He resisted the urge to grin as he thought about how he could possibly get his own back for earlier and give Macaque a taste of his own medicine. So fully intending not to follow through, he let his hands trail down Macaque's hip and towards his dick. He was not at all expecting the near bruising grip on his wrist before he even got close though.

He pulled back from the kiss immediately and gently removed his hand from Macaque's hold so he could safely place it on his arm, Macaque wouldn't look at him and Wukong started to ramble, "I wasn't planning to... I mean, I just wanted to... I'm sorry? I didn't... Are you ok?"

Macaque bit out, "Fine." Before grumbling, "Stupid. I shouldn't have..." He turned on his side and faced away from him, "My fault. Sorry."

Wukong was trying to recover from the whiplash this situation had given him but he tentatively laid his hand back on Macaque's arm, "It's ok. I... What just happened? Can you... talk me through it?"

He didn't think he'd done anything wrong but something had certainly happened to upset Macaque. He really, really didn't want this to be one of the times that he left him guessing for any length of time. But he was reassured after a long pause when Macaque reached up and laid his hand on top of his.

Wukong couldn't quite stop the quiet sigh of relief and he took that as a go ahead to plaster himself to Macaque's back - finding he really needed the comfort of touching him. He waited as Macaque pulled his hand down from his arm and held it against his chest, certain he was just trying to find the right words.

"I can't feel things, Wukong."

He frowned against the back of his neck. Macaque could feel things. It wasn't how he felt them but between his shadows and his magic, Wukong was pretty sure in some instances he could actually "feel" more than he could.

But he tried to figure out what Macaque was really trying to say here as he quietly waited for him to elaborate. Which he did with a frustrated sound, "I can't- You touching me isn't going to make anything happen."

Still confused, he tried, "You can feel through your magic though...? How is it different from how we normally make out?"

Obviously, he knew kissing and sex were not the same but from a "feeling through magic" perspective surely the same rules applied - if anything Wukong would have thought it would be even more intense.

"For fuck's sake. I can't get it up, you fucking moron."

Oh.

In hindsight maybe it could have been possible for him to have come to the conclusion himself slightly sooner but it wasn't that obvious and he really didn't appreciate being snapped at.

Macaque seemed to realise that though and with his other hand covering his face he apologised, "Fuck. Sorry. Sensitive subject." He laughed bitterly, "Or not-so sensitive."

He tried to soothe him, "It's ok. It's really not that big a deal."

Macaque seemed to sag in defeat, "In the grand scheme of things? No. But it would have been nice."

Well, he couldn't really deny that but before today the thought hadn't really even crossed his mind so while it was admittedly a little disappointing it was something he'd get over quickly. He was more concerned with how Macaque felt about the whole thing.

He held him tightly, "It might have been but everything we already have is plenty nice. And just so we're absolutely, a hundred percent clear I am in no way upset about this. I mean, I'm upset if you're upset but I promise sex hadn't even crossed my mind before."

Macaque managed a weak laugh, "Yeah, I'm well aware."

He pretended to pout, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Pretty sure there are mushrooms with a higher sex drive than you. You thought about having sex all of maybe ten times before giving it up for good."

Wukong wanted to say he was exaggerating but he probably wasn't actually that far off. Maybe once or twice a century the urge would suddenly hit him but that still seemed to have been more interest than Macaque had ever shown. He wasn't quite sure if it was appropriate to point that out right now though.

A little lamely he said, "Yeah, well, at least you know I'm telling the truth. Are you upset about it though?"

He was quiet for a minute before admitting, "Yeah, I am a bit but I'll get over it." He then laughed slightly, "I'm more upset about how quickly teasing you came back to bite me though. That felt like a new record."

Wukong snorted, "Oh please. You've had almost instant comeuppance plenty of times - you're not as slick as you think you are." He wasn't quite ready to let the topic drop, "But in all seriousness, if you want to talk about it..."

"Yeah, yeah. Chóu's Considerate Husband of the Year award is on it's way."

He puffed up in faux pride, before asking, "Do you think she'll back date me for the awards she didn't know me for yet?"

The bickering over how considerate he had been until this point lasted the rest of the morning.

--M--

Macaque had not so subtly been bringing Wukong seals projects to work on. Sometimes it was under the guise of "Oh, Gōngzhǔ found this artefact and Red Son's too busy to figure out what it does. You've got time, right?" or "Apparently, there's a prize to anyone that can write up a successful counter seal for this. You want to give it a go?"

He generally timed this with whenever Wukong was planning to work on the artefacts that could function as accessibility aids for Macaque and eventually he'd taken the hint and quietly put those projects to one side.

He hadn't outright abandoned them though because even if Macaque wasn't interested they were proving great at teaching him various complicated sealing techniques, including how to redo seals with another type of magic at their core.

But they very rarely got worked on and while he would love for Macaque to actually sit down and talk to him about it - sometimes you just had to pick your battles. Macaque clearly preferred developing his magic over finding ways to "fix" his more conventional senses and Wukong had decided the best option was to support him with that.

So he spent a lot of time working on other projects that Macaque brought him. The one he was currently working on had been niggling at something in the back of his head since he'd started, and it finally dawned on him why. He was sure he'd seen them on a similar artefact he had in the vault and so he stood up with a stretch and told Macaque that he was off to find it.

Macaque had decided he could do with a break from his own project and happily accompanied him to help look for it. His golden vision could make short work of the search but he was sure he knew roughly where it was and it was nice just to go through the treasure piles and see what else there was.

It was as he was doing this, that he came across two artefacts that he remembered throwing over here after deciding they were useless in helping Macaque with his muted senses. He hastily tried to bury them again but the damage had been done.

Macaque's head popped over his shoulder, "What's got your heart racing all of a sudden?"

Racing was a gross overstatement but Macaque could pick up and interpret the slightest changes with annoying accuracy. Foolishly, he turned to face him, shoving the artefacts behind him, "Nothing! Just, er, found some artefacts that might prove useful for a different project later! Not helpful right now though!"

Macaque just raised an eyebrow, "Really? That's what you're going with?"

Wukong just sighed and decided it was best to get the embarrassment over with. He brought the necklace and ring around and presented them to Macaque, "I found these a while back when I was trying to find artefacts that might help you with your sense of touch but they were total write offs. Not even remotely what I was looking for."

Macaque took them off him and held them up curiously, "What do they actually do then?"

He did his best to keep a straight face, "The ring I couldn't actually get to work but the necklace... Well, it does heighten your sense of touch in a manner of speaking..."

Macaque snorted, "It's a sex thing, isn't it?"

He nodded, "It's totally a sex thing. Which I just want to confirm, was not what I was looking for."

Macaque seemed to eye the necklace for a moment before he shrugged and slipped it on. Wukong's eyes widened in disbelief before they immediately shot downwards.

The scuff to the side of his head had been somewhat deserved, "Have some class, Wukong."

He rubbed at his nonexistent pain and tried to defend himself, "Hey, when I tried it on the effect was immediate."

Macaque scoffed, "Maybe you're just easy to please."

Despite himself, he felt his face heat up, "You say that like it's a bad thing! Who wants to be hard to please?"

"Always one extreme or the other with you. Believe it or not, there is in fact this nice middle ground where everyone has a good time."

"I know that! I didn't mean- Ah forget it! Is that necklace doing anything for you or what?"

Macaque hummed and brought a hand to the necklace, "I think I can feel what it's trying to do. But all it's really achieving is making me horny as hell with no way to do anything about it. So thanks for that."

"Wh-? I didn't make you put it on!"

Macaque casually removed the necklace and put it down on the nearest surface before he slipped the ring on and frowned at it, "You said you couldn't get this to work?"

"Yeah, it didn't do anything. Why? You feel something?"

"No... Give me your hand though, I have an idea."

Obligingly, he did so and as soon as Macaque's hand touched his he knew exactly what the ring did. He was going to deny the sound that escaped him for the rest of eternity and he quickly snatched his hand back, "Alrighty! Well, we now know what that does now! That's no help to anyone! Let's put it away, shall we?"

Maybe toss it in a volcano for good measure because he did not like the grin spreading across Macaque's face, "Put it away? Why you haven't even told me what it does yet."

Macaque absolutely knew what it did and for every step forward he took, Wukong took one back, his hands held up in front of him defensively, "We don't have to do this."

Macaque's response was full of delight, "Oh, I think we do. You want a safe word in case you need to tap out?"

He didn't dignify that with a response, he just turned tail and ran. Unfortunately, running from someone with shadow powers was all but impossible and he thought Macaque was taking a truly disproportionate amount of pleasure in this terribly inappropriate game of hide and seek.

Every gentle caress or trailing of his fingers along his skin sent a pleasurable shiver through him and it was all he could do just to not let any more embarrassing sounds escape him. And as if running about with an erection wasn't bad enough, he was appalled to discover that Macaque's vicious laughter was not even nearly the turn off it should be.

It was the ring. It had to be. He refused to accept anything else.

Eventually Macaque had him cornered and Wukong was prepared to beg - for what he wasn't even sure but god was he feeling desperate. As Macaque slowly stalked towards his prey, he suddenly decided this really was way too overwhelming, "Macaque... I... Uh... Safe word? Please?"

He was a little surprised at how immediate an effect that had. Macaque stopped and made a show of removing the ring and having it disappear into the shadows, he spread his arms wide as if to show he had nothing else on him.

He couldn't help but sigh a little in relief, "I, er, didn't think that would actually work."

"Honestly I'm surprised you lasted as long as you did. I thought you would have blown your load after like the third touch."

He was oddly both offended and embarrassingly a little pleased with the backhanded compliment but still slightly aghast at the crude language. He huffed and stood tall, "Guess I'm not so "easy to please" after all."

Macaque shrugged, "It's definitely a step up in duration compared to past performances but I can't say the running away was a shining example of sexual prowess."

Face red, he retorted, "It was a "shining example" of restraint! Something you should think about giving a try sometime!"

Macaque laughed, and he turned away to start heading back, "I think I showed great restraint. I gave you plenty of chances to get away."

Wukong grumbled as he adjusted himself before following after him, "You just wanted to keep the chase going."

"Guilty as charged but don't pretend you don't love that shit too."

It was true - he was almost never happier than he was when they played their game of cat and mouse. It didn't even matter who had what role - it made him feel like he was young again, with no ambitions for power or immortality yet. Just wild and free, without a care in the world.

"Yeah, sure. But for the record? Running with a hard-on really detracts from the whole experience - I could do without that again. What did you do with the ring anyway?"

Macaque just grinned menacingly and forged ahead without answering.

He groaned, silently prayed he would be merciful and jogged after him.

--M--

It was later that evening, after they'd had dinner, that Wukong found himself considering Macaque from the opposite end of the couch, and apropos to nothing he stated, "You've had sex with people other than me."

Macaque looked bemused, "That a problem?"

He made a face, "What? No. I'm just wondering - when? Why? You were even less interested in sex than I was - what changed?"

Macaque seemed to ponder this for a moment before he laughed slightly, "Alright, I'll tell you but it's a story so dumb it defies belief."

His favourite kind of story! He excitedly gestured for him to start.

"So, you know those demons that feed off other people's emotions?"

He was immediately in disbelief, "No... Don't tell me...?"

Macaque nodded, eyes sparkling with mirth, as he set the scene, "It couldn't have been long after your first immortality and we had been out exploring the world when, as per usual, you ditched me because something had caught your eye."

He had the good grace to at least feel sheepish over the reminder of his less than stellar track record as a teammate but Macaque obviously wasn't that upset about it, as he continued, "Lucky for you, I had found my own entertainment in the form of some rumours about some cursed tomb nearby. So, I went to check it out. As it would eventually transpire there was this demon that was "haunting" the place - a shapeshifter that was feeding off the fear of anyone willing to risk the curse for a stab at the rumoured treasure."

Macaque shook his head, "Honestly, it was pretty amateurish - the rumours and the dark were really doing all the work. I was able to see through all their attempts to scare me until eventually they gave up and appeared before me to lecture me for being such a spoil sport.

They explained their whole deal though and that's when they proposed a deal. See, they were starving, not many brave souls had been risking the tomb recently but they didn't need to feast on fear. They not-so-subtly hinted that there were much more pleasurable emotions to be had and they'd make it worth my while if I helped them out."

Wukong interjected, "There's no way you said yes to that!"

Macaque grinned, "You're right. I told them that sex sucks and I wasn't interested but then they were all like "Ah, you've had one too many selfish lovers, eh? But trust me the better you feel, the better I eat." And proceeded to really lay it on thick why this was a good idea. I still wasn't convinced though and eventually they offered up this fancy artefact they had - if they didn't show me the time of my life it was all mine. It was a win-win situation really."

He paused and laughed, "Needless to say, I didn't get that artefact. They were good on their word - although I'd say being a shapeshifting empath really gave them an unfair advantage. But turns out sex doesn't suck - I just had more involved needs than being mounted for two minutes. Go figure. After that I had the occasional fling, but have to say they were a hard act to follow."

Wukong protested, "There's no way that's true! That's some porn level shit! I don't believe you!"

"I told you it was dumb as hell. But I swear, that's what happened. And you don't even know the half of it but I'm not sure your "enlightened" ears could handle the finer details."

He told himself he could totally handle it but he wasn't stupid enough to take the bait - Macaque would go out of his way to embarrass him somehow, instead he continued with his disbelief, "If this happened when you said it did, I would already have known! You would have told me!"

"First of all, I'm not the "kiss and tell" sort of guy. And secondly, just because you liked to over share doesn't mean I did. There's plenty that went on that you never caught wind of."

It was, unfortunately, also quite possible there was plenty that Macaque had actually told him about that he hadn't paid attention to and he was grateful he hadn't felt the need to bring that up. But this hadn't been one of them because his younger self would have been all over this.

Either way he was sort of struck by the notion that there were apparently things he didn't know about Macaque from before his imprisonment - things that flew in the face of what he thought he knew. And he found he really wanted to know the truth.

A little hopeful he asked, "Like what?"

Over the next hour or so Macaque had him in constant awe and hysterics - stories of misbegotten adventures, strange rivalries, pranks gone wrong, backstage drama - and he was sure they were only scratching the tip of the iceberg.

For as amazing as some of these stories were, there was an uncomfortable feeling slowly building in his chest, trying not to sound as affected by it as he was, he asked, "How come you never told me about any of this at the time?"

He could understand a few stories slipping under the radar - Macaque forgetting to tell him because something big came up that distracted him or maybe Wukong had been off the island for so long the moment had passed - but he was getting the feeling there was more to it than that.

Macaque shrugged, "Ah, you know what it was like - always so much going on back in those days. You were away, or we were busy, or I was in a bad mood. But hey! Look on the bright side though! Now you get to hear them all for the first time now!"

"Yeah... That's really all there was to it though? No other reason I'm only hearing these stories now?"

Macaque seemed to waver for a moment before he sighed and turned away slightly embarrassed, "You've not noticed a common theme with these stories? I'm generally the butt of the joke. When we were younger I was sort of, er, hung up on what you thought about me. Didn't want you to think less of me."

He cooed, instantly enamoured, "Aw! You wanted me to think you were cool? That's so cute!"

Macaque crossed his arms with a huff, before grumbling, "Something like that."

Wukong couldn't resist teasing, "You know it didn't work though, right? I've always known you were a big dork. It's obvious no matter what you do."

Macaque scoffed, "You're one to talk. But obviously now that I'm older and wiser I know better. I'm no longer under any delusion that you're the be-all and end-all."

"Uh-huh. Sure. We're just going to pretend I'm not your favourite person in the whole world then?"

"You don't even rank in the top three."

"You're such a rotten liar!" He then leaned over to get in Macaque's space, he let the magic in his hands hum as he poked at him, "C'mon, admit it, I'm your favourite person. Not even top three... As if!"

Macaque squirmed and grappled with his hands to stop his prodding, "See, this right here is why you're not my favourite - you're just so annoying when you don't get your way."

They bickered childishly for a while as they playfully wrestled as best as they could without falling off the couch until eventually he plopped down on top of Macaque.

Macaque ran a hand through his hair, "Giving up?"

"You wish. I'm just biding my time. I'll get that confession. You just wait."

Macaque scoffed, "Sure thing, Monkey Cop."

A comfortable silence took hold as Macaque groomed his fur and Wukong felt his thoughts drift under the gentle ministrations. If he didn't think about it too hard, then a younger Macaque trying to act cool around him was both hilarious and sort of adorable. And it's not like Wukong hadn't ever done the same.

He'd lived for the adulation that others lavished on him but for all his love and loyalty Macaque had often been tight lipped when it came to praising him, probably not wanting to feed his dangerously inflated ego, and he had taken this as something of a challenge. So, there had been plenty of times he'd gone out of his way to try and impress Macaque but it didn't quite feel the same.

Macaque had hidden away parts of himself that he thought Wukong would think less of him for and that rubbed him the wrong way. He shouldn't have felt like he had to do that, he should have been able to trust Wukong with all of him but he couldn't blame him one bit for not being able to.

It was different now though, Wukong could be someone that Macaque could confide in and depend upon, he may tease him or give him a hard time but he knew that Wukong would always have his back. Macaque knew that, right?

"Hey, uh, you know you can talk to me, right? Like, about anything." He tried to make it sound slightly less serious by adding, "You know, even if you come across as super uncool or whatever."

Macaque snorted, "As if I worry about being "cool" around you. Nothing I can say or do can compare to the dumb shit you've done."

"Hey! I am the epitome of cool! You could only dream of being as cool as me!"

"As a general rule, people that go around calling themselves cool are anything but."

He poked him in the side, "Whatever. That wasn't nearly the important part of that question. And I would like an actual response. So... You know that you can talk to me, right?"

The pause almost had him pushing himself up to look at him but the light pressure Macaque had on his head told him he wanted him to stay where he was. Eventually he answered, "I'm getting there."

Oh.

That hurt a bit more than he wanted to admit but he tried not to dwell on it and instead responded, "Anything I can do to help with that?"

Macaque started scratching gently at the base of his skull, right where he knew he liked it, as he leaned down and kissed the top of his head, "Just keep doing what you're doing. Some things just take time, old habits are hard to break."

Time was something they had plenty of and he was in this for the long haul. However long it took, he would prove that to him. For the moment, however he snuggled close and asked to hear more stories.

----

Wukong had been making his way back to the house when he heard what, unfortunately, sounded an awful lot like Macaque's brooding playlist coming from that direction. He had a feeling he knew what might have happened but either way he made his way back and cautiously peeked his head around the door before entering properly.

He found Macaque sprawled out on the couch with his eyes closed as his depressing music filled the air. He leaned on the back of the couch and looked down at him, "I thought you were seeing Bǎi Hé today?"

"She had to cancel."

He'd had a feeling but still he frowned, "That's like the third time in a row."

"She's busy - school, friends, all that jazz."

"Yeah, but she couldn't have told you before now she couldn't make it?"

"Things come up, you lose track of time, it's fine."

"It's clearly not fine. You're here moping and listening to your saddest playlist."

"I'm not moping, I'm just lying down. And that playlist is just the one that came on."

Yeah, right. He could deny it all he wanted but he was obviously super bummed out at being stood up. He tried to play it cool but Macaque really looked forward to his monthly catch up with Bǎi Hé, he would always come back and proudly update him on whatever she'd been up to.

He couldn't help but feel a little annoyed on Macaque's behalf, "What excuse did she give you this time?"

"Study date."

"What? But she knew she had plans with you! That's just plain rude! Did she even apologize?"

"I'm sure she will when she realises."

"Wait. What do you mean?"

Macaque heaved a sigh and sat up, "She didn't show so I thought I'd just go see if I could find her in one of her usual haunts. I did, she was busy."

He groaned slightly, "Macaque! Why didn't you just call her? Once she realised she probably would have come and met you!"

Macaque's phone was all set up to accommodate his visual impairment - all he had to do was pull the damned thing from whatever shadows he usually stashed it in and tell it to call Bǎi Hé and this whole sad thing could have been avoided.

Macaque just shrugged and Wukong tutted as he poked the side of his head, "Don't just shrug. Why are you being all weird about this? You're throwing a pity party for no good reason."

Macaque swatted his hand away, "Look, she was happy where she was. No need to drag her away from that just to go for lunch."

"Macaque, I am actually going to smack you. Having lunch with you isn't some chore - you both have a great time whenever you meet up."

He really could understand being disheartened by the fact that this had been the third time in a row they hadn't met but Macaque hadn't even tried to get in touch with her to see what was up.

Sounding a little annoyed, Macaque responded, "Wukong, just..." He then took an aggravated breath before he sagged and admitted, "She's not a little kid, Wukong. She's growing up. I..."

Ah, okay, maybe this wasn't just Macaque being down on himself. Wukong himself really couldn't stand the thought of befriending any more humans - as fragile and short-lived as they were it was a recipe of heartache. And well, in this case, they grew up and changed fast too.

Macaque continued, "I know I should have called her, alright? I just... I don't know, I guess I'm not sure if I fit into her life anymore. I don't want her to feel like it's an obligation to have a relationship with me. And she's doing so well these days, maybe she's ready to move on from the support she needed after the Lady Bone Demon, y'know? Have a normal life - free from people like us."

They weren't unfair concerns. Humans were creatures of change - it could very well be the case that Bǎi Hé's needs and wants didn't involve Macaque like they used to but that didn't necessarily mean there was no place for Macaque in her life.

That is if Macaque really wanted to suffer through loving a mortal. There was a small part of him that wanted to tell Macaque this could be a good thing - break things off before he loved her so much that losing her haunted him before and after she was gone.

But he didn't doubt Macaque was well aware of her mortality and it felt callous to bring it up now. As he mulled over the correct response, Macaque suddenly looked a little stressed and the reason for it was quickly revealed as he pulled his ringing phone from the shadows, even without the phone explicit voicing who was calling Wukong would have been able to guess who it was.

He clasped Macaque's shoulder, "Answer it."

Macaque took a fortifying breath before using the audio command to accept the call. Wukong squeezed his shoulder once before letting go and leaving to give him some privacy but from what he could grasp from Macaque's reassurances that everything was fine, it sounded like Bǎi Hé was extremely apologetic for what had happened.

Good. She was a good kid, he really hadn't wanted to think she would deliberately blow off Macaque like that. It wasn't even a minute later than Macaque found him and explained he was leaving to go meet up with her. He forwent any "I told you so"'s or the like and just told him to have a good time.

He got a grateful kiss on the cheek and then he was on his own once more. He decided, he really needed to find something to keep him occupied lest thoughts of his relationship with MK started sounding a little too similar to Macaque's concerns about his relationship with Bǎi Hé.

--Chapter End--

Chapter Navigation: First | Prev | Next

LMK Fanfic Masterlist

[moongumi]

⁀➷ ∵  ❝country boy and his clown❞

⟶ phillip graves x oc/reader

⟶ cw. graves babygirl confused, funny banter, shadow boys, aloof OC, lots of jokes, third person <3

⟶ note. this is basically my little drabbles collection that will accumulate into a long story at some point about my OC Leech xd she's also the ones in all the other MW2 fics i've written

everyone likes that new girl. all the boys were drawn to her and graves can't believe the god damn sight of it all.

on the first mission the damn girl had her little portable gaming device, graves didn't catch what it was called. she whistled as she played whatever game on it. graves felt a fuckin' tick itching on his face from the clicking and tapping.

"shut that god damn thing off, fucking hell."

the girl sighs, putting it into her cargo pocket. "Sorry, Commander." she listens well, at the very least.

graves walks over to her and within an instant she stands up and salutes him. "What they call ya'?"

she's a new transfer, a sort of trade off with a friend. graves needed someone like her but her age was somewhat of an issue, not that young but maybe not old enough to know the ropes of an elite company.

"leech."

the fuck? grave left a migraine forming in his head now. "what?""

"leech, sir."

"got a backstory for that one?"

she laughs, "of course, i would never pick it myself. bit some guy's carotid off during my first deployment—i swear i didn't drink his blood though—"

"i didn't think that," graves sighs, pressing his fingers between his brows. "continue on then, sergeant."

"yup yup."

she catches on quick.

──────⊹⊱♝♜⊰⊹──────

"get this thing open!"

she sighs, tapping away at her little computer in her crouched form. "look boss, you've given me 2 seconds how about you give me 10 more seconds and maybe—oh, look it's open, you're welcome."

graves can see this girl making him lose his will to live. but he was no patient man and well, she was far too chill and nonchalant for this type of work.

when they get inside she's on the computer right away, jamming combinations of numbers and symbols to get what he wanted from this place.

"yikes, lots of porn on here."

graves almost snaps his neck turning to her. "what?"

"joking, got what we need." she pulls out the drive from the computer and pocketing it. she pulls her gun from her side back into her hands. "time to find out way out, commander."

──────⊹⊱♝♜⊰⊹──────

"i don't think i've met anyone more annoying." graves admits.

shadow 1-1 laughs, "boss, she's pretty cool and she's cute."

"she's funny, she said her callsign was because she ate a live lizard on the field—" shadow 1-2 mentions.

hes interrupted by 1-1, "wait what? she told me it's because she was sucking on her military ex-boyfriend's dick one time in the barracks and she accidentally cut off his foreskin."

"that's a fuckin' lie, if i've ever heard one."

1-1 takes offense, "yours sounds more fake than mine."

somehow this makes graves grab his head, what the hell has this girl been doing to my men. now it makes him doubt if the story she told him was even real.

she ponders, pursing her lips, "sir, i told you the real story—it's just fun telling all the boys different shit, they all go around tellin' each other the wrong thing and it's funny when they all get confused."

the girl looks around aimlessly, seemingly waiting for him to say something. "alright, you're dismissed. see you tomorrow, leech."

graves sighs in his office, the girl in front of him now dressed in a more business attire even if her skirt was far too short and the buttons her shirt were on wrong—the sheerness of that top too, jesus christ could she not afford a shirt didn't look like a piece of tissue? he could see her bra straps through the damn thing.

"are ya' lying?"

"maybe."

[scar-lie]

Crazy Love {Natasha}

Summary : Your love from a certain redhead leads you to something unpleasant

Pairing : Natasha Romanoff x Fem ! Raeder

Warning : Blood Torture, Bad writing

Word Count : 2,568

Crazy Love Pt. 2

Crazy Love Pt. 3 Ver. 1

Crazy Love Pt. 3 Ver. 2

Cherrylemontober

You were sitting in the bar drinking whiskey while watching Natasha across from the room, She was having fun talking with Mr. America, Captain Steve Rogers, while getting handsy, it makes your blood boiled

Steve and Natasha have been dating for a year and a month now, but you love her, you're crazy in love to her, that you can kill anyone or everyone just for her nor yourself, you can do that in order for her to love you

But the thing is she's not into you, you already confess to her 2 years ago but she rejected you, saying that she didn't love you and she just see you as a friend and that's it

You try to make her fall in love with you but her heart is already for Steve, at first it was ok for you, saying that it's better to be friends rather than to lose her, so you just let it and try to move on

But the thing is, the more your with her, spending time together and the day passes the more your falling in love to her, that it made you crazy, crazier more than what you think

You already kill mens before for her, because you to are still best friends and she thinks that you already moved on, she always ranting about everything that happened to her life and what she want in the future

That lead to her telling you that a particular men are trying to get to her pants and just disrespect her, you always comfort her and and be there for her, until the ranting about mens hitting on her and harassing her happened frequently that it mess with your head

But the most mess with your head and made you even crazier is when she rant about a particular men raping her, not once nor twice, it's more than thrice

So what you did is asked her about the names of other mens she didn't tell you, once you got it you hunt them down and kill them, in a hard way

You torture them before killing them, you will tied them down in a metal bed or just in pole and you start to hit them, punch, kick, slit them, stab and twist the knife in their flesh, carving words in their skin, use electric shock, puddle them etc. but the worst it, you cutting what's between their legs

Making them beg for your forgiveness of what they did that they didn't know at why you were doing it to them, seeing them in that kind of situation makes a relief on you, telling your self that they will never ever touch your girl 

After your finished them them you clear thing up, leaving no evidence that your the one who made those and just throw them somewhere and them a few days, they will on the news where all your team watch

You always make sure that you carved a words in their skin like, Rapist, harassing or any word that what they did to my girl, letting other people know what they did once they already found

"Hello, earth to Y/N!" You snap out of your thoughts when Wanda your bestfriend snap her fingers in front of your face

"Yes?" you asked looking at her

"I said are you ok? your lost in your thoughts!" she said drinking her Pina colada, you just send her a small smile

"Yeah I'm ok, just minding my business!" you said and gulp your whiskey then order a new one, but it was Gin tonic

"Penny of it?' she asked chuckling and you chuckled to it while shaking your head

"No thank you Wands, but it's better to keep it only on me" she nod sipping her drink with a smile

"Whatever you say, I know you can handle that you're Y/n Y/L/n for God sake, you can do everything" she compliment you and the bartender slide your drink in front of you

You smile and nod humming then sip on your drink, what she didn't know how dark is in your mind, recalling what you did to those mens with a smile on

"Anyways, I have to go, Vis and I will get out of here" she said and Tap your cheeks and hug you, you return the hug and smile at her, then she leave with a wave

So now you're alone again in the bar but you don't care, you just watch your girl until you see she was heading out so when she got out you follow her behind, not to close for her to notice but not to far for you to slip her out of your sight

Until she go outside and answer a phone call, you just watch her talking in the phone until she's finished, she just stay there for a minute until a guy come to her and getting handsy

The guy is clearly drunk and Natasha try to get him off of her until he's harassing her, putting more force and it makes your blood boiled so you step in on the two and pull Natasha in your embrace

"Get the fuck off of her!" you hissed in pure anger and give him a glare, Natasha got behind you hiding, sure you're smaller than her but you're capable of everything, even beath this guy who's 6 flat tall

"And what are you gonna do, kid? beat me? your noth-" you cut him immediately and punched him in the stomach that make him crouched down and you punched his nose pretty hard that it dislocate and bleed

"What are you saying!?!? you hissed and kick him making him lay in the ground then you start to kick him over and over again

You just stop when Natasha stop you, she pull you off of him and make you look at her, she cup your face and caressed your cheeks with her thumb

"Hey, hey calm down, I'm fine..........let's just............let's just got inside ok?" she said softly and all your anger wash away once you look at her emerald eyes

"Ok.." you said and you both got inside but you take one last look on him and you see her laying in the ground unconscious, you smirk at it thinking you will got him later

once you both in the party again you just again watch her in Steve embrace, if you can rip Steve's head you will just to get your girl but you can't, Natasha loves him so much that you can't just take her happiness away, sure you're crazy for her but you still want her to be happy 

The team and other people just there partying so when you know that the team are so engage to the party you quickly get out and see he's still there unconscious, so you pick him up over your shoulder and go to the forest near the compound where you always kill every men lay who lay their fingers on your girl

Once you got in there you tie his ankle in the floor and tie his both wrist, once he's already tied up, you take off the blazer of your suit and rest it in the chair in the corner, you smirk at him and take a bucket of cold water with come cube ice then pour it om him making him jolt awake, gasping for air

"Well, well well, look like I gonna have some fun tonight" you said and crouched down to his level

All his drunkenness wah away and look in your eyes with confusion, you smirk at him and he start to get free, he look down and see he's all tied up, he look back up to you with confusion and fear on his eyes

"Wh-what is this about?" you stand up and go to the wall and table where all your weapons are, you chuckled at him and take a pocket knife, your favorite pocket knife off of the table

"To entertain myself?" you said with a question and turn around to look at him with a smirk and you twirl your pocket knife in your hand

"Wh-what are gonna do to me?" he asked scared of you, you chuckled darkly and slowly walk towards him

He became to shake his head and his body shaking, once you're in front of him you just slice his right cheek, it bleed down to his cheeks to his neck that make him scream

You just continue to torture him, and him begging for you to stop and forgiveness of whatever he did but you didn't buy it you just continue to torture him

In the other side Natasha is looking for you but she can't find you, she noticed your sudden action few months ago, so she's observing you for over 3 months now, she noticed some changes on you

So tonight she put a tracker on your suit before you got in the party, she and Wanda is planning to find out what's up with you, and tonight is the night they will find out

"Where's Y/N?" Wanda asked to Nat, Natasha just shrug and bring her phone out to see where are you

"I don't know, she just vanished again!" Natasha said and they go out and look where you at

Once they see where you are in Nat's phone they frown at where you at, in the middle of the forest near at the compound, they look at each other with confusion

"What is she doing in the middle of the forest at this hour?" Wanda asked, Nat just shook her head

"I don't know but I have a bad feeling of this one!" Nat said looking at what direction your at

"Well, there's only one way to find out!" Nat mumbled but Wanda can still hear it

"Well, let's go!" Wanda said and Nat nod and they start to go where you are

Once they already found an old house, she take a deep breath and look at the house, they look at each other, wondering why are you here

"Are you sure this is where she is?" Wanda asked looking at the old house, Nat not and look at her phone to confirm this is the destination

"Yeah, this is the place Wands" Wanda nod and they start to go in the house

"This is scary Nat" Wanda mumbled

"Don't worry, W-" Nat stop with a loud scream coming from the underground

"AAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" they heard an agonizing scream

There face got paled and they quickly run in the underground but still careful, once they at the door they stop

"Are you sure about this?" Wanda whisper asked and Nat look at her and nod

"We need to go in ok, in count to 3!" Nat whisper and Wanda nod

"1...........2..........3" Nat said and slowly open the door and they come in

Then there you are full of blood, your white suit are now full of blood, Wanda and Nat eyes winded when they see you

"Y/-Y/N?" and mumbled and you turn your head to them with a smile still holding a knife

Nat stay her eyes on you and Wanda look at the man in front of you who was dead and cuts all over his body, with a word carved in his left thigh, 'Harassing'

"What is this about Y/n?" Nat asked and put Wanda behind her, scared of what will you do to them

"This is for you, my love!" you said and start to walk towards her but Nat stop you

"No, stay where you are!" Nat said holding Wanda's wrist in her back

"Ok" you obligate and just stay where you are

"Why did you killed him?" Wanda asked and Nat look at the guy, once she saw the carved word it click to her, it click everything

"For Nat" you just simply said and drop the knife on the floor

Nat look at you again with fear and disbelief, she shook her head not wanting to believe what she think, she bite her lips and find a courage to asked you

"Are you the one who killed those mens in the news?" She whisper asked but you can still heard it, you smile at the thought of it and nod

"Yeah, I did all of it just for you!" you said, Nat shook her head and tears stream down her cheeks, she can't believe it

"Why?" she asked with a shaky voice, you chuckled at it

"Because they lay a hand on you, they are the one who harassed you, raped you, and everything, they deserved it, no one can lay a hand on my love!" you said an walk towards them

They hold their breath until your in front of them, they get a better look on your face, your eyes are soft and warm, your whole face are full of blood, Nat and Wanda shook their head of what they see

"Don't cry my love, no one can hurt, I promised that!" you whisper and caress her cheek and wipe her tears with your bloody hands, Nat shook her head at it and close her eyes

"Ge-get away from us!" she whisper and you obligate you step a few backwards, then they look at you again

"I told you, I don't love you like that, I just see you as a friend, please stop this please!" Nat said and beg for you to stop this, You shook your head at it

"I know, you will learn to love me" I whisper and she hook her head

"I'm sorry Y/N but please, stop this, I can't love you like you wanted, I just love you as a friend!" it stings your heart so much, that you practically did everything for her but that's not enough to love you back and can't have the girl you wanted and love the most

"Just choose me, love me, I promise I'll give you the world jus-" you explained but your team barge in here

"What the fu-"Tony stop himself when he see the situation, all the team eyes winded and quickly get their weapons are and just be ready if you attack them

You chuckled at it and look at all of them, you see that all of them are looking at you in disbelief and they can't truly believe what they saw then there he is, Steve Rogers pulling Natasha behind him

"Just love me" you said looking at Nat's eyes and she shook her head and hide behind him

"Care to explained this madness Y/N?" Steve asked and you chuckled darkly, you didn't say anything so Wanda told them everything, at the end of it, they look at you shocked, they lower their weapons

"You don't have to do that Y/N, you can still changed!" Steve said and You shook your head 

"I don't think you!" you said with a chuckled

"Just let us help you, surrender yourself to us, we can help you!" Tony said but you just chuckled

"Please" Wanda beg but you shake your head

"I'm not stupid Stark, then what will happen if I surrender? gonna put me in the cell call fury them what? he will put guards on me and at the end of this you will kill me!" you said shaking your head with a chuckled

"No thank you!" you said looking at them and they already ready to attack you

"Then you leave us no choice!" Bucky said and they gonna attack you but you know every way in this house so you throw them a gas bomb and quickly get out there

You can't let them catch you, and you will never gonna get back to those hell cell, never in your life

[shinydelusionlover]

I mean, your old title very much makes it look like you're claiming that Ares is a feminist.

But anyway

I didn't know of the myth where Ares was subjected to slavery. So i check the source you gave:

"Panyasis, too, relates in addition very many other instances of gods, becoming servants to men. He writes in this way: — "Demeter bore the yoke; Hephaestus too; Poseidon; and Apollo, silver-bowed, one year endured to serve with mortal man; likewise strong Ares, by his sire constrained, [Panyasis, Heracleia, Frag. 16]" - CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA, EXHORTATIONS

So here, there is no reason given as to why Ares was punished by Zeus. So you can't make an assumption that this punishment was given because he killed Poseidon's son. (This version also does not say why Poseidon and Apollo were punished either and given that there are variations where these gods serve Laomedon on their own will, it is again wrong to assume that they were punished by Zeus)

I think it's funny and hypocritical that you bring up Artemis staging the rape of Aura, and at the same time try to salvage Ares' image by saying "well he didn't touch Leto!" Artemis didn't touch Aura either, but we. An still recognise that what she did was fucked up. Same for Ares. Again, I'm not judging him for obeying his mother. I just have an issue with people calling him a feminist when he harassed a goddess who was already having a tough time.

I disagree that the Greeks projected their socio-cultural norms on their gods 1:1. If that was true, Athena, Artemis and Hestia would be allowed to stay unmarried, and I don't think Zeus would marry his sister either (since that was heavily frowned upon), and Zeus' sons from extramarital affairs wouldn't be getting more importance than Ares. Ares' legitimacy is never a special of him in the myths, he is just another son of Zeus. And again, if Ares was ever meant to be a threat to Zeus, I don't think he'd be existing as a god in the myths, just the way Metis and Thetis' hypothetical sons by Zeus never got to exist.

I don't know why interactions between Ares and Apollo are relevant here, but yes they do interact in the myths. In the Iliad, Apollo asked Ares to go beat Diomedes, and Ares obeyed him. I can't believe you don't know this given that the Iliad is like a very popular poem of Greek tradition. Also, according to Herodotus, in the first ever Olympian games Apollo defeated Ares in a boxing match. Ares is also seen enjoying himself in Apollo's musical event in the Homeric hymn to Apollo.

And no, I think it's a very common notion that Athena is the only child that dear to Zeus. But if you ever bother to read Apollo and his connections to Zeus, you'd notice that Zeus favored Apollo just as much as Athena if not more (this could be a whole another post but I'll expand on it only if needed). Heck, when Apollo went to Zeus complaining that Athena was taking his spotlight in the oracular business using mantic dice, Zeus literally made the dice worthless and Athena had to throw them away.

And no, I'm tired of seeing the misconception that only Athena got out without punishment when the coup against Zeus failed. In the version where Athena is involved, Apollo isn't. And no one is punished. I think this post gives more clarity on this matter. And uhh no, Athena is also called the "sacker of the cities", just like Ares is. Athena is not just the glorious side of war or whatever.

The festival where women were banned from Ares' festival was in Lacedamon

Pausanias, Description of Greece 3. 22. 6: "In Geronthrai [village in Lakedaimonia] are a temple and grove of Ares. Every year they hold a festival in honor of the God, at which women are forbidden to enter the grove."

Too bad you can't blame the Athenians for this lol

If You Want An ACTUAL 'Feminist Icon' Man With Depth, Then Ares Is Your Best Candidate (NOT Hades!)

He has been SEVERELY misrepresented.

1) Ares is quite literally the ONLY Greek God (sitting on the Twelve Olympians) who doesn't need to be put on an sex offender registry. (I won't speak for his Roman counterpart, Mars, however ...) The worst he ever did, was seduce Phylonome, an hunting companion of Artemis, in the guise of an shepherd. That's hardly comparable to Zeus seducing Callisto in the guise of Artemis, or Alkmene in the guise of her husband Amphitryon, or Poseidon seducing Tyro in the guise of the river-God Enicepus.

2) Not only is Ares the only one who isn't a rapist, but he has actually stood up for sexual assault survivors more than once (even if they're his mother or daughter!) Ares was famously tried (and acquitted!) for homicide by a jury of the Twelve Olympians, after he slew Poseidon's son for raping his daughter. If he was found guilty, the sentence would have been Tartarus and/or losing his godhood. All the gods voted to convict, all the goddesses voted to acquit, and what with Poseidon as prosecutor, Zeus as judge, and Ares as defendant, there were more goddesses on the jury than gods. Even if Zeus cast his vote to convict, it would have come to a tie and the rule was that the defendant is to be acquitted if there is a tie. Ares was also trapped in a jar for protecting his mother Hera from an giant son of Poseidon who stormed Olympus, and he was only a child at the time. He was also present at the punishment of Ixion who attempted to violate Hera, alongside Athena and Hermes.

3) Ares is the father of the Amazons (you hear that, DC Comics?) The founder of the Amazons, Otrera (who, btw, is the mythological founder of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus), is either his daughter with the wood-nymph Harmonia, or his consort (if she is the daughter of Eurus, God of the North Winds) by whom he fathered Melanippe, Antiope, Hippolyta, and Penthesilea. Their nation's capital city is named Themiskyra in honour of Themis (Zeus' second wife and his aunt by whom he fathered three daughters), whom Ares is on surprisingly close terms with (see the Homeric Hymn to Ares), since he was also the patron god of the law enforcement.

4) One of Ares' epithets is 'feasted by women', in the ancient city of Tegea in Arcadia; during a war between the Tegeans and the Spartans, the women of Tegea defended the city from an invasion led by the Spartan king Charilaus.

5) Women abused by their husbands would pray to Ares for strength, since he is also the God of Courage, which may have (sadly) further contributed to his unpopularity in Ancient Greece.

6) Aphrodite was forced into a marriage as ransom with Hephaestus who petitioned Zeus to marry Athena, Aphrodite expected that she would marry Ares instead (since no one even knew about Hephaestus). Love and War. Their children are Eros (the literal Cupid himself) and Anteros (Unrequited Love), Phobos (Fear), Deimos (Panic), and Harmonia (Harmony). They have an open marriage, despite Ares killing Adonis as a boar and Aphrodite cursing Eos with insatiable lust. Spartans in particular worshipped their marriage, with Aphrodite receiving the epithet of 'Areia' (similar to how Zeus has the epithet of 'Heraion'), and we all know how Spartans treated their women compared to many other Greek city-states. Note how Ares and Aphrodite are the only married couple on the Twelve Olympians besides Zeus and Hera themselves, which brings me to my next point ...

7) Even though Ares was not worshipped by many Ancient Greeks (just as they didn't even feel comfortable mentioning Hades by name), he was always depicted as an handsome soldier, which was the peak of male attractiveness at the time. He was legally considered as the true heir to the throne of Olympus as the only legitimate son of Zeus and Hera (since Hephaestus was conceived via parthenogenesis) and one of the most handsome of Zeus' sons (which is why Aphrodite hoped to marry him). Bizarrely, he could almost be considered as Ancient Greece's cultural equivalent of Prince Charming in a way.

8) Ares is the son of Hera (the Goddess of Marriage, Family, and Childbirth, Patron of Women and Queen of Olympus) and the husband of Aphrodite (Goddess of Love and Beauty; Lust and Sexuality; Desire and Pleasure). He is also the rival to his half-sister Athena (Goddess of Wisdom and Reason; Strategy and Warfare; Arts and Crafts) for his father's affections. He's also on good terms with his grand-aunt, Themis, and I would assume Hestia. Zeus and Hera's other children are all daughters (Enyo, Eileithyia, Hebe, Angelos, Arge, Eleuthera), and Zeus is afraid that Ares would overthrow him (see 7). It's not hard to see why Ares drinks the Respect Women Juice unlike his father, uncles, or brothers.

[shapeshiftershenaniganary]

God I love The End. The passive entities are always so fun to think abt.