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alessiasfreckles · 1 year ago

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too in love to think straight

Alessia always thought she was straight, until y/n joined the team. Y/n has a crush on Alessia, but is far too shy to do anything about it. Their meddling teammates decide to help them out.

warnings: none!

A/N: based off this prompt! longest fic yet at almost 4k words, so thank you for the prompt, it definitely helped the writer's block!

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Alessia Russo was straight. Straight as a ruler. Sometimes her teammates joked about it, teasing her for being a heterosexual female footballer, one of a kind. She had never let the jokes they made get to her, always brushing them off, not even giving them a second thought. After all, she was straight, wasn’t she?

She watched you in training, sometimes. Not in a creepy way or anything, just in a… ‘wanting to know more about you’ way. Alessia was fascinated by you, even if she couldn’t quite explain why. You had joined the team a month ago and had already earned a reputation for being extremely shy and quiet. Sometimes your teammates would place bets on who could get you to say more than a single sentence that day, which you didn’t mind, really. You knew they weren’t doing it to be mean, and that they’d stop if you asked. Despite how shy you were, you’d already found your place in the team and felt comfortable there. The girls were your friends, even if you didn’t talk much.

You were warming up in training, your hand on Steph’s shoulder as you swung your leg back and forth, when she said something that made you start giggling. The sound nearly made Alessia trip over her own feet, and when she looked up to see you grinning at Steph, she felt something flutter in her stomach.

That was normal, right? That was a thing that happened to straight people? She just really wanted to be friends with you, that was all. Right?

As the days went by, she started making an effort to talk to you more. She would coincidentally finish getting changed at the same time as you, meaning the two of you ended up walking together quite often.

“So, um, how are you settling in?” she asked the first time it happened.

“Good,” you said, smiling shyly.

“That’s good! I settled in pretty quickly too, the girls are so nice and welcoming here, you know? I had been worried when I moved that it was going to take me ages to feel at home, but now it feels like I’ve been here forever!” she rambled, and then laughed awkwardly. “Oh, sorry, I’m rambling, aren’t I?”

“No, it’s okay,” you glanced up at her and gave her another smile, blushing slightly, and she smiled back.

From then on, she found herself thinking about your smile a lot. She would look for you during training, hoping to catch a glimpse of it. It was even better when it was directed at her.

----

“So we can all agree that Lessi definitely has a thing for y/n, right?” Steph said in the changing room to the few teammates that were still getting ready after the two of you had (completely coincidentally, of course) left at the same time once again.

“Wait, I thought she was straight?” Kyra asked.

“Nah, y/n’s gay,” Jen piped up. “I mean, she doesn’t really talk about it much, but she posts about pride month on instagram and stuff, and we talked about what going to pride for the first time was like a couple weeks ago.”

“No, I know y/n is gay,” Kyra said, exasperated. “I meant Lessi. She’s like, the token straight in the team.”

“Yeah, I have a feeling that our token straight isn’t as straight as we thought. Or as she thought, for that matter,” Steph grinned. “Have you seen the way she follows y/n around? Like a lovesick puppy.”

“Maybe someone should try and find out if y/n feels the same way,” Jen suggested, a sly look on her face. “Ky, you should do it.”

“What?! No way,” Steph laughed. “Ky can’t keep her mouth shut to save her life.”

“Hey!” the younger Australian protested. “Actually, yeah she’s right. I would definitely just ask her outright if she’s interested in Less. Kinda get the feeling that we might need subtlety to get that kind of info out of her.”

Just then, Viv walked back into the changing room. “What are you guys doing in here? Come on, we’re all waiting for you.”

“Viv!” Steph exclaimed. “You’d be perfect for our plan!”

“What plan?” she asked, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.

“Okay, so you’ve noticed how Less has a crush on y/n, too, right?” Jen said, grinning. “Well, we want to find out if the feeling is mutual. But, you know, since y/n’s so shy we figured that just asking outright isn’t the right approach. So…. that’s where you come in!”

“Really, guys?” Viv said, looking unimpressed. “That’s their business.”

“Oh, come on, Viv,” Steph pleaded. “Look, we all know there’s no way y/n would make any moves herself, and Less probably hasn’t even realised she likes her yet.”

Viv sighed. “I guess you have a point. But I’m not going to push her, okay? If she doesn’t want to tell me, that’s fine.”

“Oooh, this is so exciting!” Kyra squealed, clapping her hands. “Oh, but remember to be subtle!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Viv said, rolling her eyes. “Now come on, everyone’s waiting.”

----

“So, um, you’re very much straight, right?” Alessia asked Ella as they had one of their weekly facetime calls.

“Ha, yeah, unfortunately,” Ella grinned. “Why, you interested?”

“Yeah, yeah, very funny,” the blonde rolled her eyes. “As, y’know, a straight person, would you say it’s normal to, um, think about another girl? A lot?”

“Right, tell me everything,” Ella said, getting comfy. “Who is it?”

Alessia groaned, burying her face in her hands. “Y/n. The newbie?”

“Aw, yeah, she’s cute!”

“Okay, so you think she’s cute too! So, it’s a perfectly normal thing to think about someone, isn’t it?”

“Well, that depends,” Ella said with a grin. “Do you think she’s cute in a completely platonic way or in a ‘she’s cute and i want to kiss her and have sex and get married and have babies’ way?”

“Oh my god, Ella!” Alessia groaned again.

Ella laughed. “Okay, so it’s the second one.”

“I don’t know, maybe?” the blonde blushed at the thought, but had to admit to herself that it wasn’t the first time she’d thought about kissing you. “So, it’s not something straight people think about?”

“Nope,” Ella smirked.

Okay, so maybe Alessia was as straight as one of those bendy rulers the cool kids had in high school.

“Ugh, what do I do?” she asked.

“I mean, you don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to,” Ella said gently. “Like, about maybe not being straight, or about y/n.”

“Okay but,” Alessia started, then sighed. “Yeah, I don’t know if I want to do anything about the maybe not being straight bit. But, the y/n bit, I just, I don’t know! She’s just really fucking cute and like, really shy but when she does talk you can tell that she’s really smart and observant, and she has the cutest laugh, oh my god, the first time I heard it I nearly fell over, and I just want to be the one to make her laugh, you know? And like, I want to get to know her better. I want to know what she does when she gets home from training, what her favourite TV show is, what her family is like.”

“Well,” her best friend said. “Kind of seems like you do know what you want to do about y/n. You want to get to know her and make her laugh. Those seem like very achievable goals!”

“Yeah, I suppose,” the blonde said, frowning. Those were pretty achievable goals, actually. And technically she wouldn’t even be doing anything about her… well, her crush. She would just be getting to know her teammate. “Yeah. Thanks, Ella.”

“Anytime!” Ella said with a wide grin. “But as soon as this goes anywhere, I want to be the first to know, okay?”

Alessia let out a laugh, feeling much better after having talked to the brunette. “Deal.”

-------

A few days later, you were walking on the treadmill in the gym when Viv joined the treadmill next to you. You smiled at her, not thinking much of it, and when she gestured for you to take your headphones out you did.

“Shit, sorry, I hate it when people try talking to me when I have headphones in,” she cringed, laughing sheepishly.

“It’s fine,” you said with a small smile. You liked Viv. She was quiet too, but more confident than you were.

“I just wanted to check in, see how you were feeling. You’ve been here for what, 5, 6 weeks now?”

“5 weeks today,” you said, and she nodded. “I’m feeling good. I really like it here. Everyone has been really welcoming.”

She smiled, and it was genuine. She really did want to know if you were settling in okay. “That’s great! I’m happy to hear that. Beth will be too.”

“You two really are the mums of the team,” you teased softly.

“Ha, yeah, people say that a lot,” Viv said with a laugh. The two of you jogged quietly for a minute before she spoke up again. “So, I noticed you and Lessi have been hanging out a lot lately.”

“Oh, uh, yeah,” you said, blush quickly rising your cheeks. “She’s, um, really nice.”

“She’s pretty new here, too,” the older player said offhandedly, glancing over at you. “Maybe she can show you some good spots in the area?”

“Yeah, that’d be nice,” you said, feeling your cheeks burn as you looked down at the treadmill, not wanting to meet Viv’s eye.

“I’m glad you’re making friends here, y/n,” Viv said with a kind smile, and you nodded.

-------

“Okay, yeah, she has a crush on Less,” Viv announced to the girls in the changing room. It was the same group as before, Kyra, Steph and Jen, plus Katie, Leah, and Beth, who had gotten involved now too.

“Oh my god, that’s so cute!” Steph gushed. “Wait, did she tell you that? Just like that?”

“No, of course not,” Viv said, rolling her eyes. “But trust me, okay? She likes her.”

“Alright,” Steph said, happy to believe her. “So, what’s the next step?”

“Guys, come on, you can’t meddle in this!” Leah said, standing up. “They have to figure it out for themselves!”

“Aw, come on, Lee,” Katie said with a grin. “Surely a little push is okay? After all, there’s no way y/n is gonna do anything about it. And we’re still not sure Less even knows she likes her.”

Leah stood there for a minute, arms crossed, before sighing. “Fine, a little meddling is okay. But nothing big, alright?”

The girls grinned excitedly and got to planning.

-----

Jonas clapped his hands, getting everyone’s attention.

“Okay, ladies, I want you to partner up for this next one!”

The team was close enough that things like this didn’t make you feel the same dread that it did in P.E. in high school. Partnering up now meant partnering up with any of your friends, not waiting anxiously to see if you were chosen. Still, you waited to see if anyone did choose you.

Alessia sidled up to you with a smile. “Hey,” she said.

“Hi,” you replied, smiling back.

Behind your back, Steph and Katie shot each other a knowing look and a grin.

“I meant to tell you, you played really well on Sunday,” the blonde said with pink cheeks. You weren’t sure if it was from the cold air or if she was blushing.

“Oh, thank you!” you ducked your head, blushing a little. “So did you.”

“Thanks,” she smiled. “So, um, did you have a nice weekend? Aside from the game, I mean.”

You nodded. “Yeah, it was good. I just stayed home and relaxed.”

“Yeah? What did you get up to?” she asked, eager to know more about you, but realised she might be pushing. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry-

“It’s okay,” you said, cutting her off and placing a hand on her arm, and she blushed at the gesture. “I didn’t really get up to much, to be honest. I watched some TV, read a bit, did some puzzles, baked a little. And the boring stuff, like doing some washing, cleaning. But I guess the other stuff is kind of boring too.”

“No, it’s not! It’s interesting! I like learning about you,” she said quickly, then blushed deeper pink. “Um, what kind of puzzles? Like, jigsaw puzzles?”

You laughed gently. “Oh, no, like, um, puzzle books? Things like sudoku, crosswords, that kind of thing. It’s my guilty pleasure,” you admitted.

“Wow, so you’re smart, then,” she teased with a laugh.

“Girls! Less chatting, more moving!” Jonas shouted across the field at the two of you.

“Oops,” Alessia said, grinning. “I guess he has a point.”

As you were walking back to the changing rooms after training, Jen came up from behind, clapping both of you on the back.

“Right girls, monthly movie night on Friday,” she said. “You in?”

You waited a beat to see Alessia’s reaction, before nodding.

“Great! Less, we good to do it at your place?”

The blonde rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. “Do I really have a choice?”

“Nope,” Jen said with a grin. “Thanks, Less!”

She ran off, yelling to Katie that movie night was good to go, and Alessia laughed. “I’m not sure why they’ve picked my place,” she said, shrugging. “Personally I think Beth and Viv’s place is the best for movie nights. Plus, any excuse to see Myle, right?”

You nodded, smiling. You’d gone to one movie night at Beth and Viv’s place, a couple weeks after you joined the club. You’d been in awe of how close knit the team was, wanting to be a part of it, but not sure how. You hadn’t really said much that time, opting to sit on the corner of the sofa, watching everyone else around you.

“You’ll come too, right?” Alessia asked, her voice hopeful, and you felt your heart skip when you realised she was hoping that you would come, hoping you’d be at her place.

“Yeah!” you said, trying not to sound too eager.

“Good!” she said, sounding relieved.

For the next few days, you couldn’t stop thinking about the upcoming movie night. You knew it wasn’t a big deal, really. After all, it was a bigger group of the girls that were going to be there, not just the two of you. Still, that alone was a scary thought. You preferred your own company, or the company of just a few people rather than a big group.

Despite knowing that the evening was in no way a special occasion, you decided to dress a little nicer than you normally would for a night in (meaning you wore the slightly nicer leggings rather than the stained jogging bottoms you used as pjs half the time), putting your favourite perfume on to give you a boost of confidence. As you got closer to Alessia’s house, though, your stomach started tying itself in knots. You forced yourself to keep going despite how nervous you felt about being at the other player’s home for the first time, and rang the doorbell.

“Y/n, hi!” Alessia said, beaming when she opened the door. “Come in! Oh, you can leave your shoes and coat over there, if you want.”

She wouldn’t admit it, but she was nervous too. She’d spent far longer than usual tidying and preparing for the evening, and had swapped out the decorative cushions on her sofa three times before giving up.

“Am I early?” you asked when you realised you were the only one there.

“No, don’t worry! Some of the others just have a habit of being late. Half the time I tell Katie an earlier time than we’re actually planning, just so she shows up on time. Speak of the devil,” she said with a grin when another car pulled up outside.

20 minutes later, the others had all arrived as well. It was a smaller group than last time, just 9 of you, though you weren’t sure how many more than that would be able to fit into Alessia’s living room. You were a little disappointed when Katie arrived so soon after you had, enjoying the short-lived one on one time you were spending with her.

Meanwhile, Alessia and Leah were in the kitchen, getting drinks for everyone.

“So, you and y/n have been spending a lot of time together,” Leah said casually. “What’s that about?”

Alessia blushed. “We’re… friends?”

“Is that right?” Leah said with a knowing grin.

“Okay, fine,” Alessia said, easily giving in to Leah’s knowing look. She glanced over her shoulder, checking that the kitchen door was closed before continuing. “I just think that she’s really cute, okay? And yeah, maybe I want to kiss her, so what?”

Suddenly she was being hugged tightly by Leah. “This is so exciting!” the older blonde squealed, making sure to keep her voice down. “You should tell her.”

“What?! No way,” Alessia laughed, shaking her head. “I have no idea if she feels the same way!”

“Oh, come on, she definitely does!” Leah insisted. “Haven’t you noticed that you’re, like, one of the only people y/n talks to on a daily basis? Full conversations, too!”

“Pfft, that doesn’t mean anything,” the younger player said, frowning. Did it mean something?

Leah sighed. “If you say so. Just remember, though: tonight is for your own good.” she said with a wink, and left the kitchen before Alessia could ask what the hell she was on about.

She started to get an idea about 15 minutes, when Steph, Kyra and Jen all got a text message and mysteriously had to leave. 5 minutes after that, Beth checked her phone and, not particularly convincingly, said, “Oh, the neighbour has just messaged me that she can hear Myle going crazy, we should head home and check on her.”.

Alessia raised an eyebrow. It didn’t take long for Leah and Katie to make up a similar excuse. The door swung closed behind them, and she turned to smile at you sheepishly.

“And then there were two,” she said. “Sorry, I’m not sure what all that was about. This isn’t how movie nights usually go.”

“If I’m being honest, I’m kind of glad it’s just the two of us, rather than a big group,” you admitted shyly, internally cursing the blush you could already feel rising to your cheeks.

“Me too,” Alessia said with a smile. Before she could get another word out, however, the bluetooth speaker she kept in her training bag next to the door started blaring Love Story by Taylor Swift. The song was accompanied by a couple of car headlights flashing outside the window and some honks, and when the two of you looked out you could see Katie grinning from her car before she sped off, cutting off the music when she left the range of the speaker.

“Right, well, I feel like she didn’t quite think that through,” Alessia laughed, shaking her head at your teammates’ antics.

Your cheeks were pink and thoughts were rushing through your mind. Did they know you liked her? Was that why they’d picked that song? And why they’d all left?

Alessia’s phone buzzed, and she checked it to find a message from Leah, saying ‘Just tell her! You’ve got this!! x’. She quickly turned her phone off again when you glanced over, and gestured towards the TV, where the film the girls had picked was still playing.

“Want to keep watching?”

“Sure,” you nodded, though really you weren’t that interested. If it meant you got to hang out with Alessia longer though, you were all for it. You both sat down and started watching the film again, but it didn’t take long for the two of you to start chatting, the film playing in the background.

“It’s good that your family were so supportive when you came out,” Alessia said.

“Yeah, they were really sweet, actually. To be honest, I kind of think they expected it, you know? Being a female footballer and all that,” you said, then quickly blushed, realising what you’d said. “Not that, um, all female footballers are gay, of course, I mean, I know you’re, um-”

She laughed gently, blushing a little. “It’s okay, I know what you mean. I think my family were actually surprised, really, when I never showed any interest in girls,” Up until now, she thought. “I’m just gonna, um, get a drink, do you want anything?”

“Oh, no, that’s okay, thank you,” you said quickly, not wanting to make extra work for her.

Grinning, she picked up your empty glass anyway and took it to the kitchen with her. When she was in there, she pulled out her phone, quickly texting Leah, ‘I don’t know how to tell her!’. She anxiously bit her lip as she waited for a reply, not realising that the water was overflowing in the glass. She swore under her breath when she realised, but was quickly distracted when a reply came through. ‘Tell her how you feel! That’s all you have to do x’. Well. That wasn’t particularly helpful.

She went back into the living room and set the glasses down on the coffee table.

“So, when did you know you liked girls?” she asked, taking a sip of water.

“I think I always knew, really. I was just never that interested in boys, and I had a huge crush on a girl in my P.E. class in high school.”

“Oh, is that your type then? Sporty girls?” she teased, and you blushed. “Has, um, anyone caught your eye here then?”

“I, uh, I-” you stammered, cheeks burning.

She laughed nervously. “Sorry, I’m teasing. Um, actually, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

You could feel your heart pounding as you wondered where this was going. “Yeah?”

“Yeah, I- well, I don’t think I am, um, straight, after all. At least, there’s at least one girl that I am interested in,” she said, sucking in a breath and looking at you with bright eyes. “You.”

“Me?” you squeaked, brain struggling to process what she was telling you.

“I’m so sorry if I’ve made this awkward, if you don’t feel the same way, I’ve never done this before with a girl, and I really didn’t mean to make things awkward, we can just stay friends if you want, I’m so so happy to just be your friend as well-” Alessia rambled, barely pausing to take a breath until you put a hand on her leg, making her stop.

“I’m, um, interested in you, too,” you said shyly, unable to meet her gaze. There was a part of you that was still wondering if this was all a big joke. When Alessia’s hand cupped your cheek, you started to feel pretty sure it wasn’t.

“Really?” she asked, lifting your head so she could look you in the eyes.

“Really,” you told her.

You both leant in, gravitating towards one another, and you could barely breathe. You’d thought about this moment, dreamt about it. Whenever the two of you exchanged glances at training, when she laughed at something you said, when your hands brushed as you walked next to each other, you’d think about what it would be like to kiss her.

Now you were finally going to find out.

#alessia russo #woso #woso fanfics #woso imagine #woso x reader #alessia russo x reader #alessia russo fluff #awfc #alessia russo fanfic #alessia russo imagine #hannah writes fics

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kuromochimi · 1 year ago

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“please babysit our baby for me” w/ jjk husbands

Nanami Kento, Suguru Geto

Content warnings: none, fluff!!, not proof read btw

Nanami Kento

Nanami was nothing short of being the perfect husband and the perfect father. The man literally lacked absolutely nothing at all. Having him as your partner was a billion times better than winning any lottery. He also loved your daughter very much. Loved braiding her hair and picking out cute little outfits for her and unexpectedly, you were the bad cop in this family because nanami could never help but spoil your precious princess that you sometimes have to scold him for buying too much toys or feeding your daughter sweets right before bed. Your schedules also worked perfectly together so that your daughter always had a parent with her most of the time and today just so happened to be nanami’s free day. A few moments before leaving, you gave nanami a kiss and a hug as you said

“Babe, can you babysit our princess today? Sorry to drop the responsibility on you but I’m going to be busy til tomorrow”

you said apologetically, with a small teasing giggle that you were able to suppress enough for nanami to not notice. Well, he wouldn’t have noticed it anyway because the man was baffled. Almost appalled even. “Sorry love, say that again?” Nanami said, clearly confused. “I said… can you babysit her for now?” Your sweet sweet husband’s mind was a mess. Did he do something wrong? Say something wrong? Acted out of line? “I- babysit? Love, love why would I have to babysit OUR daughter?” It was getting harder to not react to your husband’s response. “Oh did you not want to? I can take her to my mom’s place.” Nanami stood up to gently hug you “no no, that’s not what I meant, I’m just- baby why would I have to babysit a child that’s MINE as much as she’s yours? It’s the least I could do. You carried her for 9 months, went through birthing her and provided her with everything. Caring for her is the least I can do. Bare minimum. My responsibility as much as it’s yours”

It was meant to be a joke but you soften at that because nanami just never fails to sweeten your world and you couldn’t be more grateful.

Suguru Geto

Though it had to happen at a very young age for both you and suguru, adopting mimiko and nanako was something you would never regret. Honestly, you were a tad hesitant to agree when suguru first suggested the idea. In fact, he lowkey gave you an out by adopting the girls by only him at first since you two weren’t married yet. You were still in highschool at the time after all. But a couple years down the line, you eventually got married and legally adopted the girls as well. Having an addition to the family happened later on and now you were a family of five with a precious little baby girl as the newest addition. Having had mimiko and nanako, caring for your new baby girl wasn’t as difficult anymore. However, nowadays, your schedule and as well as your husband’s schedule made it so that it was hard to have days off together. It still is kind of in your favor as you can both take turns caring for your baby.

On some random day, the idea just popped out of nowhere. You approached suguru while he was getting ready for work. “Suguru?” He looked your way while he was buttoning his shirt. “Do you mind babysitting our little princess tomorrow? I know it’s not your day but i have plans in the evening” if a question mark could have a face, it would be how suguru looked at the moment. “What do you mean babysit?” He asked, bewildered. “Oh but no worries, if you don’t feel like it, I can always ask the twins to take care of her” you replied nonchalantly. Suguru took note of the difference in the terminologies you used. With him it’s babysitting but for the twins it’s taking care of the baby? Why did you even have to ask in the first place, it’s not like you had a strict schedule for watching the baby anyway. He was rambling in his head. “Baby, my love” he calmly called out. “Hm?” He sighed before speaking. “Did something happen? Did I say something to upset you?” and then you burst out laughing. “Baby I think something is wrong for real” he gave you a worried look which pushed you to stop laughing. “Sorry love, I was just pranking you. Love you” you spoke in between little giggles before giving your husband a back hug. “Jesus baby you scared me” he sighed with a gentle laugh.

#jujutsu kaisen x reader #jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu kaisen fluff #nanami fluff #nanami kento #nanami x reader #getou suguru x reader #suguru fluff #geto fluff

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sapshorelines · 11 months ago

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SUMMER TRIP | ATEEZ 9th MEMBER AU

★・・・・・・★

ATEEZ were given a two week trip to a summer house, what could possibly go wrong? (platonic relationship, alcohol mentions, swearing, reader is the eldest, fluff/crack) (not proof read | 2.2k words) Authors note: I apologize for the lack of content, I have been busy with other things. Also, I am going to try and change my format a bit! [🌊] = name

!! NOTE !! None of my works represent any IRL people. These works are purely meant for entertainment purpose and shouldn't be taken seriously. Do not steal any of my works and reupload them to other medias

MINORS DNI

★・・・・・・★

“We're here!” [🌊] was abruptly woken up from his nap as Wooyoung yelled out in the car. He opens his eyes for a few seconds to see everyone taking off their seatbelt. But [🌊] closes his eyes and attempts to fall back asleep, until he feels a large hand on his shoulder. “[🌊]-hyung, it's time to get up.” Yunho whispers. [🌊] would lift his head up, then Yunho would start laughing. “Hey, you ok?” [🌊] looks over at Yunho confused. But [🌊] looks like a grumpy grandfather that got woken up from the best nap by his grandkids. “Your face looks swollen.” San joked, making Yunho laugh a bit harder. [🌊] would just glare at San. “C’mon hyung, we're here at the house.” Yunho pats [🌊] on the shoulder as he would get out. So, where are they? Well, ATEEZ was given a two week break at a summer house near the beach. There wasn’t any film crew, no media, nothing! Although they did have security nearby, we won’t talk about it though. All they had to do was to give updates on social media and film for their vlog series.

[🌊] would exit the car looking like a zombie. “Yah, [🌊]-hyung, you good?” Wooyoung was laughing his ass off at the site of the eldest. Yeosang who had the camera to film for the vlog walked over to film [🌊]. Pretty much everyone was surrounding [🌊] making fun of him. The grandfather of the group was pretty much being bullied. “Anyway, help me take our bags in!” Hongjoong then ends the terror for [🌊], dragging the younger members to help him.

–

“There’s only four rooms.”

All of the members were in the living room, now learning that they were lied to. The house said it had five rooms but it had only four. All their luggage was with them and all nine of them just sat around the living room. “I can sleep in the living room-” [🌊] suggested, but was cut off by San. “No! Last time you did something similar you accidentally fell off the couch and hit your head on the table!” Yeah that did happen, everyone thought he died but nope. [🌊] lets out a sigh in defeat. “Well what do we do?” “Why not play a game? See who gets paired up with who.” Yeosang suggested. In which everyone agrees too. And after trial and error, and a lot of chaos. The rooms went something like this. Yeosang and Jongho, Hongjoong and Wooyoung, Seonghwa and Mingi, San and Yunho and [🌊]. Luckily, the trio were placed in the master room, so all is good, right?

Anywho, [🌊] immediately made his way to the room carrying his bags along with him. He enters the room and tosses his bag off to the side and immediately collapses down onto the bed. “Hyung! You can’t sleep again!” San chuckles as he enters the room afterwards. “Mm’comfy.” [🌊]’s face was in the soft blanket, San walks up to the bed to sit down next to the elder and.. Well he was right, the bed is extremely soft. “Well, we gotta check the place out.” San says as he attempts to get [🌊] up. Though [🌊] tried to drag San down to sleep with him. “No- Hyung-” San tried to fight back from being pulled down, but in the end [🌊] won. Meanwhile Yunho just stood there at the doorway filming the whole thing, laughing.

–

“C’mon let's go!” Wooyoung says as he runs out of the backdoor and down the patio stairs that lead to the beach, followed by some of the other younger members. After unpacking and checking out the house, some of the members wanted to go to the beach and run around. Meanwhile Seonghwa and Hongjoong went out to go get food to stock up, that would leave the grandfather of the group, [🌊], to watch the rest.

“Wooyoung wait- you need sunscreen!” [🌊] calls out, but it was too late. But luckily San ran after him. [🌊] was finishing up packing the needed items to bring out, Mingi and Yunho were helping too. Distance screaming can be heard as Wooyoung flees from San. “Hyung, let me carry the bags for you.” Jongho offers as he walks over to [🌊], “It's fine Jon-” Before [🌊] could even finish his sentence, Jongho takes the bags from [🌊] and walks out, making [🌊] sigh. Yunho carried two small umbrellas and Mingi carried the cooler, looks like they were gonna be out for a while till Seonghwa and Hongjoong got back.

So the four went down to the beach where they saw Yeosang filming San chasing Wooyoung down. Good times. “Where do we want the stuff?” Jongho looks around. “Mmm, why not over here?” Yunho points out a spot, in which the rest agreed on. The four walked over and started to set up stuff. Meanwhile, San was dragging Wooyoung over so he could put sunscreen on him. “San, sunscreen is in the bag.” Yunho points over at the bag behind him, in which San goes over as well as dragging Wooyoung along. “Hey [🌊]-hyung, are you planning on going out into the water?” Yeosang walks over to the elder, “Mmm, probably not today.” [🌊] says as he sets down a towel on the sand. “Well, you should at least put some sunscreen on hyung, let me-” Yeosang turned around to get the sun screen, but noticed that San, who had the sunscreen last, was not near the bag. Then, Yeosang and [🌊] turns their heads to the shore as they hear laughter. Wooyoung is basically in the water now and San is yelling at him, classic.

After a few hours, the front door to their vacation home opens as Seonghwa and Hongjoong walk in carrying loads of bags filled with different food, drinks, and snacks. “Where are they?” Hongjoong asked as he looked around, making his way to the kitchen. “Perhaps they’re still on the beach? They said they were gonna go to the beach but I guess they’re not done.” Seonghwa replies as he follows Hongjoong. “Why don’t you go look for them, I can deal with bringing in the rest of the groceries.” Seonghwa says as he puts down the bags he was carrying onto the table.

“Mmm, fine.” Hongjoong wanted to protest and continue to help him but he knows Seonghwa will still pressure him to do something else. So, Hongjoong goes out to the back patio that overlooks the beach. He can see umbrellas, towels, and other stuff along with two people sitting in the shade. He then see’s four people out in the water on surfboards, now who is who- “Oh- hey hyung.” Hongjoong jumps, hearing the voice, but then notices that Yeosang was sitting on a chair reading a book. “Didn’t realize you two got back.” He says as he closes the book and sets it down on a table next to him.

“What are they doing down there?” Hongjoong asked.

“[🌊]-hyung, San, Mingi, and Wooyoung are wanting to tryout surfing. Yunho and Jongho are relaxing. I came up here because I was hungry but I didn’t feel like going back down there.” “Oh, fair.” Hongjoong says as he looks back out to the others that are struggling to catch waves, distant laughter can be heard along with the loud crashing waves and breeze.

“I can help Seonghwa-hyung with unpacking the groceries.” Yeosang says as he goes back inside. “I’ll go get them.” Hongjoong says as he would make his way down to the others.

—

“Who wants to go explore downtown with me?”

San says as he was pretty much standing there ready to go out already.

Most of the members were tired out after going wild in the ocean, some of them scattered around in the living room laying down as the fan was on max and the AC on.

“Yah! How are you not tired?” Wooyoung sits up from the couch. “I had a nap silly, I just woke up and I wanna do more stuff!”

Wooyoung groans as he plops back down on the couch, then feeling a smack on his leg. “Ow-” “Be quiet.” Mingi grumbles as he was disturbed from his slumber. Wooyoung mocks him by mumbling what he said.

“I can go with you.” Seonghwa says, “I still need to get a few things but I wanted to save it and see if anyone wanted to come along.” “Oh! Alright, I think [🌊]-hyung wanted to come too.” San turns around and looked down the hallway to where his room was, seeing [🌊] walking out ready to go but still trying to wake up from his beauty sleep. “Anyone else?” San turns back around to look at the others. “I’ll go.” Yeosang then gets up from the chair he was in, “Give me a few minutes.” He says as he makes his way to his room he was staying in. “We’ll wait!” –

Fastforward and the four are out walking around downtown. The group have already visited some small shops within the town, getting a few souvenirs and such.

“Oh look! Ice cream!” San looked to his right and pointed out a small shop that was coming up, of course it was an ice cream shop.

“Could we get some?” “I guess? We would need to ask the others what they want.” Seonghwa rubs the back of his head, a bit hesitant to buy anything else as they already went on a spending spree as well as lunch. “We already had lunch-” “It says here we can do take out.” [🌊] cuts of Seonghwa, this man was already on their website. “Yeah but I already spent-”

“I can buy it Seonghwa, don’t worry.” [🌊] pats him on the back, “Can one of you text the group chat and ask the rest what they want.” “Yeah sure I can.” Yeosang says as he pulls out his phone. “Imagine if they had those chips.” San chuckled. “Oh god I hope not.” [🌊] groans, remembering that one thing they did ages ago.

—-

Fastforward and it was now evening. The sun was setting on the horizon and the group were getting ready for dinner. Half the members were cooking while the others were in the living room hanging out. Meanwhile, [🌊] was in his room taking a nap.

[🌊] was tired, even after a nap earlier in the day. No wonder why their fans called him grandpa.

The door opens to their room, revealing Wooyoung walking in and over to [🌊]’s side. “Hyung, get up, Dinner is ready.” Wooyoung shakes [🌊] shoulder gently. [🌊] lets out a groan as he would slowly sit up. “C’mon hyung.” Wooyoung at this point was trying to drag him out of the bed.

[🌊] was able to get up and walk with Wooyoung to the living room, everyone was at the table with their food, and luckily, alcohol.

[🌊] chuckled at the sight. “It’s our first day here and we already have drinks out?”

“Well tomorrow is supposed to be boiling outside, too hot to even be in the ocean. So I figured we can just get loose and use the heat as an excuse not to do anything.” Seonghwa says as he sits down at his chair.

“For how long will this heatwave be in effect?” [🌊] asked. “Few days.”

“Fair enough.”

“Anywho, let's dig in!” Wooyoung says as they start to eat their dinner, wonder what could go wrong?

—-

“What do you mean I made a difficult equation? I failed math!” [🌊] sat there dumbfounded as he stared at a whiteboard that sat in the living room that Jongho had founded while drunk off their ass last night.

“I don’t fucking know, you were the one who did this! I remember you doing this!” Jongho pointed back at the whiteboard. Jongho wanted to drink less last night so he had some memories of last night. “I even took a video of you explaining the whole thing and how it can fuck up the economy.”

Meanwhile, Hongjoong was lying on the couch suffering from the worst headache ever along with Wooyoung and Seonghwa. The others were still asleep.

“You still did it anyway!” “Ya! Shut up! I’m trying to sleep!” San yelled out in the room he was in, and audible smack can be heard in there too, probably Yunho telling him to be quiet.

“Also, I should remind you that Mingi and Yunho tried to recreate some fight scene from some show that I can’t remember but it ended up turning out to be some rugby pileup as the others join in including you, and this was WHILE you were explaining how some idiot can ruin an economy.” “What the fuck…” [🌊] was just speechless at this point, slumping back in his seat.

“Ow! My fucking leg!” Wooyoung says as he pulled his leg out from under [🌊] and tried to kick him, but this man was sore as shit.

“Ya! Don’t do that to your hyung!” Hongjoong slaps Wooyoung gently on the shoulder. Meanwhile Seonghwa fell back asleep, unphased by the others yelling.

“You’re gonna need to go get medicine for all of us y'know?” [🌊] looks at Jongho.

“Didn’t we already bring some?”

“No.”

Jongho lets out a sigh, “Fine, fine, I'll go out right now.” then making his way to the door to get ready.

“Fucking kill me.” Wooyoung groans. “Hush.” [🌊] snaps back at him. “Go get me ice cream hyung.” “...It’s nine AM, why the hell do you want ice cream?”

“Please?”

“No.”

“Please?” “No.”

This would continue for another five or so minutes, this is going to be a crazy trip for them.

★・・・・・・★ thank you for reading!

#saps fanfics #x male reader #kpop x male reader #kpop fanfic #fanfics #ateez #ateez x male reader

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a-very-tired-jew · 11 months ago

Text

"It's not my job to educate you."

How often have you seen this statement?

I've personally lost count, and I'm a scientist that has been active since the anti-GMO, anti-Ag, and anti-Vaxx discourses of the 00s.

I've seen it for years used as a way to completely halt discussions when the speaker is backed into a corner and cannot support their position. I've seen it used as a defense when they try and put forth extremely biased and/or outright incorrect resources and are called out for it. I've seen it used when a person wants to make their opinion and outrageous claims known without defending them whatsoever.

And here's the thing, you're right. It's not your job to educate others.

But you've also entered into a conversation, discussion, or debate where people are backing their opinions with arguments, experiences, and citations. When you use this statement you essentially say you want to enter this conversation with no confrontation to your own personal beliefs, thoughts, and ideals.

That's childish. That's the kid on the playground saying "nuh uh, you didn't get me cause I'm actually on base right now. Yeah, I know it's a stick on the ground, but I said it's base so it's base."

Personally? I hate this statement. In my own circles I've seen it used by the most uneducated ignorant people to justify conspiracies or beliefs that actively harm them and/or others. I've seen my friends with no formal scientific education or experience who fell down the anti-science rabbit hole use it as a way to deflect from their ignorance.

In Leftist spaces I've seen it used to bring discussions to a stop and dismiss another person. "It's not my job to educate you!" while the very same person was just trying to educate the other on the topic being discussed. This is often accompanied with the "Do your own research", which inevitably leads to the person not coming to the same conclusions as the person who uttered the aforementioned phrases. Said person then becomes upset when the other doesn't come to the same conclusions, but again..."it's not my job to educate you (I'm just mad you're not educated in the way I want)".

In a professional setting I have seen it used to justify outright ignorance, conspiracy, and vitriol by people who have no understanding of the subject matter at hand.

People often say they love discussion and debate, but in reality they just like making their opinion known with no opposition.

And this leads me to the point of this wall of text...it's a very culturally goyische thing to do.

The conversations on Cultural Christianity made me think about this and it sort of hit me. We, Jews, are a "contentious" people. We question, argue, and debate to the point where it's a stereotype in media (an accurate one, but a stereotype nonetheless). But what this stereotype leaves out is that discussion and debate is often accompanied by education. We, typically, revel in this type of discourse and love to argue and learn from the argument. Even if none of us come away with a new position.

The joke "2 Jews, 3 opinions" actually highlights how we come to a greater understanding through our "contentiousness". Our discussions are often meant to educate one another and explore trains of thought we didn't previously have. At no point in the Talmud do you ever see someone state "It's not my job to educate you" and only after every avenue of argument has been exhausted do they devolve into sniping at one another about dick size. If you've seen any posts since 10/7 by Jews on here you will often see an active discussion with an attempt to educate if and when people interact.

However, there is the caveat that some people end up sealioning. In these situations it is completely fine to shut down the entire thing as they're simply wanting you to waste your energy until they have a "gotcha" moment. Eventually you will say something that does not necessarily agree with a previous statement and they will pounce on that. In such a situation you just need to leave the conversation entirely. Sealions are bad faith actors and not actually interested in anything outside of their own opinions.

Healthy discussion and debate, which is encouraged in Judaism, does not look like sealioning. It does not look like getting answers you don't like so you keep asking the same thing in a different way until you get what you want. It's like someone arguing with the DM repeatedly to get a spell to do something outside of its defined application and way outside of its possible application even when the DM says no.

Now, you might be saying "but in my non-Jewish household we encourage this kind of thinking!" and that's good. But we are talking about cultural generalities and trends here. If you live in the Midwest or Southern USA you will have encountered a multitude of Culturally Christian people who have their own personal history about how discussion, debate, and education is shut down (sometimes in a violent manner). If you've existed anywhere a hot button topic becomes discussed there is a strong chance you have experienced this statement, either online or in person, and witnessed the complete halt and shift in dialogue it causes. This is by no fault your own or the other persons, but there is a distinct cultural difference in general.

If you're someone who is offended by this, I want you to sincerely ask. Is questioning, discussion, and debate earnestly encouraged in your culture? Is it encouraged towards authority figures? Does it make certain topics taboo? What happens when children question authority figures?

#jumblr #wall of text #discussion and debate discourse #Cultural encouraged to ask “Why?”#Culturally encouraged to ask “Why?” to an annoying extent #We like to discuss and debate but we also recognize people who are disingenuous in their intent #Not everything is a debate - but when it is there are certain expectation

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invisibleraven · 3 months ago

Note

“has it occurred to you that we’ve spent more valentine’s days with each other than with people we’ve actually been dating?”

rulie

Their first Valentine's together is an accident-the both of them had dates, but thanks to a freak storm they were stuck inside. Reggie hadn't even meant to be at the Molinas, but he had left his bag there after band practice and when the rain started he couldn't exactly leave.

"This sucks," he grumbled as he stared out the window. "I am never gonna get another chance with Kayla."

"Wait, you asked Kayla out for a first date on Valentine's?" Julie asked with a giggle, handing him a mug of hot chocolate.

"I wanted to be romantic!" he exclaimed. "Not like you and Nick are much better, what have you been together like a week?"

"It'll be a month next Tuesday!" She gave him a playful shove, but she was smiling, which always made Reggie happy-Julie had so little cause to smile over the past year, so he was thrilled whenever she did.

"Well he's missing out, you look amazing," he said, flicking through the channels to find the least cheesy rom-com.

"Thanks," she said with a blush. "You look...the same."

"I was gonna change!" he protested.

"Sure you were."

"Shut up and enjoy the movie Molina."

The next time was a few years later-and the Phantoms just happened to be on tour. They were in some podunk little town, trying to build their brand. None of them were overjoyed to be away from their partners on Valentine's, but they had all agreed that their art came first.

However, after their show, Alex was calling Willie, Luke was trying to find inspiration at the bottom of a bottle, and once again, Julie and Reggie were curled up together with a bad movie and a hot drink.

"Not calling Kris?" Reggie asked as Meg Ryan did something quirky up on the screen.

"No answer," Julie answered sullenly. "Anne?"

"Went to voicemail," Reggie replied. "But she had to work tonight, so that tracks."

"Well at least we have each other and Meg," Julie commented.

"To Meg," Reggie said as they clinked their glasses.

"To Meg."

The next few years they found themselves single more often than not, so it meant more Valentine's together, usually with a movie and cuddles. Some years they had a partner and actually went out or did something, but none of those relationships ever seemed to lst.

"I think we have a tendency to attract losers," Julie commiserated over ice cream.

"Rebecca was nice, we just didn't have anything in common," Reggie argued. "But Matt-ooof, Jules you sure can pick 'em."

"Don't make be bring up Gigi."

Reggie shuddered at that-that one had been a mistake right from the start that went on far too long. He still had regrets about it-and his friends would probably never let him live it down.

"Maybe we should just give up, stick to our ritual of watching movies together and let romance pass us by for a while," he commented.

Julie hummed at that, clinking their mugs together, but then paused. "Has it occurred to you that we’ve spent more Valentine’s days with each other than with people we’ve actually been dating?"

"Really?" Reggie asked, then thought on it. "Huh. I'm okay with that though. Can't go wrong with hot cocoa and Julia Roberts, Meg Ryan or Sandra Bullock."

"I thought we were watching The Notebook this year."

"You know what I meant," he said, knocking their shoulders together. "You, Julie Molina, are the best Valentine there is."

"I should start asking for flowers and chocolate then," she joked. "Maybe do something other than watching a movie on the couch."

"Do you wanna go out?" Reggie asked. "Get a fancy dinner, go dancing? Because we can if you want."

"Won't everywhere be booked?"

"We're rock stars now, surely we can get a table and a floor to sway across somewhere," Reggie replied.

"Okay," Julie giggled. "I'll go get ready."

They ran off to their respective rooms-Alex and Willie had their own place and Luke was half way into moving out, but the two of them had been fine living together in the band apartment by themselves, even if they sometimes missed having all of them in one space. Reggie found a nice pair of slacks and a button down, tossing a blazer over it at the last second, but forewent a tie-he never knew how to knot the things anyways.

He emerged just as Julie did in a frothy red dress, her hair done up, her lips a deep crimson, and he let out an exaggerated whistle, just to make her blush and smile-still one of his favourite sights. "Shall we?"

They didn't try to go somewhere too upscale-too many chances of paps looking for their next scoop. But they also didn't go to their usual greasy spoon, even if the idea was slightly tempting. They found a little place that Reggie liked for dates that had a free table in the back, a good selection of wine, and an even better dessert menu.

"Beats cocoa and Gosling?" he asked as Julie polished off the last of the cheesecake.

"You promised me dancing," she reminded him.

"So I did."

But finding a place they could dance outside of a club was a bit harder, so Reggie decided to use a move he had once used as a teen that had never done him wrong-he drove to the beach. One that was abandoned and beautiful, especially with the moon sitting in the sky, reflecting off the water.

He turned the car stereo way up, and held out his hand to Julie/ "Shall we?"

She kicked off her heels and nodded, letting him lead her around the dunes, head resting on his shoulder. "This is the best date I've ever been on," she whispered.

"Me too," he replied, tilting her head up. "Glad it was with you."

And maybe it was the day, or her eyes sparkling in the starlight, or the fact that he had always wanted this, but had never admitted it, even to himself, but in that moment, Reggie kissed her. A kiss that made his toes curl in his boots, that made her cling to him as she deepened it, that made the music in his heart sing even louder than the stereo.

They broke apart, out of breath, smiling, blushing, and dove back in for another. And another, until their lips were swollen.

"Definitely better than cocoa," Julie finally said.

Reggie beamed, dipping her as the song came to a crescendo, her laugh echoing over the waves, and they walked hand in hand back to the car, fingers never letting go as they drove home. Kissing goodnight at her door in a soft lingering fashion.

The both of them agreed it was the best Valentine's ever-well until the next year when they were dating for real and decided to do it all over again-only they ended up back on the couch at the end-decidedly not watching The Notebook, their cocoa stone cold on the coffee table.

#filled prompts #ficlet #rulie #julie and the phantoms

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lyranova · 5 months ago

Text

The True Meaning

Hiya guys! So there was a Secret Santa event with some friends and I decided to participate, my little fic-gift was for the always lovely @thoughtfullyrainynightmare ! And I hope you like it 🥺💕💕💕!! Merry Christmas and I hope you (and everyone else) have a lovely holiday~!

Word Count: 837

Warnings: None

————

“ Do you think they’ll like them?”

“ Of course they will,” Solara told her husband, Fuegoleon, as she finished tying a ribbon onto the last gift and gently placed it under the tree.

Fuegoleon placed a hand under his chin as he stared at the many beautifully wrapped presents that sat underneath their christmas tree.

For some reason, he didn’t feel convinced by his wife’s words.

“ How can you be so certain that they will? I mean, they could easily hate and reject our gifts just as easily as they would love and accept them.” Fuegoleon pointed out as he continued to scan the various gifts.

“ …Darling, they’re five months old,” Solara countered. “ They’ll love anything we get them, unlike a few picky adults and teenagers we know.” She added with a joking smile.

However, her husband still wasn’t convinced, and it made her frown in confusion, this was very uncharacteristic for her husband. He tended to be confident in his ‘gift giving’ decisions, so why was this making him hesitate?

“ Are you worried because you’ve never given your children a gift before? Or because it’s their first Christmas and you want it to be special?”

Fuegoleon’s head immediately snapped in his wife’s direction, how did she-?

But then, he smiled, of course she knew how he was feeling…she knew him about as well as he knew himself and vice-versa.

“ Both.” He admitted softly as he turned to look at the gifts and large tree again.

“ I want our children to have the best first christmas they could ever ask for,” He continued as he played with one of the ribbons that sat atop of a gift. “ I want it to be special for them.”

“ I understand, I want that for our twins too,” Solara said as she nodded slowly. “ However, because of that, I think you’re missing the point of what makes Christmas special.”

Fuegoleon frowned for a moment, he was missing the point of Christmas? What did she mean? But as her smile turned into a knowing one, he realized what she meant.

“ You mean family, and all of us being together on the holidays.” Fuegoleon said with a small smile, and she nodded.

“ Exactly,” She agreed before looking towards the tree and gifts as well.

“ Having a big, fancy tree and a mountain of gifts is all fine and good, but that isn’t what the holidays are about; the holidays are meant to be about spending time with loved ones, enjoying and appreciating each other, and just…being together whether there’s gifts or not.” She continued before she turned to look at her husband.

“ When our children get older and look back on photos of their first christmas, which do you think they’ll remember fondly? All of the gifts and the fancy tree, or the family they spent the day with?” She asked with a curious brow, even though they both knew the answer.

Fuegoleon turned to look at his wife.

“ In a perfect world, our children would remember both,” He lightly joked, making Solara shove him playfully. “ However, if they’re anything like us, they’ll remember the family they spent the day with over the gifts.”

“ Exactly,” She then reached out and gently placed her hand against his face. “ And that is what will make the holiday special.”

He reached up and placed his hand against hers before he turned to place a kiss on the inside of her palm.

“ You’re right, I’m sorry,” Fuegoleon apologized softly. “ I think I just got carried away by it all.”

Solara shook her head.

“ It’s hard not to, I know I was starting to get carried away as well, hence all the extra gifts.” She admitted with a sheepish chuckle as she looked back at the tree.

“ So please don’t feel bad, dear, I think it’s great that you wanted to make the day special for them. It shows how much you care about your children and their happiness,” She continued before leaning forward and placing a gentle kiss against Fuegoleon’s lips.

“ All I ask is that you not forget the true meaning of the holiday,” She said softly as she rested her forehead against his comfortingly.

“ I promise I won’t forget, not again.” He told her softly as he leaned forward to place another warm, gentle kiss against his lips.

Solara smiled into the kiss as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer as his arms gently wrapped around her waist.

As the kiss deepened and began to grow a little more heated, the couple was interrupted by the sound of loud baby cries coming from the nursery.

“ Duty calls,” Solara sighed as she and her husband pulled away and again rested their foreheads against each other.

“ Indeed.” Fuegoleon agreed with a chuckle, he placed one last kiss against his wife’s lips before standing up and extending a hand to help her stand.

The couple, hand in hand, quietly made their way to their twins nursery to try to get them back to sleep.

————

Thank you all so much for reading and I hope you all have a good day~!

#black clover #black clover oc fanfiction #black clover oc #black clover fanfiction #secret santa #fuegoleon vermillion #fuegoleon x solara #solara x fuegoleon #fuelara #not my oc #oc; solara

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qwerty-between-the-lines · 2 years ago

Text

Percy and friends were having what you could call an Argo II reunion campout trip.

Jason's absence was definitely felt for all of them, but as Piper had pointed out - Jason wouldn't have wanted them to quit living and having fun on his account.

They all knew that Jason would be with them in spirit, so it was agreed that Leo should go ahead with the reunion idea. Of course, everyone was free to bring their significant others.

...and so, their little family sat gathered around the campfire, as Leo and Calypso passed out plates that they easily recognized.

Nico: Is it camping if we use magical dishes to conjure food?

Leo: Hey. There's nothing stopping you from conjuring a hot dog and using a stick. Me? I prefer glamping!

Hazel: It's so great to be back with you guys. We don't get together as often as we should.

Frank: Hey, that's the life of a demigod for you.

Percy: Yeah. Too busy doing our parents' dirty work to have much personal time.

Nico didn't conjure a hot dog, in spite of his weak protest. He conjured an avocado and cheese sandwich, a chocolate donut, and some jerky.

Will: You have a healthy appetite.

Nico: I'm not planning on taking any underworld trips anytime soon, so I'm good.

Annabeth used her plate to conjure up a Slim Fast.

Leo: Seriously? You use the magic plate for that?

Annabeth: I'm trying to watch the calories at present.

Percy: I keep telling her she isn't fat.

Annabeth: Shut up, Seaweed Brain!

Nico: How can you drink that crap, Annabeth? I bet it tastes like chalk and ass.

Will cleared his throat awkwardly.

Nico: Hey, that's not the same thing. You know what I meant!

Hazel: ANYWAY. It's great to be together again.

Calypso: I hope none of you will object if I prefer wine.

Frank: Uh... minors.

Calypso: I didn't say anything about you having any. Besides, I'm not drinking that diet crap like Dionysus does. I'm not on probation.

The sky thundered in the distance.

Percy: Uh... Calypso. Careful what you say about Mr. D...

Piper: Isn't that a little rich coming from you, Percy?

Percy: Hey, we're on better terms than before ever since I offered him that Diet Coke ship. Or at least... not so hostile terms.

Leo: I bet he'd still turn you into an Atlantic Bottlenose.

Percy: Well, probably, but that would just mean he thinks of me the same as the gods think of all demigods.

Hazel: Apollo excluded.

Frank: I don't know about that. Apollo had already become human a few times before that last fiasco, and that didn't stop him from threatening to kill us.

Percy: I know how to stop him. Just ask him to make a haiku about your death instead of actually killing you.

Annabeth: I wouldn't joke about that.

Will: Yeah. Dad's known for having a wicked sense of humor from time to time. He might cause you to have dreams about haikus.

Percy: Think I should ask Meg to pass on a good word for me? Just in case Apollo's planning to give me haiku dreams?

Leo: Dude! Meg said Commodus was hot. I'm not saying I don't trust her now, but her judgment's another thing.

Piper: ...and you didn't think Commodus is hot, Leo?

Leo: Honestly? Not even a little bit. Horrible personality. Looks isn't all there is for me.

Calypso: ...so if Commodus didn't have a horrible personality would you think he was hot?

Leo: Nah. He's not really my type...

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smoshsfavoritepizzaplace · 2 days ago

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(Want to make it clear that I'm not the previous anon, just a random person who saw your post about the slur Noah said in Spud Hut and I thought I would share my opinion, hope you don't mind /gen)

I very much agree with you, I think Smosh really needs to learn how to take responsibility if they make mistakes, however big or small. I'm certain nothing hateful was meant by this situation, but it happened and the damage was done. I expect they only realised through member's youtube comments, but it doesn't take much to put up an instagram story or youtube community post saying "Thank you for bringing this to our attention, we had no idea and will be editing it out" or something. Still holding hope that they'll release a statement about it later, though.

I've seen firsthand how much less toxic a fandom can be if the creators (for lack of a better word- I just mean the ppl you're a fan of, like Smosh) don't hesitate to communicate well with their fans. I genuinely think if you're listening and acting on fans' feedback it makes it a better place for everyone, and being transparent about these sorts of things helps a lot. It's difficult to find a balance between good communication and being parasocial, but then again any communication is better than none, so it's something that I hope Smosh tries to work on in the future.

Thanks for hearing me out lol, hope you have a nice day :D

I honestly don’t think they’re gonna say anything about it. They have a history of just trying to “sweep things under the rug” unfortunately. But yeah I as well very much agree with you. I would understand if this was something about their personal lives, but this is a video where someone possibly unintentionally said a slur. I think fans have every right to want them to speak up about it. It’s on a much smaller scale of course, but it reminds me of the d&d situation. A lot of people were excited about a new season, and not only did they delay it with barely anything said, but made it audio only. And the singular thing they’ve said about it was a joke during the sitcom live. Don’t get me wrong, I love Smosh, I have for a decade technically, but they have to do better at certain things for sure

#smosh #smoshblr #noah grossman #smosh spud hut #anon ask

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angelasscribbles · 2 years ago

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The Crown and the Shield Chapter 8: Healing

Series: The Crown and the Shield

Fandom: The Royal Romance

Pairings: Constantine x Jackson

Word Count: 922

Rating: PG

Warnings for this chapter: none

Special thanks to @aussiegurl1234 for her input.

A/N: So, we finally come to the final chapter of this “one-shot” lol. I hope it meets expectations.

My other stuff: Master List.

“Today is the one-year anniversary of the Madrid Peace Summit Massacre,” the news anchor addressed the camera.

“It was a dark day for all our countries,” His co-host replied nodding her head sympathetically, “Isabella Hasapis was forced to take the Auverness throne when both her parents were killed, making her the youngest monarch in their history, ascending the throne at only sixteen. In Monterisso, the late queen’s sister was appointed as regent until crown princess Amalas is old enough to rule.”

Constantine turned the volume of the TV up as his mind ran back in time to the worst day of his life.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty,” the white-coated doctor stood with his hands in his pockets as he delivered the news, “We did everything we could. Heroic measures were employed but the injuries from the gunshot wounds were too grievous, and we were unable to save him.”

Constantine’s body shook with sobs. He let himself be led to a chair. He sank into it and dropped his head into his hands. He gathered his emotions as best he could and lifted his head, “And her?”

“I’m sorry, sir, again, the extent of the injuries-“

“So I’ve lost them both?”

“I’m very sorry for your loss. Would you like to see your wife now?”

“Connie, why are you watching this?” Eleanor took the remote from his hand and clicked the TV off just as the footage of his remarks from the south lawn of the palace earlier in the day began to play.

He turned to her with tears in his eyes, “It was the day I lost both my parents. The day I almost lost you. I don’t know how Leo and Liam would have-“

“Hey, we don’t have to worry about that. I’m here. I made it and so did you.”

“Thanks to Jack.”

“Yes,” she agreed, “Thanks to Jack. Speaking of him…don’t you have somewhere to be?”

He glanced at the clock on the wall and jumped to his feet, “Shit! Yes! I have to go!”

“It’s fine, go!” She shooed him out of their private living room, one hand at the small of her back and the other resting on her burgeoning stomach as she felt the baby kick. “Settle down, Lena. You have a month left in there.”

She missed her in-laws, but she was grateful that both she and her husband had been spared. The bullet had hit her in the side. There had been a lot of blood, but no major organs had been damaged.

She would have joined the king, but she was on partial bedrest for the duration of the pregnancy. She had told Constantine to give her love to the Walker family. She would be forever grateful for the sacrifices made that day.

Constantine stepped out of the limo and approached the group gathered around the gravesite. He made his way to Bianca and swept her into a hug before doing the same with Drake and Savannah in turn.

He stepped forward and touched the cold marble of the marker, his fingers tracing the etching. His throat constricted as he croaked out, “He died a hero.”

“That he did. He stepped right in front of that bullet.”

Constantine turned toward the voice with a solemn expression, “So did you.”

“Damned straight I did! And I’d do it again!”

The king pulled the other man into a tight embrace as he fought back the emotions that threatened to overwhelm him, “Don’t joke about that, Jack, I almost lost you that day!”

It had been touch and go for two weeks. Constantine had never left his side.

“I’m not joking,” Jackson hugged him back.

Constantine had tried to get him to transfer to a less dangerous position, but Jackson had refused. There was no one else he trusted to safeguard the man he loved.

“Eleanor sends her love to all of you,” Constantine pushed out of Jackson’s arms and turned back to the monument, “We know how much Bastien meant to you.”

“He was like family,” Bianca agreed.

“He didn’t hesitate to take that bullet for her,” Jackson removed a flask of whiskey from his jacket pocket and held it up to the monument in salute, “Here’s to the best junior officer I ever had the privilege of training.”

“To Bastien!” the little group chorused.

When the gathering was over, Constantine and Jackson walked back to the limo together, hand in hand.

The perpetrators of the attack had all been brought to justice and The Liberation Core dismantled. There was some amount of closure in that.

Eleanor had taken the news of his relationship with Jackson in stride.

“I suspected, Connie. But it doesn’t change anything for me. I love you, and I love our boys.”

The only thing she had asked him for was another child. A chance for a girl and he’d given it to her.

In return, she’d given him complete acceptance of his relationship with Jackson.

He was as happy as he could be while still grieving his parents. He would always miss them, but he had a baby on the way, a queen who understood him, and the love of his life by his side.

Next year for his birthday, Jackson was getting that white water rafting trip. Constantine had already booked it. Just the two of them…give or take a few dozen guardsmen.

He glanced at the man next to him with happiness in his heart. He was healing, Cordonia was healing, and the future looked bright.

~fin

#trr au #trr fanfic #trr fandom #trr au fanfic #choices fic writers creations #tcats #the crown and the shield #angelasscribbles #the royal romance #trr #the royal romance fanfic #cfwc fics of the week #Constantine Rys #Jackson Walker #Connie x Jack #choices stories you play #choices

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howdy-cowpoke · 2 years ago

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TIMING: Some time shortly after Monty rescued Manzanita. LOCATION: Alan’s boat / The Cave of Voices PARTIES: Alan (@alan-duarte) & Monty (@howdy-cowpoke) SUMMARY: Monty and Alan go on a boating trip which leads them to the Cave of Voices and down in an unexpected place. They meet a friend and a foe. CONTENT WARNINGS: None.

—

Alan was checking the equipment when Monty arrived. It had been a while since he last went to sea. Escaping from the stench of that black sludge could only be a relief. His shop being in oldtown, he didn’t have to suffer from it at all times, but most of the properties he sold were downtown. Alan’s employees seemed to have been just as disturbed with the smell which was the only comfort he found about the situation. It was easier to go through hardship with people willing to rant over the same things. It was easier even to leave the town for an afternoon with a friend. He liked hanging out with his employees, but there was always a certain distance there. He was their boss, and he couldn’t really talk about everything with them. Monty was someone he could trust with anything, down to his own life.

“We’ve been blessed with nice weather,” he exclaimed, walking down the deck to give him a proper greeting. “How have you been doing?” He hadn’t really conversed with Monty since they had dinner at his house. Dropping off a severed head for him to eat was not precisely what he would qualify as hanging out. He wasn’t too worried about it, per say, but it meant a lot to him, knowing that his friend was doing okay. One of the good things about Monty was that he always knew when he was lying. Alan sometimes let him get away with it. “I’m gonna get my shoes back on. You can undo the moorings if you want.”

—

Monty had a slight preference for the cold since dying, but his conflicting love of spring meant that on days like today, he wasn’t going to complain about the sudden heat wave. Anyway, it wasn’t hot—a place like this rarely got hot. Not like in México. It was warm in the sun, warm enough that he could barely feel it, which was nice.

Alan’s request to go boating hadn’t exactly come as a surprise—the man was often itching to get out on the water the moment the weather improved after the long winter. Monty had hesitated, however, worrying more than usual about leaving the farm hands on their own, in case that nasty slayer decided to return for round two. He knew Monty was undead at the very least, and it wouldn’t take much more snooping for him to realize that everyone working on that farm was.

Trying to push the fears from his mind, the zombie reluctantly agreed to join his friend. Recalling the gentle admonishment he’d gotten for his attire the first time they’d done this, he made sure to pull out the only clothes he owned that weren’t also work clothes, helpfully provided by the very same werewolf that wanted to see him make an attempt at not looking grungy once in a while. He even showered before leaving! Alan would be pleased.

Arriving at the docks a few minutes late, the zombie broke into a soft grin as he spotted Alan coming his way to greet him, barefoot as the day he was born. “Oh, you know… surviving,” he answered, letting his gaze fall to his friend’s bare feet. “You’ll get splinters doing that,” Monty commented casually, clapping a hand against Alan’s shoulder. “Sure, amigo. I got it.” Following him a short distance back to the boat, Monty threw his jacket on board and proceeded to detach the boat from the deck, tossing the lines back and hopping over the small gap onto the boat when he was done. The smell of the ocean was strong enough to cut through his deadened senses and he turned his face to the wind, closing his eyes for a brief moment to enjoy it before finding Alan again. “Please tell me we’re heading into Storm’s Eye Trench, to both our deaths,” he joked with a cheeky grin.

—

“I’m not going to get splinters,” well, probably not on his feet at least. Running around the woods had made his feet feel more calloused over time. Though he generally brought a change of shoes, Alan wondered if running around on paws didn’t have a slow effect on the state of his feet and hands. “I like the shirt, and the rest. Nice outfit,” if the other had lost his usual scent of hay, farm life and horses, Alan didn’t comment on that. Sitting at the front of the ship, against the railing, the werewolf was putting on a pair of boat shoes, if only not to slip and fall on such a quiet sea.

“Storm’s Eye Trench?” Alan glanced up at Monty with his eyebrows furrowed. It wasn’t unlike him to make jokes, but they didn’t usually have such a dark undertone. “If you want to die by my side, just say it,” with a saccharine grin, the realtor got up to his feet and headed toward the other end of the boat.

Its sails swelled by the wind, the sailboat slowly moved away from the shore. The sound of the wavelets crashing on the pier quieted down the more they sailed. Above their heads, gulls and kingfishers continued their ballet, controlled by the breeze which carried the two friends far from their town.

Alan, if he was more comfortable at the controls of his plane, had acquired a taste for the sea in the last few years. It was a much quieter activity, and he enjoyed being alone in the middle of nowhere almost as much as he enjoyed spending the afternoon with him. His eyes fell on his friend. He worried about what was going on in his head. He had experienced a painful event not long ago, and it seemed obvious that it would stick in his throat.

—

“You say that like you didn’t pick all of these for me,” Monty chuckled. Still, it was something.

Offering a shrug, Monty realized with a bit of regret that it had been an usually dark joke for him to make—surely that wasn’t the result of… everything that had been going on lately. Surely not. Biting the inside of his cheek to quell the embarrassment that threatened to rise, he did his best to look cavalier about the whole thing as he added, “Oh, sure, I’d love that. Someone could write one heck of a novel about it someday.”

Distracted by the birds, Monty failed to notice his friend looking at him. A soft smile had settled on his face, and for what was far from the first time in his unlife, he was thankful that the sun didn’t have such a negative impact on him as it did vampires. He might have given in to the call of the void a long time ago if he was never permitted to sit in the sun again, wind whipping his messy hair around as he watched a kingfisher dive and burst from the surface with a fish in its beak.

Turning to ask Alan if he’d seen it, Monty’s voice caught in his throat when he realized he was already being watched. It was a momentary stutter, fixed with a grin, though what he’d been about to say had entirely left his head. “What?” he laughed, hugging his arms a little tighter around his knees.

—

“Nothing,” it was tricky to tell Monty he’d been worried about him when he looked radiant. “You looked like you’d been sucked in by the ocean,” that might have not been his first thought, it was true. “I’m glad you agreed to leave the farm for a bit,” Alan might have done his best trying to reassure Monty, he knew that it would be a while before he felt safe in his home again.

Hand on the tiller, he returned his gaze toward the horizon, his eye darting toward the sails for a second. “I understand if you would rather speak of anything but that,” wasn’t that the point of all this? They left their problems behind here. There was nothing to worry about here : no hunters, no angry homeowners, no problems. He wanted to keep it that way. Otherwise, what was the point in running away? What was the fucking point?

He had to change the subject. “I had a meeting with the city council the other day,” he began. He wanted to build somewhere, and of course some ecologists wanted to save the frogs. “Anyway, I guess it went well,” he had to figure how he’d get the frogs to fuck off some place else, which meant he’d need to collaborate with the leaf fuckers. “You know, it’s the thing with the toads, the frogs, the… bog creatures,” he wrinkled his nose. “I don’t know what to do man,” it was easier when he was fucking with people. Even he didn’t like to disturb the peace of animals.

—

Not only was Monty bad at lying, but he was equally terrible at being able to tell when he was being lied to. So he took Alan’s answer at face value, grinning widely for a moment before that little twinge of fear, of regret crept back in, and made the smile grow smaller. “Ah… yeah. Yeah.” He didn’t know what to say so he just left it at that, only nodding his head as he looked out at the ocean as Alan offered an out.

Thankful when the werewolf turned the conversation elsewhere, Monty finally dragged his gaze back to his friend, stretching his legs out in front of him. “Well, you could always build somewhere that isn’t a stinky bog,” Monty laughed with a shrug. “Or… I don’t know. Get yourself a pied piper, but for frogs instead of rats.” It was an utterly unhelpful suggestion, which Monty knew, based on the humorous glint in his dark eyes.

“Ah, really though… maybe make them a really enticing habitat nearby, so they’ll want to move. Then everyone wins. Frog rights, and so on.”

—

Why did Alan have to mention the farm. Now Monty was probably picturing Emilio waltzing, or rather cha-cha-ing his way around the place with a stake in one hand and a knife in the other, stabbing away his grudge and sorrow.

Alan couldn’t help but laugh at the other’s offer. Yeah. Alan didn’t purposefully pick plots because they’d bring controversy. Most of the time, he didn’t get into any trouble buying land, homes… But there was always, every once in a while, a Tobias Greene (usually sans mafiosi), or a bog of frogs. “A pied piper?” That’s when he chortled. If the other had been closer, he’d have shoved him away. “You prick. That’s…” He sighed, his shoulders still shaking with amusement.

“I know. I will work with the associations. Council likes me, I’m probably going to get the okay,” he blew a raspberry and reached down to tie the tiller still. “How’s the sludge situation on the farm?” Giving it a go to make sure it was secure, he let go of some of the wind in the sails and went to sit at the front. “It’s hasn’t reached the office yet, but going downtown is torture.”

—

“Hope you do,” Monty answered honestly, marrying it with a soft smile. As the boat slowed and Alan came to join him at the front,the zombie made a face at the next question. “It could be worse, for sure… just some out on the eastern fringes, nearest the Flat.” He shook his head, wondering what on earth that crap was. “My catoblepones seem curious about it, but I don’t think I want them eating it.” Sure, they were designed to eat poisonous flora, but this sludge was… well, it was something else.

“At the very least, it doesn’t seem to affect the stink levels much,” Monty added with a breathy chuckle. Farms always had a particular smell to them, and Prickly Pear Acres’ proximity to the death pit certainly didn’t make matters any better. It really wasn’t a surprise that whenever their weekly visit came around, Monty was the one going to Alan’s. The poor wolf’s nose just couldn’t take it.

“What do you think, wey? Will it overrun the whole place?”

—

“If I had known… I’d have found you a plot north of the town,” what was it with that fucking abnormality. How bad would it get? He heard the noises in the past weeks, whenever he drove in the area, worked around Serpent’s Flat. “Mmmh, I spoke to a geologist who works at the university. They didn’t want him to investigate. That’s fucking weird, don’t you think?” Running a hand over his face, he let go of the railing to let himself slip to the wooden deck, crossing his ankles as he looked up at him. “I wouldn’t let them eat that. Poor things might get sick.” And finding a veterinarian who could care for them mustn’t have been easy.

Not that Alan would know.

“Huh uh,” surely, someone who lived there all the time would forget about the smell, but Alan had a feeling his nose wouldn’t. He didn’t seem too keen to laugh about it. This was worrying. People wouldn’t want to invest in a town who was covered in goo and stenched of that god awful smell. “I don’t know. I don’t fucking know,” rubbing at his face, he pulled his knee up against his chest and sighed. “This town man…” He sighed and turned his gaze toward the horizon. You could see the town from here. It looked normal, peaceful even, in a word : deceptive.

“Anyhow, surely there are nicer subjects to discuss.” Nothing quite like death and doom to spend a great afternoon with a friend.

—

“A nice sentiment, but you and I both know I was only able to afford the land you got me because it’s by that pit of dead people.” Monty threw Alan a knowing glance, and then a smile. He was sweet. Brows rose at the mentioned of the geologist—that was weird. “The… whoever runs this place, yeah, they sure are being… what’s the word… ah, cagey about it all. Like they know things we don’t. Or they don’t know anything, and that’s even scarier to them.” He shrugged. “Guess we’ll find out.”

Of course Alan had a larger stake in whether or not this town went belly-up, and Monty suddenly felt bad for laughing about it. “Ah, I’m sure it will all work out, my friend,” he tried to reassure the other, though his comforting skills left something to be desired. It always did in this place, didn’t it?

“Right. Well. Umm—oh! Oh, I didn’t get a chance to tell you yet, but a very nice man that works for the town’s animal control contacted me the other day!” About… “He—someone surrendered a horse at their shelter, and they didn’t have the facilities to take care of it, so he asked if I’d come get her.” Monty smiled, remembering seeing her for the first time. Definitely… just her. “She’s beautiful, Alan. Champagne coat and a bright red mane and tail, like fire. I’m still trying to decide what to name her.”

—

“I know, I know,” and the price per square meter had gone up ever since. Alan figured that with the state of the town now, it could substantially drop. If people started to leave the town en masse, it certainly would. Yet, it would be a while before that happened. People didn’t like to leave their home behind. Alan knew he would never be able to leave. His whole life was here, and he was too old now to restart over somewhere else. His shoulders relaxed, they often would in the face of the inevitable. He never was one to fight the current. Instead, he preferred to learn how to sail on bad waters.

“Animal control huh?” Although Alan was still listening to the other, his cheeks turned pink as he remembered his embarrassing encounter with that guy. That was a moment he would have happily forgotten about. “Champagne coat?” He reached at his collar for his sunglasses, pushing them up his nose. “You could call her Cliquot or Ruinart,” it was perhaps a bit of a cliché but champagne perhaps ought to be called like champagne. Leaning back, he looked at his friend, wrinkling his nose a little. “You took pictures, right? Of your new girl?”

—

Monty rolled his eyes at the suggestions, letting out a laugh. “How very Alan of you,” he teased, lifting his butt off the boat to fetch the phone in his back pocket. “But yes, I did.” Pulling up the photo album before passing the phone to Alan, the zombie leaned back on his hands. “Kaden—the man that helped me get her settled—seemed to like Manzanita, so I might stick with that. It was the first thing that came to mind, but I wasn’t positive about it.” He smiled, running a hand through his hair to get it out of his face. There was a beat of comfortable silence before Monty decided to elaborate a bit, hoping that Alan would be pleased with the news.

“I asked him if he’d—well,” he struggled for a moment, clearing his throat. “He seemed fond of her in the short time we had together, so I said he could come visit anytime. The horse, or… me.” An exasperated laugh made an appearance then, and Monty gestured at his friend with brows raised. “I’m trying to make friends, like you keep saying I should. So there’s one. Maybe. We’ll see.”

—

“What is that supposed to mean? It’s on theme,” he furrowed his eyebrows in apparent shock. Anyone who dared question his taste clearly had none, after all. Reaching out to take the phone from him, Alan pinched at the screen to zoom in. “Manzanita?” He would have guessed a French name would be the man’s pick but it seemed he was wrong to assume that. Handing back the phone, the realtor offered his friend a fond smile. “She’s a beauty. Makes you wonder why people can ever give up on their animals,” Alan knew he couldn’t commit to a pet. He was too busy, of course, but he also wondered what would happen to the poor thing if something happened to him. He might have a tendency to boast, but the werewolf was all too aware that tomorrow might be his last day on Earth.

His brows furrowed some more, but this time, there was a hint of amusement and a wrinkle of his nose added to the shock. “Would you look at that, making friends with the not so local locals, heh?” This was new. Crossing his arms over his chest, Alan’s fondness grew and reached his eyes. “I’m glad you’re trying. That’s what counts,” reaching over to pat his shoulder, the wolf turned to gaze at the sea. “This being said, if he’s the guy I think he is… I didn’t tell you about something that happened to me, the other day.”

—

“You know I can’t pronounce French words for crap,” Monty laughed, just… assuming that both those champagne names were French. Or maybe Italian, which was a little easier for him, but still bad all the same. Taking back the phone, he smiled at the photo for a few seconds longer before storing it away again, drawing his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. “Beats me, hermano. But I’m happy to help them as much as I can.”

Alan’s praise really and truly meant the world to him, and Monty smiled widely. “Thanks,” he answered in a hushed tone, perhaps too quiet for the werewolf to even hear over the slap of the waves against the side of the sailboat. At the next statement, though, his head cocked to the side curiously. “Well, how many animal control officers named Kaden can there be in a town this size?” He paused, brow furrowing. “What… happened?” He hoped to God it wasn’t bad, something that would have put the pair at odds.

—

“And I can?” Well, yes. Alan knew French just enough to know how wines were pronounced. Since he wasn’t trying to be elected douchebag has-been of the decade, he refrained from pronouncing it the French way however. It didn’t help that he didn’t speak a word of French aside from Pinot Gris or Sauvignon. “I don’t think I should ever go anywhere near a shelter,” he’d end up bringing home more than he could care for.

Returning that bright smile right back, he didn’t quite catch what the other said. Alan wondered how the other would react to his story. It was quite ridiculous, and one he wasn’t really proud to tell. “I told you about the kid who stole my sandwich one noon and didn’t even say thanks?” Who cared if she never said thanks, honestly? Alan didn’t even care, but he was proud and he wanted her to apologize, at the very least. “Well, I found her, and well, I had to … well…shift. It was an emergency.” The wolf hadn’t even gotten to the part he was mortified about yet his cheeks were tinted pink again. Maybe it was that he always sought to impress his friend, but showing vulnerability never failed to make him feel naked. Not to say that he would have rather ran into someone with only a duvet to save his dignity, but his cheeks sure were burning now. “I didn’t have my backpack with me this time and I walked back to my car near-naked. I say near because I had a duvet,” he was aware that this really wasn’t a good look for him. If he had seen himself that day, Alan would have cringed so much he’d have turned into diamonds. “Anyhow…” He pressed his lips together. Did he really need to add more to this?

—

Nodding slowly and wondering where on earth this could possibly be going, Monty listened with an attentive ear and a curious mind. He let the other seemingly finish before speaking, though there was still a lot left unsaid.

“Wait, hang on. Okay. First of all, why did you have to shift when you found her? Who—what was she? It was an emergency?” His brow furrowed in confusion and he shook his head, continuing, “And what does this have to do with Kaden?”

—

It took a moment, but before Alan could muster the strength to respond, the pieces sort of clicked into place. Monty’s eyes widened and he let out an explosive laugh, slapping his hands against his legs. “Alan! No! You ran into him while you were post-shift naked?!” The zombie howled with laughter, squinting his eyes shut and flopping back onto the cushion, hands splayed over his stomach. “¡Ay, Dios mío! It’s the freaking oral exam all over again!” he cackled, not feeling the slightest bit bad for getting a kick out of his best friend’s embarrassment.

“I don’t fucking know, she turned into a damn bear. I don’t know if it was the surprise or something else, but I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared in a long time,” part of his explanation was a call for empathy in those trying times, the rest was the actual truth. He was more concerned about his life around her than he had been with these damn mafia guys.

But it seemed he’d have to explain everything, didn’t it? Why did his friend have to be so cruel ?

Truth is, Alan couldn’t say whether having to explain or seeing Monty burst in tear-inducing laughter was the most painful to his self-esteem. The wolf kept his gaze fixated on the horizon, his lips pressed into a thin line that could have spelled out pain and a desire to disappear right on the spot. His cheeks were burning red, he knew that. Fucksake. “I sure did. He had a lot of questions about it, let me tell you.” With a sound of anguish, Alan let his back fall onto the deck and sighed. “I mean you’ve seen the guy. He looks like a Ken doll or something,” not that it should have mattered, but pretty people’s opinions somehow had more importance to him. It was incredibly shallow, he was not proud of it, but this was how things worked for him. “I told him I’d give him a discount if he didn’t mention this to anyone. D’you think he’ll call me back?” It was Alan’s turn to snort and chortle. “Oh man, I … Hey ! Fuck you with the oral exams,” he reached over with his hand to clumsily slap him quiet. “Fuck off, you…” At loss of words, the werewolf covered his face with both hands, falling again into a fit of laughter. “Let’s just say, don’t invite him when I’m around. I might make it very awkward.”

—

A werebear? That was new. Sounded like it was new to Alan, too, or at least alarming enough to make him shift unexpectedly. He didn’t have time to feel bad about that now, though, because everything was falling into place in the most hilarious way.

“I bet!” Trying to rein in his giggling, Monty pressed a hand to his own chest and muttered a string of Spanish kid-friendly expletives, but it wouldn’t do him any good, because Alan was doing nothing to help make this less funny. “A Ken doll! Ahh, I—” he had to stop again, snickering too hard to continue. “Mi hermano… te amo, pero no estás bien,” he wheezed, waving a hand in Alan’s general direction.

Feeling the smack only exacerbated the humor of the situation, but finally, Monty was able to calm himself down and quit cracking up at his best friend’s expense. Wiping the tears from his eyes, the zombie reached blindly for Alan and gave whatever part of him his hand found first a soft pat. “I tell you what, I tell you what,” he chuckled, grinning up at the sky, “I’ll make sure he sees me naked at least once, eh? Then we’re even.” He was joking, of course, pressing his free hand over his eyes and fighting the urge to start laughing again.

—

“What? You’ve seen his hair. It’s ridiculously shiny,” Alan said matter-of-factly. Sure, he managed to tame his own mane after all this time, but it was graying already, which was something that made him feel self conscious. The other kept on laughing in the meantime. The wolf looked down at the zombie, his jaded expression ruined by hints of amusement, a twinkle in his eye, sketches of a smile. Fucking hell. “No? ¿No estoy bien, en serio?” He gave him another smack for that. “No estoy bien. Vete a la…” Biting on the inside of his cheek, he found himself once again fighting back a smile, then laughter. “Oh fuck off,” he scoffed.

One knee folded up to support his arm and chin, the other leg folded to rest under his ass, Alan watched his friend search for his leg before settling his hand on his knee. Though it didn’t match Monty’s words, he found comfort in that touch. He knew there was more truth there than in those words, and it managed to make him feel better just as much as the thought of poor Kaden being introduced to the local nudist club. “And then you dare say you’re not an asshole,” he gave Monty’s ankle a pat. “D’you wanna go somewhere specific or do you wanna stick around here for a while?” The wolf usually had trouble staying grounded, and more often than not, the other managed to help with that. He could thank his childhood, and being the first of his siblings for that. No time to rest when you were the house’ cook, cleaner, courrier and example.

—

All he could was shake his head, still grinning as Alan tried to tell him off. “I’m not a—I’m so nice,” the zombie argued with one final chuckle, sitting up again and scrubbing his hands over his face. At the question of where to go, Monty glanced around them, trying to get a sense of their position. “We could go check out that weird sea cave at Harborside’s south point,” he suggested with a cheeky grin, knowing that disembarking anywhere but at the docks would mean getting wet. “Or, you know. Float here. Here’s nice, too.” He glanced at all the birds flying overhead, squinting against the sun. “Could get pooped on, though.”

And then, as an afterthought, Monty leaned forward until his hands met the deck, scooting closer to his friend until he was well within reach. “Also, I like your hair. I think it looks nice.” Even windswept as it was, what with their being on the open ocean, and all. He was sure he didn’t look any more kempt, himself. He smirked for a moment, then pushed himself up onto his feet to go retrieve his jacket and pull the sunglasses out of its pocket, holding onto the rope railing for support. “Up to you, though!”

—

“So nice,” Alan repeated with a roll of his eyes and a fed up smile. Turning his head the other way, in the direction of the Cave of Voices. Weird certainly covered the stories they had both heard about that place. You heard the same stories about the woods, the sea, the mountains, and even some of the streets of Wicked’s Rest. Alan knew some were true, and some were fabricated. The trick was to know which were which. “Could get pooped on,” he agreed, turning to find the other scooting closer.

His expression softened, and his eyebrows furrowed slightly. Switching his posture to hide the pink hue of his cheeks against his palm, Alan then stood up and attempted to fix his hair, which had been ruffled by the wind. Heh, Monty must have been teasing him about a cow lick spike in his hair. He looked over his shoulder while the other scouted away, though he didn’t have the heart to ask him what he meant by that. With a scrunched up nose, the disgruntled wolf headed toward the stern. “Let’s head to the cave. Maybe there will be a bit less wind over there,” he agreed. Pulling on the rope attached to the sails, he tied a knot once he had enough winds caught in here. “If you want something to drink, help yourself,” he motioned toward the cooler, while he checked on his phone for tides.

—

The boat tilted as the sails caught the wind and started to move again, and Monty was glad he’d had a firm grip on the rope. Stepping carefully, he moved back toward the stern and plopped down nearish the tiller, beside Alan, then reached for the cooler to pull it closer and fetch a couple drinks for them.

It was a bit of sail over to and then around the rocky outcrop that hid the cave in question, but the journey was far from a bad one. The pair had fallen into comfortable chitchat, which somehow felt even easier now that he didn’t have that rain cloud hanging over his head. He had no more secrets from his best friend, and that was honestly an incredible relief. Alan knew him like no one else did, and it was freeing.

Hopping up to his feet when he saw the dark, gaping maw of the Cave of Voices come into view, Monty looked back excitedly at Alan. “There it is!” He pointed with his free hand, the other still clutching his drink to his chest. He knew the story behind the name, and was painfully curious about hearing it first-hand. He couldn’t help but wonder what he would hear.

—

“There it is,” he confirmed, though his voice wasn’t as vibrant as his friend’s. Those stories were always a source of worry. If there was something to hear in here, he’d be the first to know. Though Alan tried not to show it, that thought frightened him. He always tried to keep his chin up. Call it being the big brother to 3 younger siblings, it just wouldn’t have done him any good to show frailty.

He took a sip from his bottle, before reaching over to release the wind. If they were to approach that place, they’d do it slowly. “That’s a fucking big cave,” the realtor commented. It resembled what the maw of the void must have looked like, uninviting, cold, empty and stunningly dark and quiet.

There wasn’t one bit of wind now, and yet, as they stilled, Alan could have sworn he heard a whisper. He glanced over at Monty, half expecting him to look back at him with a cocky grin on his face, muffling back his laughter as best as he could. “You didn’t hear that, I presume?” Nope, he didn’t like this at all.

—

Oh, Alan was already getting a taste, and they weren’t even in the cave yet! It made sense, what with his keen senses and all, and the zombie was eager to get in there himself. “No—come on!” His deeply buried sense of adventure was clawing its way out now, making him more closely resemble the young man he’d been that first year after meeting Hector, and the near twenty that had followed. Taking a long swig of his drink before setting it aside, Monty went to the bow of the sailboat and laid flat on his stomach, reaching for the nearest rock. His fingers gripped it and tugged, pulling them closer. “Anchor her!”

He didn’t exactly wait for his friend to join him, scrambling to his feet and tethering the rope between the rock and the boat, which left him standing alone on its slippery surface. Something deep in the cave made a sound—it was a little bit ethereal, like a voice calling to him, and his grin cracked wide. “I hear it,” he breathed, motioning for Alan to follow as he scampered over the rocks to head into the darkness.

What he found, though, was not an empty cave as expected. Instead, a black stallion stood in the spot where the ground evened out, its coat wet from the ocean mist, seaweed dangling from its mane like it’d gotten caught there after a swim. Monty slowed to a stop, mouth agape. “... what.” It wasn’t an intelligent reaction, but the farmer had never claimed to be that. “Alan…!” His voice was uncertain as he called for his friend, gaze never leaving the horse. It lifted its head and stared at him, big eyes blinking as it craned its head forward curiously. What the heck? What the heck?

—

He had seen Monty before in a similar state, close to euphoria. Alan never got tired of it and it was difficult for him to hide his smile. Seeing them both, it was hard to tell ourselves that it was the zombie who had the taste for adventure and not the werewolf, but Alan had had his dose of adrenaline when he was in the army, when he was attacked by this beast. To be honest, he got his adrenaline fix every month, every full moon. He knew full well that every full moon could be the last. That sort of realization certainly didn’t make you crave any other sort of danger.

“He hears it,” Alan repeated, though he lacked the unchained enthusiasm the other displayed. “Alright, wait for me,” he called out, and checking the ties on his shoe laces, jumped off the boat to follow him inside that damn cave. His eyes adjusted to the darkness with ease and he kept them fixated on Monty’s back, worried as he was to see him slip or disappear, somehow. In the past five years, that man had been one of three fixed points in the werewolf’s life, the other two being the course of the moon and his business. It was nice to have something that wasn’t either a burden or a responsibility. Something easy, at last, that made him unconditionally happy. To risk losing that, it wasn’t a good thought, it would be a terrible truth. And so he stared, even as a second silhouette showed itself.

Approaching his side, he finally looked at that animal in wonder. It wasn’t a ghost. It seemed real, although it didn’t precisely look like that champagne horse or Habanero. It was beautiful, for certain, but you had to wonder what it was doing here, and how it got here. Could horses swim at all? “How did it get in here?” He asked, eyes darting toward his friend. He knew the other was passionate about those animals and probably would want to get closer.

—

There shouldn’t have been a horse in here. But there was. I mean, sure, they could swim, but this wasn’t exactly an easy spot to get to. It was a miracle the creature wasn’t hurt. Unless it was, and he just couldn’t see it yet.

“I… it must have… swam. But I don’t know why it would have? There’s nothing in here for it, except shelter…” Maybe something had chased it in here. Given it no choice but to flee to a damp, dark, treacherous cave. “I need to make sure he isn’t hurt, hermano,” the zombie breathed, looking at Alan with concern etched into his features. He gave the werewolf a pat on his arm and then moved closer to the horse, hand outstretched for him to sniff. Soft Spanish words of assurance spilled from him as he stepped forward, allowing the animal to lean his nose closer to Monty’s hand. His ears flicked forward, intrigued rather than afraid, and Monty smiled. “Buen niño…” he hummed, running his palm up the animal’s muzzle.

Now that some trust had been established, Monty made a slow circle around the animal to check him for wounds, but didn’t find anything. His hands glided across the horse’s damp flanks, his eyes bright with wonder. “Why are you here, niño? A cave is no place for a caballo.” He turned, looking back at Alan. “... I don’t feel right leaving him here.”

—

"Swam?" Alan looked over his shoulder. It was a dangerous walk for someone who came from the nearest beach, with a chance to twist your ankle or slip and injure yourself. The horse would have swam for a bit. "That's a long way," he commented, rubbing at the back of his neck in apparent confusion. He doubted that to be likely, but he supposed it was plausible.

Dropping his hands to his hips, the werewolf stayed one step behind. He didn't know a damn thing about horses or tending to animals. If there was something unexpected to come, he supposed Monty would know best.

"No te preocupes, I don't see anything," as far as he was aware he was the only one out of them who could see as clearly as if it were broad daylight, and the animal seemed unharmed.

“Monty, we’re not gonna manage to make him climb into the boat,” he began. He was pretty damn sure the poor animal would freak out and try to escape anyway. “We could try animal control but I’m not sure they’re equipped for that,” Alan commented. Squatting down, he took a look up at the horse, his eyes narrowing as he wondered how the fuck he got in here. Swimming, right. But from where?

—

“No, no, I know…” Getting the animal on the boat had been the furthest thing from his mind. But as he stood in front of the stallion, stroking his nose, he didn’t know what to do.

Then a voice came like a whisper in his ear, and he knew. “He swam here. It’s the only thing that makes sense. But he has to swim back out.” Monty glanced back at Alan, shooting him a soft, lopsided smile. “I’ll ride him out.” It was by no means safe, but it was the only idea he had. He absolutely could not leave this cave without helping the animal, and as he already knew… animal control was not equipped to deal with this. “It’s the easiest way. Getting other people involved will only make it more challenging.” The horse tossed his head almost like he understood, pushing his forehead against Monty’s chest and angling his body toward the cowboy. Like he wanted to be ridden.

A peculiar feeling settled in Monty’s head and chest, and he decided he wasn’t going to question this, even if Alan did protest.

—

“Well he’ll swim ba-” ck out by himself, was what the werewolf meant to retort. Cut off by the other’s counter offer, he fell silent. That wasn’t a good idea. Wouldn’t that make it harder for the horse to swim? And what if the animal started drowning? What then? Monty wouldn’t allow it to happen, and while there was a chance he didn’t need to breathe underwater, Alan’s chest felt tighter at the idea of watching him sink below sea level for a time that was just too long for anyone who resembled a human being. “You’re not serious,” he finally retorted, his voice echoing against the walls of the cave. Quieter this once, he glanced at the horse, who seemed to agree with Monty. Well that was a ridiculous thought. Horses couldn’t possibly be so clever. Ignoring that thought, Alan looked back at his friend and shook his head.

“That’s fucking stupid, Monty. I’m calling animal control,” he warned, stepping a couple feet away to get reception on his phone. “Just stay there, alright, I’ll call the damn…” He fell quiet while he searched online for their phone number, oblivious to what happened beyond that small screen.

—

“I am serious!” His hands came up to the animal’s neck almost protectively as he pouted at his friend. “I have ridden horses through deep water before. It’s fine.” Rivers, sure. The occasional lake. But not a sea cave with jagged rocks and swelling tides. But if this stallion had made it all the way in here on his own, then he had to be a strong swimmer.

“It’s not stupid,” Monty grumbled, looking away from Alan. “I already know they can’t handle horses. That’s why Kaden called me.” There was a chance he wasn’t even speaking loud enough for his friend to hear, his words more directed at the horse in question. His resolve was solidified, and he nodded. “Right. C’mon, niño. I’ll guide you back out.”

Shrugging off his jacket and dumping it on the rocks, it was quickly joined by his shoes and his phone. Alan could get those, if he saw fit. And with that, the cowboy gripped a handful of the stallion’s mane and jumped, heaving himself up and over the animal’s back.

There! That wasn’t so bad!

“Alan,” Monty called to get his attention, wearing a grin, “we’ll be heading due… west.” He pointed to the left. “See you there!” The horse was already making his way into the water, somewhat to Monty’s surprise, who had thought it was going to take a bit of coaxing. But everything seemed fine, and for a moment, they bobbed in waves as the horse kicked off the land and began to swim. Perfect. No problems.

Until of course, there was. With a startled gasp, Monty watched the stallion drive his head down into the water, with the rest of him quickly following. Which included Monty, who was now… somehow stuck to the animal’s back. He didn’t even have time to look Alan’s way before he disappeared beneath the surface, a stream of bubbles in their wake as he yelled and attempted to pull himself free.

It was no use. He was trapped.

—

He didn’t try to further argue any of it. It was absolute nonsense and Alan knew better than to throw himself into a conversation that would only turn sour. The tide would move into the cave before they agreed to anything. Hearing that Kaden, the animal control guy, was no good with horses didn’t manage to make him put away his phone. “There’s no fucking reception,” he mumbled, climbing up on a rock to get closer to the cave’s opening.

He just had to befriend the most fucking stubborn guy in town, huh?

Truth was, he fully expected every single attempt to get the horse to move out of here to fail, and he wasn’t really worried about the noises he heard in his back. What worried him, however, was what would happen if Monty had to accept that they couldn’t save that poor animal.

And still no reception. The forty-something moved further away, his eyes riveted on the small bars at the top of his screen. Of course, he would never pick up any signal while they were inside that fucking damp cave. He put the phone back in his pocket, glanced briefly at Monty who was happily perched on the horse’s back. “You’re a moron, you know that, right?” With a smile, and a scoff, he turned his back on him again, hands on his hips and tried to think of a solution, one more time, even if there was most likely no way to make it work.

It was expected : he blanked, and his mind only offered him thoughts regarding what he should say to convince him that there was nothing they could do. But while he mentally peregrinated, Alan was no longer focusing on what was happening behind him. If he figured the horse would back out of the water, neigh in fear, rear up and cause ruckus, it took a few seconds too much before he realized the cave was a bit too silent. They couldn’t have swam so far already. He would have seen them pass him by. He would have spotted Monty’s gloating expression. Fuck.

“Monty?” He called out. “Monty ?!” The werewolf roared this once, his eyes searching frantically around until they finally spotted them, underneath the surface. The zombie’s name was uttered once more, hurriedly, while Alan rid himself of his jacket, kicked off his shoes and entered the water without hesitation. It was nowhere near as warm as he would have liked it to be, but a force commanded that he ignore that and instead dove head first after the drowning pair, noticing only then that Monty was not trying to bring the horse back up, but rather fighting to get off of it. What the fuck.

It was one of those situations where being a monster wouldn’t have helped him. He could only rely on himself. What a terrifying thought that was.

Catching up on the pair, he wrapped his fingers around Monty’s wrist first, to let him know he was here, and with the hopes that he could just pull him out of here.

—

Feeling something grab onto his wrist, the zombie’s frightened gaze flicked to Alan as he tilted his head back. He wanted to say no, to tell the other to get back to the surface, but he couldn’t. Any sound he attempted to make was lost in the water that filled the space between them, and the horse… thing was just dragging him deeper. It craned its neck and bared its teeth, which were now much sharper than they ought to have been.

Monty shook his head, trying to pull Alan’s hand free from his wrist. He’d drown down here, and Monty, well… he didn’t need to breathe. He still often did, but the seawater that filled his throat now was pretty good at preventing that. Still, the force his friend was managing to exert in the opposite direction seemed to have slowed the creature enough to agitate it, and it turned its gaze on Alan. The equine body twisted sharply, unnaturally, and those teeth snapped at the werewolf, missing only by centimeters. Monty let loose another muffled cry, reaching forward to wrap his free arm around the monster’s neck and heave it back toward his chest. He’d… have to kill it, wouldn’t he? Or they’d both die down here. And his bite was much stronger than Alan’s, at least when he wasn’t shifted.

As his gaze focused on the animal’s throat—no, not animal. It wasn’t real. Whatever it was, it was a trick. He still felt sick. The horse-thing fought against him, kicking with its powerful legs in an attempt to separate the two men. Monty felt the clock ticking and again urged Alan to return to the surface as best he could, but… well, his friend knew he was not a strong swimmer. He would likely be loath to leave Monty behind, even if he wouldn’t drown, knowing he would simply sink to the bottom.

As the beast struggled, the zombie bit down on its neck. Which was a big neck, but he had the benefit of being very familiar with horse anatomy… assuming this thing wasn’t different on the inside. One bite wouldn’t do it, though. No, he had to rip and tear and dig, employing his hand when he could. The water filled with blood and the creature began to panic. As it panicked, something else started happening. Its horse-like features were slowly melting away, giving way to a much more human appearance that had hands that could fight back. They scrambled to gain purchase on Monty’s lithe form, but the human neck that was now his target was much, much easier to destroy. He couldn’t think about how horrifying this was, first having to maul his favorite animal (or what had appeared to be his favorite), and now having to do the same to… a man. Just a fucking man.

—

Kicking away from that monstrous jaw, Alan didn’t try to make sense of anything that happened. They were both in peril, down here, fighting this beast in an element that was playing against them. This was all Alan could focus on, the fright, the urgency of it all. Even if Monty couldn’t drown, he couldn’t possibly survive being devoured by that monster.

He’d have to act quickly for his own sake too : the more time the wolf spent down here, the more he exposed himself to the chance of never coming back to the surface. Nowadays, he wasn’t much of an athlete. His days as a footballer were far behind him, as were his days in the army. Yet, running through the woods still counted as exercise, right? Perhaps it would have been wise to think about all this before he dove in, but he hadn’t thought about that at all. All that mattered was saving him.

Shaking his head if only to voice his refusal the only way he could and denying his friend the right to end up all by himself in this hostile environment, Alan swam back to his side, careful not to get too close to the death trap that constituted the horse’s jaw.

The water turned red, and Alan felt his heart drop in his chest, while he stared with wide eyes through the sea water. He didn’t expect to see Monty digging his teeth into the beast’s neck. He’d never have expected violence from him, even more so when facing something that looked like that animal he cherished. Many times, he had listened to the zombie as he told him about Habanero. Alan couldn’t really understand that connection the other had with his horse, but it didn’t take understanding it to realize how heart wrenching this must have all been. Perhaps it was a relief to see the monster switch into something else, into a human. Hands wouldn’t do much to Monty, and they wouldn’t do much to Alan either.

Approaching the wrestling pair, Alan wrapped an arm around the shapeshifter’s neck. Strangling him would be a waste of time : Alan would suffocate long before the other met its end. Bringing his other hand up to cradle that thing’s cheek, the wolf counted on Monty to hold away their arms and help him get over with it.

—

As Alan’s arm came to wrap around the creature’s neck, Monty pulled his head back, eyes fixed on the open wound before refocusing on his friend’s face. Taking his cue, the zombie held on tightly to the fighting assailant, holding it still so Alan could snap its neck. The moment it went still, Monty was pushing on Alan, pushing on him to get back up to the surface. He was a much slower swimmer, though, and couldn’t help his friend get any higher any faster. He just hoped the idiot wouldn’t waste time trying to help him.

Slow progress became no progress, and Monty growled in frustration as he sank all the way down to the bottom, his bare feet meeting rock and sand as he looked up at the far off, glimmering waves above. There was a dark, vaguely-human shaped spot, which he hoped was Alan, breaking through them and lingering for a few moments.

Well, at least he hadn’t drowned.

So began the long trek back toward the cave, and the cliff that rose up to form its bottom where Monty had found the horse—the thing—in the first place. At least climbing would be easier underwater.

—

The cave’s ceiling reflected onto the water above Alan’s head, dark and menacing, and as he swam up, his lungs burning, begging for fresh air, the werewolf told himself that perhaps he wouldn’t manage to make it. Maybe he dove too deep, maybe it was too far above him. Maybe.

And yet, after a while, he could tell the surface was right there, just an arm’s length away, right there. Just right there. His hands pierced through the veil first, followed soon by his head. The sound of the waves crashing gently against the shore, that gentle melody was broken by Alan’s gasping and coughing as he filled once again his lungs with oxygen, and tasted the salt on his tongue.

Well aware that the other wouldn’t miss the fresh air as much as he had, he took a few more moments before he dipped his face in the water again, if only to get an idea of where he was. One day, he’d need to teach him how to swim, he told himself. Defending himself seemed to be far from an issue. It was a relief, the sort that brought a light to his face. At last, he swam back toward the shore, and took a seat on the rocks, pinching at the top of his nose and running his hand through his hair. He could hear the voices again, coming from the cave, though he was too busy with his thoughts to care at all this time. What would have happened if he hadn’t jumped into the water? What could have happened in the water. They were both safe now, but if he had just listened. What fucking madness had this all been. Alan wiped at the corners of his mouth, trying to get that bitter taste out of his mouth. Maybe he had no right being furious. It all had gone well, in the end. Maybe so, but maybe he was terrified of what could have been. His mouth trembled briefly before he decided to pull his shit together and stand back up.

—

It took a few minutes, but finally Monty was heaving himself up from the edge of the pool of ocean water that lapped at the rocks of the cave, retching as he did so, his body expelling all the water he’d… inhaled? Swallowed? Whatever the case, it felt terrible. But as soon as he could lift his head again, his gaze darted around the darkness of the cavern until it fell on Alan, and he could breathe a sigh of relief. He spoke in frantic Spanish as he struggled to his feet, wading through the shallow water over to where Alan was standing. “Alan, I’m sorry, I-I didn’t think—I didn’t realize—!” He couldn’t quite form his thoughts into words, feeling them catch in his throat as his emotions got the better of him.

You should have just left me was what he was thinking, of course, but he dared not say it aloud. Because he knew, really, that he shouldn’t have put Alan in the position of needing to rescue him in the first place. Hadn’t he done that enough for one lifetime? “I’m so sorry, my brother. I—” He wanted to reach for him but couldn’t and so he remained awkwardly standing in the water up to his knees, looking just as wet and bedraggled as his companion. Also, there was horse hair stuck in the back of his throat.

—

“You think I don’t already know that?” Alan gave him a glance. His lips quivered. Fuck. He shook his head and wiped his fingers beneath his nose. What was even the fucking point. They were fine, weren’t they?

But what if they hadn’t been fine. Alan shook his head, chasing those thoughts away, trying to pry that possibility away. “You could have fucking…” He stopped himself mid sentence. He couldn’t say that word. The word felt like needles in his throat, and Alan who always longed to have someone who could understand him, and who had found just that in Monty was beginning to realize that perhaps the zombie didn’t understand how necessary it was that he just lived. Or perhaps Alan hadn’t realized before that he wasn’t really immortal. Perhaps he should have told him to stay away from that damn fucking horse with more conviction or even said no to going anywhere near that damn cave.

Closing his eyes, he brought his hand up to his lids. They trembled beneath his finger tips. “I don’t…” He took a breath, and another, collecting himself with every single sip of air that he took. “We should head back to port,” if his voice sounded too even for the occasion, the look in his eye betrayed all of his efforts, and it was swiftly that he turned on his heels to pick up his shoes and his jacket.

—

As the events of the day settled over him, sinking in deep just how foolish he’d been and how badly that could have gone, Monty lapsed into silence. He could only nod when Alan spoke, announcing that it was time for their departure.

He still didn’t know what they’d killed down there, and a part of him never wanted to know. But the warmth of its blood was not a memory quickly pushed away and it lingered like a bad taste on his tongue, reminding him of the one of two types of brutality he was capable of. But worse than that was what he’d done to Alan. Put him through. Just another mistake in a long line of mistakes, ones that Alan always had to bail him out of.

He deserved better than that. Monty knew this, but the truth of the matter was that he was selfish when it came to Alan, and he couldn’t make himself walk away. Besides, Alan wouldn’t let him. Just like he wouldn’t leave him to sort out his own problems when he got dragged underwater by some bloodthirsty beast because of his own idiocy, and just like he had covered up the other’s fuckup in the woods all those years ago to help him stay… It was a useless thought.

What he could do, though, was be better. So he quietly gathered his things and rejoined his friend on the boat, helping as was needed to get them out of there, but otherwise keeping to himself with his head down and knees pulled to his chest. He hated that the expression his friend had worn was his fault. But he could apologize until he was metaphorically blue in the face, and that wouldn’t change a damn thing.

So, he thought, he just had to be better.

#. thread ;#. with ; alan duarte #. come sail away ;

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bafflement · 2 years ago

Text

Ozqrow Week - Day 7 - Alternate Prompt - Summer Vacation

“I am still uncertain whether I can truly afford to take the time off, Qrow. The reports I still need to fill are important, I can’t really leave them particularly easily.”

“Nuh uh, Oz, you don’t get to play that card, Glynda already agreed to take over the paperwork for a week and Tai and the girls are looking forward to meeting ya. Well, the girls are, at least.”

Oz just blinked at him, raising one eyebrow suspiciously. He already knew just what Tai thought of him, would he really let him anywhere near his daughters? He suppressed the thought of Ruby and his real relation to her, but then he was used enough to having to do that. She was Summer and Tai’s, she’d even been altered via semblance to take after them. She was safe, for all he still wished that the process hadn’t given her Summer’s silver eyes. Whether they’d work the same way was something he hoped none of them would ever have to find out. He hadn’t seen her since she was very, very young, after all. It was safer that way, but at least Qrow could still be her uncle?

Had Tai actually agreed to this? He knew the terms on which he had given her up in the first place, he wasn’t to have contact with her without his prior consent. If Salem found out about her, everybody would be in danger but Ruby especially. Especially now, with the added complication of the silver eyes. If, of course, that had actually even been Summer’s contribution to start with. If, if, if. Ruby was growing well, apparently, had hit all the milestones expected for a four year old, but she was too young, really, to remember him yet. Even if he could see her, and he was rather doubtful of that.

Tai was far too protective of the girls for that, really, although the thought still made him smile. He couldn’t think like that, though. After all, this was meant to be a time to relax.

“And what precisely did you promise Glynda, in exchange for the paperwork, Qrow?” He asked, suspicious.

“Oh, not much. Merely my services to continue to annoy a certain hidebound idiot of our mutual acquaintance, if he continues not to take no as an answer.”

Ozpin sighed, but that was fair enough, James really did need to learn that no was a full sentence and that he couldn’t just get anything he wanted by trying to play nice. Especially around Glynda, since she was the sort of person to hold a lot of grudges. He had thought, once, that his two friends might be happy together, but no. No, they’d probably kill each other. Well, Glynda would kill James, then he’d have to spring her from prison and it would be a whole mess. Far easier not to deal with the paperwork to deny extradition to Atlas, much less trying to find another man to act as Atlas’ Headmaster in James’ stead. Knowing his luck, Jacques Schnee might try for it and that was a disaster waiting to happen. No, better to keep the status quo for now, it wasn’t like James was ever going to do anything stupid like shoot him, or anything. He was too much his friend for that, surely?

He held out a hand for the scroll, sighing as he scanned the message. He was pretty sure it was meant for Qrow, specifically, not the both of them, but his name was actually mentioned. It was strange, though, considering all the precautions they’d taken over the years. Ruby was Tai’s, after all, not his. Not truly, not now… not ever again. She had Tai, had Yang. Even hypothetically had Raven if she ever actually bothered to show up again. She had Qrow as an uncle so at least one of them was keeping a close enough eye on their little girl. Why now, seriously? It made no real sense… was this delayed grief over Summer’s disappearance? But Tai blamed him for that, he knew that he did… he’d never let him anywhere near the girls in that sort of circumstance. He itched to call him, but the idea that Tai would just laugh and tell him that it was all a joke made him freeze, paralysed by his own indecision.

“What do ya say, Oz? Tai said it was okay. He set conditions, but they’re the same ones we set, so it isn’t like it’s particularly hard. Care to be Uncle Oz for a few days? After all, ya did marry me for some reason.”

“I married you because I love you, Qrow.” Oz stated, sharply. “You know that. I just worry that no matter what we do here, it will leave them in more danger than they were in when this started.”

“Ya worry too much, Oz. It’ll be fun, the girls have wanted to meet ya for awhile now.”

“They… have?” Oz sounded confused, just what exactly had Qrow told them about him to warrant that reaction?

“Well, yeah, course they have. You’re my husband after all. They’ve known I had one for years, they’re old enough to meet ya now.” He sighed. “Besides, it’s easier ta see Ruby as Tai and Summer’s when ya meet her, she even got Summer’s semblance out of the deal.”

Oz blinked in shock at that, eyes wide behind his spectacles. “She has? Really, how very remarkable. Semblances don’t really tend to run in families, after all. I think I’ve only ever heard of one other that works like that?”

“That’d be the Schnee one, right?”

“Indeed, they all appear to have inherited glyphs. It is an incredibly useful semblance by all appearances, though also highly identifiable of course. How very interesting that Ruby got Summer’s, I wonder what her original one might have been?” He thought for a second before shaking his head, since it was not outside the realm of possibility that she could have inherited Qrow’s, had things gone differently enough.

He was almost looking forward to this, actually… playing Uncle for a few days or at least until Tai grew tired of them being there and tossed them out. What on Remnant had prompted the change, though? He did hope Tai was okay.

Tai was not, in fact, okay. He had taken Summer’s disappearance far worse than Oz had been informed and the clothing he answered the door in was sloppy and looked like it hadn’t been washed in a few weeks. The gaze he shot Ozpin seemed strangely empty and Oz couldn’t quite suppress the wince that crossed his lips. He knew what loss was like, had been in Tai’s exact situation rather more times than he cared to analyse too closely, but… it felt rather different this time, watching that same grieving process taking over a man that he called his friend. Would still call his friend, even after everything that had happened between them.

At least the girls looked relatively okay, though it had been a few years since Summer had vanished. He just wished he knew what had really happened to her, since they had never even found a body to bury. Had it been Salem, had it been something else entirely? Tai had ranted about a mission he had supposedly sent her on, but there had never been a mission. He knew that she was too protective of the girls to ever send her on a mission alone after they had arrived in their lives. He knew too well what that was like, too, sitting and waiting for a parent or spouse or child to come home, knowing in his bones that they never would. He didn’t like to think about the times when it had been a child, though they were rarer than they might be. Thankfully, the incarnations with children were few and he tended to avoid creating more after the merge was initiated. Well, most of the time, at least. He couldn’t regret Ruby, though, couldn’t regret Qrow for the time he would have him. As all things with the balance though, he was very aware that they were temporary, but as the girls blinked up at him in curiosity, he couldn’t help but smile.

Yang looked suspicious, bless her, a miniature Raven already although hopefully slightly less volatile. He might have hoped that she had inherited Tai’s temper, but then that wasn’t exactly gentle either. None of them were, the Gods alone were going to be able to help Remnant once Yang was old enough to take on monsters. He’d heard about all her plans, how she wanted to be the best Huntress around. Ruby echoed them in a way that only younger siblings ever managed to do, but judging by their parents… well. Tai was sure to teach them well, even if he had rather seemed to forget what a washing machine was for.

He smiled at them gently, squatting down to be in easier reach. Ruby babbled at him excitedly, though Yang seemed content to watch for now, as though judging his suitability as a partner for their beloved Uncle Qrow. Why did that hurt, really? He’d known what he was getting into a long time ago, long before anything had even gotten this far. He’d known that they would have to give up their child, if they had one. And so they had, but Ruby was more than that now. He saw Summer in her smile, Tai in the excited babbling of her voice. He saw Qrow, too, in smaller ways. Small mannerisms, gestures that she’d either learned or inherited from him. He didn’t see himself, but then maybe that was a blessing, in a way. If even he, who knew what to look for, couldn’t see it then maybe she truly was safe from Salem.

Or as safe as any of them ever truly were.

#ozqrow week 2023 #ozqrowweek2023 #professor ozpin #qrow branwen #ozqrow #rwby ozpin #headmaster ozpin #ozpin #cloqwork #rwby au #this one gets interesting #ruby rose #yang xaio long #taiyang xiao long #summer rose #alternate parentage #very au

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gladerwolfstarkimagines · 4 years ago

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Imagine the Ember Island Players creating a romance between you and Zuko which hits a little too close to home

You sat beside Katara and noticed how Zuko sat on the other side of her. Aang faltered, obviously wanting to sit there and you smirked as Zuko obliviously missed Aang’s look. Zuko had been with the group a few weeks now but his social skills still weren’t very good and you found it made for some very interesting interactions. His attempt at telling jokes alone made you smile every time you saw him for a full week afterwards and you found Zuko did a lot of things that amused you but apparently not so much the others. “I was going to sit there” Aang whined and Zuko shrugged “so? Just sit next to me”. Aang pouted and you laughed to yourself “here” you said standing up “take my seat Aang” and you moved so he could sit beside Katara. Katara was oblivious and you sat on the other side of Zuko chuckling at Aang’s blush. “What was that all about?” Zuko asked and you smiled “ow nothing you just almost ruined Aang’s evening”. Zuko frowned and went to ask what you meant when the lights dimmed so you knocked his arm shaking your head “i’ll tell you later now shhh”. Zuko folded his arm huffily but stopped talking. The play was wonderfully awful. As you hadn’t joined the gang straight away you knew you had time to just enjoy the first few acts and make fun of the way they portrayed all your friends. Plus what could they do to your character? You didn’t have any old flames like Katara or Sokka and you didn’t have an emotional backstory like Zuko or Aang. So you relaxed arms spread over the back of the bench and waited for *yourself* to make an appearance.

The second your actress walked on stage you knew it wouldn’t be good. They had your character all wrong! Your actress flirted with everyone and acted like a lovesick idiot. You didn’t think it could get much worse and then your character met Zuko’s.

“I’ll save you from the pirates” Zuko’s character purred to yours and you spluttered. “That...that wasn’t even me! That was Katara!” you whispered angrily. You looked to Zuko for confirmation who nodded “yeah I didn’t say that to you...and I certainly didn’t tie you up while staring at you like that”. “And I did not flirt with you like that either”. You both glared as your characters bonded and they actually invented Zuko letting you go voluntarily. As Zuko’s character stared off into the distance and said your name you heard Sokka and Suki wheezing from laughter while you simmered with anger and embarrassment. “I didn’t do that!” Zuko cried and you saw he was blushing vividly. That made you blush too and crossed your arms tightly “they better not stick with this theme”.

Of course they did. By the time act 3 had ended you and Zuko were living a star crossed lovers lifestyle in Ba Sing Sei. They again got you mixed up with Katara and said Azula kidnapped you to lure Zuko to the Earth King’s palace. The act ended with Zuko charging in to save you, offering his own life in exchange for yours, but Azula outmanoeuvred him and arrested him too. As the lights went up for intermission you and Zuko paused before exploding.

“That never even happened!”.

“I knew he was in Ba Sing Sei but we never went on a date”.

“Yeah that was a different girl”.

“And you did not fight with Jet over me”.

“I didn’t even know you knew Jet!” Zuko agreed and you both paused for air.

The gang all looked at each other before bursting into laughter. “What is so funny?” you cried and Sokka smiled. “We all know none of that stuff happened, we were there too remember?”. “Yeah so...can’t we rant?” you asked. “Well yeah but why get so mad about it? Are you trying to convince us or yourselves that the idea the two you flirted is so impossible?”. You and Zuko exploded again at the thought and Sokka and the others burst into laughter again. “All i’m saying is this is a lot of emotion to come from nowhere” Sokka smiled “now i’m going backstage so yell at each other or something” and he disappeared with Suki. Katara and Toph left for snacks and Aang went to the toilet leaving the two of you alone. “But i mean it is ridiculous” you muttered and Zuko nodded “utterly ridiculous”. “Sure we ended up together a few times” you shrugged “but that was completely by chance, it wasn’t like you were hyper-aware of me or vice versa”. “Yeah not at all” Zuko agreed but he wasn’t looking you in the eye for some reason. You stared at him confused and noticed his neck looked slightly red as if he was blushing. “Wait did you?” you asked suddenly “notice me more?”. Zuko looked up and he was indeed blushing deeply “what I....of course not! I never...I mean I did learn your name before anyone else’s but that’s because we spent that time together when I helped the pirates kidnap you and you wouldn’t shut up the whole night”. “Then why are you blushing so much?” you asked and Zuko shrugged “I don’t know I...it’s just them insinuating I like you. I’ve had it a lot”. “You have?” you asked amazed and Zuko nodded “when my uncle heard you’d seen me in Ba Sing Sei and that we’d reached a deal not to tell on one another he had this annoying smirk like i’d done it for any other reason besides the fact it was mutually beneficial. Then when I went back home Azula made it seem like me and you had a thing and Mai got jealous and started asking about you and I had to explain all our interactions and it was very awkward...she wanted me to reassure her by putting you down and making the idea seem impossible but I must have failed because she didn’t believe me. So I guess that’s why it makes me feel weird, everyone keeps telling me I act differently with you and I suppose I do but I have no idea if that’s because everyone keeps saying it or if I always have”. You nodded your head but were unsure what to say. “Well which one do you think it is?” you asked eventually and Zuko paused “what?”. “If you had to guess, would you say you act differently around me because of what people say about us or have you just always acted that way”. Zuko thought, staring at the ground and basically anywhere but at you, “i’m not sure but I guess maybe the second? They must have got it from somewhere I suppose”. “The second?” you asked surprised and Zuko’s blush returned vividly “I’m only guessing, I honestly don’t know”. You nodded your head and went to speak when the others returned which stopped you right in your tracks.

The second half of the play began of course with you and Zuko reuniting in the prison under Ba Sing Sei. You and Zuko did end up there together but you definitely did less staring at one another. You rolled your eyes as your characters began to passionately speak to one another stepping closer and closer. They finally reached one another and you laughed when your character began yelling at Zuko’s. “Ha maybe they got some things right!” you whispered to Zuko who nodded “you did yell at me a lot”. You smirked and went to apologise when Zuko’s character kissed yours. You and Zuko abruptly shot away from each other. “That is not even close to what happened!” you cried at the others who were all laughing. Zuko nodded “this is just slander! They didn’t even bother to try to get our characters right and anyone with half a brain would realise that!”. Someone shushed Zuko and he glared “shush yourself” he cried before storming from the room. He didn’t return for the rest of the play and honestly you thought that was probably wise. It got worse and worse. They still kept in Zuko’s betrayal of Iroh but changed it making you at the centre of Zuko’s struggle. He chose the crown and they made you react dramatically (even getting a love ballad moment). They then skipped forwards to Zuko at the palace, who got his own song when he realised he’d made the wrong choice. Your characters reunited not long after and promptly confessed their love for one another. Then you were both murdered by Ozai very much in line with the tragic forbidden lovers style.

“I mean I’m just glad she’s dead” you shrugged on your way out “anything to end that romance”. The others smirked when Aang paused “do you think Zuko went back home to the villa?” looking around for the angry fire prince. “No he knows we don’t know this place well, he’s probably just sat outside somewhere” you replied looking around but you couldn’t see him brooding anywhere either. When you walked out the front door and still didn’t spot him Aang frowned “okay everyone split up and look for him, meet back here in five minutes”.

You returned five minutes later to see Katara, Suki, Sokka and Toph all hadn’t found him either. “I wonder where he is” Katara frowned and you shrugged “he’ll be fine, that boy has nine lives”. “He didn’t in that play” Toph commented and you nodded. “True but that play was a mess and there’s one thing I still can’t get over. Zuko said his family and friends thought he liked me that’s where his side of this rumour started but in the play they acted like I encouraged him! Where on earth did they get that idea?”. The group all went quiet and you paused “what?”. “Well...I mean you kinda do encourage him” Sokka frowned and your jaw dropped “I DO NOT! When have I ever...”. “When we got kidnapped by the pirates you teased Zuko constantly and refused to be quiet until he spoke to you” Katara pointed out. “Yes but that was to annoy him not flirt with him!”. “Okay how about when June asked if you were his girlfriend and you replied he wishes instead of no?”. “I was joking” you shrugged and Toph smirked “or how about when I was sneaking out to see Zuko at the Western Air Temple and found you already on your way to see him? What were you popping in to see Zuko for huh y/n? Nice date by the campfire?”. “I was doing the same thing as you! I was going to see if he would tell the truth and given that I knew him best I thought I....”. The gang all erupted and you paused “what?”. “You know him best?” Sokka asked smirking and you nodded “that doesn’t mean anything it’s a fact”. “Ow is it?” Sokka asked and you nodded “It is! Fine if I don’t know him best what was his fake name in Ba Sing Sei?”. Everyone went quiet and you nodded “or how about how long ago he was banished from the fire nation? Better yet just tell me his parent’s names!” you cried. When nobody replied you smirked folding your arms victoriously “told you I know him best”. “Yeah you’ve definitely proved how much you know about Zuko” Suki smirked looking past you. You frowned before you heard someone behind you. You turned to see Aang had found Zuko and by the look on his face he’d heard everything. You blushed and looked down “Zuko we were...”. “Having a competition to see who knows me best?” Zuko asked mildly amused and you paused “well sort of...Sokka started it”. “No I didn’t” Sokka retorted “you declared you knew Zuko the best and when I asked if you were sure you started spouting your favourite facts about him”. “They’re not my favourite facts about him” you snapped and Sokka’s smirk just grew “whatever y/n” and he turned leading the way home. The others all followed and purposefully made it so you and Zuko were at the back. “Why were you talking about me anyway?” Zuko asked and you paused “ow nothing I was just er...trying to work out why the Ember Island Players thought I had a thing for you but the gang was not helpful”. “They couldn’t think of a reason?” Zuko asked innocently and you frowned “no they could actually think of lots of reasons, it appears similar to your family they were also under the impression I held a flame for you as it were”. “Ow really?” Zuko asked. He kept his voice flat but you could swear he was smirking slightly. “Stop enjoying this” you whined pushing him “it’s not funny, it’s embarrassing”. “Liking me is embarrassing?” Zuko asked and you paused “no I didn’t mean that, I just meant having all your friends claim you like someone when you can’t see it”. “You really can’t see where they’re coming from?” Zuko asked and you shook your head “nope not at all”. Zuko looked away and you frowned “I saw that, what did that look mean?”. “Nothing...” Zuko trailed off but you sighed grabbing him by the arm to make him look at you “I’m sick of everyone saying things about me for once just say it to my face!”. Zuko sighed “fine, I just think i’ve been honest with you but you’re not being honest with yourself”. “Not being honest?”. Zuko nodded “Yes, I admitted I could see where my family were coming from and how the rumours started but you’re acting as if they plucked them out of thin air!”. “Well maybe they did! I don’t see how any of our interactions could be interpreted as romantic”. Zuko didn’t look convinced. “You don’t think there’s some truth to what the Ember Island Players said? That maybe there is something here?” Zuko asked gesturing to the small gap between you. “No of course not! Do you?”. “No” Zuko yelled back and you nodded “fine! You are the most infuriating...” you started when Zuko grabbed you kissing you. You initially tensed at the sensation but soon melted into it. Zuko seemed to be trying to prove a point by kissing you passionately and not wanting him to win you kissed him back matching his intensity. Finally Zuko pulled away for air and stared at you “still not want to admit there’s something here?”. You stared at Zuko torn between admitting he was right and your pride. You were annoyed, frustrated, excited and exhilarated all at once. You were breathing rapidly, your cheeks bright red as were Zuko’s and neither of you made to move away. “I...” you started eventually “that was a good kiss”. Zuko nodded, his frustration melting away “it was, I enjoyed it...I’ve been wondering what it would feel like to kiss you for a while now”. “You have?” you asked and Zuko nodded “as annoying as it is to admit my family and friends were right, I like you and I have for a while”. You smiled despite yourself at how adorable Zuko looked all bashful and embarrassed. “I tried ignoring it for a while but then when I joined the group your friends all saw it straight away. Then tonight...the play was bad but I was frustrated that everyone seemed to see it apart from you the person I actually wanted to see it...you”. You looked down wondering how to reply “I’m sorry I bet that was really frustrating”. Zuko nodded “It was and I figured this was just one-sided but that...did you feel it too?”. Zuko looked so unsure and unlike himself it was endearing and gave you confidence. “Yes” you said shakily “after that kiss I can tell you it is definitely not one-sided. I like you too Zuko and probably have since the start”. “Probably?” Zuko asked and you sighed “I’m not good with my emotions, I can be oblivious to them so I can’t with certainty tell you it’s been going on as long as the play made it out to be but I know I like you. Right now in this moment...I hope that’s enough, I know it’s a shit confession and you probably wanted something more solid but I...”. Zuko began laughing and you paused “what’s so funny?”. “Something more solid? Y/n I’m on the run from the Firelord who is my father, my sister is hunting me to kill me and I could very likely be imprisoned for the rest of my life if Aang fails and that’s if i’m lucky...I’m not even sure if I have a future so trust me all I need is the present. To know in this moment right here you like me back” Zuko blushed but he stepped closer and took your hands “that’s more than enough for me”. “It is?” you asked and Zuko nodded “yes and if by some chance it becomes more long-term I’ll be very happy but for now I just want to enjoy this time with you”. You smiled and leant in to kiss Zuko again when someone coughed. “Hey what are you two doing?” Sokka called. Apparently the others had finally realised the two of you were no longer with the group and walked back to find the two of you as you currently were. Luckily it was dark so you moved away from Zuko but still held his hand. “Yeah we thought you’d gotten lost are you okay?” Katara called. Zuko sighed and you smirked at his expression. “We’re fine” you smiled “we were just talking and Zuko’s going to show me this beach he went to a lot as a kid”. Zuko’s eyes shot up to yours and he smiled. “You are?” Aang asked and Zuko nodded “yep, it’s not far from here so we won’t be long. You guys head back to the villa and we’ll meet you there” and with that Zuko tugged you away from the others. You smiled at Zuko and he smiled back at you “quick thinking, I didn’t think we’d get out of there so easily”. “You can thank me later” you replied when you heard Sokka gasp “wait are they holding hands? Y/n are you holding hands?”. “Run!” Zuko cried and you laughed but did as he said. You kept running even after Sokka’s voice trailed off and only stopped when you reached a sandy beach. You both collapsed on the ground and you turned to look at Zuko “did you know this was here or did you get lucky?”. “Totally the former” he smiled and you shook your head “you’re lucky I like you”. “I really am” Zuko agreed and he stared at your face tenderly. His fingers brushed your cheek and you smiled “what are you waiting for?”. “I have no idea” Zuko admitted and he leant in to reclaim the lost kiss from earlier. This time you weren’t interrupted.

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