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dittanyinbloom · 1 year

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Baby Fever

Ominis Gaunt x Fem!MC. 11 years after the events of fifth year. Could been seen as a final part to Note Taking. But trilogy is so sweet I didn’t want to include smut.

Summary: Anne is struggling after the birth of her child, and Sebastian has too many kids of his own to give Anne the proper care she needs. Sebastian calls on you for help, but your husband Ominis insists on coming along despite his affinity for children. 13.3k long so grab some tea besties.

Warnings: 9.5k of fluff and angst and Ominis healing from childhood trauma and then about 3.5k of smut. Breeding kink but like- it’s sweet I swear. Maybe a bit of cockwarming thrown in there (Sorry, Jesus. I’ll repent later). Minors DNI!

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Y/N,

I hate to do this while business is booming for you, or should I say blooming? Sorry. I need a bit of humor whenever I can get it. Anne is not doing well since having the baby. She’s been on bed rest and she’s a complete mess. I can imagine you ridiculing me, but I am allowed to say such things. She is my twin after all.

Her husband still isn’t back from that work trip. My wife has been asking around the Ministry for me, but no one knows anything. He wouldn’t have missed the birth of their daughter. And she’s four days old now, the cutest thing, by the way. She's starting to look just like Anne’s baby photos.

Anyway, I’m getting off track here. Sorry if this letter is scattered. I’ve got all four of my kids here with me. Their mother has to work while I’m taking off time to look after Anne. Obviously, someone has to earn money for the abundance of school robes we’ll be paying for in the very near future. They can’t be home alone with the youngest being only one. He’s walking now! Have I told you yet? Well, standing and wobbling. He’s getting there. Gonna be the next Slytherin Quidditch Captain in no time.

All this is to say, I need some help here with Anne. Helping her and taking care of her newborn is a two-person job. My kids make it a three-person job. I’m drowning a bit in diapers and screams and tears. Think everyone here has had a tantrum today alone, including me.

Needing your help desperately, my dear sister-in-law of mine. Don’t let Ominis roll his eyes when you read him that bit. He is my brother, blood be damned.

Sincerely,

Your Most Handsome Brother-in-law

S.S.

P!S! Please for the love of Merlin, bring washcloths. Between everything I’m trying to keep up with laundry and it’s simply impossible.

You glanced over the top of the letter once you were done reading it aloud. Contrary to Sebastian’s predictions, Ominis was not rolling his eyes. In fact, he looked forlorn and pale. Not only was he worried about Anne’s safety considering her poor condition after having the child, but he was no doubt worrying about Anne’s husband who was actually quite a lovely bloke. He fit in just right with Anne and Sebastian, and he very quickly grew on Ominis despite his attempts to keep the jokester at bay. In his eyes, Ominis had enough of that energy with Sebastian and Anne, who had been handling her curse greatly in the last few years and was back to her wild self, until the pregnancy complications that is.

What Ominis refused to acknowledge was that Anne’s husband didn’t have the mischief or malice of Sebastian and Anne. He was just a golden, loveable, arguably dopey guy. His love for Anne was so pure. He bawled multiple times on their wedding day. Being gone for so long during the latter days of Anne’s pregnancy was unlike him. And to miss the birth of his firstborn child, and likely their only considering the complications, was beyond excusable. Not that he would even try to excuse it because he was truly that honest of a man!

And then there was Anne, the most heartbreaking part of the letter. The doctors had her on bed rest seemingly indefinitely. She spent the last two months of her pregnancy in that dreary bedroom. When her husband was forced onto his work trip a week and a half ago, you closed up your magical plant shop and stayed by her side until the baby was born. A girl. She was born healthy with the cutest button nose. You held her for hours after she was born while the healers and Sebastian all huddled around Anne in worry.

Once Anne was safe and resting, Sebastian had tiredly collapsed on the couch next to you. You hadn’t seen him that exhausted since you were teens still in school, causing mayhem that affected yourselves more than others. His wife had been watching over all four of their kids all day so that Sebastian could spend that moment with his twin. You put the baby girl in her uncle’s arms and the two fell right asleep just like that.

It had only been a few days, but you were wanting so desperately to get back to the little girl. And while Sebastian’s kids were a handful, to say the very least, you wanted to see them as well. You had done your fair share of babysitting those mongrels, so they were quite attached to you. Their obsession with you and inclination to always come visit and run up and down the hall of your home was actually welcomed, as crazy as that sounded.

By the time you realized you loved children and wanted some of your own, you were already deeply devoted to Ominis. Because of his past, he wasn’t too enthusiastic about having children of his own. That was fine. Sebastian seemed set on having plenty for everyone.

Ominis stood from his velvet armchair and announced, “I’ll grab the washcloths.”

“Ominis, you do not have to go.”

He had stopped in the middle of the hall to ponder it. His head shook in disapproval. “I’m going to look after Anne. You’ll look after the baby. Sebastian will pack up the Quidditch team and head home so that Anne can rest in a peaceful house. Does that sound like a plan?”

You met him in the hallway and took his hands in yours. Butterfly-soft kisses were left on his knuckles. You spoke firmly and slowly to make your point. “You do not have to go with me to Anne’s. I can take care of both. It’s okay.”

“Don’t insult me,” Ominis insisted with a harsh whisper. “I won’t faint at the sight of a child, and if Anne needs me, I will be by her side. She is my sister.”

You chuckle, lightening the room for a moment, “Oh, so Anne is your sister, but you can’t admit Sebastian is your brother.”

“That’s because Anne is my sister through and through, but Sebastian can’t just claim such a title just because his kids call you Auntie. Such a thing has to be earned! Bestowed upon!”

“Okay, okay,” you giggled and smoothed his shirt across his shoulders to calm him. “You know he only says it at this point because it gets a rise out of you. And perhaps that’s why I bring it up too. You’re cute when you go red.”

“Oh, well thank you for adding to the stress,” Ominis shortly huffed in annoyance then turned to the bathroom to grab your house’s supply of washcloths.

Usually, he went along with your playful tones unless he was really out of sorts. You frown and follow right at his heels into the bathroom. “Sweetheart, we are all stressed. I’m sorry to make light of things in such dark times, but you always say you enjoy my light. I’m only trying to help you feel better.”

“I know. But right now-“ Ominis pinched the bridge of his nose. “Can I just be alone for a moment? Why don’t you go pack up those strawberries for Sebastian’s kids? You know we won’t finish them before they go bad if they stay in our kitchen.”

With your head hung low, you trudged to the kitchen and began to ransack your cupboards for potential meals. If things were really as bad as Sebastian made them seem, he likely didn’t have time to cook properly for the kids, Anne, and even himself. A few sandwiches and the berries would make a healthy enough lunch. If Ominis was truly planning to go with you, Sebastian really could head home for a break like Ominis suggested. Sebastian could no doubt figure out dinner for his kids at his own home with the stress of Anne and the newborn off his shoulders.

“I’m sorry for snapping,” that was Ominis leaning against the doorframe to your tiny kitchen. He looked exhausted as though he fought some great battle during his moments of solitude in the bathroom. He hated this side of himself, the one that could be so cruel. With his history and his trauma from his childhood, you didn’t ever fault him for being triggered.

The entire friend group was blissful until Sebastian started having kids with his wife, which was only a year or two into having your adult jobs after graduating from Hogwarts. Ominis had gotten used to them, slightly, but now with Anne having a child, he felt like he couldn’t turn in any direction without feeling an immense guilt.

“That was hardly snapping,” you kept up your light tone. It wasn’t an act. You really weren’t fazed by his behavior. These were stressful times for everyone. “You’ve bitten me before, so I think I got off a bit lucky this time.”

His cheeks turned a light shade of pink. After all these years, you could still fluster him. It was actually one of your favorite pastimes. How much teasing could Ominis handle? You were always itching to find out.

“That- that was one time. And you- you said you liked it,” Ominis straightened from his lean against the doorframe as he stammered on, “And that was different.”

“I did like it,” you reassured him. Memories of that night fluttered back. The sting in your shoulder. The cold from the blood dripping down. Tasting metallic on his lips afterward… “Maybe if you would bite me more, I wouldn’t have to keep pressing your buttons to see which one ignites that side of you.”

Ominis rubbed his face as though he was tired of your antics, but his cheeks turning a deeper shade, nearly all red now, told you all you needed to know. “You drive me crazy, you know that?”

“Didn’t I just admit to doing it on purpose?”

Ominis could hear the knife come out into the cutting board. He tilted his head. “What have you been up to in here? Thought you were going to grab the strawberries.”

“Sandwiches for everyone. Doubt Sebastian has had time to make lunch yet. I’d rather make them here than amid whatever chaos is happening there.”

Then Ominis was behind you, gently placing a hand on your shoulder to map out where you were. It glided down to the small of your back and then snakes around the front, his other joining as his body pressed into yours from behind. His chin rested on your shoulder. His chest rumbled against your back as he spoke, “Forgive me for taking my stress out on you?”

“You hardly said anything, Ominis. There is nothing to forgive.”

His lips pressed right at the back of your jaw where it met your ear. “Maybe I’m asking in advance for tonight.” Then his mouth opened. His teeth grazed your skin so lightly you thought you imagined it. And then, rather evilly in your opinion, Ominis stepped back and released his hold on you. “Hurry up with those sandwiches. I’m going to handle a few things before the trip, but I’ll be waiting by the fireplace to floo by the time you are done in here.”

Sure enough, your husband was waiting for you patiently at your fireplace after you finished packaging up the lunches. He held out a hand to steady you as you stepped up on the brick, hardly a necessary gesture, but he was being extra sweet with you while he still could.

“I put a closed sign out on the shop,” he sounded almost formal about it.

“Thank you,” you breathed out in gratitude, “I completely forgot.”

“That Alihotsy is getting a bit big for the nursery. It’s extending across the walkway. Startled me for a second.”

“Sorry. Yes. That fellow from Honeydukes is meant to come by sometime this week for it. I’ll have to write him to explain that we are looking after Anne. Maybe he wouldn’t mind if we dropped it by late at night on his doorstep?”

“Maybe tomorrow night. We’ll be too tired after this.”

You chuckled and shook your head. “You always talk me into being lazy with you. Promise you won’t talk me out of it tomorrow too?”

“I would like its leaves out of the walking path, so I promise, tomorrow night we can take it to him. I won’t drag you to bed too early.”

“But I do look forward to ending up in bed with you after.” And with that, you threw down the floo power and were transported to Anne’s bungalow in Feldcroft. Upon entering, the first thing you noticed was the noise. There was a baby crying, kids screaming, and footsteps pounding around on the hardwood floor.

“I said to get that thing out of here!” That was Sebastian, sounding exasperated.

“I can’t catch it!” His oldest child, who was seven going into eight now, whined back.

“Then chase it out the door! It can’t be in here. It- oh! Y/N. Thank Merlin you’re here. Popped in at an awful time. Sorry for the mess.” Sebastian, while cradling his youngest in his arms, a baby who was about a year old now, kicked a few toys out of the way so you could step off the edge of the fireplace.

“Auntie Y/N!” Three children trapped you with hugs from all around. Then behind you, Ominis popped up in the fireplace and the three were rushing to embrace him as well.

You chuckled and put a hand on Sebastian’s shoulder to ask, “Seb, why is there a chicken on the couch.”

“It’s on the-?” Sebastian turned and started to wave the brown chicken off of his sister’s couch. “Shoo! Shoo! You are lucky I haven’t cooked you yet!”

You rolled your eyes and pulled out your wand. “Levioso. Accio.” The brown chicken squirmed in your arm, but you held it at your hip and then turned to the three kids with an eyebrow raised. “Who brought a chicken in the house while Auntie Anne isn’t feeling well?”

None of the kids said a word, but the two oldest shoved each other while they all stared at the floor in shame. You sighed and said, “If you go and collect all the toys in the house and put them in the diaper bag, I will give you the surprise I brought.”

The kids lit up. Their guilt long forgotten.

“A surprise?!”

“What is it?”

“Ah, ah, ah. Pick up your toys first.” Then the three of them were off collecting the messing they made and putting it in their youngest sibling’s enchanted diaper bag.

You put the chicken in the backyard and came back to see Sebastian and Ominis having a chat on the couch while the baby while trying to pull itself up on the side to join in. Ominis flinched when the baby grabbed his pant leg. You were quick to dive down and pick the little one up, grunting as you did so.

“My oh my, you have gotten big! What are they feeding you? Rocks?”

“That one’s gonna win the World Cup. I just know it. Gonna be the best Beater there is.” Sebastian played with the baby’s chunky ankles while you held it. It cooed back at him as if it understood and agreed.

You laughed and moved the baby to your hip to then use your free hand to touch Ominis’s shoulder. “You wanna go check on Anne while we set up the picnic for the kids outside?”

Ominis nodded and stood up to leave. He seemed thankful to have an excuse not to join the chaotic lunch plans.

Sebastian smiled wide. “Am I hearing this right? You brought lunch?”

“Just some sandwiches and strawberries. Figured you hadn’t had the time.”

With an exasperated sigh, Sebastian leaned his head against the back of the couch and closed his eyes. “You thought right. It’s been… a lot. The baby is sleeping now, I mean, the other baby, the newborn, Anne’s baby.” Sebastian paused for a second then whispered, “That’s still so crazy for me to say. I’m so happy for her.”

“You and your cousin are going to be the best of friends!” You told the one-year-old on your hip. So close in age. How fun! They’ll only be a year apart at Hogwarts. Bet they’ll get into even more trouble than we did.”

Sebastian covered his face and groaned. “Merlin, don’t say that. They already make me crazy as it is. Can’t imagine how I’d handle them being as wild as us.”

“Sebastian, there was a chicken on the couch when I got here. You may want to mentally prepare yourself for all sorts of Hogwarts shenanigans.”

Meanwhile, Ominis was knocking on Anne’s bedroom door and waiting to hear her voice before letting himself in. Sebastian’s kids were still being rather loud, but the decibel levels had greatly depleted. Ominis shut the door gently, but firmly, hoping to trap out any further noise. Their little feet could still be heard scampering about the echoey wooden floors as they searched for their abundance of toys to put away.

“Thought you two must have arrived,” Anne sounded exhausted. Ominis’s heart immediately ripped in two. He hadn’t heard her voice so raspy since they were teens. Anne had mostly healed from her curse. At around the ten-year mark, she decided she wanted to try for a child. She and her husband were happy and head over heels in love. They just wanted one child to share the love with. The risk was great with Anne’s past, but she didn’t want some retched curse to stop her from living her life the way she dreamed.

“And it was a good thing we did. Sebastian’s kids were terrorizing your home.”

Anne laughed at that, though it was quiet and airy. “They are just playing, Ominis. That’s why kids do. Not a dull day around here lately, that’s for sure.”

“Still, I’m sure you could rest better if it was quiet.” Ominis took a step to the right, meaning to meet her at her bedside.

“Wait-,” Anne croaked out, causing Ominis to freeze. “The bassinet is on this side. Come around to the other.”

Oh, right. Ominis swallowed thickly. He had forgotten about Anne’s baby for a moment. The room was so peaceful. It was hard to believe a child was in here with them. “Right, sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry for, Min,” Anne reassured as Ominis walked around to the other side of the bed. “Just didn’t want to bump into it and wake her. She’ll be hungry when she wakes up.” Which was Anne’s way of gently warning him that the baby was probably going to cry for food soon that way he didn’t panic when he heard it.

Ominis cautiously sat on the side of Anne’s bed and asked, “Anything I can get for you? I’m here to look out for you, and Y/N is going to look out for the baby once she feeds Sebastian and the kids and sends them home.”

“Honestly, I was dying of boredom before you came in. Just you being here is enough.” Anne placed her hand over Ominis’s and squeezed. “And how is my Y/N doing? How’s the shop coming along?”

There was a thankful sigh of relief from Ominis’s lips at the subject change. He could talk about you and the shop for hours. “We’re loving it. She put me to work though with all the upkeep. I’m regretting cutting back my hours at the Ministry. At least they didn’t make me sweep.”

Anne’s soft chuckle sounded much closer to her normal self this time. Ominis let some of the tension in his shoulders release from knowing Anne wasn’t feeling too much pain at the moment.

“You know, they would take you back full-time in a heartbeat if you offered.”

“No, no,” Ominis quickly backtracked with a smile, “No, trust me, being at the shop is a walk in the park in comparison to the Ministry’s paperwork. The half of my week there is like a vacation. Besides, it’s right next door to the house. No travel sickness. And the greenhouse smells lovely. Much better to work in than those dingy offices.”

“Hey now, don’t talk bad on those dingy offices. I can’t wait to get back to them in a few weeks. I’ve already planned on how to reorganize mine. Bit of spring cleaning.”

Whatever was going on with Anne, Ominis had assumed it was to do with the curse. Hearing her so confidently say she would be back to work soon made Ominis tilt his head in confusion. Was she being her stubborn self, or were things not as bad as Sebastian’s letter made it seem. It was always hard to tell with the twins. Anne played everything off as fine, but Sebastian acted like Anne’s paper cuts were life-threatening.

“Planning to get back there so soon? Well, don’t strain yourself. The office will still be just as meek and dusty no matter how long you wait.”

“Suppose so. Might be nice to spend some extra time just with her.” Ominis couldn’t see it, of course, but he knew Anne was referring to the baby in the bassinet on the other side of the bed.

There was a soft knock on the door, and with Anne’s approval, you cracked the door open just enough to peek your head in. “Up for a few visitors? The kids want to say goodbye one by one. I’m including Sebastian in that category too, of course.”

“Hey!” Could slightly be heard from the hallway.

Then, one at a time, you allowed the kids to give their Auntie Anne a kiss goodbye. Lastly, Sebastian went in with his youngest in his arms. Anne chuckled at the red stains on the baby’s hands and shirt from the strawberries. She could picture how it probably mashed the berry in its hand before shoving it in its mouth and likely missing its mouth entirely so that the strawberry ended up mostly on the ground. Her heart tinged a bit. She wished she could have joined them for lunch and not been forced to stay in her tiny bedroom.

“Get some rest,” Sebastian mumbled as he kissed her forehead.

“You too,” Anne replied. “Thank you for looking out for me these past couple of days, but go home and relax. Ominis and Y/N will take good care of us here.”

Then Ominis felt a hand on his shoulder. By the way it lightly massaged him, he instantly knew it was his wife. She leaned in close to whisper to him, “I’m going to walk Seb and the kids home to make sure none of them wander off. They’re a bit ornery today. Will you be okay without me?”

A pang of guilt stabbed him in the stomach. Ominis hated that he was the one you were worried about leaving while Anne was quite literally bedridden. It was embarrassing that you felt as though you needed to check in with him before taking a quick walk just a few houses down to Sebastian’s place. His…affinity to kids was bad, he knew that, he knew that you knew that and that’s why you were being overly protective. Still, it hurt his ego just a bit.

“Take your time. We’ll be okay here,” Ominis whispered back, trying his best not to sound short. If there was any uneasiness in his tone, he knew you would drop everything to comfort him. That couldn’t happen now. Sebastian might have needed your help walking the kids back, but Ominis knew that it was partially an excuse on your part to spend more time with them. He didn’t want to take that from you.

The baby, well, Anne’s baby was sleeping anyway. Sebastian’s was blowing raspberries while Anne was cooing a goodbye to it.

He waited until he heard the front door close to admit to Anne, “You asked how she’s doing… I don’t think she’s happy.”

“With the store?” There was a hint of terror in her voice as if Anne feared it was something worse.

After a moment of silence, Ominis shook his head no. “I can tell she wants more. She grew up in a big family and then Hogwarts was always just as loud and chaotic. At first, I think she appreciated the peace and quiet after we got our house, but lately… Lately, I wake up in the middle of the night and she’s gone. She goes and falls asleep by the gramophone in the living room as if she needs the noise for comfort.”

A gentle hand touched his shoulder as Anne said, “Oh, Ominis…”

“I think she would be happier if she were with someone that could provide what she wanted, but she’d never admit that.”

“No, she wouldn’t. I know you can’t see the way she looks at you, but you’re her world. Don’t ever even suggest such a thing to her. It would shatter her. She is happy with you, just you. We’ve talked about it before, she and I. She is content with being an aunt to Sebastian’s kids, and now my girl. Please don’t worry over this in the slightest.”

Anne’s comfort eased his pain, but the guilt of it all still weighed him down. They chatted for a while about Sebastian’s wife and her exciting job until you made it back to the house. You leaned against the doorframe of the bedroom and listened to the two old friends talk for a while before interrupting, “Do you want to have a bath while I change your sheets for you, Anne?”

“Is that your way of saying I smell?”

“Your hair is a bit of a mess,” you joked as you walked up to her side of the bed and gently moved the bassinet so that you could help Anne up.

At the sound of shuffling and Anne wincing, Ominis offered, “Do you want me to-“

“It’s alright,” you said, suspiciously quick. “Us girls have got this. I’ll just set Anne up in the bath. Do you want to start removing the blankets?”

Ominis stood from the bed and started to remove the covers at your request, albeit a bit reluctantly due to his confusion and frustration. Why didn’t you let him carry Anne to the bathroom? It wasn’t like the intimacy mattered. He couldn’t see.

Wordlessly, he carried the laundry to the back porch and then felt through the linen closet for another set. The two of you met back in Anne’s room at the same time. You kissed his cheek and took the fitted sheet from him to start unfolding it. That was the only covering you managed to get on before the baby stirred in the bassinet. It started to cry out, loud and demanding. Ominis flinched and clutched the blanket he was holding while you scooped the baby up in your arms.

“Oh, that sounds like a hungry cry,” Your voice was soft and unfazed by the cries. “Come on. To the kitchen, we go. I’m going to show your Uncle Omi how to make a bottle for you.”

Ominis tensed at that. “Why? I thought we agreed that I take care of Anne and you take care of…her.”

“If we really are going to be here the next few days helping out, you might as well learn.” You didn’t say anything more as you headed to the kitchen. It was up to Ominis whether or not he followed.

And follow he did with a heavy sigh. Anne’s kitchen was far more spacious than your own. He still hadn’t mapped out where everything was since it all seemed to spread apart. There was even room under the south-facing window for a breakfast nook area that had the perfect view of Feldcroft. You stared out at it wistfully. Down the way a bit, you could make out Sebastian’s two oldest digging away in their front yard. They had told you on the walk back that they had been trying to dig to the center of the earth. You had laughed and told them they would need a pretty long ladder, but you didn’t discourage their determination.

“Do you want to hold her while I grab the-“

“Just tell me where it is,” Ominis insisted, sounding a bit exasperated. His heated tone made you giggle. When you first met him, he used to always be on edge like this. There was a cold exterior about him that was snappy and sarcastic. In his defense, Sebastian was putting him through a lot at the time with his unforgiving plight to find a cure for Anne. But you didn’t mind it then just like you didn’t mind it now. Ominis was complicated, and that’s what drew you in.

“A step forward and to your left. Should be a cylinder tin on the second shelf of the cupboard.” Your direction was easy to understand and deeply appreciated.

Sometimes at work with the Ministry, Ominis would ask something like, “Which one?” Only for his coworker to inevitably reply something stupid like, “The green one.” He never had to prod you for more information. If only he could bring you everywhere to direct him like this. Though, maybe not while you held a crying baby in your arms.

“I’m putting an empty bottle right beside the tin here. But first, we need to set up the kettle.”

“Are we making tea for Anne?” This he was familiar with even in Anne’s kitchen. Ominis made quick work of taking the kettle from the stove and filling it in the sink.

“Just heating up the water a bit. Not too hot. I’ll show you how to check the temperature after we’re done. While that’s heating, you can measure the power. There should already be a scooper in the tin. Two scoops should be plenty. She’s still so tiny.” You took a moment to admire the baby girl in your arms. She really was the spitting image of Anne.

While you rocked her to soothe her cries, Ominis poured two scoops of the formula into the bottle and tried not to grimace at the sour smell of it. Now he understood why babies smelled the way they did. It was a mix of this awful powdered milk and the starchiness of baby powder. Very off-putting and unpleasant.

“Water should be warm enough now. I’ll tell you when to stop pouring. Go slow,” you directed. You stopped him just at just a quarter full and reached to touch the bottle to feel how hot the water was. “Just a splash of cold water and that should be perfect.” Ominis brought the bottle to the sink and literally just let the smallest splash into it. You giggled and prompted, “Okay, maybe two splashes.”

Next, you handed him a clean top for the bottle which he took a moment to stir on straight then asked, “Are we done here?” in a very bored tone.

You smiled as you shook your head and clicked your tongue. “Always so impatient, my love. The powder needs to be mixed in. You’ll have to shake the bottle and-“ Ominis started shaking the bottle immediately, wanting to get this over with. Formula sprayed out of the nipple and got on the kitchen floor, Ominis’s hair, and your face. He froze, realizing his mistake.

Your laughter was so intense that you doubled over, clutching the baby to your chest so that you wouldn’t drop her during your fit. Ominis was blushing, but the sound of your laughter made him smile sheepishly.

“I am an idiot,” he proclaimed.

“Yes, yes your are. You have to cover the tip of the nipple.”

“Excuse me?” Ominis sounded almost offended. You laughed harder, not being able to take much more of this.

“That’s what the rubber part of the top of the bottle is called! It’s not like I came up with it!” After taking a deep breath to calm yourself, you reached over and placed Ominis’s finger over the tip of the bottle. “Okay, now you can shake it without making it rain indoors.”

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled shyly.

“I love you,” you answered.

Once the formula was mixed up, it was time to test the temperature. “This part is simple. Hold out your wrist,” you told him. When he did, you guided his hand that was holding the bottle to dab the slightest bit of formula on his inner wrist. “Do you feel that?”

A flash of uncertainty washed over his features. “Yes, but how do I know if it’s right?”

You held out your wrist, lighting bumping it to his so he knew where you were. “Let me feel and I’ll tell you.”

The fingers of his free hand drifted across the palm of your open one, acting as if he wasn’t sure where your wrist was. You had a smug smile knowing it was all for show. You had made your movements very clear. He only wanted to touch your hand, but you weren’t about to call him out on that. The bottle dipped to let a drip fall on your wrist. It was like warm. Not too cold that the powder didn’t mix in properly, and not too hot that it would hurt the baby.

“This is perfect. You want to test it on your wrist again so you can remember this temperature for next time?”

He snorted and insisted there wouldn’t be a next time, but he tested the formula on his wrist once more and looked rather deep in thought as if trying to memorize the feeling. You kissed his cheek and thanked him while taking the bottle. A weight lifted off Ominis’s shoulders when the baby stopped crying in your arms. He let out a heavy sigh.

“Glad that’s over.”

“Well, get used to it because it’ll probably happen every four hours or so.”

That statement did not spark joy for Ominis, but you hadn’t been trying to. It was the truth. This was the reality of helping out Anne right now: a crying newborn.

“Let’s go check on Anne in the bath.” Now that was a statement Ominis didn’t mind. You followed him down the hallway and stood at his side while he knocked on the bathroom door.

“How are you doing, Annie?” He asked in a soft tone.

“Just fine, Min! I’ll be getting out soon. How’s the baby?”

“Ominis made her a bottle!” You cut in proudly.

Anne paused a moment then asked, “‘S it poisoned?”

Ominis rolled his eyes while you responded, “No! I watched him like a hawk. I promise! He did great!”

Anne’s laughter echoed in the bathroom. “Well, then thank you, Ominis!”

In the living room, you nestled in on the couch, using the armrest to support your elbow. Holding the baby in the kitchen that whole time had made you ache. She wasn’t heavy either, maybe six pounds at the most. You couldn’t fathom how Sebastian held his youngest all day. That baby was huge!

“Anything I can get you?” Ominis was hovering over you from behind the couch. His hand was resting on the back of it and his fingers were reaching up to brush your shoulder. It was clear he wanted to touch you, but you were holding a baby and that terrified him.

“Maybe turn on a bit of music? There’s a very fancy-looking phonograph sitting in the far corner on your left. It’s begging to be played.”

Your wish seemed to be his command. Ominis brought out his wand and used his sensing charm before pointing it precisely at the phonograph. The needle reset itself on the record and began to play a beautiful sonata. It started out with a feathery light piano that was quickly joined by a set of strings. You weren’t well versed enough in muggle music to know if it was a violin or cello, but its tender tones took the lead of the song while the piano supported the beat and background. There was just a hint of a wind instrument harmonizing with the main melody of the strings. It wasn’t prominent enough to tell if it was a flute, or perhaps a panpipe…

“Come sit by me,” you requested dreamily.

With the music and the airy sound of your voice, Ominis was lost in the moment. He kissed the top of your head then walked around the front of the couch to be next to you. The string instrument started to swell. His hand rested on your knee as he sat down and immediately inched higher and higher until his forearm bumped your elbow and he briefly wondered why your elbow was sticking out like that.

Reality came hurtling back like a bludger. His hand jolted off you as if your skin burned him. He had forgotten about the baby being fed in your arms.

Ominis hoped you hadn’t even noticed his slip up, that you were too lost in feeding the child. With the way you were talking to it, Ominis felt as though he was in the clear. You were commenting on how the baby’s hand was curling around your ring finger. It seemed to like the smooth texture of your wedding band.

“You trying to steal my ring, little one? Four days old and your mommy has already trained you to be her little niffler? Well, I’m very sorry. You can’t have my wedding ring. I love it too much. You can have your own if you choose to get married one day.”

“Anna and Sebastian are probably competing to see who can have the most mischievous child,” Ominis said mostly to himself since he assumed you were lost in your own little world.

“I wouldn’t put it past them,” you joked in return. “And you can put your hand on my thigh if you would like. It is not going to offend the baby.”

Sometimes he hated how in tune you were with him. Ominis put a hand back just below your knee and squeezed to show his annoyance with you, a move he often did to fluster you and keep your teasing mouth quiet.

The move was not working out in his favor while you were holding the baby, however. You gossiped to her, “Oh, Uncle Ominis is mad at me for some reason. I’m in such big trouble. He’s got the grumpy pout. I think he’s feeling a bit bashful that I called him out, what do you think?”

A loud thud sounded from the bathroom. Ominis was standing in a flash. You dropped the bottle beside you on the couch to grab him by the shirt, insisting, “You take the baby! I’ll go get her!”

A look of annoyance washed over Ominis's face and he defied your request, “Are you insane? Just let me-“

“She’s going to want it to be me, not you.”

For the first time since your school days, he bitterly reminded you, “I’m blind! It’s not like I’ll see anything!”

You were standing now, matching his volume. “She’ll just want a woman there that understands-“

“I’ve known her a lot longer than you have! She’s a sister to me, I understand her perfectly! She-“

“She’s still bleeding,” you whispered through your teeth, “You know, down there. That’s why she’s been on bed rest. They had to give her muggle stitches.”

Ominis paled and swallowed quickly. He had assumed Anne was hurting from the curse. The last thing on his mind was average birthing complications. “Oh.”

“Sit down on the couch and put your elbow on the armrest,” you insisted in a very angry tone that you only ever used on Sebastian when he was stepping out of line, which was very, very rare these days. Hearing you so angry sent a shiver down Ominis’s spine. He sat, but panic was bubbling to his surface when he realized why you told him to put his elbow on the armrest.

“My love, please, I’m sorry, I can’t- Don’t make me-“

“It’s a newborn, Ominis! She isn’t going to remember this moment! You can’t possibly do anything wrong. Just feed her the rest of the bottle!” Your screaming made Ominis snap his mouth shut.

You leaned down and put the baby, who was now crying from her bottle being ripped from her and all the commotion, into his arms with a gentleness that shocked Ominis. How you went from screaming at him to carefully making sure the baby’s head was supported on his arm just right, he would never know. The bottle was picked up from where it had rolled to the other side of the couch and put firmly in Ominis’s hand with a bit more fire to your placement this time around.

“Feed her. She can’t cry if there is a bottle in her mouth. Relax your shoulders. I’ll only be gone a minute.”

Then your footsteps were fading. Ominis couldn’t stop his entire body from shaking. The baby was still crying, and although the only other sound in the house was the soft piano and strings coming from the phonograph, Ominis was overwhelmed to the point of shock. The baby weighed in his arms, but not nearly as much as he expected it to. He had held Sebastian’s firstborn twice: once when it was a month old and then one other time when it had just started crawling. Sebastian’s baby was never as feather-light as the dainty little thing crying in his arms now. It didn’t even stretch across Ominis’s chest. Tiny little feet were kicking his right arm that had been white-knuckling the bottle. They were covered in fuzzy knit socks that felt soft and plush against his arm with each weak kick.

The baby seemed to kick some sense into Ominis because he realized it would stop crying if he would just hurry up and give it the bottle. At first, he tried placing it in the baby’s flailing hands, but it wouldn’t take it from him. Was holding a bottle not something babies could do for themselves? He was pretty sure Sebastian was able to hand his youngest a bottle and walk away. Why didn’t this one know what to do?!

Ominis was ready to give up, but he didn’t know how to move the baby properly or where to put it even if he had the nerve. The couch? Would it roll off? The floor? Surely that wasn’t appropriate.

“Fine! Fine,” Ominis grumbled. He set the bottle between his legs and then hesitantly touched the baby's chest and glided up to feel where its mouth was. The thing was so tiny, and even though Ominis was holding it, he still expected it to take longer to find its mouth. But before he could pull away, the baby sucked his pointer finger in and bit down. It might have not had any teeth, but its gums were still brutal!

“Ow!” Ominis hissed and yanked his finger away from the little gremlin. He shook his hand with a dramatic flair to lessen the hurt. The baby went right back to crying. “That was uncalled for.”

Finally, Ominis was able to get the bottle in the baby’s mouth. There was an annoying squeak from it sucking on the rubber, but other than that the living room had turned back to its peaceful state. The record on the phonograph was playing a more upbeat tune. All was well.

Meanwhile, you had sprinted into the bathroom panicked and breathing heavily. Anne was lying on her back near the sink, about a meter from the tub.

“Anne!” You gasped and hurried over to her.

“Oh, hey,” Anne laughed lightly, not acting injured in the slightest. “How was your domestic disagreement? I have never heard you two argue like that. It was quite entertaining.”

“Are you hurt?”

“Mostly just embarrassed. I slipped while I was brushing my teeth. Wasn’t even walking or anything, just tumbled over for no reason. Held onto the sink though, so it wasn’t too bad.”

“You need help up?”

“Yeah. My hip is pretty sore, as if it wasn’t bad enough down there already,” Anne always kept a light tone to not worry others. You understood the sentiment. She didn’t want to be treated like a child or hovered over. Sebastian used to do that to her constantly, he had gotten a lot calmer over the years, but Anne hadn’t learned to get rid of her coping mechanisms yet.

“Let me dry the floor then I’ll help you up. Looks like a hurricane happened in here. Were you playing with the bath bubbles?” You joked to put her at ease.

She sighed gratefully for your calm nature. “Maybe. It had been a while since I’ve had a bubble bath. Might have got a bit carried away.”

You dramatically dragged a towel along the floor at the edge of the tub and asked, “A bit?”

It took some patience, but you managed to get Anne to her bed. There was still only the fitted sheet in place, so you added the bedding around her and made a point to tuck her in so tight that she couldn’t even wiggle. She shoved your hands away, laughing at your antics. The two of you chatted for a bit about your new plant shop and whether or not you missed working at the Ministry.

In the living room, the light squeaking of the bottle stopped. Ominis frowned in confusion. He could feel that there was still a bit of liquid sloshing around in the glass. Would the baby start crying again? Why had it stopped eating? Fearing the worst, he set the bottle down on the couch beside him and then leaned his ear in close to make sure the baby was still breathing. He placed his hand over its chest to feel the rise and fall. The tip of his middle finger touched its chin and the bottom of his hand was over its stomach. How could something be so small?

The baby’s hands latched onto his, one grabbing his thumb and the other his pinky, holding Ominis against its chest. Ominis blushed at the contact. The hands were soft and oh, so tiny. It could hardly clasp his thumb properly. Its breathing started to slow. The record on the phonograph came to an end, leaving a soft scratching sound to fill the room.

“Alright then,” his voice was but a whisper so that he wouldn’t disrupt the tranquil atmosphere of the room. Having his hand cradled like that made his heart clench tightly and painfully. The baby’s little cotton clothes were slightly wet around its neck from the formula, but other than that, Ominis didn’t mind that his hand was trapped.

His own breathing started to slow for the first time since arriving at Anne’s place.

A few moments later, you had been sent by Anne to collect her child. She wanted to snuggle with the baby while they both had a nap. The fiasco in the bathroom had worn her out.

The last thing you expected to see was a soft smile on Ominis’s lips while he seemed to be resting. The baby was pulled in close to his chest and was clutching into Ominis’s hand. They both looked fast asleep. The sight filled you with warmth. Your eyes softened, and you nearly wanted to shed a tear. Instead of disrupting them right away, you turned off the phonograph that had been playing nothing and washed the unfinished bottle in the kitchen sink.

When it came time to finally collect the baby from Ominis, you felt slightly guilty for dragging it out for so long. He just looked so precious holding a child. It was doing things to you, making you yearn for things you had sworn off thinking about.

With the utmost care, you reached to scoop the baby out of Ominis’s arms. His left arm tightened around the child, drawing her closer to his chest.

“Don’t,” he whispered.

That was…odd. Was he talking in his sleep? You couldn’t recall Ominis ever doing such a thing.

“It’s just me, love. I’ve come to relieve you from your babysitting duties. Sorry it took me so long.”

You tried going in for the exchange again, but Ominis insisted, “Just another moment, please. Just one moment.” His voice was breaking. It was clear now he hadn’t been sleeping at all to begin with because a tear escaped from the corner of his eye. It had been quite some time since you had seen Ominis in such a fragile state. When he would open up about his family and his childhood, sometimes he would get quiet like this. In those times, he had held onto you like you were driftwood in an ocean of terror he was drowning in. The way he was cradling the baby so close to his chest now meant he was anchoring to her at this moment. You couldn’t bring yourself to take her from him, even if the baby’s young mother was wanting to see her.

The only thing you could do was sit beside him on the couch. Your head rested on his shoulder and your hand rubbed in soft patterns across his arm. A few moments later, you had to tell him, “Anne sent me to collect the baby.”

Ominis nodded and softly said, “We shouldn’t keep her waiting any longer then. You can- you can take her now.”

There was a tense static in the room. The last thing you wanted to do was end this moment. Even with Sebastian’s for at born, Ominis had never asked to hold them, let alone hold them longer the few times he had been forced to.

“Why don’t you just carry her to the bedroom for me, hm?”

That was not what Ominis wanted to hear. His eyes widened with fear. “I can’t I- I don’t know how to.”

“It’ll be alright,” you were already adjusting his left arm so that he was providing better support underneath her as you spoke, “Just support her bum here. You can use your other arm too if you’re unsure. Just bring that one to cover here and- There. Now you’ve got a very good hold on her. After you get up from the couch just put it right back there where I showed you. I’ll lead you to the bedroom. Come along, now.”

Before he had time to come up with an excuse, you were dragging him up from the couch and guiding him to Anne’s room. Usually, he hated being guided places unless the situation was dire or he was in a big crowd. Sometimes people at work would try and guide from around the building. He took a bit of offense to it. If he ever needed a guide, he could just use his wand!

But now he was holding this tiny little thing in his arms, and it was alive and depending on him not to trip or bump into something. Without fighting it, Ominis let you hold his elbow and guide him across Anne’s house to the master bedroom. You had him sit in an armchair in the corner of the room as you joked with Anne, “You said, ‘Bring the baby’, and I wasn’t sure which one so naturally… I brought both.”

“You two look good like that. With her,” Anne commented as you put your hand on Ominis’s shoulder.

You were thankful Ominis couldn’t see your flush or the warning look you gave Anne. Around Ominis, you tried your hardest to avoid the topic of starting a family of your own. Your mother mentioned it every time the two of you visited her. She wanted grandkids. Usually, Anne and Sebastian were safe to converse with because they knew Ominis as well as you did. A comment like that almost felt out of character for Anne, especially since she was so protective of Ominis.

“I’ll have to take your word for it,” Ominis replied smoothly.

“Have you burped her yet?”

“Have I what?”

You laughed and patted Ominis on the shoulder. “That can get messy. Why don’t we let Anne do that, hm?”

“I can do it,” he offered quickly. “Just tell me how, and I can do it.”

You draped a towel over his shoulder and directed him to lay the baby against it. It didn’t take long to burp her. Ominis winced at the wet gurgling by his ear and the pungent, sour smell of the formula coming back tenfold. You giggled at his reaction and seemed to be cleaning up the baby’s face so that Ominis could go back to snuggling her.

“I’m glad you two are getting along. I’d hoped you would. After all, she’s named after you.”

A beat of silence dragged by before Ominis was able to ask, “What?”

“My little Minnie. Cute, don’t you think?” Anne smiled softly. “You were always there for me when Sebastian and I had our falling out. I appreciate you and I’m thankful for everything you’ve done for me.”

“Minnie is such a sweet name,” you commented once you realized Ominis was too stunned to respond. “Perfect for this sweet little girl.”

A couple of hours went by while you and Anne chatted. Ominis didn’t move from the armchair with Minnie and never once complained about his arm going numb from holding her.

Went you stood up so go start something for dinner, an Apparation crack sounded from outside. All three of you were alert and tense, wondering who it could be. You brought out your wand and headed to the front door, but it burst open before you had the chance to get there.

“Anne?!” The desperate cry of her husband called through the house. His heavy footsteps sprinted for the bedroom. Blood and scrapes littered his face and his hair and clothes were in disarray and even looked a bit singed. “Are you alright?” He raced to embrace her.

“You’ll have to give her up now, my love,” you whispered in Ominis’s ear while Anne and her husband reunited.

With a heavy sigh, Ominis stood from the armchair and approached the side of the bed Anne’s husband was standing on. He tearfully took Minnie from Ominis then looked at Anne in disbelief.

“She looks just like you.”

Sebastian’s wife was standing in the entryway, looking just as disheveled as Anne’s husband. While you and Ominis left the bedroom to give the new family some privacy, Sebastian’s wife explained, “There was a dragon attack that led to a cave-in. He was trapped for nearly a week.”

“Lucky you were able to find him. You’re amazing, honestly. Are you okay? Do you need anything? The both of you look like you got in a fistfight with the dragon!” You told her.

“Nearly did! Its tail swung at me at one point. It’s been an eventful day. All that’s on my mind is getting home to the kids and Sebastian.”

“We’ll be heading home as well, I think. Stay safe.”

With her gone, you cleaned up a few things around Anne’s house. Ominis tagged along on your cleaning spree, but he was nearly silent while doing so. You worried today might have been too much for him, but you would decide you would wait to check on him until after getting him to the comfort of your own home.

“You can floo first, Ominis! I’ll be right behind you. I’m just going to throw this blanket in the laundry bin.”

He was gone in a smokey, green flash. As promised, you traveled just a moment later. You hardly had a second to focus on the blur of your living room before a pair of hands were haphazardly dragging you forward until a rather demanding set of lips landed over yours. In his defense, Ominis had warned you earlier that day that he would be taking his stress out on you.

“What a lovely welcome home,” you comment when he pulls away, thinking it would end there.

His voice was a bit raspy in your ear, “Tell me what you’ve been wanting, and I’ll give it to you.” And although the sound of his voice was arousing, you could tell he wasn’t talking about anything sexual. There was a pointed annoyance in his tone. The unspoken dream you’ve been trying to keep to yourself secret all these years seemed to be weighing down on the both of you.

“Ominis, I don’t expect that of you. Is this because of what Anne said about us looking good with a baby? She was only teasing, Ominis. You know I would never ask that if you.”

Lips started to trail down your neck, tasting you. Between kisses, Ominis was whispering, “So good to me. Trying to hide her desires. It’s okay. I want it too.”

“What do you mean?” You managed out between gasps. His hands were exploring every inch of your body as if he didn’t already have you memorized. It took all of your willpower to restrain yourself and pull away from him because he seemed as though he was going to continue on without clarifying if you weren’t going to make him.

He groaned as if he was the one losing out on pleasure by you pulling away. “Want it too. Wanna give you a baby,” he whined softly. The words shocked you enough that your hold weakened. Ominis took the opportunity to lean back in, but you put your hands on his shoulders to hold him at bay.

“I think you caught an illness while at Anne’s,” you say in a worried tone. The back of your fingers pressed to his forehead. “Yup, just as I suspected. You have a bad case of baby fever. I think a good night's rest will be just the cure.”

Rolling his eyes at your antics, Ominis insisted, “I’ve thought about this before, and I know you want one. I don’t need sight to know how you feel about Sebastian’s kids. You are always coming up with excuses to be with them longer. It’s okay. I’m not going to be angry if you admit it. I just want you to be happy.”

“I am happy. I’m happy with you. I don’t need anything more. I would never ask for anything more.”

Ominis rested his forehead against yours. “I know you would never dare to ask. That’s why I’m offering.”

“And you’ll regret offering such things in the morning,” you reminded him.

“No, I won’t.”

“I know holding Minnie was overwhelming for you, but don’t let those new emotions cloud your judgment. You’ve never wanted kids before this. Just think for a moment and-“

“I have thought about it, many times. Maybe I’ve been apprehensive to the idea, but that was before. I thought it wasn’t possible for me to connect with children, that I wouldn’t be able to care for them the way a parent should. I thought I’d be cold and distant like my parents, so I didn’t want to bring a child into this world for them to feel alone and unwanted. But now, with her, I was able to care, to- to…”

“To love?” you offered

“Please say you believe me,” he sounded so lost and broken.

Your hands cupped his cheeks as you wiped away his tears of frustration. “I believe you. I never doubted that you wouldn’t be able to love our child if we had one. I just assumed you didn’t dare to let yourself try because of your parents. I love you, Ominis. Of course I want to have your children. I want them to be just as stubborn, but just as caring as you. I want them to have your sarcastic wit but also your devoted loyalty. It’s something I’ve thought about endlessly, so don’t think I’m turning you down when I ask for you to think on it just a while longer. Let the emotions from today come back down. I’ll make us dinner, we’ll go to bed. Then, whenever you are ready to talk about this, we will.”

Ominis managed to look disappointed but grateful at the same time. “I’ll think on it.”

And think on it he did, or simmer was a closer description. While you were in the kitchen, he pretended to read with his wand. There was a moment of uncertainty when he thought about how holding Minnie had made him feel. Would he be able to connect like that with his own child? But then again, how could he not? His own child would be half you, and he loved every part of you, even the side of you that thought you knew what was best for him by making him sit with his thoughts.

After a while, you brought him a cup of tea and kissed his temple. Ominis mumbled a thank you and continued to pretend to read. He could tell by the way you lingered in the doorway as you left the living room that you had used the tea as an excuse to check in on him. Instead of clueing you into his thoughts, he remained aloof and sipped his tea without showing any emotion positive or negative. The last thing he wanted was to hear you ramble about how he wasn’t in the right headspace to know what he truly wanted.

What he wanted was to be buried deep in you as he came. He wanted to, for once, not ruin his adrenaline rush by pulling out at the last second. He wanted you to have his child. He wanted a family with you, and he didn’t want to waste another second before starting it. This was something he should have done years ago.

“Dinner is ready,” you announced. There was a tremor in your voice as though you were nervous to speak to him. You spent the last thirty minutes hiding in the kitchen and wondering if he was cross with you since he hardly spoke at all when you brought him tea.

“It smells lovely in here.” Ominis played along with you, pretending not to notice your slip-up.

“Thank you. What were you reading?”

“A book that Sebastian’s wife recommended about keeping dragons.”

“That sounds intriguing.”

“It is.”

And that was all you got out of him. Ominis finished his food before you then disappeared to the kitchen to do the dishes while you sat in silence at the dining table. The wine wasn’t strong enough to keep your mind from worrying. How long would things be like this? Usually, Ominis was easy to get through to, so your arguments never lasted long. Would this remain an unspoken thing in your marriage for years to come? Forever?

You tiptoed into the kitchen with your empty plate. Ominis had done most of the dishes except for a single pan and the plate and fork in your hands. Even though you were trying to be as quiet as a mouse, Ominis held his open hand out in your direction and said, “Your plate.”

Reluctantly, you handed him the dirty dish. “Thank you for cleaning.”

“You cooked, so I cleaned. No reason to thank me. It’s only fair.”

“You’re right,” you whispered quietly.

Ominis raised his brow. “What? No comeback? No telling me how wrong I am for not accepting your gratitude? No making me think about it before I decide I want to do the dishes?”

“So you are mad at me!” You said it like it was an accusation. “I knew it. You’re being ridiculous! I’m only asking you to think on this before you decide!”

“You think I haven’t thought about it? Nearly ten years of marriage and you don’t think I fantasize about what it would feel like to hold you while my child is growing inside you?” He dried his hands on a dishrag and then leaned against the counter, looking exasperated. His volume hadn’t matched yours yet. He was holding back.

“You don’t have to do this just because it’s something I want!”

“Just because I’m scared doesn’t mean I don’t want it too!” His yell seemed to echo in the tiny kitchen.

After a second of trying to remind yourself how to breathe, you felt horrible for letting it escalate so far. Hearing Ominis was scared just made you want to comfort him. You spoke softly, “Ominis-“

“No, don’t do that. Don’t pity me and try to comfort me. Don’t use that as an excuse for us not to do this. Either you want us to have a child, or you don’t. I need you to be fully in on this as well. I’ll need you to show me how to make a bottle a few more times, how to change a diaper, and how to hold them properly. I need you to be patient with me, but I don’t want you to pity me. Is that understood?”

“I understand.” His words started to sink in. He seemed satisfied with your agreeability and turned back to the sink to finish the last two dishes. When the water cut off, you were still frozen in the center of your kitchen and trying to figure out if this was all real or a fever dream.

Ominis was humming a melody that had been playing earlier on Anne’s phonograph as he put away the pan he cleaned last. When he passed you by, a hand reached out to touch you. It dragged across your stomach to your hip and squeezed.

“If you are feeling against the idea any sort of way, now might be your last chance to speak up,” he warned, “I won’t be able to hold back tonight with this on my mind.”

“Don’t hold back-“ Was all he needed to hear before you were backed up against the kitchen counter with his lips how and heavy on yours. His approach was usually far more gentle. The two of you could kiss for hours before he’d even cop a feel. Now his hands were unbuttoning your clothes at your waistline and tugging the fabric down with haste.

This is what you’ve been dreaming of. Only a handful of times had Ominis ever devoured you in such a way. Things were more heated when the two of you were younger, exploring each other, and having uncontrollable urges. Since marriage, Ominis had calmed in that sense. You lived together, so he had the ability to take his time and appreciate every inch of you. It was always about bringing you pleasure as many times as the night would allow. Tonight was a stark contrast to those gentle touches.

Before you knew it, he had your panties around your ankles and was telling you to sit on the counter that he had just cleaned. You hopped up as told, but your position still didn’t have his approval. His fingers hooked under your knees and yanked so that your ass slid across the counter until it was nearly hanging off the edge. He smirked at the feeling of your heated core bumping into his dress pants.

“Right there. Stay right there on the edge for me.” And then he was sinking to his knees. His hands held your inner thighs to keep you from trying to close them, not that you would have.

His mouth was everywhere except the one place you wanted it so desperately. Your clit ached for attention. It seemed like Ominis would be taking his sweet time with you after all. This was usually welcomed attention, but tonight, you wanted him inside you more than anything. You didn’t even need to finish yourself as long as he spilled inside of you.

But even though your mind didn’t need an orgasm, that didn’t mean your body wasn’t craving it. Your hips bucked slightly when his nose nearly brushed against your clit. His hands held you down on the counter as he chuckled. The vibration of his laugh made you quiver.

“Don’t fall off the counter, now. Twisting your ankle won’t get you out of taking my cock. I’d just lay you on the bed and elevate your foot with pillows before filling you up.”

“Ominis,” your voice came out like you were scolding him. He’s spoken dirty before, but never quite like that.

“Just today you admitted in this very kitchen that you push my buttons on purpose to get me to snap and bite you, yet I’m the one being told off. And for what? Making sure my wife’s hypothetical, hurt ankle would be taken care of before I give her the child she so desperately wants?”

“I- oh-,” You lost your train of thought as his lips brushed against your clit before taking it in his mouth and sucking. The feeling was too much after waiting for so long. You squirmed again, this time to get away. The feeling in the pit of your stomach always felt better releasing when things had been slow and steady. Now, you could feel the tension building alarmingly fast.

Ominis took your hips trying to move as a sign of your eagerness. His tongue lapped up your wetness that had started to seep out. Then, it dipped inside of you and his nose rubbed against your clit. Your hands were gripping the edge of the counter to keep yourself from flying off.

Now you were saying his name like a prayer. Your breathy pleas were quite the opposite from how you had just scolded him a few moments ago. Hearing you pant and mumble his name made him smirk. You could feel the corner of his mouth rise slightly against you. That action was enough to send you over the edge, almost literally if Ominis hadn’t been holding you in place on the counter. He kept his tongue in place to feel you pulse around it, though he was careful not to overstimulate you and ruin your high. Only when the pulsations slowed to nearly an end did he pull back and stand up.

“Such a good girl for me. Coming on my tongue and sounding so sweet.” He kissed you with the taste of your juices still on his tongue. You hadn’t even dared to let go of the counter while Ominis got to work unbuttoning his own pants. “Was gonna wait to have you in the bedroom, but I don’t think I can.” And then, he was lined up at your entrance and pushing in.

His movements were slow as he took you in an all consuming kiss to distract you from the stretch. Normally, you could handle whatever Ominis threw at you. This time, you were sitting nearly upright because of how close Ominis held your for the kiss. The position made it hard to take him fully, at least in an enjoyable way. You tried leaning back, and while that did help things start to feel pleasurable, your hand had landed in a stick of butter. The plate clanked against the counter. You immediately cursed under your breath.

Ominis, having heard the plate, had the audacity to laugh at your demise. He pulled out and scolded you, “You aren’t making a mess of my clean kitchen, are you?”

“It seems like you’ll have to wait until we get to the bedroom after all, and now I’ve got to wash my hand as well!”

His hands didn’t leave you the entire time you stood at the sink to try and scrub away the slimy mess on your hand. Even while walking down the hallway his hands were at work taking off your shirt and throwing it who knows where. Needless to say, you were both naked by the time you made it to the bedroom.

Vibrations ran down your neck from his voice mumbling while his lips were against your skin. “Lay on the bed.”

You had expected his hands to be all over you again the moment your back landed on the mattress. Instead, Ominis felt around for the pillows at the head of the bed. He tapped your hip. “Lift up.”

It was hard to deny his odd request because of how deeply you loved when he got a bit bossy like this. You lifted your bum so that he could slide a few pillows under you. The gesture seemed sweet, but entirely unnecessary. You’d been married for nearly nine years now, it wasn’t like you were delicate in the bedroom.

“You’re very sweet, my love, but I don’t need this to be comfortable. You won’t break me.”

Ominis stilled. His hand rested on your thigh. It looked as though he was debating something. “It’s not… for your comfort.”

“Then why are you- oh.” You swallowed your words when it set in. Your hips were high in the air like this. Gravity would make the mess Ominis was about to make stay inside you instead of seeping out.

“But are you comfortable like this?” Ominis ran his hand from your hip to your breast. His hand squeezing around you was faint and soft, more akin to a tender caress instead of anything overtly sexual.

“Yes,” you earnestly answered.

“You might have to stay like this for quite some time,” Ominis leaned closer to your ear to whisper, “Can you handle that?”

You nodded, then felt stupid before replying verbally, “I’m comfortable like this. I can stay as long as you think it’s necessary for it to… set in.”

His hand moved from your breast to lay over your heartbeat for a moment. A satisfied smirk spread across his lips. “Your heart is racing.”

“I might be a bit excited.”

“Oh yeah?” Both his hands smoothed down your body until they rested on your hips. He got on his knees between your legs. “Is that what people are calling it these days?” His thumb messily rubbed over your clit then dipped down between your folds to feel the sticky arousal that had been leaking out of you since the kitchen. There wasn’t much of a rhythm to his movements because he was just wetting his hand so that he could lubricate himself, but still, his hand touching you there in any capacity made your breathing pick up.

You were mumbling his name all desperate and breathy. Ominis chuckled at how needy you sounded. Giving you what you were begging for, he lined himself up, which caused you to whimper even more because his tip dragged across your clit a few times before he found your entrance. As he started to sink in, you sighed in relief. This angle was much better than sitting on the counter. With surprising ease, he nearly bottomed out. There was just a pinch of tightness that made him still for a moment.

His lips were leaving tender kisses across your chest and neck while he let you adjust to the feeling. You were mumbling into his neck for him to move, to take you. Your neediness made him want to give in to those desires, but Ominis wanted to memorize everything about this moment. The smell of sweat and sex in the air was absolutely vile, but incredibly mouthwatering all the same. He could go deeper than he ever had before at this angle, but that area felt tight around his tip. Ominis pulled out slightly and thrust back in slowly, being careful not to go too far and hurt you.

“More,” you were begging, nearly crying in the crook of his shoulder.

Not being able to deny you a second longer, Ominis started to thrust his hips. It wasn’t shallow, but he still wouldn’t let himself go further than the two of you were used to. Your arms wrapped around him and your nails lightly skimmed across his shoulders. He shivered and his hips stuttered unevenly, accidentally driving deeper into you. Immediately, Ominis pulled back and whispered an apology in your ear, but you held tighter onto him.

“Again, do it again.”

A tentative hand brushed the hair off your forehead so Ominis could kiss it. He pushed in deeper, but deliberately slow so he could listen for any signs of discomfort. His thumb found your clit again, hoping to give you a bit of pleasure to combat the fullness. The second his thumb grazed over you, your walls convulsed around his cock and your body shook erratically.

Ominis felt his own waves of pleasure building. On instinct, he tried to pull out to finish on your stomach. Your thighs wrapped around his waist to hold him in place.

“Please, come inside me. I want to make you a daddy.”

Your words made the tips of his ears go red. But now that he wasn’t so lost in the moment, he remembered the whole point of the evening, why he had made you rest your hips on a pile of pillows, and why he was able to reach this deep inside you in the first place.

“Stop me if it hurts,” was all the warning Ominis could give before his hips started to rut against you, hitting as deep as his length would allow with every feverish thrust. His pelvis was hitting your clit each time, Turning you right back into a moaning mess beneath him.

“There, right there.”

His breath was hot and heavy on your neck, “Gonna fill you up with my seed, sweetheart. I’m gonna fuck you just like this twice a day with your hips all high and willing to take me until we find out it worked. And then, I’m going to keep coming in you every night after to celebrate. I’ll fill you up so good, that we won’t know if it’s my come or my child growing in you that’s making you bigger.”

Talking dirty wasn’t new for Ominis, but it was rarely obscene and never, ever like this. That with how deep and fast he was fucking you made you speechless, breathless, thoughtless. You couldn’t even see straight, so you just held onto him for dear life and panted, but no breath was deep enough to fill your lungs or call you down. The tension in your entire body builds to the point that your leg was cramping. You wrapped it around Omni’s leg just to ease the pressure, but Ominis saw that as you wanting him to go harder.

So he did. His hips snapped into you hysterically. You cried out in ecstasy as another orgasm hit you like a train.

His hips faltered and he groaned as he came while your walls relentlessly milked his cock. You couldn’t stop writhing beneath him. Feeling his warm spurts of come paint your walls and add pressure made your intense waves of pleasure drag out. Ominis was on his elbows and panting, his lips right above yours. You already couldn’t breathe, but you pulled him down for a kiss regardless.

“I love you,” he gasped as he pulled away from the kiss. “Was that okay? Are you hurting? Should I get you a-“

Ominis had started to move, but your arms wrapped tighter around him and your walls clenched around his length. “Don’t move yet. Stay. Just stay.”

Seeming to understand and reciprocate your need to be close, Ominis rested on an elbow and then used his other hand to caress your body as if you were made of glass. “I’m not going anywhere, love.”

The two of you laid like that for a while just playing with each other’s hair and whispering sweet nothings. Soon, Ominis started to get hard again inside of you. He slyly shifted his hips, but his excuse of getting more comfortable didn’t work on you.

“Ominis,” you whined in an exhausted tone. How was he ready to go again!?

His kisses on your neck paused while he laughed against your skin. “Well, I did say twice a day until we’re certain, didn’t I?”

#writing this gave me so many emotions #i grew up in a house that was an in home daycare and in my later teens my mom fostered babies #so it was fun to get into the mind of someone that doesn’t feel the same as me #i think Ominis would be apprehensive about kids because he is insecure and thinks he would ruin them and repeat the cycle of abuse #Sebastian as a dad... I'm imagining him with a bit of weight on him and smile lines... im mentally cheating on ominis #also Seb's family is lowkey based on Crowlispo's OCs #I'm imagining Agatha going on some grand adventure to save Anne's dorky husband #hogwarts legacy #ominis gaunt #ominis gaunt x reader #ominis gaunt x mc #ominis gaunt smut #my writings

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space--daemon · 1 year

Note

Would it be possible to hear more of your thoughts about the 5th absorbs the ninth au?

oh my god YES

i'm so deep in my tlt bre fic or i would already be writing this because i LOVE this au and will soon be reading EVERY fic with this concept (some of which are linked in the notes of the original post)

so i imagine this taking place a short while after harrow opens the tomb, a year or two at most

harrow is equal parts devastated w grief and fanatic with adoration for the body in the tomb

she is also NOT in the mood for the ninth to be absorbed by the fifth and is ready to fuckin throw down

of course by throw down, harrow means "glare at them until they go away and also bones" bc she's twelve and that's really all she can do

fifth's first trip to the ninth:

abigail: hel- those people are dead

harrow, currently manipulating the corpses of her parents: (drops from the ceiling like batman) begone, invaders, you are not- griddle!

gideon, who Should Not be there but saw a sword and thought "fuck it": (walks up to magnus) fight me old man

magnus and abigail immediately decide to adopt these children

magnus starts sparring with gideon and getting his ass handed to him, much to aiglamene's delight

abigail begins the daunting task of Earning Harrowhark Nonagesimus' Trust

she explains she doesn't actually want to take over the ninth and harrow can have it once she's eighteen

this inadvertently offends harrow and sets them back a month

the fifth quickly pick up that ortus is Not Into this whole cav business and make the pretty obvious connection that gideon should be harrow's cav and the equally obvious connection that both girls would Rather Die

cut to quinn and pent's epic quest to trick two preteens into accepting the fifth as their caregivers and becoming cav and necromancer

they also become the world's most awkward wingmen

magnus, during a sparring session: say, the reverend daughter looked very regal this morning, didn't she?

gideon, who has already adopted this man as a father figure: what the fuck mags how could you betray me like this

ortus is either besties with the fifth or actually fucking them like abigail pent would one hundred percent take one look at this chubby eloquent caring inept motherfucker and be like I Want That Bear Obliterated

at some point they get it into their heads that the girls need peer engagement so they bring jeanne and isaac to visit

harrowhark nonagesimus, who has never met a person younger than her, watching a nine-year-old jeannemary chatur vibrate with excitement: what the FUCK is That

gideon nav, whose only experience with people younger than her is harrow: what the FUCK is That

#fifth absorbs the ninth!au #tlt fanfic #the locked tomb #tlt #harrowhark nonagesimus #gideon nav #gideon the ninth #harrow the ninth #griddlehark #abigail pent #magnus quinn #jeannemary chatur #jeannemary the fourth #isaac tettares #tlt au

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hoodreader · 21 days

Text

MY CAT’S CHART 💋

his birth date is approximative. this is what the foster told me and they were monitoring him since he was a couple weeks old, so i went with it.

menu — forms — readings open.

TAURUS SUN.

comfort over everything. and he gon lay on whatever make him feel comfy, he don’t gaf.

grooms himself. naps for like an hour. wakes up. then he grooms again. cycle continues.

he’s very patient. it takes a lot to get him to be upset with u. he don’t hiss or anything, he’ll complain meow when annoyed.

i have a very greedy cat. he is so loud and demanding when he wants to eat ur food.

PISCES MOON.

pretty shy and sensitive. he can be easy to overwhelm if u don’t know him.

he don’t like feeling smothered in any capacity and he don’t like being held too long. pushing him will cause him to hide.

he feels safe when given space (if u don’t know him) and then letting him decide if he wanna be closer. he’s a vibe reader.

very empathetic. when i was or felt sad, he’d always come in and check on me. he’d meow like “what’s wrong?” then just purr and lay with me. cats definitely aren’t always asocial.

because he’s so docile he usually won’t assert boundaries himself. i’d have to step in.

TAURUS MERCURY (Rx).

a real yapper. especially about food. makes sense b/c taurus rules the vocal chords.

makes a wide variety of sounds. chirps, chatters, trills (he sounds like a pigeon).

always purring. sometimes all i have to do is look at him and he’ll start purring.

his voice is light for the most part!

mercury is ur sense of community. Rx mercury people might be more on the shy side, and he prefers a small community.

CANCER VENUS.

a real cuddle bug. his love language is probably quality time or physical touch.

he is very clingy. will walk between my legs as i walk around. and i trip over him often.

he’s very sensuous in my opinion. he loves looking outside the window and loafing as he just takes the outside world in. very zen 🧘🏾

again loves to eat. food brings him great joy.

CANCER MARS.

conflict avoidant, but he can be territorial and defensive about whatever he considers to be his domain. he act like he run shit

the first day he met another dog, i saw a side of him i never seen. he puffed up big and crab walked, trying to dominate the energy.

my cat was definitely like “aight now…” like… i was pretty proud of him for trying!

but in tense situations, he kinda doesn’t hold his own. i remember i got a female cat (i surrendered her b/c the shelter thought it was best). she was lowkey hoeing him. 💀

ARIES JUPITER.

the shelter named him “Superman” because they said he was the bravest out of his litter mates, as he was born to a feral cat mother.

he is very adventurous and curious, despite his shyness. he just isn’t adventurous about people. but he loves to explore otherwise.

“carpe diem” is his expression for sure.

he’s so destructive though. and too curious sometimes. once he jumped on our closet shelf to knock down the muffins we purposefully hid from him. then he ate them

he also bit through my tarot cards

he jumped on the fridge and ate our baguette. imagine my shock when i saw the baguette with a cartoonish bite mark in it.

PISCES SATURN.

he appreciates a good nap. which is something i love. because one thang i know two thangs certain, he gon take a mf nap.

saturn shows how we rest / work. so his being in pisces really shows that he values the rest aspect of saturn.

he so hardheaded sometimes but that’s because (1) he has the comparable of a two year old but (2) he doesn’t believe in rules.

because well… he’s a cat.

but i love the way he doesn’t let my human values stop him from living his best life

and i love our chart energies.

his sun is conjunct my venus (in the eleventh house). like it’s giving best friends, lmao. his south node is conjunct my fifth house moon too, it’s giving we really been besties.

his south node is conjunct my bf/co guardian’s moon too. tbh we all are just super watery (lmao) so it’s a lot of emotion in our trio dynamic. i also love how his venus and mars is in my first house/in my bf’s eleventh house.

it’s wild cuz i deadass feel like this cat can read my mind sometimes. he just knows me. and i wish i could explain to him how much i love him.

i’ll love him to the end of time. he’s my best friend, confidant, and there will never be a cat like him. 🤍 the universe sent u to me. ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

#cat mutha #astrology #astro community #astro notes #astro observations #random #pets #cats #cats of tumblr #kitty #kitten

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thenerdykneazle · 10 months

Text

Marry You

Summary: Garreth proclaims to anyone and everyone, including you, that he is going to marry you one day – despite the fact that you haven’t even agreed to court him (not that he's asked). Set during 5th year. It was supposed to be a bunch of short drabbles. One of them got out of hand (oops).

Garreth Weasley x Gryffindor F!MC

A/N: I added Garreth to DADA b/c in the game he only has like 2 classes with MC. It’s a crime that they didn’t give him the same schedule as Leander, honestly. You know those idiots would be besties and take all the same classes.

Warnings: none, pure fluff for a change, pining, *slight* Seb bashing if you squint but really he's just his moody self

Word Count: 6330

To Imelda

Garreth was elated when you handed him the fwooper feather. “Brilliant! This is going to take a moment to brew. You should get back to brewing your Edurus Potion, and I’ll tell you when this concoction’s finished.”

“Don’t keep me waiting too long,” you replied before leaving to work on your own potion. Garreth watched you walk away with stars in his eyes.

Imelda came up beside him. “Causing trouble again, Weasley?” she asked.

Garreth jumped at the girl suddenly so close to him. “Just getting started. I think I’ve got a partner in crime now,” he said.

“Oh?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “Dragging that new fifth-year into your schemes, are you?”

He gave her a cheeky smile. “I may be dragging her into my schemes, but I’d let her drag me anywhere,” he said.

Imelda scrunched up her face in disgust at the mushy proclamation. “Ugh! Down boy,” she said. “You’ve only just met the poor girl.”

He sighed dreamily as he watched you work across the room. You seemed to have a knack for potions like he did. “Maybe, but I’m gonna marry her one day,” he said, imaging a future running a shop in Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley with you.

Imelda rolled her eyes at the dramatic boy. “Whatever you say, Gryffindor,” she said before walking off.

When his potion sparked out wild fireworks, he caught your eye in the chaos. You looked thoroughly amused, and he couldn’t help but feel that the potion had been a resounding success if it got you to smile that way. He did feel a bit guilty that he had gotten you in hot water with Sharp, but the ex-auror didn’t seem too fussed about things.

To Sebastian

Garreth was enamoured when you knocked Sebastian on his ass. Again. You were all duelling in Defense Against the Dark Arts class, and Professor Hecat seemed to enjoy seeing the Slytherin knocked down a peg as much as Leander did since she paired you and Sebastian together a second time. Garreth cheered even louder than Leander for you, and you gave the dorky pair a little salute.

Personally, though, Garreth had never had an issue with his fellow freckled classmate. He was friendly, had a good sense of humour, and enjoyed helping other students with their studies – or, at least, he used to before his sister was cursed. They had even teamed up on a prank here and there over the years. So, when Garreth saw the way the brunet looked at you, he had one thought as he smirked to himself: Game on.

You helped Sebastian back to his feet. “Nice job,” he said. “All your extra practice is paying off.”

You shrugged. “I suppose so,” you agreed. “You’ve been improving, as well, though.”

“I’d like a fair fight sometime. Get to use all my tricks,” he said. “Though, I could show you one or two beforehand if you’d like.”

You smiled slightly. “I might be interested,” you replied.

“I’ll be in touch, then,” Sebastian said with a smirk. He brushed himself off as he walked back to Ominis.

You walked back to your fellow Gryffindors. “Godric himself would be proud,” Leander said as Garreth gave you a congratulatory hug.

From across the room, Sebastian eyed the redhead as he embraced you. Garreth caught him watching and sent him a wink and a cheeky grin.

“That was bloody brilliant!” Garreth said as he let go of you.

“Thanks,” you said, beaming at him.

Leander resisted the urge to roll his eyes as his curly-haired friend seemed to dominate your attention and vice versa. He busied himself talking to Andrew. You and Garreth started talking about your recent encounter with a kneazle den out in the forest, barely noticing your friend’s absence. Soon, though, Professor Hecat stole you away to talk about an extra assignment.

Garreth took the opportunity to saunter over to the Slytherins. “You put up a good fight,” he said to Sebastian.

“Thanks,” he replied before cutting to the chase. “So, you and MC seem pretty cozy.” Sebastian had always been the jealous type.

“I should hope so,” Garreth replied. “I am going to marry her, after all.”

Sebastian raised an eyebrow at that. Weasleys were a known pure-blood family, but most of them weren’t those kinds of pure-bloods that had their children pledged to suitors from a young age.

Ominis gave the Gryffindor a pitying expression, though Garreth didn’t notice as Sebastian spoke up at the same time. “Didn’t realize your family was into that sort of thing. Arranged betrothals and whatnot,” he said.

“Oh, no, we’ll marry for love,” Garreth said confidently.

“Wait, so are you even engaged?” Ominis asked.

Garreth laughed. “No, of course not! We’re fifteen,” he replied. “Well, I’ll be sixteen next month.”

“So, are you courting?” Sebastian asked.

“Not yet,” Garreth said simply.

Sebastian narrowed his eyes at the ginger. “So, what you’re saying is, you have no actual claim to her,” he said.

Garreth shrugged, looking unbothered. “I may not have any official title yet, but I wanted to give you fair warning not to fall too hard for her.”

Sebastian laughed. “Yeah, thanks, mate,” he said sarcastically. “What makes you so certain she’d choose you, anyway?”

Garreth smirked at him. “I just am.”

He let that be his final word, as he saw you walking away from Professor Hecat. Sebastian just gaped at the overconfident boy as he left. “Gryffindors,” he grumbled.

“You do realize that includes MC,” Ominis pointed out.

Sebastian rolled his eyes. “Oh, shut it.”

To Leander

Garreth overheard you telling Professor Shah that you didn’t have a telescope. He was disappointed when she paired you with Amit before he could offer. He felt a pang of jealousy when Amit offered his old telescope to you. He tried to refocus on the stargazing he was supposed to be doing. Leander was struggling to find Sirius. He helped his best friend before they hurried downstairs, seeking the warmth of the castle.

On the way down, he overheard Amit asking you to go out to an astronomy table with him. The small pang of jealousy he felt earlier bloomed into anguish. Was Amit really trying to earn your affections? He expected to have to compete with Sallow, but he felt bad at the idea of stealing you away from the good-natured Ravenclaw. Not bad enough to back off, of course, but still.

He and Leander walked all the way back to the Gryffindor common room. Garreth flopped into an armchair with a huff.

Leander raised an eyebrow at him. “What’s got you so worked up?” he asked.

“Amit’s trying to flirt with my future wife,” Garreth grumbled.

“Oh, not this again,” Leander muttered to himself.

“Yes, this again,” Garreth replied firmly. “I’m serious, Lee. She’s the one.”

Leander just shook his head in amusement. “Yes, you’ve made that very clear,” he said. “And why is it you think Amit is trying to steal her affections?”

“You didn’t hear him?” Garreth practically yelled. He jumped to his feet and started pacing. “First, he was all, ‘Oh, let me adjust the telescope for you.’ Then he just gave her his old telescope. And then, he invited her out exploring the grounds to go find an astronomy table.”

“He might as well have proposed right then,” Leander replied nonchalantly, still reclining lazily on the couch and biting back a smirk.

“I know! I–” Garreth started, but he paused, spinning around to face Leander. He glared at the taller boy. “You’re mocking me.”

Leander let the smile break onto his face. “A bit,” he admitted. “Gar, Amit is just friendly. He’d give an Ashwinder the shirt off his back if they said they were cold. You’re reading too much into it.”

“Am I?” Garreth asked seriously, putting a hand on his hip as he eyed his friend.

“Yes,” Leander replied equally seriously. “And, with all due respect to your undying love, you barely know MC. What if you’re not compatible? What if she wants to move to Peru or something when she graduates? What if she doesn’t want kids?”

Garreth shrugged. “I don’t need kids,” he said.

Leander rolled his eyes. “Have you met your family?” he asked. “And you practically knocked me into the Black Lake jumping into my arms when you got the owl saying your brother and his wife are having a baby.”

Garreth blushed at the memory. “Okay, but they’re out snuggling up in the cold to go look at the stars,” he whined.

“Your brother and his pregnant wife?” Leander asked.

Garreth let out a frustrated groan. “No, MC and Amit! Keep up, Lee! There’s no chance he’s not trying to woo her in such a romantic setting. They’ll probably be out all night, knowing MC. They’ll cozy up as they watch the sunrise and kiss just as the sun peaks out over the horizon.”

“Ah, you’re back to the whole Amit thing,” Leander observed.

“He’s probably got his arms around her right now to ‘help’ her focus the telescope,” Garreth said. “Maybe I should go out there and–”

Garreth fell silent at the sound of the portrait creaking open. He was glad he did when he saw you stepping into the common room. “You’re home early!” he said. He had meant to say it in a cool, casual tone but ended up shouting it in excitement, instead.

“Am I?” you asked, giving him a confused look. “I didn’t know I had an appointment.”

“Well, I just heard Amit invite you out stargazing and figured you’d be gone a while,” Garreth blurted out. Leander smacked a hand over his face as he shook his head at his moronic friend.

“Oh,” you said. You shrugged. “The table was just on the castle wall. It didn’t take long to find.”

“Do you want kids?” Garreth asked, stunning both you and Leander.

You looked at him with wide eyes. “Right now?” you asked. “Because I’ll have to pass, thanks.”

Garreth’s face flamed with embarrassment. “Merlin, no, that’s not what I…Not now, just…in the future. Possibly. I mean, do you like kids?” he corrected.

“Oh. Yeah, one day. I love kids,” you replied.

“Great!” he said before he could stop himself. “Because, um, my brother is having a baby soon, and I’ll have to do a lot of babysitting. I might need a hand, and Lee here is useless with kids, so…”

Leander glared at him, and Garreth just gave him an apologetic smile.

“That sounds fun!” you replied.

Garreth’s eyes lit up. “Brilliant! I’ll reach out if I need assistance, then,” he said with a dopey grin.

“Sounds good,” you said as you made your way toward the stairs up to the girls’ dormitories. “Good night, you two.”

They both wished you a good night. Once your back was turned, Garreth smiled wildly at Leander and mouthed ‘I told you’ rather aggressively at him. Leander just rolled his eyes.

To Poppy

Garreth sprinted down the corridors to reach the faculty tower. He took the stairs up it three at a time, grabbing the handrail to whip sharply around the landings. His legs were on fire by the time he reached the infirmary. He was too out of breath to form a proper sentence when he’d met Nurse Blainey at the entrance.

“Where…How…MC?” he managed between pants as his lungs heaved to get the oxygen his body so desperately needed.

“She’s okay, so just take a moment–” she said, holding up her hands to try to get the boy to pause and catch his breath.

“I need to see her. Please,” he urged.

He looked as if he might burst into tears at any moment, and the mediwitch took pity on the boy. She led him to your bedside. “She’s stable but hasn’t woken up yet. I gave her a sedative so I could change the dressing over a rather painful wound on her leg. It should heal completely in time, though,” she explained as she walked him over.

She held the curtain around your bed back, so Garreth could step inside of it. He gasped when he saw the cuts and bruises on your face and arms. The rest of you was hidden under the blanket, and he could only imagine how much worse it got. Poppy was sitting in a chair on the far side of the bed. Garreth sat down opposite her, pulling the chair closer to the bed while turning it around so he could face the head of the it. He held your hand gently in both of his.

You were a force to be reckoned with, but right now you looked so…fragile.

“What happened?” he rasped, looking over to Poppy.

“We…It happened so fast,” she said, head bowed in shame. “We were fighting a camp of poachers, and a manticore sprang out of their tent. It had a collar of goblin metal they used to control it. It attached her, scratching her, and biting her leg.” She dropped her face into her hands. “Merlin, her scream.” Poppy winced at the memory.

“A manticore?” Garreth repeated in disbelief. “Godric’s heart, I’m glad it didn’t sting her!”

“It almost did, but I cast depulso and knocked it off of her,” she said. “I just wish I’d reacted sooner.”

“Hey,” Garreth said gently as he held a hand out to her across the bed. She sheepishly took it as she finally raised her eyes to look at him. “You saved her life. I can’t thank you enough for that.” He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and smiled gently at her.

“O-oh. Are you two…? I mean, I didn’t realize you were more than friends,” she said, pulling her hand out of his grasp and linking it with the other one in her lap. She trained her gaze on her hands rather than the boy sat across from her.

“We’re not. Not yet, anyway,” Garreth said as he looked at you with a fond smile on his face. He turned back to Poppy with a devilish grin. “Make no mistake, though, I’m gonna make her my wife one day.”

“Wow. That’s, um, wonderful,” she said, giving him a pained smile.

Garreth chuckled. “I know everyone thinks I’m crazy for saying it, but I really do believe it. She’s captured my heart and soul, this one,” he said.

“She’s a lucky girl,” Poppy said sincerely.

“I hope so,” Garreth replied with a grateful smile. He looked back at you. “I know she hasn’t been here very long, but I don’t know what I’d do if I ever really lost her. I’d have to find a new supplier for all my potion ingredients and everything!” He spoke sincerely until the last sentence.

You let out a groan as you rubbed your head with the hand Garreth wasn’t holding. “I think I’m gonna have to close shop for a week or two,” you croaked out.

Garreth chuckled. “All the cute things I said, and you wake up for that part?” he teased.

You gave him an apologetic smile. “Sorry, Gar,” you said. “I’ll try to time it better next time.”

The sincerity in your voice nearly broke his heart. He reached a hand up to stroke your cheek. “Hey, no, I was just joking,” he said sweetly. “But there better not be a ‘next time,’ and I’m very serious about that. No more close calls like this.”

You nodded your head slowly. Your eyes were half closed. “That sounds good to me,” you said.

He managed a small smile. He’d been a nervous wreck when he heard you were in the infirmary with serious injuries. It was a relief just to talk to you. “Get some rest now, okay? We’ll be here,” he said.

“M’kay,” you agreed with a soft sigh. Your eyes were already closing again, heavy with exhaustion.

Garreth stroked the back of your hand as he carefully watched the bruises on your face fade. It was slow – barely noticeable as it happened – but after a few hours the dark, angry purple marks had shrunk with the remaining areas turned faded hues of yellow and green. He delicately brushed the hair back from your face. Your cuts were now thin lines of new flesh, pink and tender-looking. Garreth traced some of the lines on your arm carefully with his left index finger. His right hand continued to hold yours.

Curfew came before you roused again. Nurse Blainey came to dismiss the students still by your bedside. Poppy stood to leave, but Garreth requested to stay.

“I assure your she’s in capable hands, Mr. Weasley,” the mediwitch said. “I’m afraid visiting hours are over for today. You may come back when they begin tomorrow. After breakfast.”

He had skipped dinner, though he didn’t know how Nurse Blainey had known. The meal had just begun when he got the news of your injury.

Garreth trudged out alongside Poppy. “I’m glad she has someone who cares so deeply for her,” the mousy girl said as they left the hospital wing. “She’s my best friend – and only friend, really – and I want her to be happy.”

Garreth nodded with a pensive look on his face. “Thank you, Poppy,” he said. “I’m glad she’s got you to watch her back out there.”

She gave him a tight smile and a nod. She still felt responsible.

They parted once they left the faculty tower, heading to their separate common rooms. Garreth had a fitful night sleep before getting out of bed before the sun was up. He ate a rushed breakfast before returning to the hospital wing. You were sat up in the bed, eating your own breakfast from a tray set over your lap. You smiled when you saw him approaching.

“If it isn’t my favourite customer,” you said with a smirk.

Garreth rolled his eyes playfully. “How is it that was the only thing you got from my visit yesterday?” he asked.

You chuckled. “I was heavily medicated,” you replied with a shrug. You shifted to sit toward the left side of the bed, grimacing as you pulled your right leg over.

Garreth lunged forward to help when he saw your pained expression, but it was gone in an instant. You patted the newly open spot on the bed next to you. He carefully sat down, keeping an eye on your leg so he didn’t bump it.

“So, what else did you say when you came to visit?” you asked. “I have it on good authority it was quite cute.”

Garreth’s cheeks flushed. “Just, um, that I was very relieved you were okay and wouldn’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Yes, well, it would put a damper on our marriage if I was dead before it began,” you joked.

Garreth just gave you a shy smile.

You had known for a while how Garreth liked to tell people he was going to marry you one day. You thought it was funny and would join in on the joke from time to time. You took it as a compliment. He usually tied it to some praise of your skill, whether in combat, on a broom, or brewing potions. He had a flare for the dramatic, so you didn’t read too much into it. You’d heard him tell Leander he could kiss him when the taller boy had bought him a set of rare potion ingredients for his birthday.

Garreth was warm and affectionate, but he didn’t show signs that there was real weight to his jests. There were no intense stares or lingering touches like there were with a certain Slytherin. He was affectionate with you but not in an intimate way. He would give big bear hugs and would sometimes grab your wrist to drag you somewhere exciting. However, he never rested his hand on your lower back as he led you somewhere nor held your hand. Well, last night was an exception. You were fairly certain that when you had awoken last night, he had been holding your right hand, while Poppy had held your left.

Poppy. You two had become fast friends. She was the reason you wouldn’t entertain his affections even if you had thought them genuine. She had quite the crush on the kind-hearted ginger. She’d fallen for him shortly after you introduced them. She gushed about him constantly. You could never hurt her like it would if you started courting Garreth. She would be devastated.

“How are you feeling?” Garreth asked. His brow was furrowed with worry.

“As well as can be expected. The bastard took a nice chunk out of my calf,” you explained. “Human face but wicked sharp teeth, apparently.”

He looked at you with sad eyes. “Nurse Blainey said you’d recover fully. It that still true?”

You nodded. “Far as I know.”

“Good.” He bit his cheek as his hands fidgeted with the edge of the blanket. He put on a brave face before looking back at you. “And until you’re 100%, I’ll be by your side. Whatever you need.”

You couldn’t help but smile. He really was the sweetest boy you’d ever met. “I think I’ll be more than taken care of between you and Poppy,” you said fondly. “Speaking of, it’s cute that you two stayed with me together last night.”

Garreth gave you a puzzled look. “Cute?” he asked.

You gave a noncommittal shrug and forced your smile to broaden into a playful grin. “Yeah, I mean, I think it’s sweet. You two are just cute together.”

Garreth was really baffled now. Together? he thought. He and Poppy had hardly been ‘together.’ They sat on opposite sides of your bed, tending to you. Did you think he fancied Poppy? He was confused how you could. He thought he’d been rather obvious in his affections for you, while always trying to be respectful.

“Oh,” was all he managed to say.

You couldn’t tell if he didn’t like Poppy back or was just being shy about his feelings. So, you decided to probe a bit. “Have you ever thought about asking her out?” you said, attempting nonchalance.

“Erm, no. I can’t say I have,” he replied honestly. He swallowed a lump in his throat. He didn’t claim to know much about girls, but he was fairly certain they didn’t try to set up boys they fancied with their friends. “Do you…think I should?”

You blinked rapidly. You didn’t know what you thought. He and Poppy seemed a good fit. They were both so bubbly. You couldn’t imagine they’d be anything but happy together. But the imagine made you curiously sombre. “Well…” you started, unsure how you would finish the sentence.

Nurse Blainey pulled back the curtain. She scowled at Garreth sitting in your bed.

“Mr. Weasley,” she said sternly. “If you could step out, I need to examine my patient.”

He quickly did as told. Blainey changed your bandages on your leg, and he could tell two things from the stifled noises you made. The first was that you were in more pain than you let on. The second was that you were trying to hide it for his sake. That was only further confirmed when Blainey let him back in. You were smiling wide, but your knuckles blanched with how hard you were gripping the sheets.

“Has she had anything for pain today?” Garreth asked the mediwitch timidly.

“No, she’s refused the pain potion since she woke up,” Nurse Blainey replied.

He shot you a stern look. “She’s obviously in pain.”

She arched a brow at him. “She’s perfectly capable of requesting the potion herself.”

“I don’t like the potion. It makes me feel foggy,” you told him.

“So?” Garreth asked, a bit irritated by your stubbornness. “You’re recovering. And it’s Sunday. You should be resting, anyway.”

He looked to Blainey for support. “Are you in pain, dear?” she asked you kindly.

“Nothing I can’t handle,” you replied genially, though you gave Garreth a hard glare.

He crossed his arms over his chest. “If you grit your teeth any harder, you’ll shatter them,” he argued. “You’re being ridiculous.”

“I don’t want to sleep all day. I’d rather be able to hang out with you,” you said.

“Well, I don’t want to see you suffer!” he shot back, his voice cracking. He winced at his own volume.

“Mr. Weasley!” Nurse Blainey hissed. “I will not tolerate you yelling at my patient.”

“I’m sorry,” he said earnestly. He sank into the chair beside you, not wanting to draw further ire from Blainey by getting back in your bed. “Please, MC. I don’t like seeing you in pain. I’ll read to you or something while you rest.”

“You wouldn’t be bored?” you asked.

He rolled his eyes as a slight smirk came to his lips. “With you around? Never,” he replied.

“Could I maybe just do a half dose?” you said to Nurse Blainey. “My leg is starting to ache pretty badly.”

Garreth resisted the urge to insist you take a full dose. It was a start, at least.

The mediwitch nodded and fetched the potion.

“Thank you,” he murmured after you downed the liquid.

“Thank you,” you replied. “I should’ve taken it sooner. I was…being stubborn.”

He scoffed. “Yeah, you have a habit of that,” he teased.

You gave him a playful glare.

The sounds of hurried footsteps announced the arrival of a certain two Slytherins. “MC!” Sebastian said. “I just heard what happened. Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” you assured him. “Blainey said I should make a full recovery.”

Garreth saw you wince as Sebastian wrapped you in a big hug. “Be careful!” the Gryffindor hissed.

Sebastian ignored him. He held your face in both of his hands when he pulled back. For a brief, terrifying moment, Garreth thought the Slytherin was about to kiss you. “No more taking on poachers alone,” the brunette ordered.

“I wasn’t alone,” you argued.

Sebastian side-eyed Garreth before looking back at you. “You still didn’t have proper help. You need to tell me when you’re going to do something dangerous,” he said, still holding your face. “Promise me.”

“Poppy is proper help,” you said defensively. “We’ve been fine every other time. Fought dozens of poachers. The manticore just caught us by surprise. I don’t need you to babysit me, Sebastian.”

Sebastian’s hands dropped to his sides. “You were with Poppy?” he asked.

You nodded.

“Well, I can still help keep you safe. Obviously these poachers are getting more dangerous animals,” he said. “Let me help you.”

“You can’t come running off with us every time. You’ve got Anne to think about. You should stay focused on helping her,” you argued.

Sebastian tensed. “Then stay and help me,” he asked.

You chewed your lip “I…I can’t just stop. Anne’s got you, but no one is stopping these poachers. Poppy and I are the only ones saving those creatures.”

Sebastian’s jaw clenched. “So, you care more about those beasts than Anne?” he growled.

“That’s not what I’m saying!” you insisted.

Sebastian scowled. “That seems like it’s exactly what you’re saying.” Without another word, he stormed out of the hospital wing.

“Sebastian!” Ominis called after him. He sighed when his friend didn’t stop. He rested a hand on your shoulder. “Feel better, MC.”

Ominis pressed a kiss to the top of your head before leaving, as well.

Garreth was seething until he saw the tears slipping down your cheeks and grief gripped him. “Hey,” he said gently, sliding into the bed next to you. He wrapped his arms around you in a gentle embrace. “He’s being an idiot. He’s probably just scared. I’m sure he didn’t mean it.”

You shook your head. “No, he did. He’s always getting upset with us about not doing more for Anne.” You sighed. “I mean, we’ve tried. I just…I don’t know what else to do.”

Garreth was shocked at the treatment from your supposed friend. He had half a mind to track the Slytherin down and try to shake some sense into him. But he knew it was better to stay with you, so he did. You leaned into him as the potion’s effects took hold and the drowsiness set in.

Garreth stayed with you the whole day. Poppy came by later that morning. Leander brought him lunch and a book to read to you. Natty and the other Gryffindors came to visit you in the afternoon. Even Imelda stopped by before dinner. Sebastian came back and apologized late in the evening. He seemed less than pleased to see Garreth cuddled up to you, but he didn’t comment on it.

Garreth helped rush visits along when you would start to get tired and drift off. Blainey was in and out of the curtained-off space throughout the day. She kicked Garreth out when she needed to do dressing changes. She didn’t say anything about Garreth sitting with you in your bed, though. Nor did she kick him out when you both fell asleep to him reading the book Leander had brought.

Blainey released you the next day. Garreth thought it was too soon, but you were eager to get out. He convinced the teachers to let him follow your schedule so he could carry your things for you.

“I could’ve levitated them,” you said.

“You shouldn’t exert your magic, either,” he argued. “Besides, I told you I’d be by your side until you’re all better.”

You blushed at the thought. You had always hoped to find a way to spend more time with him. This wasn’t exactly how you would have chosen to go about it, but you would take it.

To You

The manticore incident had brought you and Garreth closer than ever. Shortly after, Poppy told you she no longer had a crush on the outgoing Gryffindor. No longer holding yourself back, your own feelings for him bloomed. Frustratingly, you felt that you constantly got mixed signals from him. He still had a running joke where he would assert to others that he would marry you one day. However, he never asked you out. Though, on rare occasions, he did hold your hand – grabbing it to drag you off to see his newest brew or to comfort you when you were upset.

Unbeknownst to you, Garreth’s own feelings had grown similarly. He was head over heels for you. But he was scared. The stronger his feelings became, the more terrified he felt that you wouldn’t return them. Leander had to practically shake sense into him that he had better ask you out before someone else did. The taller boy even threatened to ask you out himself if Garreth didn’t soon. The threat almost started a brawl between the best friends until Leander explained that he wasn’t actually interested in you – just trying to motivate Garreth to get his head out of his arse.

So, Garreth came up with a plan. He went to Honeydukes on the next Hogsmeade trip, buying all your favourite sweets. He even added a bottle of his newly-perfected Fizzing Whizzbeer that you’d raved about after trying. He arranged it all in a decorative box and tied a nice ribbon around it.

He brought it to you at dinner. He hadn��t even sat down when he handed it over.

“Thank you,” you said, surprised and a bit confused as you took the present. You were elated, if a bit puzzled, when you saw the contents. “What’s all this for?”

Garreth cleared his throat. “Well, everyone knows we’re going to be married one day. And, mark my words, we will be,” he started. You rolled your eyes at his theatrics but couldn’t help smiling. Everyone else just nodded along, having heard his proclamation many times. Natty was the only one who looked shocked by the news.

“They are betrothed?” she whispered to Leander.

He rolled his eyes. “No, but it’s a long story,” he replied.

She just shrugged.

“So, I figured it was about time I started the formal process. I’d like to court you, MC, if you’ll have me,” Garreth said. He looked exceptionally nervous.

You set the box down on the bench before springing to your feet. You threw your arms around Garreth’s neck. “Of course!” you said.

“Really?” Garreth asked, dumbstruck.

“Definitely!” you assured him.

He wrapped his arms around your waist, lifting you up as he spun around. “Brilliant! Will you go to dinner with me this Saturday?”

You beamed at him as your feet returned to solid ground. “That sounds lovely.”

Natty gave Leander a confused look. “I thought they started courting months ago,” she said.

“Yeah, you would think, wouldn’t you?” he replied with a chuckle.

To Your Dad

Garreth shifted his weight from foot to foot nervously. He checked his hair in the glass of the tavern window for the eight time. It wasn’t the first time he was meeting your father. They first met three years ago when Garreth visited you over the summer between fifth and sixth years. When the door to the establishment opened and he spotted the familiar broad shoulders and greying hair, Garreth immediately stood up.

“Garreth, my boy, good to see you,” your father greeted genially.

Garreth shook his hand. “You, as well, sir,” he said. “I’m glad you were able to meet today.”

“So, what brings you out to my neck of the woods?” your father asked as he took his seat.

Garreth could feel the heat rising in his collar, and your dad had to hold back a smile. He had strong suspicions on why the young man had reached out.

“Well, sir, I wanted to discuss some things with you about the future,” he said. “Of course, I asked you to join me for dinner. I don’t want to get too bogged down in the details on empty stomachs.”

“Oh, nonsense,” your father replied, waving him off. “Let’s hear these plans.”

“Right,” Garreth said, a bit shellshocked. “Well, sir, I’ve just finished my apprenticeship with J. Pippin. I took a job with a potioneering company in London, where I intend to stay until I’ve saved enough to start my own shop. I’ve just purchased a home in Marylebone, where I hope to settle down, you see.”

“London’s a far way from Plymouth,” your father interjected gravely, unable to help himself.

Garreth swallowed thickly. “It is,” he agreed. “Though, it’s within floo range.”

“Quite right,” your dad agreed with a slight smile. “Sorry to interrupt, lad. You were saying about settling down.”

“Your daughter and I have been discussing our plans. We’d quite like to settle down together. That is to say, we intend to marry–”

“Do you, now?” you father interjected again. His brow was arched.

Garreth nodded, steeling his nerves. “I haven’t proposed yet, of course,” he continued, and your father visibly relaxed. “But, like I said, we’ve discussed it, and I feel quite certain she would say yes. I wanted to meet today to ask for your blessing.”

Your father smiled. “Yes, I thought that might be the case,” he said. “My daughter, my only child, is quite an exceptional young woman, as you’re aware.”

“I am,” Garreth agreed as worry began to set in.

“Not just for her rare magic. She has many talents. And she’s quite driven.” He levelled Garreth with a rather frighteningly intense gaze. “I have very high standards for the man with whom she endeavours to spend her life.”

“Of course, sir,” Garreth said, trying not to feel crestfallen.

“I dare say she’ll need a man of equal ambition to keep up with her,” he said. “Though, he must still put his family first. I would never condemn her to a marriage with someone less than madly in love with her. And, indeed, I would do everything I could to prevent such an unfit union. I assure you, I am not an adversary to be taken lightly.”

Garreth had prepared himself for the possibility that your father would not give his blessing, but he had not foreseen him actively trying to prevent your marriage.

“I don’t think any man fully capable of deserving my daughter, though I am aware that I am biased on the matter,” your dad continued without giving Garreth a chance to speak. “However, I don’t think I could have hand-picked a better partner for her than she has chosen for herself.”

“I’m sure I can’t fault you for feeling that way, sir. I–” Garreth broke off as the meaning of the sternly spoken words sunk in. He gaped at your father briefly before collecting himself.

A grin broke out on the older man’s face. “I’d be honoured to have you in the family, son.”

Garreth stood, shaking your father’s hand again. He pulled his future son-in-law into a hug. “Thank you, sir. I know it’ll mean a lot to MC to have your blessing,” Garreth said.

Your dad clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Well, it means a lot to me that you care for her so deeply,” he replied. “You’re a good man, Garreth. Even if you were a bit of a scamp at school.” He winked.

Garreth’s cheeks flushed. “Yes, well, I’ve come to have a certain respect for the rules these days.”

Your dad chuckled. “That’s good to hear,” he said. “I got into my fair share of trouble at Hogwarts back in my day. And I know my daughter took after me.”

Garreth laughed. “She certainly has an adventurous spirit.”

Your dad shared some stories about the hijinks he’d gotten up to in school as they shared a meal. Garreth was glad he’d gotten the asking done before eating, as his stomach settled considerably. He couldn’t wait to tell you that your dad gave his blessing. More than that, he couldn’t wait to propose. But, most of all, he couldn’t wait to finally make you his wife like he swore he would years ago.

#garreth weasley #hogwarts legacy #garreth weasley x mc #garreth weasley x reader #garreth weasley x f!mc #hogwarts legacy fanfic #hogwarts legacy fanfiction #garreth weasley fanfic #garreth weasley fanfiction

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princess-tulip-writes · 1 year

Text

A rose in a bed of thorns• cassian/eris/rhysand x reader

Genre: smut

Summary: Eris is a cruel, possessive male with a bad reputation but for you, he’s do anything to make you happy— even if that means letting his two sworn enemies fuck you.

A/n: i felt so dirty writing this 😫 and I dedicate this slutty work of art to my bestie and sis-in-law, @redbleedingrose for her birthday. Happy birthday pretty girl, I love you 💋 and cherish our friendship. (I also made the text pink for you bookie)

“Are you sure that you’re okay with this?”

Eris’ eyes roamed over the full Illyrian male once more, taking in the sculpted muscles of his body for the fifth time that night. The male was mesmerizing, irritatingly so, but Eris wasn’t checking him out because of his beauty– but because of yours.

He had to keep making sure that you would only get the best, the most handsome males and females of Prythian, to fuck you. His darling little mate would never need to settle for less, and since Illyrian didn’t fall under the ‘filth’ category for you, he would just have to look past their reputation just to see that smile on your face. He never understood your taste, Illyrian’s were disgusting, fowl bastards that were created for nothing more than battle, but you seemed to drool over them.

Well, not all of the bat-like beings; just two.

He took in a sharp breath, praying you didn’t notice it, as his eyes shifted back to his high lady. Even now, in the lighting of a court that is foreign to his own, you looked absolutely breathtaking. Your eyes were as bright as the stars above you, twinkling with hope and elation as your pupils found him. You were incredibly excited for tonight, the anticipation from the years of built up longing had ignited a fire in your veins that only your mate had ever lit and you were very interested in what it would be like to be filled by the cocks of Prythian’s strongest males. You’ve heard dozens of stories about their bedding habits, how they fuck like gods and treat their lovers like the finest gold, and it had always left you wanting more than a few flirty glances. Your skin glowed with joy the moment Eris told you of your birthday gift, one of many you assume, and the sparkle in your eye hadn’t left since.

Eris took your hand in his, and brought it to his lips, placing a soft kiss to your knuckles.

“I want you to be happy, my love. This is a one time opportunity, don’t waste it worrying about me.”

Unhappy with his answer and the way he avoided the question, you narrowed your eyes at him slightly. “That wasn’t what I asked.”

His brows furrowed as he glanced at the two males awaiting on the bed across the room from you both, smirks on their faces as they practically tore your dress off with their hungry eyes. Rhysand’s violet orbs slowly dragged his gaze along every inch of you, taking in every curve and shape of you attentively, engraving your clothed body in his mind before fucking you silly. Tonight was a night he and his brother would be sure to remember, and he wanted to savor every blissful moment before you both went back to your lives. His brother, Cassian, on the other hand, was admiring your giving figure, in absolute awe of this reality as you stood with your back facing him. His tongue darted from his mouth to wet his lips as you smiled softly to your mate, and his palms suddenly felt sweaty and his pants too tight. You were such a sweetheart, so gentle and kind always, even to such a prick like Eris. Cassian never understood why the Cauldron fated you with the son of autumn, you were like a bright star that would shine beautifully at the night court, but it wasn’t your fault. Perhaps you had a dark spot, one that no one but your mate and you knew about. Deciding not the think too much about it and ruin the perfect image of you he had created, he shook that theory off and blamed fate instead as you turned away from the male and faced the two Illyrians with a flushed smile.

“Um,” you hummed, eyes darting between the two large males excitedly. “So who wants to go first?”

The clicking of your mate’s tongue caused your head to whip back in his direction, only to find him smirking wildly down at you, a slender finger held up to you.

“Ah, ah, my little dove.” he poked your nose softly, a sweet gesture that you knew was teasing. “You think that just because I’m not fucking you tonight that you get to be in charge?” a dry, humorless laugh left his throat. “That’s really fucking cute.”

–

“Oh fuck! Right there, please!”

A breathy chuckle sounded from Cassian as he bucked his hips into your cunt rapidly, a wide grin plastered on his face at your shaking legs and gaped face. It was the result of his harsh thrusts to your g-spot nonstop for the past twenty minutes, ripping orgasm after orgasm out of you until your voice turned hoarse from screaming his name. Your toes cramped from tightly curling all night but you couldn’t find it in you to care as your cunt was being fucked so good.

“Is he fucking you good, bunny? Making my pussy feel good?” Eris cooed at you, his warm hand combing through your hair to soothe you and bring your attention to him; right where it belongs.

You let out a huff of air as Cassian’s thumb found your clit and rubbed it in fast circles, causing your back to arch against Eris’ chest and your pussy to pulse around his cock, just like he had already made it do a dozen times tonight.

As your mate caught sight of your glazed over eyes and heaving chest, his brow raised in question, obviously a reminder for you to take if you paid close enough attention. But when instead, your eyes rolled back and a silent scream fell from your lips, he knew the words weren’t going to tumble out of your mouth any time soon.

His flameful gaze flickered to the massive general between your legs, dark and lustful and filled with dominance as he glared up at Cassian.

“Stop fucking her.”

Eris’ voice was stern, but the look on his face gave away just how much this mattered to him– how much the power over you mattered to him. His brows lowered over his eyes in a dark manner as fire ignited in his eyes, almost turning them into a feral gold. The clenched teeth and flexed jaw didn’t go unnoticed by any of the males as their attention turned to him.

For a moment, Cassian hesitated, continuing his assault on your pussy as you came without permission on his cock. Approval of your orgasm didn’t matter to him, you were meant to enjoy yourself tonight, let loose before the night and autumn court become strangers again. He wasn’t going to waste your time edging you when he could be pulling countless pleasure out of you instead, and the tightening feeling of your cunt around his cock was just a bonus of your overstimulated state. But, Eris seemed to have cared tons, because every extra thrust sent inside of you earned a harsh glare from your mate until finally, he annoyed Cassian enough to obey.

His cock still inside of the warm walls of your pulsating cunt, the tip resting just right against your cervix as you both caught your breaths and regained your senses under the eyes of two high lords.

“Why’d you make me stop, you prick?”

There were a million insults that the red head thought to have fired back at the Illyrian, all of which involved his upbringing, but the way your hand gripped his grounded him to stay civil for now. You know, since the male was still inside of you and could very well snatch you as quick as he could say ‘fuck you, Vanserra.’

“Because someone,” Eris looked back down at your fucked out face in disapproval before squishing your cheeks together roughly, then leaning down until your noses touched and his eyes bored into yours. “Seemed to have forgotten her godsdamned manners. Haven’t you, slut?”

You felt small underneath his hard glare and the words stopped in your throat as you thought of a proper response.

Your silence left Eris to grow impatient, causing him to raise a brow at you and squish your cheeks harder. When you squeaked softly in pain, Rhysand was quick to sit up in case you were in any need of protection. Killing Eris Vanserra never sounded like a bad idea to him, or any of his family, if it weren’t for the disastrous war it would cause, but for you? He would do it without any second thought.

“Answer me, slut, or have you gone so dumb that you can’t even form a sentence?”

You swallowed thick and tried to shake your head underneath his firm hand.

“N-no, sir. I-i’m sorry, i-”

“You’re sorry for what, my greedy whore?” Eris hissed.

Rhysand and Cassian both shared a glance as the velvet haired male insulted you, sitting up instinctively and furrowing their brows tightly out of rage and concern for you. It wasn’t uncommon for Cassian to get protective of females, especially from a male’s offensive comments and treatment, but this time, Rhys swore it felt different. He couldn’t lie, though, and say he didn’t feel the same way his brother most likely was, it enraged him to hear such degrading words thrown at such an angel like you.

“You’re being too harsh, go easier on her.” the general interjected, his wings puffing out ever so slightly for preparation in case of a possible conflict. Things were always unpredictable with the Vanserra’s,the brothers would know better than anyone.

“I agree, brother, stars like this one do not deserve such fowl words to be thrown at her. If she were mine-”

The eldest Vanserra snarled as he whipped his head toward the Illyrian’s resting against the head board, giving him glares sharp enough to kill. He shook them off as he stared into violet irises.

“But she is not, therefore you will shut your mouth about how I speak to my high lady, unless I ask.”

You felt smaller than a speck of dust when his eyes found your’s again, and this time he the glare was directed to you as he awaited your answer.

“Fo-for cumming without asking first, sir.” you mumbled.

A smirk tugged at his lips, his grip loosening on your cheeks as he placed a soft kiss to your nose after finally hearing what he wanted all alone.

“Good girl.” he praised, proud that he had trained such a good whore for him to show off. His finger trailed along your jaw softly as your breathing slowed and calmed down under his gentle touch, the touch of your favorite lover. “Now, do you think you could be extra good and take Rhysand’s cock now for me?”

Although his words were sweet and encouraging, the tone in which he spoke held a completely different meaning, one you knew all too well. He wasn’t asking you if you could handle another fuck, no, the way his lips upturned and his voice mocked you made that clear to you. To someone who wasn’t in his bed every night, this would seem like a sweet interaction between too connected souls but with you and eris, it was different; more like a master with his puppy.

“Y-yes, sir.”

Your choked out answer satisfied your mate enough to widen his smirk into a grin.

“Good girl.”

His hands traveled down your body and rested on your limp hands, picking them up off the mattress and holding them in his own before he nodded to Cassian in dismissal.

“You’re finished.” He said to the Illyrian moments before the larger male pulled out.

Rhysand smiled coyly as his brother flopped down next to him, flashing him a wink then scotting to the edge of the bed where your pussy was presented to him, oozing out cum like a little dispenser.

“Are you ready for me, beautiful?” the high lord muttered as he aligned his cock with your entrance, hovering over you despite your mate’s protests from the top of you. It was easy to remind himself how little effort it would take to shatter Eris’ mind that moment, but the way your eyes sparkled up at him refrained him from doing so.

You smiled tiredly, yet excited, in response before nodding.

Rhysand’s lips ghosted your cheek, a raspy chuckle leaving his throat and tickling your mind as the tip of his cock nudged at your swollen clit. The teasing action caused you to gasp and your thighs to instinctively shut around his hips, but he was quick to spread them back open.

A grin played out on the high lord’s lips before he placed a kiss to the side of your lips, causing your mate to snarl and his grip on your hands tighten, before sliding the head of his cock down to your leaking entrance and slipping in slowly.

You both made sounds of your own at the first stroke, a growl from him and a whine came from you, and you could feel everything as he pushed himself inside of you. The thick veins of his cock felt accentuated, as if you could feel the thunderous heart beats from your cunt with each second that passed as he stilled to allow you to stretch for him.

“You,” he sighed blissfully. “Feel fucking exquisite, little one.” a small growl ended his sentence as you clenched around his cock from the compliment.

Although you were plenty used to hearing about how amazing you feel, mostly from Eris, the phrase sounded sexier and more genuine coming from Rhysand; the most powerful high lord that was currently balls deep inside of your walls. Your crush on him had begun even before you met Eris, years prior to the bond was countless weeks of mutual pining from the both of you, and if it wasn’t for your father’s disapproval of the high lord, you would have already been imprinted by his cock years ago.

Not that you were complaining though, Eris gave you plenty enough pleasure to make you forget all about your little crush and feel more than satisfied with him. But, you couldn’t deny the way that your stomach jumped whenever his violet eyes found your’s in a crowded ball room or the way your mouth watered when he pretended to be cruel to his subjects.

But it was all just lust, nothing more, nothing less.

“Doesn’t she? Her cunt is like a slice of paradise.” Eris agreed.

There was a twinkle in his eyes as he spoke, causing your brow to furrow in curiosity.

“Fuck– your cunt is so tight, darling.” Rhys growled before nipping at your neck harshly, expelling a loud whine from the chambers of your lungs.

The knot in your stomach kept getting tighter and tighter after each stroke of Rhys’ cock, and the way he looked above you, so full of pleasure and absolutely in awe of the female beneath him, made your cunt clench around his thick cock every time you looked up at him. You could feel your orgasm quickly approaching from just his cock, but when he dared to roll his thumb over your perked nipple, you were gone.

Your toes cutrled tightly, as your legs began to shake and your chest heaved, you felt the familiar sensation of a mist coat over your thoughts, making you focus on nothing but the pleasure that Rhysand was generously giving you. Thankfully for you thought, this time you managed to scream out the correct words before even trying to let go yet.

“Please, fuck, please, can I cum?”

Eris let out a low chuckle at your begging; the begging only he got to hear nightly, no matter who fucked you. “Yes, my little slut, cum for me on his cock. Be a good whore and show Rhysand how pretty you look when you cum with your husband’s permission.”

Once your permission was granted, you stopped holding yourself back from climaxing and creamed on the half-illyrian’s cock with shaking legs and a loud scream of his name. Rhysand couldn’t stop himself from finishing inside of you himself, especially after the heavenly sight of the most beautiful female in Prythian crumbling underneath him and the intense but euphoria of the tight clenching of your sopping, wet pussy around his dick. Of course this was fantasy he had thought of plenty of times, but never had he ever expected you to look so fucking devine when he made you climax. It was a sight the he would soon replay in his mind daily, and your’s too when he saw you next, as a reminder of how much you crave his cock, regardless of your hovering mate.

His hot cum soon joined his brother’s in the walls of your dripping core with a roar that shook the bedroom, before he collapsed on your recovering body. His lips upturned as he placed slow openmouthed kisses to your neck and shoulder like a lover would.

Oh, how he dreamed on every star to be your lover.

It was a foolish thought that passed through him daily and ripped him apart from the inside, but it made him happier to imagine how much love he would give you if it were him instead with the string that tied your soul to his, if it were him instead that was granted you each morning in his bed, if it were him instead that you followed order for… if it were instead of that stobby, two-faced, piece of trash that you were fated to.

But the cards were laid out differently, and there was nothing either of you could about it.

Eris leaned down and gave the tip of your nose a kiss, once, twice, before moving his lips down to your own, kissing you deeply as Rhysand caught his breath.

A thought struck him suddenly, one so dangerous to ask but too special to let slip away before you left for good. It would be one hell of an offer, one he was sure you would agree with but knew the autumn court high lord would refuse angerly, not that Rhys was scared, Eris Vanserra had nothing on the king of night. Besides, lovers came to him, not the other way around. How would it look if he asked for you? He would look weak, like he lost his edge…

But you were far more precious than his image to him, that was a risk he was willing to take.

Swallowing his pride, he cleared his throat and let out a low whistle as Eris snarled for him the ‘get off’. Joining his brother on the bed, absolutely dazed out of his mind from your warmth, Rhysand chuckled lowly, causing giggles to leave your lips and make the other two males chuckle themselves. For the first time in years, he felt pure bliss radiate through him and pump joy into his bloodstream, and he decided this was a feeling he wanted to feel forever; with you.

“We need to do this again.”

#eris 🌷#cassian 🌷#rhysand 🌷#the bat boys 🦇#for my rosie <3 #rhysand x reader smut #cassian x reader smut #cassian x reader #cassian smut #rhysand smut #eris smut #eris x reader smut #acotar smut #acotar x reader #acotar blurb #a court of thorns and roses smut #acotar x reader smut

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i-am-vita · 9 months

Text

At the Bathhouse

A Shanks x Ghost Rose Oc (FemReader)

👉 Masterlist

(Now in AO3 too)

Fic based on my OPLA older guysxfemreader headcanons here and certain scene from this FanaticSnail's fic.

Because when Shanks makes a sexy cameo at a bathhouse, I need to write a oneshot of Shanks getting sexy at a bathhouse.

If I said I didn't intended for this to go as NSFW as it got... I would be lying. Of course I wrote a fic with Shanks at a bathhouse with all the intention for things going NSFW. You can thank @fanaticsnail for the idea and the moodboard. Thank you so much, gurl, you inspire me so much!!!! Everybody go give her some well deserved love.

Moodboard by FanaticSnail 💞

Summary: You found yourself separated from your crew after a plan going sideways. Stranded in this little island with a bathhouse and no signal of your captain through your phone, there's exactly one person that you can always count to pick you up. Warnings: NSFW, sex in a public setting, voyeurism, some unconsensual voyeurism due to public setting. Somehow, I managed to not use the word fuck. Is it progress? Expect: That ex-turned-bestie that always appear out of air when you need him. Lovers to Friends to Friends with Benefits. Shanks gets affectionate and handsy with you being a cool pirate thief. Brief Mihawk cameo because I'm trash and need to make him suffer. Use of You not Y/N. Bad english, consistent time tenses not detected.

11-ish years ago...

If there was one person in all the Blues that you can always count to somehow be exactly where and when you needed him was Shanks.

On the rare occasions in your young adult life since you parted ways that you found yourself in a bad place, be it literally or metaphorically, he'd be at enough short distance to pick you up, also literally or metaphorically.

Like right now when you are stranded in this whatever-island after the worst job in your pirate history.

Not that you have failed. The intel you were acquiring now in your captain's hands, unlike you that had to ditch some last minute inconveniences and resorted to your only-emergency escape plan for the first time which consisted in telling your team to get the hell out of there with the catch while you took the roll of bait, found your own way out of the Marine Base and back to your crew on your own... eventually.

You didn't know it yet but this would be the job that finally gets you your current wanted poster thanks to the one knife with rose carvings that you left behind at the scene and the fact nobody was able to catch a glimpse of you, them naming you The Ghost Rose from now on.

Hence your current predicament. Having taken the first fishing boat you found that would take you to the next neighboring island and so on until you found yourself in this little rock, almost empty except for a bathhouse and some B&B's. One of those little hot spring resorts only known by enough people to keep them going.

Perfect to lay low for a few days until you could send a message to your Captain… or it would be if the damn Portable Den Den Mushi just connected your calls.

"Damn, not again." You mutter after the fifth attempt to call your crew.

You were currently in the personal room you purchased for your stay. The architecture and interior design of the building inspired by those of Wano with its minimalist wooden interiors, sliding doors and low furniture for sitting on the floor where you lay comfortably in a light bath robe while considering your options.

There was still the possibility of calling Shanks even if the odds of him being close enough to pick you up were low, he'd probably be better equipped than you to contact Captain Erik.

The ringing tone of the call finally connecting made you sigh in relief.

"Hello?" Came the familiar voice of Benn Beckman through the shell. Because there was no way that he would allow Shanks near their own Portable Den Den Mushi after THE incident from six years ago.

"Beck! You have no idea how great it is to hear your voice right now." You answered to the Redhead Pirate's First Mate.

"Little Rose! Please, tell me you’re coming back at last so I can finally retire." How the man managed to sound so defeated at his age was a mystery to anyone who wasn’t aware of Shanks' antics. Beckman had been asking you to come back since you left to sail with the Phantom Pirates arguing how much more manageable his captain was when you were around.

"Hold on there, old man. You still have plenty of time to become the grumpy grandpa." It had become an ongoing joke between you two to mock him for being the oldest and “designated dad” of the crew. Beck didn't have time to answer when you heard a little commotion on the line and the telling sound of the phone changing hands.

"Sweetheart!!!" Shanks's excited shout was so loud you could swear it reverberated in your own walls.

"Hey, dear."

Even after you had officially ended your romantic relationship years ago, it was impossible to stop the man from calling you lover pet names so you had go on with it too.

"Where's the fight, love? I'll be there in a heartbeat." You could hear several male grunts and indefinite clothing background sounds.

"Is it a bad time? I just need you to pass a message to my cap' so they know I'm fine and on the low. My Portable Den Den doesn't connect."

"More like a bath time!"

"Hey, didn't they say the mushies didn't connect with the outside?"

"You on your own? Say no more! Where are you, babe?"

"Shanks, there's no need..."

"Nonsense. Coordinates, now." You had forgotten how much you liked when your ex lover got all commanding. He was so carefree and easygoing most of the time.

"Aye, sir." You answered with a sultry voice you know always drove him crazy. "It's this little rock with a bathhouse and hot springs..." You explained and started giving him the numbers when you felt the air getting all heavy, almost electrified, with a powerful haki seeking your presence.

Oh...

You took the shell out of your ear and calmly put your Portable Den Den Mushi away before a powerful kick sent the delicate woody and paper wall away revealing the figure of one of the most infamous pirate captains in all the Blues, almost naked save for a small towel at his hips, disheveled red hair and his signature straw hat hanging from his neck at his back.

"Sweetheart!!!" Came the man’s thunderous shout for the second time. His arms outstretched, offering warmth and anticipation, eager to envelop you in an affectionate hug.

"I am not paying for that..." You said pointing to the destroyed wall.

Yep. That was Shanks, always coming out from wherever whenever you needed him, no matter the odds.

Five minutes later, you found yourself sitting on Shanks lap in the spring waters. He had picked you up in his arms and hasn't let you down since then. Like a kid with his favorite transitional object. But you couldn't deny that his affectionate embrace was contagious. You had missed him dearly too.

You two haven't seen each other in almost two years, since you broke up with Kuro to the everlasting joy of the redhead who had hated the guts of the young Black Cat's Captain, knowing from the beginning that the psycho could never deserve you. Shanks was still delighted in the fact it had been him who snitched the identity of the pirate captain to the Marines after his little stunt with you. Nobody messes with his friends, he thought while embracing your almost naked form over him.

It had been even more years since he had felt your skin against his and it was getting him giddy.

The rest of the crew was scattered around in different states of contentment but no one as deeply relaxed as Beck who laid floating with a towel over his eyes, completely zone out with the knowledge that he wouldn't be babysitting his captain as long as you were there. He was always in his best behavior around you; you’ve been a really big positive influence in the past, helping him mature into the man he was now and making the First Mate’s life a little more manageable. Until it was party time and Beck had to be the “designated babysitter” of his captain to prevent him from making some extravagance.

Poor man almost never got a proper break during vacation.

"So, rosie, you said you're on the low." Said Yassop perched belly up on a rock, an arm and leg in the hot water. "What've you been up to?"

"Yeah, must've been a big score. We've been dodging battleships for three days before docking here." Added Beck from his floating spot.

That made you feel better. If the Marine was still searching the waters, it means they hadn't caught the Angel of Music, Phantom Pirate’s ship.

You started telling them how things had gone a little sideways with your last infiltration and you had to resort to the only-emergency plan so your crew could get away with the intel.

Shanks smiled even more widely, proud of your abilities to get away from an entire Marine Base all by your own and without being seen. Such a long shot from the spoiled little socialite that had run away with him all those years ago.

He knew the moment he saw you standing up to a bunch of assholes at that bar that you were a wild card, a diamond in the rough wasting away in a privileged life. And when months later, Captain Erik, a seasoned and mysterious pirate captain, infamous for dealing with the most valuable information and treasures of all the Blues, the main intel dealer of Gold Roger himself, saw the same potential in you, Shanks knew he had to let you go to bloom, even if it was away from him.

And bloomed you had, not just in abilities but in beauty. Shanks could swear you got even more gorgeous every time he sees you.

"Ah, that's my girl." He murmured against your hair, inhaling the sweet scent of flowers and berries you favored, unlike the elegant roses everybody relates to you, and still make his mouth water. Your hand entangled in his red locks with your fingernails caressing his scalp while you tell your tale wasn’t helping… or was helping too much.

"So that's why you needed to send the message to..." Roux almost choked on his turkey piece when he caught his captain's stare, the only warning before he buried his face in your neck.

"Yeah, the lady at the desk said the mushis didn't receive or send signals from outside the island. Only the big tower at the beach can make outside calls..." Commented Beck in blissful ignorance that you didn't get because Shanks had started to leave a trail of kisses on your neck.

He draw his hand from your shoulder down your back, removing the towel that covered your torso, following a delicate pattern with his fingers over your skin to your side while his lips found a certain spot behind your ear that made you arch your back, almost revealing your full bosom out of the blurring water if not for his other hand wandering from your thigh to your belly and up to your chest. His big palm and long fingers enough to cover and fondle a breast.

The crew started making a hasty exit from that part of the springs.

Yassop rolled to the other side of his rock and dropped into the water with a soft splash. Meanwhile the rest of the men walked or swam away through the rocks that formed a natural barrier to the other side of the springs. Roux managed to catch Beck by his foot and started pulling him across the surface of the water. The First Mate lifted the edge of the towel on his face to give his crewmate a questioning gaze but a female moan uttering Shanks’ name was enough to make him cover his face again and let himself be dragged away, letting his captain be re-acquainted with his not-so-former lover.

“Sha… Shanks�� they…”

“Gonne, babe, you know they know better.”

Oh, yeah, all of them did. When it came to their captain, all the crew knew that when he got frisky with a woman it was everybody else who had to get another room, not him. Shanks became an immovable being just living the moment. Something you learned too some weeks after meeting him and decided that you in fact wanted to be more with him. You had to get rid of your inhibitions very early in your relationship.

“So… did you hide a blade under your towel or are you that happy to see me?”

“Ecstatic, love. Let me show you how much.”

When Yassop had roll over his rock to get away from the image of his captain starting to frolic with his old flame (not that the sniper blame him, he knew what it was like to decide to separate from a love to fulfill a dream of your own), he didn’t expected to find himself face to face with Dracule Mihawk drilling him with his yellow gaze for splashing him in his escape.

“Why am I not surprised that it was you, noisy lowlifes, the ones behind all this scandal?” The swordsman voiced in his bored tone while removing some plugs from his ears at seeing the Redhead's Crew appearing literally from among the rocks.

He had just arrived this morning, seeking some relaxing time after 3 days of receiving calls from some lowly Marine Captain for him to go and get some thieves that had infiltrated his office and steal who knows what. Their only clue being a brief description of a ship getting away into the fog and a forgotten knife with rose carvings from some mysterious figure. The knife was new, but that ship and the fog? He had told him to just forget about his stolen goods. The Phantom Pirates were untraceable and he was in no mood to go hunting ghosts.

Mihawk’s gaze passed over the men currently occupying HIS space, finding the absence of a certain red hair individual.

“Isn’t your captain among you? It sure was his haki I felt ten minutes ago. I could use some exercise.” He said standing up and looking over the rocks.

“No, wait!”

“You don’t want to…”

Upon looking beyond, the warlord came across the image of the redhead captain in a passionate embrace with the most exquisite woman his eyes had ever seen. At that moment, Shanks took the exotic beauty by her small waist to get her out of the water and tenderly laid her onto the surface of the nearest rock with the perfect shape to support her body like an offering. Her long dark hair barely obscured the view of her glorious body. His hungry eyes traveled over golden tanned skin, from her long shapely legs to wide hips and full breasts.

Mihawk had never considered that he had a type until that same moment.

He was about to seek the face of the woman of his dreams, when she moved one of her legs expertly, using her foot to get rid of the flimsy towel around Redhead’s hips, getting Mihawk abruptly out of his reverie with an image he was certainly NOT desiring to live in his head and a strong need for a brain bleach to clean it from what he just unwilling witnessed.

He turned around hastily to find himself with the stare of the entire Redhead’s Crew going from judgemental to “told you so” looks that got immediately diverted by the death glare of their captain’s rival who decided to take his leave and left the duel for another day… or several months.

Half an hour later, you laid over Shanks’ wide chest, both of you floating in the warm water in postorgasmic bliss.

It had been years since you had felt this safe and sound in the arms of a lover. The level of trust and affection Shanks inspired on you never having an equal even if those feelings came from friendship and respect instead of romantic love. Your young broken heart was still too tender at that time to let yourself fall for the redhead when you met. A blessing in disguise since you’re fully aware now that Shanks isn’t someone who would settle with just one lover for a long amount of time and you both have different life goals.

“Where were you headed before all the turmoil we caused?”

“East Blue. I found this little village months ago. It’s a good place to hide and I promised I’d go back soon.” Explained Shanks remembering a certain little kid that was surely counting the days until the arrival of the Red Force. “What ‘bout you? Where’s your meeting point with old Cap’ Erik?”

“If all else failed, Oykot Kingdom.”

Shanks' grin intensified upon hearing that.

That evening, Benn Beckman walked to the tower at the beach to borrow their Den Den Mushi and made a call to a certain Shostakovich Eriksson and left the message of his assistant being safe and sound and that she will reunite with him in the agreed location but to don’t count on them arriving very soon.

The Redhead’s First Mate had all the intention of taking his sweet time enjoying this unexpected vacation.

#one piece live action #one piece #opla #one piece x reader #opla x reader #shanks x reader #red haired shanks #akagami no shanks #x reader #fem reader #reader insert #one piece fanfiction

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redheadspark · 3 months

Note

3. “We’ve known each other for so long. I can’t imagine my life - myself - without you anymore. And I really don’t want to.”

9. When they were in elementary school, they created a secret language to avoid their teachers reading their notes they passed back and forth in class. Now one of them uses that language to write a love letter.

with Ominis

A/N - STELLA! I love this for Ominis! He's been growing on me, thanks for requesting this, bestie!

Senses

Summary - Ominis finds ways to connect with you, which makes him fall for you more and more

Warnings - Just fluff!

Being blind since birth, Ominis had to rely on his other senses when it came to communication.

Although his wand was an essential tool in both navigating around the castle and even conducting his work in class, Ominis still relied on his other senses. It was now second nature to him to listen for certain foot patterns, the touch of his fingertips along surfaces to remember where he was, even tasing his favorite treats in Honeydukes or in the Great Hall during a meal.

But when you came along and became his close friend, he developed a new “sense” when it came to communicating with you.

He was used to chatting with Sebastian from dawn to dusk, his best friend and longest friend that he’s had at Hogwarts. But there are times when it was tiring after hearing plenty of Sebastian rants and banter. He dared his friend, he truly did, but he like the silence of the world around him every once in while. Especially when his mind was too occupied with his family drama or the stress from school.

The first thing that devleoped between you two, was touch.

After the whole fiasco of your fifth year and all that you went through from Autumn to Spring, Ominis knew you too needed some space very once in awhile from school and your friends. Things were going back to normal, though it was taking longer than expected, but they were. No longer were there threats of goblins or poachers around the school or beyond, the students were going back to classes again as if nothing happened. But Ominis knew that you couldn’t forget it, you couldn’t go back to class normally anymore or simply enjoy the rest of your year in peace.

So when he sat next to you, he left the palm of his hand open and upwards for you to take. Whether it was on top of a table at The Three Broomsticks or sitting together under one of the massive trees in the courtyard at Hogwarts, he left this hand open for you to take. Every time he did, you would take it. Feeling his cool palm against your own, your calloused skin rubbing against his warm one, it was an anchor for the pair of you. And unspoken way to telling the other that you were there and present. There were times it was nice and light, you enjoying the sun setting and Ominis feeling the cool breeze on his face. Other times it was hard, tears maybe flowed or one would perch their head on another’s shoulder for comfort.

But every time, you would still take his hand, and he would feel his heart grow a bit fonder for you.

The next sense that Ominis loved with you was sound.

He knew the crunching of leaves on the cobbles stone outside the school grounds, the scratching of quills of parchment, even the snickering of Peeves down the hall. With you, he listened to your humming. You would hum all the time, whether walking to and from class or reading your book. Humming was a pass time for you, something you did without realizing it.

Ominis loved hearing you hum, it was a soothing melody that would be in his ears and brighten his day instantly. He could hear you coming down the hall with a pep in your step and the humming sound so light and airy. That’s when he knew you were having a good day, you two walking side by side and your humming was floating over your heads.

Other days, he knew you weren’t yourself in the way you hummed, or not hum at all. Your bad days or days filled with guilt were hard for him to witness, you voice falling silent during class or as you were sitting on a bench with a book in hand. It made him feel worse when he didn’t know how to help you at first, but he came up with a good idea one rainy afternoon in the library. You were sitting against the window, looking through the stained glass to see the massive rain drops slide down the window with ease.

Ominis tilted his head in your direction, not hearing you hum as he tapped his fingers nervously against the study desk in front of him. Maybe the idea he had was horrible, it would not work in his favor and he would look like a fool. But he was not going to let you sit in silence and in sadness.

So he cleared his throat, and started to hum.

You instantly looked over at him as he was humming, though it sounded a bit mushed together and uneven. But still, it made you break out into a grin as Ominis was still attempting to hum along and keep his voice down before the librarian found hear him. Ominis did sound out of tune, which made you giggle and hide your mouth behind your hand as Ominis smiled and stopped his humming.

“Were you trying to hum the Hogwarts School song?” You had to ask him. Ominis snorter and glared in your direction as you laughed again.

“I’m obviously not as good as you!” He retorted, then you two were laughing in your small little nook. He was glad that he did hum though, hearing you laugh and almost feeling your warmth all over again from his simple gesture for you. Though it was short lived when the Librian whirled around the corner and shushed the pair of your abruptly.

You both snuck of the library in giggles and fits before she could get you two in trouble.

Lastly, his sense of taste became greater thanks to you.

You two became a couple your 7th years, Ominis finally getting the courage to ask you out on a date into Hogsmeade during the holiday season and you accepted it with no hesitation.

“We’ve known each other for so long. I can’t imagine my life - myself - without you anymore. And I really don’t want to.” Ominis confessed to you as he asked you on the date. He was surprised that you did, though he was scared that you would only see him as a friend. But you both walked together along the path that lead to the cozy village, snow falling around you and he was finally able to hold your hand as your date and new boyfriend. If he could, he would fly on a broom with how happy he was feeling in that moment.

To call you his girlfriend, not just his best friend.

You both wanted to go to Honeydukes first before going to The Three Broomsticks, you asking him to stop at the sweet shop right away since you wanted to grab a few treats to keep in your dorm. Ominis couldn’t say no to you, since he too wanted to grab some treats for his train ride home to see his parents in two weeks. He offered to stay with you at Hogwarts since you weren’t going to go home for the holiday season, but you reassured him that you had Natty and Poppy Sweeting to hang out with whom were staying at the castle as well.

Popping into the shop, you gravitated over to the Lemon Drops that were on display near the Pumpkin Pasties. You knew the shop owner rather well since you were a regular patron of his shop, your eyes glazing over the Lemon Drops as the show owner walked over to the pair of you.

“I just made them this morning, and I have a special box for you since I knew you’re my best customer for these,” he explained to her, Ominis had to smile as you giggled and anticipation and thanked him. Ominis himself loved breathing in the treats of the shop, including Chocolate Frogs. Those were his favorite, and he was about to ask the shop owner where the Chocolate Frogs were when you slipped one of the dark blue pentagon packages in his hand.

“Thought you would like one. I’ll buy this time, and you owe me a Buttebeer so we can call it even,” You explained, Ominis blushing as you then took a singular Lemon Drop in your fingers and gestured to the candy, “Here, wanna try it?”

He nodded, feeling you place the candy very gently along his lips as a sign for him to open his mouth. The candy slipped in, the sour and tang hitting his tongue instantly as he then felt something else touch his lips like velvet caress. It was one of your fingers, and Ominis felt his heart stop for a singular moment from that notion that he tasted your fingers.

Stained in sugar from the candy, but still just as delicious.

“How was it?” You asked, not realizing that Ominis was going to have a small heart attack from the simple task of tasting your fingers. He was glad that it was just the pair of you now since the shop owner walked on to talk to another cluster of students that came in. Finally, when he found his voice, he sounded a bit nervous but still with a smile on his face.

“Sour…but delicious,” He replied. It turned out to be the best night he had with you as his girlfriend, and something you two would remember years down the road.

The End

June Prompt Session

#hogwarts legacy #hogwarts legacy fandom #ominis gaunt #hogwarts legacy ominis #ominis gaunt x mc #fanfiction #writing #ominis x mc #ominis gaunt x you #ominis gaunt x y/n #hp #hp fandom #harry potter #harry potter fanfiction

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chrollosbm · 11 months

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Sunflowers Fields: a Choso Love Story

You're broken from a past relationship, thinking you only deserve the worst. Choso comes along, making you realize you deserve the world and more. Will your ex-boyfriend let you go without a fight? (Choso x black!reader, yandere Choso)

warnings: swearing, alcohol use, manipulation, (eventual) heavy smut, overstimulation, begging, dacryphilia, dom choso, bossy choso, sub reader, slight yandere choso, suguru is her ex

pls support me on ao3, it would mean the world to me!

yummy.

You were a wreck. Your hair was tangled, your nails were chipped, you hadn’t showered in days, and you were currently rotting in your bed for the fifth day in a row. The only time you had gotten out of bed was to pee, drink water when you felt dizzy because of all the crying you had been doing which was not helping your dehydration, and when you forced yourself to eat small bits of crackers every now and then. Your outside appearance was nothing in comparison to the sadness and despair you felt inside though. You had gotten this bad on the outside because of the aching pain you felt in your heart.

Last week, you and your ex-boyfriend broke up again. The relationship was not healthy at all, yet the two of you felt drawn to each other like magnets. You told yourself you were done this time though maybe. You could say your relationship with each other was pretty toxic at least that’s what all your friends and family said. You were still so in love with him though, so it didn’t matter what everyone else had to say. Yes, you were quite aware of your delusion, but it didn’t matter to you. How could you throw two years of your life with someone away?

He cheated again. You should have known the first time that this would happen again. If you take someone back for cheating once, they’ll do it again.

You sighed and mentally slapped yourself as you cuddled more into your bedsheets and squeezed the emotional support stuffed animal that was now covered in tears and snot.

The previous time he cheated on you, you had revenge sex with his best friend, which promptly ended a four year friendship between them.

You found yourself smirking through your tears at the memory.

All it took was you showing up at said friend’s apartment with mascara stained cheeks (and an outfit that showed way too much skin.) You learned that the whole “bros before hoes” code was a myth that night. You simply walked into his blue-eyed-bestie’s apartment and put on an award winning performance of heartbreak (which you were actually feeling, but you had to bump it up a notch,) and feed him lies about how your ex-boyfriend had been talking shit about him for months. The rest was history.

Of course, you put your acting skills to use again to get your ex to forgive you. After all, he cheated on you first. An eye for an eye right? Maybe you took it too far, but who cares, you actively tried to become a better person for him after that and it felt like he had done nothing to change.

Your phone pinging brought you out of your thoughts and you rolled over to check your phone, shamelessly hoping it was a text from your serial cheating ex-boyfriend. It wasn’t, but it was the next best thing. Your paycheck was deposited into your account. It was a little lighter than usual, considering you took off for the entire week to mourn the loss of your already dead relationship. Still, it was a lot, and since your bills were already paid at the beginning of the month, you had disposable income to spend now.

You checked the time on your phone, saw it was late afternoon and sighed. Maybe you should get up, considering you hadn’t seen sunlight in days and you deserved to make yourself feel better by going on an impromptu shopping trip.

You scrolled down to the text messages from your closest friend that you had been ignoring for hours on end. You tried to update her at least twice a day on your mental state (which was not great, in all honesty,) just so she wouldn’t worry that you weren’t breathing (or that you went back to him, like you had previously done before.) She always hated him and always made sure to vocalize that opinion. It could be annoying sometimes, but you knew your best friend only did that because she loved you and knew you deserved better. There were a string of texts that you didn’t feel like reading, so you decided to just pick up the phone and facetime her.

She picked up on the first ring with a call of your name coated with concern.

“Oh goodness, you look awful!” your friend exclaimed with a worried expression on her face.

You rolled your eyes but couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

“Thanks a lot, Andrea. That’s exactly what I need to hear right now.” You got up out of bed to see exactly why she had such a dramatic reaction and when you reached the mirror your eyebrows shot up. “Oh wow, you’re right.”

She let out a small whimper. “My poor baby. We have to get you out of the house today. It is Friday after all, and I’m not taking no for an answer. You can’t let that asshole dictate how you feel forever.”

You let out a small sigh as you looked closer in the mirror. It was very evident that you hadn’t washed your face in days. Your dark eye bags in contrast to your brown skin made it look like you hadn’t slept in weeks, although that’s all you had been doing for the past week. Your eyes were bloodshot red and you could no longer force out tears due to dehydration and exhaustion. Your hair was an unruly mess, your tight coils tangled and in knots that will take hours to get out.

You sucked your teeth and mentally chastised yourself for not putting a bonnet on your head during the past week.

It didn’t take long for you to respond to Andrea, considering you were tired of sitting in your own filth.

“Okay! Did you want to join me while I went shopping? “You looked down at your chipped and overgrown nails. You were due for a refill. “We could also stop at the nail salon…”

She squealed in delight. “I didn’t think you’d actually say yes! Of course. I’ll be there to pick you up in a couple hours. It’ll give you time to do that hair.” She teased.

You rolled your eyes again. “See you soon, Andrea.” You quickly ended your call then jumped in the shower so you could have time to do a simplified version of your hair routine. No time for a full wash day session, so a quick detangle and moisturize will have to do. It was warm outside this time of year anyways, so half drying your hair was okay.

You quickly washed your body and finished your hair routine in the shower, quickly attempting to diffuse it afterwards. You definitely felt wetness in the middle of your head, but it will have to do. You left it down in tight ringlets so it could dry by the end of the day when you were undoubtedly going to be forced to go out with Andrea tonight. Not that you minded, anyways. The first thing you wanted to do right now was get wasted to get rid of the heartache you felt.

You quickly threw on a casual and comfortable outfit consisting of black yoga pants and a black graphic tee. As soon as you finished getting ready, you heard a loud and over-exaggerated car horn that you knew was the doing of your best friend.

You quickly rushed down your stairs and threw on a pair of comfortable platform sandals and grabbed your purse before heading out the door.

The sun hurt your eyes and you quickly shielded your face from its rays with a frown. The air smelled crisp and it felt good to breathe in natural air.

Your friend was in her very expensive black vehicle with tinted windows that you didn’t know the name of, (because cars right?) with said tinted windows down, showing a huge smile that belonged to Andrea. Her hair was different this time, small knotless braids cascading down her back, rather than her usual curls identical to yours. Thank God for that. Every time you wore your hair the same, people always mistook the two of you for sisters even though you looked nothing alike. You were both just black in a city with nearly not enough black people.

Your personalities were also nothing alike. While she was like sunshine and rainbows after a stormy day, you were that stormy day. She was always kind, level-headed, calm, honest, and well put together, while you on the other hand were hotheaded, loud, impulsive, brutal, and sometimes extremely vindictive. You were trying to change the last trait as much as you could, but you were a work in progress.

You hopped into her car, giving her a tight smile and she immediately pulled you into a hug.

“I’m so happy you decided to come out today! I have such a fun night planned for you.” She winked after she pulled away from the hug, mischief twinkling in her big brown orbs.

Suspicion clouded your mind, wondering what she was up to, but decided to let it go considering you didn’t have a care in the world about what you guys did today, as long as you were able to get blasted. “Is drinking involved?” you said plainly and she smiled again in a way that could light up the entire galaxy.

“Duh.” she said simply and you finally gave a real smile as she pulled out your driveway, onto your day of adventures.

After a lengthy but fun day of shopping, getting your nails done, and eating your first full meal in days, you and Andrea approached her luxury apartment.

Another difference between you and Andrea? She was in a healthy and loving marriage. She and her husband were still newlyweds, but they had been living together since their engagement (which was very soon after they started dating.) You smiled thinking about your best friend’s luck in life and love, but you would be lying if you said you weren’t a little jealous. She deserved all of this and more of course, but you couldn’t help but envy her situation. You were trapped in a toxic cycle while a good man found her, a rich and handsome one at that.

“You ready, babe?” she snapped you out of your thoughts and grabbed a handful of shopping bags. You guys went way overboard.

You nodded and followed suit, grabbing the remainder of bags and headed up the elevator to their apartment.

As you two stepped into the large and luxurious apartment, Andrea called out to her husband and all but ran to the kitchen when he responded with joy.

You followed behind her awkwardly and pretended to be doing something on your phone when you saw the two of them sucking face.

When they finally came up to breathe, he looked up at you and gave you a sad smile. “Hey, how are you feeling?” You knew Andrea had already told him, considering he actually knew your ex-boyfriend. They went to high school together, but weren’t close at all.

You gave a matching smile back and felt your eyes well up with tears as you answered. “In all honesty, horrible. If it weren’t for your wife I would probably still be in bed sulking and crying over that asshole friend of yours.”

He winced a little at your harsh words, but quickly recovered and had a face full of anger. “You want me to hire a hitman on him? I have that kind of money, you know.”

You laughed loudly but his facial expression never changed. “Woah chill, Kento! He isn’t worth it. I hope he and that bitch he’s with get what they deserve but I don’t know if it’s death.” A smile remained on your face at his protectiveness. He was always protective over you considering you were his wife’s best friend. He even got into a few heated arguments on double dates with your ex over you.

“Well if you change your mind, I have a guy on speed dial. That asshole Suguru needs to learn a lesson.” He responded and Andrea caressed his arm in an attempt to calm down which seemed to work almost immediately. His face softened and he looked at your best friend in such a loving way that made you want to smile and puke at the same time.

“Thanks, dude. I’ll keep that in mind. Now let’s go Andrea, we have plans tonight, remember?” You gave him a grateful smile and grabbed your friend’s hand before you were caught witnessing another makeout session between the two.

As you dragged her into her vanity room, you heard him shout after the two of you. “How much of my money did you spend today?!” The both of you erupted into a fit of giggles as you shut the door behind you.

You both finished getting ready just before the clock hit ten pm. PartyNextDoor was blasting in her speakers as you two got ready, along with Andrea making insulting jokes about your ex the entire time. You, of course, were almost in tears at her jokes. You were so grateful to have her all the time, but especially during times like this.

You were currently standing in front of her ceiling to floor, LED-light filled mirror looking at yourself in awe. You forgot how pretty you actually were. Due to the fact that you hadn’t seen yourself in makeup in weeks (you were naturally beautiful bare-faced as well,) but also the fact that you somehow felt ugly when you were dating Suguru. You knew you were pretty, but his excessive cheating made you feel less than. You always found yourself comparing yourself to the women he cheated with, who looked nothing like you.

Your face was lightly beat along with dark eyeliner that also included dark, but lightweight lashes that made your dark eyes look even more beautiful. Your lips were outlined with a dark lipliner with an expensive clear lip gloss that Andrea (well, Kento) had bought for you earlier in the day. You had on a tight maroon red dress that stopped at your mid thigh, the color making your brown skin look radiant and your body look amazing. You paired your outfit with gold jewelry you borrowed from Andrea since all your jewelry was left at home. Finally, you were going to finish off your outfit with black opened-toed kitten heels that you were going to put on at the door before you left.

Your hair was put into a puff with minimal curls left out to frame your face. You were smiling at yourself in the mirror when you heard a knock at the door.

Andrea went to open the door and her husband was standing at the door, mouth agape as he took in how she looked. You couldn’t blame him, she looked fucking hot. Her knotless braids were left down and she had on a black two-piece mini skirt set with silver jewelry that was to be paired with black stiletto heels. He leaned down to whisper something in her ear and her eyes widened slightly and she cleared her throat immediately after.

“You ladies ready to go?” He said with a smug look on his face and you gave Andrea a questioning look.

“I thought this was a girls night?” You said with a raised eyebrow.

She smirked, that mischievous look in her eye again. “I never said that.” She grabbed her black shoulder bag, along with an identical one she picked out for you, ushering you to come. “I said I had a fun night planned for you didn’t I? Just trust me.”

You looked between the Nanamis with suspicion written all over your face then shrugged. “As long as that includes free drinks, I don’t care what’s planned.”

“That’s my girl!” Andrea cheered as she gave you a slap on the ass when you walked out the front door.

You could’ve sworn you heard Nanami grumble something in the lines of, “Just don’t bankrupt me.”

You were currently in between tipsy and drunk, but not quite drunk yet like you wanted. You were dancing in your very own section with Andrea and Kento, about to take your next tequila shot. Andrea was already very drunk, you could tell by the way she was dancing on Nanami, who stopped drinking a while ago. He was driving after all, and he apparently never liked being drunk when he went out with Andrea because he wanted to make sure she was safe at all times. As you finished taking your shot with a shiver, you heard your best friend call your name.

You looked over at her with curiosity as a man you didn’t know was let into your section. You looked at him with confusion and interest. He was certainly a sight.

“This is Ch-Choso!” She yelled way too loud into your ear, slurring her words.

You took a second look at the man and were not disappointed. He was very tall, much taller than you. You looked up at him and he had two buns with shorter pieces sticking out the front to give him slight bangs, dark eyes that had eye bags underneath them, and full pink lips that were currently wearing a small smirk. He had on a dark shirt with equally as dark pants and sneakers. He had tattooed covered arms, and one of them sported a very expensive watch. He also had bright diamond earrings in his ear. They shone so bright you felt they might blind you.

“Hello, gorgeous.” He grabbed your hand and gave it a small kiss and you had to stop yourself from smiling. As your hand reached his lips, you noticed a dark birthmark across his nose, making him impossibly more handsome. It was something you had never seen before, giving him even more intrigue than before.

You cleared your throat and introduced yourself quickly, a look of suspicion and annoyance on your face you weren't trying to hide at all. In reality, the pool in your stomach was becoming hotter by the second.

“Will you excuse me for a second?” You gave him an obviously sarcastic, tight-lipped smile and let go of his hand to immediately grab Andrea’s. You dragged your stumbling friend and took her into the thankfully vacant bathroom.

As soon as the door shut you turned to her, where she was sporting a slight smirk. You didn’t return it though.

“What the hell is this?” You folded your arms over your chest and waited for her to answer.

She feigned innocence. “I don’t know what you mean!” She was full blown smiling now, like something was funny.

“Who the hell is that guy? Why is he in our section? Was this supposed to be your fun night for me?” You said it all way too fast and way too angry, but you didn’t care. Was she really trying to set you up with another guy when you were still heartbroken (and still longing for your ex-boyfriend)?

She put her hands up in defense. “Chill out!” She sounded way more sober now, your words seeming to light a match under her. “I was just trying to make you feel better. You were with that selfish, cheating asshole for two years and now you’re finally free! This is a time to celebrate, babe. I get that you’re sad, but how much longer are you going to let him dictate how you feel? How long are you going to let him dictate what you do, or who?” She gave you a wink and grabbed your hands.

She was right and you knew it. You had been taking Suguru's bullshit for years now. Every him he stepped out on you or whenever you caught him texting other women, it sent you into a spiral. He was draining the life out of you everyday, but it was like he was your own brand of heroin. No matter how much he hurt you, and how bad he was for you, it was like you were addicted to him, waiting for your next fix. You wanted to slap yourself for not being strong enough to just quit.

"...And Choso is a sweet guy. He’s smart, and works with Kento, so you know he’s loaded. He’s also fine as hell.” You felt your cheeks get warm at that. You have to admit. The man was sexy as fuck.

“It doesn’t have to go anywhere! I just want you to see there are other options out there other than Sir-Cheats-A-Lot.” She continued. Her eyes were pleading you, at this point.

You let out a small sigh. You knew she was right. It really didn’t have to go anywhere. You could just dance with him fuck him tonight. It would be a good distraction and you really wanted to get over Suguru once and for all you also really really wanted to fuck Choso. Like badly.

You gave her an eye roll then faked annoyance. "Fine. I'll entertain it. Just for the night." You were excited at the chance to finally talk to someone new, to be honest. She didn't need to know that, though. She squealed in response and she pulled you into a tight hug, too tight for your liking. You smiled widely in the hug and laughed as you hugged her back. As the two of you pulled away, you smelled the alcohol on her breath and remembered you were there to get blasted tonight, anyway.

When you returned to the table you were met with a concerned Nanami who was ranting to a very sexy looking Choso. The man you just met tonight looked bored as his coworker was very obviously worried about his wife. When the two of you approached the table, it seemed like his entire mood switched. His eyes became brighter and his lips formed a small smile. Kento's eyes snapped to Andrea with relief and you let the two have their reunion (his genuine concern for her leaving for five minutes made you both happy and nauseated) as you settled down next to Choso, making sure to sit extra close to him. If you wanted to fuck him tonight, you had to lay it on thick.

His cheeks reddened slightly as the bare skin of your thighs touched his clothed thighs. He seemed to quickly compose himself. “I thought I scared you off.” He nudged you with his shoulder with a smile.

You shook your head at him and smiled softly, returning the nudge. “No way. I just had to make sure my friend wasn’t going to black out.” You gave him a quick lie.

He seemed to believe it just as a server brought over four more tequila shots. Andrea let out an excited squeal for the tenth time tonight and attempted to grab a glass, which Nanami quickly blocked. She gave him a puppy dog look, which he seemed to ignore and grabbed her hand. “Let’s go dance, sweetheart.” He said, attempting to distract her and it worked. He dragged her onto the packed dancefloor and you were left alone with Choso and four shots.

“It looks like we have to down these ourselves, gorgeous.” His hand caressed your bare thigh lightly as he reached over to grab two shots. It was hard to ignore the increasing wetness in your underwear, very afraid it would start pooling out at some point. You couldn’t help it, the man was insanely gorgeous. He gave you the shot with a small smile and the two of you proceeded to clink glasses together and down them, finishing with a slam of the glass on the table.

The night progressed with the two of you taking more shots and you noticed how both of you slowly began to get more comfortable with each other. You somehow found yourself sitting on his lap with his hands around your waist, that were inching very close to your ass. You were currently laughing at something he said (God knows what, you were just drunk off your ass) and giving a playful slap to his very hard chest. It was like slapping bricks.

The music was loud, the lights were flashing, you didn’t know where your two friends went, yet you didn’t seem to be able to focus on anything but the beautiful man in front of you. He had to be as drunk as you considering the amount of shots you both had, but he seemed to be completely composed. His dark orbs stared holes into you as you were telling him stories about you and Andrea in college.

You were supposed to be on a mission to get some dick, but you found yourself actually wanting to have a conversation with him. He was a great listener and you somehow just couldn't stop talking. The way he was looking at you with genuine interest and attention made it hard to keep quiet.

You quickly learned he was a man of very few words, even with alcohol in his system. He would give a light smile and chuckle every now and then, but he mainly remained quiet besides the occasional questions he would ask, which prompted more stories from you. He didn’t make you feel annoying, either . Unlike Suguru, who would at times tell you to “just shut up already,” when you were expressing things you had interest in.

You slowly stopped talking and looked down as soon as you thought about your ex-boyfriend, your mood dampening. Choso seemed to notice and put a hand on your chin and softly lifted it to look into his eyes again.

“What’s wrong? You were just getting to the good part.” He asked with genuine concern. His eyes burned holes into yours again and it all became too much. You were suddenly aware of everything around you. The music was too loud, the lights were blinking far too much, your clothes felt too tight on you, and you felt sick.

You quickly got up, grabbed your bag, and with a quick “I’m sorry, I have to go.” You left the section the club with Choso shouting your name behind you. You had ino idea where you were, your vision was blurry and you just wanted to go home. People in line outside the club were looking at you in confusion as you stumbled, almost falling on your ass, but you quickly left, having no idea where you were going.

Chapter Two is up

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versegm · 7 months

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Coming out of my self-imposed tumblr ban cuz this is the third post I see along the lines of "man we gotta jump ship" so here are some other ways to be social/do fandom/ect. I'm not gonna call them "tumblr alternatives" because I won't lie to you these are gonna be very different experiences from tumblr. But if you use tumblr as a way to meet new people/post your thoughts/do fandom/keep up with folks, then maybe one of these is worth looking into.

COHOST

I don't use Cohost so idk if it's good or not, but all the people who use it tell me it's A Whole Lot Like Tumblr. Got pretty mixed reviews on this one, people seem to either love it or hate it, either way you could check it out it's free.

PILLOWFORT

My main bitch, so I can actually talk about it.

Pros:

Lots of cool privacy features

Porn is allowed

Website has been consistently getting updates and listening to the userbase

No ads because it's user-funded

Cons:

Being user-funded means the website is frequently struggling with money

NEOCITIES

This one isn't really a social media, it's a host for websites.

Pros:

You can do whatever the fuck you want here

Cons:

You have to code it all yourself

If you didn't immediately skip this rolling your eyes, here are some ressources to get a blog running with minimum efforts, and a cool zine to figure out what to put on your blog.

FANLISTING

Ye Old internet way to find new peeps in your fandom. It's a list of fans. I'm listing thefanlisting.org here because it's the biggest hub of fanlistings out there, but there are plenty that aren't listed so if you've got a topic dear to your heart it might be worth googling up "[fandom/ship/character] fanlisting" and see what turns up.

Pros:

It's literally just adding your name to a list of fans. Low spoon effort.

Cons:

If you want to talk to any of the people on the fanlisting you have to actually manually contact them via email or website or whatever they provided for contact. High social anxiety effort.

Anyways that's all I got chief. You probably already heard of half of those and the other half might have made you go "hey wtf that's not at all what I use tumblr for why would I need these" and the answer is it's not my problem. I discovered these when looking for ways for me personally to do social media so if you do social media differently sorry I can't help ya. But hey maybe you'll discover something new who knows.

Preemptive answers to things I am sure will clog my notifications for years to come:

None of these are like tumblr! Look bestie this is like the fifth time people consider abandoning tumblr at this point you have to make your peace with the fact that there is no other website like this one.

The websites you mentioned are nearly empty there's no one in my community here! Bro if you want a website with lots of people you don't need me listing off where you can go you already know where people are going (aka: Bluesky) If you're so scared to be alone then invite your buddies to move there together so you can chat together idk. Be the change you want to be in the world.

I'm not gonna use these. Then you've got my blessing to not use these. I assure you you don't need to reblog this post just to tell me you won't use these. I don't care.

Anyways. Peace. Dunno how many people this is gonna be useful to, but if you wanted to branch out of the usual reddit/bluesky/twitter, hopefully this will help.

Bunch of pillowfort invite codes under the cut since I got a bunch. Sorry I got no cohost as I said I don't use that one.

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sturnioloshacker · 11 months

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boyfriend vs brother: the ice cream wars - a chris & nick sturniolo short

a/n: requested by anon; lowercase intended

summary: when two brothers are at war over ice cream, it’s the girlfriend of the youngest brother who steps in to make things right, or does she?

she may be in a sweet and loving relationship with the youngest sturniolo triplet, but y/n has a unique bond with the oldest triplet. nick and y/n have been best friends since fifth grade after y/n moved to boston from seattle. it was from there that nick introduced her to his two younger brothers matt and chris, who absolutely adored having her as a friend. as the years went by, both y/n and chris fell for each other and after getting nick’s approval, the two started dating and later became boyfriend and girlfriend.

this relationship didn’t stop her friendship with nick, oh no! the amount of inside jokes and secrets shared between the two had everyone around them baffled, including her own boyfriend. the amount of teasing that came with their friendship, oh boy! every car video that featured y/n, chris and nick always managed to start an argument. being best friends, y/n always took nick’s side, leaving chris to have to fend for himself as matt had left the car until it was complete silence.

this happened once again today. y/n opened the front door of the triplets’ house to hear chris and nick in a screaming match. with a roll of her eyes, she makes her way upstairs to see what the unnecessary fuss is all about. as she got to the top of the stairs, y/n couldn’t help but giggle at the fact that the two brothers were arguing over the best ice cream flavour. as their argument escalated, with each of them raising their voices and gesticulating wildly over whether chocolate chip cookie dough or mint chocolate chip is better, y/n sauntered into the living room space, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“okay, okay, you two, we need to settle this once and for all.” she chuckled

y/n knew exactly what she was planning and she couldn't resist the opportunity to tease her boyfriend.

“let’s have a taste test! i’ll be the judge!” she said with a sly grin.

“no fair! you’re just gonna pick nick as the winner because you’re besties!” chris whines.

“no I won’t, baby! it’s all about picking the best flavour!”

“liar.” chris grumbles under his breath.

y/n grabbed both tubs of ice cream from the freezer, she puts a couple of scoops of each flavour into two bowls before setting them down on the dining table in front of her. with two spoons for each tub in one hand and a notebook in the other, she took her role very seriously. she sampled both ice creams, making dramatic faces and comparing notes on flavour, texture, and sweetness. meanwhile, chris and nick are elbowing and punching each other over which flavour she’ll pick. taking one more bite of each, she makes a delighted face at the cookie dough flavour while gagging at the mint chocolate chip flavour, causing both brothers to punch and shove each other once again.

“okay, i have made my decision! the best ice cream flavour is…. chocolate chip cookie dough!”

nick screams with glee as he runs up to his best friend, giving her the biggest hug before yelling at chris.

“i fucking told you! you don’t mess with cookie dough! yes!” nick yells.

“yeah! don’t mess with cookie dough! besides, mint choc chip ice cream is shit!”

“hey! you take that back, princess!” chris shouts, a hint of sadness lacing his voice.

nick takes the winning tub up to his room where he eats it in happiness while y/n walks over to the couch where her boyfriend sulks and pouts like a toddler. pulling him into a hug, y/n reassures him that she still loves him, to which chris forgives her and pulls her into for a gentle kiss on the lips. chris couldn’t help but laugh, realising that no matter the situation, he will always be outnumbered by his girlfriend and his brother.

and so it went in their relationship. y/n’s friendship with nick remained unbreakable, and whenever an argument broke out, she always seemed to take her boyfriend's brother's side, often teasing chris alongside nick. it added a unique and light-hearted dynamic to their love story, reminding them all that the bonds of friendship and family could coexist and thrive in the most unexpected ways.

#chris sturniolo #nick sturniolo #sturniolo triplets #chris sturniolo fanfic #chris sturniolo imagine #nick sturniolo fanfic #nick sturniolo imagine #sturniolo triplets fanfic #sturniolo triplets imagine

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catofoldstones · 7 months

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The Ashford Theory and my patience running thin

Welcome, welcome my guys, gals and non-binary pals, to another scream into the void that the Ashford theory is, in fact, very jonsa

On to the arguments!

1. The suitor has to have the correct last name, not family, look at Joffrey Baratheon, you stupid jonsa

Hypothesis - the suitor has to have the corresponding name, not family, and because Jon is a Snow he’s out of the running. The other prong is fAegon who is actually a Blackfyre and not Targeryen, who can also be the suitor.

Thesis - Joffrey is the only other suitor to have a different name. Joffrey and Jon have also been set up as foils from the start of AGOT. Joffrey is a bastard masquerading as the rightful king and Jon is the rightful king (thrice crowned) masquerading as a bastard. It makes sense that they are the only two suitors to have the wrong name as this establishes them as inverses in another way. The last suitor being the foil of the horrible first suitor thereby showing character growth, and plot progression and resolution? Count me in.

As for Young Griff being a Blackfyre, here’s a meta or two, maybe even an argument, for him being the real Aegon VI Targaryen but take my personal fav evidences of Tyrion figuring out that Young Griff is Aegon VI Targaryen and then, Varys literally telling a dying Kevan Lannister about the true Targaryen prince and why would you lie to a dying man? How does that serve your purpose?

This is literally grrm telling us who Young Griff actually is, though this does not count him I out of the contenders, it reduces the weight of him being the fifth suitor, due to story arcs and well, his doomed fate.

Conclusion - While Aegon VI is a strong contender, there is much, much more literary weight and nuance with Jon being the Targaryen suitor.

2. Lady Ashford was not crowned the Queen of Love and Beauty by any champion!!! Take that jonsas

Hypothesis - tQoLaB is a title analogous to a betrothal/love interest

Thesis - there have been no allusions to the title of tQoLaB while trying to foreshadow a relationship, except for a really, really bad one (r + l) that plunged the whole realm into a civil war and we should not take that as a good sign

Conclusion - we’re grasping at straws here besties

3. Dunk disrupted the Ashford Tourney, therefore Sxndxr will disrupt Sansa’s prospects and other things

Hypothesis - Dunk & Sxndxr are are analogous and since there was no conclusion to the Tourney we can safely assume that it’s sxnsxn foreshadowing

Thesis - Brienne is the Dunk asoiaf corollary, not Sxndxr. Brienne is theorized to be Dunk’s descendant. She even has her shield painted like Dunk’s, apart from their striking character parallels and being a true foil to all the other knights in the story. Mr. Gravedigger is just tall :/

“Your door reminded me of an old shield I once saw in my father’s armory.”

Brienne II, AFFC

Brienne has Dunk’s shield in her family home possibly because she’s a descendant of Dunk but then goes ahead and gets her shield painted exactly like this one

“[The painted shield] was more a picture than a proper coat of arms, and the sight of it took her back through the long years, to the cool dark of her father’s armory. She remembered how she’d run her fingertips across the cracked and fading paint, over the green leaves of the tree, and along the path of the falling star.”

Brienne II, AFFC

Secondly, just because the tourney did not have a (satisfactory) conclusion does not mean that the tourney did not exist to serve a purpose. I doubt grrm would likely give out his whole story as early as 1998.

Conclusion - BRIENSA 4eva!!!!!

4. Valarr Targaryen died of a sickness and Aegon VI is doomed to die and is connected to a sickness, are you looking at the nerves popping out of my thick, brainy skull

Thesis - the fifth suitor is 100% Aegon and there’s no one else

Hypothesis - there is a Targaryen.. currently dead.. in the books… (thnk u @istumpysk for ur galaxy brain). The plague in the story serves to connects Aegon more to Dany than to a northern girl he doesn’t know about and might not like since she’s a Stark and his mother is Elia Martell.

Conclusion - jonsa

5. This is all a coincidence & u jonsas are reaching as always

Hypothesis - though george is known to tie every deep end, every crack theory, even farfetched ones that the readers have not caught, this one thing completely skipped his notice because exceptions are always there

Thesis - yes, because this is acotar & not asoiaf and he’s not grrm, i am

Conclusion - JONSAAAAAAAAAAAA

#ashford theory #jonsa #anti sansan #long post #don’t look #rewrote it because i am a loosely strung piñata & god is a 6 yr old girl hungry for more candy #:/#thank you everyone for your patience #and uh pls remember #I tried #thnk u #i wanna delete this :////#i haven't read the og theory but i've heard that it was originally written by a san/san shipper #all of my rebuttals (if you can call them that) are based against rogue comments/posts i have seen here and there #idk what was in the og theory and i don't want to know either if it was san/san

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unhinged-summer-fun · 2 months

Text

common grounds (oshamir) - chapter 1

Pairing: Osha Aniseya/Qimir "The Stranger" Themes of note: Modern AU, coffee shop AU, boxing/fighting AU, slow burn romance, personal identity exploration, sports injury & recovery, angst yada yada. First few chapters are rated T, but bumps to M eventually. Summary: One cold winter night, Osha meets a stranger while she's working late at the cafe. Like the spark that lights a very long fuse, there's no way this doesn't end in fire and upheaval.

A/N: Mehmehmehmeh I ain't back on tumblr this is just another horn of mine to toot lol it's also on my AO3 is why. This is also written for da bestie and is held hostage by them (affectionate). Dividers by @firefly-graphics

series masterlist

chapter 1: round one

Somehow, the mysterious problems with the espresso machine returned.

Not that anyone asked her, but Osha didn’t believe it was pure coincidence that this was the fifth time she’d been called in to fix the machine immediately after Yord was on the schedule. It couldn’t wait for her next shift because most people who needed espresso needed it in the mornings, and Mae worked the morning shift.

Regardless, it wasn’t a coincidence. Osha just wanted to get quietly pissed at a fixable problem so that by the time it was fixed, she’d forget what she was pissed about. With just the lights on behind the bar and the small flashlight in her mouth, she tried not to think about how eerie the cafe looked at night. The snow swirling in the windowsill outside served as an unhelpful reminder that her car was still in the shop, and the walk back to the apartments would be very, very cold.

But the hot water tap had priority over that. This was the most temperamental part of the whole unit, a half dozen little fastenings keeping it pinned to the machine wall to prevent it from lashing out all over the place every time anyone pressed a button. Each gentle click of her spanner sounded like a clap of thunder in the deserted shop, and a sensation of deep, deep dread she hadn’t felt in years rose in her chest. “Shit,” she whispered, forgetting about the flashlight in her teeth and spitting it out onto the floor. “Damnit.”

When she stood, a man was standing behind the machine.

“Fuck!”

The man was lucky; Osha might not have had the left hook her sister did, but that didn’t mean she didn’t still have one hell of a swing. She almost threw the flashlight at him but held on, wielding it like a four-inch baseball bat.

The man’s face went from neutral and stony to overly expressive in a heartbeat. “Oh! I’m so sorry; I didn’t mean to startle you!” he said, laughing nervously and scratching the back of his head. Osha took him in, the baggy hoodie and jeans, the glasses, the toothy smile, the black bag slung over his shoulder. All in all, he didn’t look harmless, but he didn’t look like he meant her harm either.

“We’re closed.”

“The door was, uh, unlocked.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the door, giving her a shrug as if to say, what can you do?

“Even so, we’re still closed. You have to go.” For a moment, she considered grabbing the portafilter as a potential weapon. It’d certainly work better than the flashlight.

He put both his hands up. “Alright, alright. Can’t I just… step out of the cold for a minute or two? I’ll stay over here by the door.”

She shouldn’t. This man was undoubtedly a stranger, and a strange stranger, at that. But she knew the biting cold wasn’t pleasant, and her kind streak had never entirely been snuffed out.

“Fine. Sit there.” She pointed to a table where she could get a complete look at him while she continued working. He went willingly but faced her when he took his seat.

“Thank you,” he said, head tilting slightly to the side. “Not many people would be so kind.”

She didn’t look over at him, only answered him with a grunt as she tore into the hot water line with more ferocity than necessary. How in the hell did Yord mess this up? Nobody even touches this but me!

“I thought this place was open 24 hours,” the stranger said conversationally. When he realized Osha wouldn’t answer him, he continued. “Didn’t it used to be? It was always packed, classes at midnight and sunrise and sunset.”

That piqued her interest. Osha paused her crusade against the tap and frowned at him. “Are you a member at the gym?”

Even from here, she could see his jaw clench a little, one muscle feathering so quickly it might have been a trick of the light. “Oh, a long time ago. A lot must have changed if you’re the only one on staff right now.”

It sounded threatening. It should have been threatening. A strange man had come in, told her he had some measure of fight training, and pointed out she was alone. Yet, Osha couldn’t put her finger on why she saw it as bluster. The dread in her chest had entirely dissipated, and her heartbeat had returned to normal following the stranger’s sudden appearance.

“How long ago? I’ve been here a long time, too. Know everyone here.” She kept one eye on him as she worked, uncoupling the wall fastenings for the line to the group head.

“It was a long, long time ago. But hey—there might be a few days of overlap if you’ll answer a question for me.”

She frowned and kept her focus on the machine. “Go ahead.”

“You’re Osha, right?”

Her hand slipped, and she dropped the spanner deep into the machine’s body. Biting back a curse, her attention warred between the stranger knowing her name and grabbing her tools.

“H-how do you know that?” C’mon, where is it?

In the seconds she’d been looking away, he had stood up to prop his hip against the table he’d been sitting at. “I remember two little girls coming in for one of the children’s sunrise classes I was in. Twins, and I swear they looked just like you and your sister.”

For an instant, she tried picturing this strange man as a child, but she hardly remembered anything from her first few weeks at the gym when their dad had taken them to train. Her imagination wouldn’t be of any help here.

“You know my sister?”

“Mae? Oh, I’ve met her a few times in passing. It’s a small city if you get out enough. I only knew your names as a child, though.” He gave a breathy, goofy laugh, pulling at something like interest in Osha’s belly.

She supposed he was near her age. He looked young, but some people’s genes aged more gracefully than others. “It—yeah. I’m Osha. What’s—what are you doing?”

Slowly, he walked toward the counter beside the machine. The conversation had thawed the ice of their meeting a little, which could have permitted a closer boundary, but it was still a little alarming. “My hearing isn’t the best. Get your bell rung enough times, and it never stops singing, does it?”

He tilted his head in the light to show her the slightly blue shell of his ear—it’d been likely drained from a hematoma to prevent cauliflower ear. You didn’t have ears like that without being in the ring for a while. She also saw a pair of charming little twists in his hair to keep it off his ears, which shouldn’t have been so… cute. This guy was a lot of things, but cute didn’t seem like one of them. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” he said, leaning on the counter with his forearms. The hoodie covered his body shape well, but from where it dropped off at the shoulders, he must have been incredibly broad. “It’s incredible, actually.”

“What is?” She shook off her single-bed shoulder musings.

“You look… exactly like her.”

His voice had dropped, along with the convivial squint to his eyes. His voice sounded dark and rich as his near-black irises and every part of her perked up in response. “Um.” Osha racked her head for an intelligent comeback, settling on, “Well, that’s not uncommon for twins.”

The playful lilt to his voice returned. “Yeah,” he grinned. “But really, down to how you frown at me, you two look so alike. It’s impressive.”

Osha frowned at him, then tried not to and failed. The stranger only smiled, a flash of that darker look shining through. Now thoroughly flustered, Osha turned back to the machine. “How’d you know I wasn’t Mae when you walked in?”

“I just knew.” She saw him shrug again in her periphery and continued wrenching back the hot water tap. “What’s wrong with it?”

“What isn’t wrong with it, more like.” She grunted and released another fastening. Now that there was an open entrance for her to stick her hand in, she felt around for the spanner she’d dropped. “This thing has to be like 25,000 years old.”

“That may be truer than you think.”

She met the stranger’s eyes, charmed by his easy smile and laughter. She’d never been one to make fast friends; that was more Mae’s speed, but whatever this conversation was, she wanted more of it.

She found the spanner and made a slight noise of victory, carefully maneuvering her hand back through—

The tap line went taut quite suddenly, and without any fittings keeping it in place, the hot water line suddenly contracted, snagging a jagged edge into her wrist and pinning it to the inner wall of the machine. She could feel the water getting hotter around her wrist, and she tried letting go of the spanner to yank her hand out, but it wouldn’t budge.

“Shit!”

Suddenly, two huge hands were there, one wrapping around her forearm to still her and the other reaching into the machine without hesitation. The line loosened around her wrist, and she was pulled free immediately. After that, the stranger hit a sequence of buttons to shut down the machine but still didn’t let go of her forearm.

In the fading whine of the machine, Osha’s heartbeat sounded like a stampede in her ears. She could feel the body heat radiating off the man this close. The callouses on his palms spoke of hard work and discipline. His knuckles bore the permanent blush of a fighter’s hands. Carefully, he pulled back her sleeve and hissed softly, revealing the minor burn over the top of her wrist.

“Poor thing.”

Heat flared up Osha’s neck as if she’d swallowed the hot water line instead of basically wearing it. The stranger leads her to the sink and runs the cool tap before parking her wrist beneath the faucet.

Burns weren’t uncommon in the cafe, and little cuts and swollen bruises weren’t uncommon in the attached boxing gym. As such, the first aid kits for both were well-stocked for each common injury. The stranger moved with confident grace to the red box on the wall, leafing through the contents before finding what he wanted: an antiseptic wipe, burn cream, gauze, and medical tape.

“Let me see.”

He took her wrist back in his hands, gentle but firm, just as he’d held her before. On the spots where his skin touched hers, it burned differently.

He kept his head down as he dressed her wound, using his teeth to tear off pieces of tape. He had a serious aura; the goofy guy he’d been now shifted into an intensely focused man. When satisfied with his work, he didn’t let go, using the last few seconds of soft quietude to draw his thumb across the top of the bandage.

“How’s that?” he said, bouncing back to the playful person he wanted her to see.

But Osha had seen that other side, the rock-steady intensity that had come over him the moment she’d been in danger. That version of himself hadn’t left until he knew she was out of harm.

Osha had hardly been able to blink, let alone breathe, during his treatment of her. Something about his light touch made her wonder how he fought. No soft-handed, theatrical fighter would have been capable of aching gentleness like this.

“It’s—good.” She cleared her throat and fought to look him in the eye. “Thank you.”

“You don’t need to thank me. It was the right thing to do. Anyway, it should be less dangerous when it’s off.”

“I don’t know why I didn’t do that,” she muttered, embarrassment taking over from flustered.

“It’s late, and we’re all prone to mistakes in the dark.”

Her eyes snapped to his at the statement. It sounded so familiar that she could have sworn she had heard it before, but the stranger was already moving, pushing his sleeve past his elbow. Time stood still for a fraction of a second, and Osha could see his forearm, all corded muscle, and scars. And then he reached into the espresso machine, carefully pulling out the spanner.

“There. That what you were looking for?”

Osha blinked owlishly before taking the tool from him. It was impossible to avoid brushing her fingers against his, and the spark of his touch ignited something deeper inside her than skin could reach.

“Thank you, uh…”

“Of course!” Dutifully, the stranger returned to his post, and the counter was put back between them as it should have been. But Osha couldn’t understand why she’d been so adamant about it before. Maybe he was right; it’s late, after all.

The rest of the work was fast, ticking away minutes as she found the culprit: an overenthusiastic portafilter had shifted the group head an inch out of place, which made every piece of fussy machinery within the casing rebel. “Yord, I swear to god…” Osha grumbled, taking a second to write a warning on scrap paper once everything was packed up.

“Ah, a consistent problem, then?” The Stranger had stayed quiet the whole time Osha worked, and only when he spoke up again did she notice he hadn’t pushed his sleeve down. Her eyes snagged on the sight the way her wrist had snagged on the jagged metal inside the machine.

“You could say that. Hey, um, I have to run it a few times to make sure it’s operational. And… thank you for helping me out. Can I make you something?”

His head tilted in such a way that she could finally see the look on his face was a smile. It felt like looking into one of those dichroic prisms, finding a flash of blue here, a flash of red there, but only at one specific angle inside the glass. “Whatever you want to give me, I’d be happy with.”

Ignoring that, she fell into another set of muscle memory. Even tired and irritated from the burn on her wrist, her hands never faltered as she made up a shot on each group. When the machine shouted itself awake, she watched as two twin porcelain espresso cups filled with darkness, noting the flow, the steam output, and the lack of grit in the pour. “Perfect,” she murmured to herself, satisfied with her work.

Osha assembled a drink to-go for him, sliding it over the bar. Unfortunately, muscle memory took over again, and she shouted, “I have a two-shot Americano at the bar for—oh my god, I’m so sorry, that was so loud.”

He threw his head back and laughed almost as loud as her barista voice had been. That toothy grin was back, and his hair fell into his eyes when he sat back again. “Thank you, I’m oh my god I’m sorry that was so loud, yes.” Their hands brushed again when she realized she hadn’t let go of the cup yet.

“I know it’s pretty late for caffeine, but it’s the least I could do,” she said, a little bashful. His laugh was nice. His smile was nice. He was nice.

He didn’t hesitate to bring the drink to his lips and take a sip, eyes locked with hers. All at once, her mouth went dry, and her blood sang. The smile evolved into a smirk when he set the coffee down again. “Never too late for me. I hardly sleep.”

“I know what that’s like,” Osha sighed, cleaning and shutting the machine down for the night. “I hope that drink’s okay.”

“It’s my usual.”

“No wonder you can’t sleep if your usual is twice the amount of caffeine normal people have.”

“The power of two is a potent high.” He shrugged.

“That’s a slippery slope to tread, stranger. It took me a while to quit.”

“Are you saying I’m an addict?”

Osha almost blanched at his words until she saw the playful tilt of his head. “I’m saying indulgence is a dangerous path.”

He shrugged. “Semantics.”

With the machine shut down for the night, she started flicking off the lights. The stranger took the hint, edging toward the front door.

When the main lights were off, he stood silhouetted against the storefront, snow swirling darkly around him like a smoky aura. He’d pulled up his hood; it gave him a more menacing outline than she’d thought him capable of. Like this, she couldn’t see the goofy smile or the glasses, the glittering dark eyes. He’d shed all of the attributes that made him approachable and safe.

And still, she was not afraid.

She walked to him, nearly shoulder-to-shoulder by the time he turned. “Thank you, Osha,” he said. The soft light from outside cast his features in sharp planes of shadow, concealing most of his features save his nose, lips, and chin.

“Don’t mention it,” she said softly, feeling trapped in a bubbled moment she didn’t want to leave. She’d reflect on this later; she wouldn’t scorn herself for doing what felt right in the moment.

His lips quirked in a half-smile she couldn’t resist returning. “I’ll see you around.”

And then he left in a blast of swirling snow and cold.

CHAPTER 2

#unhingery #oshamir #osha x qimir #the acolyte #the acolyte fanfiction #oshamir fanfiction #star wars fanfiction #common grounds

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