#alright have i used up enough room to drop spoilers down below

[definitelynotgideon]

This is a Genya Shinazugawa x OC (Gideon Azulyss) MLM Fic 🏳️‍🌈

AN/ I'm going to be so sad when my evenings fill up for work after this break, I'm having a good time writing this fic lol. Hope y'all are liking it too 👉👈

CW/ Language, Mention or Reference to Abuse but not detailed. Slight spoiler for Swordsmith Arc I think?

Word Count: 1,780

The Demons We Face | Chapter 3, Partners

Morning sunlight filtered into the room, waking Gideon up first. He gently sat up, blinking to adjust to the lighting and his eyes ventured over to Genya. 

For having such an heir of intimidation yesterday, he looked so calm in his sleep. He was laying down his side, both hands up near his chest and face as if he'd want to cuddle something if given the chance. Perhaps back home he had a couple of pillows on his bed. The thought made Gideon smile, it was sweet.

Further inspection of the room told the silver haired slayer that their hostess had finished laundering their clothing. But Gideon simply needed a little more time in the morning to get going, and he didn't want to rustle around too much and wake Genya up. He was sure that his sleep was needed if he didn't wake up with the sun…

He crept out of the room carefully, and walked into the kitchen area where he found the kind old woman preparing breakfast. He greeted her warmly. 

“May I please have some coffee?” He asked, to which she smiled and got him a cup. Since this village was a bit further away from larger cities, certain electric advances hadn't quite made their way in, so she put a kettle over her fire and prepared a pour over pot for him. 

“It'll just be a moment, dear.”

“Thank you ma'am.”

He sat at the table, kneeling on the cushion and looking out the window. He'd offer to help, but he knew that she would insist on him not doing that. All members of this family were the same way in mannerism; simply grateful to be giving back to the corps. So he'd do his part by simply being a pleasant guest and talking with her. 

“Seems like today will be a nice day, do you have any plans?” 

She smiled to him. “I might go into the town for a bit, pick up some things from the market. Will you boys be staying another night?” 

Gideon hummed in thought. “I could see us hanging around for parts of the day, but hopefully we have enough to go on tonight to hunt the reported demon down. I hope that's alright.” 

“Never any trouble, sweet boy. The demon slayers are always welcome here.”

She poured water over the grounds when the water was hot enough, expertly easing the stream in a circle to soak the beans just right as the previous liquid dropped to the glass caraf below. She handed him his cup and he inhaled the unique woodsy and robust scent of the coffee.  

Gideon looked around the kitchen while he sipped and saw that her kindling for her fire was low. Soft eyes blinked and looked to her. “Shall I fetch you more wood?” 

She looked up at him gratefully. “Please, if you wouldn't mind.” 

He finished his cup and gave it to her as he stood. “I'll be back, then.”

~ ~ 

Genya woke up shortly after Gideon headed outside. He peered over and saw his empty bedding and listened, not really hearing anything inside… what he did hear was the soft thudding sound, buffered by walls, of wood chopping.

He pulled himself up and out of the room to investigate the happenings. 

“Good morning young man,” the lady cooed to him, setting out the meal she'd prepared for them. “Your little friend is outside cutting some kindling for me. He will be back soon. Come sit and eat, before the meal cools.” 

Genya nods, but feels a little torn. Cutting wood? He's going to miss breakfast, and he already missed dinner last night. He looks towards the door and then his amethyst eyes go back to her. “I'll go get him. He needs to eat too.” 

He slips his white boots on and ventures to the back of the house. Gideon had undone the top part of his kimono and tied it around his waist to stay cool while he chopped wood. He was seated and using a small hatchet to produce small pieces for the woman to use in her fire.

Well toned like any of the other slayers their age, the small sheen of sweat highlighted Gideons muscles well. Just in case Genya didn't get enough of an eyeful when he confronted nude Gideon last night. Genya's gaze went to his hands as they worked, and then Gideon looked over to him.

“Good morning Genya! How did you sleep?” 

Genya was startled slightly. “I-I- slept fine… um. Did you sleep okay?” He rubbed the back of his nape. What even was his life? What even was this?

To make matters worse Gideon seemed oblivious, because he stood and stretched with a happy stretch sound. Genya decidedly looked away from him. Pretty guy…

N-No I- I mean… wait am I attracted to him?! What the hell?

“I slept well, thanks for asking!” He said, smiling to him in such a well meant way. “were you looking for me?” 

Genya snapped back into it. “Oh yeah, yes. Breakfast is done. I didn't want you to miss out…” 

Gideon smiled, finally kind of understanding what was happening to his new friend. “That's sweet of you~” he teased.

Genya then got even more flustered and crossed his arms. “Y-yeah? Well you're wrong- I'm not ‘sweet,’ I just ... I need my partner to be in top condition for our mission. Can't have you passing out. You might die.” 

Humor danced in Gideon's eyes and he grinned. “Is that so?” He asked, bending into a squat to pick up his cut kindling. “Glad that I've graduated to partner. Was it the shared slumber?~” 

“I- Shut up!” 

Gideon laughed, musical and loud and genuine. He playfully bumped Genya with his hip as he moved past him, his smile warm. “I'm only teasing you. Thank you for looking out for me.” He said, feeling very warm and fuzzy from the interaction. 

Genya blushed and just tried to turn away enough that Gideon wouldn't see. He followed shortly after Gideon rounded the corner. 

Once inside, Gideon offloaded his efforts and the old lady praised him for it, thanking him. He smiled endearingly to her, telling her it wasn't any trouble. Genya sat down, and after Gideon cleaned himself up with an offered towel and basin water, he decided to sit next to Genya. 

Sure, he did it to be funny, but he also did it out of trust and fondness. Genya was growing on him. He was fun to tease and seemed to have a genuinely good heart underneath all the protective barriers he has up. Gideon wanted to get to know him more.

But poor Genya was frozen. Gideon was so close to him, and he acted like any small change would cause him to move. Like a butterfly landing on a shoulder, and just trying to encourage it to stay…

Gideon carefully served up his own plate from the offered goods, stocking himself up on protein and fiber first. Genya followed his actions, choosing a wide variety of a bit of everything from the table. 

The older lady moved to another part of the house so that the two could speak about corps business… but Genya was curious first. 

“...Did she ask for your help with the wood? I'm surprised doesn't have a family member help her out with it…” 

Gideon shook his head softly, swallowing his bite. “Nah. I asked if she wanted help. I couldn't resist … she reminds me a lot of the old lady who took me in when I was younger.” 

Took him in? He was guessing that Gideon’s parents had been killed by demons. It was a common story.

“So like .. your parents? What happened to them?” 

Gideon shrugged. “Honestly, I don't know. They're probably still alive.” His eyes flash to where the old lady disappeared. “...my father threw me out when I was eleven.” 

Genya looked over to him, a bit shocked. Abuse? Did Gideon and him share a similar horror story? His own dad had become abusive towards their mother especially, and Genya's older brother had done most of the protecting against that wrath. In the end, he got what he deserved… just an asshole in the wrong place. 

“...I'm sorry. My dad was shit too.” 

Gideon looked over to Genya softly. “Sorry for you too.” He gazes down in a solemn moment, but then gives Genya a little smile. “But hey. We made it, right? Who needs them?” 

Gideon didn't know the full extent of Genya's trauma… and yet the words from his mouth were still encouraging and unassuming. 

A moment passes between them, they both nibble at their cooling food. Genya asks him another question.

“What happened to make him throw you out?” 

It was Gideon's then to freeze, but only slightly. He was slightly nervous, because what he'd provide Genya with in full confidence could be easily turned against him out of fear. But Gideon wasn't afraid of shit like this. Not anymore.

“...My parents set up an arranged marriage for me. They wanted me to marry for some sort of wealth exchange. But… I told my father I wanted to marry a man instead. And… yeah.”

Gideon is still sort of frozen. He can't quite look at Genya, but Genya is looking at him in a mix of shock and blankness. He wasn't expecting that. 

Finally after a moment Gideon dares to look to him. He searches his eyes trying to gage what Genya would do. But his amathyst eyes don't look angry. 

“...Genya?” 

“I'm… I wasn't expecting that. Sorry. Um…” he looks away and softly chuckles.

“It's okay. I… understand if you don't want to be friends with me.” 

Genya's eyes immediately lock back onto Gideon's. He sits up a bit. “It doesn't bother me that you're gay. But fucking slow your roll buddy. ‘friends?’ hmm? The fuck do you think this is?” 

He's totally bullshitting him, and they both hold their laughter until it bubbles over. 

“You're right, how dare I?” Gideon says through laughter. “Because obviously I've attained partner. Which is vague but I'd like to think it's just a little above friendship.” He holds up his fingers with a bit of space between a pinch to emphasize his point. 

Genya smirks. “You crafty bastard. Well played. Fine. Partners, then. The slightly above friend kind, I guess.”

“I don't make the rules, Genya.”

“Except you are literally making the rules right now.” 

They giggle a little more, and then Gideon finishes another bite of egg before calling his breakfast done. “So. We should make a plan for today and tonight. What are your thoughts?” 

[kisskissbanggang]

Learning to Share

[~30min Read, ~9K Words -- Mystery Members👀 x Student!Female Reader -- Half Fluffy Plot. Half Fluffy Smut. -- Spoilers in Tags, Classmates, Snowstorms, Threesome, Jealousy, Competition, Experimentation, Impromptu Dom/Sub, Double-Penetration, Anal, Oral, Edging]

[I miss winter already. Let's cool off with something a little hot and cold.💕] 

Masterlist | Feedback

Frigid air bit your nose and cheeks as you crossed campus for your last lecture before winter break. Mysteriously, Professor Brown was one of the only curmudgeons insisting on holding class on the last day before vacation, but that should be easy. You just needed to survive this last morning and then it was the bus ride back to your place. Hopefully the gentle snow drifting down wouldn't get any worse.

"Hey!" You were startled as Ten caught up to you, pulling the tail of his long scarf from under the strap of his gym bag and wrapping it once more so it shielded his face from the cold. He hooked an arm into yours. "How's it going?"

"Good," you sighed, "excited to get home after class and sleep for a few days. We're only halfway through the semester but I feel like I'm dying."

"I feel you," Ten commiserated, "When are you flying out?"

"Wednesday, remember? Can you drive me to the airport?"

"Sorry, babe," Ten winced, "my Christmas plans got shuffled around so I'm leaving --" he pulled out his phone to check the time, "-- in an hour to catch my Lyft to the bus station. I'm gonna run home and pack. Just wanted to let you know."

"What?!" No fair. The two of you were originally going to sit on the couch and drink wine until neither of you could move.

"You'll be fine," he kissed your forehead, "bring a boy home to keep you warm and don't drink all the wine by yourself." Ten turned and ran to the bus stop, carefully skirting around the impromptu ice rink that had formed in the campus square. You sighed, trudging your way to class. With your plans for the next couple of days dashed, what were you going to do with your time until you had to fly home?

You scanned the lecture hall, hoping to see if anyone had saved you your usual seat. Thankfully, Doyoung waved you over, pulling your chair out for you as you set your bag down.

"Are you alright?" He asked, concern painting his face. He grabbed your empty mug off the table and poured you some hot brew from his thermos. "You look miserable."

"I'm just so ready for winter break." You gratefully took your mug back, immediately taking a swig and feeling a little rejuvenated. "When are you heading out of town?"

"I'm not. My family lives just outside the city, remember?"

"Oh, god, you're right." You pinched the bridge of your nose in exasperation. "Sorry. I'm more out of it than I thought."

"You could really use a break, huh?"

"Certainly. I was looking forward to hanging out with my roommate for the next couple days, but he's already on his way out of town. I guess I'll have to decompress alone."

Doyoung perked up. "Want some company?"

You blushed at the offer, but were interrupted as your professor finally showed up. Doyoung seemed oddly eager to hang out. Was he asking you out on a date? Probably not. For all you knew, he could've just been pumped to hang out outside of school. You made a mental note to ask Doyoung what he meant once you reached a break in class.

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The chance never came. You were suddenly shaken partway through class, Doyoung's elbow sharply jabbing you in the arm to surreptitiously wake you. You'd fallen asleep? Winter break really couldn't come sooner.

"Wh-? Whuzzat--" You quietly slurred as you blinked into consciousness. Doyoung grabbed your notebook and scrawled a note in the margins before sliding it back over to you.

I can't believe this. Group project. Due during break.

You bolted upright in your seat. A group project? Seriously?

"... You will be forming independent, but related, theses based around a central subject, one that your group has chosen from the material we've covered so far," Professor Brown droned, "and what makes this a group project is that your theses will not just be related, but will also be informed by each other. Communication is key, after all. You will be taking the conclusions and opinions of your colleagues into careful consideration and incorporating them into your work. This will be short: ten pages each. However, I will also be seeing if your papers can be read in conjunction with one another, as well as independently. Now, go on. Pick a partner over our ten minute break and make sure you come up here and let me know who is with whom."

The class scrambled, but you and Doyoung stayed put. You had worked together on nearly every project you'd had in any course you'd taken together. Though you wanted to take your extra time to ask about Doyoung's intentions, you knew it'd be a better use of the ten minutes to discuss subjects now rather than later. A line had formed at the podium at the front of the lecture hall, everyone scribbling their paired names on a list for him to confer with later. You sat tight, waiting for the line to die down.

"Now, class, as we settle back into our seats," Professor Brown said as the line of students rushed, "I want us to remember the importance of keeping an open mind during a project like this, where we may come across stark differenc--"

The professor was interrupted by the back door of the lecture hall opening in the hush of the room. Into the hall spilled Yuta, a classmate so rarely seen it was easy to forget he was even in this course. He slung his gym bag over his shoulder, panting and out of breath as he tried to sneak into a back row seat.

"Mr. Nakamoto, it's a pleasure to see you in class," Professor Brown boomed so the whole class would notice, "you'll see that we've paired up for a project over our winter break. Seeing as the project can't be done alone, I will pair you up with..."

Everyone shrank in their chairs as Professor Brown scanned the room. Yuta was a more than capable student, but notorious for skipping class for practice and clubs and meetings and doing the bare minimum to get enough credit to keep up. There was no way he'd kept track of all the material from the semester so far, so surely anyone teamed up with him would have to drag him along. You nearly crawled under the desk when Professor Brown's eyes settled on you and Doyoung.

"You'll need some smart partners, so we'll stick you with a couple of over-acheivers. Doyoung, you two will be partnered with Yuta. Now, let's take some time to brainstorm."

Before any of you could protest, the click of Professor Brown's pen interrupted like a gunshot before he himself wrote all three of your names together on the list of pairs.

Yuta stood, wide-eyed and stunned in place for a second before sighing and heading your way. You clutched onto Doyoung's arm in a death grip.

"Save me," you demanded in a harsh whisper.

"Save me," Doyoung growled back, "this project sucks enough just the two of us. This is a nightmare."

Yuta made his way down your aisle in the shuffle of everyone sitting with their partners.

"Not just that."

"Wait," Doyoung noted, "what?"

"Yuta asked me out at the beginning of the semester, we went on one date, he got conveniently busy as always, and then never called again." You buried your head in Doyoung's arm, refusing to believe any of this was happening.

"He WHAT?!" The exclamation was jarring enough that everyone around you took a glance. Your nails dug into Doyoung's arm. There was an edge to his bewildered look. "That guy? What?! How did I never hear--"

You cut off his intense whisper and yanked him back down to you. "Jesus Christ, Doyoung, I'm sorry I never said anything; I know we're friends but it was never an issue since he's never here." You were babbling, trying to get all this mess out before Yuta was actually here and adding to it.

"Uhm, hello," Yuta awkwardly greeted with a small wave, "I guess we're partners. Mind if I sit down?"

You and Doyoung rapidly pulled away from each other, looking as cool and collected as possible from your recent revelation. Yuta gave you a small, shy smile as he pulled up a chair. The rest of class was torture, just coming up with any idea of what to do and turning down every possibility.

"We're overthinking this," you stated ten minutes or so later, pressing your hands down hard on the table. "This won't take us all week to figure out but we will have to at least use today. Should we go to the library after class?"

"Can't," Doyoung said, shaking his head, "they're switching to winter break hours today."

"Student cafe?"

"Same."

"How about one of your places?" Yuta asked. Doyoung gave him a skeptical glance. "We can't go to my apartment," he continued sheepishly, "we won't get any work done with my roommates around."

"Not my place, either," Doyoung sighed, "My roommate's back at the dorm by now and it's been a giant mess since midterms."

Both men looked at you now. Ten's words echoed in your head.

Bring a boy home to keep you warm and don't drink all the wine by yourself.

Well, this probably wasn't what Ten meant, but the sentiment made a fair enough point.

"My place is free. When can you all make it?"

"I have some stuff to tend to real quick after this but I can be over right after," Doyoung offered eagerly.

Yuta checked the time on his phone. "I have a quick meeting after class but I can come right away when that's done. I still have your phone number," he offered with a small smile, "How about I'll text you when I'm ready to come over?"

"It's a good thing we're not asking you to call," Doyoung laughed to himself, ignoring you as you stared daggers into him. Yuta shot him an equally sharp look, his tongue poking at his cheek as he tried to figure out just what the hell Doyoung was getting at.

It was going to be a long afternoon.

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To your horror, you received a text from both Doyoung and Yuta within seconds of each other. Based on both, you had roughly fifteen minutes to make it look like you lived in relatively civilized conditions. If you were lucky, the fat snowflakes landing on the ground would keep them from showing up too soon. Much to your dismay, the gentle wisps of frost from earlier were giving way to a bit more aggressive tactics.

You had been too preoccupied wondering what Doyoung was up to instead of cleaning. He seemed so oddly bitter towards Yuta. Surely, this must've meant he liked you as more than a study buddy, since his behavior more resembled that of a jilted lover than that of a protective friend, but how could you even broach that subject with Yuta around? And, for that matter, Yuta still had your number? How come he never called? Or even texted?

When it came to your lovely mess of a home, you'd really lucked out. At the beginning of his sophomore year, Ten had been given the opportunity to rent his grandparents' modest starter home -- only a convenient distance from the campus -- on the condition he find a roommate soon after he moved in. Thankfully, you'd already become fast friends and moved in right away once the invitation was presented. No more dorm, no more R.A. looming down the hall, no more dining plan. Having already lived here for a year, though, it was tiresome learning how to care for a house. Thus, the slight mess that had settled in once winter came.

You sprinted around the living room, picking up clothes and throwing them in the laundry room, grabbing errant dishes and throwing them in the dishwasher. You cranked up the space heater to a level only utilized for when guests were over, and quickly passed over the hardwood in the living room with a broom. It wasn't the best, but it was better. Glancing out the front window to the darkening grey skies outside, you were amused to find that Yuta's Uber arrived right as Doyoung finished walking the couple blocks from the bus stop. They paused upon meeting each other at the end of the driveway, a silent standoff before they speedwalked a spontaneous race to the porch, mindful of the icy slush on the ground. A simultaneous knock and doorbell chime sounded just as you reached for the knob and you took a deep, calming breath in vain to appear more casual as you opened the door.

Once you had all settled into the living room, crowded on the floor around the coffee table as you worked, the tension began to die down a little. Really, the paper wasn't a huge deal. Everyone was just understandably heightened from the annoyance of having to do group work over the break. Despite the collaboration needed, once you all calmed down it was easier to wrap your heads around some ideas. At least, you thought it was.

"Look," Yuta said, interrupting your momentary silence, "am I allowed to say Doyoung's idea makes no sense to me?"

"I'm right here," Doyoung deadpanned, raising his eyebrows as he peered over his glasses, "and my concept is just fine. Isn't it?" He looked to you, barely waiting for an answer before continuing. "We already started, and I'm pretty sure you don't really get a say in what we do since you barely come to class. I'm not sure how, or even if, you're passing, but I want no part in it for my grades."

"Okay, fine," Yuta conceded weakly, "I was just blowing off steam. You don't--"

"A simple 'sorry' and 'thank you' would suffice."

"Uh," Yuta stared, slack-jawed, eyes darting between Doyoung's hard gaze and your own bewildered expression, "I'm sorry for taking my stress out on you. Thanks for your efforts and ideas."

"You're welcome." Doyoung wasn't even regarding him anymore, still tapping on his laptop like this wasn't some bizarre power play you both just witnessed. You awkwardly snuggled into your hoodie, burying your nose into the plush fabric and distracting Doyoung across the table.

"Cold? I can turn up the heat," Doyoung offered.

"Oh, thank you," you smiled sheepishly, "but the heater is already up as high as it'll go. Just cold outside and the insulation on the house needs replacing."

Yuta thumbed behind him at the quaint wood stove in the corner of the room. "I'm surprised you use a heater at all. What about a fire?"

"Uh," you gave an embarrassed chuckle, "it's not exactly my forte. Not Ten's, either. This is just easier and more convenient."

"That's crazy! Do you have a woodpile in the yard?" Yuta made a move to sit up on his heels. Doyoung shot a quick look his way, gauging him.

"I think so? I think I saw one behind the shed a few months ago."

"No problem," Yuta smiled, "I'll go get some and be right back."

"Oh!" Doyoung sprang to his haunches as well, "Let me help you."

"What? Don't worry about it; it's no problem," Yuta smiled, his sweet voice mocking, "I'd hate for you to ruin your nice boots in the snow."

Doyoung sat back down, scowling and a little wounded as Yuta grabbed his shoes from the front door. His beat-up hiking boots had been sat next to Doyoung's vintage Redwings, previously mint condition before today's trial by fire. Yuta loosely slipped on the boots by the back door and threw on his coat before valiantly marching outside to investigate.

It wasn't like Yuta was wrong. He was a bit more rugged whereas Doyoung was a little more prim. Yuta seemed to live and breathe in sweats and jeans and flannel and hoodies -- an actual sporty type who liked to fill his spare time with bike rides through the woods or camping at the river during the summer. He even smelled nice and woodsy. During your one date you recalled he smelled like musk and pine needles and even coffee. Doyoung, on the other hand, had a modest collection of handsome bags that paired well with his sleek capsule wardrobe made up of soft neutrals and smooth textiles. You always liked his somewhat floral cologne that reminded you of stores you were both too broke to shop at. Mysteriously, you hooked on how he also happened to smell like coffee.

Doyoung chewed on his lip as he flipped through his notes in his notebook and on his laptop. He slipped his glasses off and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I'm sorry, by the way, for acting weird. I'm sure it's obvious that I feel some way about you and I should've said something forever ago." You froze, perked up at his brazen admission. So you weren't going crazy, after all. "I hate to admit I'm a little jealous," Doyoung continued shyly, "but, I mean, he's gorgeous and nice."

You leaned forward, giving his hand on the table a reassuring squeeze. "Hey, I'm just glad you told me. We'll figure this out after this whole mess of a project, okay? We can go to that cafe I like." Doyoung gave you a small smile, interrupted as Yuta kicked the backdoor in, his arms piled high with firewood and kindling.

"Thank god this stuff was covered, or we'd really be up shit creek," he laughed boisterously as he kicked his boots off and nudged the door closed. He padded into the living room and gently dropped the pile by the wood stove. "So, if I'm correct in assuming this wood pile is ancient, am I also correct in assuming you have no idea how to light a fire?" You blushed, eagerly kneeling up to join him. Doyoung rolled his eyes. He mumbled an excuse to go use the bathroom.

You suddenly found yourself alone with Yuta for the first time in months. He shrugged off his coat and quickly hung it back up by the front door and returned, dropping to a squat next to the wood stove. He checked to make sure the flume was clear, showed you how to arrange the wood over the kindling, and handed you a match to light. You clapped triumphantly as the fire crackled to life. Yuta offered you a high five and you couldn't stifle your giggle as you accepted. The touch lingered. Your cheeks warmed as Yuta gently held your hand. "I'm so sorry, by the way," he said meekly, "for never calling. I just got so busy and then I was just super embarrassed and I was positive you wanted nothing to do with me. Every few days I thought about your number in my phone and considered at least just texting you. Sorry for being a giant wuss."

"No!" You quickly countered, squeezing his hand, "No, no, no, I understand. I'd probably feel the same if I were you."

Yuta gave you the warmest smile, his hand squeezing back at yours and quickly releasing as Doyoung walked back from the bathroom. He looked concerned. "Have you seen outside?"

Getting up, you and Yuta both joined Doyoung as he opened the front curtain. Sheets of snow were drifting across the lawn and street beyond, piling up and glistening. The slush on the sidewalk and driveway had completely snowed over and more by now.

"Oh, shit," Yuta mumbled, "how am I going to get home now?"

"Do you have basic channels?" Doyoung asked, pointing at the cute little TV in the room. "We can see if there's a weather report so we can get a better idea of what's available."

You nodded quickly, grabbing the remote and flipping on the television. Just as you found the news confirming that, indeed, tomorrow's snow drift was early and stronger than predicted, a buzz sounded throughout the house. The electronics surged before suddenly dying out with a crackle. The three of you stood, looking at each other in the growing dim of the living room as the stormy sky outside grew darker.

It was as good a time as any to break out the wine, you figured. The boys watched curiously as you opened the fridge and pulled out your two boxes of wine. You set one on the counter, then clicked open the kitchen window to toss the other box into a pile of snow in the backyard to keep cool. Twisting off the cap, you nearly drank straight from the box when you noticed Doyoung and Yuta staring. Sighing, you grabbed three cups from the cupboard and poured one for each of you. The boys got the hint and came forward. You clinked your cups and each took a sip of the cheap wine.

"Generator?" Yuta asked optimistically. You shook your head.

"Am I imposing if I ask to crash on the couch tonight?" Doyoung sighed, grimacing at the sour aftertaste. Again, you shook your head.

"If anything I assumed you'd both already figured you should hunker down here for the night," you mumbled, "and the stove is now the hottest thing in the house. We'll all camp in the living room."

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Thankfully, with a gas stove in the kitchen, dinner was easy enough to scrap together with the help of some candles and a headlamp Yuta had found out in the shed during his expedition. The mood was kept light enough, the boys even managing to warm up to each other some, and conditions were kept civilized as the water was still running for the time being. However, things still felt tense. You'd settled for sitting in the exact middle of Yuta and Doyoung, finding that if you sat a centimeter closer to either of them where you were all bundled up in front of the fire, they attempted to scoot closer to you.

The box of wine felt suspiciously light as you noticed Doyoung shiver. "Got any extra blankets?"

"Yeah," you nodded, "in the hall closet. Want me to go get them?"

"No, no," Doyoung shook his head with a smile, "I'm sure I'll find my way." He switched on his phone's flashlight and ventured down the hall. You turned back, gasping into a laugh as you noticed Yuta had silently slid up next to you. You hushed yourself, trying not to giggle at his sudden proximity. It was, admittedly, really nice to hang out again, even under these circumstances.

"This is going to sound crazy," Yuta whispered, "but would you go out with me again? Give me another chance?"

"What? Of course," you found yourself whispering, blushing from the wine and his face so close to yours, "I've just been waiting for you to ask." Yuta smiled, his sweet grin making you smitten and eager as he leaned close, his lips nearly brushing yours as Doyoung stumbled back into the living room empty-handed. You fell back in surprise, craning your neck to see him in the dark.

"Alright," Doyoung laughed, "I'm less capable than I thought."

"It's okay! I'll grab them." You rolled and got up, feeling your way down the hall. You wrenched open the difficult door of the hall closet and grabbed all the blankets you could get ahold of, as well as some extra pillows from yours and Ten's rooms. Softly, you padded back down the hallway but stopped short, listening in on a hushed conversation happening in the living room.

"Yuta, just knock it off already, you had your chance."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. It's my turn."

"Turn?! What is this, grade school?"

"Oh, shut up. You hardly know her, anyhow."

"And you do? I thought this was your first time here, too."

"What does that prove? We help each other with assignments, we talk, we eat together. Plenty more than you can say."

"And I want to do all those things with her, you tool."

"And more?"

"Jesus, don't make me sound like the bad guy when you clearly want that, too."

You gracefully waltzed back into the living room, your mountain of blankets in hand and appearing to be none the wiser -- even ignoring that Doyoung and Yuta would be sitting hip to hip in their fervor if it weren't for the box of wine separating them. The duo immediately shut up and rose to their feet. Yuta grumbled something about finding the extra wine before making his way into the kitchen and stepping into his boots by the back door. Doyoung tossed another log on the fire before helping you with the blankets.

"Watch out for this guy," Doyoung spoke quietly, "I think he's up to something."

"Up to something? What is this, Doyoung, True Crime Stories?"

"Want it to be?" Doyoung deadpanned, and you did your best to hide the shiver that ran down your spine as you set up a little blanket nest in front of the couch. You'd be hard pressed to deny you didn't like this dark edge to how Doyoung spoke to you. For as goofy and neurotic as he could be, you knew there was something to him that he didn't quite advertise. Maybe this sudden possessiveness was connected to that. Doyoung reached for you. It was barely even a reach, his fingertips daring to brush your hip and instantly retracting once Yuta shambled in through the back door, switching the wine from hand to hand to clap the snow off his shoulders and shucking his boots off.

It took a few tries of various pleas, cups of wine, appeals, and ego stroking to get the two men to calm down enough to focus their energy on hanging out with you rather than competing with each other. Eventually, you were all settled in a cuddle pile on the plush carpet, cheeks rosy and everyone a little more jolly as you hung out. You actually gave Doyoung a chance to enjoy hanging out with you outside of school. You found out that you had both belonged to the same film society but during different years, and now you both considered returning again. Yuta was thoroughly engaged while you actually got to know each other. You made a plan to go hiking together as long you also got to check out your favorite museum together some time. The boys nearly died when they realized they were wearing the same jeans -- Yuta's having been thrifted downtown years ago and Doyoung's bought in perfect condition from an online reseller. In the dead of the night with the snow whistling outside, you finally started to feel drowsy. Your head rested on Yuta's shoulder, feeling the soft rise and fall of his breath while you stroked Doyoung's hair, who had curled up to lay his head on your lap. You were surrounded with the smell of pine and flowers and coffee, with two spare heartbeats lulling you to sleep.

You barely dozed off just as Yuta woke himself up with a soft snore. You glanced up, sharing a quiet laugh and locking eyes. It was only a moment. He took your fingers in his, thumbing the back of your hand as his gaze fell on your lips. You gave him the smallest nod and his lips were on yours, gentle and soft and warm. His scent tickled your nose in the heat of the living room, cranked up in intensity with each breath you took of him. You nearly forgot Doyoung in your lap as Yuta's hand slid up your arm to stroke the pad of his thumb across your cheek. He kissed you again, smiling contently as you gladly sighed into him. In fact, you were so caught up in the moment that you hadn't felt Doyoung's arm around your waist until you turned back to catch him catching you.

"Having fun without me?" Doyoung asked plainly, raising his eyebrows in unamused assumption.

"Doyoung," you gasped, only amplified as his charged silence. He made brief eye contact with Yuta, and then you, before his lips found yours as well. It was only a moment before he sat back. The three of you sat, stunned in the series of events that just transpired. What possibilities were even available now? Any consideration you'd been making towards either of them just multiplied in complexity and now all three of you waited in excruciating silence. Doyoung and Yuta shared an intense stare-down. Really, you barely had to be there. They each clutched one of your hands and you wondered if they’d be tempted to try and grab you for their own like a game of tug-of-war. This had to be settled.

In an impulsive decision, you looked to each of them before pressing a quick kiss to Doyoung’s lips. A proud smirk graced his face as you turned to face a confused and somewhat hurt Yuta, only made more confused as you placed a quick kiss on his lips as well. You turned back to Doyoung. His pride had turned into the same look of confusion. “I like both of you,” you said simply, “so either we’ll have to make some tough decisions or learn to share.”

The boys looked to each other again, nodding in mutually bewildered acceptance of the situation before they both lunged into you. You gasped at the combined sensation, Yuta’s hot and eager lips peppering one side of your neck with nips and pecks as Doyoung’s lips lingered on the other side, methodical and patient. Their hands traveled up and down your body, Yuta searching and Doyoung wandering. Any time either of them happened to catch a kiss from you, the other instantly noticed and wanted one as well. Yuta's hand slid across your tummy as his arms went to wrap around your waist, but Doyoung batted him away. Despite your request, not much sharing was coming too easily.

You spun and scooted away from the boys on the floor, facing them as they still crowded the space you had just been occupying. "If we can't do this," you spelled out calmly, "then we won't." Doyoung returned Yuta's silent plea with contemptuous acceptance. He offered a hand to you to let you come near again. You hesitantly accepted, curious to see what his plan was. You were surprised as he led you into Yuta's arms. Was he giving up?

"Yuta," Doyoung said quietly, firmly, "I want to see you kiss her. Let me see if you're as good at pleasing her as I'm going to be."

You observed, wildly intrigued at what Yuta would do. His tongue poked at the inside of his cheek, cocking his head just the slightest bit in his threatened pride. He made his move. Yuta pulled you onto his lap, his strong hands running up your back and pulling you close. He gave you the smallest moment of hesitation before his lips grazed yours -- just the smallest moment needed to fill you with adrenaline and make you gasp. Unlike before, his kiss was needy, but also leading. Your tongues barely had a chance to mingle when you caught Doyoung's gaze out of the corner of your eye. He had risen to sit back on his heels, watching intently, his long fingers resting on the growing bulge in his jeans. You were suddenly made aware of Yuta's own stiff erection pressed up under you.

Yuta tensed in his kiss as Doyoung slid -- prowled -- closer, his fingertips brushing your hair back over your shoulder and making you shiver. Whatever power inside Yuta that allowed him to be simply wary of Doyoung rather than intimidated was impressive, as he cautiously didn't stop kissing you, even as his grip around you tightened just the smallest bit. Almost like he was afraid to lose you. Doyoung gently guided your head back and away from Yuta, smirking at your shaky breath.

"Is he good?" His simple question was directed at you. You didn't even take your eyes off Yuta's as you nodded breathlessly, awaiting Doyoung's next move. "Good. Let's see what else he's good at."

Doyoung's cool hands surprised you as they slipped under your sweater. Yuta backed his hands off of you, patiently and carefully waiting. Your sweater was lifted up over your breasts, the skin there instantly raising in goosebumps. You moaned softly as Doyoung's fingers thumbed over your raised nipples and you couldn't stifle your small smile as you noticed both boys perk up at the noise. Yuta took the hint and leaned down just enough to tentatively run his tongue over the sensitive nub. Doyoung gently pulled you back against his chest, sitting back and nuzzling your neck as Yuta sweetly licked and sucked on your nipples. He followed you forward, now leaning over you between your legs and alternating between your breasts to give them equal attention. Doyoung's fingers walked down your belly, letting you get a good view as he dipped below the waistband of your jeans.

"Does that feel good?" Yuta asked. His tone suggested enthusiasm, but his wary gaze suggested a fog of jealousy still drifting through him. You hesitated, your heart racing while you nearly forgot to breathe.

"Answer him, baby." Doyoung was confident, challenging you to pick a favorite as his lips grazed your ear.

"You're both driving me crazy," you breathed, your head swimming as both boys sank their teeth into you in teasing retaliation, Doyoung in your neck and Yuta in your breast. You observed as Doyoung's free hand snaked around into Yuta's hair. He froze, tense and on edge but his lips still on your chest. Doyoung firmly, gently tugged Yuta off of you, smirking at his grunt and signaling him to stay still as he began to unbuckle your belt. He slid your jeans down your chilly thighs, his hands caressing you as he pushed the denim down your legs, your panties following right behind. Yuta watched intently until the hand in his hair returned and led him down to your heat. You were still surprised at how cooperative Yuta was being as his warm lips ghosted over the soft lips of your pussy. Doyoung's hands returned to your breasts as Yuta finally ran his tongue over your clit, tentatively sampling you before diving in and devouring you. You erupted into moans, already too turned on by the entire situation. Doyoung rolled your nipples in his slim fingers, pulling you back to kiss you and whisper playful teases at you.

"Is he good, baby?"

"He's so good," you whimpered, earning a groan out of Yuta between your legs.

"Do you want more?"

"Yes, please, Doyoung, I need more."

Doyoung smiled graciously against your lips as he tugged on Yuta's hair again. "You heard the boss, Yuta. She wants more. I say we get you to lay down and she can take a ride. Sound good?" Yuta nodded, probably looking just as lust-drunk as you as Doyoung eased out from behind you. He pulled Yuta up close to him, first running a finger through the slick that had coated his chin and feeding it back to him. Yuta made cautious eye contact, carefully sucking the juices off of the offered digit and closing his eyes with a thick groan as Doyoung leaned in to lick more off his face. "What do you say?" Doyoung asked, firmly cradling Yuta's chin. "Doesn't she deserve to ride your face?" Yuta nodded gratefully towards both of you, practically entranced as he reclined to lay back on the rug.

Both boys looked on, admiring as you slipped off your sweater and let it fall to the floor, all the layers underneath quickly following behind along with the jeans you finally kicked all the way off. You made a show of releasing Yuta's straining cock from his jeans first, earning a choked groan out of him before you climbed up and let out your own breathy moan as you eased down onto his eager tongue. You pulled Doyoung closer and held onto him for support as you straddled Yuta's face with your trembling thighs. Tentatively, you let your hand grip around Yuta's firm cock, causing him to take the slightest pause at the sensation. You pumped his length in your hand as you gained more confidence, letting your hips rock back and forth on the tongue massaging your clit. Doyoung absently massaged your breasts, more consumed with watching you. Both sources of attention went straight to your head, making you dizzy with arousal. You were interrupted with Doyoung's snarl in your ear as he noticed Yuta's moans underneath you grow more earnest. Suddenly, his hand was on yours on Yuta's cock, gently peeling your fingers away. He took the stiff erection into his hand, making Yuta jerk and exclaim from under you. You lifted just enough so Yuta could regard Doyoung.

"What are you doing?" The quiver in his voice wasn't accusatory. Yuta may as well have been asking for directions. His voice slurred, thick with arousal.

"You're getting a little carried away," Doyoung soothed with a tone more fitting for comforting a child, "Don't you think she gets to cum first?" Yuta whined, but he nodded enough for you both to notice. "Let her cum first," he continued, "and then we'll take care of you." Doyoung took the small moan falling from your lips as a sign that Yuta had continued licking and shared a satisfied smirk with you. His hand remained firm on Yuta's cock, and the sight alone was helping your orgasm build. Doyoung sweetly swept your hair back over your shoulder as your breathing grew more ragged, the climax quickly becoming inevitable. Both boys shuddered as your body contracted, your muscles clenching in waves as your light-headedness hit its peak. You slumped forward, hoping to escape from Yuta's persistent tongue, but you were met with Doyoung's warm hand pushing back down on your thigh. His slender fingers traveled down to Yuta's hips, working at his jeans to push them down to his knees.

"You're making a mess. You better keep going," Doyoung slyly ordered, "if you stop before I say so then you won't get to cum." His hand had begun pumping at the hard cock in his grip, slowly but consistently traveling up and down the whole length. Yuta hesitated beneath you, but quickly clamped his hands down over your thighs as well to hold you in place. You cried out, the overstimulation seeming to prolong the passed orgasm. Doyoung's smirk persisted, and you both loathed and loved the feeling it gave you, the rush it filled you with. Yuta could hardly keep up, stopping regularly to let out a pained moan from his delayed orgasm and giving you a welcome reprieve.

Soon, you were both begging Doyoung to call it off. Only when you both sounded close to tears did he seem to be satisfied. You gratefully collapsed off of Yuta, spilling onto the rug next to him as you tried to catch your breath. Yuta, however, did not get off that easily -- literally. His fists balled up to his sides, he could only grit his teeth as Doyoung kept his tantalizingly slow pace. He struggled to keep from thrusting into the fist around his cock. "Please, Doyoung," Yuta breathed, his eyes squeezed tight as he pleaded, "I need it. I feel like I'm gonna fucking pass out." Doyoung couldn't contain his pitying laugh. His hand was soaked in Yuta's seeping precum. You felt the need to interfere -- to challenge Doyoung and see where exactly his desires lay, as well as helping Yuta finally reach his orgasm. You gingerly fought your tired muscles to rise up to your knees, catching Doyoung's attention before you hooked a finger into his waistband. You pulled at his belt and jeans, quickly getting his pulsing erection into your own warm grip and making him yelp. He instantly fell against you, his head on your shoulder. However, his hand still didn't let up on Yuta. You watched, pleased at the scene that was oddly serene and severe at the same time, both boys breathing hard and outlined bright in the hot glow of the fire.

"Doyoung," you spoke softly in his ear. Your free hand rose up to stroke his hair as his breath grew heavy, "haven't I been good?"

"So good, baby," he breathed.

"And Yuta? Hasn't he been good?"

"Yes, he's behaved himself," Doyoung choked out against you. You stroked him swiftly and firmly, bringing him up to speed much too fast. It was nice to see that you were the exception to Doyoung's dominance if you wanted.

"If I got to cum for being good, then so does he, doesn't he?"

"Yes, baby." With the simplest of reluctant replies, Doyoung was able to pick his head back up. He turned his gaze back to Yuta writhing on the floor. "You want to cum, right? That's why you've been so good?"

"Yes, Doyoung, yes, please. I've been good. I'll be good. I'll do whatever you want just please let me cum." Yuta was practically hoarse from his repressed orgasm, nearly seething as Doyoung quickened his pace to the breaking point and then quickly backed off.

"You know what you have to say, don't you?" Doyoung smirked at the silent reply, Yuta desperately searching for the unapparent answer. The dominance had entirely returned. "What do we say when someone does something nice for us?"

"Th-thank you," Yuta muttered, shivering from too much desire and lack of proper circulation.

"What was that?" Doyoung laughed, pretending not to hear.

"Thank you, Doyoung," Yuta strained. His head pressed firmly back against the floor as he grit his teeth.

"Could you repeat that? I'm not sure I-- oh Jesus--" Doyoung collapsed, nearly folding in half as you gripped his hard-on tightly.

"Doyoung," you sweetly chided, "you made your point. Yuta will be grateful." Yuta furiously nodded his head in agreement. Doyoung sighed, wincing as your hold on his cock lessened into a gentle caress, and finally regained his pace on the leaking erection in his hand. Yuta cried out a final 'thank you', clawing at the rug underneath him as he finally shot out his orgasm. You instinctively leaned down, catching as much of the warm load as you could in your mouth, moaning at the erotic sensation. You sat back up, startled as Doyoung pulled you into a quick and heated kiss.

You both watched, amused as Yuta melted into the rug, his hair matted to his flushed face with a sheen of perspiration. His chest heaved as he finally was able to get his heart rate back down. You leaned down, pressing your lips to his forehead as he calmed down, and he gently held your hand. You caught Doyoung looking at you expectantly.

"My turn?"

"Hmm," you pondered coyly, "am I ready for another round? You were pretty mean to Yuta just now. Do you deserve it?" Doyoung looked distressed, if only for a moment. You set his mind at ease with a stifled laugh as you pulled him close. You tugged at his sweater, peeling it off along with the thin shirt underneath and admired his toned chest before you lay down next to Yuta on the rug. Pulling the exhausted man into your arms, you pulled Yuta's shirt off as well. "Is this alright?" You asked him, looking back and forth between him and Doyoung, "I know this wasn't exactly what the three of us had in mind."

"I'm fine, I think," Yuta breathed, still coming back to earth, "I'm still coming to terms with that orgasm, but I'm definitely not feeling bad."

"Definitely not bad," Doyoung noted incredulously, "you're still hard." Looking down, you were equally impressed as you noticed he was right. Doyoung excused himself to grab a glass of water, leaving you and Yuta momentarily alone once more after he threw another log on the fire.

Yuta pulled you into his arms and rolled you on top of him, holding you close. He tucked a loose tendril of hair behind your ear, cupping your flushed face. "How about you? Are you okay?" You nodded enthusiastically.

"Of course. This whole thing is surreal, but I'm enjoying myself. You seem to be enjoying yourself, too." You let out a breathless giggle, referring to the soft head of Yuta's cock kissing up against your dripping entrance. He smirked in return, gently rocking his hips up to dip the head inside. You shivered, suddenly letting out a surprised squeak as a firm set of hands began easing you down on the sore erection. You both groaned before regarding the presence behind you. Doyoung replied with a sly smile before reaching under your ass to shimmy Yuta's pants all the way off. Somewhere between here and the kitchen, Doyoung had finished undressing as well.

"Jesus," Yuta laughed, "you're so quiet! We need to put a bell on you or something."

"Sorry," Doyoung chuckled, "you were having a moment. I just wanted to help it along."

He certainly seemed to have had that effect. You already began slowly grinding your hips against Yuta's cock, his own hips meeting yours the best they could in this position on the floor. Doyoung reached a hand out, groping and palming your ass as you rode. You both momentarily froze as his thumb brushed against your asshole.

"Sorry--!" Doyoung instantly apologized.

"No-no-no," you quickly recovered, "it wasn't bad."

You nearly cooed when you noticed a blush crawl over Doyoung's cheeks. Yuta was practically on another planet, too preoccupied to notice. "Are you... Are you shy about it?"

"I mean, I didn't ask or anything--"

"Doyoung, none of us particularly asked anyone anything," Yuta suddenly interjected.

"I've experimented plenty before, you know," you said matter-of-factly. Doyoung babbled, half jealous, half bashful. Yuta raised an impressed eyebrow at you as he stifled a laugh. "Oh my god!" You laughed, playfully punching Doyoung in the arm, "You thought I'm innocent, didn't you!"

Doyoung gave in, hanging his head and laughing shamefully. "Ugh, am I that obvious? I guess I had you figured wrong."

"Is it a bad thing?" Yuta asked.

"What? No! Of course not!"

"Then..." You carefully proposed, "Do you want to try it with me?"

"Like... At the same time?"

You simply nodded in reply. Doyoung stared. Yuta stared. You officially surpassed both their expectations. You bit at your lip. "I always wanted to try," you admitted. "Are you okay with it?" You directed at Yuta. He nodded expectantly, picking up his dropped pace underneath you and meeting your thrusts again. Grabbing Doyoung's hand, you pulled him closer to the two of you. You pecked a kiss to his blushed cheek as he ran his fingertips back over the curve of your ass. The pad of his middle finger brushed the slick entrance of your pussy and up against the puckered hole above, making you both gasp and shiver as he gently pushed the digit into you. Though you had, in fact, experimented with anal both on your own and with a partner, you'd never had two partners to try this with before. The closest you had gotten was trying with an old boyfriend with the help of a dildo, and you'd given up from an impatient lack of proper care and preparation.

Doyoung was, of course, much more attentive, almost taking too much time to stretch you open. Surely, Yuta couldn't hold off a second orgasm forever. You had to practically beg Doyoung to add another finger, assuring and reassuring him that you were fine and loving it. Replacing his slow hand on his member with your own, you hoped to coax him along and make him just a little more eager. "Please, please, Doyoung," you breathed, "I need it. I need you in me, too." He nodded earnestly, slowly pulling his fingers out of you. You arched into his touch as you felt his hands on your hips again.

"Hold on a second," Doyoung chuckled darkly. You and Yuta took notice -- his confidence was back. "I need to get wet real quick." Just as you were about to question, Doyoung's hands lifted you off of Yuta's cock. Your protest was shocked into a sudden moan as Doyoung sank his whole length into your sopping wet heat. Yuta's hands clutched onto your thighs, hypnotized into silence as Doyoung bounced you hard back against his cock. He teasingly pulled out, pushing you back onto Yuta's aching dick before leaving you empty once more and impaling you again on himself. "There," he soothed, running a surprisingly gentle hand down your back, "all lubed up and ready to go." He eased back out of you and let you sink back down onto Yuta's length. Yuta let out a satisfied groan to have you back down against him. Both boys' eyes bore into you as the head of Doyoung's cock finally eased up against your hole, watching as your moans turned to whines as you slowly, persistently took the length inside of you.

Your thighs trembled and you leaned forward, resting your forehead on Yuta's chest and arching your ass up to meet Doyoung's hips. Both of them caressed you, whispering sweet praise and encouragement until Doyoung was fully rested inside of you. You finally sat back up, realizing that both boys' eyes were locked on each other. "Holy shit," you panted, "I feel so..."

"It's oddly intimate, right?" Yuta laughed quietly, fluttering his eyes shut at the sensation of Doyoung nestled tight up against him through your walls.

"Goddamn -- That's definitely a word for it," Doyoung agreed, his hold on your hips wavering from the stimulation.

"Doyoung -- Yuta -- Somebody please move," you whined, your hips fighting on which direction to move. Tentatively, the three of you figured out a rhythm that worked: you moving back with Doyoung's thrusts, and moving forward with Yuta's. You took your time, feeling each other out and enjoying the drawn out sensation.

"Yuta," Doyoung moaned out, "how have you not cum again yet?"

"My refractory period is dumb," Yuta struggled, "sometimes I'll stay hard but won't cum for an eternity. Guess it's one of those times, except this is bringing me dangerously close."

"Oh, thank god," Doyoung hissed, "I felt like a dick getting close already."

"I'm not surprised, I mean you haven't even orgasmed once yet."

"Uh--"

The three of you grinded to a sudden halt. You craned your neck to gaze back at Doyoung, the blush returning to your cheeks.

"When?!" You laughed.

"Uh... Earlier. When I went to the bathroom. Took care of some tension."

"My bathroom, Doyoung?!" You and Yuta failed to keep down a guffaw.

"Stop or I'll never cum again." Doyoung's head lolled back as he sighed in embarrassment. You reached to squeeze his hand on your hip, but were surprised as Yuta beat you to it.

"Don't be so dramatic and help us cum," Yuta playfully jabbed. Doyoung gave him a thankful smile and you yelped as his thrusts resumed behind you. Amazingly, the shared real estate inside you meant that Doyoung's cock angled Yuta's just enough right into your g-spot in this position. In fact, they'd been collectively pounding up against it this whole time, surprising you as you felt a rare penetrative orgasm approaching.

"Holy shit," you moaned desperately, "you're both going to make me cum if you keep this up."

"That's as bright of a sign as we're going to get," Doyoung laughed, "and not too soon, either."

"I'll fucking say. I've been holding back for the past two minutes."

"Wait," Doyoung blurted, "wait-wait-wait I'm just about there--"

"Hurry up, then," you cried out, "oh, Jesus--!"

Your legs clamped down around Yuta, the erratic pulsing of your muscles pulling both his and Doyoung's orgasms out of them, eventually syncing all three of you together. You lay in a heap, breathing each other in and finally collapsing into a pile as both boys gently eased out of you.

"Do you need anything?" Doyoung offered. You weakly smiled and shook your head, rocking up onto your feet and teetering like a fawn down the hall to the bathroom to freshen up.

You gazed in the mirror, face flushed and glowing and your hair a ruffled mess. What did this mean for the three of you? Would it be possible to figure out an arrangement that would work for all of you? You grabbed a couple towels and washcloths and a pack of wet wipes before making the trek back down the hall. You paused just short of the living room, not wanting to interrupt the conversation inside. As you peered around the corner, both boys were wrapped up in blankets by the fire, hip to hip.

"-- Yeah, I'm fine. Great, even." Yuta assured, sounding a bit dazed, still.

"I'm glad. I've just never... You know?"

"Me neither... Wait, really? You've never been in a threesome, or with a guy?"

"Uh, yes."

"Seriously?! You're a natural. I mean, as far as I can tell."

"How flattering."

"Oh, I'm teasing, you big baby. You're a natural slut. A real manwhore."

"Yuta, oh my god--"

"Definitely a good dom, that's for sure."

"Yuta -- wait, really?"

"Yeah! That edging was, uh, heh, pretty great. I could really be down for that again."

You could see Doyoung's blush in the glow of the fire even from where you stood.

"That is," Yuta teased, "if you're not still going to be all territorial."

"Well, she's nobody's territory. We're not dealing with flags, here. But I see what you mean. I had you figured wrong, too, I guess. I'm sorry about that."

"Hey, don't worry; it's kind of cute, if not a little obnoxious."

"I think it's cute, too." You finally interrupted, emerging from the dark with your supplies. The boys backed up about a foot away from each other, getting a laugh out of you.

You probably had nothing to worry about. Not even the assignment. Not even the snow outside. In fact, you wanted the snow to last forever.

❄️💙❄️💙❄️💙❄️💙❄️💙❄️💙❄️💙❄️

[ohworm-writes]

hi hello! can i pls get sum jealous hcs for snipermask ? 👉🏻👈🏻

High-Rise Invasion/Tenkuu Shinpan: Sniper Mask Boyfriend Headcannons

high-rise invasion/tenkuu shinpan masterlist

‼ Jealous Sniper Mask ‼

Featuring: Sniper Mask, Yuri Honjo, Mayuko Nise, Kuon Shinzaki

Warnings: spoilers for High-Rise Invasion/Tenkuu Shinpan, mild violence

a/n - thanks for the request mate! i hope you enjoy it!

content below the cut!

jealous Yuka is not a new thing to you

you'd think that the big bad sniper would be able to cover up his jealousy easily with a mask that covers his entire face

but nope!

he makes it obvious when he's jealous

when he thinks you're giving someone else too much attention, he does one of two things

either he'll just pull you away from the conversation you're having

doesn't matter if it's important or not

he'll take your hand and drag you off like nothing is wrong with it

that, or he'll show you enough physical affection to make whoever you're talking to uncomfortable

usually, this results in him wrapping his arms around your waist and propping his head upon your shoulder

he'll shamelessly flirt with you right in front of the other person

he'll make his jealousy obvious to you (and them)

as long as it ends up with you showing him more attention, he'll do anything

now, let’s say it’s not the people in your group that he’s jealous of

let's say it’s one of those mouthless masks or some other human trying to flirt with you

oh no

while the other things do apply, he might go as far as killing someone if they try anything with you

it’s not his fault that someone was getting too touchy with you

he’ll put them in their place

whether or not that’s 6 feet under isn’t the concern

the people in your group had to find out this tendency of his the hard way

You, Yuri, and Mayuko had all been seated around a table, discussing the plans to make your way further towards her brother. You all were so enveloped in the conversation, you were yet to notice the masked figure standing in the doorway watching you all converse.

He glared at the two girls under his mask, sending icy stares in their direction. He knew he shouldn't be jealous of them. One, because Yuri and Mayuko were obviously into each other, but two, because you were already dating him.

He frowned, watching as your eyes lit up when you talked about the pathway that would be safest for your group to take. He didn't like this at all, not one bit.

You had been so busy today, first, helping out Kuon to go gather supplies, then you and Mayuko had lookout together, and finally this meeting. You had barely spared him a glance the whole day, and it was getting on his nerves.

Everyone in the little group knew that you were dating him, it had been established early on. So when he had come over and draped his arms over your shoulders, resting his chin on your head, sure, it raised an eyebrow, but they simply carried on with the conversation.

You looked up at your boyfriend, offering him a small smile and patting his hand, before returning your attention to Yuri.

"You said that he was kidnapped, right? Do we have any idea where he's being held?" Your question made the girl in question's eyes light up. Right as she's about to answer, all eyes turn to your boyfriend when a deep growl emits from his throat.

It certainly catches everyone's attention, especially yours. "You alright Sniper?" Mayuko asks, crossing her arms firmly over her chest. Yuri sits there, wide eyes looking at him. You tilt your head up once more, resting your hand over his. His face tilts down, looking at you as you calmly ask him if everything is alright.

He frowns under the mask, before dropping his arms and making his way to the other side of the couch. "Are you... joining us?" Yuri asks, beyond confused, even more so as he grabs your hand and hoists you up. A yelp emits from you as he drags you out of the room.

You look back over at the two girls, giving them an awkward laugh. "I guess we'll finish this later!" That's the last they hear from you for the day as your boyfriend makes sure all of your attention is on him.

when he's finally got your attention, he makes sure it stays that way

he'll cuddle with you for hours on end, not letting you up unless you need to pee, and then it's right back into his arms

his hold is tighter when he's jealous, holding you and not letting go

he knows you're as loyal to him as he is to you, but he can't help feeling envious when he sees you with others

he'll voice it to you, telling you that he's been deprived of your attention and how he just wanted to be with you

he's embarrassed, maybe just a bit

but after reassuring him, he likes to give you lots of affection to show you how much he loves you

whether it's kisses, leaving love marks, or voicing it to you, he makes sure that you know it

[mimi-cee-hq]

Laundry Days - Aran x f!reader

Summary: Three times you picked up his underwear and one time you missed doing it.

Genres, other tags: fluff, slice of life, humour, meet cute, domestic fluff, not suggestive lol, married under 25, neighbours to married lovers ;)

Words: 1.6k

Warnings: manga spoiler

This is for @neoheros & @coophi's 2021 Summer Haikyuu!! Writing contest. (Okay I'm pretty shy at first so it feels a little scary to tag you two but here's my piece.) I was going for the married under 25 prompt but ended up doing neighbours to lovers too. :D

Don't mind me spreading the underrated characters agenda as well. lol.

*****

A few articles of clothing spilled out of the dryer and onto your feet. Oops. Your neighbour must have forgotten them. You should've checked first.

Your own damp clothes sat inside the washing machine next to it, waiting for their turn to enter the dryer. It wasn't possible now.

You sighed, retrieving the phone from your pocket and scrolling until you saw the name of the neighbour who lived a floor below you.

Ojiro Aran.

You were sure this was the right person after a second look at your texting history. Who'd bring the garbage to the curb, where the lawnmower was kept, and keeping the duplex's stairway clear were some of the conversations you had with him.

You had yet to meet the guy, but he seemed amicable enough.

After shooting him a text, you thought to give him a call instead. Perhaps he'd think a phone call was strange. However, your clothes were damp and you shouldn't leave them for long. Was he even home?

You sighed. Crouched down, you returned the clothes on the floor back into the machine. A scarf, several socks, and a knit hat made their way back inside. But what was this?

Underwear. Men's underwear.

You scrunched your nose as you lifted it from the cold, tile floor. Was that a hole in it?

Click.

"Sorry I just saw your text!" a tall, dark-skinned man blurted out as soon as the door was unlocked.

"Oh! It's alright! I only texted you a few minutes ago!" you quickly explained, waving your hands in front of you.

You shouldn't have done that. The underwear was hanging from your hand.

"Ummm…" Aran scratched his cheek, eyes retreating from you.

"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry!" you spat out, tossing the incriminating object to him. "It just fell out of the dryer when I opened it so I went to pick it up!"

Once in his hands, he recognized it as the one with the seam coming undone. "I… umm… should probably have thrown this one out."

"Umm… yeah… you probably should." Those words slipped off your tongue before you could catch them.

"I- I guess I'll go now," Aran said hastily.

He shut the door.

You let out a breath. That was awkward. Heat continued to linger in your body and you weren't sure who was more embarrassed by the encounter.

Wait. His clothes were still in the dryer. Did you dare ask him back?

The door slowly creaked open and Aran peeked his head into the room.

"I forgot something, didn't I?" Aran sheepishly asked.

"Yeah." The corners of your mouth lifted into a smile. "Yeah, you did."

"I'm Aran by the way."

"Y/n."

You never thought this would be how you'd meet your future husband.

*****

The office chair in your apartment was a comfortable spot for folding clothes. The webcam caught your face as you chatted with Aran whose image filled the monitor.

You smiled. Your husband was winding down after a long day with the team and decided to check up on you.

"I'm alright," you told Aran. "I miss you though."

"I literally just saw you yesterday!" he said. "I miss you too."

After that fateful yet awkward encounter with him in that laundry room two years ago, you had run into each other more frequently at the front doors of your duplex. Your classes ended at similar times four out of your five school days. You were surprised he even started a conversation with you. You wouldn't have been able to bear the embarrassment. Fast forward to a confession, a kiss and a rock-embedded ring, and you got a small, snowy wedding during winter break.

It was back to the books for you now, and you dreaded it. Chores seemed much better, easier. Plus doing them for your newly-wedded husband? You got giddy about that.

You quirked your brow, lifting a familiar piece of clothing from the basket.

"Hey, I thought you threw this one out," you mentioned to Aran, dangling his underwear in front of the camera.

"I did! That's, uh, probably a different one."

"Just how old are these?"

"Hey! Wait a moment! Are you folding clothes?"

You avoided the eyes on the screen. "Maybe."

"You have your paper due in a few days! I told you I was going to do it after flying back home."

"I know…"

Aran's eyes narrowed at you, a trademark expression of his. "You're procrastinating again, aren't you?" His tone implied disapproval.

"But I'm still being productive!"

"Y/n…"

"Okay, okay. I'll stop." Your foot pushed the basket away, sliding it across the floor. Maybe you could fold them after you hung up.

Aran must have read your mind. "Show me what the laundry bin looks like."

You groaned. He saw right through you. Complying, you removed the clipped webcam off the monitor and directed it at the pile of unfolded clothes.

"It better be like that when I get home."

"Alright," you said with a pout.

"Love you."

"Love you too."

Must he stop you from doing chores? They were a simple reminder you were married to him, as if the gold on your finger wasn't enough to show you.

You were his wife.

A smile snuck into your lips whenever that thought crossed your mind. The honeymoon phase was a peculiar, strange, lovely stage.

Yet it was fleeting.

*****

You groaned as you stood in the middle of the bathroom. Aran's white track pants hung off the counter, the red t-shirt he got for free from first year college laid on top, and of course his underwear, which likely went through hundreds of washes, remained on the floor.

Great.

You rubbed your temples, your headache getting worse by the minute. It was Saturday morning, and Aran, who was nowhere to be seen, had left his mess behind.

I'll clean it up later, he would tell you. You knew his mother had spoiled him, always picking up after him. You understood why he was like this, but why couldn't he just start doing it now?

"Do you have this problem?" you asked your friend through your wireless headset.

"What problem?" she asked.

"Does your husband always leave laundry around on the floor?" You pinched the bridge of your nose. "Aran never picks up after himself."

She laughed. You weren't sure if it was because you were a young, amateur wife or if she understood all too well.

Knowing her, probably a bit of both.

"Okay two things."

You listened.

"One, don't say always or never. That's lying."

"I'm not lying," you snapped back at her. You began to regret asking her.

"Are you sure he never picks it up and always leaves it on the floor?"

You left no comment.

"Exactly."

"Okay fine, but that still doesn't solve the problem. If only he just did it, it would solve everything–"

"Number two," she interrupted.

You groaned at her and she gave an amused snort in return.

"If you weren't picking up his underwear, it means he's dead."

You were aghast.

"You know I'm right."

Still aghast.

"What? No husband, no mess."

"I can't believe I asked you for advice."

"But it's true."

"Ugh," was all you could utter. She had several years more of marriage experience than you, yet you didn't want to acknowledge it.

You hung up the phone after you finished deciding today's outing with her, but you hadn't addressed the issue in front of you. Your head throbbed again.

Sighing, you picked up the underwear.

A few minutes later, the front door opened and you dipped your head into the hallway. Aran shuffled grocery bags through the door and into the kitchen. He yawned, placing the milk, eggs, and other items into the fridge.

A familiar coffee brand peeked out of a bag on the floor. Right. You didn't have your coffee yet because there wasn't any left.

You wrapped your arms around Aran and relaxed against his broad back.

"I can't put the food away like this," he said with a chuckle.

"You left your clothes in the bathroom again."

"Oh shoot!" He dropped a bag and started towards the bathroom but you tightened your grip on him.

"I put them away already," you told him. His body relaxed and he caressed your arm around his waist.

The honeymoon phase was a fleeting phase, novel tasks turned mundane, but your love for him grew deeper still.

*****

Aran was away again, this time at Tokyo in preparation for the Olympics. He eagerly called you during breaks, wishing to see his favourite person – although your hands were full as well.

"I miss you," he told you, his smile displayed on the screen.

"And I miss picking up your underwear," you told him with a smirk.

Like clockwork, he narrowed his eyes at you with a comeback. "Why don't you say you miss me like a normal person?"

"Because I'm your wife. I'm special," you told him as he rolled his eyes. "I wish I could be there though."

"You wouldn't be able to spend that much time with me anyway," he said. "Besides, one of us needs to stay home."

"I know." You smiled.

"I gotta go," he said as Atsumu yelled in the background. Aran blew a kiss at you.

You snorted. How cheesy. You returned the kiss anyway.

Hearing a mischievous squeal behind you, you told him, "I gotta go too."

"Love you."

"Love you too."

After you hung up, you turned around and sighed. A soggy wet diaper sagged on the floor and the little guy jumping in the crib giggled at you as if he did the funniest thing in the world.

You rolled your eyes and smiled before picking up the diaper.

"Alright kid. Let's put a diaper back on you and wash your sheets."

*****

I hope you liked it. This is a little different from what I usually write but I hope you still enjoyed it!

I blame Aran's current concern for giving me this idea along with the person who suggested I write Aran fluff. (As well as the seasoned wife I know who told her husband, "If I wasn't picking up your underwear, it means you're dead." lolll.)

I hope you stick around my blog to check out my other works! My current work in progress is a fake dating Suna series. I can't believe we're on chapter 10!

If anyone is interested, I have a Google form for my taglist.

[softrenjunnie]

the battle of hogwarts l pj

pairing: reader x jay

characters: boyfriend!jay, friend!jake, brother!sunghoon, chosen one!heeseung, death eaters, voldemort, other small characters

genre: hogwarts!au, angsty angst (maybe a little speck of fluff somewhere? but i wouldn’t bet on it)

word count: 4.1k

warnings: mentions of blood, wounds, pain, death, torture and broken bones; swear words; character death.

note: spoilers !!!! i reference/talk about a lot of the stuff that happens in the battle of hogwarts, aka spoilers from the “harry potter and the deathly hallows” book (and movies), but i mean it’s a different story so it’s not super spoilery? note that heeseung plays the part of harry potter here !!!! also, the ending is rlly bad and weird (just like many parts of this oop-) but also pretty open so i guess there could be a pt 2? if i ever get the inspiration to write it heh

“stupefy!”

you heard the voice from behind you and managed to leap to your side to avoid the spell just in time, letting the red light instead hit the wall in front of you. you turned around, and instantly noticed the death eater who was standing many meters away, his wand by his head and ready to strike. “petrificus totalus!”

“protego!”

the beams shooting from his wand met the shield yours had produced, blocking it and letting its light die out. closing the distance between you, he lunged forwards and kept casting a variety of spells, which you, with great difficulty, blocked. you couldn’t hold your protection much longer, it was getting too tough - so instead, you turned around and made a run for it. a green beam of light missed your head by only a few centimeters, as you turned around a corner and kept running. you knew he was following you, and you knew you couldn’t keep this up; just as he rounded the corner, you pointed your wand to the roof above of him. “bombarda maxima!” you tried your best to keep your voice as steady and strong as possible, despite your wild nerves. the spell worked; soon, the death eater lay buried underneath the heavy stones that had just fallen.

you let out a sigh as you determined that he wasn’t going to rise, but you remembered to not let down your guard. there were perhaps hundreds of others inside and around the castle, and you knew from this little incident that they weren’t afraid to attack. so as you ran ahead, on towards the great hall where you hoped to find the people you were looking for, it was with your wand raised high and your eyes listening for every small sound in your vicinity.

you had been taken aback at first when that death eater had arrived; you hadn’t expected to meet anyone the moment you stepped out of the room of requirement. you thought everyone ought to be in the great hall, or perhaps outside of the castle - not lurking around on the top floors of the building. but none of that was what was going through your mind at the moment. you were focused on finding-

“jake, watch out!” you could recognize his voice from miles away, and especially when he was calling out for his best friend, but you don’t think you’ve ever heard such desperation in his voice ever before. at the end of the hallway, you spotted him - jay’s wand was shooting rays of all colors as he leaped forward, shooting down the woman in black, long robes who had just a second ago had a good grip around jake’s neck. she lay still on the floor, and for a few moments the boys stand as if frozen, until jake crouches down next to her and declares that she’s still alive, just fainted, to which both boys seem to calm down for a second. that is, until a scream is heard from a bit away, and the both of them run to where it came from, out of sight from you.

you were surprised that you had stopped in your tracks to watch the scene ahead of you, and you shake yourself before starting to run forwards again. reaching the end of the hallway, you turn to the way jay and jake had just gone. through the big entrance to the great hall, your eyes scanned over your two friends who were helping a ravenclaw girl, who you recognized to have been in your charms last year, fight off two death eaters. sprinting towards them, you watched as the girl, who you now remembered is called yewon, got hit by a spell right in the stomach, launching her into the wall behind her with great force.

as the wizard cheered his own accomplishment and was left unfocused on the other students, jake used the opportunity to strike. “expelliarmus!” he yelled, and the death eater’s wand flew out of his grip and onto the floor, close to where jay was currently standing, fighting the other death eater. as jake stunned the wandless wizard, jay did something he shouldn’t have - he bowed down to pick up the wand from the floor, but in that exact moment, the witch in front of him aimed towards him and was surely about to jinx him-

“levicorpus!” you yelled with all your might, now only standing a few meters away from them both, and the witch too dropped her wand, now hanging in the air upside down. 

jay turned his head to where your voice had come from, and his jaw dropped once he saw your face. “y/n?!”

“petrificus totalus.” the witch now dropped down onto the floor, head first, and you almost felt bad for her for a moment before you started thinking about what she could’ve done to jay if you hadn’t jumped in.

“what are you doing here?” jay exclaimed, coming closer to you. “are you completely crazy?”

“a small 'thanks' would’ve been nice,” you scoffed, and before he had the opportunity to say anything else, you turned your head to where your former classmate had crashed into the wall, and spoke again. “yewon? are you still there?”

you didn’t hear an answer, and you ran over to where you suspected she was - and she was right by the wall, lying on the floor and sobbing as she held an arm to her chest.

“hey, are you alright?” you crouched down next to her, placing a hand on her trembling shoulder.

“my arm...” she managed to get out in-between sobs. “it hurts...”

when you looked at it, it wasn’t bleeding nor did it have any visible curses on the skin. you turned your head around to jake, who was now standing behind you. “do you think it’s broken?”

“likely. with that force, i’m surprised more isn’t,” he said, and you nodded agreeingly, pulling out your wand and tapping it to her forearm.

“brackium emendo.”

yewon gave out another cry, but this time it wasn't out of pain. “thank you! thank you so much-”

“y/n,” you heard jay’s stern voice from behind you and you turned around once again. his arms were crossed over his chest, and if you had been anyone else, you likely would’ve crumbled under his gaze. but you couldn’t, not now, there were much more important things to do, people were still screaming on the other side of the castle walls and- “please, can’t we talk?”

you stood up, dusting off your knees with your hands before speaking to jake. “make sure she’s okay, please? and pick up that witch’s wand from the floor, and make sure neither of the death eaters get up.” jake nodded at you, flashing you a small smile, before you walked over to where jay was now standing, two tables away from the others.

the great hall was completely empty now, except for the four of you and the two stunned death eaters, and the atmosphere was almost tranquil, even though there was a full-on war going on just a small distance away.

“what are you doing here?” he asked, the desperation clear in his voice. “i thought they made it clear that-”

“i didn’t get to choose what i wanted to do, i was just forced into the room of requirement like everyone else, and-” you took a deep breath. “of course, i escaped. did you really expect me to just follow the others?”

“yes, because you’re underage, y/n!”

“by two months,” you spat, having a hard time controlling your anger at jay’s stubbornness. “i’m two months too young to fight? that doesn’t make any sense, you know i’m better at charms than most of your classmates!”

he shook his head, his eyes wandering around the room. “they were the rules, y/n. i can’t believe you-”

“can’t believe what? that i would want to fight for my school? fight for my friends? fight for this world to not go under-” you let a few tears fall down your cheeks, and you weren’t sure if it was out of exhaustion, frustration, or despair; likely a combination of them all. but you didn’t bother wiping them away. “fight for you. did you expect that i would just sit at home, just hoping that my friends, family, and boyfriend would all survive? not knowing anything and not being able to affect it would’ve killed me, i think you know-”

you were cut off as he pushed his lips onto yours. your eyes fluttered closed instinctively, and your hand that wasn’t currently holding your wand went up to cup his cheek. he tasted of blood from a small cut on his bottom lip and you tasted of salt from your tears, but neither of you minded. kissing jay felt so familiar; it felt like you were home again. it felt like you were back in your common room with him like you’d been a year ago, when no war had been going on and no dark lord was preparing for his final battle. jay’s lips smoothed over yours with such ease and such softness that if you hadn’t been standing, you could’ve fallen asleep from it.

“hey guys,” jake’s voice made you jump into reality again, and you moved your hand from jay’s cheek to his chest to push him away from you far enough for your lips to part from his again. “i hate to be the one to interrupt your moment, but uh... we should really get going.”

you nodded towards him, before looking back over at jay again, who did not look like he had wanted to stop his previous actions, a tiny pout on his lips. now that you were standing so close to him, you could study his face; there were several smaller wounds all over it, and he winced slightly when you reached up to remove a small piece of glass that had been stuck in a cut below his right eye. you used your thumb to wipe away the blood which had leaked down from a bigger wound by his jaw. “episkey,” you whispered, watching as the skin melted together and soon looked as if nothing had ever happened to it.

there was a loud bang, and the glass of the windows behind the staff table shattered everywhere - and in through the hole ran at least a dozen new death eaters, followed by students, teachers, parents, and other adults who were fighting for your side. and amongst them, you spotted none other than your brother - sunghoon was dueling a death eater, whom you’d seen before in the newspapers, all alone, but as he struck the other wizard with a jinx that seemed to have an extreme force, the death eater flew and slammed into a wall just like yewon had done.

in the few moments that you had stood watching your brother, the people around you hadn’t stopped like you, but instead started helping out in battles. you instantly joined jay’s side again, helping him battle a tall and broad man whose wand was producing beams of light at a faster speed than you had ever seen before. “incarcerous!” jay roared, and ropes appeared out of thin air which wrapped around the death eater and held his limbs tightly together.

“good one,” you told him, and turned around to find someone else to help - but standing right behind you was none other than sunghoon. 

“jay, are you dumb?!” he screamed at the boy standing next to you. beads of sweat were rolling down his face and his dark eyes made him look of a mixture between exasperated and exhausted. “forcing my baby sister into a war?!”

“he didn’t force me, you idiot!” you frowned up at him, groaning. “i chose it myself. and what part of me is baby, sunghoon? i’m almost of age, start treating me like it!”

“either way, you can’t be here! you have to get back to the room of requirement!”

you shook your head and took a step closer to him. “in case you haven’t noticed, they’re fighting in here. if we don’t help out soon, we will all be dead. i’d rather die helping out than die arguing about this!”

you walked past him and raised your wand, ready to strike at a witch jake was taking on at the moment, but sunghoon grabbed your arm and pulled you back. you were about to shake him off and complain when he pulled you into a hug. holding you close, he muttered, “i can’t lose you. please, please, take care. never battle alone.” you squeezed him back and nodded into his chest, before pulling away from him. you heard how he told jay to protect you, and the two of them were just about to hug when a red light missed the tops of their heads by just a few centimeters, almost as if it was a signal that you all needed to get back to the war.

you and jay took on one death eater each, throwing spells and shooting colored jets through the air as quickly as you could. but after stunning your opponent, and helping jay do the same to his, you overlooked the room and realized just how many people there were. it was extremely crowded, with injured people crying for help while lying on the floor and voldemort’s helpers assaulting other wizards and witches with both their wands and their bodies. it was overwhelming, there were too many of them, how would you ever win this? your breath became uneven, and you felt like you weren’t getting any air. your head was spinning, and the ground felt like it was shaking below you - it likely was, to be honest - and you couldn’t stay in your place a second longer.

you turned around slowly, before moving towards the opening of the main hall and looked for the best place to go. to your left, your defense against the dark arts teacher was fighting two robed, tall men all by himself, though he seemed to have no problem doing so; to your right, the hallway was empty, so that’s where you went. you found a hole in the wall a bit away, and you could almost hear the fresh air of the night calling for you, so you climbed out through it. instantly, your lungs were filled with the cold air, making you close your eyes in satisfaction and sit down on the ground, relaxing fully. you instantly felt better, and you felt like you wouldn’t have to be out here for a lot longer before you could back inside, just-

“look at who we have here,” said a female voice from beside you, and you opened your eyes and flew up to stand on the stone debris from what had formerly been the wall. you recognized her instantly - she was one of voldemort’s most faithful followers, and you had read about her and her escape from azkaban in the newspapers before. “isn’t it the little mudblood who’s been helping lee heeseung in his plans against the dark lord?” you raised your wand to attack, but she was quicker. “expelliarmus!” your wand flew up into the air and landed right by her feet. you didn’t even bother trying to fetch it, you knew it would be to no avail. “tell me where the boy is hiding, and i shall spare your life.”

“i don’t know!” you cried out.

she raised her eyebrows. “hmm. maybe this will make you remember. crucio!”

you had never experienced pain like this in your life. you crashed down onto the ground, unable to control anything in your body. the pain was obliterating, intense, all-consuming. you screamed, but you couldn’t hear yourself, all your senses being dulled out by the pain. 

and suddenly, she broke off the curse, though your muscles were still throbbing from the curse. “do you know where he is now, then?” she sneered.

“no-” just as you had managed to whimperingly utter the word, she flicked her wand once again. the second hit of the spell felt a lot like the first, but this time she held it for much longer. your bones were on fire, a million knives were pushing into your skin, boiling water was being poured over your body, your head was about to explode-

the relief you felt when she stopped the curse for the second time was indescribable. high-pitched, horrifying laughs were flowing from the death eater’s mouth before she once again spoke. “i think you know now.”

you wanted to slap the grin off her dark lips, but you had no energy to even stand up. instead, you gathered your last bits of power, and said, “i don’t. and even if i had known, i wouldn’t have told you.”

she chuckled, before shaking her head at you. “you silly girl... you deserve this.”

the third time the spell hit you, it was much worse than the other two times; she must’ve gone extremely angry by now. it felt as if you were in space, there was no air for you to breathe. your lungs weren’t working properly. you wished to do anything to make this extreme pain go away, anything... even disappear or... die...

though it had felt like an eternity for you, there were only a few moments after she’d cursed you that the curse was interrupted once again. you couldn’t even look up; you were curled into a ball on the ground, eyes shut tight, wishing that everything would just be over...

soon, there was a shuffle beside you, and soon a hand lay on your shoulder, shaking it gently. “y/n? are you alive? please, be alive...”

by now, you were just barely breathing; it was too hard, it took too much energy from you and you already had very little left.

“hey, it’s all fine now,” a voice told you, as a hand caressed your cheek. “she’s gone. you’ll be fine. please, just-” the voice paused, and when it returned, you could tell that the person by you had turned around and was now yelling towards the entrance of the castle. “jake! get some water, quick!”

you were too exhausted to listen clearly to his voice and try to recognize it, but from his wording, you could easily tell who it was. slowly, you opened your eyes, looking up at jay who sat crouched next to you. he had more bruises and wounds all over his face now than he had had when you had left him, and he was looking down at you with eyes of such panic that you’d never seen before. “fuck, y/n,” he mumbled. “you can’t just go off like that. do you realize how-”

he stopped in his tracks when you reached up with a hand to thread your fingers through his hair, pushing his fringe back and out of his eyes. “i’m fine.”

“a-are you sure?”

you nodded slowly at him, closing your eyes once again and letting your arm fall to your side. “i just need to...rest a bit...” jay let out a sigh of relief, and his hand went from your shoulder and up to your face, letting his thumb wipe away a few tears that you hadn’t noticed shedding. “what happened to her?” you hummed, voice low.

“oh, you didn’t hear it?” you furrowed your eyebrows. “i stunned her at first, but then voldemort spoke over the grounds and told his forces to retreat, to give us one hour to treat to everyone’s wounds and to say our goodbyes to those who are leaving us. he said that heeseung has an hour to give himself in, or else the war is on again.” 

you were surprised that you hadn't heard voldemort's voice, but then again, you even now had to put in all your force to hear jay properly. you looked up at him. “he’s not going to, is he?” you questioned, to which jay merely shrugged. “he can’t, that’s-”

“y/n, are you okay?! someone told me what happened,” said jake as he came up to you two, an empty plastic bottle in his hand. “i only found this, it’s empty, i know, but i mean you can always-”

“aguamenti,” jay said to cut off his friend’s rambling, filling the bottle quickly before handing it to you. thanking them both, you sat up straight, although every muscle and every ligament in your body screamed as you did, and drank a couple of sips.

deciding that you wouldn’t get anything done sitting there all night, you put away the bottle and pressed your hands into the ground, trying to push yourself up, but instantly failed. jay saw your struggling and bolted up, offering his hand down to you and helping you stand up once you took it in yours. “how’s your balance?” jake asked as you froze for a few seconds when you were trying to figure out if you were blacking out due to the stinging feeling in your head or due to your blood pressure dropping from standing up too quickly.

“not good enough,” you chuckled. “will you guys help me?” they both nodded, and soon they were by your sides, letting you throw your arms across their shoulders to steady you.

as you walked into the castle again through the hole you had come out from a while ago, you couldn’t help but to think about what jay had said earlier. say our goodbyes to those who are leaving us... he made it seem like there are many who were too injured to bring back. there couldn’t be a lot, could there?

“where is heeseung?” you asked, moving your head between them to look at their faces. “he knows we are fighting, right? he can’t give up!”

jake stopped in his tracks, which made you jump back too even though you all were just a few meters from the main hall by now, and he gave jay a very specific look. “you haven’t told her, have you?”

jay rubbed his hand that wasn’t holding you up against the back of his neck. “i- i haven’t found a good moment to do it!”

“wha-” was all you could let out before jake spoke again.

“and you think this is a good moment?!” he almost yelled, shaking his head at jay.

“i don’t think we’ll find a better one, nor that we have any choice,” jay groaned, and just as your confusion and frustration of not being allowed into the conversation peaked, someone ran into your view.

“oh my god, y/n!” cried yewon, running up to you. “i’m so sorry for your loss, i wish there was something i could’ve done-”

and that’s when it hit you. you realized what jay and jake had been referring to, but you refused to believe it. she must’ve been confused, it can’t have been true, nothing was wrong-

you pulled away your arms from the boys and ignored their calls of your name when you sprinted forwards, past yewon and into the hall. you pushed away your thoughts of your aching muscles and how it was likely unwise to do this; nothing was more important right now than making it all the way to where the dead bodies lay in the middle of the room. they had removed the tables by now, and people were gathering in groups around the wizards and witches on the floor, though you couldn’t see anything other than the one body you were aiming towards. and as you reached him, the world turned black.

“sunghoon,” you whispered, crouching down to the floor and shaking him by his shoulders. “please, sunghoon. you’re not dead, you can’t die, not now, you...” before you knew it, your sobs were uncontrollable, your face buried in his dusty cloak. this couldn’t be real. there was no way. “wake up... i beg of you...”

you felt someone sit down next to you, and then a hand on your back. you instantly turned around and threw yourself into jay’s embrace, crying out loud. your hands clutched at the material covering his chest and once again you had trouble breathing, your breaths unnaturally short and rapid. jay held your trembling body to him as tightly as he could, hoping that if you felt that he was there with you he’d be able to hold you down in reality, to make sure your mind wasn’t floating away. 

but as time passed, and you started realizing that sunghoon wouldn't come back, your sorrow turned into something else. vengefulness. they weren't getting away with this. 

[mviswidow]

i can’t feel it

Wanda Maximoff x Reader

Word Count: 2,727

Warnings: wandavision spoilers!! i recommend catching up before reading this if you haven’t already. also, i cursed like, twice.

A/N: this was literally edited while i was falling asleep, so if there are mistakes, that’s why. Please pm or reply, telling me and I'll go back and fix it.

Prompt: hi!! what about a wanda x reader where r has similar powers to wanda & enters the hex to talk her into letting everyone in westview go & coming home with r? :)

Summary: R has to convince Wanda to let everyone in Westview go.

    part two

“Are you sure you remember everything?” Jimmy asked you, concerned about how fast you were being thrown into everything. 

You nodded confidently, you were nervous, kind of scared, but ready. After getting a call from Monica, you knew whatever was going on was important, and you made your way to the outskirts of Westview, New Jersey before she even had to tell you what was going on. “Wanda’s robot boyfriend-”

“-Synthezoid,” Jimmy corrected before seeing the look Darcy gave him. “Sorry.”

“Synthezoid boyfriend died because Thanos pulled the mind stone out of his head, she had to watch him die twice and freaked out, stole his body from S.W.O.R.D., and created a fake sitcom reality where she goes through decades because she’s a grieving 30 year old with an odd obsession with tv shows. Oh, and she’s mind controlling a whole town and I’m supposed to convince her to let them go. Almost forgot that one,” You said, pointedly making the lighthearted joke because of Jimmy’s evident stress, chuckling softly.

“Just be careful,” Darcy cut in, “Wanda doesn’t seem to want to leave and we won't know if things go wrong because she chooses what goes in her show and what doesn’t.”

“I’ll be just fine. Let’s go,” You sighed and the four of you started to head out the door, but Hayward pulled you aside before you could leave the building. You told them to go ahead and you would meet them by the car.

“Ms (Y/L/N),” Hayward nodded, and you nodded back to him. Warm greeting, you thought. “Director Hayward.”

“If you cannot get Wanda to submit and release the people of Westview, I want you to fight her. Do whatever you have to, I need the Vision’s body back in S.W.O.R.D. custody and the citizens of Westview to be freed.”

Your brow furrowed, “My assignment is to try to persuade Ms Maximoff. I’m not fighting her, Sir. She’s grieving. I just got here and I can tell. She seems like she just wants to be happy.”

He scoffed at you and shook his head, “Her happiness means nothing to me. Ms Maximoff has thousands held captive. So, I think you’re misunderstanding me, Ms (Y/L/N), I am ordering you to kill her if needed. We need her to bring that barrier down.”

“I don’t take orders from you, Director. I’m just here to try to work things out, not to fight anyone,” You retorted.

“So you would let her continue to mind control the people of Westview? To continue controlling a sentient weapon made of vibranium?” Hayward asked pointedly, but you weren’t having any of it.

“With all due respect, you seem awfully concerned about the Vision when there are ‘thousands held captive’. And regardless, do you have any idea what would happen if Wanda died while all those people were in there?” You paused for a moment, giving him a chance to answer. “I didn’t think so.”

And with that, you turned on your heel and huffed, quickly making your way to the car that was waiting to take you to the border of the hex, Darcy, Monica, and Jimmy sat inside of it.

“What did he want?” Jimmy asked.

You sighed and started playing with the sleeve of your long sleeved shirt, “He wants me to kill Wanda if she doesn’t stop mind controlling Westview.”

Darcy’s eyes widened, “Sorry, what?”

You looked up at her and saw her concerned expression, “Oh, I’m not going to.” You said quickly, not wanting any of them to get the wrong impression. “He isn’t in charge of me. Wanda doesn’t seem to want to hurt anyone in Westview, and besides, it would be foolish when we know nothing about what would happen inside the barrier if she died.”

Darcy nodded as Monica parked the car and the four of you got out of it.

“Thank you for doing this, (Y/n),” Monica smiled softly as you reached the hex.

“You know I’m always willing to help you when you need me,” You smiled and looked towards the barrier.

You knew the trio was watching you intently, with the other agents standing outside, waiting for you to go in, but your heart was racing and you had to take a few deep breaths before bringing your hands up, moving your fingers in a way that they recognized to be similar to the way Wanda did, and you stepped closer, the blue light from your powers flowing forward and hitting the hex.

It kind of looked like when food coloring is dropped into water, and the color spreads, except your powers were the food coloring, and the hex was the water.

Not wanting to waste any more time, you pulled your hands further apart and groaned as you slowly but surely pulled apart a section of the barrier that was big enough for you to fit through before walking right through it.

As soon as you were through, you looked behind you and saw nothing. None of the S.W.O.R.D. tents or buildings or cars, Darcy, Monica, Jimmy, and all the other agents who were outside were gone. It was just a plain old normal street.

You looked down at your clothes and chuckled, the 80s. If Wanda had anything, it was a fashion sense, whether it was conscious of it or not. You were dressed in a fitted white shirt, and an electric blue skirt and cropped blazer set. Was it a bit tacky? Sort of, but you couldn’t help but love it. However, you were very pleased that the white boots you were wearing didn’t have too high of a heel. 

You sighed and knew you needed to go quickly. Vision had just left for work and this was the best chance you were going to get to talk to Wanda. You doubted she would let you convince her to let everyone go if Vision was there with her.

You extended your arms to the ground below you and used your powers to lift yourself up into the air, waiting until you saw the house you recognized to be Wanda’s to fly down to a street that had no one on it that was close enough for you to arrive quickly.

Your hand trembled as it reached up to knock on the door, but before you could overthink any longer, you tapped your knuckles against the wood three times and waited, playing with your fingers.

Wanda opened the door and smiled, though she wore a confused expression on her face, “Hi, I don’t think we’ve met before, or have we?”

You offered a smile and shook your head, “We haven’t, I’m (Y/n).”

“Wanda,” she said, with a lilt in her voice.

“I actually wanted to talk to you about something, if you aren’t busy? It’s important.”

She gazed at you curiously before nodding and stepping out of the way, “Come inside.”

You walked inside her home, the feeling you got was weird. You’d seen it on Darcy’s tv, but it was different to actually be in the room.

Wanda noticed the way your eyes flicked around her living room, looking at the couch, the photos hanging, the random decorations, and the few toys on the floor.

“Do you want something to drink?” She asked politely, before noticing you staring at one of the toys Tommy happened to favor. “My boys are upstairs.”

You smiled politely and shook your head, “I’m alright, Wanda, thank you. I need to talk to you about what you’re doing.” You started, not very strongly, but it wasn’t like you could just blurt out what you needed to say. This was a difficult situation.

“I’m sorry?” She tilted her head, not catching on, but she looked worried.

“I know about your powers, you’re controlling everyone in Westview, and Vision is starting to-”

“Leave,” Wanda extended her hands and tried to levitate you out, but you put your hands at your side and grounded yourself, blue mist surrounding your feet.

Wanda faltered and her eyes widened at the sight of your powers, “Who are you?”

“I’m Y/n Y/l/n. I was sent here to convince you to let everyone in Westview go. I promise I don’t mean you any harm, I just want things to go smoothly so no one else gets hurt.”

Wanda shook her head, “I can't just let go of this, I finally have everything I want.”

You sighed and nodded, “I understand how you feel, I have lost family too, but the people of Westview, they have their own lives and families. They’re in pain, Wanda. I can feel it. Can’t you?”

Her eyes snapped up and met yours, the tears in her eyes threatening to spill. She shook her head, “I can’t feel it.”

You stood for a moment, the two of you just looking at each other, before taking a breath and letting the blue mist that was keeping you grounded fade away. Cautiously, you walked closer to her and let out a breath of relief when she wasn’t backing away or looking like she was going to attack you.

“You can look into minds, can’t you?” You asked, knowing that showing her the pain she was unknowingly putting these people through was the best chance you had at convincing her to do the right thing. 

Wanda nodded without saying anything and understood what you wanted her to do. Shakily, she lifted her hand and bit her lip, she looked scared.

You blinked a few times, thought, fuck it, and gently held her wrist, bringing her hand up to your temple. You watched her eyes glow red before closing your eyes, allowing Wanda to see inside your mind.

All Wanda could feel was an unbearable amount of agony, she heard thousands of voices overlapping each other, panicked screams and crying. It was too much. Everyone sounded so scared. She did this.

The feeling was excruciating and let out a strangled sob, which made your eyes open on instinct.

Tears were flowing freely down Wanda’s face and she slowly sank to her knees, trying to catch her breath.

You got down on the floor in front of her and held one of her hands, using your other one to tilt her chin up towards you, “It’s okay, Wanda.”

She shook her head furiously and squeezed your hand, leaning forward, into you.

You wrapped your arm around her and let her cry into your shoulder. Your stomach felt twisted and you couldn’t believe Hayward had asked you to kill Wanda if she refused to comply, not when she was reacting like this.

“I didn’t mean for it to happen like this,” She managed to get out between deep breaths and whimpers. “I just - I wanted Vis back.”

Tears pricked at your own eyes, but you ignored them, knowing that you had to focus on Wanda, “I know, it’s okay. Everything will be okay. You just have to put down the barriers around Westview and stop mind controlling everyone.”

Wanda’s breath hitched, but she nodded, “Okay.”

“Okay?” You asked. Surprised at how you managed to get her to listen to you.

“I’ll do it now,” She sniffled and wiped her tears, standing up slowly.

Your eyebrows furrowed, “Well, hold on, don’t you want to see Vision first? Or call the twins down here?”

Her lips pressed together as another tear slipped down her cheek and she shook her head, “I don’t know what I’ll do if I allow myself to see them again,” She said quietly.

You nodded and stepped back, letting her go about this whatever way she wanted.

You watched her work, even though the two of you were inside, you could see out the window that the sky had turned red and it was gradually getting more blue, looking like she was chipping off pieces of the sky, if the sky was red, away from the inside out. 

Before you knew it, the house the two of you were standing in had been reduced to the foundation of a home, just concrete laying on the floor in the shape of the house Wanda had been living in. 

She was wearing a burgundy shirt, a jacket, and jeans instead of the big jeans and plaid shirt she’d had on before, and you were back to wearing your comfortable grey long sleeved shirt and jeans.

Her bottom lip started to tremble and she turned towards you before her breath started to quicken.

You wore a pained expression and stepped towards her, holding your arms out. You thought she was going to deny the embrace you were offering her, but she walked forward and buried her head in your neck, letting you wrap your arms around her, “I’m really proud of you, Wanda. It takes a lot to be able to give up something that important to you.”

She nodded, but said nothing. You stood there for about two more minutes before her breathing had calmed and she’d stopped crying. “Thank you, (Y/n).”

You nodded and smiled sadly at her before you both looked towards the red buick that was now sitting in her driveway, “I think I’m going to have to take you back out of Westview with me. I’ll get in trouble if I just let you leave, I think.”

“It’s fine, I’ll go,” She fished the keys to her car out of her pocket and played with the keyring. “Do you think you can drive us? I kind of want to look around before we leave.”

You took her keys and she let out a breath before quietly thanking you and walking to the passenger seat of her car.

Before you pulled out of the driveway, you spoke, “How did you do all of this?” You asked curiously. Sure, you had magic yourself, but there was no way you could even dream about pulling off anything like this.

“I’m not sure. All I remember is feeling so completely alone and sad, and I went to S.W.O.R.D. to see Vis for the last time before coming here, because Hayward wouldn’t let me take his body to give him a funeral or anything, so I guess I made a version of him here. I really don’t know how I managed though, because -”

“Sorry,” You interrupted, turning to look at her with your brows knitted together. “You said the Vision stayed in S.W.O.R.D.?”

“Yes?” She nodded. “What is it?”

You huffed and started the engine of the car, pulling out of the driveway, “The lying bastard. Hayward edited security camera footage to make it look like you stole the Vision’s body and used it here.” 

“That’s ridiculous. I know better than to make myself a criminal again. Well, I mean-” 

“It’s fine Wanda. You didn’t mean to,” You continued driving, enjoying the neighborhood.

When you were getting close to the edge of town, she spoke again. “Am I going to jail?”

“I won’t let them put you in jail,” You said simply.

“What, why?” Wanda asked, and it was clear that she was asking because she thought she deserved it and she was expecting it to happen.

“You don’t deserve it,” You shrugged. You didn’t want her to suffer alone, again. She already tried that, and look where that got everyone.

Wanda shook her head, “You know that isn’t true.”

“I believe it is. I know that your actions were wrong, but Hayward was wrong for denying you when you asked for Vision’s body to bury. It wasn’t his to have. All he cares about is money and power and the Vision would cost a lot of money and would give him a lot of power. I mean, realistically, he’s kind of the cause for this. But that’s not the point. The point is that it was never your intention to hurt these people and it’s not fair to you that he set you up like this.”

“And what will you do if they try to put me in jail?” Wanda asked curiously, her voice low.

You sighed as you started to be able to make out Jimmy, Monica, and Darcy from far away. “I dunno, maybe we can run away together or something.”

[thefanficmonster]

Vulnerability

Karl Heisenberg (Resident Evil 8: Village) x Reader (Female)

Warnings: Mentions of blood and injury, Swearing, Spoilers for RE8

Genre: Angst, Romance

Summary: With the only person he’s ever truly cared about, the only person who can calm him down and force him to take care of himself and balance his life out is taken from him, it’s safe to say the takers are bound to pay.

Requested by Anon. Hi dear! Thank you so much for your request and I’m so sorry for the long wait you’ve had to endure but here it finally is - I hope you still come across the fic and take the time to read it despite the long time that’s passed. If you do so, I hope you enjoy it! Love, Vy ❤

“THAT BITCH DID WHAT?!“

The unlucky maid that was sent to Heisenberg’s factory as an alternate way to be killed rather than turned into wine cowers in fear as the metal-controlling man sends the majority of the objects around them flying across the room, crashing into against the walls in his state of uncontrollable anger that has the girl frightened to no end. Although, if she’s being honest, Heisenberg has every right to be furious right now. Who wouldn’t be after being told their enemy snatched their lover to use as blackmail.

And this poor maid was the messenger who had to deliver the news to Heisenberg about two days after the capturing of Y/N, Karl’s lover.

The two weren’t known to be a couple by anyone but rumors started floating around - especially among the rest of the Lords - when they kept seeing this woman around the factory and by Heisenberg’s side, sometimes even during the meetings of the Lords.

Leaving her out in the open and so vulnerable, so easy to be grabbed by the filthy, ill-meaning hands of the Dimitrescus, is a fault of his own he’ll never get over. He’ll never not regret not keeping a watchful eye on her at all times, even when she claimed she needed space after the two had an argument.

When that happens - though rarely, it still happens - Y/N tends to wander off, either in the village or in a complete separate part of the factory which is thankfully large enough for them both to enjoy their privacy without running into each other unless they want to. So, when Karl hadn’t heard from Y/N for a day and a half he didn’t think much of it, seeing as how she had a tendency of leaving him in silence for a day or two to cool her head and let him cool his and avoid further complications of their argument.

But when she didn’t show even after those regular forty eight hours of silence, Karl started worrying. And, as he’s come learn only minutes ago, he was right to do so - Alcina had snatched Y/N while the girl was walking around the outskirts, not far away from the factory itself. The girl barely had time to scream before being knocked out cold and dragged to the Dimitrescu castle.

Heisenberg should’ve known showing off his vulnerability so openly would only bring him headaches and heartaches - he knew having a vulnerability in the first place would be a huge inconvenience and a risk, especially when said vulnerability is vulnerable in and of itself.

“What does that bitch want?!“ He growls at the girl who’s gone as pale as a ghost, looking so tiny and fragile in comparison to the enraged man towering over her. He’s already taller and bigger than her, but this anger only adds to his huge presence and intimidating appearance.

“S-she told me to tell you her and M-Mother Miranda knew of...your plans. They’ll give you back the girl when you agree to lay off the plans and...“ The girl trails off, terrified of the reaction she’ll receive for the last bit of the negotiation.

“And?!“ Karl has no patience for reluctance and most certainly has no time to waste when the girl he loves is in the clutches of one of the people he’d want to drain the life out of with his own two hands. 

“And, as proof, burn the factory down...with everything in it.“ The girl finishes, grimacing and hiding her face behind her arms when she does, expecting to be hit or screamed at or even killed. This man has never been in his right mind to begin with let alone now that the most important person in his life has been taken from him and is in grave danger.

The long moment of silence she’s met with surprises her. It’s gotta be the calm before the storm, she thinks to herself, slowly lowering her arms to look around in search of the man who she thinks has already left the room. But no, Karl is standing in front of her, wearing a smile upon his face. A menacing one. One promising that it is indeed the calm before the storm.

“Alright.“ He says in a scarily light-hearted tone of voice, one that is so calm it sends chills down the maid’s spine, “Return to your Mistress and report back that I agree to her terms as long as Y/N’s delivered to me by tomorrow morning.“

The maid cannot believe her ears nor her eyes but there he is - Karl Heisenberg, the most dangerous of the Lords, agreeing to drop his reputation in the water to save the love of his life. All with an unfaltering smile across his face.

                                                               *  *  *

“Mother Miranda? I’m calling with some great news to share with you.“ Alcina Dimitrescu smiles a pleased smile as she looks at her reflection in the vanity mirror before her, “Heisenberg has chosen to stand down. Yes Mother, you heard me correctly, the stupid man-thing has chosen the pathetic woman over his own reign which I’m sure he wouldn’t have had the chance to carry out anyway thanks to your unmatched power, Mother Miranda, but now it’s official. He’s taken the ultimatum and has agreed to all the terms we laid out for him. In exchange, he hopes to get the girl back by tomorrow morning.“ A reply comes from the other side and Alcina laughs a low, mocking laugh, “Oh, he will be receiving her tomorrow morning, he needn’t worry. I’ll make sure to send him the wine bottles she’ll help us produce.“ The other woman on the line laughs as well, filling the Vampire Mistress with a sense of pride and accomplishment. “I have no doubt the gift will find him we-“ The tall woman’s word die down in her throat when a sharp pain spreads throughout her chest, leaving her breathless and disoriented. The ache spreads to her head where the screams of her daughters echo like an agonizing chant.

“Mother! Mother please help us! 

“Mother these monsters will kill us!“

“Mother, save us!“

The hurting mother drops the phone, attempting to get up to her feet, just to be knocked back down by the intense pain. The pain of a mother losing her daughters.

The daughters that were about to gruesomely murder Karl’s lover in the dungeons right below the castle. The three vampire girls were no match for Heisenberg and his army of lycans which he unleashed upon the whole castle, sending them in search of Y/N who he was quick to find in the dark torture chambers, beaten and bloodied but alive nonetheless.

“Darling, please, talk to me. Don’t do this to me, Y/N, please wake up.“ Karl ducks down in front of the seemingly lifeless body of Y/N, taking her face in his hands, gently holding her head up after he unchained her from the cuffs and contraptions meant to ensure her escape impossible. “Look at me, doll, come on. You’re safe now, you’re safe. Those bitches won’t live to see the light of day tomorrow let alone thing to bring you harm again.“

Although exhausted and weakened past the point of a lifeless doll, Y/N manages to force her eyes open and look into the concerned ones of her lover, Karl. “You came for me.”

“And what else was I gonna do, Y/N?“ He asks softly, gently smoothing back the hair stuck to her sweaty and bloodied forehead, “I would’ve come sooner had I known...“

She cuts him off, “But you didn’t, and that’s ok, you couldn’t have known. I knew you’d save me eventually. I never lost hope.” Her voice is coarse and low, each word painful to push past her sore throat. “I knew you would never let me die.”

“I could never, doll. I don’t know what I’d do without you.“ He presses his forehead against hers lovingly, allowing her a moment to catch her breath before carefully swiping her up in his arms, “Come on, angel, let’s go home.“

Y/N may be his vulnerability, but she’s also his greatest strength. Without her, he would’ve never taken revenge on the Dimitrescus and would’ve never been this determined to end Miranda’s reign and ruin her plans. Without her, he would be half the man he is now.

[boontaeveboba]

Maybe in time, You’ll Understand

Pairing: crosshair x fem!reader

Rating: M (18+)

A/N: a wave of sadness/fear of Crosshair’s role in the Bad Batch show /(potential spoilers?) inspired this. It’s soft-ish and sad and I love him and just want him to be happy.

The frantic knocking at your apartment door was so soft you thought you were dreaming, but as the tapping grew heavier you knew immediately who it was.

“Crosshair?” You blinked into the dark, throwing on a robe and heading towards the door.

His face was incredibly sullen.

“What’re you doing here? I didn’t expect you by this late.”

That was somewhat of a lie, you know he and his brothers kept odd hours. Normally he had the decency to let you know ahead of time if he would drop by.

He glanced over his shoulder worriedly and drew in a shaky breath, “May I come in?”

He looked nervous.

“Of course.”

He nodded and you shut the door behind him as he headed straight to the bedroom.

“Cross, what’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

He sat at the edge of the bed with his hands in his face. You’d never seen him so worked up and upset.

You squatted down, just below his eye level, running a hand over one of his, trying to garner his attention.

“You can talk to me.” You reassured him.

“It’s wrong.” Crosshair responded.

“What’s wrong?”

“All of it!” He threw up his hands defeatedly, and with enough force to cause you to flinch back. He had been crying.

“Cross, you’re really starting to worry me. Are you alright?”

“No! It’s not alright! I’m not alright!” He began, his eyes darted around the room before finally meeting your gaze. “They’re wrong! It’s all wrong!”

“Who?” You asked quietly.

“All of them! All of it! We’re just a small part of it!” He got up and began pacing.

“I had suspicions,” he paused and ran a hand through his hair, tugging at the ends. “I never thought-“

He paused and looked back at you.

“I didn’t...I wanted it to be...my brothers, we-“

“Where are they, Cross? Why are you back here?”

“I didn’t mean-“ he sat back on the bed, his eyes welling up.

“I needed a safe place.” He reached out for you and slowly, you obliged, coming to stand in front of him. He grabbed onto your robe and buried his face into your hip.

“I can’t,” he said softly.

“Can’t what?”

“I can’t, I can’t...stay long.” He paused and looked up at you. A tear ran down his face.

You ran a hand down his scalp, trying to calm him and keep his focus on you.

What was he talking about? What had happened?

“There are things, things I need to do. I don’t know when I’ll be back.” He said, tone more serious now.

“Is there anything I can do? I still don’t understand what has you so upset.”

That seemed to snap him out of his sadness for a moment. His hands ran along your hips and he pulled you down to sit on his lap, scooting further up the bed.

He placed a palm against your cheek and you leaned into it, eyes never leaving his.

“I can’t tell you...everything that happened. But it’s bad. I-“

He looked shamefully at the ground.

“Hey,” you said, placing your hands on either side of his face, redirecting his attention to you, “it’s okay. I love you, you know that. No matter what.”

He drew in a shaky breath. “I wouldn’t be so sure.” He muttered.

He anticipated your flinch back and wrapped his arms around your frame to keep you in place.

He held you tightly to his taut frame. His lips found their way to your neck leaving a trail of kisses before they made their way up to your ear.

“I can’t explain everything. Not right now.”

He moved his head back, checking for your undivided attention. He noted the worried and pained expression you held, but didn’t say anything other than, “I wish I could tell you. I can’t, but know in time, you’ll understand. You’ll know.”

You blinked.

What had happened?

But you would push those questions to the back of your mind, you wanted to comfort him, to wipe the scared, pained look off the man holding onto you, like you were the only thing keeping him tethered to this planet.

“Please, just...” he let another shaky breath, “I need you.”

“I’m here Cross.”

“Just be with me.”

You responded by kissing him. Softly, you were still unsure how best to comfort him.

As soon as his lips met yours, something broke in Crosshair.

He flipped you over, so your back was on the bed, his body looming over you.

His hands found the opening of the robe and he tore it away, leaving you only in a sheer nightgown.

“Cross, please,” you whispered.

He didn’t say anything, but brought his mouth back to yours.

He ran his tongue along your bottom lip, before biting down on it.

You yelped at the harshness of the action.

“Shhh.” He said. His mouth now was running down your neck and nipping at your collar bones.

His pelvis was grinding into yours and you felt him straining against the fabric of his uniform.

As he continued his onslaught of kisses on your upper body, his hands wedged your legs apart, allowing him to grind up against where you wanted him most.

“Let’s get this annoying thing out of the way first shall we?” He said before hiking your nightgown up over your body and head.

“There,” He paused, using the time to take in all of you, the moonlight illuminating your bodies through the window, “Much better.”

His hands trailed from your shoulders, down your chest, to your hips. He rubbed small circles down the hip bone to your thighs and knees.

“Now these,” he said, running a hand over the sleek underwear covering you, “these need to go.”

You nodded, reaching down to shuck the offending item of clothing off.

“Your turn.” You smirked at him.

He allowed a small smile, sitting up and stepping off the bed, he removed his shirt and the entirety of everything covering his bottom half.

Now it was your turn to marvel at him in the moonlight. His skin was slicked with sweat, and you noticed fresh bruises up and down his body.

He came back to you, noting your concerned glances.

“I’ll be fine,” he assured you. He ran a hand through your hair and twisted and pulled it over the side of your neck.

“Just focus on me now.” He said, placing hot open mouthed kisses along your jaw, moving lower. “I need you here with me.”

“Cross...” you whined as one free hand began to toy with your entrance. A finger brushing against your most sensitive spot.

“Yes,” he hissed, “just like that. Say my name, darling.”

The hand not working you over ran up and down your thigh.

Your head fell back as you felt him add another finger. You had to admit, his “trigger fingers” as you had affectionally referred to them, knew exactly what they were doing. Like the rest of his body, they were long and surprisingly nimble.

Crosshair felt your body begin to tremble and he brought his face back to yours to kiss it and whisper “That’s right, you look so lovely coming undone just by my hand.”

“Crosshair,” you breathed into his mouth as you felt an orgasm ripple through you.

He let you ride it out before bringing his other hand to sweep the hair out of your face.

He made a point of licking the fingers that had just gotten you off, before reaching to his own shaft.

He let out a soft groan as you replaced your hand with his along his ever hardening cock.

“I won’t last long, you keep that up,” he muttered.

“Nothing wrong with that.” You responded, continuing your ministrations.

“But I’d rather be inside you for that.”

With that he pushed you back down and braced an arm close to your shoulder.

“Cross, please,”

“Don’t worry,” he said running his tip teasingly against your entrance. “I want to savor this moment.”

He peered down at you, deciding to capture your mouth with his.

As he did you felt him slide in you briefly, before pulling back out. Before repeating the action, twice.

“You’re such a tease.” You quipped.

“Tease? No, I don’t think so.”

And with that, he pushed all the way in, filling you completely.

“That’s a good girl.” He said, still looming over you.

Securing yourself by wrapping your legs around his hips, you reached your hands to his face and captured your mouth with his.

His teeth clacked against your own, fighting for control over the kiss.

Your hips ground to his and he let out a low groan. He thrust against you.

“Relax your legs a bit sweetheart,”

You did and felt his arm slide behind you.

With more strength than you realized he had, Crosshair’s arm yanked you as close to him as possible. He pulled you up towards a more of a seated position and began snapping his hips up to yours.

“Oh!” You said surprisedly, feeling him much deeper.

He chuckled. “Can feel so much more of you this way,” he grunted.

You groaned.

“Atta girl. You’re doing so well, taking so much of me.”

“Cross...” you moaned.

He responded by trying to quicken the pace, but you placed a palm against his chest.

“Can I top you?” You asked.

A small smirk played on his face, “No.”

You were taken back. “No?”

“No.”

With that he pressed you back down into the bed, supporting himself by one arm, he thrust into you, the other arm grabbing your chin, forcing your gaze to his.

“I need you here. With me. Just like this.”

You still were unsure. You trusted Crosshair with every fiber of your being, but he wasn’t usually like this.

It was as if you were anchoring him to something. Yourself? An escape from whatever had happened?

You didn’t have time to think about it more because his mouth was back to yours, his other hand grabbing and running over the rest of your body. His thrusts becoming more rigorous.

You felt him beginning to tense up. He moved his mouth to your ear, “I love you, no matter what.”

“I love you too, Crosshair.”

It wasn’t that much longer til you both were crying out each other’s names, thrusting becoming more erratic, as he came down from his high.

You stroked a sensitive spot just below his ear to the nape of his neck, peppering it with kisses every so often.

He shuddered and you felt him pull out.

His arms circled your entire body and he squeezed you impossibly tight.

After a beat, he whispered to you, “I don’t have long.”

You weren’t sure what the appropriate words would be but settled on, “it’s alright. I understand.”

You didn’t. Why wouldn’t he tell you?

He held you close for a bit longer, but it only felt like a moment before he pulled away and began redressing.

You watched him carefully, noticing the sullen look from when he first arrived making his way back onto his face.

“Cross,” you began quietly.

He kept dressing, but his attention was brought to you.

You weren’t sure what to say.

“I’ll still be here for you, no matter what.”

You saw the briefest glimmer of hope pass over his face.

“I know.” He said softly.

“You know where to find me,” you continued sitting up.

“I do.” He nodded, pulling on the final bits of his uniform.

He turned to you, the moonlight casting an uneasy shadow across his face. He pulled you to stand in front of him.

He held a palm to your cheek, as he did earlier in the evening. You nuzzled against it and placed a kiss to it.

He closed his eyes, as if to savor the moment.

“I-“ you began before he snaked a hand to the nape of you neck to bring you in for an kiss.

You had never been kissed like this in your life. It was as if the whole world had been yanked from beneath your feet. It was planet shattering, you felt the unspoken need and desire in his kiss. He wanted to tell you everything, but was kissing you as though that day might never come.

When he finally pulled away, he looked at you, taking all of you in.

“As soon as I can, I’ll, I’ll...” his eyes began to well up again.

“Hey,” you said, “it’s alright. Like you said, one day I’ll understand.”

He smirked briefly and nodded.

“I love you.”

“I love you too Crosshair.”

And with that he was out the door back into the night, leaving you to wait and wonder.

[ikeromantic]

Trust

A Mitsuhide Akechi fanfiction, approx. 2200 words. This scene takes place toward the end of Ch. 13 of the Romantic Route. SPOILERS!

First: Mitsuhide and the Maiden

Previous: Base Villains

Mitsuhide felt a surge of incoherent rage. His beloved little mouse stood beside the shogun, her arm in his iron-grip. Her face was bruised - and likely more of her that he couldn’t see. Her clothes were torn and bloody. If Ashikaga thought this would bring him mercy, he was badly mistaken.

She turned her eyes from the shogun to look at Mitsuhide. There was a world of hurt in that gaze, but strength too. Despite all she’d suffered, she was angry and determined. There was even a flare of joy in her at seeing him.

“You base villains,” Ashikaga shrieked. He waved the guards to attack, but the daimyo’s men didn’t move.

Motonari ignored the shogun completely. He gave the chatelaine a saucy grin. “Hey! Yer lookin’ pretty good fer a prisoner, m’lady!” He even dipped in a slight bow to her, though the effect was somewhat lacking given the blood spatter and gore on him.

“I’m sorry to keep you waiting, my love.” Mitsuhide took a step toward her.

She smiled, though the expression clearly caused her pain. “I knew you’d come.”

“I hoped you would say that, which is why I endeavored to come just as you needed me.” Mitsuhide couldn’t help the genuine affection that colored his voice when he spoke to her. He was still angry - still planning to tear the shogun’s body into pieces - but that rage burned right beside the fires of his love. One did not contradict the other. He knew he didn’t need to gentle himself for her. “I will have you free and in my arms in a moment.”

“Guards!” Ashikaga shrieked, his voice cutting through the nearby sounds of battle. He was not a man that liked being ignored.

The door of the side room burst open, spilling the shogun’s personal guards into the room. Where the daimyo’s men would not obey, these men were eager to do as ordered. There were only four of them, and at least one looked as if he was already half-dead.

“I expected more from you, Yoshiaki. It seems your popularity has taken a plunge.” Mitsuhide lifted his sword, ready to fight.

Motonari laughed. “Aww, if I’da known you were so hard-up fer help, I might not a’ betrayed ya so quick.”

The shogun’s face flushed crimson and he shook with anger. “You - you fools think to mock me? Know your position!” He jerked the chatelaine in front of him. “Besides, I have a hostage. You are mad to go against me!”

“I am quite sane, I assure you,” Mitsuhide’s eyes narrowed. The shogun clearly wasn’t. Mitsuhide was willing to kill a man for making his little one cry. For this . . . death was too easy. “Yoshiaki, this world has moved on. It has no more need for men like you. Because you fail to grasp this, I have come to assist you off the stage myself.”

The shogun’s eyes were wide, though with fear or anger, it was impossible to say. “Insolence! Make your jokes while you have breath for them.” Then he smiled and pulled a dagger from his belt. He pressed the sharp edge to the chatelaine’s throat.

She gasped and froze.

Behind them, one of the servants - no, Mitsuhide realized - Kyubei! - began to step forward. Mitsuhide gave the barest shake of his head. An attack now would mean death for his little mouse. The right moment would come.

“See they do not approach me,” Ashikaga ordered his men.

The half-dead looking guard bowed to the shogun. “As you command, majesty.” Then he turned his gaze to the intruders. Mitsuhide saw in them the fires of fanaticism, and the darkness of death approaching. This man had no fear, not anymore. He pulled a long sword and held it up. “I sentence you to death, kitsune. It is too light a punishment for turning on the shogun, but it is the best I can mete out.”

Motonari gave an excited shout. “Hell yes! Looks like one o’ yer men has got some backbone!”

Yoshiaki hissed something to the chatelaine and then pulled her to the corner of the room.

“I’ll take the room. You can have the shogun.” Motonari didn’t wait for a reply, just charged forward. He was immediately met by the half-dead fanatic, who despite his wounds, was clearly the best of the remaining fighters. “Let’s have us some fun!”

“This will be no game,” the fanatic’s expression was grim.

They exchanged blows, their blades screeching as they met again and again.

Mitsuhide shook his head. Mouri was mad, but at least that had its usefulness. At least this provided him an opening. He dodged past the remaining guards toward the shogun.

“You rush to your end,” Yoshiaki shouted. He pushed past the doors to a small balcony. It was a bare ledge with no railings. Below, the battle was slowing as men died or surrendered. Their cries were carried up to the tenshu on the cold night air.

The chatelaine went with him, the dagger still on her throat kept her still and compliant.

“If you so much as twitch, I’ll throw you to your death,” the shogun hissed at her.

Mitsuhide sheathed his sword and pulled the matchlock from his back. There wasn’t enough space on that narrow ledge to fight. In this, the tanegashima was a better choice. If his aim held true. He checked the load and primed it to fire. Then he pointed it at the shogun. “Do not move.”

The shogun pressed his knife hard against the chatelaine’s throat, drawing a thin line of blood. “It is you who should be careful of his movements.” He grinned, already feeling he’d won. “Now lower your rifle.”

“You can only kill her once, Yoshiaki.”

“Disarm yourself and kneel, kitsune! Do it, or I will kill her!”

Despite his words, Mitsuhide was terrified. Seeing the blood on her neck only drove home the very real possibility that she would die here, now. He would still finish his mission. The shogun would die. But his little one . . . The thought froze his limbs and stopped his heart. He told himself that Ashikaga would kill her anyway, even if he dropped the gun and knelt. Yet . . . if there was a chance that he would let her go . . .

Seeing Mitsuhide’s conflict, Yoshiaki’s smile widened. “Call off your troops and I will let the girl live. Do it, and I may even forgive you for turning against me.”

Mitsuhide didn’t move.

“Now, or must I say it louder?!”

He ignored the shogun and studied the face of his beloved little one. She saw the decision he had to make. And she understood. Without moving, she gifted him her trust. His little mouse knew the risk he was about to take and accepted it, as he must. Her bravery made his chest hurt and his throat close. But he could only honor it now by taking action.

As Mitsuhide took aim, the chatelaine lifted her hands and in a practiced motion, grabbed the shogun’s knife arm. “Now,” she shouted. She had only seconds that she could hold Ashikaga at bay.

Mitsuhide sent a prayer to whatever gods or devils may be listening, and he pulled the trigger.

The moment stretched. He saw the powder light, heard the explosion of the bullet as it left the barrel. Watched Ashikaga’s ribs buckle under the impact, and his blood stained the cloth around the wound.

“What?” The shogun looked down at himself in confusion. His grip on the knife loosened. The blade fell to the ground.

The messenger stopped fighting Motonari in the room behind them and flung himself toward Mitsuhide. There was death in his eyes. He knew he couldn’t survive this attack, but he was determined to avenge the shogun as his last living act.

Kyubei lunged forward, putting himself between Mitsuhide and the nearly dead warrior. His sword took the man in his gut, stopping him before he could so much as breathe on Akechi. The hate in the messenger’s eyes burned to emptiness as his life-blood spilled. Kyubei watched impassively until he was sure the man was really dead.

“Nice kill,” Motonari remarked. “Who’re you?”

“No one.” Kyubei gave a half smile and pulled his sword free.

Mitsuhide spared a moment to clap him on the shoulder. Their eyes met. There was much to discuss, of course, but it could wait. The shogun was dead, the chatelaine was alright, and there were yet plans to put in motion.

“Mouri, go make sure Kennyo isn’t overwhelmed. There is still fighting on the grounds below us. Everything must be calm before the shogun arrives.”

“Yer losin’ yer mind, kitsune. The shogun’s right there.” Mouri’s eyes narrowed as Yoshiaki staggered to the edge of the narrow ledge. His legs shook. His chest spasmed as he gasped for air. And then, Yoshiaki Ashikaga fell.

Mitsuhide closed the distance between him and his little mouse. He pulled her tight against him. “You are alright.”

“I know.” She snuggled closer.

“Guess I’ll leave ya two lovebirds and go see to Kennyo,” Motonari said gruffly. “Ya did good princess.”

She didn’t look up to watch him go, though Mitsuhide’s eyes followed the pirate until he was gone from sight. Then his attention was back on his little one. Her deep, shaking breaths slowed and steadied. “I hope one day, awful things like this don’t have to happen anymore.”

“As do I.” He stroked her back gently. He had wanted to insulate her from this. To protect her. But his little mouse was strong enough to see death and recover from it. She’d proven herself yet again to be his match. Here she was, injured and in shock, yet she still held strength. Though he hadn’t believed he could love her more, he felt a surge of affection for this strange, sweet woman.

A dry cough from the room behind them eventually broke their moment of peace. Kyubei, still dressed as one of the daimyo’s servants, stood beside . . . Ashikaga Yoshiaki. Or, his replacement.

“Sorry to interrupt. I was just wondering when you’d clear this place out. My room is a mess!” The shogun wrinkled his nose in distaste.

Kyubei nudged him. “The shogun would never apologize.”

“Ah, right. Interrupting you was an annoyance. How dare you embrace and not regard my entrance with the appropriate obeisance?” The shogun smiled.

Mitsuhide smiled back. “I see. My apologies to you then. Shall I kneel?”

The chatelaine looked down at the ground below for a moment as if to check that Ashikaga’s body was still there. Then she looked back up at his double. “You - who? No wait! You’re the scribe! We met you in Kyoto at the shogun’s estate.”

“Riku, at your service, princess.” The shogun bowed. “Ashikaga kept my service while he was in hiding here, and eventually brought me out to scribe for him. Just as Akechi suspected he would.”

“And you made contact with my spy as instructed, I see,” Mitsuhide smiled.

“I did. He told me your idea and, at first I wasn’t interested but -”

“I am very persuasive,” Kyubei grinned.

Riku, now the shogun’s double, nodded. “And the daimyo agreed to go along with it, provided his family was spared. So here we are.” He looked a little nervous.

“You will make an excellent shogun in exile,” Mitsuhide reassured him. “All you need do is enjoy the remaining wealth of the Ashikaga clan and stay out of Oda’s way.”

“I will,” Riku’s expression was determined, if a little pale. “It’s more than I ever could have hoped for as a mere scribe.”

Mitsuhide nodded. “I will leave you in Kyubei’s care for now. He will alert me if you need support.” His eyes fell to his little mouse. “I have more important tasks this day.”

He spared not a heartbeat more before lifting her into his arms. It felt like they’d been apart forever, though it was really only a few days. Mitsuhide carried her past the few lingering fights, and into one of the daimyo’s guest rooms. It was quieter here, though the smell of gunpowder and blood still hung on the air.

“I would take you to Kyoto, but first . . .” he brushed a finger along the edge of her jaw. Her cheek was swollen and bruised. “We must see to your injuries. What happened?”

She told him about her capture as he gently rubbed balm into her wounds. Mitsuhide could tell it stung - both the ointment and relating her capture. But he was proud of her for trying to outsmart Ashikaga’s man, and for fighting back.

“I am sorry I wasn’t there to protect you,” he said softly, and kissed her forehead.

She put her hand to his cheek and shook her head. “You can’t always be right beside me. I don’t expect you to be. I did my best to keep myself safe and . . . I knew if I couldn’t, that you would rescue me. And you did.”

Mitsuhide felt a sharp warmth in his eyes and realized he might cry. Her trust in him . . . he simply didn’t have words for the way it made him feel. “I love you, little one.”

“And I love you.”

Next: Tears of Joy

[sfb123]

Sapere Aude - Part 12

Book: The Royal Heir

Pairing: King Liam Rys x Queen Riley Brooks

All characters belong to Pixelberry.

Catch Up Here

If you’re new to Sapere Aude, please click the link above to start from the beginning. There’s so much going on right now that you’ll be way too confused to start from this point. Plus, there are some major bombshells that won’t be as fun if you read this and get a bunch of spoilers.

Series Description: I developed a theory of what I think will happen in TRH Book 4, and I was encouraged by some very lovely people to turn my theory into a fic, so here it is. Basically, Riley is recruited to join the Via Imperii, this series will follow her as she joins them to try and bring them down from the inside, and all of the drama and bombshells she learns along the way. Sapere Aude is Latin for “dare to know” it seemed like an appropriate title.

Rating: PG-13 Adult language, discussions of death, conspiracy, blackmail, and other adult themes.

Warning: The Royal Heir Book 3 Spoilers all over the place.

Disclaimer: I have no current affiliation with any other Via Imperii themed stories. Any claims that I have pre-read anything are false.

Word Count: 2,015

A/N: I started writing this chapter, and all of the sudden realized it was way to long, and nobody was going to be able to hang in for the whole thing, so I ended up splitting it up into two, which means chapter 13 is already on deck and ready to roll, you should be seeing that next week (I don’t want to bombard you with too many chapters at once). I really didn’t know what I was going to do with this part of the story, but I just started writing and my fingers spit out the words.

Shout outs to @jessiembruno​ for constantly letting me annoy you with brainstorming, snippet bombardment, and beta read love notes. You are the best ride or die a girl could ask for. @txemrn​ thank you for pre-reading, and being an amazing cheerleader. All of this, this whole story, me writing in general, it’s all your fault, and I will forever be grateful to you for it (if you hate my work, and wonder who the hell I think I am to be here and be doing this, A. I agree and B. blame this lady). @twinkleallnight​ thank you thank you thank you for both of the amazing mood boards that you created for me. I appreciate you.

Tags: Listed below, hit me up to be added or removed.

“Riley, love, come sit. You need to calm down, I can’t understand what you’re saying.” Liam carefully guided her to the couch and helped her sit. “Wait right there, take deep breaths, I’m going to go get you some water.” He kissed her forehead and wiped away a few of her tears before walking into the kitchen, quickly returning with a glass of water. He placed it in her hands and sat beside her, placing one hand on her back, the other on her knee.

He spent the next several minutes just sitting with her in silence, taking all of the time she needed to compose herself. As her breathing began to return to normal, she placed the glass on the table in front of her and leaned back on the couch. She lifted her hand to wipe her tears, but Liam beat her to it, gently running his thumbs along her cheeks. 

“Are you feeling up to telling me what happened?” His hands lingered on her face as he looked deeply into her eyes with a loving, yet concerned expression. 

She shook her head, placing her hands over his. “Not really, but I have to. It’s bad, Liam. It’s really bad.” Riley took a deep breath, preparing herself to say the next words. “They’re pushing for an Auvernal alliance.” 

Liam’s hands quickly dropped to his lap. “But we shut that idea down years ago. Auvernal doesn’t want to work with us, they want to take us over.”

“I know, I tried to explain that to them, but they think we made the decision because we didn’t want to marry our daughter off to their nightmare child. And they’re not wrong, but so much more went into our decision. We were looking out for the whole country.” 

“Of course we were, for them to think anything else is outrageous. She was behind this, wasn’t she? She’s from Auvernal, I wouldn't put it past her.” Liam stood from his seat and began to pace the room. 

Riley followed him to the other side of the room, the roles quickly reversing, she was now going to be the one keeping him composed. “No, actually Neville brought it up and the rest of the group agreed. She brought the room back to order, told everyone we would take a breather and revisit it. She wants to set up a meeting with me next week to discuss it one on one. I told her off.” 

His feet immediately stopped moving and he turned to face his wife. “You...told her off?” She nodded slowly. “What did you say?” Liam really didn’t care to hear anything about Eleanor, but he couldn’t help but be curious about what Riley said to her. His heart swelled, knowing that she stood up for him, he loved her so much. 

“She tried to ask me if I was alright, and I unloaded on her. How would I have been alright after being ambushed by everyone? And I called her out for not defending our decision. The only reason I’ve been trying to work with her and hear her out was because she said she did all of this to protect you. How the fuck does any of this protect you?” She approached him slowly, taking his hands in hers. “How could she question your judgement like that? Obviously we had good reasons for ending that agreement. She said she’s been keeping tabs on you since she left, but obviously she doesn’t know you at all if she thinks you would make a selfish decision under the guise of protecting your country. You’re not your father.” 

He pulled Riley to him and held her tightly, she wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest. “I am going to arrange for everyone to meet us in Valtoria as soon as possible. We are going to take some time away, as a family, while we come up with a plan for how to stop this.” He felt her head move against his chest, nodding in agreement. He kissed her on the crown of her head before pulling back to look her in the eyes. “Riley, it means the world that you stood up to her like that for me. Thank you.”

“You would have done the same for me.” She shrugged, she didn’t think she did anything particularly remarkable. Standing up for her husband was just a thing that she did, like breathing or eating. 

Liam smiled softly at his wife. “In a heartbeat.” He agreed, before kissing her tenderly. 

***

A few days later, as promised, Liam had arranged for Maxwell, Drake, and Olivia to meet them in Valtoria for the weekend. They would use this time to come up with a plan, but it also gave everyone a much needed respite from everything that had been going on. They agreed to take a couple of days to relax and enjoy their time as an extended family before digging into the inevitable unpleasantness. 

Everyone was relaxing by the lake, Drake and Eleanor were fishing while the rest of the group sat around a nearby picnic table talking and enjoying some snacks prepared by the kitchen staff. 

“Your Majesty.” Mara approached, interrupting the conversation. “I apologize, but I need a moment of your time.”

“Of course.” Riley stood from her seat and addressed her friends. “I’ll be right back guys.” Liam kissed her hand before releasing it, watching her walk away. 

Once they got out of earshot of everyone else, Mara informed Riley that Eleanor had sent a request for the one on one meeting she had mentioned at the Via Imperii gathering. And that she would need to leave immediately to meet with her. 

“But I’m on a family vacation, Mara. Can’t this wait another day or two?” Riley didn’t want to have this meeting at all, and now it was going to be interrupting time with her family. 

“I’m afraid not ma’am, she said it is time sensitive.”  

“Fine.” Riley sighed. “Please go get the car ready, I will let everyone know that I have to step away.”

Mara nodded in acknowledgement and took her leave to arrange for their departure as Riley returned to the table. Everyone took note of her somber expression, they had a feeling they knew exactly what this was about. 

Liam stood from his seat and approached her, taking her hand. “What is it, love?”

“She wants to have that meeting. Now.” Riley took a deep breath running a nervous hand through her hair. “Mara went to get the car.”

Liam pulled her into a comforting embrace, wrapping his arms securely around her. “It’s alright, this may actually work in our favor. We were all going to talk about a plan tonight anyway. Maybe you will be able to get more information, or anything else that could help us.”

Riley pulled away and met his eyes. “You’re right. I need to suck it up, I just want this to be over.”

“I know love, I know. Me too.” He placed a hand on her cheek and kissed her on the forehead. 

Riley said goodbye to everyone else and made her way to the front of the estate, meeting Mara at the car before getting in and heading to the Fierro Estate. The ride was spent in silence as Riley took the time to gather her thoughts and think of the best probing questions to ask, allowing her to get the most information without being too obvious in her phishing. 

Upon their arrival, Mara led her to the back of the estate, to a room that was much smaller than the others she had seen. Mara opened the door and signaled for Riley to step inside, she entered and noticed Neville sitting at a small table, a smug expression on his face. She turned to address Mara, who had closed the door and was standing in front of it, clearly intending to prevent Riley from leaving.

“What is this all about Neville? I am supposed to be meeting with Eleanor.”

Neville stood and slowly approached the queen. “Come now Riley, I knew you were uneducated, but I had no idea you were this dumb. You haven’t already realized that she’s not the one that called you here?”

“Enough with this ‘your status doesn’t matter in the Via Imperii’ bullshit. I am your queen, and I expect to be addressed as such.” Riley stood tall, her hands firmly planted on her hips. 

“Titles should be reserved for those worthy of them. You have done nothing in your time here to deserve respect, so if I am not required to show it, I certainly won’t.”

“Alright, I’m sick of this. We already know you can’t sword fight for shit, Drake proved that in front of the entire court. Let’s see how you are with hand to hand combat.”

Neville chuckled. “I’m not going to fight you. You’re not even worth that.”

Riley began poking at his shoulder. “Why? Afraid to get your ass kicked by a girl?”

“Of course not. You forget, I have the upper hand here, I don’t have to resort to such childish, archaic methods.” He looked beyond Riley. “Mara, rational conversation is clearly not going to work here. Please restrain our guest.”

***

As the sun began to set over the lake in Valtoria, everyone collected their things and began to head into the house. 

“Daddy, when will mommy be home?” Eleanor looked up at her father as they walked hand in hand.

“Soon princess, mommy will be home soon.” Liam checked his watch and looked up at Drake with a concerned expression. “She should have been back by now.” he said quietly so that Eleanor wouldn’t hear. 

Drake clapped Liam on the shoulder. “I’m sure she’s fine. I’ll go ask Bas to ping her phone to get a location on her. We can send a guard to keep an eye out if you want.” Liam nodded and Drake broke away from the group. 

Liam walked with Elanor into her bedroom, followed by Thomas. As Thomas crossed the threshold, his phone began ringing in his pocket. He pulled it out, checking the ID quickly before silencing it and returning it to his pocket. 

Liam looked up from the bookshelf where Eleanor was picking a story. “You can take that if you’d like, Thomas. I will be here with Eleanor, we’ll be alright for a few minutes.” 

“Thank you Sir, I will make it brief.” Thomas bowed before exiting the room. “Mother?” He answered the phone once the door was shut behind him.

“Thomas dear, I haven’t been able to get a hold of Mara to coordinate my meeting with Riley. Can you tell me where she is?”

Thomas furrowed his brow. “She’s with you. She took Riley to the estate earlier today for your meeting. She said you called her this morning.”

“But I haven’t spoken to Mara since the meeting the other night. I certainly didn’t call for Riley.” Eleanor’s mind raced thinking of all of the possible reasons that Mara would have misled Riley like that. She flashed back to the night of the meeting, after Riley stormed off, Eleanor saw her approach Mara, who had been speaking with Neville. “Thomas, I need you to get Liam and meet me at the estate. Send some additional guards as well.”

“Mom...what’s going on.”

“I’m not quite sure, but if it’s what I think it is, we have to move fast.”

“Ok.” Thomas ended the call and returned to Eleanor’s bedroom. Eleanor was sitting at her table reading, while Liam stood with Drake and Bastien on the other side of the room. “Sir,” Thomas interrupted their conversation, “we have a situation.”

“Thomas, you are senior enough in the guard that you can handle it on your own, we are trying to locate the queen.” Bastien ordered, but Thomas didn’t move. 

“Um...actually, it’s about the queen. Your majesty, you need to come with me, and we need to send some additional guards along with us.”

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Liam x Riley:

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Liam:

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[ahsokasleftbicep]

Name and Soul: Chapter 4

Alright, let's get this angst moving!! Hope you enjoy it!

@mqgriett @darkangel4121 @thelambandthewolffe @maulscrosshair @trash-dino-5000 @lightning-wolffe @killtherandomness @shadowwing1324

Crosshair x F! reader

Word Count: 2017

Warnings: SPOILERS for episode 4, Tarkin being awful, Rampart being ugh, Sad Crosshair, internal conflict, Hunter and reader tensions, injury, a single curse word

The firing range was dark and empty, just how he liked it. Crosshair moved from his crouched position to his stomach, reloading his weapon and taking aim at the practice droids. Bang. Bang. The droids drop, sending a hollow thud throughout the room. He knew Tarkin was watching, he always did. So did Nala Se. They talked. Anytime Crosshair looked up at the observation room, he saw the two talking. Probably about her. Private L/N. His head hurt, well the right side did. Like a constant headache, it never went away. It was only worse when he was around the regs. Or his squad. They annoyed him. The man paused his training and then stood up, packing his gear. I need to get the mission done. I need to find them. Find her. Kill them. Take her. Easy enough… right. Every time he thought about her, that little metal ring felt heavier than usual. Oh well.

--

“You be careful okay? Stay with Hunter and Echo, look but don’t touch. Got it?” You brushed off some dust from Omega’s shirt.

“Yep! I got it!” The girl smiled at you before walking over to Echo.

Things had gotten much more complicated over the last few days. There were no more rations and the ship was on a wanted list. These sort of situations could be handled normally, but with Omega, you all had to think of the best way to keep her safe. Some tensions had been growing also, between you and Hunter, everyone felt it. You knew that the Sergeant had good intentions, but he had yet to acknowledge anything that happened on Kamino. With Crosshair. Wrecker tried to tell you that it was how he hid it, but it still irked you. Hunter had been just as devastated as you, and he kept it all in. You drove the past few days from your mind, looking at Echo in his getup.

“Looking good Echo.”

The man raises his hands and turns in a circle. “I know.” The two of you look at each other before breaking out in chuckles.

“Does the headpiece feel okay? Any recalibrations before you guys head out?” You take a quick look at the controls.

“Feels good so far, I think it’s fine.”

The sergeant came over from talking to the Sullustan dock master, securing his pack.

“Let’s head out.”

“Do you have any credits left after paying him off?”

“I have enough to get what we need.”

“Well, be careful.” You speak monotonically.

“Will do.” The two men and Omega start walking towards the market.

You walk towards the ship, towards Tech and Wrecker.

“Why do they get to go sightseeing again?” Wrecker lifts a large metal piece away so Tech can scramble the ship's signature.

You move out of his way, removing your top armor to help Tech with the ship. “It’s a supply mission. And besides, it’s not the first time we’ve seen this planet.”

Tech cleared his throat. “Uh Y/N? Can you get this small piece in here?... Please.”

“Yes!” You walk up to the ship, stepping up on a box and reaching out for the part. “Got it!”

“Much appreciated.” Tech fixes his goggles before heading back towards the inverters.

“Do you need anything else at the moment?”

“I don’t believe so, but thank you Y/N.”

--

“Sir? You asked for me.” Rampart walked into Tarkin's office.

“Ah Rampart, yes I did.” Tarkin looked up from a datapad. He put the device down and folded his hands.

“Is everything okay sir?”

“Yes, it is. I was curious about your progress on Private L/N’s file.”

The vice admiral sat down. “I have found a little more about her life before the Clone Wars. Nothing that we can use to our advantage yet. She has no family; they were killed in a raid in her village. A civil war broke out shortly after and she was drafted. She got into the Academy based on skill and exceeded in marksmanship among other things. GAR offered her a job when the war started, she joined Clone Force 99 shortly after.”

Tarkin listened and hummed, “Has there been any luck in finding her? Or the clones.”

“No, L/N’s training serves her and the clones well. No sightings nor upsets have been reported.”

Tarkin stands and looks through the glass window. “Very well then. Maintain your search. As I said, L/N’s skills will be useful to your project. Once you find something, send the sniper out to retrieve her.”

“Understood sir.” Rampart rose and walked out. I will find you, L/N. Whether you like it or not.

--

“Wrecker, Tech, Echo, Y/N. I lost Omega. Someone attacked us.” Hunter’s voice comes out scratchy through the comm-link. Your head shot up looking between Tech and Wrecker.

“Somebody who?” Wrecker responded.

“A woman. Highly trained. She’s after the kid.”

“Yeah, we’ll see about that.” Wrecker grabs his helmet, you grab your rifle and run off, the large man following behind.

“Y/N, your armor-.” Tech called out but you were already gone.

You and Wrecker run through the streets.

“I have eyes on Omega, she’s in the maintenance tunnels. Head northwest, at 155. And hurry, she’s got company.” “Wrecker you take that way, I’ll come from the back.” You say as you approach the street.

“Got it.”

You run through the street, hitting a couple of people, not that you cared about being polite at the moment.

“Wrecker, come in?” Silence. “Wrecker. Do you copy?”

“I do not see Wrecker, but Omega is hanging from a tower in the skyway.”

“Oh no.” You breathe out, trying to run faster.

Some speeder pulls up next to you. “Y/N! Get on!” It was Hunter, he held his hand out.

You grip his arm and pull yourself up. “I got the woman, you get Omega.”

Hunter speeds up, and you crouch on the back seat.

“Where’s your armor?”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, that makes me feel better. I’m not losing another member of my team.”

“We don’t have time for this, Hunter.”

“He-.”

“Stop! He’s not dead, he hasn’t disappeared. So stop acting like Crosshair just vanished.” You raise your voice. “Focus on Omega.”

You approach the tower only to see Omega fall into a shipping vessel. The woman jumps in afterward. The woman fires at the speeder, but Hunter swerves out of the way. A moment later the back of the vessel starts tilting, taking the woman… and Omega along with it. The woman falls onto another ship. Omega dangles on a strap, way too far above the ground. Hunter is about to grab her-

‘You guys! Look out!” The woman rams into the speeder, tossing you off and sending Hunter in a spin.

“Y/N!”

You’re able to grab onto the back of her ship, pulling yourself up. The woman grabs her weapon but you knock it out of her hand. She kicks you in the stomach before you slam her into the controls of the ship. She kicks back before grabbing a smaller blaster, and then your shoulder starts to burn. Your right shoulder is shot, the skin burned and irritated. Shit. You stumble back.

“Y/N!” You hear two voices at once, one being Omega.

“It’s okay, just stay there.”

The ship starts to shake, when you look behind you, you see that Hunter shot out one of the thrusters. This throws off your balance and you fall over the edge, gripping the end with your good arm.

“Y/N! You need to drop!” You see Hunter hold up a pyro denton. You look around you, seeing a tarp below you, covering some stand.

“Throw it now! I’ll be okay!” You come just above the tarp and let go. You land on the cover before connecting with the ground. The ship explodes and not a moment later, Hunter comes up and puts you on the bike, with Omega.

“Y/N! Are you okay?” The girl looks at your shoulder and winces.

“I’m fine, this isn’t the worst injury I’ve gotten.” Despite the wound being mostly cauterized, the shock and minor blood loss made you woozy. Everything just faded out. Someone picked you up, probably Hunter.

“We need to go. Now. Get a medkit.”

--

You woke up with a groan, your shoulder was sore and bandaged in a sling. You threw your legs over your bed and walked out into the common area.

“What did I miss?”

Omega jumped up and ran to you. “Y/n, are you okay? You’re going to be okay right? You got hit and then-”

“Omega.” You hug her. “I’m okay, it takes a little more than a blaster wound to take me down.”

The girl hugs you back, relieved. The others gathered around, Hunter looked pissed.

“Did we find out who that woman was?”

“Bounty hunter, based on her skills.” Hunter returned, his arms crossing over his chest.

“Makes sense. And she's after Omega.” You pat the girl on the head. “We need to be more careful.”

Everyone nods and heads back to the cockpit, except Hunter.

“Y/N.”

“Yeah, yeah. I don’t need the lecture, Hunter.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Then what do you mean?” You bite back, adjusting your sling.

“Look, I know you’re upset about Kamino, and what happened with Crosshair-”

“No, I’m upset that out of everyone on this ship, you are the only one who has yet to acknowledge him. When Wrecker mentioned Crosshair, you shut it down.” You stood up moving closer to the sergeant. “I know you’re hurting just as badly, but the longer we leave him on Kamino the worse it’s going to get.”

“We’ll get him back-”

“When we stop running, maybe start planning. That’s a start.” You turn towards your room, your eyes brimming with tears. “If you don’t come up with something, and fast. I will. And I will do it alone if I have to. I am not going to leave my husband there to rot and be Tarkin’s attack dog.”

--

“CT-9904. What is your experience with Private L/N? Is she reliable?” Tarkin asked the gray-haired man.

“Yes, her skills were helpful on missions.” The man tensed, his mind racing. What’s he got planned for her? Don’t listen to him! Leave Y/N alone! Shut up. Shut up! SHUT UP! FOCUS!

“When you bring her back, you will be in charge of training her after her conditioning. From there, she will become a part of your squad. Understood?”

“Yes, sir.” The clone was dismissed and walked past Rampart. He caught a glimpse of a file, your file, on his datapad. Why is everyone so interested in her? It’s not like she’ll come willingly, she’s a traitor. I miss her. She LEFT me. She loves me. No, she doesn’t. She couldn’t.

He sat on his bunk, thankfully the barracks were empty. Images flashed in his head, of you, your laugh, your smile. He grabbed his head and fell to his knees, shaking. Hot tears fell from his eyes as he wept to the empty room.

--

“Y/N?” Omega peeks through your door. You are cleaning your rifle. “Should you be doing that?”

You chuckle, “Yes, but it’s taking a little longer than usual… Do you want to give me a hand?”

The girl perks up, “Really?”

“Yeah, consider it your first lesson on taking care of your weapon.” You move over to make room for Omega.

“Where do I start?” The girl picks up a rag and looks at you lost.

“Here, see that little gear right there? That’s one of the most important parts. If you don’t take care of it, the rifle can jam…”

You repeated the same words that Crosshair said to you, minus the sarcasm and occasional curse. Word for word of what he said came out of your mouth as if you traded places. For a moment, it felt like he was right there with you. You thought you heard someone crying. Someone weeping. Like they were right there with you.

[kazandthecrows]

All I’m Asking For Is A Day of Peace and Quiet

a/n: Hello everyone! I’ve been working on this for a while for @grishaversebigbang ! I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I loved writing it :) I’ve had the pleasure of working with some insanely talented artists on this project and I hope that you love the final product! 

Beware spoilers for all the Grishaverse books! The first chapter is up and I’ll keep updating it over the next couple of days! 

Corporalki (my badass beta reader): @purns-art

Materialki (the coolest artists I know): @aureatepaper (art link)   @alittleartistic (art link)  @crownofnight (art link)    @nataliert (art link)

Summary: 

Nikolai just wants to find the perfect way to actually propose to Zoya, but literally everything gets in his way. When the long lost ring he’d been planning to propose with shows up in Ketterdam, he finds himself going on an adventure with Kaz and his crows.

Here’s the link to read it on Ao3: 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/33702874/chapters/83764771

Or read chapter one below: 

Chapter One 

“I don’t need to go on a vacation, Nikolai.” A stressed Zoya Nazyelensky exclaimed. Nikolai didn’t believe one word of that sentence. They were currently walking through the halls of the Grand Palace because the only way Nikolai could get a word in with her is if he met her in between going to one of her several meetings with diplomats, rulers of other nations, or anyone who needed to request time with the new Queen of Ravka.

Zoya wasn’t one to outwardly show her stress, but Nikolai knew that something was up. She looked immaculate. Her hair was perfectly done, she was dressed the part of a young Queen, her dark blue dress made her look as if she was wearing the night sky itself, and she carried herself with confidence and never let anyone see her falter. But Nikolai could often see what others couldn’t. The forced smiles, the way her shoulders fell a little whenever they were behind closed doors. The responsibility was weighing on her in the same ways that it weighed on him, and on this occasion, he was grateful for his experience as a royal so that he could help her through it as best he could.

“Yes, you really do.” He pushed. He had caught her in a rare moment of peace. She had just left a meeting with a number of Zemeni diplomats, and she was on her way to another meeting with some ambassadors from the Wandering Isle. He matched her pace easily, walking alongside her in hopes it would make her slow down a little.

“I can count the number of times I’ve spent time with you in the last two weeks on one hand, and 90 percent of those times you fell asleep.” Zoya stopped in her tracks, catching Nikolai off guard.

“That’s not true.” She said, crossing her arms in front of her.

“Think about it, Zoya.” He pressed. “You’re tired, stressed, and I can see the early stages of burnout starting to take over.”

“I’m fine, besides, I don’t have the time to take a break.”

“If you can’t take a few days off, how about an afternoon?” He asked. Zoya stayed silent, but if Nikolai could just have a few hours of her time, that would be enough. She sighed, nodding in acceptance.

“I’ll see what I can do about clearing tomorrow afternoon.” Nikolai could have exploded with joy. Progress, he thought.

“Perfect, meet me in the gardens tomorrow, then.” He moved towards her gently and pressed a feather-light kiss to her cheeks. When he pulled away, he swore he could see his former general blush.

“I’m looking forward to it.” She said quietly. Nikolai smiled fondly at her as they went their separate ways.

“Good luck with your meeting, my love, I hear the Kaelish ambassadors can be quite charismatic!”

----------

The garden of the Grand Palace had quickly become one of Nikolai’s favorite places. It was large enough that you could hide from anyone you were avoiding and quiet enough that it felt as if you weren’t in the palace anymore. It was an area of sanctuary, and Nikolai knew that Zoya would find it easier to relax here.

He’d set everything up perfectly. He had laid pillows and a picnic blanket down with snacks and tea in an alcove almost completely hidden by azalea bushes. He and Zoya had already come out here before, and he knew that it was unlikely they would be bothered here.

The sound of footsteps alerted him to her presence. His face lit up at the sight of her. Zoya’s hair was down from all the pins and ribbons she was wearing previously, and she had replaced her dress with a much more comfortable-looking white shirt and a pair of light brown trousers. Her small smile grew into a grin as she spotted him lying casually on the blanket.

“Goodness Nikolai, did you do this all yourself?”

“I had some help.” He said sheepishly.

“Well, I’m impressed.” He laughed as she lowered herself down onto the blanket. It had been an extremely busy few months, and he honestly couldn’t remember a time where they’d ever done this. All their time spent alone together felt so fleeting.

“Please tell me that nobody knows we’re here.”

“Just Genya, but only so she can keep everybody out.” Zoya said cheekily.

“Perfect.” Nikolai chuckled, moving closer to plant a gentle kiss on her lips. Zoya’s eyes drifted shut, savoring the moment.

“I really do think that we should take a few days off and go somewhere.” Nikolai said earnestly. They both deserved a few days with each other, that’s all he was asking for.

“Nikolai, I already told you, I don’t know if I have time.”

“You know, I find that one of the best things about ruling a country is being able to do as you please.” He poked fun at her, but he knew her reasoning.

“Where would we go?” She asked seriously. Nikolai was pleasantly surprised, this was the first time she’d actually expressed interest in going anywhere.

“There’s a cottage about halfway between Keramzin and Balakriev, it’s technically ours so we could go there whenever you wanted. It’s in the middle of nowhere, no one would bother us, and we could even pay a quick visit to Alina and Mal if you’d like.”

Curiosity filled Zoya’s features. It had been a while since they’d seen their friends. It would feel like a break if they went to visit them.

“We’d have plenty of time to ourselves, and then we can also see some friends. It’s a perfect mix of hiding from our responsibilities and socialising.”

“That would be really nice.” She said, but Nikolai could sense she wanted to say more.

“But?”

“But, it just doesn’t feel right to leave.”

“Sleep on it, Zoya.” He urged, “it won’t be for long, and you have a support system here who can help keep things running while we’re gone.”

She was silent for a moment, and Nikolai was hopeful that he had gotten through to her.

“Alright, let’s do it.” She said stubbornly. Nikolai felt like jumping for pure joy. Finally, he thought, he’d finally managed to do what others had thought impossible. He’d managed to convince Zoya Nazyalensky to go on holiday.

----------

Nikolai paced across his room, picking up different items and placing them into the assigned bags as Genya helped him organise. The two had almost everything ready. They crossed each other several times in comfortable silence, until Nikolai stopped and looked up.

“Genya.”

Genya continued to gather items, but turned her attention towards him slightly, to let him know that she was listening.

“Yes?”

“You wouldn’t happen to know of a sapphire ring that my mother used to own?”

She stopped what she was doing and looked at him, questions filling her eyes. That didn’t exactly give him much hope, considering he was the one with questions to ask her.

“She had a lot of jewelry, Nikolai.” Genya said pointedly. Her time spent working for the Queen had meant she knew the ins and outs of everything she did, and everything she wore.

“Yes, but it was a very sizable sapphire ring.”

“What would you need with a sapphire ring?” She asked. Nikolai looked at her for a few moments, saying nothing. It was enough for her to realise why he was being so insistent.

“Oh!” She exclaimed, dropping the folded shirt that she was holding.

“Yes, oh.” Nikolai said, falling dramatically into the chair at his desk, one arm draped across his forehead.

Genya grinned. “I bet you regret giving Alina the Lantsov emerald now.” Nikolai scowled at her, only encouraging her laughter.

“Alina deserved the emerald, and she had a better use for it than I ever did.” He sighed.

“I didn’t realise that things had been moving so quickly between you two.”

“The last few months have certainly helped us grow closer.” After Zoya had become Queen, Nikolai had done everything he could to make sure that she wasn’t struggling, and they had spent even more time than normal together. Truthfully, Nikolai missed it, but everything that had happened, from the Darkling’s return to Nikolai being able to control his demon and his General turning into a literal dragon. He knew he wanted her to be his Queen, but now that things had settled down he had never been more sure of anything; he wanted to propose to her.

“I’m so happy for you Nikolai, you both deserve the world.”

“She’s my world, and she’s far too good for me.” He spoke softly.

“You and I both you’re perfect for each other, and also, there were many Lantsov heirlooms, there are some that were bound to have gone missing.” Genya said.

Nikolai vaguely remembered talk of a sapphire ring he was hoping to find, but he’d only ever seen it once in a box on his mothers' vanity. Thinking back on it, it reminded him exactly of Zoya. The ring was a beautiful, vibrant dark blue, and it would suit her perfectly. The only problem was that he hadn’t seen it since he was a child, and anything could have happened to it.

“Whichever ring you’re talking about, I don’t think I’d seen it on her.” Genya said, giving him a sympathetic smile.

Nikolai racked his brain, trying to come up with places where it could have been. He began pacing again.

“It would have been the perfect item for someone to steal and sell on the black market, wouldn’t it?” He said.

“Sure, but it could be anywhere.”

Nikolai smiled, his plans slowly coming together.

“If there’s anyone that could locate a lost ring, it’s Kaz Brekker.” Genya sighed, her head falling into her hands.

“Zoya is going to be so happy once she finds out that you needed Kaz Brekker’s help to get her engagement ring.”

“I’ll send word to the Wraith, perhaps Captain Ghafa will be of help.”

Perhaps if Nikolai and Zoya were away long enough, he hoped she would fail to notice that he’d been looking for her engagement ring across Ravka and Ketterdam.

“I’m glad that you’re going on this trip, but have fun convincing Zoya to take a break.”

“Don’t worry, she’s going to love it.”

----------

“This is a terrible idea.” Zoya stated, watching Nikolai step into the small cottage. He looked back at her only to see an unimpressed scowl on her face.

“I happen to think that a little break away from all the duties and responsibilities of a Queen might be exactly what you need.” He said, grinning. Zoya wanted to smack that grin off of his face.

“I shouldn’t have said yes to this, you caught me in a moment of weakness.” She had been half asleep when he’d brought up the idea, and she’d only agreed to it because at the time nothing had sounded more appealing than some peace and quiet. But she was the Queen of Ravka, and there was too much to do.

“Zoya, please relax.” He smiled, resting his hands on her shoulders softly. “Genya has everything sorted and it’s only for a few days. She wouldn’t let anything bad happen while we’re gone.” He hoped that would be enough to assure her that everything would be alright and that after all they’d been through she deserved a few days of rest, but Zoya Nazyelensky and rest were two things that did not seem to go together.

Nikolai had brought them to a small cottage just outside of Os Alta. The last few months had taken a toll on them both. Zoya had been adjusting well to life as Queen of Ravka, but a break from them was long overdue. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, Zoya was scowling, and all was right in the world.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we return and Genya is the new Queen of Ravka.” Zoya exclaimed, making Nikolai chuckle, his face suddenly turning serious.

“Yes, we should be afraid.” He said, and moved to put the bags they had brought into the living area. Nikolai thought it would be a good distraction for Genya to take over for a few days, they all needed some time to distract themselves. Zoya had barely had time to herself since becoming Queen, and more importantly, Nikolai had barely any time alone with Zoya. They never had enough time to relax with one another, so their trip was long overdue.

“Funnily enough, Genya actually helped me plan this.” He said, “So, the bedroom is to the left, the kitchen is through there, and the room you’re currently standing in is in the living room, although I can imagine you already came to that conclusion.” Zoya stared at him pointedly, still unconvinced.

“How can you be so relaxed about this?” She said as Nikolai sauntered towards her, and smiled softly. His fingers brushed her cheek softly as he glanced at her.

“Zoya,” he said in a hushed tone, “ you deserve to rest.” He cupped her cheek as she leaned into his touch.

“I’m well aware that resting is against every fiber of your being, but please try, for me?” The look Nikolai gave her made her want to melt into his arms and never leave them, so she nodded silently and sighed.

Although Zoya would never admit it, she was grateful to Nikolai for getting her away from the palace and taking a break for a little while. It had only been a day since they’d arrived, and they’d done nothing but eat, sleep, and lay in each other's arms and talk about the smallest things, from stories of both their childhoods, to Zoya’s upbringing in the little palace.

Zoya felt as though she could stay like this forever, covered in blankets, Nikolai’s arms wrapped around her. They had spent the whole morning like this, drifting in and out of sleep. Zoya glanced up at Nikolai to see his eyes were barely open, but he was looking at her. She smiled at him gently.

“You know, we might actually have to get out of bed eventually.” She said, bringing herself closer to him. Nikolai’s arms tightened around her, his thumb brushing her shoulder softly.

“Who says?” He mumbled, a content sigh leaving his lips.

“I say.” Zoya laughed. “The weather is beautiful outside, we should go and enjoy it while we can.”

Nikolai’s eyes widened at her request. “Well, it’s nice to see that your mood has improved since we arrived.”

“I have to admit, this is much better than having to rule a country.” Zoya said, leaning forward to press a soft kiss to Nikolai’s cheek. “But we should do something, or see something.” She insisted. Nikolai’s frowned, deep in thought. A thought came to Zoya’s mind, one that had even surprised her.

“We aren’t that far from Keramzin. How about we pay some old friends a visit?”

“You want to see Alina and Mal?” He said.

“At least this time it’ll finally be under better and brighter circumstances.”

The last time Zoya had been to visit Alina and Mal, she had brought the Darkling into their lives once again. Their appearance at her coronation was a welcome one, and while Alina and Zoya had their differences, the Darkling and the destruction of the Fold had changed them both.

“Alright, let’s go and see Alina and Mal.” Nikolai sighed, but only held onto Zoya tighter.

“Nikolai!”

“Just give me five more minutes.”

----------

The journey to Alina and Mal’s orphanage was short, and the fresh air and sunlight was welcome to Zoya, who was beginning to realise just how much she needed some time to do absolutely nothing but ride her horse and spend time with Nikolai. As they approached the orphanage, Zoya could make out a figure stepping out into the entrance. The figure stopped and waved a very Alina wave and shouted something inside. Momentarily, another figure trudged out the door. Mal.

Zoya could barely get off her horse before being enveloped into a tight hug. Alina was always more of a hugger than she was, but nevertheless, she found herself returning the embrace with the same fondness.

“Zoya, it’s so good to see you!” Alina said, her smile as bright as the sunlight she used to summon.

“It’s good to see you too, Alina.” Zoya returned the smile with her own, albeit a more reserved one. They turned to see Mal greeting Nikolai with a friendly grin and a handshake. Alina beamed at them and moved to take Zoya’s hands.

“I’m so glad that you decided to come and visit, it’s not often we get royalty for company.” Alina said, eliciting a laugh from Nikolai and Mal.

“I’m glad you still want me around, considering what happened the last time I visited.” Zoya said timidly, her mind wandering back to the Darkling.

“Firstly, it wasn’t your fault, and secondly, you’re always welcome here.” Alina said, her hands still grasping Zoya’s.

“Now, come inside, I even made tea for this.”

----------

Zoya and Nikolai had spent the entire afternoon catching up with Mal and Alina. It felt surreal, considering all that they had been through together over the past few years. They talked as if they were old friends who hadn’t destroyed the Fold, turned into a demon, lost all of their powers, or gained brand new ones.

Towards the end of the afternoon, when all the chatter had winded down and they’d caught up on each other's lives. Alina pulled Nikolai aside, asking for a few moments alone with him. Nikolai followed her out of the room and into the courtyard they entered a few hours prior. Once they were far enough away, Alina turned to him with an excited glint in her eyes.

“When are you going to do it?” She asked.

“Do what?”

“Propose! It’s about time, Nikolai.”

“Well, ideally I’d like to have a ring to propose with, and so far that’s not looking good.” Alina gave him a sympathetic look.

“You could propose holding a twig and she’d still say yes. It’s your fault you picked a long-lost ring.”

Nikolai and Alina and corresponded through letters in recent months, keeping each other updated on the happenings of Keramzin and the Grand Palace. He’d told her about the ring in case she’d be able to find any information, but they hadn’t had any luck.

“I’m well aware. Genya said she’d send word as soon as she hears something, and I still haven’t heard from my contacts, so if there’s nothing by the end of the month I’ll have to improvise.”

“You must really love her if you’re going to all these lengths to propose to her.”

“She deserves something fit for the Queen of Ravka.”

“Either way, she’ll be happy to marry you.”

----------

The next morning, the couple did not expect to find Tolya standing at the door, with a cloaked figure next to him. The figure lifted their hood, and the face of the Wraith became clear.

A very confused Zoya turned to Nikolai, wondering what the hell was going on.

“Captain Ghafa, to what do we owe the pleasure?” Nikolai asked. It had taken a considerable amount of effort to get in touch with her. As it turned out, the Wraith truly lived up to her name. She seemed to appear in the most random places. Nikolai had to request the help of allies in the Wandering Isle, Fjerda, and Novyi Zem to find her. Once he could contact her, he explained the situation and asked her to get into contact with anyone who might have had information on the whereabouts of the ring.

“I received your letters.”

“I must admit, I’m very surprised you’re here, you’re notoriously difficult to get a hold of.”

“I have a lead on the item you asked me to look for.”

Excitement coursed through Nikolai. Has she found it? Was this all coming together?

“And?” He asked eagerly, ignoring Zoya’s perplexed gaze.

“It’s in Ketterdam.”

[secondhand-trash]

“I love you.” “It’ll pass.”

Season 2 ep 6, Fleabag

(more lines I like from things I like as prompts for people I like)

A/N: I reserved this one for Dabi when I was making the list but fuck Dabi It’s Getou time😌✨this scene impacted me so hard when I was watching the show and I knew right then that I had to write something off of it one day

Pairing: Getou Suguru x reader

Description: He left without saying goodbye.

Warning: major manga spoilers (set after the hs flashback arc and connecting to the prequel)

Word count: 3007

Playlist:

Cigarette Daydreams//Cage The Elephant

You Say I’m in Love//Banes World

The Killing Moon//Echo & the Bunnymen

-

It wasn’t until the report came out that you realised Getou was never coming back.

All 112 villagers of the prev. ** village deceased.

The letters printed on the white paper was staring right at your face, but somehow it still felt like it was miles away, like everything you read fell through your ears as an echo.

Residues at the scene could determine that it was Getou Suguru’s curse manipulation.

No one said anything when they saw you staring blankly at the still screen of your phone. The last few messages were still there, sitting there and waiting to be read.

You weren’t sure if you were hoping or detesting a response. He probably never would, like he probably wasn’t your boyfriend anymore.

“Do you know when you are getting back?”

Getou Suguru escaped.

“This is taking longer than your usual missions, is everything alright?”

According to item 9 of the Jujutsu Regulations, he is to be classified as a curse user-

“Suguru?”

-and is to be executed.

The other two saw him again after that, which they had the mercy of not telling you explicitly, but anyone could tell from the heaviness lingering in the air. 

Shoko smoked more than usual.

Gojo got quiet, and sometimes you would catch him fidgeting with the candy paper in his hand underneath his table.

Getou’s table was still there, an empty space starkly standing in the middle of the already sparsely occupied room. You had assumed that they would remove all traces of him immediately, but you could understand why they didn’t when you realised that your gaze still paused at where he once sat whenever it wandered.

The same way crimes scenes were always kept as it was, only the supposed corpse was still out there somewhere.

It was a silence bonding, the unbreakable chain of experiencing the same loss at the same time, but somehow your remaining friends were already there when you pushed open the door to the rooftop where no one usually went to.

That was the first day when he was gone. You had felt an impulse to go somewhere where you were not trapped inside, where you could feel the air entering your lungs as you inhale and it seemed like you were not the only one with that thought.

Gojo was already there, with his back bent forward as he leaned on the rail. He had one foot on the iron bar of the railing, casting a glance to your side when you silently joined him in looking down.

There was no one visible in your sight, but still you looked, and looked. The quiet footsteps getting closer let you know that the third (and last) classmate was here, a soft sigh ringing before there was a click and the smell of smoke made you furrow your eyebrows together.

You remembered that he used to smoke rather often, but somehow always put the cigarette off when you neared. He stopped smoking around you entirely after you got together, because you would push him away if you smelt the tell-tale scent of tobacco on him. But if you caught him at the corner with one between his fingers, he would always pull you close with his eyes curling into two thin strands, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips as his other hand fumbled for the mints he kept in his jacket pocket.

You wanted to be mad at him, but the chill tickling your tongue when his breath fanned against your lips always had you weak.

“If he had come back for you,” Gojo’s voice was void of emotions, without the usual certainty or cockiness that always dripped from his words, “would you have followed?”

You shrugged.

“I don’t know,” you shook your head slightly, your eyes not once shifting away from the empty courts below.

The reality was that it still took you some time to process that fact that he killed a whole village of people, even longer when you eventually remembered that he did the same to his own parents. It didn’t feel real, like a bad dream that you could wake up from if you beat the thought into your head enough, like you could just close your eyes and see him walking up to you with his usual smile, asking you if you really fell for it.

But the feeling of being left behind, of conflict at the sentiments in your heart that you couldn’t brush away, of doubting if everything you once had was ever truly yours, of anger at how you were supposed to be the closest to him but knew nothing, of not being told anything, of not receiving a proper goodbye, of him running away without even telling you straight up that he was leaving you behind, were all very, very real.

There was a dull ache budding at the back of your throat over the fact that your last image of him was still the way he looked at you with so much tenderness made you sick to the stomach, and twisted even more at the knowing that to you, that was his one biggest crime. 

Perhaps that was what love was. You could look past the fucked up morals or even the murder, but there was no ignoring that you were left behind, and that meant that there was where it all ended.

You chuckled at the conclusion you had drawn, earning you a questioning stare from the boy who raised the question.

Hell, then he might just be the love of your life.

“I don’t know,” you repeated, bitterness lingering on your tongue when you smiled.

Sick, just sick.

They were both looking at you, but you didn’t turn to see what expression they were wearing as you dropped your head. The metal pressing against your forehead growing warm under the heat of your skin as you muttered, this time to yourself and no one else.

“I really don’t.”

-

Time sped up from there. 

Life went on. Eat, sleep, going out on missions before collapsing on your bed when you came back alone and tired, repeat. Gojo and Shoko stayed after graduation season hit, you didn’t. You spent so many years there already, you clicked your tongue as you said, it is time to move on.

You were not really talking about High school, both of them knew it but neither said a thing. The empty table remained as it was until a new batch of students poured into the classroom that was once yours, before they left and another group filled in. 

Occasionally you met young sorcerers on the field who wore the same button that once adorned your collar, and wondered if it was them who sat at that table now.

You did not think about Getou Suguru for years.

Yet, you were not surprised to find the exact same man that once plagued your thoughts late at night standing in the middle of your living room uninvited, without a single hint just as when he left.

“It has been long.”

You had a gut feeling that he got taller since you last saw him, even though you were probably standing too far away from him to truly measure. The edges and corners of his face were more prominant, his hair running down his back in a way that used to happen only when he was at his most relaxed. 

“You should try to let it grow,” you mumbled as you ran your hand through one lock of his hair, letting the black silk fell from your hand onto his chest, “it would look good on you.”

He chuckled, and the vibration seeped into your skin from the way he laid on your lap. The weight lifted from your legs when he sat up, his face right in front of yours as he grinned.

“When my hair reaches my waist, will you marry me?”

You laughed, and the smile on him only grew.

“Where did you get that from?” you hid your smile behind the back of your hand.

“It’s from a poem,” he replied with a tilt of his head, “Never heard of it?”

“No,” you still sounded breathy from the laughter, “but did people teach you not to make promises so easily?”

The one long piece of his bangs had fallen onto his face, covering his eyes just slightly. He huffed as he pushed it away from his view, placing his head on your shoulder.

“Who told you it was easy?”

Ah, your jaw clenched at the waterfall of black that stopped just above his waist, so he did grow it out in the end.

You did not move from your position at the door, standing with your back straight and your keys still gripping tightly in your hand. “What are you doing here?” 

You were just about to head back from a mission when you got the call. “He showed up at Kousen just then,” Gojo did not bother with formalities, or give you any context as to who “he” was but still you froze, knowing exactly what he was talking about right away, “he might go see you.”

(You were sure that he wouldn’t, but it seemed like you truly didn’t know him well at all.)

He chuckled, a soft sound that made your nails dig into the middle of your palm, “Am I not allowed to check up on you because I want to?”

He sounded familiar, exactly the way you remembered him to sound like. The corners of his lips were lifted up in a calculated angle, smiling at ease but not from heart. You suppressed the heat that was near pouring out your throat, swallowing the discomfort back into the pit of your core.

Was it true that this wasn’t how he smiled, or did you only notice the way his eyes were lifeless now?

You replied with a smile of your own, not willing to lose your footing, “Oh please.”

You never bothered to check on me before.

He was not bothered by the dryness in your voice, and if he was then he did a great job at not appearing so.

“When I left,” he asked, “were you mad at me?”

“No,” But I spent nights crying over you. “is that supposed to come out as a mock?”

“No.”

You searched for a hint of wavering in his eyes, any sign that he was experiencing even a bit of the turmoil that was boiling and burning in your chest as you tried to keep your voice still.

You wondered what you had hoped to find.

“What do you want?” you said, and forced yourself to look right into his eyes. You imagined that you could see your own reflection staring back at you if you were any closer to him and the hint of soreness shooting right up to your nasal until it the sting that left almost resembled longing.

If you were to fight, you probably couldn’t win him no matter how hard you try.

“If I say I miss you, would you believe me?” 

 There was a ring in your ear as you shut your eyes tight, forcing the corner of your lips to hold back from twitching.

God damn it.

“Does it matter?” I wish I don’t.

“Perhaps.” 

He was looking at you, and you could taste the blood at the tip of your tongue. You wished there wasn’t some part of you that was near breaking down inside of you, or that you didn’t feel such an urge to let the tears run free.

But you wouldn’t, your pride wouldn’t allow it.

His arms crossed loosely in front of his chest, the fabric of his cassock bunching up around his elbows. You had pondered why the cloak seemed so out of place, and then you remembered that he wasn’t even religious in the slightest.

It was all for show.

“Leave.” 

There was a hint of relief when you heard your own voice landing back on your ear and there wasn’t the shakiness you had so dreaded to hear. You knew you had lost the moment you even cared, but still, on the front you refused to show there sometimes, during the many years after he left, you would still see his face when you couldn’t sleep and all you could do was stare at the ceiling. You hoped the iciness in your expression was enough to cover up the fact that you had no erased all traces of what you once had with him completely, and there was still a photograph or two that you hid away so that no one would know you still hadn’t let go of him, a traitor.

He glanced down at your command, before nodding slightly to himself. Getou Suguru turned around until he was facing your window and his shadow slanted on the opposing wall from the cold hue of the moon.

The pale light blurred his figure, like smoke, like the mint tingling your senses.

“You ruined my life.” 

I love you.

He paused briefly, before turning to look at you once again. You were taken back when you see the look in his eyes, and the downward tug at his mouth.

With the moon and the cassock and the unexplainable depth in his eyes, he did look the part of feeling sorrow for the world and pity for the masses.

Oh, how ironic.

Getou parted his lips slightly, and you could see the shudder but heard no sound, until they pursed, before he finally spoke again.

I love you too.

“It’ll pass.”

You did not realise that you were staring out the window, not moving a step until you saw the dots of snow slowly landing on the glass. Your steps stumbled as you walked towards where he jumped out, your hand touching the chilled glass while the world outside was a scene of white.

He probably came and left on the back of some curse he had, not leaving even a trace.

You stared and stared, and wondered what it would feel like to be buried under the snow that was starting to pile up.

-

Gojo asked you if you want to see him for one last time.

You refused.

Your bones were cracking with each twist of your joints as you finally got back to your own space after the whole fiasco that went down had you drained. 

Of all the days he had to plan an uprising, it had to be Christmas Eve. A heavy sigh slipped from your lips when the door locked behind you, the lights flicking on to show the red number on the calendar hanging on the wall.

It was quiet, the handle of the clock ticking was all you could hear. It matched the pounding in your ear, drumming and drumming as you stared upwards at the ceiling, sucking in a deep breath as the cold air filled your lungs.

So he really was gone now.

“He said he couldn’t manage to laugh happily from the bottom of his heart in this world,” Gojo called you again a moment later after the initial one, and you had to swallow the want to tell him that there was no need to tell you what he said when the other end fell into silence when you didn’t response.

Only there was. You knew there was.

At the back of your head, you had a faint memory of where you had put the old things that you couldn’t find somewhere to store when you moved out of your dorm room. It was hidden under the piles and piles of clothes and blankets that you never used, much like how you had not touched that box since you first put it there. 

You sucked in a deep breath when your fingertip touched the rough corner of the cardboard, reaching in deeper to pull it out. It was covered in dust and slightly crooked from all the things you had stacked on it, but still exactly the same as how it looked when you sealed everything inside with the cover and shoved it in your closet.

There was still an innocent sense of glee when you opened it and saw all the things that reminded you of your youth. 

The student handbook, and your student card that was stuck in there like a bookmark. The gold button in which some of the gold pain had already come off from years of wear and tear. Your graduation picture, which showed the three of you sitting side by side properly in all its rarity.

The familiar ache in your throat returned when you got to the bottom, where you found the sole reason why you dug this out. You smiled, your hand gingerly picking the thin film laying flatly there without a single crease on it.

He was looking at you, who had your face on his shoulder with an arm thrown around your frame. Your hand was on his neck, pulling him down towards you as you laughed and he laughed back at you. You did not remember who took it, or when it happened, but the rush of warmth in your chest as you held the picture in your hand must be the proof that you were happy. 

You should have thrown this away the moment you knew he was not coming back, but you didn’t have the heart to.

How could you when he looked so happy too?

Your thumb traced over the smooth surface of the film, over where his lips were nearly touching your hair, over his eyes that were fixed on you.

Couldn’t manage to laugh happily from the bottom of his heart... huh?

You laughed, at him, at yourself, before the droplet of tear finally fell.

Like there was smoke in your eyes.

Like the chill on your arm was not from the snow outside but from the taste of peppermint on your tongue.

[caesthetix]

KIDS IN LOVE — Pt. 1 No Beauty In War

↪Porco Galliard mini-series

↪content; major character death, canon universe, description of violence, unrequited love, admiring from afar, season 4 spoiler, manga spoiler 119

War was cruel and he tried to push you away from it.

Everything used to be so easy before. When your routine was just sending cookies and cupcakes to the Galliards, when your concern was just the blush on Porco's face when Pieck was around, when what you knew was that the Island of Paradis filled with demons.

How beautiful the world was before, for you to have such a mundane life.

You wished you could go back to that time.

"Hey, Pock."

He groaned once the nickname slipped from your lips, making you chuckle in the process with how easy it was to make him agitated. And for that, you really needed to thank Pieck later. "Pock, Pock~ Why don't you look at me~?"

"Seriously, you are such a kid." He grumbled, irritated with how you were just here only to annoy him. Your feet dangling on the tree stump where you sat on. "Why don't you go home? Just drop your cookies to my mom instead of being here doing nothing."

"Well, I am a kid!" You exclaimed. "And what's wrong with being here? I want to hang out for a while." With you, but you bite your tongue to hold that thought from reaching the surface.

The blonde just shrugged and continued his chore, chopping down some of the wood into halves. He was always groaning so loud as he did so, as if he put all of his energy into that. You knew better though, he was more than capable of cutting down a few kinds of wood with a meagre strength.

And knowing that he had changed into a colder person since Marcel embarked on the mission in Paradis, you needed to be extra careful with him.

"Hey, Porco." You called out once again, fingers fiddling with the bag of cookies in your hand.

"What?" He answered nonetheless, despite the annoyance that was dripping in his tone.

You pondered if it was the right thing to ask. But you have made up your mind, the thought had been haunting you for perhaps months now, making you restless at the point it was hard for you to sleep. So you couldn't back down, you need to know of a way.

"Who usually is needed in a war except, well, warriors?"

He stopped his axe midair as the question slipped from your lips, putting it down slowly before giving his full attention to you. You flinched, trying to act as calm as ever under his wandering gaze. His lips shaped into a thin line, eyes scrutinizing your face.

"There are medics, of course." He stated, though somehow he sounded careful as he shared the information. "Doctors, nurses, we all need any kind of help within that field. Then there was a researcher, professor, you know — geniuses."

You nodded, pondering if you could be in one of the fields. Perhaps nurses, yes, you just needed to know all the basics, working alongside doctors. But you didn't know if you could start to be a dependable nurse at the same time Porco would go on a mission.

"And chef."

Your eyes immediately lit up at his last statement. "Warriors and others need food too." Good. Cooking was something that you could do. You even knew that Porco loved some of the cuisines that you made, from how he always asked for a second when the Galliard had dinner at your house.

Deep in thought, you didn't see how his eyes filled with horror at the realisation.

"Then, what can I do to be enlisted in a war?" You looked up, now with confidence in your voice.

"Huh?"

"Tell me, Porco. You must know information like this, right?" You slightly begged, softening your eyes to push down the eagerness on your gesture. "I want to join you, to be there beside you when we win and for us to get our freedom." You rambled on, but your friend just stayed put in his place without saying anything. "Porco—"

"You think war is a game for you?" His voice was low, making your pupils dilated at the bitterness in it. "War needs someone braver, not just someone with a mindless dream like you." You didn't know what was in his head right now, but this side of him scared you.

Porco took a few steps forward, now just inches away from where you sat. His eyes glowering down at you with disgust, you couldn't help but let out a small whimper. "You think your burnt cookies and mediocre food could please the higher-ups? You think a weak kid like you could survive more than an hour on the battlefield?"

"I am not weak." You answered as stern as possible, ignoring the crack in your voice as you challenged his gaze. His eyes twitched at your reply before seething in anger at your words.

As if something snapped within him, he grabbed your wrist and raised it abruptly, so fast that you couldn't hold your grasp on the bag of cookies. You gasped as the crumbs scattered on the ground, but you couldn't move to save it as his hand tightened. "Porco, let me go—"

"See? You are weak." It felt so brutal at the reminder. "I am here gripping your wrist with a little force and you are already cowering like a kid." He smirked, but it was not the same smirk that he usually had when he teased you. "Oh, yeah, you are a kid." He wrecked you, slapping the fact on your face. "And a kid like you will die in a war."

He gritted out every word with mockery. You knew that being a part of the war meant that you had to be more assertive, braver. But wouldn't everyone work together to win the war? If one of the warriors was in need of assistance, wouldn't they help each other?

But Porco being Porco, he knew what clouded your mind. "Never think that someone would save you. Not even me. You know why?" His face grew closer at the point you could feel his hot breath on your face, making you suck your breath. "Because you are not worth saving."

You kicked him with all of your might, turning your face in another direction as you jumped down from the tree stump and ran. You didn't want him to see the tears threatening to fall, you didn't want to give him the satisfaction that his words impacted you deeply that you knew it would leave a scar on your heart.

"You go, kid! Run!" You heard him shout. "Do the only thing that a kid could do! Run!"

Yes, you were running away from him. But as you run, you balled your hand into a fist.

You promised that someday you were going to prove to him that you were not just a useless kid.

War was an endless nightmare, and how everything turned out in front of you became a reminder of what it was capable to do.

You heard the scream, a familiar scream that threatens to tear your eardrums. It was Zeke, that howl belonged to the beast titan. And just like that, you could see all the glows around you. One, two, no, you couldn't count how many of the Eldians in Paradis rapidly turned into titans. The city lit up with almost everyone becoming a monster inside their blood.

As you lay low on the tall building, you wiped your eyes from the dust and dirt, wanting to see more clearly of the condition in the battlefield below you. You gasped when you saw two familiar light blondes that belonged to the Grice brothers.

He glowed, Falco's body covered with a yellowish light. That was when you realised what was going to happen. The boy might have ingested Zeke's spinal fluid, and from the range he stood right now, the power inside him would be activated.

That little kid had so much in his future, and you wondered if he ever told Gabi about his feelings. And now, he was going to be a titan.

But your eyes watered even more when you saw as Colt stayed still, he was there hugging his little brother, not caring anymore that it would kill him in the process.

"Colt—"

You cracked your neck to the left and right, stretching your limbs as you let the tiredness start to sink in. Today, you were helping Niccolo to feed the Eldians warriors, saying that it would be a good time too to get to know some of the warriors who fought for Marley.

Ever since you received the invitation from Commander Magath, you had been working nonstop. He praised your skills in knowing nutrition and your capability of making a personal menu for each warrior, informing you that you would be a good addition to the military.

There was no time to slack off, you sharpened your mind and tried a lot of new recipes that could please the warriors while sticking to their diet.

"Hey, you can go there, you know? Some of them asked to meet the new chef behind their, let me quote, magnificent food." You snorted as Niccolo cleaned his hands with the towel. "Take off your apron and flaunt! You are only young once."

"You are young too, remember that?" You chuckled at his remark. For a pure Marleyan, you were surprised that he didn't look down at you. He respected your skills, not caring that you were an Eldian, and treated you like you were family most of the time. "But okay, I will take your advice."

Cleaning your hand and taking off your apron, you looked at the small mirror in the kitchen to make sure that you look proper. You heard a chuckle from your friend, somehow knowing that you were always a worrywart when it came to how people looked at you.

"You look fine, just go on, they are begging to meet you."

"Alright, alright you impatient old man."

You ignored the surprised gasp from him and went outside to the room where he assigned the warriors to. To say that you were nervous would be an understatement, you were afraid that you would flinch or ended up being too timid.

No, you were not a kid anymore. A few intimidating warriors wouldn't make you crumble.

You heard a loud chatter as you stood in front of the door. It was wrong to eavesdrop, but when you heard someone mention how good your cook was, your heart swelled with appreciation. Alright, that was enough, it would be better if you announced yourself.

Knock knock knock.

You heard a shout telling you to come in, and you didn't waste your time over it. The second you came in and closed the door behind you, you straightened your posture and gave them a small bow.

"See? Now you owe me another meal here."

"It's a young woman, I did not expect that."

"Wait, (Y/n)?"

In between all of the noises from the men, who apparently made a bet about how the chef would look, you heard a feminine voice coming from one of the chairs. Your eyes fleeting towards their direction, finding a woman with slightly dishevelled black hair and relaxed eyes.

"Huh?" You blinked, recognition dawned upon you. Then your eyes widened. "Pieck?"

Your hands were sweating as you tried to lock your gaze on her. She blinked as she saw the distress in your eyes, yet you kept staring at her. If she was here, then that would mean one thing.

Porco was here too.

Well, that explained the feeling of someone glaring a hole in your skull.

"Pieck, you know her?" Someone spoke up, it was the same man whose voice you recognised praising your food before. Before she could answer, he walked toward you with a giddy step, a soft smile plastered on his face as he extended your hand for you to shake. "Name's Colt, Colt Grice."

His presence brought you back to reality. You were here to impress them, a ghost from the past could be taken care of later. Shaking his hand, you gave him a polite smile as you looked at him with your warm gaze. You tried not to think too much about the blush on his face at the moment.

You still could feel someone drilling holes in your direction. The man in front of you seemed not to notice. Colt was saying a lot of things to you. He ignored some groan in the background about how he was taking all of your attention, he continued praising your food and how everyone didn't expect to see a beautiful young woman to be the one behind their marvellous food today.

"I thank Commander Magath for assigning you to the military branch."

Someone stood up abruptly from their chair, making you flinch a little before composing yourself in a second. Both you and Colt, interrupted from the light conversation from before, now focused on the commotion behind you. There you saw a man with his gaze darkened, hands gripping tight on the side of the table. His friends were worried about his drastic gesture.

"Hey, Porco, are you alright?"

But his flaming eyes never left your face.

The aftermath of the titans' transformation was hell. All of the warriors were scrambling around to save themselves, only resulting in a delayed death. Their end was impending, and yet they were all wriggling and running, fighting for their own life.

Your gaze was still fixated on the spot where the brothers stood before. It was as if there were hundreds of bombs that detonated at the same time and now your vision filled with dust and rubble, blinding you from what was happening.

You whimpered as dried tears stained your cheek. For the past few hours, you have cried so much as you saw the cruelty of war. But Colt, oh, Colt — a man who was too good for this world, someone who cared deeply for his brother, someone who always hyped you up even when your old friend seemed to try to kick you out from the military.

War was evil, that was what Porco always tried to say to you. And yet here you were, in the middle of it all, watching how your race tried to kill each other. Watching; how your comrades died one by one in the most gruesome way.

No, there was still Porco. You still had Porco, Pieck, and Reiner. You couldn't see where the jaw titan was before, unlike the others. The last time you saw him was when he worked side by side with Reiner before all the debris concealed your vision from the event under you.

But as your vision finally cleared, you felt like someone just shot you through your chest.

"No. No."

A titan tried to eat Reiner. His jaw was fixated on the Armored Titan's nape. Somehow the titan looked familiar, and your eyes widened when you connected the missing puzzle.

It was Falco, and you didn't dare to look around, feeling sure that Colt was gone for certain from how close he was with his brother when he transformed.

Searching through the battlefield, you squint your eyes, trying to understand what was happening right now. Then you saw it, the jaw titan. Porco's titan. Laying idly on the ground not too far from Reiner.

Then just like that, you were reminded of how cruel war could be.

Falco's titan retracted his jaw from Reiner's nape. His long neck whipped to the side, murderous eyes locked to a new prey that was out in the open. A human flesh, without anything concealing them.

It was him, Porco, your old friend, the one who never wanted you to be here in the first place. Half of his face was gone from the impact that he took as a titan. You couldn't hear what he said as he walked to where Falco and Reiner were.

Everything happened so fast after that, yet you could catch every detail of how it took place.

You watched as he just accepted his fate, the pace that he chose was slow, though certain as he was ready to embrace death. He didn't scream, he didn't do anything as Falco's titan ran towards him, with one goal to devour him alive.

That was what he always did, saving children and comrades.

No matter how many humans he killed, no matter how his face often turned into a scowl for certain people, he was always the same Porco Galliard who would prioritize kids and his friends. He never changed. No, that was wrong. He did change.

But even though he changed, he had become a better man for every day that went by.

You couldn't hear anything as your eyes never left the nightmare in front of you. All the bodies that scattered around the ground, your comrades, fellow Eldians from Marley, even some citizens that you met here in Paradis, and Colt. Their deaths would be imprinted forever in your head.

Porco was right after all, just like usual, maybe this was why he didn't want you to be here. There were so many times he would pull you to the side after a meeting, just to tell you about the terror that followed in war. He told you about the horror inside the dead bodies, bloodshed, and screams that flew nonstop.

He tried so hard to show you that war was something that couldn't be stopped. That one day all of your comrades would die, some couldn't be recognised anymore, and neither would you. After all the war that you had been through before, you kept looking forward and never let yourself linger for a long time.

You always shrugged it off before, knowing for certain what you were signed up to. Of course, there was no beauty in war, you even knew there was no winning side at the end of the day. Just people who died on the battlefield, and those who survived.

Every time you imagine what war looks like, you were always ready. No matter how many deaths that you have seen, your eyes kept fixated on the freedom that would follow soon.

But perhaps, it was not the war itself that he deterred you from stumbling in — it was this.

Your hand clasped your mouth as you let the dam break, new tears replacing the previous stains that were glued on your face. Falco's titan crashed to the ground as he had Porco's body in between its teeth. You wanted to scream out, but you couldn't, or else the titans surrounding you would eat you alive.

The worlds crumbled the second you knew there was no tomorrow for Porco.

He was gone, half of his body swallowed down in an instant. And you could do nothing except push down your pain and hide yourself even further inside the rumbles where you hid.

You tried to calm down as you processed what happened. There he goes, he leaves and wouldn't come back. Your heart was racing and not from a reason that you wanted to remember. You felt like you couldn't breathe as you realised — that was the last time for you to take a look at your dearest friend.

And you would never have a chance to tell him.

Neither of how right he was about war.

Nor how beautiful he was in your eyes.

↪Back to Wall Maria

↪Send an ask if you want to be a citizen of Paradis (taglist)!

[sugarylawliet]

bells (L lawliet x reader)

> warnings: ANGSTTT, major death note spoilers

> i know i altered the rain scene a bit and combined it with the monster speech but i thought it fit nicely okay let me live 😫

     It wasn’t easy, working as part of the kira case. You knew that better than anyone. You knew that when you begged L to let you join the task force, and by the sorrowful look in his eyes in response to your request, he knew it too. What he also knew, though, was that you wouldn’t give up. No matter how many times he warned you of the dangers, “Y/N your heart could stop any minute,” “Y/N you’d have to say goodbye to your normal life,” “Y/N this puts us both in danger and i can’t lose you,” he knew all too well you would never let up. You would just persist on begging and begging, because you’re just like him. Stubborn. That’s just the thing he loved about you, but also the part of himself perhaps he hated the most. And so, he let you join the task force.

Now almost a year into the investigation, the large band of japanese police and american FBI agents dwindled down to a dedicated few, those who were willing to put their lives on the line to find kira. That few was you, L, Light Yagami, Cheif Yagami, Matsuda, Aizawa, and of course Watari. Misa tagged along too, living in the task force headquarters with everyone else though you weren’t sure exactly why. Maybe L kept her around because he couldn’t let go of the idea that she was the second kira. Stubborn. Though you didn’t agree with his theory, it wasn’t so bad having another girl around HQ.

“Hey Y/N, have you seen Ryuzaki around?” Light asked, walking into the main room placing a hand on your shoulder as you sat eyes glued to the surveillance footage you were to go over.

“Hmm, no actually. Haven’t seen him anywhere. Why, what’s up?” You turned around to face Light, the short nail of your thumb trapped between your front teeth; a habit you picked up from L.

“I don’t know it’s just... weird,” Light removes his hand to rub the back of his neck, “Usually Ryuzaki is always here going over something for the kira case, honestly it’s like the man never sleeps!” He lets out a laugh, and you smile too. It was hard to resist Light’s charm, he just had that effect on people. So charismatic, he couldn’t possibly be kira. Could he? “I guess it’s just strange not to see him anywhere.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I’ll look for him, I could use a break anyways.” You push yourself away from the desk, standing up from your chair to stretch with a groan before heading up the stairs- you had an idea of where he might be.

“Let me know when you find him, I’ve got some case stuff I want his opinion on.”

“Yes sir officer Yagami!” You did a soldier salute in his direction mockingly.

“Don’t call me that,” Light laughed with a wide smile and narrow eyes, a bright laugh that filled the echoey room. You smiled warmly. He wasn’t kira.

                                                     _____________

You push open the heavy metal door leading to the roof top of the tall building HQ was located at, your eyes meeting with a slouched figure drenched in rain water. You had a feeling he might be here.

“L!” You called, walking out into the heavy rainfall to collect him. What the hell was he doing out here? He paid no attention to your calls, only continuing to gaze outward at the buildings below.

“L! L, what are you doing out here? You’ll get sick, come on!” You approached him, tapping on his shoulder to get his attention.

“I hear the bells, Y/N,” L took in a deep breath, taking his time to inhale the scent of fresh rain water and cold crisp city air. His dark eyes were clouded with thought, though you couldn’t tell which thoughts.

“What are you talking about? C’mon, let’s get inside.”

“Y/N love, I fear we may be parting ways soon.”

“Huh?”

“I believe I may have bitten off more than I can chew, Y/N. I’ve encountered a monster. A monster who always tells lies. Lying monsters are a real nuisance, you know? They’re much more cunning than other monsters. They pose as humans even though they have no understanding of the human heart; they eat even though they've never experienced hunger; they study even though they have no interest in academics; they seek friendship even though they do not know how to love. I’ve encountered this monster and, well, I’m afraid I might be eaten by it. Because in truth,” He takes in another thoughtful breath, pushing his raven hair dripping with water away from his forehead, “I am that monster.”

Amongst the hard rain pattering against steel, the scattered cracks of thunder, the sound of your own heavy breaths, it all felt silent. So silent it hurt. You couldn’t breath, sure you felt yourself taking in breaths but it wasn’t enough. Your lungs felt cold and wet. It was like L stole your language capabilities, like he reduced you to a little kid who only used their vocal chords to cry. You wanted to cry. You wanted to say ‘L, what do you mean?’ but in your chest you knew what he meant. Because you heard the bells too.

“L,” You began,

“Lawliet.”

“Hm?”

“Lawliet,” He turned to face you, running his hands down your arms before taking your hands, enclosing your fingers in his, “That’s my real name. Lawliet.”

You blinked hard. Were you choking? Suffocating? “We’ll be alright,” You smiled, letting out a stiff breath, “You didn’t get the name ‘best detective in the world’ for nothing, right?”

L lightly moves a hand to the back of your head and places a soft kiss to your lips. You kiss back, tasting the remnants of buttercream and black coffee on his chapped lips. You rake his dark hair through your fingers before he pulls away all too soon.

“Mhm. Let’s go inside love, you’ll get sick.” He hummed.

                                                    _____________

Your eyes flutter open, hand instinctively floating to the space next to you expecting to find L, but all you felt was the smooth linen of hotel bed sheets fuzzy with loose balls of thread and cotton. You groan, rubbing the sleep from your eyes as you turn on your phone. Almost 9 AM? That’s late. Why wouldn’t L wake you?

You make your way down the stairs into the main HQ room, where the whole crew was gathered around a table studying the black notebook they collected from the yatsuba case. L, though, sat at his same chair, staring intensely at seemingly nothing, biting on his thumb nail.

“Ryuzaki, what’s the meaning of all this?” Matsuda asks raising his voice, “You’ve somehow gotten approval from another country to use the notebook for an execution?!”

“Watari, excellent work, thank you.” L ignores him completely. “First things first, please make arrangements to transport the notebook immediately.”

“Ryuzaki-” Light this time, “What are you trying to do?”

“I’m gonna try out the notebook for you.”

The task force all let out an audible gasp, including you.

“Ah, Y/N, you’re awake. I let you sleep in, I hope you don’t mind. You needed rest.” 

“Wh- Ryuzaki, are you crazy? We know the notebook’s power is real, we’ve seen it before, how else do you think kira operates?!” You dismissed.

“And besides, who’s gonna write the name? If someone starts writing in the notebook, they’ll have to obey the 13 day rule and keep writing names forever!” Matsuda adds.

“It’s already been worked out, the person who will be writing names is a criminal scheduled to be executed in just over 13 days. If he’s still alive 13 days after writing the name, he’ll be pardoned from execution.”

You move closer to L, sitting in your usual seat next to him and take his hand, “But still...to sacrifice a life?-”

“We’re very close!” L yells, raising his fingers to rest at his temples, dropping his hand from yours. You look down at your feet. “If we work this out, the entire case will be solved.”

The flash of red from the monitors before you pulls your attention back up, the room illuminating a cherry hue like the toppings from L’s cake. An alarm begins to blare in your ear, sending your heart rate up as you jump from your chair. Matsuda holds on to your shoulder, concern painted all over his face. Jeez, he looks more scared than you. That’s Matsuda for you. 

“What’s going on?! A blackout?!”

L sat calmly at his chair like nothing was wrong. You knew he wasn’t calm. He wasn’t chewing on his thumb. He was staring up at the red flashing monitor with a furrowed brow, his eyes full of deniel. Worry. L Lawliet, worrying. Who would have guessed. 

The red hue of the computer screens flashed white all at once, one sentence displayed in black letters: All Data Deletion. 

“Watari!” L cried. You had never seen him like this.

“Data deletion? What the hell is going on?!” Chief Yagami yelled impatiently. 

“I told Watari that he should erase all information in the event that something were to happen to him.”

“If something were to happen... you don’t think?...”

“Where is the shinigami?!” L yelled.

You all frantically searched around the room, mumbles of “Where’d it go?” and “I don’t see it” filled the air. Tears brimmed your eyes as you scanned every corner of the room. This couldn’t be happening. This wasn’t happening.

“Everyone,” L called, “The shinigami-” He cut himself off, inhaling a quick sharp breath with wide eyes. He was still. No, no, no, no, no please this wasn’t happening. His metal spoon dropped to the floor with a loud clatter before he himself fell onto the cold tiling. 

“Ryuzaki!” Light dove for him, cradling him in his arms as he lay silently struggling for air. You rushed over as well, sitting on the other side of him. You grasped his hand and brought it to your heart. “L, L, Lawliet, you’re fine, it’s okay stop it! This isn’t funny, STOP!” You yelled at him through voice cracks, struggling to swallow back sobs. He only stared back with wide eyes. Could he even see you? You brushed his thick ebony hair behind his ears and leaned in close. You could feel his shallow breathing on your nose. “It’s okay, it’s okay, you’re alright, right? We’re gonna be alright?” You begged of him. Did you expect him to respond?

Slowly, almost with hesitance to admit defeat, his eyes fluttered closed. No, god this wasn’t real. You were dreaming. “L! L stop it! Wake up, please just wake up. You can’t leave me here just wake up please!” You sobbed into his chest. It wasn’t moving. All the nights you fell asleep to the rhythm of his chest moving up and down with his breaths and his heartbeat following along- it was all gone. this was nothing like that. He was gone. And so you cried harder. Your throat hurt- sore from the sobbing and screaming. It was all you could do. 

“Y/N...” Aizawa placed his hand on your shoulder, “Y/N, I’m sorry. it’s time to go.”

“Nuh-uh” You hummed through cries. You couldn’t bring yourself to say no. L would want it. But you weren’t letting him go. You weren’t giving up like that. Stubborn. 

Aizawa crouched next to you. “I know...” He whispered. “You have to let go.”

You shook your head, you pleaded, begged for him to not take him. You needed him. But Aizawa was stronger than you. He walked around you, picking up L bridal style and taking him out of the room.

“No, no, please, Aizawa please! I need him, please,” You reached for L’s limp hand, but it only lifelessly fell from your grasp as Aizawa walked away.

You helplessly begged for L back, still crying tirelessly on the cold floor. For Aizawa to just let you hold him; keep him. Please, he’s fine, just let me have him, I’ll take care of him, please, I just need him. But nobody listened. It hurt. You almost thought you were next to have a heart attack because it hurt. And no matter how long you laid there crying, shaking, you didn’t stop. It didn’t stop hurting. Because you were stubborn. Just like him.

[theresthesnitch]

For the meta ask !

4, 19, 20

Oh, I think I’m going to ramble on these, so I’m going to drop it below a cut.

Send me an ask from this list, or just an ask to say hi!

19. Is there something you always find yourself repeating in your writing? (favourite verb, something you describe ‘too often’, trope you can’t get enough of?)

Oh, If I told you the words I repeat too much, you’d see them all the time and it would drive you as crazy as it does me. Eyebrows. How about something more fun? I love a good metaphor. Like “his lips were drawn to hers like a compass to the north” or “he knelt at her feet like a penitent seeking absolution between her legs” and oops this got dirty, that’s probably a repeating theme too. I also really love foreshadowing. I feel like it’s blatantly obvious, and sometimes people pick up on it, but sometimes I think it slips by until you know what it is foreshadowing. Which is so fun. the only bits I can think of are in Ignite, which haven’t come about yet, so I guess that’s the end of this.

20. Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?)

Ohh, so many good options here.

For Ignite, I’m really loving building the guys’ characters and friendships. Sirius and James had a lovely friendship moment in Chapter 9 of Ignite. Sirius and James also had a heart to heart after the Governors Ball (chapter 6? I’m not sure. I didn’t look). James and Remus had a heart to heart before the ball, and there’s a nice moment coming for them in either 10 or 11 too. My goal is to avoid the whole toxic masculinity shtick, and build genuine male friendships that don’t require that. I know I got some comments on James telling Remus he would look good in their conversation before the ball, which I think made me realize I needed to do more to show how I see their friendship.

For Save the Groom, I really loved revisiting the details. The end of the epilogue mirrors the end of Chapter 1 (which is a prologue, but calling chapter 2 chapter 1 because AO3 won’t let you put in a prologue really bugs me). Both of them have Sirius counting down into the new year. There’s also the whiskey bottle coming back in Chapter 20, and the suit coming back in the epilogue.

4. Share a sentence or paragraph from your writing that you’re really proud of (explain why, if you like)

Alright, I save number 4 for last because this is a sentence coming up in Chapter 10 of Ignite, so feel free to avoid it if you don’t want the spoiler.

“Do you two think you can try to get back to civility at least?” Emmaline looked between them again, ever the mediator of the group. “Surely whatever this is that happened isn’t that important.”

For the first time since they had sat down to breakfast, James met Lily’s gaze and held it. He was quiet for a long moment, and she waited for him to speak. His face was a stony mask, not giving away anything that he was feeling. After a long moment, and a thousand things passing behind his eyes, James sighed. “No, I guess it wasn’t important at all.”

Lily opened her mouth to respond, but James stood up, mumbling something about heading to the quidditch pitch, and walked out of the Great Hall.

“Okay, what was that about?” Mary’s eyes followed him out of the room.

Lily watched the door long after he had left, not sure if she was hoping for him to come back or something else entirely. “What he said. Nothing important.”

So in Chapter 10, they’re obviously not getting along. I really love this showing a bit about how they’re both feeling. this is fairly early in the chapter. Plus, I just love the punch of “I guess it wasn’t important at all.”