#also i hope you had the chance to write since we last spoke! <3< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[subskz]

IM A BIT LATE BUT HAPPY SKZ-VERSARY! Ive been with the boys for four years now (sadly not a predebut/debut stay 😔) but I’ve enjoyed the community so much! I just want to thank you for always making amazing contributions to us stays hehe 🫶. I Hope you had a great day!!

-🫧

HELLO HELLO happy skzversary babe!! it’s so good to see you again i hope u had a great day too and got to relive all the wonderful memories skz have brought over the yrs ^_^

4 years!! we’re in the same boat hehe 😽 it’s insane to think abt how far they’ve come since then…simultaneously feels like ages ago n just the blink of an eye ㅠㅠ and that’s so sweet of you to say!! you and your kind msgs have made running this blog such a delight for me, thank you so much for brightening up my days n for brightening up the community as a whole w ur presence! ♡

[creganslover]

Spicetown Shore

Pairing: Addam of Hull x Fem! Targaryen! Reader

Summary: Being the daughter of Rhaenyra Targaryen, she had no choice but to let you be the one to confront Seasmoke's new rider.

Word count: 2.7k

Warning/s: s2 spoilers! canon events followed but strayed towards the end, not beta read so sorry for any mistakes!

Note: so hotd s2 just finished and i am absolutely in shambles and also in love w addam so i just know i had to get this out there. if i have the time perhaps, i could write for more hotd characters <3 likes, reblogs, and feedbacks are greatly appreciated.

GIF is not mine, credits to the owner!

Last evening upon learning Seasmoke had gained a new rider upon the sands of Spicetown, Rhaenyra was taken aback, especially with the events that happened regarding the late Ser Steffon Darklyn, a member of Rhaenyra’s Queensgard helplessly burned by Seasmoke’s flames with the hopes to claim the dragon by Rhaenyra’s idea of playing chance with folk who looked to even have a chance of having dragonseed within them. 

Now this morn, Rhaenyra paced the hall as the council looked at each other as the news had been disseminated. Eventually, Rhaenyra halts and she places her finger on the table, looking at everyone. “There is no choice, I must ride dragonback to meet this new rider and know where they stand.” Rhaenyra voiced. 

Jacerys was the first one to disagree, refusing to even let his mother out of his sights, the council agreeing. “Your grace, the prince is right, you would be left vulnerable if you chase the unknown dragon rider on your own.” Lord Baltimos agreed, Jacaerys gesturing to the older man to make a point as he looked back to his mother. 

“Then what would you have me do? Seasmoke is out there flying the skies with a new rider that we know nothing of, nor where they stand whilst we are on the brink of war!” Rhaenyra countered, exhaling loudly as she rubbed at her temple with her hand, trying to massage the tension, though all of her body was tense.

You, however, had also been the one to receive the news early, now marching towards the hall of Dragonstone, the voices of countless opinions, risks and ideas being shared getting louder as did your footsteps, a Queensgard announcing your presence making the Black Council’s heads turn. 

“Daughter.” Rhaenyra breathed. “Where have you been?” She said in worry, brows creased as you stood across from her. 

But you did not even answer her question as you had already made up your mind. “Let me be the one to go, mother.” 

Jacaerys, your older brother turned to face you next, and he was about to speak. Though already sensing what he was going to say, you spoke again to halt his words. “I know my way through Spicetown and its beaches,” you began. “Surely spotting Seasmoke and his rider is an easy task.” You added, since you’ve been known to ride out often on your dragon to explore, taking after your mother Rhaenyra to which the latter now could see the stubbornness she once possessed. 

“Your grace, if I may,” interjected Lord Simon as he looked at you then back at Rhaenyra. “The princess has a habit of scouting Dragonstone and nearby islands, surely Spicetown had been one of them.” You offer Lord Simon a thankful nod before facing your mother once more. 

Picking at your gloves that you held in hand, Rhaenyra could see the determination in your eyes that reflected her youth. “Do you promise to–” “I would get back at once if I deem the situation inoperative.” Shutting down her doubts, Rhaenyra swallowed thickly. 

“Sister, you do realize what you might face?” Jacaerys then comes walking around the table to stop by you, his brown eyes scanning you as if searching for an ounce of hesitation that he couldn’t find even if he tried. You saw and knew what that look meant, both of your minds running over the memory of Lucerys, and you could not blame him so. 

 “Trust me brother, no harm shall come to me.” You replied, meeting your brother’s gaze, placing a hand on his shoulder and giving a squeeze which Jacaerys only sucked in a breath, his hand gliding to the hilt of his sword again, a habit he acquired when he thought deeply. He bowed his head, free hand placing itself on top of yours on his shoulder, squeezing tightly. “You promise.” He said. 

Rhaenyra saw the interaction between her two oldest children and her chest panged, two of her oldest children forced to fight for their birthright and for her, their mother. “Then it is done, (Y/N), you shall seek Seasmoke and find its rider at once.” Rhaenyra voiced, though anyone heard the lace of care in her tone. 

You looked up and nodded, feeling emboldened by the task given. Looking out the window, the sun was still high and up, and there was no more time to waste. 

Taking a bow, you took in a breath. “I shall see to it, your grace.” You said before bowing and turning on your heel to prepare. 

Once being donned in layers fit for dragonback, you quickly rushed to the hallway leading to the inside of the dragonmont, the atmosphere heating as well as the sight and smell of smoke filled your senses. 

At once, the dragonkeepers had already called upon your dragon, screeching at once as it sensed your presence. Approaching the magnificent creature, you breathed in as you placed your palm against its snout. “Lykirī (be calm), Naerax.” You hummed. The dragon crooned and you looked it in the eye. “Ready for another adventure?” You grinned, before hopping and strapping yourself onto the saddle. 

Breathing in, you nodded and tugged on your saddle, sending Naerax screeching before spreading its wings and taking flight, easily gliding out the mountains and out into the skies, Dragonstone shrinking from view.

It had been a while of flying, keeping your eyes peeled as you finally were able to make out the forms of Spicetown and the beaches scattered upon it, diving lower, you tried to find a sign of Seasmoke somehow, the silver-grey dragon seemed to be nowhere in sight. 

Until you had rounded into a particular patch of land, sands white and unoccupied, except for what you had been looking for. 

And there surely was Seasmoke upon the ground, a silhouette of a person standing in front of it. Naerax’s cries only further confirmed your thoughts and was enough to echo in the sky, Seasmoke screeching in turn as you quickly manoeuvred, circling the area before diving down onto the beach a good few yards away from Seasmoke and his new rider. 

Your heart pounded in your chest, never really having a plan once you’ve found them, but you steeled yourself, quickly sliding off the saddle and letting your feet touch the sandy ground after a while of patrolling the skies. 

Standing there, you couldn’t really make out the appearance of the rider but you had guessed it was a man, possibly residing from Driftmark. 

The two of you stood in utter silence, only both your dragons roaring at each other, until he had the gall to walk forward, Seasmoke following in tow as you turned over your mind for possibilities of how this interaction would go. 

Dragghar decided that the man had walked close enough as it sent a warning bellow, succeeding in making the man stop. This was the opportunity given to take a closer look at him, a tall young man by your age from the looks of things, having a skin of deep umber, face contorted to an apprehensive expression. 

After another beat of silence, you began. “You stand before the daughter of the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms with a dragon of House Targaryen.”  You shouted, making your voice firm as you kept your gaze onto him and Seasmoke behind him. 

“I had no design upon it!” The man had shouted back, voice full and deep. You furrow your brows in turn. “What do you want?” You asked, “To learn the ways of dragonriders,” Came his reply.

You were about to counter his request when he did something you were not expecting at that time. He knelt before you, “And to serve the queen!” He followed, bowing his head down. 

It sent you stunned, blinking back as you stared at him, still wary of his quick submission as the dragons continued to grumble at one another, with a sharp intake of breath, you slowly began to walk towards him, Naerax following suit, dragging his wings across the sand as it crawled, Seasmoke bracing as he roared at the two of you. 

“You kneel so quickly, for a man who’s suddenly elevated.” You commented, gaze switching from the man to Seasmoke. “This dragon came to me, not I to him.” He responded, his gaze never wavering from yours, you had to applaud his integrity.

“I have sweated blood in service of House Velaryon,” He continued, pausing and swallowing before gesturing to himself, still knelt.

“I may appear lowborn, but I know much and more of service… and if the Gods call me to greater things, who am I to refuse them?” He finished, huffing a breath as he looked at you, willing you to believe. 

The hand that was resting on the hilt of your dagger suddenly loosened as the wariness slowly started to ebb away with the waves crashing against the shore, the air feeling suddenly cool. Your feet had made the decision to walk towards him, stopping right across from him. “Is what you say true?” You questioned as you looked down at him. “I swear it, my lady.” 

“Stand.” You said, watching as the man seemed to be flooded in relief as he slowly stood back up to his full height. Remembering your mother’s task, you straightened yourself.

“What is your parentage?” You asked, tilting your head at him, seeing his features crease before answering. “My mother was a shipwright. My father is… no one of consequence.” The last part he uttered with a tone of indifference. 

Nodding, you continued to ask. “Your ancestors, do they happen to be of House Targaryen?” 

“We’re not the sort of family to keep annals, my lady.” He responded, by now he seems much more relaxed, which meant the most since there was no ounce of hostility from both parties moving forward. “What is your name?” You asked as he answered without missing a beat. “Addam… of Hull.” So you were right in your suspicions that he resided in Driftmark. 

Seasmoke grumbled in the background as you nodded. “You have done something my mother, the Queen, had feared unimaginable, Addam… the Queen will be most glad of it.” 

Addam then turned to face Seasmoke and back at you, a small grin settling on his face as he exhaled in relief, nodding as the words sinked in, feeling somewhat gratified.

“Thank you, my lady.” “(Y/N).” You offered with a smile settling on your own lips. “(Y/N).” He repeated, never had your name sounded so pleasant before. 

With this, a playful air began to take hold as you grinned. “Think you could get him to Dragonstone, then?” You asked, jerking your head to Seasmoke who grumbled. Addam blinked for a moment, never thinking to travel that far before, much less on dragonback. “I can try.” He chuckled nervously. 

And so, you were delighted that Addam had sided with the Queen, your mother. 

Climbing back on Naerax, you watched as Addam did the same on Seasmoke, the greyish creature letting Addam take his time as you rounded Naerax, tugging on the ropes as your dragon obliged, screeching and running before spreading its wings once more, a gust of dust left as Naerax took to the skies once more. As Addam and Seasmoke made it off the ground, you gestured for him to follow.  “Sōvēs (Fly), Naerax.” You commanded, heading for Dragonstone. 

Naerax calls out once Dragonstone comes to view, making you glance to see Addam following, though he didn’t look too well at the moment, making you laugh as you gestured for him to follow and show where to land the dragon. 

After dismounting, the two of you were making your way to the castle.

Rhaenyra was pacing back and forth as Jacaerys had been gripping the pommel of his sword tightly, knuckles turning white until Baela had to talk to him to calm him down. At once, a member of the Queensgard approached and Rhaenyra snapped to look at them, face expecting the news as the knight bowed. “The princess is unharmed.” 

Rhaenyra felt the tensions seep away from her veins as she sighed in relief, also with Jacaerys letting out a breath while Baela was glad of the news. “What of the rider? Do we know who he is?” Came Corlys Velaryon’s questions. 

“He appears to be a shipwright in your employ, Lord Hand.” Answered by Maester Gerardys. “A commoner? With respect to your workers, Lord Corlys, the lowborn cannot go around seizing dragons. Has the thief been secured?” Lord Baltimos conveyed. Rhaenyra’s brows furrowed and she was about to speak when in came (Y/N) Targaryen with Addam of Hull, immediately turning heads as they stopped inside the hall. 

“He is no thief, Lord Baltimos.” You spoke as Addam stood beside you, Rhaenyra then watched closely the man who Seasmoke now claimed as his rider. “Seasmoke had come to him and chose him as its rider, and I am sure no one in their right mind would face a dragon so willingly.” You defended. Glancing beside Addam, you nodded for him to speak.

 “Your grace, I am Addam, of Hull…” he began,swallowing as he ignored eyes on him and solely focused on Rhaenyra, bowing, “I realize a great power had been given to me, and I may know nothing of what awaits me from this day forth, but I stand here now to swear on my allegiance and with the belief that the Gods steered me to this path, to serve you, my Queen.” He voiced firmly, never wavering. 

Rhaenyra looked at him then at you, knowing that she trusts her daughter with her own calls, and if her daughter deemed him enough to come and lay bare here on Dragonstone, with his words so sincere and determined, Rhaenyra took a deep breath. “Very well, Addam of Hull.” She began. “He is here to remain as a guest, so as to be instructed in the art of dragonriding, teach him some High Valyrian.” Rhaenyra voiced. “With the help of maester Gerardys and the princess.” You blinked but nodded. “Of course, your grace.”

Thus, as the days blended, Rhaenyra had monitored Addam’s progress, further fueling her idea just might work as she spent relearning countless Targaryen lineages whilst Jacaerys seemed to resent the whole idea of other people who had the chance of dragonseed to simply up and claim a dragon, after having suffered to be proclaimed to be a bastard his whole life, but war was brewing and he as many others knew, needed the additional resources if they wanted the chance to bring down the Greens. 

With you, you had taken your time with Addam, often alternating with maester Gerardys to teach him, often bearing witness to his fails and successes when you stayed behind and watched, thus this allowed a small bond to be formed between the two of you. 

Now, you were with Addam again, at one of the many balconies in Dragonstone.

“Repeat after me, ‘rȳbās’, it means listen.” You explained, accentuating your High Valyrian as Addam looked at you with a hint of a fond gaze as he cleared his throat, repeating the command as best as he could. “That’s good.” You praised, smiling.

“A little more firmness to it might do good, but you’re a fast learner.” You added. 

“Must be because I have an impressive guide, won’t you say so?” He grinned boyishly, making you roll your eyes. “You did not say that the last time you slipped on Seasmoke’s saddle and almost smacked to the ground.” You teased with a light shrug as you flipped the pages on the tome.

“No, no, my boot got caught on the ropes!” He defended lightly, making you both laugh. “Something really bad could’ve happened to me, have you not thought of that?” He jested, face souring in mock hurt making you nod and play along. “Oh yes, I have, but your squeals proved far more entertaining.” 

Rhaenyra had been observing the interaction without the pair’s knowledge, finding it almost special as Addam had proved himself to be a man of integrity indeed and was quick to learn through his efforts, but now her daughter had a different certain glow to her as the days passed as Addam resided here in Dragonstone, and the two had only gone closer it seemed. 

Even as the threat of war loomed, here there were still the chances of finding light in unexpected circumstances. 

[deanssluvr]

thought you were made for me

part 2 | part 3

pairing: brother’s bsf!Joost Klein x fem!reader

warnings: mentions of drugs and alcohol

word count: 2.4k

a/n: this is my first fic so please be nice. I didn’t really expect to write more than 500 words lmao. Also, this isn’t proofread sorry. I plan on writing a part 2 for this.

It had already been a long and tough week. With just finishing the last of your final exams the week prior. Each exam felt like it took years off of your life. And the week itself felt as though it would never end. Not even mentioning the multiple all-nighters you pulled to study before. But when it was finally over you were beyond ecstatic. And now you got to finally be at home and relax.

It was relatively quiet morning. You had decided to stay in the comfort of your blanket for a while longer before deciding to head down to the kitchen. There you were greeted by your brother Ethan and his best friend Joost. They were making breakfast. Well, it was just your brother cooking and Joost waiting patiently. Ever since Joost finished touring, he’d been spending a lot of time at your house. Spending multiple nights in your guest room. Your parents never really minded because he was nice and respectful. Usually, they’re in your brother’s room playing video games or out doing something. You never really got the chance to see him a lot since you were off to college. But you were hoping that would change now that you were home.

“Good morning.” Joost smiled softly. Ethan turned away from the stove briefly to tell you good morning and offered you breakfast. You nodded and turned back Joost. He was sipping a cup coffee and the steam was slightly fogging up his glasses. He took them off and set them on the counter beside him.

“Good morning Joost.” You returned the smile. He moved next to you from where he was standing. 

“And how are you this morning?” he asked in a low tone. His voice was still laced with sleep.

“I’m good. Just glad to be back home. How are you this morning.” You looked up at him and through tired eyes.

“Better now,” he spoke, his voice barely above a whisper. It caught you off guard. Was he flirting with you? Before you can finish that thought your brother hands you both a plate of food. You thanked him and they walk out of the kitchen to the dining room. Leaving you to your thoughts.

—

Later on that day, you called your best friends. They discussed with you their plans with their newfound freedom. You were shocked at their ideas. Party here and bar hop there. You thought they were just as exhausted as you. The idea of getting wasted as a celebration wasn’t your favorite idea. You just wanted to catch up on sleep.

“But we’ve been doing nothing but staying in our dorms for finals. We NEED to go out,” she stated.

“I know. I know. But maybe we could do something a bit more laid back. Like the movies or that festival that’s in town.” I practically pleaded with them. But it was no use. They weren’t changing their minds, and I was outvoted two to one. The conversation shifted back to their ideas for celebration for the next few days.

After agreeing to meet up this weekend, you said your goodbyes to your friends and hung up the phone. But quickly after your brother texts you.

hey Joost has a concert tonight. i have an extra ticket. wanna go with me?

You thought about it for a good moment. You just wanted to get some extra sleep tonight, but on the other hand, you haven’t spent much time with your brother since you left for college. And now is a better time than ever to make up for lost time. Also, you just wanted another excuse to see Joost.

ofc sounds like fun

it’s tonight at 8. i’ll pick you up at 7

You texted him “okay” before setting your phone back down, and finished making yourself lunch.

—

As leaned over the sink, you checked your makeup one last time in the mirror. You used your nail to fix your lipstick. You stepped back to look over your overall outfit and decided you were happy with the outcome. You sprayed a bit of your favorite perfume on yourself. Checking the time you realized you were ready a bit early, so you sat in your living room. You started scrolling through Instagram as you waited. Then a notification popped up in your phone.

hey i’m outside.

You quickly checked your appearance once last time in a nearby mirror and checked your purse to make sure you had everything. When you felt satisfied with everything you grabbed your keys and left the house.

The ride to the venue was relatively smooth. You talked about what you’d miss in each other’s lives. He explained to you how he just found a new job as a bartender at a new bar downtown. He also told you how he was saving up for a new place. You told him that you were really happy for him. When he asked about you, you told him about how you just finished up finals week and now you finally have time off. He gave you a small chuckle and congratulated you.

—

The outdoor venue was packed that night and people were trying to rush to the front. You’re glad your brother was there as he kept a secure grip on you and was able to push you both to the barricades near the stage. It was extremely humid that night with a faint smell of weed and cigarette smoke clogging the air.

The lights dimmed slightly and you heard a beat starting to play over the speakers. You could feel the anticipation from the crowd and it made you even more excited as you leaned forward on the barricade. Then Joost ran on stage. Blue flashing lights engulfed him as he started performing and the crowd, including yourself, began jumping to the beat.

Once the energy died down slightly, you were able to take him in. His outfit was really simple tonight. He was in a white dress shirt with his sleeves rolled up giving us a glimpse at the tattoos that littered his arms, a pair of baggy jeans, and his black thick-rimmed glasses that were fogging up every so often. Something was enticing about him and you couldn’t keep your eyes off of him.

You had never heard his music before, but that didn’t stop you from letting loose. Everyone around you on the other hand, including your brother, is yelling the lyrics word for word. Joost takes notice of this and walks further downstage towards your brother, acknowledging him and smiling. Now you were able to get a good look at his face. He is even prettier up close you thought to yourself. Then he looks over to you, holding eye contact for just a split second before giving you a wink and continuing his performance. You were in utter disbelief at the encounter. You honestly thought you had imagined it. You were pulled back to reality when the loud beat of the next song started pouring into your ears.

—

“Did you enjoy the concert?” your brother asked as you both walked to his car. You were still feeling the buzz of the concert. It felt like the night shouldn’t end here. Maybe because you wanted to see Joost again.

“Yes, I did! His music is so good. I had an amazing time.” You left out the part about him winking at you, but you felt that you should keep that bit of information to yourself.

“Well, I’m glad that you had a good time.” His phone chimed with a notification. As he checked it you decided to check your phone. Your friends were blowing up your phone about the concert. They loved Joost so they wanted to know how it went. As you texted them back, your brother spoke.

“Hey, Joost is having a little after-party at a club nearby. He’s asking if the both of us wanted to go.“ You considered it for a moment. You did want to see him again. But when you did what would you say? Maybe he does this to all of his fans. Your brother senses your indecisiveness and tries to help.

“You don’t have to go. I would understand. I mean you’re not close to him. I just asked because he said he wanted to see you.” You were surprised at his request.

“No. I want to. I would love to go.” You stated as you gave him a reassuring smile. He nodded as he started the car towards the new destination.

— 

Your eyes scan over the scene. A DJ was blasting music over the speakers, but it was more near the dance floor. The place was dim with small, warm lights keeping tables and the lit. You follow your brother as he leads you to a table that seats a few guys. When you got close enough you realized it was Joost and who you assumed were a few of his friends. He loudly acknowledged your brother as they shared an embrace. They share a few words before he sees you.

“Hey. I’m glad you came.” he hugged you and you embraced him back. He smelled faintly of cigarette smoke, but it didn’t bother you. You liked it. You both lingered for what was probably a moment too long before he let go. You looked over to your brother and saw that he went to talk to the other guys at the table. Leaving you with Joost. 

His eyes slowly scanned over you as he took in your appearance. Once his eyes reached yours, you noticed a different look in his eyes. Almost like hunger. Being under his gaze almost made you feel nervous.

“Come sit with me and let me pour you a drink.” He didn’t give you much of a choice as he grabbed your wrist lightly, his fingers brushing against your palm. He guided you to sit with him in the booth. He pulled you close enough to the point that your thighs were touching. You liked around and realized it was just the two. You scan the place and see your brother and his other friends have run off to the bar. Probably to do shots you thought to yourself. 

You focused your attention back to Joost who was carefully pouring you both a drink. Though it was hard to see, a small dim light slightly lit up his face allowing you to still see his face. His hair was even messier than it was at the concert but he still looked amazing. You notice his strikingly delicate features and his captivating eyes that seem to sparkle under the light. Your eyes then trace down his arms and you take note of the tattoos that are there.

“Here.” He pulls you out of your trance by handing you a glass with brown liquor in it. You take the glass from him, your finger faintly brushing his. You didn’t drink much and when you did it was mainly vodka. Nonetheless, you drank it anyway. He watched as you took a sip and smiled when you seemed to enjoy it. He drank some of his own before turning to you.

“Did you enjoy tonight’s show?” He leaned in closer making sure you heard his question. 

“Yes, I did. Your music is really good. I wish I had discovered your music sooner.” Even with how dark it is you notice the smile he gave you.

“I'm happy you had a good time. You know I know we don’t know each other that well, but I would love for us to get closer.” Once again he leaned in, but this time it was in your ear. His warm breath against your ear sent goosebumps across your skin. As he leaned back to look at you, he stopped just inches away from your face. You can faintly feel his breath against your lips. You swear can see his eyes glance at your lips for a second before looking back into your eyes. His expression changed again into what you saw when he first greeted you. Hunger. His eyes were focused on yours and it made you nervous. The air suddenly changed. It felt more thicker and warmer.

“Let’s go dance.” He offered his hand as he slid out of the booth. You smiled and took his hand. He guided you to the crowd on the dance floor and pushed you both near the center. There was a dark blue light that engulfed everyone. The beat took over you as you started dancing. You let your hips away to the rhythm. You felt Joost’s hands find their way to your waist, and he pulled you closer to him. 

You continue to dance against him, grinding on him. His hands started to explore your body as they found themselves on your hips, and then slowly went down to the hem of your short skirt. His fingers found their way under and he started to rub the soft skin. His head found its way closer to the crook of your neck. You feel his warm breath on your collarbone as he speaks.

“Ik heb je nodig (I need you)” He breathes into your neck and it sends shivers down your spine. With the light grip he has on you, he turns around so now you’re facing him. You wrap your arms around his neck pulling him closer to you. Your faces are inches away from each other. The air around you is hot and thick. You look into his eyes and see the same familiar look as before. Even under the lights, you can see his pupils blown with lust. 

You don’t know if it was the alcohol but you felt bold. So you pulled him into a kiss which he happily accepted. His hands moved from the hem of your skirt up to the curve of your ass where he squeezed lightly. The kiss became more intense as you both realized how hungry you were. Your hands found their way to his hair and you pulled gently at the white locks. He pulled away only to say something.

“We should take this somewhere else.” He suggested between pants. You nod quickly. He takes your hand and guides you off the dance floor. Your head was buzzing and you felt as though you were caught in a haze. He leads you back to the table and you see your brother and some of his friends there with a few girls. Joost let go of your hand only for a moment when telling your brother that you were both leaving early. He told him you weren’t feeling good. Surprisingly he wasn’t suspicious of anything and only told you both to drive safe. With that, you and Joost make your way to his car. You both get settled in before he looks over at you.

“My place or yours liefje (sweetheart)”

[del-thetiredwriter]

Mafia au/Good luck while running away from mafia part 0.5

intro , part 1, part 2 , part 3 , part 4 , part 5

Notes: Sorry for keeping you waiting. writing it was harder than I thought but I hope you like it.it’s something like before everything started, When they realized you left the mafia.

Warnings: not really mentioned yandere stuff, gn reader

Tags: @hrhqueenfox , @anonymous3spider6lily9 , @hasty-desert , @jokesterreality , @ayachansan , @mouchie , @oceanside-pixie , @paintbrushofanimeuniverse , @lianreine

Door opened. A masked figure entered.

“Oh~ sorry I'm late. I was immersed in conversations with former executives.”

He apologized , however this apology was not enough to calm the five angry men who had been waiting for him for about half an hour, the person who was attending the meeting via a tablet, and the person sitting anxiously.

He quickly took his seat at the head of the long table.

“My dear executives wanted to meet of their own accord, and it has been a week since the monthly meeting. I'm really curious about why we're meeting”

“Tch, stop acting like you don't know. You know the reason very well.” Leona said, clenching his fist nervously.

“Leona-san, please control yourself.” Riddle said.

"The reason we're meeting tonight is 'Y/n'."

A tense atmosphere filled the room at the mention of your name.

“After the monthly meeting, I didn't get a chance to call them because of my schedule, but according to the news I got from you and my subordinates, no one could reach them.” Riddle continued.

“I cleared my schedule to spend this week privately with Y/n. However, when I called them,I could not reach . When I got their home, everything was in its place. Their car was also in front of the house.” Said Vil.

"They hasn't been to the Monstro lounge since the day they came to report the monthly meeting." said Azul, adjusting his glasses.

“Nothing happened to Y/n, right? This has never happened before.” Said Kalim worriedly.

“Idia? Do you have any information?" ' Azul asked.

“Y/n-shii normally visits me every day but they never showed up this week. Like you, I searched for them, but I could not reach . The phone line was turned off a week ago. The cameras I placed in their house suddenly broke down at the meeting night . Not only that, I can't access the footage of all the cameras around the house from the last week, they're all missing." Idia replied.

“Is there anything else? There must be something.” said Riddle.

“There is nothing at the moment. The bank account was likewise closed. Give me some time, I'll definitely find them ." Idia said.

Leona began glancing at Malleus.

“What is it, Kingscholar, is there something on my face?” said Malleus, sipping his tea.

"Nothing . It's just that Y/n last spoke to you before they disappeared. I thought of that.”

"Oh,so you suspect me"

Leona squinted his eyes suspiciously.

"I don't know what happened to dear Y/n or where are they right now either." said Malleus with a grin.

“But eventually I will find them. Besides, if you're going to be suspicious, you should suspect the head of the table first, right boss?"

All eyes were on the masked man sitting at the head of the press.

“Draconia-san is right. Y/n was your assistant and also your so-called right-hand man, so if anything happened to them , you would be the first to know.” said Azul.

“Where is Y/n, Boss?”

The room resounded with a burst of laughter.

“As expected of my executives,although it took a long time for you to arrange this meeting… anyway then I say it, I don’t know where Y/n is, but I do know what happened to them. My beloved bird Y/n left the mafia.”

Silence filled the room at Crowley's words. The silence was broken by Leona's fist hitting the table.

“What nonsense are you saying! Why would Y/n leave the mafia? There was no reason for that.” Leona said.

“R-right why would Y/n leave ? Y/n was very happy here with us.” Said Kalim while trying to not believe.

“Oh you are right. Y/n was happy here, or so we thought. I don't know why my beloved bird wanted to leave either, but who knows, maybe they felt like in danger or just wanted a new ,smoother, quieter life. I dont know ." ' said Crowley, taking a sip of his tea.

Riddle grit his teeth. He had to control himself. He stood up and began to speak.

“Still, although you are the boss, you cannot make such a decision without consulting us. I, Riddle Rosehearts demanding that Y/n L/n be brought back to the organization . My justification is that a former high-ranking person like them poses a great danger to all the secrets of the organization . Please vote on my request right now, boss. While all the executives are present."

“Well then, let's vote as you say. Those who accepts the request to bring the Y/n L/n’s back to the mafia?"

Everyone raised their hands. Crowley grinned.

“Okay, then the decision has been made. I leave the rest to you managers. Please don't go too hard when you bring back my little bird. You know, I love them as much as you do."

[lacroixwh0r3]

Watch me, Touch me (part 2)

Neighbor!Bucky Barnes x F!Reader

Summary: You've been avoiding Bucky after that night, but he isn't ready to let you go yet.

Part 1

Warnings: SMUT!!!, unprotected sex, creampie, spit, orgasm denial, dry humping, clothes ripping, alcohol usage, petnames (doll, honey, etc.), rough sex, mentions of exhibitionism/voyeurism, and teasing

Song inspo (feel free to listen if you want):

A/N: I am sooo freaking sorry for being gone for so long...I barely had a break this summer because I was taking classes and this is my final year in college (thank god!). But I will definitely try to write more when I can. Also I am so sorry about the errors in the first part...I did not read over it but I'll fix any errors when I get a chance lol. Anyway, ENJOY<3

"God, how long is this going to take?" I asked myself out loud as I impatiently waited for the papers to come out of the printer so that I could get home before the storm started. I'll be damned if I have to walk home during a storm in a skirt and heels.

Once my papers were done printing, I sped to my desk with my head down to avoid anyone speaking to me. That was until I felt my phone vibrate in my hand. I stop to check it and see that it's Bucky, once again asking if he did anything wrong.

I just sigh and shut off my phone before heading to my desk again.

It's been weeks since Bucky and I last spoke to each other.

After that night, we only spoke for a week until I realized I was getting too attached to him. I didn't want to end up with a broken heart because he seemed like an amazing guy, handsome, and his dick was like, really big.

I dropped the papers off at my desk, slipped on my jacket, and ran to the elevator. Once I was finally in, I closed my eyes and leaned my head back on the elevator walls, feeling exhausted. I wanted to do nothing more than just go to sleep right now.

I hear the elevator ding, indicating that it was going to stop for someone else. As it comes to a complete stop, I hear the sound of the doors opening, and someone walks on.

"Hello," a familiar voice says to me, causing my eyes to shoot open and me to jerk my head to where the familiar voice came from. Right in front of me was Bucky. He went to press the button for the floor he wanted, but I guess we were going to the same place.

Once he noticed that I was looking at him, he looked back at me, and his eyes widened at the sight of me in front of him.

"Y-y/n? "You work here?" He inquired, surprised that I was present.I break eye contact with him and look at the front of the elevator.

"Uh, yeah, I do," I simply reply, not wanting to look at him right now.For a moment, it was awkward, and for the next 40 seconds, which felt like hours, we both made it to the lobby of the building.

As soon as the doors opened, I dashed out of the elevator as I heard the sound of Bucky behind me. "Hey, Y/n! "Wait a minute, can we talk?" Bucky pleaded with me. The two doormen open the large doors as I quickly run out of the lobby, bidding them a quick "thank you" and "see you later" as I ignore Bucky.

As soon as I make it out the door, the rain instantly blinds me, causing me to almost run into a jogger. However, Bucky's vibranium hand quickly grabbed my wrist and pulled me into his body before I could run into the person. "You need to watch out," Bucky says to me as we both stand in the rain, pressed against each other. "You could've gotten hurt badly, y/n." He whispered. Just hearing the way he said my name made me weak in the knees.

"Sorry..." I mumble as I try to avoid his hard gaze.

"How about I take you--"

"NO!" I said this before he could even finish his sentence. I can't be alone with him.

"It's raining, yes," he pleads with me. "I know you're avoiding me right now, but please let me take you home?" I let out a sigh and looked at him only to find him already staring at me with large, hopeful eyes.

"Please?" He begs again.

I finally give in, not wanting to leave him hanging even more.

"Fine," I say to him. I really hope I don't regret this.

"Thank you, my car is just up the street. We should start walking fast." He tugs at my arm as he begins to walk in the direction of the car. He was still tugging on my arm as I tried to keep up with him, but due to the wet clothes on my body and my uncomfortable heels, it was too hard.

Finally, we make it to what I assume is his car. He lets go of my arm to dig into his back pocket to get the keys to the car. I reach out my arm to open the door, but he beats me to it and opens it for me.I just shake my head and give him a look of disapproval.

"Thanks, Bucky," I say to him as I slip into the expensive car. As soon as he closed the passenger door, I looked around the spotless car and noticed the clean leather seats, cringing at the fact that they were probably going to be ruined now because of our wet clothes. Bucky finally gets in the car and instantly presses the button to start it up.

It was silent as Bucky made his way towards our apartment. I decided to speak up and lessen the awkward silence by saying, "I am so freaking sorry about messing up your nice seats." I say to him as I look over at him with a guilty look. He looked so good while driving with that concentrated look on his beautiful face that it made me clench my legs even harder.

"No, it's fine," she says.He takes his eyes off the road for a slight moment and looks into my eyes and down at my legs as my skirt goes farther up my thighs, but he quickly looks back at the road and clears his throat.

I swear, for a split second, there was a look in his eyes that could bring any person to their knees. In order to contain myself, I bite my bottom lip and look out the window. I was afraid I might say or do something I'd regret later. My mind then starts to drift off to the first time I "met" Bucky.

I soon snapped out of my daydreaming when I realized that we were sitting in the slightly dark parking garage at our apartment complex and Bucky was calling my name.

"Y/n? "Are you okay?" Bucky asked me with a concerned look on his face once I snapped my head towards him. I just nodded my head, still not trusting myself to speak.

"Are you sure, doll?"  "You were squirming in your seat for a while," he said, making my face flush with embarrassment. He was watching me get turned on the entire time I was thinking about the time we both watched each other through the window.

"Um yeah, I was just thinking about something—work!" "You know how work gets." I let out an awkward laugh, trying to get off the topic quickly. Bucky lets out a small hum and chuckles a bit as he looks at me and turns the car off, almost like he knows what I am actually thinking about.

He most definitely knew what I was thinking about, but I would never admit it out loud.

We both get out of the car and begin walking to the elevator. "Thanks for the ride, Bucky," I say softly as I give him a weak smile, causing him to smile back and brush his fingers through his long locks.

"Anytime, sweet girl," our stroll returned to silence, but not before he asked me a question."Do you want to come over for a drink?"

When he noticed my hesitation, he quickly clarified that it was only one drink and I was free to say no if I didn't want to. Even though I knew I should've said no, I still agreed.

Soon, we arrive at the door of his apartment. He quickly scrambles for his keys, unlocks the door, and pushes the door open. He allows me to go first and closes the door behind himself. Surprisingly enough, the apartment was one of the cleanest places I've been to.

"Your place is so clean, Bucky, I'm a little shocked," I say to him jokingly as I look around the apartment that was slightly the same as mine. I see him snap his head towards me as he drops his keys on the countertop.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, Y/N?" Bucky lets out a laugh.

"I'm kidding," I reassured him. "Your place is one of the cleanest places I've ever seen."

He lets out a hum in response.

"So, I have red wine or some whiskey. Which one do you want?" He asks me as he looks into my eyes and leans against his arms on the countertop.

The dim light and the way he looked at me right now made me want to climb up and let him have his way with me, but I resisted the urge.

"Hmm, you pick." He bites his lip and turns around to grab the glasses. He grabs one wine glass and another short glass for the whiskey, which I would assume is for him. He sits them down and begins to pour the drinks for them.

"Here you go, sweetheart," he says to me as he hands me the wine glass. I felt my heart beat out of my chest due to the nickname and our fingertips touching as he handed me the glass.

"Thank you, Buck." I spoke to him softly.

"Of course," he says before taking a quick sip of his whiskey. "How about we have a seat, hmm?" Bucky leads me to the couch.

I put my drink down and plopped down on the couch so that I was facing him. We both sat there for a minute just looking at each other until a smile slowly crept onto his face, causing us both to laugh.

After a couple of seconds, we both begin to cool down, and he immediately asks me the question I've been avoiding. "Why haven't you answered my calls or texts, Y/N?" His face was now laced with concern.

"Was it something I did?" He followed up.

"Bucky, "It was nothing you did that caused me to stop responding," I sighed."I just didn't want to get attached in case you didn't want anything to do with me."

I look down, but he quickly grabs my chin, forcing me to look at him. "Y/n, I would never lead you on." He reassures me as he searches my face and strokes my chin with his thumb.

"After that first night with you, I knew I needed to have more of you." He bites his lip once more, which causes my eyes to focus on his lips.

"Do you understand me?" Bucky asked me sternly. I just let out a hum, but I guess that wasn't enough for him because his grip on my chin got more firm. "Words baby."

"Yes, Bucky," I whisper back to him. At this point, I wanted to climb into his lap and fuck him into oblivion. I needed him.

"Good girl." He was now looking at my lips as his thumb swiped across my bottom lip.

The sexual tension was out of control, and I knew I wasn't going to be able to control myself much longer.

He suddenly pulls me onto his lap, causing me to let out a yelp. I could feel his cock pushing against my pussy through my tights as I was sitting right on top of it. I knew he could feel the warmth of my pussy due to his cock stirring in his pants and his thighs slightly flexing as he pushed his hips against me to get more friction.

"Did I do this to you, Bucky?" I whisper in his ear as my breathing gets heavier. I feel his lips slowly ghosting down my neck.

"Fuck yes, Y/n." He lets out a breathy whisper, causing me to shiver. I feel his hands move down my back and stop on my ass.

He pushes me down farther as he grinds against me. I could feel my puss pulsing. I needed him right now. I've been craving him, and now that I have him, I'm not sure I can let go.

He kisses my neck softly as we both let out gentle low moans and dry hummed each other like teenagers.

"Bucky-shit—I need you in me right now, baby," I whined out to him as I threw my head back in euphoria.

"Yeah? "Are you going to be a fucking good girl for me?" He grunted as he left his hand up and quickly brought it down to spank my ass.

"Ye-oh, my god!"

"What was that doll?" He spanks my ass once more as he waits for my reply.

"Fuck, yes, Bucky!" I moan out loudly. "I'll be your good girl, only for you."

"Only for me?" Bucky whispers in my ear, causing me to push my pussy down on him more and to clench around nothing.

"Only you, Bucky." I say as I bite down harshly on my lip. He grabs the back of my neck and pushes down on my ass as he flips us over so I'm laying on my back on the sofa and he's sitting between my legs.

Bucky bunches my skirt up some more so that he has better access to my pussy. He then rips my thin tights and rips my underwear, which were apparently too flimsy.

"Bucky!" I let out a gasp, getting ready to scold him because he ripped my underwear, but I was quickly interrupted by my own moans as he brought his rough yet soft fingers down on my clit and slowly began to rub it in small, gentle circles.

"I'm sorry, baby, I needed to get to this pretty little pussy fast." Bucky says as he leans in for a rough kiss. All I could do was moan into his mouth.

However, he suddenly pulls away from the kiss and removes his fingers from my clit. I let out a small whine out of frustration.

"I'm sorry, baby, I know you're wet already, but I'm going to need to get you even more wet." He says this as he brings his fingers up to his mouth and spits onto the tips of his fingers. Bucky then rubs the spit-covered fingers onto my clit as I let out a loud sob of pleasure. I know I'm loud right now, but I couldn't help it.

"You like this, huh?" He looks up at me with his beautiful eyes as he keeps himself up with a metal arm. "You like it when I please you like this, darling?"

"Fuck, Buck. Yes more!" I let out a groan.

"I'll give you more doll, but can you take them?" He teased me as he continued to play with me. I whine again as I pull his head close to my chest.

"Who am I kidding? I know you can, my little whore, isn't that right?" All I could do was just nod my head. I couldn't even form words at this very moment.

He suddenly stops once again and says, "Bucky." I moan loudly, becoming more and more frustrated as he teases me. This time, he jumps off the couch and stands on top of me, unbuckling his pants.I could now see the outline of his thick, erect cock through his boxers.

Bucky then pulls down his boxers too. His cock springs out as it is released, causing me to gasp. Even though I had seen it before, touched it, sucked it, and had it in me, I was still shocked by his size. He chuckles at my reaction.

"Oh, baby, don't be shocked now. I know you can take it just like the other times, right?" He chuckles and lets out another beautiful moan as he begins to stroke it slowly. The way his arm flexed as his hand moved back and forth on his cock while his metal arm stroked his torso made me even more wet.

"Buck baby, please—I need you in me now," I beg him as my hands inch down to my pussy. The ache inside me only grew stronger and stronger, and I had to relieve it somehow.

"Fine, baby, since you've been good." Bucky says as he spits on his plump, pink lips.He climbs between my legs and pushes my legs open so that I am exposed to him. I could feel his thick, warm cock rub against my pussy. We both let out loud moans.

"You're getting me so wet already, baby, and I'm not even inside you yet." As he continues to thrust his tongue between my lips, he says. "Do you like it when I do this, hmm, doll?" Bucky looked at me before lifting his shirt and biting his lip at the lewd view. I decided to look down too and was met with the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

"Oh Bucky, look at us, baby." I breathe out. He moans in response and continues his thrust, but once he goes back, I decide to reach between us and guide his cock into me. We both let out loud, sharp gasps once he thrust in again. I felt myself stretch around his length.

"Holy fuck!" He moans as he slowly thrusts into and out of me.Bucky decides to lift both of my legs and push them up as his strokes begin to go faster.

"Oh my god, Bucky," I almost yelled out. "You feel so fucking good, so fucking deep inside me!" This only encouraged him to go even faster. I felt as though his balls slapped against my ass, causing a loud sound of our skin meeting together. He bent down and attacked my lips with his. Both of our tongues moved against each other as he let out a few grunts here and there in the kiss as I whimpered.

I sucked at his bottom lip, but he jerked back, looking down, and pulled up his sweatshirt, which had felt down his chiseled abs. His once perfectly slicked back hair was now unkempt. I had begun to feel my pussy clench down on him tighter as that familiar feeling that we both were chasing got closer. I was ready to release.

"Baby, I'm about to come!" I moan out as I throw my arms above my head, unsure of what to do with them at that moment.

"Yeah? You're going to cum for me, good girl?" He asked me teasingly.

"Yes-Fuck Bucky!" I moan and close my eyes, ready to release, but I guess Bucky had other plans because he pulled out of me before I could even complain.

This dirty motherfucker

"Hmm, I'm not so sure, dirty girl..." He lets out the sexiest laugh as he wraps his hand around the base of his cock. He pushes my legs up again with his metal arm and begins to flick the tip of his cock against my clitoral. I was becoming overwhelmed by the feeling.

"Bucky, what are you doing to me? Oh my god!" I moan. I reached around my thighs as I tried to get him to slow down his fast motions. He then pushed inside of me again, but this time he had gripped the back of my thighs as he roughly gripped me. I couldn't even breathe at this point—all of my senses were overwhelmed.

Bucky was concentrated as he thrust into me hard, never making a single sound as he looked deeply into my eyes. The loud clapping sounds could be heard throughout the whole apartment, most likely in the hallway too. The thought of someone hearing us only turned me on more.

I opened my mouth to let out a moan, but nothing came out. His thrust never slowed down, causing beads of sweat to begin to form and roll down the side of his face.

This was a different side of Bucky I had ever seen; there was almost something animalistic about him right now. That didn't frighten me though...I only wanted more.

His grip on my thighs tightened as he got closer to coming. "Are you going to cum for me, big boy? Hmm?" I moaned. He didn't respond to me, but he began to let out deep moans. His thrusts started to get sloppy as his orgasm got closer.

He lets go of my thighs and leans his body onto mine so he can kiss my neck. The sensation of his breath hitting my next, his cock repeatedly hitting my spot...I knew that I was going to cum. As he came inside me hard, he let out the loudest moan I've ever heard from him. This caused my orgasm to hit me like a truck.

"Oh my god, I'm fucking cumming Bucky," I moan as I pull him closer to me by his hair.

"You're cumming all over me, pretty girl." He moans into my ear. We were both cumming together at this point and loudly moaning. I feel his hot soup begin to fill me up. His body shook and hardened against mine as he reached his release. My pussy clenched even tighter around his cock.

"Do you like cumming around this cock as I feel you up?" Yeah?" He kissed my neck some more as he was coming down from his orgasm. I just whimpered and nodded my head as I was coming down from my orgasm too. I couldn't speak even if I tried. His hips were now slowly moving until he decided to stop and just lay on top of me.

We both sat there in silence for a little bit, as his cock was still in me. Bucky then finally decided to pull out, causing us both to gasp, and he looked down at my pussy as his cum slowly leaked out of me.

"Doll, look at you. My messy cum is leaking out of that beautiful pussy." He almost coos at me as his finger tips gently swipe the cum back inside me.

I decided to sit up and stare at the handsome man in front of me. I felt like I was glowing, like I could be whatever with Bucky.

He looks up at me as I stare at him, causing him to tilt his head like a lost puppy. "Are you okay, honey?" He asked me with a concerned look on his face.

"Of course I am Buck; I was just looking at how handsome you are." I smile at him sweetly wanting to do nothing more than sit there and cuddle with him on his comfy couch. His cheeks began to get red as he blushed and looked back at me with a shy look.

I made Bucky flustered. This causes my heart to flutter against my chest.

"Aww, thank you, honey. You look amazing right now too." Bucky tells me as he leans forward to kiss my head and pinches my cheek afterwards.

"Come on, let's go get in the shower and get some food after. Does that sound good to you?" He asked me as he climbed off the couch and reached for my hand.

"That sounds great, handsome." I grab his hand, and he begins to lead us to his bathroom.

[gingiesworld]

Hello, My Love

Wanda Maximoff x GN! Reader

Warnings: Angst. Fluff.

Word Count: 5.5k

AN: This is the second part to Goodbye, My Love. I hope you guys enjoyed this and please let me know what you thought of it. <3

Taglist : @natashamaximoff-69 @canvascoloredin @wizardofstories @louxbloom @wandanats-goodgirl @the-ox-fan20 @ladyqueenxoxo @aemilia19 @wandaromamoff69 @mfd-101 @dorabledewdroop @marvelogic @dopeyouth @karsonromanoff @bimad @alexawynters @natleft (if you want to be added to my taglist, please DM me or comment)

18+ MINORS DNI

Five years ago, the riot that had occurred within the prison was broadcasted over every news station. Reports of multiple inmates and Prison Guards were dead, there were more reported injuries. Wanda called Pepper, hoping to hear that she would never get the bad news, which she never did receive the bad news.

Five years, she carried on writing to them, telling them everything that had happened during her week, even telling them about the sucky dates that Nat kept setting her on. She even told them about her last interaction with Jarvis, that was only a few months ago.

“Wanda?” He smirked as they bumped into each other, Wanda tensed up at the sound of his voice. “How is Y/N? I’ve been meaning to visit them, congratulate them on making it to the NFL.” But then he chuckled. “But they never had the chance did they? Because they took the fall for you.”

“Please leave me alone.” Wanda whispered as he just laughed.

“Not so brave without a gun are we.” He sneered as she looked away from him. “It should be you in their place, you should be the one serving time for almost killing me.” Wanda just shook her head and walked away from him, the sound of his laugh remained in her mind for weeks after that.

But what she didn’t know was Y/N was now getting out on good behavior. They walked through the gates, seeing Nat leaning against her car, a smile on her face as she saw her oldest friend.

“Hey.” They gave her a small smile as she opened her arms for them.

“Hi.” She embraced them tightly, afraid to let go with the fear that they might disappear. “Let’s get you home.” They walked to the passenger side and got in, watching the roads as they passed by.

“How’s everyone been?” They asked her.

“Well, Morgan is now a troublesome teen. She missed you so much, the same as your mom.” She told them. “Oddly enough, your dad has tried to help get your release finalised sooner.” She noticed their shocked expression. “I know, I almost died too.”

“What about Wanda?” They asked her as she nodded, a tight lipped smile on her face. “She’s been sending me letters ever since I stopped her or anyone visiting me.”

“I know.” Nat told them. “She told me, she also told me you never replied to any of them.”

“I have written her letters.” Y/N told her. “I have them all here, but I just couldn’t send them to her.”

“Why?” Nat questioned as they looked out of the window.

“I wanted her to be able to move on, even if it meant that I was the one to let her go.” They admitted. “She knows how much I love her and I wanted her to live her life without ever thinking of me again.”

“It didn’t work though.” Nat started as Y/N nodded with a light chuckle.

“It didn’t, she told me about all of the dates you set her up on.” They spoke as they watched the road ahead. “She told me how she couldn’t bring herself to do anything more than one date with any of them.”

“Because she is in love with you.” Nat told them. “She just realised it too late, and you were too much of a coward to tell her.”

“I know.” They nodded. “I just couldn’t deal with losing her if she never felt the same way.”

“I know.” She nodded as they soon reached New York. Their heart started to beat rapidly as they realised that they don’t look the same as they did a decade ago, they have scars and look worn out compared to how they used to look.

“What if no one likes me now?” Y/N questioned as Nat chuckled.

“Believe me, everyone has missed you so much Y/N.” She told them. “Well, except Jarvis.”

“Please tell me he has finally moved away.” They groaned as Nat shook her head no.

“I’m afraid not.” She told them as she pulled into the Stark Mansion driveway.

“Fuck.” They muttered as they looked up at the place they called their home. “It looks even more intimidating now.”

“Yeah.” Nat laughed as she got out, followed by Y/N as they grabbed their bags, following Nat up the stairs to the door.

“Nat?” Pepper questioned as she answered the door.

“Mom?” Y/N smiled as they looked over Nat’s shoulder.

“Y/N?” She gasped as Nat moved to the side, taking Y/N’s bags and heading inside. “You’re home?”

“I’m home.” They told her, a smile on their face as she cupped their face, getting a proper look at them.

“You look rugged.” She told them.

“Yeah, I need to cut my hair.” They admitted as she shook her head

“I think you suit it.” She told them. “Come on, Morgan will be excited to see you.” She led them inside, listening as Morgan and Yelena were talking about their homework. “Morgan, look who’s here.” She told her as she let go of Y/N’s hand, Morgan’s eyes instantly landing on theirs.

“Y/N?” She squealed as she jumped up into their arms, Y/N chuckled as they caught her.

“Oh god.” Y/N hugged her close before letting her go. “You’ve grown so much.”

“Well, it has been 10 years now.” She reminded them as their heart broke a little.

“I missed you little one.” They told her softly as she hugged them tighter than before.

“Promise you won’t leave me again.” She whispered shakily.

“I’m not going anywhere.” They told her honestly. “I promise.”

“Come eat.” Pepper told them as Morgan led them into the dining room, Morgan catching Y/N up on everything they missed.

“You should have seen dad’s face when he found out that I wanted to be a writer.” Morgan told them with a smirk. “I thought he was going to pop a vein or something.”

“Well, he wasn’t happy that you were straying away from the family business.” Pepper stated.

“Just like he wasn’t happy with me when I strayed away from his dreams.” Y/N remarked as Pepper sighed, both Morgan and Nat remained silent. “Where is dad and Jarvis? I would have thought they could have been here, you know it has been 10 years after all.”

“Y/N, you know why your father isn’t here, same with Jarvis.” Pepper warned them.

“Yeah, they’re not happy because Wanda returned the ring when he was in the coma.” Morgan smirked as Nat and Y/N chuckled lightly.

“Your father and brother were devastated!” Pepper raised her voice. “Wanda would have been a fine addition to this family.”

“No.” Y/N shook their head. “She was too good for him.” Pepper went to interrupt but Y/N stopped her. “You know it too mom, Jarvis isn’t a nice guy, he never has been.”

“Y/N, he has changed.” She tried as Y/N snorted.

“And hell has frozen over.” Y/N remarked as Pepper shook her head in disapproval.

“Are you going to tell Wanda your back?” Nat questioned as Y/N tensed up.

“I don’t know.” They answered. “I have her letters there in my bag, but I don’t think she will want to see me.”

“She will.” Morgan told them. “She has been coming around to see how you are, if there has been any news.”

“She hasn’t moved on.” Nat told them. “I’ve tried to get her to go on dates and meet someone, just so she has someone and she doesn’t get past the first date.”

Y/N listened to them as they informed them of how Wanda has spent the last decade, how she has kept hope that she would see Y/N again, be with Y/N and have a future with them.

“Can you take me to Wanda’s?” Y/N asked Nat who only nodded with a smile.

“Let’s go then.” She told them, they kissed both Morgan and Pepper on the head before grabbing the bag with the letters for Wanda, and following Nat out to her car.

“How do you think she’ll react?” They asked her nervously.

“Well, I don’t really know.” Nat answered them. “She was furious that you did what you did for her. There was a brief moment she hated you but we all know she can’t hate you.” She sighed as she pulled up outside of Wanda’s building. “To be honest, she may be mad, she may be happy. It could go either way really.”

“That helps Natalia, really.” They spoke sarcastically as the two got out of the car. They followed her up the stairs to Wanda’s floor, wanting to take as much time as they could before seeing the woman they had failed to forget during their time in prison.

“Nat, what are you doing here?” Wanda asked as she answered the door to her, Y/N leaned on the wall as they heard her voice for the first time in years. Their heart beating rapidly in their chest as their nerves had gotten worse.

“Someone wanted to see you.” Nat told her. “They haven’t really stopped thinking about you or asking about you all day and it is kind of annoying.”

“You should have come later. I have company.” She told her with a raised brow.

“Is it Stu?” She asked with a raised brow.

“Yeah, he is just in the shower.” Y/N dropped the bag of letters on the floor as Nat noticed their expression falter before they started towards the exit.

“Well, I will want to hear all about it, but these are for you.” Nat handed her the bag of letters before she hurried after Y/N, she reached them as they leaned against the car waiting for her.

“You told me she wasn’t seeing anyone.” They told her sadly as Nat sighed.

“I thought she wasn’t, I set them up a couple of weeks ago and I never thought she would actually see him again because she never does.” Nat told them as they stepped away from the car.

“I’m going to walk home.” They told her as they stepped away. “I need to be alone right now.”

“Y/N, you’ve just got out, let’s celebrate.” Nat tried as they shook their head.

“Maybe it would have been better if I never survived the riot five years ago.” They told her.

“No.” She scolded them. “You do not get to say that! We have been friends forever and I hated the last decade! I hated it because my friend wasn’t here with me.” She took their hand. “Let’s go and see Steve and Bucky, there is a lot you have missed.” She led them to the car before starting their journey.

“What are those?” Stu asked as Wanda emptied the bag of letters on the table, organising them by date.

“Letters from Y/N.” She whispered as he picked one up.

“Why didn’t they ever send them?” He asked as she shrugged, standing up and getting herself a glass of wine.

“I don’t know.” She answered him, her eyes burning with years of unshed tears and emotions. “I think you should leave.” She told him as he laughed.

“Come on, Wanda, you can’t be serious.” He asked her. “We have been going out for a few weeks now, I asked you to be mine last night before we fucked.”

“Wow, real classy Stu.” She spat at him before she took a deep breath. “Maybe we need to take a step back.”

“No! That’s absurd!” He yelled as Wanda shook her head.

“No, what’s absurd is me thinking I could ever love someone else the way I love them.” She told him. “Please just leave and lose my number.” She told him as she held the door open for him, watching as he grabbed his things before approaching her.

“You’re going to regret this.” He told her as he stood before her.

“The only thing I regret is even giving us a chance.” She told him before slamming the door in his face, taking a deep breath as she locked the door and made her way back over to the letters.

She noticed from the first one, they had written to her since she had sent in her first letter to them. A small smile played on her lips at the idea of Y/N even having some hope for them.

Dear Wanda,

I know that this isn’t exactly a peak milestone in our friendship, but I think it should count. I got your letter and I am sorry that this happened to us. I just couldn’t picture you in here suffering for something that might have saved your life.

You’re my best friend, my biggest supporter, the ying to my yang.

Love Y/N/N

She smiled as she read their small letter, remembering how they could barely stand writing and always opted to call instead. But as she read the letters, she smiled at how much longer they had gotten.

Dear Wanda,

I know you probably hate me by now, I pushed you away when you needed me, but truthfully, you never really did need me. Seeing how you’ve written about your life this past couple of years has really made me proud. I am proud of the woman you have become Wanda and whoever is lucky enough to call you theirs should know it.

I know in another lifetime, maybe it did work out for us, maybe we would have worked out right now if I had the balls to tell you how I felt before college. Before you even thought of being with my brother. We could have had everything, maybe if I am lucky enough and you’re still single when I get out of here, we can have everything. I know that’s a pipe dream that’s never going to happen.

Love Y/N/N

Dear Wanda,

It’s been five years, and these five years have been the loneliest I have ever been. Yeah, I have a cellmate, Brock, he is a dick but he has my back. We have to look out for each other here or we could end up dead, believe me, there are some people here who hate my dad and they do tend to take it out on me because of my name and relationship with him, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.

There hasn’t been a day where I don’t think about you, Wanda. Everyday I wake up and wonder what you might be doing today, are you happy and healthy? Have you found that person that makes you smile as soon as you open your eyes? But on some selfish level, I wish that you are as alone as me, I wish that maybe you’re waiting for me to get out of here, but that is all just wonders.

Love Y/N/N

Wanda couldn’t bring herself to read the next letter, given there is a two month pause in between them. Not wanting to read the extent of the injuries they suffered during that riot, the nightmares that occured after or the horror they witnessed.

“It’s so good to have you back!” Bucky cheered as he pulled Y/N into a tight embrace.

“Have you been to see Wanda? I’m sure she will be so thrilled.” Steve started as he pulled them into his embrace.

“We did.” Y/N told them with a small smile. “She had company.”

“She never saw Y/N, they just dropped the letters they wrote to her and left.” Nat told the couple.

“Was it Stu?” Steve questioned as Nat nodded.

“I don’t like him.” Bucky blurted out, making everyone laugh. “What? He is a pompous dick.”

“I can agree with that.” Nat nodded as Y/N looked out of the window.

“Y/N, I have something to show you.” Steve said as he led Y/N away from the other two, closing the door to his office before turning to them. “Talk to me.”

“About what?” They asked him.

“About how you feel.” He spoke softly. “I’ll be here to listen, a shoulder to lean on because I can see that you’re trying your hardest to put on a brave face.”

“I am anxious.” They started as they picked up a picture of Steve and Bucky on their wedding day, a smile on their face as they admired the picture. “I have spent the last decade a nervous wreck, barely a few hours of sleep each night, the threats that I received because of the amount of people who knew who I really was, thinking that The Great Tony Stark will pay out millions to ensure his child’s safety.” Steve just listened as they rambled on. “And tonight, I don’t know how I’m going to deal with the nightmares. The last five years have been ok because I have been in a cell on my own, but I am home and I don’t want anyone to see me like that.”

“I don’t know how bad your nightmares are, but you have a lot of support here, your sister, mom and you have all of us. All we want is to help you through this because you have suffered a great deal while you have been inside.” He told them. “You won’t be alone ok.” He pulled them in for another hug before they pulled away quickly.

“I missed your wedding!!” They yelled as Steve nodded with a laugh. “I can’t believe I missed everything!!”

“It’s ok.” He smiled at them before resting his hand on the door handle. “Talk to Wanda, you never know what will happen tomorrow. You of all people should know that.”

Wanda stood at the step of the Stark Residence, knocking frantically, after reading the letter they wrote after the riot, she wanted to know why no one told her of their injuries.

“Wanda?” Morgan questioned as Wanda gave her a smile.

“Hi, is your mom here?” She asked the teen politely.

“Yeah, come in.” She let the now brunette inside, leading her to the living room where Pepper sat reading the paper.

“Wanda, what are you doing here?” Pepper questioned. “I would have thought you would be out with everyone celebrating.”

“Why would I be celebrating?” She questioned as Pepper raised a brow.

“Y/N’s home.” Was all she said before the door opened again, Wanda turned in time to see Y/N enter the living room. Her eyes stung with tears waiting to be shed as Y/N’s eyes widened, their heart beating rapidly in their chest as Pepper cleared her throat. “I think you two should talk.” She got up and grabbed Morgan’s wrist. “We are going out for dinner.” With that, Wanda was left in the house alone with Y/N.

“Hello, my love.” They gave her a nervous smile. “Do you want a drink?” They asked her as she just shook her head, her eyes never leaving their form. “Well, I need one.” She followed them into the kitchen, watching as they grabbed the whiskey and poured themselves a glass.

“You look different.” Wanda told them as they chuckled.

“Well, it has been 10 years.” They chuckled as they turned to face her.

“Don’t do that.” She told them firmly. “Don’t make it seem like this is all on me. I wanted to wait for you, fight for you, for us, because you were the one who pushed me away.”

“Because I wanted you to live your life Wanda! You deserve to find your happiness and not be constantly haunted by the thought of us!” They yelled as she chuckled dryly.

“Is that why you never sent me any of those letters? You just kept them in a bag thinking I would never read them.” She spat as she stepped closer to them.

“I wanted you to move forward Wanda. I wanted you to live your life and not wait on me.” They told her softly.

“I was willing to wait for you because I loved you!” She poked their chest. “I really loved you.” With that she left the house, leaving a sad Y/N behind.

“She just left?” Morgan asked as she sat beside Y/N on the sofa.

“Yep.” They nodded as Morgan chuckled lightly.

“I would have thought she would have jumped your bones after not seeing you for years.” She told them as they nudged her arm.

“Hey! Don’t talk like that.” They scolded her as she gave them a serious look.

“I’m not 6 anymore Y/N.” She told them. “I’m 16 now, but you wouldn’t know that, I haven’t had a happy birthday off of you in 10 years.” With that she stormed up to her room as Pepper walked in.

“Just give her time.” She told them. “She missed you so much when you were arrested, she cried every night for you.”

“I’m sorry mom.” They whispered as they looked at Pepper who only smiled.

“You have nothing to apologise for.” She told them. “I know the truth of what really happened. Nat told me, and then Wanda did.” Y/N sat and listened to her as she spoke. “I know what your brother is capable of, I know what he did to Wanda too and why she did it.” She turned to face them as she spoke. “I also understand why you did what you did, although I was furious with you, because you threw away your career for someone.”

“It wasn’t just someone.” Y/N remarked as Pepper smiled at them.

“I know that, I remembered seeing how you looked at her, how much you hated every guy she ever dated, how they were never good enough for her.” She told them. “I know you more than anyone, but you need to get your feelings in order because that girl has waited for you for 10 years.”

“She’s with someone.” Y/N told her sadly. “She told Nat and the guys.”

“Fight for her.” She told them. “Don’t give up on the one thing that gave you hope!” She pulled them up to their feet. “Go, now!” She handed them their keys, a smile appearing on their face. “I kept it looked after all these years, I may have neglected my own car just to keep yours running.”

“Thank you mom.” They whispered as they hugged her, soon racing their way to Wanda’s apartment, remembering the address and the number. Racing up the stairs, soon standing outside her door. Knocking frantically and waiting impatiently for her to answer it.

“What are you doing here?” She asked them as they gave her a small smile.

“The way we left it the other day, it shouldn’t have been left like that.” They rambled as she fought the smile that wanted to appear. “We both should be happy to see each other, not argue over something so small.”

“Would you like to come inside?” Wanda asked them. “I have a fresh pot of coffee on.”

“I would like that.” They smiled as she stepped aside, allowing them inside. They followed her through to her kitchen, admiring the decor and the pictures she had on the wall. “I got your letters.” They told her. “They uh got me through a lot of tough times.”

“Why didn’t you ever send your letters?” She asked them as they sighed, thanking her for the cup.

“I thought that maybe you would forget about me. Move on with your life without me.” They told her honestly. “I guess, I just thought that maybe you would be married to a great guy with a family of your own.”

“I couldn’t.” Wanda whispered as she looked in their eyes. “I tried to move on, I did but my heart belonged to you.” She exhaled sharply before continuing. “It still does.”

“Wanda.” They whispered as they soon pulled her in for a tight hug, Wanda sighed as she felt their strong arms around her middle. The two remained in this position for a long moment, neither wanting it to end just yet.

“Sit with me.” Wanda said as she soon dragged them to sit on the sofa, her head leaning on her hand as she gazed at them. “You have some scars.” She lightly touched their face as she looked into their eyes.

“Well, the riot wasn’t the only violence I had experienced.” They told her honestly. “I had a few run-ins with some of the inmates, and they weren’t exactly nice.”

“I think you look hot.” She whispered as they soon removed her hand from her.

“You’re in a relationship.” They told her, watching as she shook her head no.

“I ended it last week, the day Nat gave me your letters.” She told them honestly. “I knew there was no sense in moving on because I should be with you, Y/N.”

“You can’t say that and expect me not to kiss you.” They told her barely above a whisper, caressing her face as she smiled at them.

“What if I want you to kiss me?” She replied, biting her lip as she felt their hot breath fanning over her face. Y/N wasted no time in pressing their lips onto hers, kissing her roughly before she straddled their lap, soon spending the night exploring each other’s bodies.

Y/N listened as there was constant yells and banging from outside the cell, sharing a look with Brock who got his own homemade shiv from under his pillow. Watching as he disappeared onto the walkway, yelling profanities as he swung his weapon around.

Y/N listened to the pained yellings of injured inmates, the triumphant shouts of others as they stepped out of their cell, looking over the railings to see the guards also fighting for their lives. It wasn’t until they looked to their left, seeing someone charge at them, sending them over the edge and onto the lower level. Groaning as they turned over just in time to stop another stabbing them.

“Y/N!” They heard Brock call out to them, struggling against two fellow inmates. “Y/N!”

“Y/N.” They soon jolted awake and fell out of the bed, a worried Wanda looked over the edge. “Are you ok?” She asked them as they got up, climbing back in the bed and nodding.

“Yeah, it was just a nightmare.” They told her.

“Do you want to talk about it?” She asked them as she rested her head on their chest.

“I’m fine.” They told her. “Let’s get some sleep.”

“Is it about the riot?” She asked them as they took a deep breath. “I saw your other scars, I just want you to know that you can talk to me.” She told them softly. “I am not going anywhere.”

“It’s just, there was someone who I could have saved.” They told her. “My cellmate, Brock, he always had my back. Always stuck by me, even though he had every possibility to kill me to get in good with others who wanted me dead.” Wanda watched as they spoke, her fingers tracing mindless patterns on their skin. “He died, trying to help me. I wasn’t supposed to survive that riot, I was supposed to bleed out beside him but the guards, they shut it down.” Wanda took their hand in hers. “I was lucky, this scar here.” They pointed to the scar on their chest. “This was my end.”

“I’m so sorry.” Wanda whispered as they shook their head. “It should have been me who went to prison, not you.”

“I would make the same choice every time.” They told her softly. “I would do anything for you Wanda. I always will.” She cupped their cheek as she moved to sit up, the moonlight cascading over her naked form as she looked deep into their eyes. Noses brushing together as she leaned in to kiss them lovingly, the bodies pressed together as Y/N wrapped their arms around her, making her feel safe and complete for the first time in her life. Only they know what their future holds for the two.

Five Years Later

Y/N was looking around for their belt and work boots frantically, nervous about this job as it is a big job for them.

“Wanda! Have you seen my?” Their words were lost in their throat as they saw a four year old Tommy waddling around in their boots and their belt hanging from his waist. “What do we have here little fella.” They smiled as they picked the toddling child up into their arms.

“I’m so sorry, I tried to keep him away from your things.” Wanda ran in frantically as Y/N only smiled at her.

“It’s ok.” They smiled as they kissed the side of Tommy’s head. “I am my own boss after all.” They pressed a tender kiss to her lips.

“I made your lunch.” She told them as she packed their bag with sandwiches and a flask of coffee as they finished getting themselves ready.

“Thank you.” They smiled as they finally stood up, ready for work. “My mom said she will have the twins tonight and maybe we can have a little date night.”

“I already promised Nat I would go out.” Wanda spoke seriously as Y/N’s smile faltered. “I can cancel if you want me to.”

“No, you should go and let your hair down.” They told her softly. “At least don’t drink too much and call me when you want to be picked up.”

“I will.” She kissed them once more before Billy came running into their arms, hugging them tightly before the three of them waved Y/N off as they drove their truck to the site, meeting Bucky already there and ready for work.

“So how is the wife and kids?” Bucky asked them with a smile.

“They are great, although Tommy seems to have taken a liking to my boots.” They told him honestly as they finished their last job for the day. “My mom is having the twins tonight and Wanda is going out with Nat.”

“So, you have the house to yourself.” He smirked as Y/N chuckled.

“I guess I can do some of the jobs that need doing and I haven’t gotten around to.” They shrugged as Bucky nodded.

“Or you can just sit back and relax.” He told them. “You’re not in prison now Y/N, besides, you served your sentence.”

“Not really though.” They shrugged as Bucky shook his head, the two standing up getting ready to leave. “I only finished half of my sentence.”

“But you got out.” Bucky told them. “You’re free to live your life, watch your family grow. Don’t dwell on the past.”

“I’m not.” They defended as Bucky followed them to the truck.

“You are.” He told them seriously. “Look, I don’t know half of what happened inside but I do know that you have the life you have always dreamed of with Wanda and the twins. Yeah, you may not have your dream job but that’s ok. You just have to make the most of the life you have now.”

Y/N took in his words before the two went their separate ways, he was right because they have always dreamed of living this life together with Wanda. Having a family with her and they have it all.

“I thought you were going out?” Y/N asked as they saw Wanda coming out from the kitchen, a dish of their favorite meal in her hands.

“I can go out with Nat anytime, but I want to spend the night with you.” She told them. “I cooked your favorite.” She told them as they smiled at her.

“Thank you.” They told her as they approached her, their hands wrapping around her waist. “For waiting for me and making me the happiest person alive.”

“I love you Y/N.” She told them sincerely as she looked in their eyes. “I will always love you until my dying days, and even in the afterlife, I will love you.” They captured her lips in a gentle kiss before she pushed them away, a teasing smirk on her face. “Go and shower, I’ll keep the dinner warm.”

“I love you Wanda Maximoff.” They told her. “You have always been the light of my life.” She blushed as they ascended the stairs to their shared bedroom, the walls were lined with pictures, from the memories they had made together, some from before they left for college, and more from when they had come back into her life. The moments they had shared together which made their hearts glow as one, even brighter the moment they brought the twins into the world, making their family complete.

[writing-intheundercroft]

when you know, you know

Read on AO3

Word Count: 7,169

Rating: T (just some smooches)

Summary: You and Garreth Weasley aren't on speaking terms, not since you were caught stealing billywig stings for him and subsequently banned from Honeydukes.

But the dawn of your sixth year brings a potion brewing contest, and you might finally have a chance to put him in his place.

A/N: Happy first birthday, Hogwarts Legacy! The HL discord server I'm in came up with the theme of One Year Later, and this is my submission. Thankful for all the lovely people I've met through this fandom, who encourage me to write every day <3

“Welcome to your sixth year of potions,” Professor Sharp says gruffly, leaning against his desk. “I hope you’re all prepared to start exploring the theories of potion composition, and have read the first five chapters of your textbook over the summer holidays as instructed.”

Sebastian groans next to you, flipping open his book.  You snort, craning your neck around the room to assess your classmates. 

Everett, Sacharissa, Andrew, Nastai, Poppy, and Grace–all of them still have the post-summer slump, faces glum as they wished to be free of the potions dungeon. At the station next to you, Leander looks ready to fall asleep.  He was practically using his fingers to keep his eyeballs open during the double potions period.

Next to Leander, you can’t help noticing Garreth Weasley.  It's unusual to see him so engaged; Garreth is normally the class clown, always trying to figure out a way to disrupt the lesson.  Instead, he’s sitting stick straight, scribbling every word Sharp had to say.  His notes were neatly organized, ingredients for the day’s brew already portioned out and chopped.

“What’s gotten into Weasley?” you whisper to Sebastian.

Sebastian scoffs. “Oh, he’s probably trying to get on Sharp’s good side, with the potion making contest coming up.”

“What contest?” You ask, albeit a bit too loud.

“I was just getting to that point,” Sharp says your name; the entire class had turned their attention to the two of you. Even Garreth was staring, despite the iciness between the two of you.  It’s been months since you last spoke, exchanging choice words in a shouting match after he’d gotten you banned from Honeydukes.  After all, he was the one who’d assured you Mr. Flume wouldn’t be home, and that it wouldn’t be too difficult to steal the billywig stings.

Nevermind that, you think, turning your attention back to Sharp’s lecture.

“Every year, I challenge the sixth year class to create a new potion,” Sharp drawls. “Many of the students who’ve won in the past have gone on to become some of the Hogwarts’s most successful potioneers.  The winner of the contest will receive after hours access to the potions classroom, unlimited usage of the ingredient cupboard, and their name included on the plaque in the trophy room.” he explains.

Sharp continues droning on about the rules; you feel Sebastian’s breath tickle your ear “Garreth’s been assuming he’ll win since we were second years,” he whispers. “I’d love to see you put him in his place.”

You swat at the freckled brunette, who lets out another audible chuckle.  Scanning the room again, your eyes briefly make contact with Garreth’s.  He looks at you with something fierce in his eyes; it’s almost threatening, you think.  He also looks a tad bit deflated, but considering the two of you aren’t friends anymore, you don’t really care to know why.

“Sure, I’ll enter.” You say loudly enough for Garreth to hear. “I’m sure it’ll be a clean sweep.”

Garreth’s eyes turn to slits before he refocuses on his notes.  His face is turning red as he scribbles on the parchment, and you can’t help feeling a bit satisfied at his reaction.  Suits him right, you think, for being such a coward. You’re going to kick his ass and get back for the ten detentions he bought you last year.

Sharp’s NEWT level class is just as painful as you’d imagined it would be.  Sacharissa nearly slices her own finger off trying to cut open a sopophorous bean, and Everett faints from the blood.  Andrew sends his own bean flying across the room, thwacking Natty in the forehead; it incites a verbal altercation that has the two nearly come to blows before Sharp can separate them.  You and Sebastian can’t help but laugh watching them, falling dreadfully behind in your own quest to brew a draught of living death.

“Look at those prats,” Sebastian nudges you. 

You look over at the two redheads adjacent to you–they’re working diligently, ignoring the dramatics of the classroom.  Garreth is clearly guiding the process, Leander eagerly observing him as he chops and stirs. They’re the only two students in the classroom even remotely close to brewing the potion correctly, and it’s a little surprising to you that Garreth would be so tame. 

He tilts his head, copper colored hair falling in front of his eyes. His hair is longer, shaggier than last year. You also can’t ignore how much larger his forearms are, probably from detentions spent lifting the cauldrons to and from the storage room. They’re thick and freckled, a dusting of hair—

Garreth turns his head, glaring at you. You’ve been blatantly staring at him for a whole minute now.

“Oi, get it together, woman.” Sebastian chides, snapping his fingers in front of your eyes. “I don’t think your cauldron is supposed to be purple—“

“Dammit!” You curse, turning back to your own brew. .  Sebastian laughs as you thwack him on the shoulder, stirring your potion.  It’s no good–the brew has turned the wrong color, and now resembles a fudgy texture.

“So much for winning the competition,” Sebastian teases you.  Your face heats up with embarrassment as Sharp walks over to your cauldron, assessing your work. 

“Better luck next time, I suppose.” Sharp says gruffly, raising his eyebrows at the thick goop. 

As expected, Garreth and Leander win the day’s best brew.  It takes twice as long as usual for you to scrub your cauldron, cheeks red from both embarrassment and the extra elbow grease you have to put in.  Sebastian, despite his promises to stay as long as he can, has already abandoned you to get to lunch ahead of the rush.  At this rate, you’ll miss lunch entirely.

“You should really throw some ashwinder eggshells in there.”

Looking up, you see Garreth standing a few feet away, his hands shoved into his pockets.  In lieu of the traditional blazer, he’s gone a bit casual with a crimson and gold Gryffindor sweater.  It looks a tad tight on him, and well worn.  Likely a hand-me-down from one of his many older brothers, you think.

“Mixed with water, they’re quite abrasive.  It’ll help with the cleaning.” Garreth suggests, shrugging his bag onto his shoulder.

“So, we’re talking again.” your tone is flippant; you scrub even harder at the baked in potion caking your cauldron.

Garreth rolls his eyes, dropping his bag to the ground. “Let me help,” he says gruffly, elbowing you out of the way.  He takes a handful of ashwinder eggshells, sprinkling it into your cauldron.  You peer over the edge as he dribbles water inside.

“Now put on your dragonhide gloves,” Garreth advises. “Don’t want to get burned, do you?”

You do as instructed, slipping the gloves on.  Garreth hands you the wire brush again, and this time the sludge slides off the edges of the cauldron with ease.

“See? Not so bad.” 

You open your mouth to thank him, but Garreth has stepped away from your station.  Bag in hand, he gives you a wary look.

“Earlier, when you were staring,” Garreth trails off.

“I wasn’t staring.” you scoff.  In reality, you were , but that’s not the point.

“You were,” Garreth countered. “You weren’t trying any funny mind tricks, were you?  I’d heard a rumor that you and Sallow were trying to study legilimency–”

Eyebrow raised, you cross your gloved arms. “Why on earth would I need to read your mind, Weasley?”

“To steal my potion recipe.” Garreth blurted, eyes narrowed. “For the contest.  You’re trying to win, I overheard you and Sallow talking about entering.”

You scoff in his face. “Why would I need to steal a recipe from you ?”

Garreth straightened, pushing his copper hair out of his eyes. “Because everyone knows that I,” jerking his thumb towards himself, “am going to win.  I’ve been planning my submission since I was a first year, and I’m not about to lose to you.” 

Whatever warmth you thought Garreth Weasley was going to give you is long gone. You lean back over your pewter cauldron, scrubbing aggressively.

“I can’t believe you’d think I’d stoop so low, Garreth.” You seeth. “You know what? Just for that, I am going to enter Sharp’s contest now–and I’m going to kick your ass.”

“Like hell you are,” Garreth huffs, leering down at you. You hadn’t noticed just how tall he’d gotten over the summer–

Focus, you remind yourself, eyes flitting away from his form.

“What are you two still doing in my classroom?”

You and Garreth spin around, almost knocking your cauldron over in the process.  An exhausted looking Sharp stands in the doorway, his palm on his head.

“Not you two,” he mutters. “I had a feeling the two of you would be battling it out for best brew.” 

“We were just comparing notes, sir.” Garreth says easily, backing away from you. “She needed help cleaning her cauldron.”

“Not your best work today,” Sharp reminds you, peering into your now sparkling clean cauldron. “The two of you should be off to lunch, or else you’ll miss the meal.”

“Yes sir,” the two of you chirp in unison.  Garreth takes his leave while you’re stowing your cauldron away, and he’s nowhere to be seen once you get to the Great Hall for lunch.  You want to fight, defend yourself against his accusations, but it doesn’t look like he’ll give you the chance.

His loss , you think, meandering over to your house table.  

The first month of classes has been hell.  While you’d pictured your sixth year to be quite leisurely with the extra free periods, you’ve spent every study hall cooped up in the library, buried in your books.  Despite passing last term with flying colors, it feels like you’re going to spend your entire life catching up to your classmates. You might be the hero of Hogwarts, but you still feel stupid in History of Magic, stumbling over your words.

You’re cursing to yourself as you run through the streets of Hogsmeade, trying to make it to J Pippin’s before closing.  Sharp’s potions contest has fallen to the bottom of your priorities, but the events of lunch earlier in the day have pushed you to work on your submission. You’d been sitting at the table with Sebastian and Ominis, lamenting over your shared arithmancy assignment when Garreth and Leander walked into the Great Hall, loud cheers and whoops coming from the Gryffindor table.  They were sopping wet, hair windswept, having just tested Garreth’s potion submission.

“No one will be able to beat him,” Leander had declared loudly, rustling Garreth’s long red hair. Garreth was grinning broadly, a gaggle of fifth year girls surrounding him in awe.  That alone was irksome; as if they really knew Garreth Weasley.  

“Since when did Garreth Weasley become the hottest commodity?” Ominis asked, tilting his chin in his palm.

Sebastian took a sip of his pumpkin juice, snorting. “Probably because he grew five inches over the holidays,” he joked. “Lost the pudge too.”

“Sebastian,” you warned, flicking him in the head. “Don’t be so cruel.”

Sebastian rolled his eyes, shrugging. “It’s true,” he argued. “Anyways, I can’t wait to watch you put him in his place during the potions competition.  Do you have your brew ready?”

“Of course I do,” You lied, turning back to your parchment. “Don’t be silly.”

In actuality, you didn’t have your brew ready whatsoever–you’d spent the last month tinkering with several recipes, but nothing seemed good enough for submission.  With potions due tomorrow, you’ll have to spend the rest of your day working on the brew.  The rest of your classes for the day go unattended, spending the afternoon cooped up in the Room of Requirement to draft a recipe.  Nothing seems to be working, and you’re out of focus potions.  You could brew them up yourself, but perhaps some fresh air and a walk will do you good–therein, a trip to J Pippin’s was necessary.

The bell rings as you push the door in, Parry Pippin smiling at you from the register.  You entertain his small talk, questions about your summer holidays, all while anxiously checking your pocket watch for the time.  You still had your arithmancy homework, as well as a four foot scroll due in Transfiguration next week to work on–

“You haven’t run into Mr. Weasley, have you?”

Snapping out of your thoughts, you look up at Parry. “No, I haven’t.” you say sharply, taking the carefully wrapped package full of focus potions that he’s packed into your arms. “Why would I?”

Pippin clicks his tongue. “I’m fresh out of the stench of the dead, that’s all.  Mr. Weasley was trying to purchase some more for his potions project.  Nasty business, procurement.  It’s hard to find a supplier that’ll face up to the inferi in the first place.” The register opens, and he begins counting your change. “I recommended he reach out to you for assistance.”

You blink at the shopkeeper. “Me?” 

“Well of course,” Pippin snorts. “You’re rather fearless, aren’t you?  Not that it matters, of course, he was quite put off by the suggestion.  Asked me where he could find them, and I pointed out an old abandoned treasure cave a few miles north, up in the valley.  Can always find them lurking around there.”

“I’m sorry , you directed a student to an inferi den?” You gape.

Pippin looks at you, eyebrows raised. “Don’t they teach you how to fight them and what not?  Isn’t that what Defense Against the Dark Arts is for?  Anywho, Mr. Weasley seemed rather confident in his abilities.  Think he was a bit embarrassed that I recommended he ask a girl for help.”

You block out whatever Pippin is saying, tucking the package under your arm as you leave the shop.  While it’s not your responsibility to look after Garreth (considering recent events and his rather frosty attitude towards you) you can’t help feeling a bit worried.  Most students don’t have much experience with the undead; you only have a basic grasp on battling them due to Sebastian’s shenanigans the year prior. Inferi are tough, even for most grown adults to deal with; any wound inflicted by one can render even the strongest wizard ill.  

The sun is beginning to set, and while you know you should head straight back to the Room of Requirement to work on your contest brew, you turn towards the path north.  You’re certain you’ve visited the treasure den Pippin is talking about before, and it won’t hurt to check.  If the clearing is empty, you’ve just gotten extra exercise for the day.  If not–well, you don’t want to think about that quite yet.

You’ve forgotten how long the trek to the Hogsmeade Valley is, feet aching as you stumble over the rocky terrain. You bet that even if Garreth has gone to hunt the inferi, he’s likely given up by now, gone back to the castle already.  You doubt Garreth wants to battle the inferi–he’s always had a distaste for dueling, preferring to watch everyone battle it out during Crossed Wands rather than participate.  

You swallow thickly, trying to push the image of Garreth fighting the undead out of your mind. Despite your anger towards him, you really don’t want him to go up against something he’s not ready for just to win a stupid class contest.

The sky is dark by the time you round out the hill.  From a distance, you can see the wooden arch to the old treasure den, and to your relief, nothing is disturbed. You’re about to turn on your heel to go back to the floo Upper Hogsfield when you sniff the familiar putrid stench of inferi.  Your blood runs cold when you hear a familiar groan, and then anxious yelps.

“ Diffindo !  Ah, shit!” 

You drop your parcel in the long grass, disappearing into a blue wisp as you close the distance between yourself and the voice.  Of course, it’s Garreth, looking panicked and battered as he tries to slice through the inferi.  They’re not fast, but his leg is bleeding, and he doesn’t know that severing charm will do no damage to the undead.

“Garreth!” you yell, sliding through the rocks towards him.

Garreth’s eyes widen, crying out your name.  Despite his injury, he’s holding his arm out as if to shield you.  That bloody Gryffindor bravery, you think, swatting his arm away.

“Get back,” Garreth yells. “Get to Upper Hogsfield, I can hold them off–”

“Get out of the way, you idiot,” you shriek, waving your wand towards him. Depulso might be a bit extreme, but all you can think about is getting the wounded boy out of the way. As soon as you hear Garreth yelp, landing on the soft grass, you turn your attention back to the inferi, who are closing in.  

“Confringo!” you pant, unleashing fiery flames from the tip of your wand towards them. The heat of the fire has them shrieking and turning away. Several of them disintegrate, leaving behind the precious bounty Garreth had sought them out for in the first place.

It’s quiet, except for your heavy breathing and the screeches of inferi, all turning into piles of ash as you defeat them.  Once you’re sure the last one has been slaughtered, you turn back to Garreth, a few feet away in the grass.  He’s staring at you, dumbfounded, as he clutches the gash on his leg.  He’s looking rather pale, the blood seeping from his cut a strange dark color.  

“Garreth,” you breathe, falling to your knees next to him. 

“It must be infected,” he says slowly. “From the inferi.”

There’s no time to waste.  You dig through your hip pouch, pulling out one of your spare wiggenwelds.  Garreth will surely need a blood renewing potion and some more itensive healing potions when you get back to Hogwarts, but this will do for now. Pulling out the stopper, you push the vial into his hands.

“I can’t believe Pippin would direct you to an inferi den,” you snarl, tearing a piece of your cloak to make a makeshift bandage. Garreth is quietly sipping on the wiggenweld, trying not to look at the damage. “I have half a mind to report him to your aunt–”

“Don’t,” Garreth begs. “Please, don’t.  It’s embarrassing enough.”

“Garreth, you could’ve been killed.” You argue.

“It’s my own fault.” he says miserably. “Fire is what destroys inferi.  I can’t believe I fucking forgot.”

You give him a wry look. “Well, potions is your better subject.” you joke.

Garreth ignores your quip, downing the rest of the healing potion. “You came up to find me.” he points out, pushing the empty vial back into your hands. “Why?”

You shrug. “Pippin told me you didn’t want my help, and I assumed you’d go off trying to get the ingredients for yourself.  You shouldn’t go up against them alone, Garreth.”

“You fought them alone,” Garreth points out. “You could handle them.”

“Well, either I fought them, or else you’d be turning into an inferi yourself right now.” 

“Probably best to not waste my good looks on being a zombie.” Garreth jokes.  Taking note of your stern face and unwillingness to laugh, he winces. “Should we get back to school now?  Perhaps we can make it to Upper Hogsfield; take the floo from there.  But make sure to get some of that stench of the dead before we leave.”

Garreth carefully supervises you as you scoop up the murky essence into your vials; he eyes you as you tuck them in your bag.  Garreth tries to get up on his own, groaning as he balances on his good leg, swatting away your helping hand.

“Let me help you, you twat.” you urge him, slinging his arm around your shoulder.  It doesn’t do much–he really has grown, and you need to stand on your tiptoes to even support him.

The two of you stumble through the grass and you pass your sad little package on the way down.  Oh well, you think. Your potion is the least of your worries, considering Garreth is still dripping blood next to you. Despite his protestations that he’s doing fine, you know from the way he’s clutching your shoulder that he’s not.

“You’re not going to take me to the hospital wing, are you?” Garreth groans as you support him to the flickering green flame outside of Upper Hogsfield. “If you take me there, Blainey will tell Aunt Tilly, and I’m not sure I’m ready for that lecture yet.”

“I have somewhere else you can go.” you offer, biting down on your lower lip.  You’ve never invited anyone into the Room of Requirement before–Professor Weasley strictly forbade you from sharing the room, and you’ve kept it a secret from Sebastian, Ominis, and Natty for almost a year now.  But you’re sure you can’t get into too much trouble, especially if you’re healing another student.

“Do you trust me?” You ask Garreth, slipping your arm around his.

The redhead looks down at you, perhaps a bit skeptical.  “I trust you.”

“Good. Not like you have a choice anyways,” You remind him, turning back towards the flame.

“Okay, now this is truly unfair,” Garreth complains, splayed across your settee. “Aunt Tilly is officially my least favorite family member.”

You snort as you sprinkle mallowsweet into your bubbling cauldron. “Because she didn’t show you the Room of Requirement?”

“Yes,” Garreth barks. “You’re telling me I’ve been sneaking into Sharp’s office after hours just to trial potions, meanwhile there’s a perfectly good potions lab in the astronomy tower? Rubbish,” he mutters.  He picks at the piece of your cloak that you’ve tied around his thigh; it’s still bloody, and he looks peakish.

“The blood renewing potion is nearly done,” You assure him, walking away from the cauldron to assess his wound again. “Why do you need the stench of the dead so badly?” you ask, wrinkling your nose as you take off the bloody fabric. “Is it for your potion contest submission?”

Garreth swallows thickly. “Yes,” his voice is careful, trying not to give anything away.  He inhales sharply once the fabric has come off; his wound, despite the wiggenweld, still looks worse for wear. 

“Oh, come off it,” you roll your eyes, waving your wand to summon a fresh roll of linen. “Just tell me what it is. I guarantee you’re going to win anyways.”

Garreth gives you a funny look before bowling his shoulders over, letting out a loud sigh. “I’ve created a bottled tornado,” he admits, wincing as you bandage him up. “Bit of a play on the thunderbrew; you take the potion before entering battle, and you have full control of a windstorm against your enemies.”

“Is that why your hair was so fucked at lunch?” you muse. 

Garreth rolls his eyes. “It looked good, okay?”

The two of you glare into each other’s eyes for the first time in quite a while; after a terse twenty seconds, both of you burst into laughter.  

“Was it that bad?” Garreth wheezes.

You laugh, visibly shuddering. “Not that bad, actually. Those fifth years rather enjoyed it.”

Garreth rolls his eyes. “The most attention I’ve received from any of those girls, ever. Leander has been trying to talk me up to them, find us a double date.”

You’re quiet for a moment, stomach twisting with unfamiliar anxiety at the idea of Garreth and Leander sharing butter beers with those girls. Not that you care, really, but you miss hanging out around the Three Broomsticks every Saturday with Garreth.  He’d been one of your closest friends until the incident at Honeydukes, and then nothing . 

“Is that why you want to win the contest so badly?” You blurt. “For notoriety? Or just attention from the girls?” You joke.

Garreth shakes his head, shaking out his ginger mane like a lion.  Sometimes, you think it’s too fitting that he’s a Gryffindor. “Nah, not for that.”

“What for, then?”

Garreth chews on his lower lip. “Have I ever told you about my family?”

“Uh, no. Just that there’s a lot of them.” You admit, resting your palms on your knees.

“I’m one of seven siblings.” Garreth says, head falling back against a pillow. “There’s Arthur, Benedict, Cornelia, Deirdre, Edwin, Frederick, and myself.” he counts out his siblings on his thick fingers.

“Alphabetical order?” you asked, slightly amused.

Garreth rolled his eyes. “Unfortunately, yes.” Your eyes flit down to his torso; the hem of his shirt has risen, exposing a freckled stomach. You think back to what Sebastian had said–how Garreth had lost his baby fat over the summer, his once soft stomach turning muscled and strong.  You try not to linger on the thatch of red hair trailing down to his waist. 

“Artie, Deirdre, and Freddie played Quidditch for the house team. Cornelia and Edwin were both prefects, and Benedict was head boy.” Garreth explains.

“A successful bunch,” you offer.

“Successful besides me.” Garreth grumbled. “Mum wouldn’t let me hear the end of it when I didn’t get prefect our fifth year.  I’ve always been middling at Quidditch too, so no hopes for the house team.” he says moodily. “Just plain, untalented Garreth. The only thing I'm even remotely good at is brewing a potion, so I've been hoping to win ever since I was a first year.  All my siblings tried, but none have won.  Thought I might get my own name out there, instead of just being the youngest Weasley.” His eyes are glued to the ceiling, but you can tell from the furrow in his brow and hardened jaw that he's frustrated.

You tilt your head, giving him a disapproving look. “I think you’re talented, Garreth.”

“I think you’re talented too,” Garreth points out. “Which is why you’re probably going to win the potion making contest.  Sharp hates me, after all.”

“I think you have a fair shot,” you argue. “You’ve spent all summer working on your potions.”

“Yes, but you’re you.” Garreth fights back. “You’ve had magic for what, a year?  And you’re the most powerful witch I know.” 

“It’s not that easy,” you mumbled under your breath, smoothing down the front of your trousers as you stand.  You step back over to the station; the blood renewing potion has finished, a thick purple sludge that leaves a metallic smell in its wake.  You pull out a clean vial, trying to ladle the necessary amount.

“Everything seems to come easy to you.” Garreth pointed out. “You defeated a troll, took town the goblin rebellion–”

“At what cost, Garreth?” you shout, closing your hand into a tight fist.  “Ow!”

Garreth shoots up, propping up on his hands to peer over at you.  You open your hand, shaking it out–you’ve shattered the vial.  Cursing under your breath, you walk over the wash basin, muttering a quick charm to get the tiny shards of glass out of your hand.

“Let me help,” Garreth pleads, hobbling over towards you.

“Get back on the couch, Gar.” You seethe, pointing across the room.  

Garreth puts his hands up, still shuffling your way.  You wag your hand; it’s still stinging, but it’s just a surface wound. A wiggenweld and a bandage will do just fine.  

“Let me,” Garreth says quietly, his tone soft towards you for the first time in ages. “It’s my fault, after all.”

“It’s not your fault,” You sigh. “It’s me, being stupid.”

“You’re not stupid. You’re the furthest thing from stupid.” Garreth assures you. “I meant to say that it was my fault you got caught last year.”

You pause.  Is he really apologizing now?

Garreth takes the roll of linen, wrapping it around your palm. “You were looking for the billywig stings for me,” he says, tearing the linen with his teeth.  He sets down the roll, tying a knot around the bandage in your palm. “I’m the reason you got caught, and you covered for me. Flume could’ve called the aurors for burglary, and I let you take the fall.”

All you’ve wanted for the past six months is for Garreth to own up to his part in you getting all those detentions and losing fifty house points. You feel a little satisfied, but at the same time sad–you could’ve been friends all this time, instead of strangers.  Losing him made the other Gryffindors go icy against you, and it drove you further into Sebastian’s arms.  While you love your other freckled friend to death, you can’t help but wonder what trouble you could’ve avoided had you not felt so isolated. 

The thought overwhelms you, and you burst into a loud sob.  

“What’s wrong?” Garreth panics.

You wipe a tear from your eyes. “It’s nothing, it’s nothing at all.” you blubber.

“It’s clearly not,” Garreth says gently.

“It’s just we’ve been avoiding each other for months,” you take in a shaky breath. “And I’ve missed being your friend.”

Garreth lets out a loud sigh, his hand trailing down to touch your forearm.  It’s hard not to melt into his warm touch.

“I’m sorry,” he admits. “I was being stubborn.  I should’ve apologized ages ago, I’ve missed you too. I was just so intimidated by you, I forgot how to be your friend.”

“Intimidated, by me?” You gape.

Garreth gives you a look, raising his thick eyebrows. “You’re the Hero of Hogwarts,” he waves his free hand. “You only just discovered magic a year ago, and yet you’re at the top of the class.  You’re the best duelist I know; you bloody saved my life tonight.”

“I’m not a hero,” your voice falters. You’re not.  Garreth would be horrified to know what you’ve done–dabbled in dark magic, taken life (even if not by choice). 

“You’re a hero to me,” Garreth murmurs.  

You look into his deep green eyes.  They’re warm and honest; the Garreth you’ve gotten used to has a cold stare, eyes flitting away from yours as fast as possible.  This Garreth makes your stomach flip, but not in an uncomfortable way.  He’d always elicited that reaction from you, from the day you’d met.  Garreth had always been cheerful and cuddly, an arm always tossed around your shoulder as you sat together or fiddling with the hem of your robe.  It had gotten to the point where you might actually believe the rumors that he'd had a crush on you, considering the way his hugs lingered or the way his eyes caught you across the classroom.

For a second, you wonder if he ever actually did have a crush on you.  You also wonder if he still might.

“You should take the potion,” you change the subject, shaking off his grasp.

Garreth obediently sits back down on the settee while you scoop the thick potion into a clean vial.  He looks up at you with a smile as you settle down next to him, as if his leg still isn’t shaking and bloody.  

“Bottoms up,” you press the vial into his hand.

Garreth takes the blood renewing potion, shuddering as the thick sludge passes through his throat.  He shakes out his hair, setting the empty vessel down on the side table.

“How do you feel?” 

“Feeling better already,” Garreth assures you, and you know he’s telling the truth.  His cheeks are reddening, the color flooding back into his face.  You look down at the gauze wrapped around his leg; thanks to the potion, the other healing potions you’d forced him to take are now kicking in. 

“You’re brilliant, you know?” Garreth murmurs. “You’re beautiful, brilliant, and so damn brave. That’s why you’ll win Sharp’s contest.”

“Will you stop saying that?” You snip at him.

Garreth gives you an incredulous look. “It’s a compliment.”

“You don’t realize how much work it is,” you say, fidgeting with your hands in your lap. “To catch up to all of you.  Having this magic, not being able to control it–it doesn’t make any of the day to day any easier.  It seems like there’s always something I have to learn, things I should know by now that I don’t.  I feel like a fraud most of the time.” you admit, tears welling in your eyes.

“Hey, none of that,” Garreth tuts, wiping at your face. “You’re no fraud.  You, my dear, are the real deal.  I’m the one bumbling around, getting scratched up by inferi–”

You shut your eyes, clutching at the hand he’s resting on your face. “I won’t let you talk about yourself like that,” you argue. The thought of Garreth, one of the most clever wizards you know, feeling inferior to his siblings is still fresh in your mind. “You’re marvelous, Garreth.  You’re one of the best potioneers here at school, and you’re going to win.”

“But what about your submission?” His eyebrows are knitted together in confusion.

You shrug. “You need it more than I do–I already have my own space here, and you deserve the recognition.”

Garreth purses his lips together. “I can’t finish mine, unfortunately. Not without the ingredients–”

“Trust me, we have plenty now.” You assure him. “I probably have the rest of what you need here,” you say, scrambling to your feet. You rush back over to the potions stand, conjuring a clean cauldron. “I’m assuming you’re using the same base as a thunderbrew–”

Garreth is over to the potions station in three quick strides, closing the distance between you.  He grabs your wrist, but his touch is soft.

“You’ll really help me?” he asks, his voice hopeful. “Even if I’ve been an absolute prat towards you for the last six months–”

“I think if last year proves anything, I’d do anything for you, Garreth.” You want to look into his eyes, but the moment feels too charged. "You were one of my first friends here, and I care about you."

Garreth’s eyes flit down to your lips. “As a friend?” The question hangs heavy between the two of you.

You shake your head. “Yes...but also, no. Not just as a friend.” you say slowly, hoping he'll understand.

Garreth doesn’t release his grip; his fingers move down, tangling with yours.  He takes a step closer and you can feel his hot breath on your cheek.  You look up at him, opening your mouth to say anything , but you don’t get the chance.  Garreth’s lips crash against yours in a tender kiss, the pad of his thumb running over the back of your hand.  You tilt your head up a bit too eagerly, your teeth clacking against his.

Garreth pulls away, and you’re momentarily mortified until he descends back upon you, this time wrapping his arms around your waist tugging you close.  Your hands are in his hair, grasping at the copper locks you’ve spent the last six months eyeing.  It’s just as soft as you thought it would be.  Sighing into his touch, you can tell the freckled boy is smiling against your mouth from the curve of his chin.  His tongue glides against your bottom lip and you grant him access, warmth pooling in the pit of your stomach as the kiss deepens.  You want more, even if you're being greedy.  You don’t want any distance between the two of you whatsoever anymore.  

Garreth pulls away and you whine at the loss of him.  He presses his forehead against yours, looking quite bashful.  The look in his eyes says everything you need to know for now.

I’m sorry.

I’ve missed you.

I have feelings for you.

“Should we get to brewing?” you ask breathlessly, gesturing down to the empty cauldron.

“Let’s. I want to get it out of the way–I think the two of us have some more catching up to do.” Garreth teases, his hands hovering over your waist.

You grin, turning your attention down to the cauldron. Garreth’s warm body encases yours from behind, listing off all the ingredients and their exact ratios.  His chin lands against your shoulder, breath tickling your ear as he whispers the instructions. It's only after he presses his lips against the nape of your neck that you slam the chopping knife down, hands shaking.

“If you keep this up, we’ll never finish.” You warn him.

Garreth’s chuckle sends a shiver up your spine. “Fine, fine.” he sighs, pressing a kiss against your cheek as he steps away. “I’ll observe some personal space for now, but the moment we’re done…” his voice trails off. “I’d like to kiss you again.”

You swat at him, rolling your eyes as he starts chopping mandrake leaves. The air in the Room of Requirement feels thick, charged with the tension between the two of you as you take turns stirring the altered thunderbrew. Before long, the cauldron is emitting sparks of lightning and gusts of wind, indicating your success.

“Back to catching up?” Garreth asks, chewing on his bottom lip as he bottles the brew.  As soon as the potion is stowed away safely, you nod, and the redhead wastes no time taking you back to the settee.

You never did manage to have the time to come up with your own potion.  Garreth had insisted on working through the night to help you come up with your own submission, just so he could win fair and square, but you'd shrugged him off.  You'd only entertained the idea of entering to compete with him in the first place.  Besides, you would rather save the precious time in the Room of Requirement for other activities.

Professor Sharp had just announced the winner of the potion brewing contest before the bell rang.  In a tired, yet unsurprised tone, Sharp announces that Garreth has won by a landslide.  The class is roaring and chanting for him; Sharp is perturbed that he’ll have to grant the budding potioneer access to his classroom and store cabinet after hours.  Nevertheless, Garreth’s name is quickly etched into a little silver tag that will be added to the plaque in the trophy room, and class is dismissed.

“I can’t believe you bungled up your potion.” Sebastian shakes his head, slipping the strap of his bag over his shoulder. 

You shrug, clutching your books against your chest. “Just wasn’t meant to be.”

“I was really hoping you’d put Weasley in his place,” Sebastian mumbles.  

You turn your head over your shoulder, eyes immediately locking with Garreth’s.  He’s standing over his cauldron, sprinkling ashwinder egg shells into the vessel as he smiles at you.  His cheeks are a bit flushed–you’re not sure if it's from the heat of the cauldron, or from the memory of the kisses you’d shared in the Room of Requirement after finishing his contest submission.

“I wouldn’t worry too much, Seb.” You assure him. “I think I’ll be putting him in his place much more often now.”

Sebastian doesn’t catch on to your innuendo, shrugging as you pass through the door.  “Fancy meeting Ominis for lunch?”

“I’m fine,” you lie. “I”ll catch you both later.  I think I left my quill behind.”

Once Sebastian is past the corner and out of view, you turn back around, slipping into the potions classroom.  You were hoping for a moment alone with Garreth, but Leander’s whinging cuts the silence.  

“The two of you couldn’t stop staring at each other all period,” Leander shakes his head. “What’s going on?”

Casting a quick disillusionment charm, you slip into the store room, leaving the wooden door slightly ajar to watch the boys interact.

“Don’t worry about it, Lee.” Garreth assures him, waving his wand to rinse out his cauldron.

“Are the two of you friends again?” Leander asks. “Sallow must be pissed.”

You shuffle forward, trying to get a better look at the two of them.

“He’ll get over it,” Garreth laughs, picking up his cauldron to stack it against the rest. His shirt is rolled up above his elbows, and you bite down on your lower lip as you watch the muscles in his forearms flex.

“I knew you’d win,” Leander snorts. “You’re the best in class, everyone knows it.  You deserved it.  But honestly, I’m surprised she didn’t even enter.”

“I know,” Garreth shrugs. “But she’s smart too.  Quick as a whip, hell of a duelist.  I don’t think we ever thank her enough for what she’s done.” 

Leander scoffs. “Why are you kissing her arse? Oh no, don’t tell me you have a crush on her again.” he complains, rolling his eyes.

Garreth chuckles, walking back over to the station to pick up his book bag.  “Crush on her?  Mate, I’m going to marry that girl someday.”

Your heart stops for a moment, cheeks aflame.  Garreth had confessed his feelings to you in the Room of Requirement, after the two of you had to drag yourselves apart at the risk of taking things too far. Now that you were back in his life, he assured you that there was little chance of him ever letting you get too far away again.  You’d agreed wholeheartedly then, but your mind hadn’t even gotten to the idea of life post-school. 

Marriage .  Marriage to Garreth Weasley.  The thought of it is comfortable, like a worn in sweater or a cup of tea.  You can imagine waking up every morning to his lips pressed against your neck, encased in his warm embrace. 

Yes, you might like that.  

Even though you have a disillusionment charm on, you swear Garreth is looking straight at you through the crack in the doorway.  He has a dreamy, faraway look on his face, one that makes you want to barrel out the door and tackle him to the ground right now.

“Now you really sound like you’ve been confunded,” Leander laughs. “You’re sixteen, Gar.”

“It’s more than that.” Garreth says fondly. “I know it is.”

“Whatever you say,” Leander snorts, heading towards the door. “Coming to lunch?”

“I’ll meet you there,” Garreth echoes.  

You hear Leander grumbling to himself, his footsteps becoming quieter as he gets further away from the classroom.  Finally, you hear nothing at all except the familiar hum of the boisterous Gryffindor boy you’ve been itching to spend time with all day.

The door flies open and Garreth reaches out, tapping your shoulder.  It disarms your disillusionment charm, and you blink up at him in shock.  He’s still beaming, a toothy grin accompanied by freckled rosy cheeks.  Before you know it, the door is shutting behind you, and he’s backed you into the shelf.  The taller boy has you pinned against it, muttering a quick locking charm before he slips his wand into his back pocket.

“I hope you heard me,” Garreth murmurs, brushing hair out of your face.

“I did,” you stammer. “You’re mad, Garreth Weasley.”

Garreth grins broadly, his hair falling against your forehead as he presses his body into yours.

“Maybe,” he sings. “But you heard me.  When you know, you know.”

You have no complaints. With Garreth wrapped around you, sixth year might not be so daunting. 

[frozenjokes]

Please For The Love Of Everything Good, MAKE SOME NEW FRIENDS AND LEAVE ME ALONE. With Love, HotGuy <3 (3/3)

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Poultry Man was not the type of bird who liked to speak, or even spoke at all. When Poultry Man had something to say, he did so in the form of egg-based political commentary, usually crimes, but not always. Sometimes when he was pissed off, there wasn’t any commentary at all, just chickens. Gotta keep the people guessing, right? Poultry Man liked elaborate schemes, he liked delivering a message, and he liked chickens.

This was not Poultry Man’s first scavenger hunt, nor would it be his last. CuteGuy the villain was dead (among other aliases), but Poultry Man would live on forever, a shining light in this dank city. A golden egg among other, shittier, stupider eggs- whatever, it didn’t matter. Poultry Man was awesome, and Grian felt awesome as he sat at the end of the abandoned road, waiting. He had his postcards ready, simply waiting for HotGuy to arrive. Today was important. Grian would make it count.

Grian ended up waiting a little longer than he thought he would have to, which he probably should have guessed. HotGuy was known to misread and misinterpret basically anything, and it didn’t matter how neat Grian wrote, dyslexia was one son of a bitch.

But HotGuy did eventually arrive, panting and sweaty, and Grian couldn’t help but chuckle imagining him running from place to place and looking for Poultry Man’s hints. Cute, really. HotGuy lit up when he spotted Poultry Man, perched on the roof of a long broken down car, one that had been here for years, no one bothering to haul it off to the dump. Grian smiled, though HotGuy wouldn’t see it under the mask.

“Poultry Man! It’s- I can’t believe I have the chance to finally meet you! Properly, I mean. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you out and about, hasn’t it.. I know CuteGuy was your friend, but I take it you two probably don’t get along much right now.”

Grian shook his head, writing quickly, then tossing the note at HotGuy’s feet. The cardstock was heavy, so it did go a decent distance instead of fluttering pathetically to the ground like normal paper would; Grian had learned that the hard way. Humiliating. Regardless, HotGuy scrambled to pick up the note, reading with wide eyes.

“You’re still friends? Oh, I’m glad! Really, I am. I was a little worried about you, honestly, but I didn’t want to ask just in case the subject was sensitive. CuteGuy and I.. I mean, I’ve been trying, but he just doesn’t like me very much. We don’t really get along, and I just wish I could change his mind. You see, I really like this guy, Cub’s his name, but he and CuteGuy live together, and I just- CuteGuy hates me! He hates that I like Cub, and doesn’t want us to be in any sort of relationship at all, and I just wish I could show him I’m not all that bad, y’know? I mean..” HotGuy trailed off, looking momentarily hopeful, “He told you I wanted to meet with you, right? Was that recently? Did he do that for me?”

Grian considered him for a moment before nodding, and HotGuy just about melted.

“Oh, you have no idea how happy that makes me. And- and that you wanted to meet me in the first place! CuteGuy said you wouldn’t want to, and that you wouldn’t want to talk to me, and I guess you’re not talking, but you’re here, and I’m thrilled! I hope he told you I don’t want to arrest you or hurt you or anything- I don’t know, I got the impression he thought you’d be offended, but with CuteGuy, it’s a little hard to tell. He’s really defensive on your behalf. When I told him I thought he was a good friend for that he tried to beat the shit out of me. Well, he did beat the shit out of me. But that was also for other reasons. It’s complicated. But you don’t look like you want to kill me, and you guys are friends, so maybe you can put in a good word?”

Grian couldn’t suppress the small chuckle that left his throat, and HotGuy seemed to think that was a good sign, perking up, his already large eyes widening. Yeah. Grian could see where Cub was coming from. Having someone like that look at you like this at all hours of the day? Even a heart as icy and dead as his gave a little. He stopped again to write, throwing the postcard to the ground, and HotGuy scurried forward to pick it up.

“Ah- I did get a little distracted, didn’t I? You’re right, you’re right. So- I know you probably won’t answer, but I wanted to ask regardless.. The chickens? The eggs? Where do you get them? And I mean- you probably shouldn’t tell me, full transparency I guess, because I’d probably try to stop you.. Honestly though! I promise it's nothing against you! Well, maybe not nothing- you are committing crimes, but I’m mostly worried about the chickens? The place we bring them to, the sanctuary- they’re happy there! They’re well taken care of and loved. After your.. stunts.. the chickens end up in a good place, and I thought you should know that I care about them. So when I ask, it’s coming from a place of concern for the animals, yeah? I imagine they’re so confused being put in all these random places, having no idea what’s happening or where they’ve ended up.. Wherever you raise them- I’m assuming you raise them- it’s a good place? In our investigation of your activity, we still have no idea where you’re getting them, and I’d just hate to think they’re somewhere underground, unhappy, y’know?”

Grian cocked his head, a visual signal to HotGuy that he was thinking, considering him. That was.. very sweet. Not something Grian would have expected from HotGuy, especially after watching him try to manhandle the chickens Poultry Man had planted, yelling and flailing and generally being far more afraid than should ever be acceptable for someone trying (and failing, miserably) to wrangle chickens. Grian wrote his note, tossing it to the ground.

HotGuy read it aloud this time, “A man after my own heart..” HotGuy trailed off, smiling, and put a hand to his heart as he looked back up. “Of course. That little farm is a great place, Poultry Man, I’m assuming you’ve seen it.” HotGuy paused and Grian nodded, giving a thumbs up to show his approval.

HotGuy looked pleased, continuing, “I just wanted to offer, even though you’ll probably say no.. They would take your chickens, if you wanted to surrender however many you have left. I know it’s mostly eggs with you, and you don’t come around all too frequently, but if you ever decide to give this thing up, or if you can’t care for them anymore, or anything at all, that option is always available for you. Personally, I’d sleep a little easier knowing you weren’t putting live animals in peoples’ houses, but to each their own I guess.”

Grian smiled under the mask, taking a deep breath, “You have nothing to worry about. Well, not the putting chickens in places people don’t want them, I will still be doing that, but the chickens themselves are well taken care of, I can promise you that.”

HotGuy startled at the sound of his voice, jumping to his toes, and Grian couldn’t suppress a laugh, drawing a hand lazily to the beak of his mask as if to try and hide it. Grian was still no good at disguising his voice, so he didn’t bother trying, fastening his hands to the side of his mask and removing it before HotGuy had enough time to process who was actually speaking. HotGuy’s face was worth every anxiety about revealing Poultry Man’s identity.

“Grian!” HotGuy squeaked, a positively delightful sound, “Why are you dressed up as Poultry Man! That- You tricked me! Identity theft is no joke! This is not cool!”

Grian gaped for a moment, mouth opening and closing dumbly, “I- Are you joking.”

“I just told you this is no joke!”

“I am Poultry Man, Scar. HotGuy. Whatever you’re called. I have literally always been Poultry Man.”

“Poultry Man has been around for years!” HotGuy was so genuine, so annoying- Grian was almost offended. Maybe he was offended, actually- What was HotGuy playing at? Was it so impossible to believe he had multiple alter egos?

“Uh, yeah,” Grian finally huffed, rolling his eyes, “So have I.”

“You’re- why?” HotGuy sounded so distressed, so confused, and altogether Grian just couldn’t help but laugh. It was so stupid! He couldn’t stop laughing, arms across his stomach, kicking his feet a bit, talons scratching up the roof of the already beat up car.

“Come on,” Grian wheezed, “Is it really so hard for you to believe?”

“I- Yes! You guys- Poultry Man is noble. Poultry Man is a nuisance, but he has things to say! He has depth. CuteGuy is just a fucking dick!”

“Wow,” Grian drew the world out in fake offense, spreading his wings as he leaned back on the car’s roof, “Maybe you’ve misunderstood Poultry Man all along. Maybe he’s just as evil and uncaring as CuteGuy. They are friends after all, good friends, close.”

“No! CuteGuy was a bad influence on him, that’s all, he just didn’t have many other people to turn to.”

“You know you’re talking about the same person.”

“I- I know that!” HotGuy seethed, like this was quite possibly the most meaningful betrayal he had ever experienced. The little stories he’d made up about Poultry Man, entirely false. It was almost pitiful, really. HotGuy had no idea how to cope, Grian could see it as clearly as the conflict in his face.

“Oh, you poor thing,” Grian crooned, sitting up to rest his elbows on his knees, head in his hands, “Did you like him? Look up to him, even? And all this time you had no idea it was all just lil ol’ me.”

“I didn’t- I don’t look up to Poultry Man. I thought I could help him. I wanted to help him. I don’t- I still don’t think he’s a bad guy!”

“Nothing like CuteGuy, cold and sharp and mean, no, no,” Grian teased, “Denial is a funny thing, isn’t it?”

“I am serious! It doesn’t matter if Poultry Man and CuteGuy and Grian are all technically the same body, you are not the same people, just like HotGuy and civilian HotGuy are not the same.”

“Uh, pretty sure that’s not true, bud. That’s all just Grian, along with every other pseudonym I’ve held over the years.”

“What- really?” HotGuy stopped short, like this was completely foreign to him, “They’re all the same to you? Wait a minute, there’s more? Is every avian supervillain in this city just you? How many alter egos do you have!?” HotGuy puffed up, and Grian snickered.

“I am so glad you asked! My biggest escapade was probably the whole Mooners cult with Mumbo- do you remember? He was the head of course, but I was his faceless right hand man-“

“You know Mumbo?”

“We are roommates in college. I haven’t talked to him in a while though, and given the ‘retirement,’ I’m assuming he probably wouldn’t want to catch up regardless.”

HotGuy groaned loudly into his hands, “The Mooners were so annoying! Do you even know how much damage you two caused with that? People don’t function right when they don’t sleep!”

“Oh, it was a trip. It was awesome. And don’t think I don’t remember you attending our first couple meetings.”

“Yeah, when I thought it was a fun sleepover event thing- no one sleeps during sleepovers, everyone knows that! You guys were weird and crazy and everyone was partying- it was awesome.”

“Uh huh, and you drew quite a bit of attention to us, thanks for that.”

HotGuy groaned again into his hands and Grian snickered from his perch, pleased.

“Less successful was The Entity, but that was still quite a bit of fun. That massive rock I found just outside of town? It was a cool rock. And suddenly, I’m a prophet! People love a good Horror, and boy did I deliver. Flesh and guts and a horrifying puppet of a man, me. I bet I could have gained a bigger following, but I got bored. Still though, I think my favorite stunt I’ve ever pulled off was blowing up the whole thing and disappearing without a trace. I’m not going to tell you how I got my claws on dynamite, but that whole thing was fucking awesome. In the middle of the night, the whole rock, gone. And after- everyone wanted to know! What happened to The Entity? To its prophet? People were feeling like they missed out, like they wished they could have been there before it all exploded. Maybe it didn’t matter how big the cult was in the first place, but how it will be remembered. You like making history, don’t you, HotGuy?”

“Oh my god.”

“Good story, huh?”

“I just can’t believe that was you. How many costumes do you have? Wasn’t that one like- awfully gorey, right? And you just sat out there covered in- I don’t even want to know.”

Grian preened, incredibly pleased. “It was gross. Cub knows about that one actually, only because I disappeared for like a month. Brought me food when I needed it, though, most of the time I was fine.”

HotGuy sighed, drawing his hands over his face. “Anything else?” He didn’t look particularly like he wanted to know, and Grian’s wings fluttered, deeply content.

“Nothing huge. A long time ago, years actually, I convinced a couple of people they were being haunted by salmon. Pretty funny. I actually brought that back recently, I just tormented this one guy- thought he was cursed by the ocean, it was great. Didn’t make headlines, but sometimes that’s not what matters in life.”

“You are- you’re fucking evil. Recently? When have you even had the time!?”

Grian cackled, trailing off into a snicker, “I make the time. I was also unemployed.”

“Ah. I guess that explains it..” HotGuy sighed, frowning gently, something distinctly distant. Honestly, it didn’t look like he was thinking about Grian at all, which was a little annoying; he’d just confessed to being like five different criminals, if not legal crimes, then surely social ones, and HotGuy didn’t even look like he cared! (And listen, Grian wasn’t some kind of whore for attention, but a little recognition would be nice, yeah? Yeah.) But HotGuy did look back up, some kind of quiet despondency behind those eyes. “And it doesn’t bother you?”

“What? Being a public nuisance? That doesn’t bother me at all.”

“No, your identities I mean. It’s all just.. Grian? Not any more complicated than that?”

“I don’t understand.”

“I feel like I’m lying under every name I take.”

Grian shrugged, “You are, aren’t you? So am I. Elaborate lies, kinda, all under one central person. I like to dress up and play pretend and cause problems, just like basically everyone else in this godforsaken city. We aren’t special.”

But HotGuy didn’t look satisfied, eyebrows knitting impossibly tight, “I don’t have a central person. I’m not anyone.”

“Your civilian identity?”

“He’s not real either.” HotGuy looked at his feet, and Grian didn’t really know what to do with that, nor did he understand.

“Oh. That’s wild.”

HotGuy made a bit of a strangled noise before squeaking out a small “Yeah?” He fiddled with his hands for a moment, pulling at the fabric of his gloves, “I don’t know, I didn’t realize.. How did you do that? Not feel.. lost.”

Grian’s lip curled, the question invoking a similar reaction as when he would open the fridge to the smell of something rotting, “I can not even begin to tell you how unqualified I am to talk to you about anything at all. That’s a problem for you and your therapist, pal.”

HotGuy looked briefly indignant at that, then deflated, a more unhappy look crossing his face. “I don’t have a therapist.”

“What? Why not?” Grian sat up, just about as genuinely surprised as someone could be at a confession like that. A lot of things he learned about HotGuy made very little sense, but that just may have been the biggest surprise yet.

“What kind of question is that?”

“A pretty straightforward one I think. There’s no way you’re not all sorts of fucked up, not with the sort of bodily trauma you’ve been through and the job you’re currently holding. And you’ve got, like, infinite money. And you never shut up. Why not pay someone to listen to you.”

“I am not ‘all sorts of fucked up,’” HotGuy scoffed, “I am fine. And I don’t have infinite money, geez. I don’t need a therapist.”

“You say that like you’ve got something against therapy. So you’re one of those guys. Ick.”

“I’m not- no, I am not ‘ick.’ I think therapy is great! Therapists help lots of people, probably just as many as I do, I’d say. They’re the real heroes, yeah?”

Grian rolled his eyes, throwing his head back in a sarcastically languid movement, “Oh, let me guess. You’re the type of person who encourages people to go and see a therapist, but when the same thing is said to you, you say something like ‘Ah, no, therapy just isn’t for me.’ Am I right? You don’t need to tell me, I know I’m right.”

“You are not- Listen! It’s just something that doesn’t work for me, okay? Nothing about that is appealing to me.”

“Have you ever tried it?”

Hotguy pursed his lips, defiant. “..No.”

Grian had to laugh, his voice losing its edge in favor of something more genuine, “Dude, you’d probably love it. I’m serious. You’d go crazy for therapy. I mean, it’s hard work sometimes, and it can be a little bit trying, but then you start hating yourself a little less, and if you’re not in the mood one week, there’s still a very nice lady across from you who you can just talk to about whatever you want! I can’t watch The Bachelor anymore, it’s bad for me, and also bad for Cub, but my therapy sessions have never been more derailed. Good times. Fun! Sometimes it feels like therapists don’t know a single thing about anything that isn’t, like, mental health- I swear I’ve explained things to her I was convinced were common knowledge like- a lot. It happens a lot.”

“You don’t.. You just talk about whatever you want?”

“Yeah! Honestly, for the first couple weeks, I don’t think I talked about myself more than three or four times and I was going twice a week. It’s not uncommon. If you want, I can give you the name of the clinic I go to. I like the people there.”

“I.. I don’t know. I don’t really have the time, and I can talk to anyone about anything if I wanted to for free. I don’t know. And my issues are like- pretty intertwined with my identities, which I can’t really talk about.”

“Sure you can. It’s all confidential unless you’re hurting yourself or others, basically. Like, legally confidential. You can tell all you want about your different identities and your therapist can’t say a thing. I don’t tell about my alter egos for obvious reasons, but that’s not where my issues stem from anyway. But lately, I have been dipping my toes into talking about the superhero business, mostly because it’s pretty relevant to the things I’ve been feeling lately.”

“You talk about me?” An innocent question, one that Grian couldn’t help but laugh sharply at.

“Uh, yeah. You come up. We got a little off track for a minute there, but that’s kind of why I’m here in the chicken costume. I’m about to knock your socks off in a minute, seriously. Eugh. I don’t even want to say it. Makes me a little sick to my stomach, honestly, but I brought you all the way out here and revealed basically every misdeed I’ve ever committed to you, so. Surely this won’t be as hard..” Grian trailed off for a moment, pursing his lips, “No. This is harder. This is so much harder.”

HotGuy threw him an apprehensive smile, shrugging, “You’re making me nervous, here. I’m not actually wearing any socks, but for the sake of this I’ll pretend.” HotGuy ran a hand through his hair, and Grian couldn’t suppress a small chuckle when tiny amounts of glitter floated down.

“Well, HotGuy, I haven’t been very nice to you.”

HotGuy’s eyes jumped up, his attention sufficiently grabbed. He looked awkward then, the hand returning to his hair. “I.. think I would agree..” He took a quick breath, like he was unsure if that was the right thing to say.

Grian gritted his teeth, then let go, breathing deeply, “I want to change that.”

“Oh!” HotGuy threw his hands up in front of his chest, an unfairly endearing reaction of surprise, his eyes as wide as saucers, “I-I mean- You don’t have to-”

Grian threw his head back in a loud cackle, “Seriously?”

“No! No I didn’t mean that. Sorry- I didn’t know how to react to that. That. This is new for me. Did you stop disliking me? Don’t answer that. I’m confused. I don’t understand. I would like very much if you were nice to me. Well. Nicer. You don’t even have to be nice, but it would be cool if you acted like you hated me a little less.”

Grian waved a hand, silencing the nonsense blabber from a very embarrassed looking HotGuy. “I’ve been treating you unfairly, and it has very little to do with you as a person. You’ll never hear me repeat this, and if you ask anyone I’ll deny it, but I don’t think you’re actually a shitty guy. You’re an alright guy, maybe even less bad than I thought you were before we met properly. Maybe even better than most superheroes, but the bar is low, okay, don’t let that get to your head.” Grian took a breath, and HotGuy just stared, stunned, so when he didn’t say anything, Grian went on.

“Jealousy is a tame word I think. Envy doesn’t feel right either. I was.. deeply, viscerally angry, in all the physically animal ways I can not even begin to describe to you. And that’s not.. gone. It won’t leave, it’s just a part of me and I have to find a way to cope with it that’s not being a massive prick to you and Cub, but mostly you. Because you made a move on him before I even understood what I was feeling, feelings I had never considered before because I had never been afraid of losing him like that. I never had a reason to be so possessive before, because I was the only person.. I don’t know. But I think you understand. I’ve been in love, and didn’t really recognize it because neither of us really had anyone else to love, right?”

HotGuy opened his mouth to speak, but Grian cut him off with a shake of his head, “Don’t. Not yet. I’m not done. Yesterday morning I made this decision, that I was going to take him out and try to win him back, yeah? Delusional things, and I knew just as much, but I couldn’t fight it, I couldn’t let it go, and then yesterday afternoon, it kind of just.. hit me. I don’t want to ‘win him back’ from anyone, or anything like that. I just wanted things to go back to the way they were, selfishly, when we were both lonelier, unhappier people. And then I realized, hey, wait a minute, there’s something I want more than that, more than anything I could ever want for myself. I want Cub to be happy. I want him to step out of his shell, date superheroes, maybe even get his heart broken, as long as he’s living, y’know? And I want to live too, I want to put myself out there and meet people and try things I can’t do when I’m at home. Things I couldn’t do before, when it was just me and Cub, kind of miserable and kind of lonely, just stagnating, y’know?”

“You’re saying a lot of words, Grian, and I’m not understanding most of them.”

Grian chuckled into his hand, then sighed, the smile fading, “Cub didn’t want me to tell you this, but I think it’s important that you know, for transparency’s sake. I love him. And he loves me too, yes, like that. And I told him because I couldn’t keep it a secret, because I just couldn’t handle it anymore, and not because I was trying to force my way between you two, and I want you to believe me, so I’ve been honest, I’ve told you everything, all my secrets, all my crimes. I had no idea how he felt, and I don’t think he knew very much either. We’re so close, you have to understand. It was hard to even see it, not before everything was thrown into question, and suddenly things are changing and you’re feeling and you don’t even know what’s going on. But I think I know what would happen, HotGuy, if we acted on those feelings. If we let everything go back to normal, except maybe with a few more stolen kisses, and really, I mean it when I say a few, we are not the most physically inclined people; more lazy than anything.”

Grian stopped himself, realizing HotGuy was looking a bit pale. “Maybe I should cut to the chase. We talked it over for a long time and we both agree we don’t want things to be the way they were before. We don’t want to stagnate and rot away, to have each other, but nothing else, y’know? And I’m afraid of change. I’m afraid of you. But I want to let you in. And he wants you too.”

“Like- Like a polycule?”

“I- No! No-” Grian had to laugh, too startled to do much else, “I guess I could have worded that a little better. No, I mean you and Cub. I think you and Cub should have the chance to love each other, if you still want that.”

“I’m poly, Grian.”

“Goodness- Scar, please, not necessary,” Grian covered his face, struggling to contain his laughter, mostly bubbling up from nerves now, which unfortunately, was painfully obvious, “You don’t love me, and I mean it when I say I don’t want to get in the way. I want you to have this. I want Cub to have this.”

“I could love you. I think I could.”

Grian stared, possibly gaping, though he had no idea. He might have been flustered if his brain hadn’t factory reset itself right then and there. At some point he remembered to breathe, and had to take a couple of moments to do that in silence.

When there was sufficient air in his lungs, he looked up. “But you don’t. And I don’t love you either. And that’s okay, Scar. That’s okay.” Grian felt his voice buckle, the first and last warning he was going to cry, and damn it he didn’t want to, he really hadn’t wanted to cry, but he hadn’t been prepared for this, he was not prepared to be forgiven like it was effortless, to be told he could be loved.

“Grian I- fuck it-” To Grian’s great alarm, HotGuy began to fiddle with his mask, a motion Grian recognized from HotGuy’s first meeting with Cub.

“Whoa! No, no! Don’t- Don’t do anything you’re going to regret, please!” Grian hopped off the car, waving his arms, but HotGuy didn’t listen, breaths coming harshly from his nose. Grian couldn’t stop him before the mask was off, though, even with his face fully bared, Grian didn’t see anything that particularly shocked him. He still didn’t recognize HotGuy from anyone he’d seen on the street, which made perfect sense. Civilian HotGuy probably blended right in. Though a few things stood out, like his eyes, the same striking green as his brother’s, and a few scars that were obscured by the mask, though, that was no surprise. But HotGuy seemed distressed at Grian’s non-reaction, looking near panic as he jumped back.

“Do you- makeup wipes, do you have makeup wipes?”

His panic was infectious, Grian fumbling over his words, “Not on me, I don’t just carry them around.”

“I don’t either!” HotGuy hissed before making a decisive noise, rubbing at his face with his gloved hands instead. “Whatever.”

“HotGuy- Scar, please, you don’t have to do this-” Grian wanted to pull HotGuy’s hands away, but at the same time, couldn’t bring himself to touch the other, “This feels bad, Scar.” But HotGuy didn’t stop, fingers raking over the places where he had covered up scars. And other spots too, where he seemed to have meticulously sculpted lines across his face that just weren’t real- Grian had never noticed, it was so well done.

“I don’t want this anymore! I don’t want to be a secret! I want to be like you, I want you to know me!” But still, Grian was too distressed with this display to properly look at him, which only seemed to upset HotGuy further, growing more and more hysterical, “Grian!”

“I don’t know what you want, HotGuy!”

“Grian, please!” And that was different. Distinctly, world-rockingly different, that was not HotGuy’s voice. That was not HotGuy.

Grian was pretty sure he yelled, soft and then loudly, very loudly, a violent crescendo as he backpedaled anywhere away, away, get away, at all costs get away from the man using Micah’s voice, from Micah in HotGuy’s uniform, frantic and frightened, but above all else, deeply, deeply relieved.

Tripping on flapping wings, it took a second for Grian to be airborne, screaming his distress all the way into the sky, movements uneven and exhausting, but panic did little else but put him in the clouds, flying anywhere as long as it was away.

Poultry Man was a chicken, afterall.

by the way, if you are one of the people reading only this specific story (as indicated by the 3/3) and are interested to know more or what happens next, there is more, and there will be more after this, and you can find all of it on ao3 here

[vivakitkt]

I love you, why can’t you love me?

Synopsis: You love Xiao. But how will it take for him to notice you? Then a chance to end your feelings for him. To relieve yourself from the pain. Do you take it?

Warnings: angst/ maybe comfort, !hanahaki reader, reader is implied as adepti(immortal, etc), not proofread

A/N So I wrote this at 11pm on new years eve yes i dont sleep but yea finally finished this :') first time writing a piece with a specific character in it. One of my longer pieces as well. Might write pt. 2 👀 Hope you enjoy it!!<3333

Part 1(this story is pt 1) Part 2 Part 3

Loving Xiao was hard

He was closed off, only becoming "close" to the few who he could feel as ease with. Although you tried your best, cooking his favorite dish, almond tofu, being nice to him, taking care of his injures even with his stern protests. But it never was supposed to be you was it.

You were waiting for him at Wangshu inn. Trembling from the frigid cold, clenching onto the thin blanket you were keeping around yourself from the breeze.

Dont want to catch a cold, you told yourself. Not to mention already that you were feeling a little sick in your throat, coughing up more frequently than usual.

It was getting pretty late, you wondered, where could he be?

His food would be getting cold soon and plus it wasn't like him to stay this late without sending you a message. You couldn't even feel his presence around the area.

Should you go and try to find him? Yea. Maybe you should. You know, just to make sure he was okay. As you quickly turned into a puff of smoke, leaving your previous spot into the sky. Soaring through the clouds, you finally spotted the green flash of his teleportation.

As you started to drift down onto solid ground, a few feet away from Xiao, you noticed another person with him.

Huh? Was that the traveler? What was Xiao doing with them? You questioned while staying behind a tree to hide yourself. Xiao was probably just helping them out! Of course he was, the travelers was a nice person anyways. Its not like Xiao had feelings for them or something. Right?

But why was he blushing like that? And smiling like that? You've never seen him like that before despite knowing him for centuries. Did he actually have feelings for the traveler?

I mean, of course who wouldn't? With their courageous personality, outgoing self, and impressive battles. And to top it off, they were good looking. Who wouldn't like the traveler?

It made no sense at all to hate them. You were just being dramatic. All of sudden you started to cough, hard. So you quickly took a step back and disappeared again into a cloud of smoke.

The very next day, you were feeling uneasy. Maybe it was because of the events that took place but also because of that cough that almost gave you away. So you decide to have some tea with Zhongli, to ask him some questions and to chat of course!

Heading over to Liyue Habor to meet with him, you couldn't help but notice the lack of flowers around the area. Although Liyue had beautiful mountains and incredible sunset views, there wasnt a lot of flowers around. A few in the habor but none except for the sweet flowers you saw. Maybe you should talk about it to Xiao or Zhongli.

Finally you arrived and quickly saw the ex-archon with the funeral director Hu Tao.

Ah y/n, what a pleasure, Zhongli spoke, what brings you here?

Oh is this a friend of yours Mr. Zhongli? Hu tao teased, I guess I'll see you later then! She waved goodbye, leaving you and Zhongli both alone

Shall we go for tea? You asked the calm man

As you two made it to a table, you set out the tea and poured some of the rich tea into the porcelain cups.

For you and Zhongli, it was easy for you two to start a conversation. After all you had been with him very early on since he started his archon days. Even being with him when he took Xiao in as his own. However, your peaceful conversation suddenly took a turn as you started to cough hard once again like last night. But this time blood and...flowers dropped out of your mouth.

Y/n! Zhongli shouted, Someone send a doctor! As you closed eyes from the unbearable pain.

You woke up in a bed as you started wrinkle the sheet and proped yourself up with your elbows. What happened? Huh? A sheet of paper writtern, hanahaki disease. As soon as you read that, a doctor entered the room along with Zhongli. The doctor then slowly told you of your disease. A disease where a person who feels unrequited love, will cough up flowers. The only two end results of this disease would either be that the other person returns the feeling or......death. One other possible cure was a surgical removal but the victim will forget the feelings held for their beloved.

Forget their feelings? So you would forget about Xiao. All of the years spent with him, the memories, and all of the small moments when he let his wall down. Would be gone at the expense of you living. Should you get the surgery to forget your feelings about him? Or love him till the day you die?

[dei-lab-assistant]

Nothing Builds a Friendship Like a Crisis (part 4)

Co-written with multifandoms27

Summary: Mokuba has been kidnapped as the two of you performed his monthly inspection of Kaiba Land. Reginald O'Malley, the president of rival gaming company Knightly Rook, is responsible for the kidnapping, and has challenged Kaiba to a tag duel in order to win back Mokuba. To your surprise, Kaiba asked you to be his partner for the duel, since Yugi was out of town. As you head to the rooftop helipad, you hope you're not getting in over your head. Dub canon plus a version of DSOD. Female Reader. Set maybe two years post DSOD. (This chapter does not contain playing the card game...) Fun fact: I always write my Reader character with personality and specific description. Each reader character also has a specific place in the Yu-Gi-Oh world, and is basically an OC with set connections and feelings about the various canon characters and other reader characters. This is reader B, who is immune to the siren song of romance, cheap, eccentric, logical, and hands-on. Word count: 1,647 You can read part 1 here. You can read part 2 here. You can read part 3 here. You stood inside the elevator which had roof access, feeling the floor press against your feet as you and Kaiba shot upwards. The doors slid open to reveal a helipad. Stepping out onto the roof, you squinted in the blinding summer sunlight as heat radiated up from underfoot and down from above. After ditching your hat, abandoning your sunglasses, and replacing your t-shirt with a fitted black shirt and a short white vest, you had run after Kaiba, barely catching the elevator in time. Now, staring at your shadow, you smiled at your silhouette; it was angular, with your capris falling to your midcalf, and the vest cutting off halfway down your torso, with a high collar and flaring out shoulders. It was a good image, a strong outline, and it sort of reminded you of something… Team Rocket. You groaned. 

Kaiba strode past you towards the helicopter, his hair ruffling in the wind created by the rotors. He moved without hesitation. This was your last chance to back out, but your mind discarded the suggestion. When you jumped into a project, you didn’t look back. This was no different. As the artificial wind and engine noise increased, you followed Kaiba inside the helicopter, feeling the sudden lack of blustering air as you pulled the door shut behind you. It was surprisingly quiet inside.   

You almost planted your face against the window during takeoff. For a few minutes, the excitement of being in a helicopter drowned out everything else. Settling down on the bench opposite Kaiba, you tried to focus on your deck and prepare for the upcoming duel. “You look nervous.” Kaiba commented. “I am nervous. We’re about to duel for your brother. What if I’m not up to the task? What if we lose?” You regretted sharing your worries as soon as you said them.

“I don’t lose.”

“Oh, we both know that’s not true.”

Kaiba scowled at you. “I don’t lose to two-bit schemers like O’Malley.”

Fair point. Kaiba was an excellent duelist, one of the best in the world. “I might. I’m a decent duelist, but my deck is hardly top notch, and—”

“You won’t hold me back. I’ll win on my own if I need to.” Kaiba’s voice was ice. His eyes softened a smidge. “But you’re a competent duel partner.”

Kaiba believed in your ability? You gave a faint smile, he wouldn’t have asked you otherwise. “I try.”

“You better.”

After a few minutes of silence, Kaiba spoke up again. “Let me see your deck.”

Switching to the bench Kaiba was sitting on, you pulled your deck out of your belt box and spread the cards between you. Working at a game shop brought advantages; you had managed to get some decent cards, and were using one of the new ‘archetypes.’ When you first found out about the Kozmo cards, you knew you wanted to try and build a deck with them. But even with an employee discount, and Yugi’s Grandpa helping track down cards, you had barely managed to build the simplest form of the deck. 

“Hm.” Kaiba grabbed his silver briefcase from the floor and opened it. His laptop was strapped into the lid, and the base of the case held thousands of dollars worth of cards. Your eyes widened. “Borrow a few for your deck.” It sounded more like an order than an offer.

“I can’t start swapping my cards right before a duel! It could mess up my strategies.” It was stupid, but you didn’t want to feel like you owed him anything.

Kaiba planted his fingers on a few of your cards and slid them across the bench towards you, “I’m offering you a chance to replace your weak staples with stronger options. Take it.”

“Fine, but I’m giving them back after we win. I don’t need your charity.” You took the briefcase from Kaiba and perused the contents. This would require thought. After selecting a few cards like Ice Dragon’s Prison and Pot of Greed, you showed Kaiba the chosen cards and slipped them into your deck. He nodded approvingly.   

Kaiba pulled out his own deck, rifling through the cards idly until he found one of his favorites. 

“Can I look at one of your Blue-Eyes?” You were surprised at your own audacity, but if you wanted Kaiba to treat you like an equal, you would need to act like one.

“Sure.” Extending two fingers, he held the card out.                    

Up till now, you had only held the ripped Blue-Eyes at the game shop. This one was beautiful. You could imagine its roar. Feel its presence. Holding the card was an honor—you felt like Kaiba had handed you part of his soul. 

“Do you know what that card represents?” Kaiba asked.  

“You?”

Kaiba almost smiled. “You spend too much time with Yugi.”

You realized your mistake. “Your power.” It wasn’t a guess anymore, you knew you were right.

The corner of his mouth twitched upwards for a moment, before seriousness won out again. 

You knew the card text without needing to look at it, “This legendary dragon is a powerful engine of destruction. Virtually invincible, very few have faced this awesome creature and lived to tell the tale.” 

“Listen,” Kaiba stared at you intently, “We’re about to step into enemy territory. You can’t show weakness or fear, because our adversaries will pounce on any opening you provide.”

You nodded. “I’ll try, but I don’t feel overly confident right now.”

“Your feelings don’t matter.” Kaiba slammed his deck down on the bench between you. “Do you trust me?”

“Yes.” It was the truth.

“Then remember my power is behind you now, and act like it.”  

“Kaiba…” You saw no deception in his eyes, only trust, and determination. “Thank you.” You handed back his card, realizing he was letting you into his world because he wanted you at his side. Taking a deep breath, you asked, “How long until we arrive?”

“Less than an hour.”

You leaned back against the wall, which vibrated as the copter beelined for your destination. Closing your eyes, running over everything your deck could do, you tried to focus, until the events of the day caught up to you, and you dozed off. Some time later, your head jerked up as your eyes flew open. It was too quiet. The helicopter had landed on another roof, this one in rolling mountains, surrounded by forests. Standing near the front, Kaiba held a muttered conversation with the pilot. You stretched and rubbed your neck. “This is our destination?” Outside the helicopter, men in suits and sunglasses gathered—a security team. Closing your eyes, you rolled them to slightly reposition your contacts; it was almost time for action.

Kaiba strode to the door. “Remember what I told you.” 

You cracked your knuckles, nodding. “Let’s do this.” Nerves settled themselves; playing a game was easier than waiting for it to begin.

Throwing open the door, Kaiba jumped down. Inhaling deeply, you drew yourself up to your full height; you had always been comfortable with yourself—it was time to stop worrying about manners and act more like Kaiba. You grinned, casually stepping out the doorway and landing beside him. It was cooler here than in Domino City, the air filled with the buzz of cicadas and birdsong.

“What are you doing here?”

Hearing the quiet murmur, you turned to Bishop, who shifted slightly under your gaze. “Surprised to see me?”

“I went to considerable expense to keep you out of this mess, Ms. l/n.”

“Why’s that?” You asked, remembering Kaiba’s words about the high cost of the drugs in your slushy.

“I didn’t want to see a naive little girl get caught up in this game.”

“I’m four years older than Kaiba.” You weren’t angry, you had always looked younger than your age, and you certainly lacked experience in these high stakes games. “But I appreciate your concern.”

“Your boss is using you.” “Hnh.” Kaiba crossed his arms. “I like being useful. Besides,” you slid your hands into your pockets and leaned back against the helicopter, “I make my own choices, Bishop.”

“Suit yourself. But I wash my hands of your fate.”

Before you could reply, the nearby elevator entrance dinged. As the doors slid apart, Mr. O’Malley strolled out before they finished opening. He grinned. “Ah, Mr. Kaiba, I’m so glad you could join us!” The security men parted to allow their employer through. “And you’ve brought a woman with you. I’m impressed. Perhaps even the intolerable Seto Kaiba can attract a pretty face.”

“Don’t waste my time with your ludicrous assumptions, O’Malley.”

“Darling, the girl is obviously a gold digger.” From the elevator emerged a woman with bottle blond hair and flashy jewelry, her makeup and clothes trying desperately to hide her status as a middle aged woman in her forties. She wore a sleek black dress with brown fur accents perfectly matching O’Malley’s tie. 

“Allow me to introduce the missus.” Holding out a hand to his wife, who took it with a regal air, O’Malley presented her as though royalty. “My dear queen Sasha—bright as fireworks in a summer sky, ambitious as Caesar, and lovely as the Ring of Kerry.”

“Am I supposed to be impressed?”

“Now now, Mr. Kaiba, no need to be rude. I’m sure your own queen has many lovely qualities as well. While her devotion to the white king shows a certain lack of wisdom, I’m sure she possesses other charms.”

He was still using chess metaphors, you noted. 

“Get to the point, O’Malley, we’re here for Mokuba.” 

“Ah yes, your poor little brother. The lad’s been quite adamant you would come for him.”

“Where’s Mokuba?” Kaiba’s tone dropped lower, bristling with hostility. 

“I’m not a cruel man. I shan't keep such devoted brothers apart for long.” Turning gracefully, O’Malley looked back over his shoulder at them. “Please, follow me.”

[canaidliafail]

untitled

streamer ellie Williams x dancer reader 🌿

Id call this an excessively long shitpost. It is in the same timeline with staygrounded but I wrote it down for self indulgent reasons such as -to no ones surprise- venting. It ain’t good btw but its getting better I think.

CW: first of all, reader is a dancer/ dance teacher || short mention of self harm || MDI: there are sexual themes if I remember correctly || Ellie being very gay

If you by any chance do enjoy this concept I don’t mind writing a part 2 tho. Requests are open ✨

“you blame it on the drugs I dont give a fuck cause the damage is done,

and you talk about suicide, its the way you manipulate”

1:35 ───ㅇ───── 3:47 ↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺

gossip, rumors, spreading a false narrative and falling in love with being a victim of life and most importantly a victim of you.

So many things that could have been said about her. So many and yet all sat stale at the tip of your tongue. You wanted to rip her to shreds, put a curse on her and considered spending life in prison for premeditated murder. Then you cried and just prayed she would leave you alone and that she would find happiness and that you would never hear anything about it. You scratched your arms, the stitches holding your flesh together getting irritably itchier day by day. flesh that you so willingly sliced a week ago and regretted right after.

It was fucking embarrassing to fall to such depths of despair and misery cause of love. In life we allow things to happen to us. Saying that was comfort of some sorts. It gave you control over a situation that you were dragged around like a puppet.

Could truly another person's venom poison you this irreversibly?

And while you did crave love and attention you refused to humiliate yourself by asking for it,let alone admit to it.

“she didn’t love you, she loved the idea of being with you. You have to realize it baby, You are a known figure now…People will do that to you. This is a whole new world you just entered”

You shook your head and dully stared at the screen playing lo-fi on loop

“New world ? Feels like I'm back in high school”

You sat on the other end of the couch numb and mute. It had been a week since you spoke to your roommate and two since you last saw your whole friend group. You warned them

“I can’t talk but I really need you”

and they came and would chime in to whatever little but you were willing to share that night.

You all woke up around the same time the next day, exam season not really willing to cooperate with your mental breakdown and started getting ready. You had already failed 2 subjects. shit was not going your way so on the fourth day you just gave up and decided to go with the flow

“how bad can it get”

bit of advice fellas, never fucking say that cause it CAN get worse.

While initially you were well prepared for exams, You mixed up the days when you were supposed to submit assignments and the days when you were taking a written exam.

2 failed subjects, 4 more to go.

4 failed subjects… 2 more to go

Hot girl summer just doesn’t feel the same once you hit your 20s it seems.

_________________ 𓆩♡𓆪 _________________

You were aimlessly watching one story after the other,barely there and hardly caring what exactly you were looking at. Abby had just posted one cryptic photo with a girl you saw around in the community and smiled. You could tell something was going on with her and that other streamer girl and you smiled. You thought they were a good match and quite frankly you were just glad to see that some people were doing better in their love life than you ever could. It gave you hope that things like that still existed even if you weren't meant to experience them. Ellie had also just posted and you took a minute longer to appreciate her slender form dressed in tights and a top while horse riding. She was hot and she knew it and you liked that attitude of hers. You checked the next story which was a black screen with a text

*I fell off my horse two minutes after taking that pic*

And chuckled. Your eyes drifted off to the green square mark and cocked a brow

Oh?

So you were in her close friends ?

You sat up

“Wait since when has she-” You asked yourself out loud and noticed that indeed she was following you. In the midst of working on new content and getting out of your depressive slump you started checking your social less and less too busy with dance practice and trying to enjoy life and it seemed like in the middle of your subtle break things…. Happened

Maybe a few months ago when you were down bad for her this would’ve affected you but now you just shrugged and closed your phone. You need to get back to practicing a new dance combo for a video and you couldn’t be bothered. Your ex had scared you off from dating public figures for good. Dating was a strong word…You hardly wanted even a fling at this point.

You got dressed up and put on a wig, fixing your makeup in place and making a movement test before you went to the studio to record the new choreo so that you could only worry about the variation and not have any unnecessary technical issues. The studio was a few minutes away from your place by bus and you put on the songs you planned on rehearsing to get in the mood on your way there humming softly and tuning out any other thought polluting your mind.

There's was a text notification from the user

Elliefuckingwilliams

Which you forced yourself to ignore refusing to entertain whatever she could have texted you. If this was a month ago maybe you would have but now you didnt want to.

_________________ 𓆩♡𓆪 _________________

Ignoring her was your plan until you posted the new video of your dance which admittedly you did look good and may have been one of your best videos up to date. Ellie Was the third like on that post and she had shamelessly double texted you. You chewed on your lip nervous and uncertain

“She texted me again”

Ophelia, your roommate, peeked her head from her iPad and looked at you curious

“Who?”

“Ellie”

“ELLIE?! WAIT THE ELLIE?!” She jumped up and for a moment you for sure she came for your throat but instead clutched the blankets on your couch

“And what do you mean again ?! When did all of this happen ?”

“Relax it all started today and you know I wanted to tell you once we had time to properly hang out” You said fighting back a smile knowing that this was a victory. Ophelia had suffered you for months crying over your ex, then thirsting over Ellie and then back to square one. You owed her an update on your emotional affairs which you swore that they would stay stagnant.

“So what did she say ?”

You opened the Direct messages

Elliefuckingwilliams: Hey I have a question

Elliefuckingwilliams: Is your studio in Seattle ?

Elliefuckingwilliams: I have a project and am looking for a dance instructor. Let me know if you would be interested in a collab

“Ah. Just work stuff it seems”

“EXCUSES SHE JUST WANTS TO EAT YOU OUT AND IS LOOKING FOR A EXCUSE”

“You are shameless”

You stared at each other with a smirk fighting to break through, wanting to seem equally serious despite the ridiculous situation.

“She does not”

“She does. I’m betting 50 dollars”

Oh fuck off ill just roll you a blunt”

“A WIN IS A WIN” she said with her hands in the air “No come on! Respond already you are driving me crazy”

You rolled your eyes and considered her offer. You were taken aback cause Ellie didn’t seem like she would do anything with…dancing. However you weren’t new to influencers trying new things to get back on the algorithms favor so you brushed it off as her chasing new heights to her already growing fame.

-Hey, I’m not sure where you are exactly and it isn’t my studio. I am just renting the space but I could give you a lesson or two

Elliefuckingwilliams: Sweet! When are you available ? I have a gap next week otherwise it can be next month

You stared at her immediate response and quirked your brow in approval. Professional and straight to the point. You could respect that. Not what you were aiming for. You tried to ignore the previous conversations you two had that showed above her new messages. Your fruitless attempts at getting her attention in the most stupid of ways. Can’t blame a girl for trying. Shoot for the stars they say. You’ll land on dirt but hey, at least you gave it a fair shot and therefore no one could blame you for trying.

-This week is good. Say Friday ?

Elliefuckingwilliams: Yeah yeah cool! I'll text you the day before so that you can tell me your location and everything

You pursed your lips and turned to look at Ophelia who was on all fours on your couch desperately trying to steal a glance at your phone screen. You tossed it on one of the floor cushions

“Not a date. I’m just gonna be her dance instructor so looks like you owe me that blunt”

“Nu-uh. Bet you’ll be raw dogging in the studio. We will see who wins on Friday”

_________________ 𓆩♡𓆪 _________________

“And the dance floor is filling up with blood, But oh, Lord you’ve never been so in love”

ELLIE’s POV

Ellie was convinced that God had specifically hand crafted her body to be incapable of dancing. She had no coordination and perhaps was even tone deaf which was ridiculous for someone who played the guitar and sang. Not that she was a pro at that either but who creates a musician who doesn’t understand how to step on notes in any way other than with an instrument ? So now that she had texted you she was frantic, bouncing her leg up and down and chewing on the flesh around her fingernails.

“What's gotten into you?”

Dina asked while folding clothes. She was at her and Jesse's apartment for the night and she had yet to tell them about her new crush and her impatient attempt at getting to see you as soon as possible. Ellie was aware of you as a creator. Be it from a post-share on her friends stories or you falling on her timeline she would see you here and there. She vividly remembered a month where you peaked and she went from seeing you once every two months at best to seeing you every week. And she was curious as to why was everyone going crazy over you and your content. You seemed to interact mostly with Abby’s girl.

That’s how Ellie referred to the girl Abby seemed to be crushing on. In a game of broken telephone and who told what, Ellie planned on seeing how close Abby was with her girl and if that was close enough for her to ask if she could…well ask her about you and then somehow for that information to get back to you.

But all that plan failed the second Ellie asked

“So is Cotton dating anyone?”

And Abby took that horribly wrong and now was set on gatekeeping her. Ellie was awkward and a mess and couldn’t communicate properly what she wanted because to her, what she asked was obvious and had no hidden meaning or intention but the world around her didn’t work like that and she struggled so fucking hard with it.

Ellie’s second grant failure was when she followed you back. She was sure that you wouldn’t have missed it. But the silence was so loud it was deafening. You were still posting but you were otherwise quiet everywhere else. You rarely even watched her stories at this point so Ellie decided to grow a backbone and some balls and directly message you.

She flinched at the dry responses she gave you to your previous interactions which back then seemed professional but now they seemed…So distant.

Finally, she texted you.

and you responded.

“Dina I did a stupid thing”

Dina tossed the clothes in the wardrobe and kicked close giving up on tidying Jesse’s shit

“Ok, stupid how? Like speaking money or-”

“I texted my crush-”

“You have a crush?”

“Yes and so I texted her and-”

“Who is she ?”

“A content creator, anyways so I texted her”

“WHo?”

“Dina can you let me talk?!” she said frustrated and Dina grinned. She went to the kitchen aisle to grab a bottle of water and tossed another one Ellie’s way. She leaned against the counter listening to her friend endless yawping about this new crush. she called her twice a day until Friday, and would recite every move and gesture she planned on using to seduce you. Dina would turn each one down by saying

“You do realize that when you see her you will just shit your pants from excitement and won't say anything right?”

So ellie would hang up and call a few hours later with a new plan that aligned more with how she typically acted.

When Friday came she showered twice and changed outfits over and over again, as a result she was late. She was proud of her fit since the sleeveless turtleneck did a nice job at hugging her slim, well built frame and showed off her toned arms that took years of calisthenics to build and paired with a baggy pair of sweatpants she felt like she had the biggest dick in the city.

But once she parked outside of the studio you mentioned cold sweat ran down her spine and her hands felt clammy and sticky from anxiety.

what the hell am I doing

she questioned and rested her head against the steering wheel. She drummed her fingers on the soft leather and hummed a melody to ease her nerves till she heard light tapping on the window. She lifted her head and looked up and there you were. hair loose, shorts and a baggy graphic T that had a faded graffiti-like artwork of spiderman.

She hated how much she loved the sight in front of her.

she opened her door and slid out trying to gather her stuff in a hurry

“Hi sorry, were you waiting long? I missed the bus and had to wait a bit until the next one came…”

“no no! Its cool I was just, ugh trying to calm down cause I'm nervous”

you smiled and lowered your brows in empathy

“I assumed you would. You don't have experience in dancing right? Or at least you haven’t mentioned it anywhere”

She winced at how obvious her lie was and she didn’t know how to answer to that

I don’t dance but If that’s what it takes to fuck you then sure I can learn how to do a Ronde de Jambe

“ah yeah you got me there, I’ve never danced before”

“That’s cool with me. Just curious on what piqued your interest to start now. New hobby or…?”

“yeah new hobby!” she hurried to answer, glad that you inspired her on what lie to use for the day.

You nodded while checking her out head to toe and before she had time to boost her ego and assume that you did because you found her hot you said-

“Hm. I will need you to wear tighter pants next time so that I can see what you are doing with your legs. But for today it's fine”

and took the keys out of your duffel bag

“Well. Ellie williams. Ready to start?”

“ah yeah just, be gentle…? I've never done anything remotely close to dancing with my body and I might be pretty stiff”

“Don’t worry about it. I've had every type of student and all of them managed to pull a few cool moves in their second month. If there’s a will there’s a way”

she smiled more nervous than before. You were formal and professional leaving little close to no space for her to get flirty and she was at a loss. She should’ve done more research on dancer etiquette so that she wouldn’t have looked like such an uneducated swine but there was no point in getting angry over that now.

“We will start with basic breathing exercises and a warm up just to get you in the swing of things. We will start with body isolations”

Ellie stared at you from the mirror as you showed her the first few basic motions

“Alright so for the warmup just follow my lead”

you grabbed the remote and put on “never ending song” by Conan Grey which had a pretty standard rhythm and was easy to dance along to. Ellie was in awe with the plasticity of your body, every move being a continuation of the previous one all like a rolling tide of emotions complimenting the beat and the beat complimenting you.

On the other end, Ellie was too embarrassed to look at her own reflection

“alright so first to isolate your hips from your chest” you said and let the next song play. You laid your palm flat on her back and pointed a bit below her collarbones holding your fist in the air

“move with me, breathe in” you said and she tried to copy your move watching your chest rise. You shook your head

“no, I need only your chest to move. Relax your shoulders love” you teased with an easy smile and Ellie by now was a mess, from the proximity and from the simple exercise of trying to move your breathing pattern

You were oblivious to it all going from one body part to another occasionally fixing up her posture and tapping the part that she had to focus on, but all hell broke loose in your brain when you laid your hand on her stomach asking her to clench and unclench her core hunching within herself.

“You were so dramatic before, look at you Els. You just needed a little basic guidance “ you encouraged and she smiled and looked at you in excitement, oblivious to the fact that when she turned her head she was a breath away from accidentally kissing you

“ah! I-“

you smirked and pulled away

“I've been rehearsing this one choreo, best way to understand these exercises is through a dance routine. How do you feel about that?”

Ellie agreed and while dancing she kept being thrown off balance at the sharp turns that she had to take which in return slowed her down and she would miss a few steps. You let the music play in the background and let out an awkward chuckle

“Fuck ok this is my fault see I forgot to tell you about spotting”

“Spotting?”

You nodded and you pushed her back by her shoulder freeing up a line for you

“See when we turn, we always have a spot” You said and stepped into the appropriate preparation to do 8 simple turns, your head always snapping the back to the invisible mark you held with your eyes

Ellie pursed her lips. Seemed like such an obvious trick but one that went completely over her head

“Now I see that you struggle to look at yourself in the mirror, Which is fine. I’m sure you'll get used to it eventually, so instead try taking a few turns while holding eye contact with me, yeah ?”

You offered and she took a couple steps back

“Ugh…what were all those moves you made before spinning?”

“Oh don’t worry about that,thats ballet stuff. Just spin. Bent your elbows and hold your arms against your chest if it helps”

Ellie started off slow, picking up the pace as she neared you, eventually losing sight of what was in front of her

“Wow-wow-wowwww I got you” you said and steadied her by her shoulders and held her in place. She looked up at you taking in deep breaths, cheeks flushed and eyes wide open with her lips parted in a soft smile

“That went well, How do you feel?”

You said and you gently rubbed your thumb against the naked skin of her biceps.

“Great, I… I liked this it makes more sense now”

She said filled with excitement

_________________ 𓆩♡𓆪 _________________

Every time Ellie liked your story you felt your heart skip a few beats. You were in the studio for your solo dancing practice and kept bouncing from one leg to the other to keep your muscles warm while you scrolled through your phone to find some inspiration or a pic that you could post and in return give Ellie an opening to respond to. The image of her timidly trying to follow along through your every move, her flushed cheeks and her voice shaking did things to your brain chemistry, re-wiring its entire structure and flow. Every time she posted a story with a smug smile and pants lower than her boxer briefs you just laughed remembering what a shy and soft mess of words the girl was and felt an unhealthy amount of endearment. A spark re-ignited in your dead heart and you liked it. You liked ellie when you didn’t know her, and you liked her even more now that you did.

By now it had been…a good two weeks that consisted of 4 dance practices that you had with her. The first time you saw her up close all you thought was a “huh”

And then a “she is shorter than me-“ which for you was dangerous. You had an incredibly soft spot for masc lesbians who were shorter than you. Unfortunately they were never attracted to you though. You had always attracted the exact opposite of what you wanted and you blamed that on your overly dominant attitude.

On the second day you both had the same idea of treating each other to a coffee and so you ended up with 4 paper cups of iced almond milk lattes which you laughed about for a good 10 minutes

“We are so in sync!” You commented and she nodded excitedly, blushing all the way to her ears.

On the third dance practice you purposely pretended to assist her and correct her to find an excuse to touch her and when you saw how positively she reacted to it you pushed on the advantage that you had, heavily , which made you believe that maybe there really was some kind of ulterior motive as to why Ellie was so set on having you as a dancing coach.

On the fourth day there was a shift in the tide and something was in the waters. Ellie had her hair gathered and decided to wear the sluttiest outfit on earth ( aka a white top and grey sweatpants )

She went to greet you with a hug and you noticed her perfume, subtle but there to make you lust after it. She asked if she could record the Dance you were rehearsing for a post and you felt alright with that. And she excelled. She was a fast learner and her body had a good flow. It did need polishing but she wasn’t half as bad as she claimed to be. The fifth video take was close to perfection and in her excitement she yanked you towards her and wrapped you in a tight hug which you immediately reciprocated eager for the contact with the sex God standing before you. You took in the blended smell of her perfume and her sweat which had you feel insufferable discomfort with how tight your pants were. Something about her raw scent had you horny like a dog and you had to clench your jaw in patience not to act out of instinct and try to get closer than needed.

You both laughed and she yelled in excitement “I fucking did it”

And then your voice followed, a bit quieter “I told you, you could do it” she pulled back her arm still on your waist, her thumb caressing the skin as she watched the video a second time in excitement. You took the chance to stand a bit closer to her while she in sync wrapped her whole arm around you and leaned her head against your chest enjoying the dance and pointing out things that you could do differently next time, all in the comfort of each other’s embrace.

She posted the video and in the daze of the excitement of seeing what you two looked like next to each other you forgot to worry about the fact that you were yet again getting entangled with a public figure. An actually big one. While your previous relationship was just your ex leeching off of you and your success, this one…it had to be different. Ellie had nothing to gain from you and you put your trust in that and in the fact that the two of you seemed to genuinely get along

You decided to text her first

“You impatient fuck. We could’ve filmed a better take tomorrow”

“You are such an ass, let me enjoy my accomplishments”

You started tidying up the studio and decided to leave your bag with your ballet clothes and pointe there since you would come tomorrow for Ellie’s lessons anyways. You chatted back and forth all the way back and you almost tripped on your staircase too busy typing a response. You banged your head against your door though thinking you had unlocked it to find that you didn’t. Ophelia opened it for you

“Girl?”

You looked at each other and you immediately broke into a smile the split your lips

“Ellie posted our video. And she left in the part where she hugged me”

“Oh-hooooo” she exclaimed and rushed you in. She tossed the mop on the side of the wall and nudged you to the couch abandoning whatever housework she was in the middle of to listen to you

“Aaaand we are still talking” You said smiling and Ophelia clapped cheering for you while you swung your way inside the house and fell dramatically on the couch.

“Oh my, I’m so glad the Gods heard our prayers cause I was sure I was about to send you off to priesthood”

“It wasn’t that bad”

You said with an offended gasp and she scoffed

“Honey, one more month and you were about to grow back your virginity. I’m just happy to see you back out there and not just with anyone but with The Ellie fucking williams!” She said getting louder with every word. You joined her cheerful demeanor hopping on the couch and you both started bouncing on it like kids in a playground

“I can’t believe this. I wanna wear something good for our practice tomorrow”

“Shorts and that nice red bodysuit!”

“But-“

“No buts! I know it’s uncomfortable but she will see you and rip it off right away so how much will you really suffer, you know?”

Ophelia coming through with the obvious answer to any and every world known issue was exactly what you needed to finish off your day. Though to be fair, if there was anything you should have listened to regarding -making a move on your crush- that would have to be her. She had a banging record of pulling every single guy she set her eyes on and one night standing them for her own satisfaction. Of course now she had her sights on someone specific but that didn’t change or erase all previously acquired skills in the flirting department. Despite all of that, You ended up rejecting the bodysuit idea because that would be a hassle to actually get off if things would go anywhere and even if they wouldn't, anything that tight during summer was a nightmare in general.

“Hey can I borrow that white top you have?”

“Borrow whatever you want and do whatever you want just never let me know about it”

_________________ 𓆩♡𓆪 _________________

on the day that you fully planned on making a move a couple things went wrong. First and foremost well, It decided to rain down which meant you had to run all the way from the bus stop to the studio in a hopeless attempt to preserve your hair and outfit. It didn’t do much since you ended up like a drenched cat either way but you refused to let your mood falter.

You tried texting Ellie to ask if she could bring coffee for you two.

Few minutes later she came in with two iced coffees, not a drop of rain on her which you were awfully jealous of. Her cropped hair was once again all gathered in a short ponytail and she wore two sports wristbands around her arms which did unimaginable things to you. It was good sight with her sleeveless baggy tshirt. Ellie just knew how to dress plain and attractive.

“Looking good” she teased when she found you furiously trying to dry the ends of your hair with a towel

“Shut up. Please shut up”

“So sensitive” she said and rolled her eyes making her way to you and taking the towel from your hands

“Let me help” it wasn’t so much of a request as it was a demand when she pulled the towel out of your hands and moved behind you, wrapping your hair in it and squeezing it to get most of the water out. You felt your body temperature rise at the awfully tender gesture and unsure of what to do you just fidgeted with your hands looking at the floor

“ I can drive you back to your place if you want”

“No, it's fine. Ill wait it out”

“No no, I insist. Let me drive you back and look cool while doing so”

A soft chuckle escaped your lips as she rounded you up to give you the towel with a small shy smile, her cheeks a shade of pink now.

Practice was good if you were to ignore that Ellie seemed a lot more focused on your assets rather than the moves you were showing. You knew the biker shorts you were gave her a 4K view of your ass but you didn't expect her to be this obvious about it. You stepped back after a moment and just watched as she rehearsed the dance on her own and you were in awe on how much more comfortable she seemed with her body now

“Good. This one was very good. Want me to film you so that you look at yourself?”

you asked and she shook her head satisfied with the progress. You slouched on the ground, legs spread and ankles on your knees wiping the sweat of your brow carefully as not wipe your brow completely off with it and looked at the time

“Well we are pretty much done then for today. Unless there’s anything you wanted to ask me or anything else you wanna try doing?” you asked and Ellie followed your lead walking over to you across the room and crouching down on her knees in front of you

“Oh yeah I did wanna ask something”

“go ahead then” you said dreading having to get up. You didn’t have to though

“Can I take you out on a date ? for coffee perhaps?”

[demons-and-demigods]

Demons and Demigods Part Five: Written Scene #3: Hercules

Alright, so this scene stars more hand-wavey transition bs than proper writing, but it's so short it doesn't warrant its own post. Now, as mentioned in my pinned post, I love me some dark!percy. This is where it begins. Justice for Zoë 😈

They reach the Mare Nostrum, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Pillars of Hercules.

The seven debate who should go talk to him, Jason and Piper insisting it should be them since Jason is a fellow son of Jupiter/Zeus and Piper has her charmspeak.  

Percy says that he and Annabeth will be the ones to go but offers no reasoning as to why it should be them. When Leo asks for said reasoning, Percy just glares him down. Frank and Hazel agree that it should be Percy and Annabeth, and Leo, cowed, does too. Piper decides she really does Not want to deal with this nonsense and doesn’t actually care. So Percy and Annabeth end up going.  

Percy torpedoes him and Annabeth through the water and deposits them on the beach.  

And there he is, the Dickwad, the Douchebag, the Motherfucker himself: Hercules.  

“Who are you?” Hercules demanded, crossing his arms and glaring at them as they stepped out of the water. Percy glared right back.  

“My name is Annabeth. I’m a daughter of Athena. This is my boyfriend, Percy, a son of Poseidon.” Annabeth said, laying her hand on Percy’s arm to keep from flying at Hercules immediately. “We came to request passage to the Mare Nostrum.”  

Hercules snorted and rolled his eyes. Percy bit back a snarl. Annabeth tightened her grip on Percy’s arm. She knew why Percy was so angry; he’d told her about Zoë and what Hercules had done to her, about his time with her on the quest to rescue Artemis. And she was angry too. Part of her wanted to let Percy at him right here and now, part of her wanted to join in. But she also knew that they should at least gain passage to the Mediterranean first before she let Percy unleash himself on Hercules. So she held him back and waited for the right moment.  

“And just why should I let you through, hm?” Hercules said, sounding unbothered. Percy opened his mouth, no doubt with a smartass retort on the tip of his tongue, but Annabeth spoke first.  

“The Earth Mother is waking. Her children, the Giants, congregate in Athens, preparing to raise her on the Feast of Fortuna. It’s unsafe to travel over land, so in order to stop her we must travel by sea. This is the fastest route to where we need to go.” Annabeth explained, even though she was sure that Hercules already knew what was going on, there was no way he couldn’t.

Hercules scoffed and shook his head. “I’m well aware of what Gaea and the Giants are up to. I asked why you think I should let you through. Not why you wanted me to.”  

Alright. Annabeth was going to give him one last chance to do this the easy way. And then no more playing nice.  

“Either you let us through, or we make you.” She let go of Percy and crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow at the cocky son of Zeus. She felt Percy tense beside her and struggled to bite back a smirk.

Hercules just threw his head back and laughed. “I thought Athena’s spawn were supposed to be smart,” he said, leering at them. “Even with the sea brat, you can’t hope to ‘make’ me do anything. Maybe if you ask very, very nicely, I’ll send you two on a quest and consider letting you and your ship pass if you succeed.”  

Annabeth sighed. She thought he’d say something like that. She looked at Percy and he met her gaze with a shark-like grin. Oh, this was going to be good.  

Before Hercules could ask what was going on, Percy was on him.  

It was sad, almost, how Hercules didn’t put up much of a fight.  

Percy took them both to the ground, slamming his fists into Hercules’ not-so-smug face. Hercules threw him off with an angry roar and stood, stumbling, before Percy was on him again. Hercules threw a punch, but Percy ducked under his arm and buried a fist in his sternum.  

Hercules doubled over, gasping, as his breath left him in a whoosh. Percy brought his knee up in a swift jab that broke the god’s nose with a resounding crack. Hercules howled and stumbled back, finally drawing his sword as he glared at the son of Poseidon.  

“You’re going to regret that, you little brat,” he hissed.  

Percy met his eyes with a feral grin as he uncapped Riptide, twirling his blade once, twice, at his side before brandishing it in front of him. Hercules’ eyes widened as recognition dawned. Percy’s grin grew sharper.  

“Recognize it?” he taunted. “I’ll bet you do. I met her, you know. Zoë. I know what you did to her. Just before she died, she gave me her blessing to wield this sword, told me she was honored that I carried it.” Percy let out a low, menacing growl from the back of his throat that made even Annabeth’s hair stand on end. “And now, with this sword, Zoë will fight alongside me as I finally give her the revenge she deserved.” 

Now, Hercules may have been good with a sword back when he was a demigod, but his time as a god had either dulled his skill or revealed that their standards for ‘good with a sword’ used to be very loose.  

Hercules never stood a chance. Really, he hadn’t had much of one when it was just a fist fight, but as soon as he drew his sword, it was over.  

It was clear to Annabeth that Percy was just playing with him, drawing out the fight to appease his own whims. Hercules, however, didn’t seem to realize this. Not that Annabeth could blame him for that, per say; he didn’t know Percy at all, let alone as well as she did. Also, he was never exactly portrayed to be the sharpest sword in the armory. So.  

Still, Annabeth stood back and watched with a fond smile as her boyfriend goaded and tricked one of history’s greatest demigods into thinking he was winning their little fight. Now, she always found Percy attractive, but watching him fight never failed to make her go a little weak in the knees. Every movement was smooth and sure, his sword acting as an extension of him. His attacks graceful as they were deadly. He somehow managed to turn a bloody fight into a dance, each flawless move looked choreographed rather than spur of the moment. It was mesmerizing.  

Percy twisted and turned, weaving in and around Hercules as he lured the god further down the beach, closer to the water. Percy swung his sword in a slow-moving, clumsy arc, easily parried and leaving an obvious opening for Hercules to attack his wide-open right side. Hercules took the bait, a triumphant grin spread across his face as he lunged forward. Annabeth almost laughed as he fell right into Percy’s trap.  

Percy sidestepped Hercules’ rather uncoordinated swing, moving faster than he’d let on he was capable of up to that point, and brought his blade down in a swift, brutal strike.  

Hercules’ sword hit the wet sand with a dull thud, his hand still wrapped around the hilt.  

Hercules roared, dropping to his knees and cradling his weeping wrist to his chest. Golden ichor soaked into the sand and dripped off the edge of Percy’s sword as he brought the tip up under Hercules’ chin. The god glared up at him, lightning crackling just behind his eyes as thunder boomed despite the cloudless sky. Percy’s sharp, feral grin spread unnervingly wide as he leaned in close, meeting the god’s eyes unwaveringly.

“Pray that I never see you again,” Percy whispered, voice as deep and dark as any trench yawning along the ocean floor. The ruthless, savage rage of the storms of the open sea, relentless and unforgiving in their violence, swirled in his eyes. “Gods can’t die, but they can still feel pain.”  

The waves crashed, roaring up the beach to slam against Percy’s back. He stood in the surf, unmoving against the water’s unrelenting force. The silence stretched as the two stared each other down. Annabeth waited patiently, curious as to what Hercules would do next.  

“Now,” Percy said, the smile dropping from his lips. “I’m going to put my sword away, and you are going to let my friends and I pass through into the Mediterranean. Okay?” Percy raised an eyebrow.  

Hercules said nothing, but he dropped his gaze to the sand.  

“Good.” Percy grinned and nodded once, pulling out the pen cap, touching it the tip of his sword, and then returning Riptide to his pocket.  

Annabeth walked over and wrapped her arms around her boyfriend’s waist from behind, resting her chin on his shoulder and kissing his cheek. “I love you, Seaweed Brain,” she said, lips still pressed against his skin. He hummed and leaned into her slightly, bringing a hand up to gently run his fingers through her hair.  

“I love you, too, Wise Girl,” he muttered, and turned his head to capture her lips with his own in a soft kiss.  

“Mm, good,” she hummed, pulling back to smile at him with hooded eyes. “Because you are never getting rid of me.”  

He laughed. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”  

“Now, take us back to the ship, would you?” she asked, nuzzling into the crook of his neck.  

Percy twisted in her hold until they were facing each other, then slipped his arms around her waist as she moved to clasp her hands behind his neck. He smiled, and fell backwards into the water as Annabeth laughed.  

Moments later, a spout of water deposited them safely back on the deck of the Argo II. The others, who’d been lounging around the deck while they waited, all jumped when they appeared. Leo, who’d been in the splash zone, squawked indignantly when he got soaked during their entrance.  

“Oops, sorry,” Percy grinned mischievously, not sounding very sorry at all, and dried Leo off with a flick of his wrist.  

“What happened?” Hazel asked curiously. “Is he going to let us through?”  

“Yeah, it looked like something was going down over there.” Piper hopped down from where she had been sitting on a crate and walked over.  

Percy shrugged. “Eh, nothing to worry about. He didn’t want to let us through at first, but we came to an understanding.”  

Frank whistled. “Nice. How’d you manage that?” he asked.  

Jason squinted suspiciously at them for a moment before his eyes widened almost comically. “Dude, is that—is that ichor?” he asked incredulously and pointed.  

Percy glanced down at his left hand, then stretched out the bottom of his shirt to inspect it before dropping his gaze to his pants leg. “Huh. Yeah.” he said and shrugged again.  

“H-how did you get ichor on you? And why?” Leo asked nervously, taking a step back.  

Once more, Percy just shrugged and waved a hand dismissively. “He's a dick. Broke his nose, that’s how it got on my knee. I also cut off his hand and I guess it splattered. It’s not a big deal, it’ll wash off.” 

“YOU CUT OFF HIS HAND?” Jason screeched, all the color draining from his face and looking about to faint.  

“Whoa, dude, do you need to sit down?” Percy asked, startled, and stepped forward, reaching out to steady Jason as he wobbled.  

Hazel and Piper leaned in to get a closer look at the golden ichor splashed along his sword hand and shirt.  

Frank wheezed like all the breath had been stolen from his lungs. “Percy, why the hell did you cut off his hand?” he said.  

Percy gave him a confused look. “Because he’s a dick,” he said slowly.  

“So you cut off his hand?” Leo cried.  

“I mean, yeah? He deserved it. Honestly, he deserves worse if you ask me,” Percy said nonchalantly, and jumped when Leo let out a shriek and started muttering in rapid-fire Spanish. Jason squeaked and dropped to the deck, burying his face in his hands. Percy shot Annabeth a bewildered look.  

At that, Annabeth finally lost it. She started laughing, which just confused Percy more and made the others look at her like she was crazy. She waved them off, clutching her stomach as she doubled over.  

“Percy,” she gasped as she tried to get herself back under control. “Most demigods aren’t gonna choose to go toe-to-toe with a god just because they were being rude.” She rolled her eyes fondly at his baffled expression. “And they’re definitely not going to chop off their hand! Also, babe, most people think Hercules is like, the golden standard of heroes, the greatest demigod to ever live.” She shook her head as she laughed again. “You’re kinda the weird one here, Perce. I mean, one of your favorite hobbies is mouthing off to random gods, including the entire Olympian council. Shit, you’ve had beef with Ares since we were twelve, Seaweed Brain. That’s not normal demigod behavior.”  

“Hey, the Ares shit is not my fault. He started it! He’s the immortal god of war, why the fuck did he decide to pick a fight with a twelve-year-old?” Percy huffed, crossing his arms. “He started it, and it’s not my fault that I finished it.  If he didn’t want to get his shit rocked by a twiggy pre-teen, he shouldn't have picked a fight with one!”  

Annabeth snorted. “I guess you have a point, but mine still stands. You’re the outlier, Percy. Not many demigods would turn down immortality to instead tell the gods to be better parents.”  

The others’ heads whipped back and forth between Percy and Annabeth like they were watching a tennis match, all with gob smacked expressions on their faces.  

“Okay, I’m pretty sure anyone would have done the same thing in my position,” Percy protested.  

Annabeth shook her head. “History literally says otherwise. Also, back to the point, may I remind you that your thing against Hack-ules is personal? These guys are going off the impression that you and I went over there, Hercules was being a typical arrogant, egotistical god, and you just decided to cut off his hand.” Annabeth raised an eyebrow as Percy’s eyes widened in realization and his mouth formed a little ‘o.’  

He turned to their friends and held his hands out placatingly. “Okay, so I definitely see why you guys were a little freaked out, now, but I promise my actions were justified. Annabeth is right, my beef with Dick-ules comes from some, uh, rather traumatic personal history that I kinda don’t wanna get into right now?” he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly and dropped his eyes to the deck. “If you want to know, just ask Annabeth, I guess. She knows the story. I’m just gonna, uh, yeah.” He gestured vaguely and turned to head below decks, then paused and faced them again. “Oh, and we should be good to sail through the Pillars, now. If we want to get moving,” he said quickly, and spun back around to disappear down the stairs.  

Everyone watched him go then turned to stare at Annabeth with wide eyes. Annabeth laughed and shook her head. “Oh, no. I’m not doing this right now. Right now, I’m going to go kiss my boyfriend stupid because watching him beat the shit out of a god was really fucking hot.” She spun on her heel to follow Percy, waving over her shoulder.  

She bounced down the stairs to the sound of Piper’s uproarious laughter and everyone else’s startled sputtering.  

(She does, in fact, go kiss Percy stupid.) 

[everythingnerdyxoxo]

The Virus - Chapter Six- Chapter Six – 29th January 2020 (X7237) - Fairy Tail Fanfiction

Have also seen that my fanfiction was nominated for the Guild Awards in best drama! I would like to thank anyone who voted for this fanfiction for that! It's given me a real boost for my fanfiction writing! :D <3

Lucy, Happy and Natsu walked side by side down the streets of Clover Town, noticing the lack of tourists. ‘Now remember Natsu, we need to ask the pedestrians here nicely if they know anything about Onibus Town.’ She gave the pink haired man a cautious look as he started sniffing the ground around her.

‘What are you doing?’ Lucy couldn’t help but notice all the attention at the man by her feet as he sniffed at the ground like a dog.

‘I can smell something, something odd in the air. It’s stronger towards those mountains.’ He pointed towards the mountain pass which divided Onibus Town to Clover Town.

‘What does it smell like? Like magic? Do you think you could trace it to the source of the virus?!’ Lucy looked towards the mountain pass, an ominous feeling overcoming her.

‘I don’t know. I can’t tell if it’s a person, magic, or something else, it’s something I haven’t smelt before. Let’s check it out!’ Before Lucy could even speak Natsu had already grabbed her by the hand, running towards through the city houses and out towards the mountains in front, pulling a complaining Lucy behind him.

Juvia and Gray stood outside the mansion of the mayor of Clover Town.

‘Geez, if I knew he lived in such a fancy house, maybe we should have taken up his offer of staying here.’ Gray crossed his arms as he stared up at the home in front of him, gaining, an amused smile from the bluenette in front of him.

Juvia rang the bell, awaiting the response as she twirled the fabric of her sleeves in nervousness. She and Gray spent a lot of time alone together these days, but it still made her nervous. Just being close to the ice mage made her heart race so fast she could hear it beating in her ears.

The door opened, a young woman, presuming to be the staff of the house allowed them inside and directed them to a room to await the mayor.

‘The room was full of books, with a seating arrangement in the middle. Juvia and Gray sat alongside one another on the sofa as they waited. ‘Lucy and Levy would love it here.’ Juvia smiled at the ice mage beside her as she took in the room around her.

‘Yeah, they sure would. Never saw much point in books me. I’d rather be out doing stuff than sat in reading.’ Gray had raised his arms up behind his head, not noticing the lack of top he now did not wear.

Juvia chuckled to herself as she reached down for the top and folded it to put on the armrest beside her. ‘I don’t mind reading, I prefer romance novels myself, sometimes the occasional adventure book.’

‘That doesn’t surprise me, that’s where you get most of your ideas from, I guess?’ he gave a genuine smile to the woman beside him, gaining a reddening blush from her in response.

Before she had much chance to respond the mayor and his wife entered the room with a document in hand.

‘Hello fairy tail mages, a pleasure to see you both once again.’ He gave them a genuine smile, but concern laced his features.

‘Sorry for turning up unannounced, we were just hoping you may know something more about this situation since we last spoke.’ Gray sat with his elbows on his knees, unbothered by the wife’s response to his half-naked form.

The mayor sighed in response, placing the document on the table in front of them. Juvia picked it up reading it aloud to Gray and herself.

‘Due to unforeseen circumstances, we have stopped all travel through the country of Fiore. We continue to investigate the growing virus located in Onibus Town and to protect the majority we must isolate the minority. We are aware of those who may be travelling for jobs and give them 24 hours to return to their place of living. All mainland transportation with cease X7237. We apologise for the disruption to usual services.’

‘This is from the magic council?’ Juvia stared at Gray in disbelief who looked angrily back.

‘What do they mean protect the majority by isolating the minority! Our friends are stuck in Onibus Town! Only 24 hours? That’s not enough time for everyone to drop everything and return! What about their jobs?!’ Gray had stood staring expectantly at the mayor in front of him.

‘We are just as outraged as yourself. We still know so little about this virus, I am set to release this information via lacrima in the next 15 minutes. The people will panic, the train stations will become overwhelmed by this added information.’ The mayor looked pained as his wife took his hand in support.

Juvia stood herself, putting a hand on Gray’s shoulder, hoping to calm him. ‘Gray-Sama, there is nothing the mayor can do about this. We need to contact the others and speak to the guild. If the train station will be closed tomorrow, we may have to travel back tonight.’

Gray looked at her with understanding, nodding apologetically at the couple in front of him. ‘Thank you for showing us this. If we find out anything else, we will let you know.’

The mayor nodded in agreement with the ice mage as he walked towards the exit aside Juvia. ‘I shouldn’t have lost my temper with the man.’

‘Gray-sama, I’m sure the mayor understands, everyone is under a lot of pressure. He seemed very understanding.’ She gave him one of her brilliant smiles as she handed him back his top.

‘You’re right. We should meet up with the others and let them know, though they may hear the lacrima bulletin themselves before them.’

Erza, Carla, and Wendy headed towards the train station, seeing the groups of people huddling around each of the ticket booths, so much confusion between them all.

‘Everyone is panicking. Do you think we should try and help?’ Wendy looked up at Erza expectantly who was assessing the situation. Before she had chance to respond the station speakers clicked into action and a voice spoke with an announcement from the mayor of Clover Town.

‘Citizens of Clover Town. I understand this is a distressing time for everyone but please, everyone please try not to panic. I have been contacted by the Magic Council who are investigating the current situation. Please be rest assured all travel is to continue as normal today and to cease from tomorrow onwards until we know further information. Anyone who is visiting please be rest assured all accommodation will be paid for by Clover Town authorities until we know more about the situation. As I say, please do not panic, I shall notify you all with more information once we have it.’

There was a large click as the announcement stopped and a silence that lasted several minutes before once again the huddles of people surrounding the ticket booths became overcome once more.

‘Erza?’ Wendy looked up at her expectantly once more as she continued to take in the information.

‘Erza! Wendy!’ Gray called out to them as both he and Juvia ran up behind them. ‘Did you hear the announcement? What’s the plan?’

Wendy, Gray, Carla, and Juvia all looked expectantly at Erza who still stared at the ticket booths in front of her with concentration.

‘First of all, we will help these people, direct everyone into lines and aid the station staff. Then we will locate Lucy and Natsu if they have uncovered anything. I’m guessing from the announcement the two of you were unable to get anything from the Mayor?’ They responded with a sideways nod.

‘The Mayor knows nothing more than we do; we saw the letter that the Magic Council sent to them.’ Juvia locked eyes with Erza, seeing the concern in her face before heading towards the booths with the others and directing the pedestrians into single file lines. There was some resistance but with Erza’s dominance they got their way.

Lucy and Natsu lay on their stomachs as they gazed over the hill ledge. In front of them they could see the lights from Onibus Town. They had already managed to evade a section of guards who had erected a barrier between the towns and now they could see ahead of them a mounting military presence.

‘At least we know the council are doing something.’ Lucy gazed worryingly at Natsu, whose face was full of concentration.

‘Happy will be back soon. We’ll head in once he gives us an update. Hopefully he can find Lisanna and Laki.’

Natsu had wanted to jump straight in, rushing through the military presence and burning his way through until finding them, but luckily Lucy’s influence had paid off, convincing him to allow Happy to scout ahead. Her anger at losing so many jewels at their last mission playing heavily into their conversation.

‘Lisanna! Laki!’

Happy flew at great speed, looking down at the almost ghost town beneath him. The town was empty, all houses shut up and markets and shops closed. There was a sense of unease as he flew through the empty streets.

He called out their names repeatedly, noticing the cautious gazes of the people in their windows before noticing a young white-haired woman ahead of him, waving fervently from her window.  

‘Happy!’ Lisanna cried as she noticed him with a smile, but once he got close enough her smile changed to one of concern. ‘Don’t come too close! We don’t know if we are contagious yet!’

‘Contagious? Are you guys alright? Natsu and Lucy are just over the hill! I can bring them to help you!’ Happy floated across from Lisanna in the open window.

‘We’re fine Happy, all we’ve been told is to stay indoors to avoid contamination. It seems to be some kind of cold like illness, but it causes magic depletion. They delivered some leaflets through the door of our B+B. I don’t have any symptoms, Laki has a cough but nothing serious so don’t worry about us! You guys need to get back to Magnolia! Tell Mira that were okay! We don’t want to risk anything spreading.’ Lisanna smiled positively at Happy, tension leaving him as they spoke.

‘But you’ll be stuck here, aren’t they letting you come home?’ Happy wanted to embrace Lisanna, floating stationary, heading her demand.

‘I don’t know Happy, there was talk of transport for us, and other people who have been working jobs here, but there are too many cases here now, you can’t risk catching this Happy, you and the others have to go back, we’ll be fine, the longer you’re here, the more likely Natsu is to do something stupid and catch this as well!’ Lisanna looked seriously at Happy, who nodded in agreement.

‘Do you know anything else about this disease? Is it magic? Where has it come from?’ Happy looked around, the sounds of guards patrolling nearby getting his attention.

‘We don’t know, but maybe Lucy could see if there is anything about magical diseases with Horologium? He may be able to help? Maybe this has happened before, there could be a cure? People are sick, but I don’t think its too serious, not yet anyway. Were fine Happy, so please, leave before you catch something.’ Lisanna smiled again, looking around the streets below for the voices that were coming closer.

‘Okay… I’ll be back with more information when we find out! Keep safe Lisanna.’ Happy and Lisanna, smiled at one another, it felt wrong to leave her, but he flew back towards Natsu and Lucy, avoiding the sight of the patrols below.

 Makarov stood in the great hall of Grand Magic Council. The room was empty, not a guard in sight as he waited for Mest to arrive.

He had gotten through security with difficulty, the place was on near lockdown with the hushed discussions of the virus circulating through Onibus Town.

‘Master Makarov. I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.’ Mest walked in, his council robes draped over his shoulders.

‘Mest. I’m hoping you asked me here to give me an update on the current situation.’ Makarov spoke seriously to the man. He could tell he was anxious, the sweat beading on his brow.

‘I do. It’s not good news.’

[subbe93]

It Has Always Been You, Chapter 5

Shinichi has taken part in the class reunion and is having a good time. Until Sonoko wanted to speak with him and suggested that Shinichi still had feelings for Ran. Which is ridiculous! He had got over her and they are friends now. Right?

A/N: Here we are, the next chapter! I’m so excited about this, and I feel bad for a reason that I can’t tell when I’m ready with the next one x) I’m going to spend my Christmas with my family, and I don’t know if I’m going to spend my New Year in there or if I’m coming home to spend it alone, so there is another reason why I can’t promise anything. Which is sad, because we are so close to an end and my fingers are aching to write.

But I still hope you guys like this one! ❤

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4

Chapter 5: Self-examination

“Shin-chan? Can I come in?”

Shinichi turned to look at his mother, who peeked from the doorway. He almost wanted to question why she bothered to ask if she had already opened the door, but at the same time, he didn’t have time or interest to argue with his mother, so instead he answered: “Sure”, and turned back to look at himself from the mirror. He had dressed in his jeans and white dress shirt and after he was done with his tie, he would add his sweater, just to make sure he would have dressed formally, but at the same time, it would look casual.

Because he had no idea what in the world people dressed in for the class reunion. If guys were the same as always, they probably dressed something casual, but knowing girls, they probably dressed in their best. So this was his compromise: he would look stylish, but also casual. And since Julia had confirmed that, he believed that no one would get a chance to complain. And that someone, he thought about Ran and Sonoko.

And he realised that his mother had stayed silent. And even though it wasn’t the first time that he was in the same room with Yukiko in the silence, this felt somehow different. The atmosphere started to get heavier every second like there was something wrong.

“What do you have in your mind?” Shinichi asked finally, starting to make his tie.

Even when he didn’t look at his mother, he still felt a moment of hesitation. And even if Shinichi claimed to be calm and not let anyone easily get on his nerves, he started to feel uncomfortable. Or maybe more like restless. Part of him wanted to hurry her to talk, but at the same time, he knew that hurrying wasn’t always a good idea.

Then, she finally spoke: “Are you sure about this?”

Shinichi frowned at his reflection but didn’t stop what he was doing or turn to look at her. “About what?” he asked.

“About this class reunion.”

Shinichi frowned only more, and after finishing his tie, he turned to look at his mother. He wasn’t sure what he had waited for, but seeing Yukiko looking worried, almost like she was holding something very fragile in her hands, worried that she would break it, Shinichi knew that he hadn’t waited for that. If someone, Yukiko had been so eager when Shinichi had told about the class reunion, said that he needs to participate in it, want it or not. Well, he knew that probably the biggest reason for her had been the chance to visit Japan after so many years and show it to Julia, but he still couldn’t figure out why she looked troubled now. And only an hour before the class reunion would start.

And besides, since he was here and almost ready, he had no reason not to go. Even though he hadn’t been so eager to make that trip, he was happy that his family had made him. In the end, he had made so many friends in high school and he wanted to see them and know how they were doing. And even if they were planning to go to the nightclub after eating, it didn’t mean Shinichi needed to go too. He would come back to the hotel and enjoy the last evening in Japan with his family.

“Yes”, he answered and turned to take his v-neck sweater that had waited on the bed. “Why wouldn’t I? It’s not like I’m staying there the rest of my life”, he continued and put the sweater over him.

“She is there too, right?”

Shinichi put his head out from the neckline and looked at his mother. “She?” he repeated and put the sweater better on him. “Who is she?” he asked while turning to look at himself from the mirror, starting to correct his shirt.

“Ran-chan.”

Shinichi frowned but continued straightening his shirt. “Yeah, she is”, he answered without hesitation. “If you don’t remember, we were in the same class.”

“Do you think it’s wise to go?”

Shinichi stopped for a moment and glanced through the mirror at his mother. Even though she looked at the wardrobe where he had hung his clothes, looking like she was straightening them or something, Shinichi could still see that she looked worried - almost sad. But why though, that he couldn’t figure out. If she implied that he hadn’t got over Ran and that’s why it wouldn’t be wise to go, then why she hadn’t said anything earlier? It wasn’t the first time he would meet Ran, and it wasn’t a secret that they had met. Like… Wouldn’t it be more “dangerous” to meet her privately in the cafe than in a class reunion, where there are so many other people? Like she even would have time to speak with him alone when there were so many others.

So he turned to look at his reflection again and finished straightening his shirts. “Speak to me clearly”, he said finally and turned to look at his mother. “What do you mean?”

It took for a moment before Yukiko shut the doors of the wardrobe and with a hesitation, turned to look at him. She still looked worried, and whatever she wanted to say, seemed to be hard to say. But he waited.

And finally, she opened her mouth.

“You still love her.”

He couldn’t tell really why, but he felt a crack in his heart. Somehow those words got him, but all he showed was a frown.

“What?”

“You still love her”, his mother repeated. “And I believe she still loves you…”

Shinichi let out a laugh. A dry laugh, because this certainly was the stupidest thing that he had heard for a while. “She doesn’t”, he said and put his hands in his pockets. “And besides, I love Julia. We are engaged…”

“But it doesn’t change how you feel.”

It made Shinichi turn serious. “And how can you tell how I feel and for whom?” he asked annoyed. “Do you think I proposed to Julia just for fun?”

“No”, her mother answered. “But I don’t think you let go of Ran-chan.”

“I did.”

“I think you just moved it aside”, Yukiko said. “Just tried to bury it under the study and work… Tried to forget, but not really dealt with it.”

Shinichi rolled his eyes and turned back to the mirror. “People have different ways to get over things. And it was mine”, he answered, yet he glanced at his mother through the mirror. “Or would you have liked that I would have locked into my room alone?”

“No, of course not”, Yukiko said. “But even though it was good that you had something to do, I’m not sure if you really dealt with that breakup and your feelings.”

“Well, I didn’t shut up about them either”, Shinichi said and looked at himself. “Besides, I have met Ran three times now and everything is fine. If I hadn’t, it would have probably showed up somehow, and…”

“It’s the way you looked at her.”

Shinichi shut his mouth and moved his eyes back to Yukiko through the mirror. She looked more uneasy than a moment ago. “I looked at her the same way I look at anyone”, he answered.

Yukiko shook her head. “I’m not sure if you are aware, but you can see how other looks at someone. And believe me when I say, you looked at her a way differently than you look at Julia.”

Shinichi took a deep breath and looked at himself. “Mom…”

“And she looked at you with so much love…”

“Mom”, Shinichi interrupted and turned to look at her straight. “We are childhood friends, remember? We dated sometime, right? We have gone through so much together. Even though we broke up, it doesn’t mean we stop care of each other, right?”

Yukiko didn’t seem to be convinced by that.

“We talked about it, and we are fine”, Shinichi said. “And maybe you just overlooked it, okay?” He glanced at the door because he knew that Julia was in the other room. “Besides, I haven’t met Ran secretly. Julia knows, and she was fine with it. And I believe if there would have been something, as you said it, ‘a way I’m looking at her’, Julia would have probably noticed it too and said something.”

Even though Yukiko didn’t say anything, Shinichi could tell she wasn’t convinced. She still looked troubled.

“Come on, Mom”, he continued, hoping to assure her. “We are just friends. From all the people, I believe you know that me and Ran have known each other from the beginning, and from all the people, you also know what we have gone through together. And I believe that you know too that something like that, you can’t just take away and pretend that nothing happened.” He showed her a smile. “So believe me when I say: Even though I care about her as a friend, I’m over her. Okay?”

Yukiko closed her eyes and let out a sigh. “I know, I know”, his mother said gently before looking at him again and smiling. “I’m just worried about you, Shin-chan.”

Don’t be, he had just said to his mother. And that had been the sentence that had stopped the whole conversation.

But even though that conversation had been done and over, he still felt frustrated, because that stupid Sonoko had brought that same thing up. Even though he had tried to move it aside, even though he tried to forget it and concentrate on the others, it always popped back into his mind, bothering him in all possible ways.

Like… why?! What did they mean? No, what they were thinking while deciding to bring that up? Did they even know what they were talking about?

“Shinichi? Is everything okay?”

Shinichi turned to look at Ran who had just sat beside him with two drinks. When he met her eyes, he almost wanted to burst it all out, because why not? He wanted to tell her how everyone still seemed to think that he and she were still in love with each other. He wanted to tell her how much he hated that his mother and Sonoko were snooping on his life and if that wasn’t enough, he had let his classmates drag him to that stupid nightclub where he didn’t even want to go! He hated the loud music and how everyone around him was shouting and laughing in a race. So much noise!

Well, he really couldn’t blame only his classmates. He had tried to be reasonable and told them that he needed to go, but then those orchid-colored eyes had popped in front of him and asked sadly if he was leaving already.

And he hated to admit it, but he still couldn’t say no to her. It had been five years and he still was like that! How did he say no to Julia? He was pretty sure that he had said no to her more than one time, but he had no idea how Ran did it! Somehow those so-called puppy eyes always got him and always made him agree.

But he decided not to say anything. Even though he knew that he could talk to Ran about everything, he didn’t want to use this night for it. Besides he was pretty sure that others would interrupt them sooner or later, and he felt a little bit uncomfortable with the thought that others would be listening to their conversation. And last but not least, there was Sonoko: As soon as she sat up on the table, she would catch sooner or later something about their conversation, and Shinichi knew that she wouldn’t be too shy to take part in it.

Like he needed that anyway.

“Everything is fine”, he answered and glanced around. “Enjoying the best time of my life and all…”

Ran let out a laugh. “I’m sorry, I know you don’t like these kind of places, but… I’m still grateful that you came.”

Shinichi didn’t answer. Instead, he looked at the table and those two drinks in front of her. “Are you that hurry to get yourself drunk that you bought two drinks at once?” he asked.

Ran shook her head. “No”, she answered with a smile. “Just because you came, I decided to offer you a beer.” She pushed the other glass closer to him and smiled when he met her eyes. “And before you say anything, I know you don’t care much about alcohol, but take even one.”

Shinichi rolled his eyes but took it. “Thanks”, he said and showed her a smile anyway. He had never been into alcohol. He hadn’t been interested, but another reason had been that he had seen how much worry Ran’s father had made for Ran because of drinking, so he had thought that he wouldn’t do that. And then he had found out in university years that Ran herself was very much into alcohol, which had pretty often ended up with him looking after her.

He hadn’t minded it though.

Finally, everyone got their drinks and they toasted. Shinichi grimaced a little bit while tasting the beer, but forgot it as soon as others started to laugh and talk about everything else. It seemed that someone had also ordered some snacks which made others move again and go to order themselves too.

But even though they got back to the conversation all around the tables, Shinichi found it hard to relax anymore. Even though he tried to get into a conversation that was going on on his left side, it seemed so hard to concentrate on it. He wanted to blame the loud music and all, but the truth was that it was Sonoko who was to blame. Even though it had been some time since that conversation with her, Shinichi just couldn’t get it out of his mind.

And time to time he just listened to what Ran was talking about with others on his right side. He stoled glimpses of her, trying to see even for one mark that she would still love him, even a little hint that she would be bothered about his fiancee or something else, but instead, she looked genuinely happy. Like there was nothing that bothered her.

Shinichi had a hard time believing anything that his mother or Sonoko had said. Even when he tried, he didn’t see anything in Ran’s behavior that would tell that she still loved him. She had got over him, period.

And the same goes with him. He really couldn’t understand why his mother had implied that he hadn’t dealt with his breakup with Ran. He had. God how much he had fought with all his feelings back then. Yeah, he had kept himself busy later, but like he hadn’t given any thought to his broken heart. Like he hadn’t talked about it with some of his new friends that he had made. Like he would have started to date Julia if he hadn’t meant it.

And yet, again, those thoughts made him only more frustrated. Those things didn’t matter anymore. So why he just couldn’t move them aside and forget? Why he was so stuck with those thoughts? His mother and Sonoko had been wrong, imagining the whole thing.

And he started to feel tired of this. The whole thing. While glancing at his old classmates who seemed to have so much fun together, Shinichi started to be sure that for his part, the evening was over. He had seen and heard how others were doing, they had seen him, and they could have fun without him. And if there would be something, they could always be in touch and ask. He didn’t believe that they were missing him too long after he was gone.

Yeah. That sounded like a plan. Even though the thought made him a little bit sad, it was something he wanted to do right now. Go back to the hotel.

“Shinichi?”

And at that same moment, he felt how someone wrapped their arms around his, squeezing it tightly. And he knew only one person who would do that. So he turned and saw how Ran leaned on him, smiling sweetly, those orchid-colored eyes glimmering while looking at him sweetly, innocently. And a little bit drunk. Oh, how many times he had seen her looking at him like this?

And even after these years, she still looked beautiful.

“Come dance with me, please?”

And that question was something that kind of dropped him back to reality.

“You know, Ran, even if it had been five years, there are still things that haven’t changed”, he said and smiled. “And one of them is that I don’t dance.” Then he looked towards the dancefloor where some people were already dancing - or at least it was something like that. “Well, not dances like that”, he corrected. There had been times that he had tried for Ran’s sake, but he had embarrassed himself. He had learned his lessons.

“Oh, come ooon, Shinichi”, Ran pleaded, just tightening her grip around his arm, almost making him swear. God, he had forgotten how thigh her grips could be. “Come on, I wanna dance! And I don’t know anyone else who would like to dance with me.”

He wanted to argue about that because the truth was that nightclubs were places where you could dance even alone. You didn’t need a partner to go there and swing around with random people. But another fact was, he didn’t feel good to let Ran go alone. There were all kinds of people and he didn’t like the idea that Ran would dance alone with random people - especially when she was drunk. But when he glanced at their tables, his old classmates, he realised that men weren’t the option. They just laughed and were drunk enough that he was pretty sure that they wouldn’t remember to look after Ran. Besides, he was also sure that none of them were worth Ran’s attention, not like that.

Sonoko and other women were always better options and those that Shinichi would trust. But when he glanced at them, they seemed to be in their conversation. But they would probably agree, right? Everyone loved Ran, and since he was sure that most of the women liked to dance, they would go in the group.

“You should ask other girls”, he said finally and turned to look at Ran. “They would probably like to join you.”

“They had an important conversation”, Ran answered. “I don’t want to disturb them.”

Shinichi smiled. “Well, I believe that it isn’t that important that they couldn’t continue it later.”

Then Ran turned her head down and leaned it against his shoulder.

“You leave tomorrow.”

He wasn’t sure if he was meant to hear it. In the end, she hadn’t said it too loud, but even over that loud music and others speaking, he had heard those words.

It was true. Tomorrow he would leave Japan again, going back to America. And even though he had waited for that, he felt somehow sad. Knowing that he had caught up with Ran and cleared the air between them, it felt sad to leave her behind, out of his life again. Of course, they could always call or send messages, and visits weren’t out of the question. They wouldn’t be cheap, but it didn’t mean that they would meet never again. But somehow he realised that after these five years, after knowing that everything between them was fine, he missed having her in his everyday life. They had been childhood friends, best friends, who had spent time together and talked about everything or just been together without words. He wanted back those times when Ran had just come behind his door, he missed those times when she had just ragged him somewhere with her. He wanted to tease her again, argue over some stupid things, and sometimes get angry with her, because she had been just wrong but couldn’t admit it, or because she had made him worried, done something reckless. He just… He…

Even though he had Julia and loved her, with Ran things just were different. And even though he went places with Julia and talked with her, it didn’t feel the same. He didn’t say that he didn’t enjoy his time with Julia, he did, but there were things that he had with Ran. Things had been always so easy and relaxed between them, but at the same time, both of their natures had spiced it.

He missed her. He already did. Part of him just wanted to take her to America so he could still spend time with her, introduce her to everyone, and she and Julia would get to know each other better, and she could take part in their wedding plans and wedding… But the truth was that her life was in Tokyo, and even if he would like to have her in his life, it didn’t mean that she would like the idea. Ran’s parents and most of her friends would still live in Tokyo. She would miss them.

Well, that's how life was. Sometimes you have to leave behind something to gain something else. And like said, it wasn’t like he wouldn’t hear about Ran ever again. If they just would invest in it, they would be in touch.

Of course, it wouldn’t be the same as meeting face to face.

“Ugh, fine”, Shinichi let out finally and already regretted it, but at least Ran straightened herself and looked at him with that big smile. “Fine”, he repeated. “One dance, okay?”

“Two, please?” Ran asked innocently. “Because this song has already started.”

Shinichi rolled his eyes. “Fine”, he promised. Ran let out a shriek and grabbed his hand while standing up and started to lead their way on the dancefloor as soon as Shinichi got himself up. It was a little bit of adventure to get to the dancefloor since there were so many people along the way, but after some zigzagging and some apologizing, they got there. Only then Ran let go of his hand, turning to him and starting to dance to the rhythm of the music. Shinichi just stood there and looked around, still a little bit against this. Everyone else seemed to have fun while dancing, but Shinichi couldn’t get himself to move.

Really, this was stupid.

“Come on, Shinichi, that’s not dancing”, he heard Ran giggling. Shinichi turned to look at her.

“Isn’t it enough that you dance?” Shinichi asked. Even though part of him knew that he should just start to move, part of him was against it. He knew exactly how this was going: As soon as he would start to move, Ran would start to laugh. He had seen this scene to play too many times.

“No”, Ran answered, still dancing. “I want you to dance with me.”

Shinichi shook his head and wondered how in the world he had again given Ran what she wanted. Why he hadn’t just taken her outside and told her that they could go somewhere to talk instead of dancing? “You have seen me dancing too many times already”, he answered. “And you know exactly how this is going to end.”

He observed how she looked at him for a moment. Then she came closer and before he knew it, she took his and and put another one on his shoulder.

“I remember”, she said gently. “But I still want to dance with you.”

Shinichi let out a sigh. This music wasn’t anything that he would use in ballroom dances which he was good at. He knew that Ran was doing this only to make him dance too, but all he could think was how foolish it would look…

“I promise, I won’t laugh.”

Shinichi rolled his eyes and Ran laughed.

“Fine”, he hissed finally. “Fine.”

He put his hand on Ran’s lower back. Ran started to swing again, and even though Shinichi still wanted to hesitate, he couldn’t do anything else than follow her movements.

He felt stupid, he really did. He felt so uncomfortable. He regretted it and all he hoped was that those two songs would be already over so he could go back to the hotel.

But then he started to forget his bad mood. Somehow Ran’s movements started to be his, and when he looked at how happy Ran looked in his arms, looking at him, Shinichi started to feel a little bit relaxed. Somehow that happy face made everything feel worth it - even though he would embarrass himself. But even if he did, tomorrow he would fly back to America, and if someone made fun of him, he wouldn’t know about it.

Besides, Ran had seen the worst of him. If she would be ashamed of him, she wouldn’t have asked him to dance.

So he started to take the lead - at least with those dance skills that he had. Those two songs came and were over, but Shinichi wasn’t counting them anymore. He just smiled even though Ran was laughing - probably for him, but somehow he couldn’t mind. At least they looked both stupid and… well, it was worth it to get that laugh. And finally, he started to laugh with her.

Even though he had remembered those good times in their relationship too, he had to admit that somehow the time after the Black Organisation and before their breakup had made him forget how perfect everything had felt with Ran.

Even though he had remembered how her touch had felt, he hadn’t remembered it feeling so gently, so smooth against his skin. Even though he had remembered how their hands had fit together, how their bodies had been like a pieces of puzzle which fit perfectly together, he had forgotten how right and relaxed it had felt to feel her close to him. Even though he had remembered how their movements had always seemed to be synchronized to each other, somehow he had forgotten how smoothly they seemed to work together, how easily they read each other and did just as the other one hoped for - without words.

And even though he had remembered how beautiful her smile had been, somehow, it felt like it was only more beautiful when he looked at it now, and even though he had remembered once falling in love with that smile, seeing it now, made his heart race like mad. He wondered, while looking at that smile if those red lips were still as soft as back then.

And when he looked back to those orchid-colored eyes, he remembered all the emotions they had held and shown during those years. He had observed and learned them all, but somehow he hadn’t remembered how bright and exquisite they were. Those beautiful, glimmering eyes which mood changed into something else. To one of those moods that Shinichi had found and hoped to be only shown to him. She didn’t break that eye contact, not even though her smile melted away, not even when she came closer, reaching him… 

And he knew exactly what she wanted. He knew exactly what those eyes meant, what those movements meant. And without thinking, he slowly went closer to her, closing his eyes, ready to feel her lips…

Chapter 6

[dzhmileka]

i agree but y’all remember when lin enters the room she's surprised to see su there.

also there's my little head-canon that she often used to talk to su's teachers about her absenteeisms instead of toph bc the last one had no time for that. lin literally had to become a mother figure to su and what did she get for that? bitter lonely woman who only cares about herself and "no wonder tenzin broke up with you" that was really cruel even not counting that she jumped on the two large airships just for the chance for his family to be safe.

now about linzin: we got used to think that they broke up because lin didn't want kids. but what if she simply doesn't able? i mean she has a lot of stress at work or may had some trauma in childhood. also what if she became barren while protecting little korra with tenzin. this actually has sense, just think about it:

- korra is 17 and jinora is 12 in book 1, so lin and tenzin broke up when korra was about 3-5 years old.

- their relationships got a little worse after aang’s death: crime increased in the city, they had lots of stress at works, they start seeing each other much more rarely and at that times they were too tired but still supported and help each other (like old times).

- knowing her temper lin'd probably go with the person she loved the most to help and protect him at the mission + uncle sokka.

- it's unlikely that tenzin would leave her right after the incident, they prolly have been dating a couple months or years since that.

- it really explains why they hardly spoke all those years: he gave her fake hope he wouldn't leave her, then ran to the some "i want to be the mother of an air nation" girl.

- tenzin felt guilty about lin at the same time split between his wishes and duties.

- pema could remind him younger version of lin (both have dark hair with bang and bright green eyes) / tenzin try to make pema his home lin only favorites can see => in both ways he tried to create at least an illusion about the days of happiness when aang was alive and there for him and he and lin were young dumb and happy.

- seeing how tenzin treats pema in book 1 episode 1 only directs me to the thoughts about his trauma. he really often had to see lin was hurt bc of her job, family and (if she was there with him protecting korra) red lotus

in that way scene where korra calls lin a bitter lonely women gets so much worse bc she literally started act (not became) like that by protecting her.

this woman is so amazing and gorgeous and deserves so much better

[a-mimsy-borogove]

Crossroads: Part 1

This is the first part of my story about Humanity fighting off the Biblical apocalypse! I'm expecting it to have between 3–5 parts, but I hope to do more with this setting. This is also my first writing project, so please let me know what you think! I'm happy to hear feedback.

Also, TW: Religion, end-times; this deals a Lot with both of those, even if the goal is to overthrow them.

***

“Six of the Bowls have been poured, Lucifer’s army is massing, and our team estimates we barely have a week until the Second Coming. Everyone, we are running out of time.”

At the Coalition for the Preservation of Humanity’s conference table, Dr. Alex McKenzie, the lead Applied Theology researcher, presented their team’s findings. 

“Our efforts at defying prophecy have been growing more strained. While the supernatural disasters have been occurring as Revelation predicted, during the early years the population at large seemed to be resistant to prophetic inertia—the Red Horse’s effect was largely nullified due to the people’s general reluctance to fight each other in the face of a greater enemy. Since the Bowl Judgements began, though, that desire is being twisted. The Antichrist’s claims of waging open warfare on Yahweh have been drawing people to his cause—a cause all evidence suggests is futile. If Revelation is to be believed, which we have little reason to doubt by now, Yahweh is going to annihilate everyone who joins him—a death toll that will dwarf every war we’ve ever fought. 

“You know all of this. But the open question is why. We had initially assumed the Antichrist simply seized the opportunity, jumping on the people’s desires for revenge for his own ends. But we’ve found that might not be the only factor. Our research suggests Yahweh is taking a more direct role, in the face of His plan being derailed, influencing the people to join the opposing force.”

There was a general sound of assent throughout the room. Everyone there had been briefed on basic theological knowledge, and the story of Pharaoh rang in their minds.

”Perhaps the more important question, however, has been how is our group still in existence, rather than having been smote by providence. We believe we have found out why.”

Another murmur went through the assembly. Humanity was strapped for advantages, and knowing what was keeping them alive seemed as good of one as any.

“We theorize that Yahweh is bound by prophecy as much as He makes it. Yahweh hasn’t struck us with lightning because He never said He would.”

That got a reaction from everyone in attendance, with the crowd erupting into gasps and shouts.  

“Never said He would?!” One member spluttered, “Half of the Book is Him declaring the fate of his enemies!”

“Not quite,” McKenzie replied. “Yahweh talks at length about the fate of the followers of the Antichrist and Lucifer, but it’s always been that simple Us vs. Them dichotomy. He never accounted for a third party stepping in, and that keeps us from being obliterated or turned to the Antichrist’s side.”

Another member spoke up, “That’s all well and good to keep us alive, but how does this help us win?”

“What happens when you give a computer input it doesn’t expect?”

“It crashes,” he said automatically, before the realization hit him. “You’re saying… we’re going to BRICK Yahweh?

“Exactly. Yahweh isn’t like a simple computer program—He exhibits too much agency for that. Rather, think of Him as the most advanced AI in the universe—He can rewrite His own “programming,” which in this case is prophecy, but He’s still bound by it until He does. So we’re not going to give Him a chance to do so.”

“Why will this work? We’ve been trying to throw off prophecy for the last 7 years, and everything is still happening more or less on schedule.”

“Because this time, we’re not allowing for an interpretation of our actions as fulfilling the prophecies. We’re going to do something that disrupts the script completely and irreparably, and that will give us the opening we need.”

At that, McKenzie finally grinned. 

“We’re going to kill the devil.”