#and YES to ME daisies are FLOWERS and not WEEDS

[la-cocotte-de-paris]

i still can't get over the photo with Edwige holding those daisies AAAAAGHH

[drunk-person]

Weeds

Pairing: Aemond Targaryen x reader

Summary: Aemond approaches Rhaenyra's daughter in childhood, always bringing her small daisies that are not flowers, but simple weeds.

WARNING: No age restriction. Mentions of blood, previous injuries and medieval medical procedures. Other than that, just cuteness and sweetness. No reader discretion!

Word cont: 7.500 k

Author's note: This story was the result of a request sent by an anon, it was the first time I received a request and it made me very happy because usually when I make a request to a specific author it is because I like how that person tells the stories from their own point of view, so… thank you. It is not 100% focused only on what is in the request, since I have already read several stories with this same theme, so I decided to adapt and tell it in my own way. I hope you like it! 🥰💕

Ps: Y/n can be the daughter of either Harwin, Laenor or Daemon, you choose!

The day dawned sunny and warm in Kings Landing, bringing many of the nobles out into the courtyards and gardens of the red keep. While the adults whispered gossip and negotiated positions and power, the children simply played and laughed around the Keep.

-I don't know why you like these silly flowers so much. - Jace rolled his eyes as he watched his younger sister braid the freshly picked bouquet of daisies into a flower crown. - They're not even real flowers! I heard the septa say to a girl that they are weeds!

-I like them. - Y/n sighed in a soft voice, shrugging her shoulders without stopping to braid the flowers. - They're delicate and make beautiful crowns!

Jace rolled his eyes and pulled the flower crown from his sister's hands and lifted it slightly in the air so that the younger one couldn't reach it.

-Jace! - The girl scolded, getting up from the floor and brushing the dust off the blue dress she was wearing for the day. - Give it back to me or I'll tell Mom!

-Leave her alone! - Before Jace could answer, Aemond's shy but firm voice sounded through the courtyard, making Y/n smile and go to meet him, forgetting about the flower crown stolen by Jace almost instantly.

-Hi Aemond! - She smiled, tilting her head to the side in a sweet way, making Jace roll his eyes even more deeply.

-I want to see if you have so much courage when training with dragons… - The brunette spoke provocatively and then started laughing. - Oh, I forgot… you don't even have a dragon.

-If you continue to be mean, I'll tell Muña what you and Aegon did yesterday! - The youngest screamed when she saw Aemond's embarrassment, and Jace's eyes widened and he ran away right away, leaving her alone with the older one.

-What did he and Aegon do yesterday? - Aemond asked curiously and the youngest shrugged her shoulders with a confused look.

-I don't know, but Jace probably wouldn't want our mother to know.

Aemond couldn't help but chuckle at the girl's answer, but the smile slowly faded when he saw the sad look on her face when she saw her bouquet of daisies crumpled on the floor.

-Jace ruined them. - She sighed in a sad voice as she played with the crumpled petals on the floor.

-Don't be sad. - The oldest sat next to her. - I'll get some more for you.

-But you said they only grew in the south of forest! - She sighed even more sadly. - You can't go there alone and there won't be another hunt for another 2 moons!

-I'll find a way to get them for you. - Aemond shrugged as he subtly brushed his fingers against hers, who didn't really believe him, but was happy that he cared so much.

-Aem? - Her sweet voice called him moments later as she looked at the sunny blue sky, full of white clouds.

-Yes? - He looked at her curiously when he heard the nickname coming from her lips.

-Don't pay attention to what my brother says. - She muttered, looking at him. - He can be very silly sometimes.

-Something that our brothers apparently have in common. - He rolled his eyes, making the youngest laugh.

-If Aegon and Jace are mean to you again, I'll tell Hūraxes to set them on fire. - The little girl hissed decisively and the older boy gave a small smile.

-I don't know why, but I don't think our mothers would be happy with that. - Aemond rolled his eyes, lowering his gaze, making Y/n smile too.

The next day, the sun had barely risen and Aemond was already chasing Sir Cole through the courtyard, vehemently insisting that he needed to go to the kings wood.

-I just don't understand what you want to do there, my prince. - The knight looked at him confused. - We were there about two days ago.

-I just want to go, Criston. - Aemond rolled his eyes, poorly raised. - And if you don't go with me, I'll find a way to escape and go there alone.

And overcome by tiredness and fearful that the young prince known for his stubbornness would actually keep his promise, Criston reluctantly led him to the forest.

The morning passed quickly at Red Kepp with the adults immersed in their daily activities while the children just attended their daily classes and played among themselves.

Y/n was laughing amusedly as she watched a rabbit that had entered one of the Kepp gardens, it was very white, fluffy and skittish making her laugh as she tried to imitate it. She had been looking for Aemond all morning, but without success in finding him and only now had she found something fun to do alone.

Until, amidst the soft rustling of the leaves, Aemond's voice rang out through the garden, calling her name softly.

-Aem! - She ran to him excitedly. - Look! A bunny!

But Aemond didn't seem very excited about the fluffy animal, he just waved and continued to look at her, looking a little embarrassed.

-Is everything okay? - She tilted her head to the side. - Was Jace bad again?

-No, it's nothing like that. - He sighed after gathering courage. - I just brought you a gift.

And taking his hands from behind his back, he handed the youngest a beautiful bouquet of fragrant, freshly picked daisies, still with a few drops of morning dew on them.

Y/n's eyes widened and became full of brightness at the same time, a smile lit up her childish face as she extended her hands expectantly to the eldest, who smiled at her reaction.

-How did you get them? - She sighed, smelling the flowers with a whiff of air as she looked at Aemond through the bouquet.

-I asked Sir Criston to take me to the forest and I picked them for you. - He shrugged, lowering his gaze a little blushing, and Y/n smiled even more, tilting her head to the side, admiring him.

-They're beautiful, Aem. - Y/n hugged him, being careful not to crush the beautiful daisies. - The most beautiful bouquet I've ever received!

-Have you received many bouquets? - He raised his eyebrow a little laughingly, and Y/n gently pushed his shoulder.

-Don't be silly, Aem.

The rest of the day Princess Y/n spent weaving beautiful flower crowns for herself using the flowers from the bouquet, except for a few that she separated and kept inside her favorite book, just as she had seen her mother do a few times.

And when Rhaenyra smiled and asked who had given her the flowers with her eyebrows raised in confusion, the little girl simply replied that it had been a secret admirer, making her mother roll her eyes with a smile as she kissed her forehead and stroked her hair.

Time passed more and more, and as friendship and love blossomed between Y/n and Aemond, enmity and hatred grew between him and her brothers. Everything reached its peak on the night of Laena Velaryon's wake, when Aemond reclaimed Vhagar and Luke in return gouged out his eye.

Y/n hadn't seen the commotion, she was a little scared after the wake and hearing Rhaena and Baela crying made her almost cry too, and for a moment she thought about how she would feel if she herself lost her mother. With that thought Y/n left the room she shared with her brothers and cousins ​​and ran to her mother's room, lying down alone among the covers waiting for her to return, sleeping in the middle of the wait.

The girl was woken up in the middle of the night by shrill screams and raised voices breaking through the Driftmark fortress. And even fearful she left her mother's room and walked to the main hall following the sound of the voices. The Vision that greeted her was one of the most terrible she had ever witnessed in her life.

Aemond sat rigid in a chair, biting his lower lip tightly without making a sound, while the maester stitched up a furious red wound where his beautiful eye had once been.

At the same moment, tears ran down Y/n's face. Unable to make a sound, she ran to the foot of the chair, throwing herself on her knees and taking Aemond's hands in hers as she cried and sobbed. She didn't even notice her mother and brothers standing further away.

-A-Aemond. - She finally sobbed the name of the eldest after a few moments. - What happened?

Aemond didn't say anything, he just lowered his head, feeling the weight of everyone's gaze in the room on them both and barely able to open his lips for fear of succumbing to the pain and screaming if he did, even though he had already drunk a certain amount of poppy milk.

-What happened? - Alicent shouted, drawing everyone's eyes back to her. - I already said what happened! My son was attacked in an ambush and had his eye gouged out by Lucerys Velaryon!

Y/n shook her head in internal denial, still firmly pressing Aemond's hands in hers, barely noticing the blood that had not yet completely dried on his hands, staining hers. Finally noticing Luke's broken nose and crimson-red stained face, while Jace hovered protectively in front of him.

She didn't know what to think at that moment, and suddenly felt like a loud ringing was in her ears, and she just held her breath when her mother and the queen faced each other in the middle of the room with a dagger between them. The fear from earlier took over the girl's heart again at the same moment when she saw the blood running down her mother's wounded arm, and before things got any worse, Aemond stood up, assuming a very firm and straight posture.

-Don't cry for me, mother. - He spoke in a firm voice and without wavering even once. - I might have lost an eye, but I gained a dragon.

The youngest looked at him confused, not understanding what he meant by that. And when Alicent dragged Aemond back to his room, Y/n tried to follow him, but was stopped by her mother's soft touch on her shoulder, who looked at her with a stern look while shaking her head negatively.

-Why did you do this to him! - Y/n shouted, walking hard towards Luke, her eyes burning with fury as the others left the main hall.

-It wasn't his fault! - Jace shouted back, interposing himself between his younger brothers. - Luke was just defending himself against your dear friend Aemond!

-Lie! - She shouted at Jace while the two were fighting, not listening to Rhaenyra who ordered the two to stop arguing immediately.

-He stole Vhagar, beat Rhaena, broke Luke's nose and then tried to hit me with a stone! - Jace enumerated furiously, staring at the youngest. - All this while calling us bastards…

-Jace! - Rhaenyra practically shouted, reprimanding him firmly for using such a word.

Y/n just stood still for a moment, her eyes wide as she heard that while she slowly shook her head.

-You're lying. Aemond wouldn't do that. - She practically whispered, not her dear Aemond who hugged her and picked wild daisies just to make her happy, he would never do something like that without reason. - I don't believe you.

-But it's the truth! - Jace hissed between his teeth.

-What did you do to him? - Y/n shouted, livid with fury once again, glaring at her brother while ignoring her mother's reprimands. - He wouldn't attack you without reason!

-But he did! - Now it was Rhaena who shouted. - He stole my mother's dragon that was supposed to be mine and then attacked us.

-If you wanted Vhagar so much, you should have gone to her before someone else did! - Y/n spat back, facing the girl.

-Don't talk to her like that because of him! - Jace snapped back, now in front of Rhaena.

And before the argument could continue any longer, Rhaenyra reprimanded them both firmly, this time, leaving no room for questioning. And fearing that the argument would prevail, she took Y/n with her to her own room, taking her away from her brothers and cousins.

Hours later, when the day dawned looking more gray than anything else, Y/n waited until her mother was busy enough with the preparations for the trip and slipped into the room where she knew Aemond was. She was staring at the door in the distance at the end of the hallway, when suddenly it opened and Alicent left the room.

Taking a deep breath to gather courage, Y/n walked quickly over there, closing the door carefully behind her.

-I just want to be alone, mother… - Aemond's voice died when he noticed Y/n there, and as if she hadn't seen the injury the night before, he tried to hide it, turning his face to the side quickly while holding his breath.

-Aem. - She approached the bed slowly.

-Don't look at me. - He hid even more. - I'm completely deformed.

-T-There's nothing wrong with you. - She murmured, extending her hand slowly, fearing that he would move away once again and when he didn't, she slowly stroked his hair with her fingertips.

-I'm leaving for Dragonstone. - She sniffed, looking at his back and seeing him tense up at the same instant. - I just wanted to let you know that I don't believe anything they said about you. And that I'm happy for you to reclaim Vhagar.

As if those words had a calming effect on him, the older boy back relaxed slightly.

-Thank you. - He practically murmured, still feeling her soft touch on his hair.

And interrupting the moment, Y/n heard her mother's voice calling her from a distance, her eyes widening immediately afterwards.

-I have to go. - She sighed, slowly removing her hand. - Aemond?

-Yes?

-Can I see your face before I leave? - She whispered and he didn't move a muscle. - Please. I don't know when I'll be able to see you again.

Taking a deep breath, Aemond decided to end it and break his own heart once and for all when he saw the repulsion he knew would be in her eyes when she saw his mutilation in the light of day.

He slowly turned to her, barely looking her in the eyes as he did so, fearing what he would see there, and when he finally looked at her, what he found was not what he expected. Y/n had approached him with her face hovering inches away, and when he thought he couldn't get any closer, she left a gentle, soft kiss on the stitches that closed the reddened skin of his cheek that had become a mess of patched skin.

-You're still perfect for me, Aem. - She sighed against his skin delicately, making him almost gasp in surprise.

And hearing her mother call her once again, Y/n said "Goodbye" in a very low voice, feeling tears fall as she ran towards the door, heartbroken for leaving the injured Aemond behind.

After that, weeks passed before the two spoke again because they were so far apart, until one morning Aemond got up practically before nightingale time and ran to send a raven saying he was sorry for not having said goodbye properly weeks ago, placing with the letter a small daisy with slightly wilted petals that he had picked in the forest two days before.

The answer came a day later in the form of a long letter in which Y/n detailed everything that had happened at Dragon Stone in the last few days while stating how much she wished he was there, and how much he would enjoy the place.

From then on, it became common for both of them to exchange letters in secret, talking about their own lives and telling each other daily secrets week after week, month after month. Aemond's letters always included a small daisy attached, which made Y/n smile as she felt the sweet aroma of the flower while reading the contents of the letter.

Until the day Aemond sent her a letter informing her that the Master was preparing to perform a procedure on his missing eye to reduce the constant pain he had been feeling lately, and that he recommended inserting something so that the pressure would help his body readapt.

He did not receive a reply to that letter for days and when he thought, with his heart heavy with pain and shame, that the reply would no longer come, he received a small note through a raven with only a few words written and Y/n's name signed below.

Meet me on the middle island at the hour of the wolf.

Y/n

And without blinking he went.

In the middle of the night he sneaked through the secret passages until he reached the royal forest, where Vhagar slept soundly when she was not flying, and mounted her, leaving as stealthily as he could considering the enormous size of the centuries-old dragon.

As he approached the island, he noticed Y/n sitting on the grass, looking up at the starry sky, her head resting on Hūraxes' wing, covered in silver-blue scales. He caught his breath immediately when he noticed how much she had grown, as had her dragon.

As soon as she noticed Vhagar's approach, Y/n stood up, very anxious, admiring the grandeur of Aemond and his dragon in the sky. And when he got down and walked towards her, the two of them were barely breathing, staring at each other in the darkness, with only the moon illuminating them.

-Hello.

-Hi.

The two murmured at the same time, overcome by shyness and embarrassment after not seeing each other for so long and speaking only through letters.

-Y-You're taller. - Y/n whispered, not knowing whether to look up and stare at him or look down and stare at her own feet.

-Mmmm. - He didn't know what to answer, he was too lost in the melodious and sweet sound that her voice had developed over the years.

The two remained silent, staring at each other for what seemed like hours, while little Hūraxes bothered Vhagar by poking her with her nose and the older one turned away, occasionally snorting when she was prevented from sleeping.

-You called me? - Aemond murmured almost inaudibly after the long silence and Y/n widened her eyes, as if she had forgotten that she had planned all this.

-Y-Yes. - She cleared her throat after stuttering. - Yes, I did.

Aemond looked at her questioningly and with a sigh the younger one walked over to Hūraxes, whispering for him to be quiet and leave Vhagar alone in Valyrian, making Aemond smile and close his eye slightly as he felt a pang in his chest.

-I wanted to give you something as a gift. - She looked back as she took something that was firmly attached to her dragon's saddle, and Aemond frowned in confusion at the prospect of receiving a gift from her.

And without saying anything else, Y/n approached and slowly unwrapped the cloth that previously covered what Aemond noticed was a large block of sapphire.

-You told me that the maester is going to do a procedure to alleviate your pain. - She began a little awkwardly, fearing that he would not like the idea. - And that you would need something for the inside.

With a little more courage she reached out her hand slowly and touched him over the eye patch in a gentle caress.

-I always thought your eyes looked like them when I was a child. - She sighed, looking him in the eye now. - As bright as sapphires.

And seeming to have no control over himself, Aemond inclined his head to her gentle touch.

-I thought I would need something that would do at least justice to the most beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen in my life. - And without thinking about how indecent that would be considered, Y/n leaned forward and put her forehead against Aemond's, staring straight into his eyes. - I found the stone myself, with the help of my guard, of course.

The older one didn't know what to say. He just stood there, staring at her almost breathlessly.

-I am not worthy of so much praise. - He finally muttered a few moments later with his gaze down and Y/n smiled wistfully.

-You are worthy of even more.

And slowly pulling away, she passed the sapphire block to his hands, feeling the touch, previously so soft when they were children, rough and calloused, causing strange goosebumps on her skin.

-I am sorry for not being with you that night. - She lamented, looking at the floor and then looking up at him again. - What my brothers did to you was unforgivable!

-There was nothing you could do, Y/n. - He spoke in a muffled voice, squeezing the sapphire block between his fingers. - You would only hurt yourself too, and I couldn't bear that.

-I also can't bear that you got hurt without me being able to do anything to help. - The pain in her eyes was visible even in the darkness and Aemond would rather be dead than see suffering in her eyes.

-You shouldn't blame yourself for this. - He murmured getting closer to her. - It wasn't in your power to save me.

-But I am grateful for being my confidant all these years, never leaving me alone even for a moment. - Aemond placed the sapphire block on a rock on the ground and held her hands between his affectionately, making her smile with her gaze downcast.

-I have something for you. - He murmured a little shyly, reaching into his pocket and taking out a slightly crushed daisy, making Y/n's eyes light up almost instantly. - I had brought you more, but the wind on Vhagar's back tore them apart, I could only save this one.

-She is perfect. - The youngest smiled, taking the flower from his hands and placing it behind her ear with her eyes shining. - The most beautiful flower I have ever received.

-Have you received many flowers? - He asked with a simple side smile, making her smile beautifully when she realized that he remembered it too.

And breathing deeply as she heard the rustling of birds in the trees as the first rays of morning appeared in the sky, Y/n left a quick kiss on the left corner of Aemond's lips, making him widen his eyes in shock as she ran away with flushed cheeks towards Hūraxes, leaving Aemond stunned behind.

Only when Y/n was already flying through the dawn with her dragon was he able to move again, breathing deeply, feeling his lungs burn as he smiled with his hand on the place where her soft lips had touched.

And still smiling, he reached for the sapphire block on the rock, realizing at that moment that there was a note attached to the bottom, with an anxious look he opened it as fast as his hands could.

"I will be praying to the gods every day and every night for your recovery. I hope you will accept this gift as a demonstration of my eternal affection for you.

With all my love, Y/n"

And looking at the paper affectionately, he put it in his pocket, close to his heart, walking again to Vhagar, feeling his chest heat up uncontrollably.

⚜⚜⚜

The procedure performed by the masters was a success, and even in the midst of recovery, Aemond did not stop writing to Y/n, who was elated to receive the first letter after the meeting, as she feared that he would take her for an dishonorable girl judging by that night.

After that first escape and the healing of Aemond's skin, meetings like that on that small island became frequent for the two. Escaping in the middle of the night and meeting under the moon and stars while they talked and smiled at each other. Every now and then, when he felt bold, Aemond would steal a kiss from her sweet lips, and then they would both blush to death, looking at each other shyly.

A few months after the eye procedure, Aemond felt comfortable showing his almost completely healed eye again to Y/n. He thought it was unfair not to let her see it since she had given him the stone, and he knew she was curious, but he was afraid she would find it grotesque beyond measure and not want to see him anymore after that.

He was completely wrong. As soon as she saw the sapphire attached to the socket where his beautiful blue eye had previously been, she sighed with contentment, carefully bringing her hand to the area and gently caressing the scar.

-Gevie. (beautiful)- She sighed in Valyrian, barely noticing that she had changed languages ​​due to surprise and making Aemond blush slightly with such a feeling of approval for himself.

Over time, Aemond learned a way to bring the daisies to Y/n without them arriving completely crushed and destroyed, and she was overjoyed with joy with each bouquet of flowers she received from him.

There was just one problem, someone started to notice Y/n's constant happiness and the fact that she was constantly surrounded by those weeds that everyone knew didn't grow in Dragon Stone's volcanic soil.

And one day, taking advantage of his sister's distraction, he followed her in Vermax to a small island, landing stealthily among the trees and frowning when he saw her alone admiring the sky. Until a monstrously large shadow covered the moon's brightness over the earth, making him almost lose his breath. And when Vhagar landed with its enormity, the entire land of the island trembled.

Jace's eyes shone with fury when the older man took a bouquet of those damned weeds and held it out to his sister, who accepted it with a bright smile, leaving a kiss on the corner of his lips.

-Get your paws off my sister! - Jacaerys shouted in fury, walking towards them both, making Y/n's eyes widen in shock.

-Jace? What are you doing here?

He didn't answer, he just pulled her arm hard, making her hiss in pain as he snatched the bouquet from her hands and threw it hard on the floor. At the same moment, Aemond pushed him to the ground without making the slightest effort, his face contorted with anger, while Hūraxes approached, growling in an furious manner.

-Don't you dare hurt her, you damn thing! - He growled, taking hard steps towards Jace, causing Vermax to jump from where he was hiding among the trees and threaten to breathe fire on Aemond. But that didn't do much to scare him, since now he had Vhagar who, upon seeing the knight under threat, stood up in a more than imposing manner, hovering behind Aemond and making Vermax back down with just a powerful snort that made the plants spread across the ground.

Aemond threw a smile of maximum arrogance at Jace who was still down, and Before he could hit him again, Y/n intervened with wide eyes, making him stop at the same moment, staring at her fixedly.

-You're going to come home with me. - Jace snorted, standing up, now even more furious at being easily surpassed by Aemond both in physical strength and in the strength of his dragons. - And when I tell our mother and Daemon that you were alone, at dawn, in the middle of nowhere with that cripple, she'll ask for his head for dishonoring you!

Jacaerys had barely closed his mouth when Y/n gave him a loud slap on the left cheek, her eyes burning with rage.

-Don't you dare refer to him that way again! - She shouted angrily, making Aemond's eyes widen. - Do you hear me?

-You want to know? - Jace laughed without humor and even more angrily. - You can stay here with him! It'll be even better to see our mother's and Daemon's reaction when I tell them that you're still here with him.

And after spitting out the words, he turned and climbed onto Vermax with ease, already flying towards Dragon Stone.

-No! - Y/n screamed desperately, unable to stop him, and even at a disadvantage since he had left first, she ran to Hūraxes, ready to mount.

-Y/n! - Aemond's voice sounded tense. - Where are you going?

-I need to stop him! - She practically cried, staring at him in despair. - If my mother finds out, and especially… if Daemon finds out, they'll say you dishonored me and they'll want to hurt you for it!

-You can't go like this! - He murmured, visibly worried, as he caressed her face affectionately.

-I'll be okay. - She forced a smile, stroking the dragon's silver-blue scales. - Hūraxes will take care of me.

Y/n was preparing to climb onto the dragon, but then a terrible idea crossed her mind. What if she never saw Aemond again? What if everything went wrong and the two were separated forever? And faced with these catastrophic thoughts, she turned back and kissed him on the lips. A real kiss, different from all the others they had shared up until that moment. Their tongues intertwined and danced between them, and they only let go when they were practically out of breath.

Aemond pressed his forehead against Y/n's, and they both closed their eyes in silence for a few moments, trapped in that mutual understanding that had always been so common and certain for them.

And with a final sigh, Y/n separated from him and climbed onto Hūraxes' saddle, feeling tears almost escaping her eyes as she flew away from her former safe haven.

Aemond looked at the other beautiful daisies, now crushed and trampled on the ground, and feeling his heart heavy with pain, he mounted Vhagar and took flight towards Kings Landing.

Unfortunately, no matter how fast her dear Hūraxes was, Y/n couldn't get to the Dragon Stone before Jacaerys. And when she landed on the sandy ground and walked towards the castle, Y/n could see her mother and stepfather with deadly looks on their faces.

-Y/n, I want you to tell me the truth. - Rhaenyra spoke in a restrained manner as soon as she reached the top of the stairs. - Did you let him touch you?

Rhaenyra wanted to say more than kisses and soft hugs in the starlight, but Y/n didn't know that and so she just stared at her own feet, blushing, unable to say a single word.

-By the gods. - The older woman sighed, looking at her husband.

-For me, the solution is clear, we ask for his head for taking away her virtue and solve all our problems at once. - Daemon hissed furiously, making Y/n's eyes widen.

-No! - She practically screamed. - It wasn't that way! Aemond never touched me like that, I swear!

-How do I know you're not just trying to protect him? - Rhaenyra looked at her very seriously.

-Muña, I swear to you! - Y/n pleaded. - I swear! He would only kiss me and bring me flowers! That's all! Don't hurt him, please!

-Go to your room right now and get ready, we're going to Kings Landing! - Rhaenyra's voice sounded very serious, making Daemon smile widely while Y/n shivered in panic.

-Muña, I'm begging you. - Y/n cried, looking deeply into the older woman's eyes. - Don't hurt him. If anything happens to Aemond, it will be as if it had happened to me!

And wiping the tears with the back of her hands, she walked with long strides towards the chambers, finding Jace standing in the way.

-If Aemond suffers any harm or is exiled because of you, I will disregard you as my brother! - She practically spat those words angrily at Jacaerys, making him shiver.

Rhaenyra and Daemond argued all morning before leaving for Kings Landing, the shouts in Valyrian could be heard from miles away. Y/n understood some parts, especially what Daemond was saying, since his angry voice could reach the seven hells at that height.

Basically, he continued to ask for Aemond's head or exile, which according to him was the best possible option and the most beneficial considering the whole situation and thinking about a not too distant future. Y/n wanted to understand what her mother was saying, but she used a strangely low tone of voice with screams when she was angry, making it difficult to hear anything from a distance other than angry and disjointed growls.

Rhaenyra didn't even want to leave by ship, since only Y/n, Jace, Daemon and Rhaenyra herself would go to the capital. They all went by dragon, and Y/n had never had such a terrible flight in her life, feeling her stomach churn to the point of almost vomiting on poor Hūraxes.

When they finally arrived and got off the carriage in front of the Red Keep, Y/n didn't know if it was just her impression, but the silence there seemed morbid while Alicent and Oto waited at the top of the stairs.

-My princess, what brings you here without giving us any warning? - Oto murmured, raising his eyebrow in curiosity.

-This is still our house Hightower. - Daemon spat, rolling his eyes. - We don't need to give you any warning or ask for your permission to come.

-That's not what I said, my prince. - Oto spat back, trying to maintain his composure.

-I came to discuss very serious matters with my father. - Rhaenyra finally spoke, and before Oto could open his mouth she cut him off with a serious voice. - Only with my father!

-You don't need to guide me, I know the way. - And without saying anything else she put her right hand on Y/n's back, guiding her into the Keep.

Y/n couldn't feel anything other than fear. All she could think was Aemond. Her eyes ran through every corner and crevice of the castle, looking for even a figure that could indicate his presence, but she didn't see him anywhere.

When they arrived at Viserys' room, a strange smell took over Y/n's nostrils, momentarily distracting her until she realized where the smell was coming from when she saw her grandfather sitting reading a book in an armchair with twice the wounds he had the last time she had seen him.

–Dad? - Rhaenyra whispered and the old man's eyes instantly shone as he looked up.

-My beloved girl! It's so good to see you!

And Rhaenyra hugged him, feeling warmth in her chest as she did so, and for a moment Y/n thought she would reconsider bothering the king by seeing him in such conditions, but she didn't reconsider. She whispered something inaudibly in his ear, making Y/n's skin crawl with pure anguish.

-This calls for an audience with all those involved. - Viserys finally spoke out loud and Y/n felt her heart drop in her chest.

Almost an hour later, they were all gathered in the main hall with Viserys wearing the crown for the first time in months and sitting on the Iron Throne.

Alicent and Otto had morbid looks on their faces while Aemond remained motionless, avoiding looking at Y/n so as not to make the already bad situation even worse.

-As your king, your father and your grandfather, I order you to be sincere. - Viserys did his best to keep the firm voice he once had.

-Aemond, did you take away Y/n's virtue?

After that question, the empty hall was dominated by a deadly silence, and with a sigh Aemond murmured.

-No, I would never dishonor her in that way.

-But would you take her to a piece of land in the middle of nowhere at the hour of the wolf to just exchange kisses? - Daemon mocked and Viserys gestured for him to be quiet while Rhaenyra glared at him with a deadly look.

-Y/n, is what Aemond says true?

-Yes, your grace. - She spoke as firmly as she could while holding her hands tightly so as not to tremble. - He never touched me in an inappropriate way.

-Well, if they both vehemently deny any accusations against my son, you can't do anything against him! - Alicent scolded with contained fury facing Rhaenyra.

-Nothing may have happened between them, but tongues speak! - Rhaenyra hissed very rigidly. - Servants hear things and tell each other and before we know it, the royal houses are aware of everything that happens within our walls too!

-Father… - She looked seriously at the throne. - I will not allow my only daughter to be defamed.

Y/n felt tears blurring her vision, prepared to beg her grandfather not to listen to her mother when she demanded Aemond's head or exile.

-I demand that Aemond marry my daughter so that she will not be dishonored! - Rhaenyra growled unyieldingly and Y/n almost froze in shock, barely feeling the tears roll down their cheeks at that moment.

For the first time in that day, Y/n and Aemond's hearts beat in surprise and then in joy.

-What? - Alicent hissed furiously, and Y/n could see from the corner of her eye that Daemon didn't seem happy with the idea either.

The only one in the room besides her and Aemond who seemed happy was Viserys, who upon hearing Rhaenyra's solution seemed to almost shine with a breath of life again.

-I accept the princess's demand.

Alicent's eyes widened as did Oto's upon hearing Viserys speaking, making the decision so seriously and clearly. And before either or both of them could intervene, the morbid king continued.

-It is hereby proclaimed that from this moment on, Aemond of House Targaryen and Y/n of House Velaryon are betrothed and shall be married within a maximum period of three moons from today.

Y/n could very well die of such happiness with those words. And when she looked in Aemond's direction, her heart brightened even more when she saw the almost palpable joy in his eyes, even though his face was serious, and he could hide it from everyone, but Y/n could notice the curve in his serrated lips.

As she left the hall, Y/n could not hear the sounds around her, it was as if a sweet song sounded softly in her ears, bringing her peace of mind while a smile of enchantment hovered on her lips.

She found Jace waiting anxiously outside, not even having been called to say what he had witnessed, she simply hugged him and left a loud kiss on his cheek before walking, still humming, towards her own chambers, being closely followed by a member of the royal guard so as not to stray from the path.

And when a secret passage opened hours later and Aemond appeared inside the room holding a single, slightly wilted daisy in his hands, Y/n ran towards him, hugging him fervently, laughing outrageously when he spun her around in the air, holding her by the waist.

-We're engaged. - He murmured as incredulous as she was, his eyes still shining with that uncontrollable joy. And Y/n just shook her head positively, holding his face between her palms, bringing their foreheads together, still smiling.

Aemond left a soft, sweet kiss on her lips, and carefully placed the daisy behind Y/n's ear when he let her go.

-She remained in the bag, separated from the bouquet. - He smiled, caressing her soft hair with the back of his hand in a reverent way, and Y/n practically trembled with joy at the sound of his voice and his touch.

Hearing footsteps coming down the hallway, Aemond left a sweet kiss on her forehead and disappeared through the secret passage. And when Rhaenyra entered, she only arched her eyebrow when she noticed the slightly wilted flower stuck in her daughter's hair, but decided not to comment.

From then on, the days seemed to pass like the wind in winter. The rest of the family came by ship from Dragon Stone, while the preparations for the wedding were made with all the care in the world, with Y/n smiling and giving her opinion on every detail.

Jace was appalled by everything that had happened. The intention was to disappear with Aemond, not to marry him to his sister. And no matter how much he tried to dissuade his mother, she was adamant about the idea, as for Y/n, she laughed at his expense, constantly emphasizing the great fool he had made.

Letters and more letters with invitations were sent, and as the wedding day approached, nobles from all over the kingdom arrived in Kings Landing to witness the celebration of a marriage that many believed would bring lasting peace to the kingdom.

When the day of the wedding ceremony finally arrived, Y/n could barely breathe. She hadn't been able to see Aemond up close for two weeks, it was to be expected that the bride and groom would be able to spend time together, but she saw him more when they were hidden than now, with so many eyes watching every possible slip-up before the wedding.

Besides the fact that with so many political and royal tasks for both of them before the ceremony, there was barely any time to talk. She couldn't wait to finally be married to him and nobody never be able to separate them again.

That afternoon, when the sun was high in the sky, Princess Y/n Targaryen entered the sept of Baelor in a beautiful white and gold dress, with a radiant smile on her face, and her arms linked to her stepfather, Prince Daemond, who, on the contrary, had a dark frown on her face.

But what caused whispers to take over the sept was the fact that a Targaryen princess, currently considered third in line to the Iron Throne, behind only her mother and older brother, was getting married with her hair loose and a simple crown of daisies braided on her head, with dozens of other daisies sewn onto the train and skirt of the wedding dress..

"A princess marrying with simple weeds on her head!"

Exalted voices whispered through the sept, trying not to be heard.

What none of them knew was that even though he was up to his neck in tasks, Prince Aemond had woken up early that morning riding his horse and headed towards the royal forest just to pick a bouquet of fresh daisies for his future wife, leaving it on the table in her bedroom for her to find when she woke up.

When Y/n woke up that morning, a smile of pure joy took over her lips as she wove the most beautiful flower crown she had ever made in her life to wear at her own wedding. And making the royal seamstress almost growl at her, Y/n ordered the rest of the daisies to be sewn into the train of her wedding dress, only being satisfied when the last of the flowers was attached.

She didn't care about any mocking looks or laughter from the other nobles who spoke of her dress full of weeds. The only eye that mattered was Aemond's, which looked at her wide-eyed and full of happiness so wide that it almost made the already huge smile on her face tear up her cheeks.

When Daemon finally handed her over to Aemond reluctantly, heading to his place next to Rhaenyra, the septon stood up and everyone immediately fell silent as the wedding ceremony began.

The two repeated the septon's words, breathing deeply as they looked at each other in love with an almost childlike happiness overflowing from their eyes.

After uttering their oaths of fidelity and love, Aemond removed a sapphire ring from his cloak, making Y/n's eyes water at the same time while her lips trembled with anticipation.

-Is-Is that the one? - She whispered only for him to hear amidst a trembling smile as she extended her hand to Aemond.

-Mmmm. - He murmured as he nodded positively with a sideways smile. - Exactly the same stone. - He whispered very quietly, but with a palpable pride in his voice. - United forever now, wife.

And under the watchful eyes of the septon and the entire court, Aemond kissed her hand, making her smile beautifully at him, and then he caressed her daisy-scented hair, gently running his thumb over the flower petals.

-Forever now, husband. - She sighed back, laying her head against the palm of his hand and closing her eyes as she felt the soft touch that would forever be hers now, ears ringing moments later with the deafening noise of the court's applause as Aemond finally placed a sweet kiss on her lips, the first they had finally married, the first of the beginning of a lifetime together.

divider credits, It took me hours to find this perfect divider, thank you to the sweet person who created it! 🥰💕

Final notes: I saw somewhere (I don't remember where) that daisies are weeds! And I became obsessed with this fact because I had no idea that a flower that I like so much is considered a weed by many! From this subtle information and the request mentioned here, this story came about! I hope you like it! 💖💖💕🥰

Ps: Aemond only didn't call Jace a bastard on the island because Y/n was there, and he wouldn't be foolish, but know that inside he did! 🤡😂

[crappymixtape]

laugh like lovers, kiss like friends

you're getting married – steve’s in town for the ceremony and it dredges up old memories, ones you thought you'd forgotten, but you have to decide, will you say ‘i do’ or will your heart realize what you really want has been there all along?  | (  9.1k, angst, fluff, friends to lovers, steve x you, steve x reader )

L A U G H L I K E L O V E R S, K I S S L I K E F R I E N D S 🎶 cold water swimming, quiet houses

“How about these, dear? Eucalyptus pairs lovely with peonies. Besides, wildflowers for a wedding? In all my years as a planner I’ve never seen it. No one does it. It's just tacky, hon.”

Twirling the stem of a daisy between your fingers you bit the inside of your cheek, only half hearing the woman standing next to you among all the buckets and vases of flowers in the greenhouse.

Wildflowers for a wedding? No one does it.

Pulling your eyes off the daisy you forced a smile, “Of course, I’m sorry. Peonies sound great.”

“Wonderful, I’ll add it to the day-of agenda and make sure the florist knows you’ve made up your mind. It’s an excellent choice, one your fiance will be happy with I’m sure.”

Your fiance.

Sam proposed less than a month ago in the kitchen of your little downtown Indianapolis apartment with his grandmother’s ring. A huge, gaudy diamond that made your hands look even smaller than they already were and after you’d called your mom the news had spread like wildfire.

Sam didn’t want to wait, he probably would’ve dragged you down to the courthouse if it hadn’t been for his parents and your mom, but it meant things were moving at the speed of light and you were running to catch up.

When he’d looked up at you, ring box outstretched, you knew what your first thought should’ve been. Tears and overwhelming joy and a resounding Yes! but none of it came. Instead your first thought had been long stalks of grass. The glittering turquoise water of the quarry. Skunky weed and wildflowers and hot, sticky Indiana summers.

Steve.

“Babe, you gotta call the bakery back, the lady doesn’t get it. Idiot,” Sam’s voice cut through into your thoughts and you blinked them away.

“What?”

“The cake? She’s not getting it. I told her we wanted vanilla, like actual vanilla not that imitation shit.”

“Julie’s not an idiot,” your tone grew clipped, short, brow furrowing as you folded your arms across your chest. Julie had lived in Hawkins since before your family moved in across the street from her. The only, and best, bakery in town with the sweetest baker known to man. Julie was a saint.

“Okay, well then you try and explain it to her. I’m done,” Sam huffed, pinching his nose between his fingers and shaking his head. “I’m gonna go get food with my mom. Can’t wait until this is all over,” he grumbled under his breath. “I’ll see you back at the house," and with that he hastily pressed a kiss to your forehead before stalking out of the greenhouse.

“Not really a man’s arena is it,” the planner said giving you an overly sweet smile, “Better to let us take care of it, hm?”

“I guess,” you couldn’t bear to force another smile, “Thanks for your help, but I need to go get ready for tonight. Call me if anything else comes up.”

“On it and don’t you worry, only a few more days. Just think! The happiest day of your life!”

The happiest day of your life.

It sure as hell didn’t didn’t it feel like it.

The high vaulted ceilings in your parents’ living room looked the same as they had when you lived there. Same ugly, bumpy texture and yellowed color, now with a few too-high cobwebs just out of reach hanging in the corners.

The buzz of conversation filling the air around you was incessant, blending and blurring together and making you feel like you were far away. Like you were a spectator and not the bride-to-be and your chest squeezed with nerves. There were so many people packed into the house and as guests hurled their questions at you, your anxiety only grew.

“Oh, sweetie you look amazing! You’ll be a beautiful bride!” “Tell me again, where are you going for your honeymoon?” “Sam is such a catch, does he have any available friends? Just kidding! But seriously?” “Oh my god, look at that ring! He must really love you.”

One of Sam’s cousins had been hammering you with question after question, barely giving you any room to reply and you felt like you were drowning in it. The walls of the living room suddenly felt like they were closing in on you, making you feel claustrophobic and you needed air. Outside. Anything other than this. “Is-is it warm in here?” you stuttered, pulling at the collar of your dress.

“No? What d’you mean–”

“I’m sorry, excuse me,” you didn’t wait for her to finish and instead moved as quickly as you could through the crowd, trying not to project your panic with a fake smile plastered on your lips until you reached the slider door.

“Honey!” your stomach sank. Your mom. “Your aunt and uncle just got here, you need to say hello!”

Looking over your shoulder she was standing with her hands on her hips, brow furrowed in frustration, watching as your fingers gripped the handle of the patio door.

“I know,” your voice was edged with irritation and you bit your tongue. “Please? I just need some air for a minute. I’ll be right back,” and you could tell she didn’t like your answer, but she didn’t fight you on it as you slipped outside, all the noise and voices and music blunted and sliced in half as you shut the door behind you.

Leaning back against the glass, eyes closed, you pulled in a breath of air and let it out slowly. Trying, telling, yourself you had to keep it together. Just a minute out here and you’d feel right as rain. Ready to dive back in.

The happiest day of your life.

“Shouldn’t you be inside?”

Your eyes flew open, an all-too-familiar voice making your heart leap into your throat.

He was sitting on the edge of one of the pool loungers like it was nothing, a few locks of stray hair falling into his eyes, all warm honey and burnt caramel and the boyish grin he was giving you made you feel dizzy. Like it always did.

“I’ve been inside for like two hours,” you shot back, but you couldn’t ever bring yourself to really sound mad at him.

At Steve.

“Well don't sound like you’re having too much fun. Not like you’re getting married in three days or anything,” he teased, scooting over on the lounger, a silent invitation for you to sit next to him and you took it.

“Don’t remind me–” fell out, “–what I mean is–it's just–just planning everything has been...a lot.”

Steve caught your slip up, but didn’t call it out, only humming in reply as he threaded a hand through his hair, watching as you settled down next to him. “I’m about a month late, but congrats,” he offered with a small smile before taking a drink from his beer.

“Oh, yeah. Thanks,” you replied lamely, cheeks flushing when he looked over at you. You were entirely too sober for this. “Here, gimme that,” reaching over you took the beer from his hand, chugging half of it in one go and pulling a laugh out of Steve.

“Jesus,” Steve laughed, amused at you, a sound you’d missed so very much. “Take it easy,” he chided gently, but it was all warm and sticky sweet like popsicles on a hot day and when you gave it back he shook his head.

Silence lingered between you for a moment, the static sound of the pool filter trickling in the background, and your thoughts drifted back to a moment a few years ago. Up in your room while summer spun by outside. The last time he'd been over here. Steve.

Bobbing along to the music coming from your stereo, you crammed the last of your photos into one of the empty supply boxes Steve had brought over from Family Video.

“I wanted to be with you alone and talk about the weather, but traditions I can trace against the child in your face won't escape my attention,” you sang a little off key, giving your shoulders a little shimmy as you turned to grab the pile of books on your bed.

“You keep your distance via the system of touch and gentle persuasion. I'm lost in admiration, could I need you this much?” Steve sang back, browed knitted together in dedication to the bit, hips swaying as he wiped down your dresser. Turning with the roll of paper towels in his hand he held it out to you as the chorus neared, both of you singing horribly.

“Oh, you're wasting my time, you're just, just, just wasting time!”

“God, who’s gonna sing shitty with me when you’re not around?” Steve tossed the roll onto your bed, leaning back against the drawers behind him.

“Robin sucks more than I do,” you shot back, and Steve mumbled in agreement.

“Yeah, but she hates Tears for Fears,” there was a slight whine in his voice that made you look up at him over your box and grin.

“Well then save it for me when I’m back on Christmas break.”

Steve gave you a pout and folded his arms over his chest, “That’s like, a fucking eon from now.”

“It’s not that long,” you moved around the other side of your bed to sit in front of him, a small pause swallowing you both into silence.

Clearing your throat you dropped your gaze down your shoes, kicking them in time with the song still playing in the background. You glanced over at Steve’s dirty, beat up Blazers and smiled. “I guess I’ll miss you,” you teased, looking back up at him and he gave you a smile, but it softened the longer he looked at you.

“I know I’ll miss you,” he said, and you knew he meant it, and your heart fluttered in your chest like a bird caught in a cage as the air around you grew thick with words unsaid, but implied. Steve took a step away from the dresser, standing in the V of your legs, hand moving to lift your chin up with his thumb and forefinger.

You bit your bottom lip between your teeth, meeting his gaze, and everything felt hazy. “Miss you too, Stevie,” you murmured and he leaned down slowly. Tilting your chin ever so gently he hesitated for just a second before pressing his lips against yours. Your room and half-packed boxes and everything fell away in the warm, glittering feeling of Steve and summer and the last of the light falling through your window washed you both in gold like it wanted to hold you in that moment forever.

“How long are you in town for?” your voice broke the silence between you and Steve took another drink of his beer.

“Just til the day after the wedding, need to get back to things,” he said softly, stealing a look at you out of the corner of his eye, smiling at the way your nose scrunched up when you were thinking, “You look really pretty by the way.”

Your cheeks warmed and you stole a look at him too, “You have to say that.”

“No I don’t. I do on your wedding day, but this is a freebie,” he teased, trying to make it seem lighter than it was, but you both knew the weight it carried.

“Babe, c’mon. You gotta get back inside. It’s rude. People are looking for you,” the sudden sound of Sam’s voice sliced your moment in two and Steve sat up straight, leaning away from you as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“Alright, I just needed some air,” your voice sounded tired and Steve caught the look in your eyes as you roughed your hands over your face, “I’m coming.”

“Harrington,” Sam sniped, and Steve gave him a big smile, knowing just how much the other man hated finding the two of you sitting together.

“Sammy,” Steve teased and you had to bite back a laugh, hiding it in a cough, but Sam knew.

“I fuckin’ hate that,” Sam gave Steve a look and he just smiled.

“I think it’s cute,” you chimed in, but knew you should’ve kept it to yourself when Sam glared daggers at you.

“Inside,” he said, patience short, and you felt your own run out as you glared right back, but moved toward the slider door anyway.

“I’ll see you,” you told Steve and just before you slipped back into the chaos, he gave you a look. The same one you remembered from that hot summer evening in your room as you packed your life into boxes. A look that put fire to the embers lying dormant in your chest and something you thought had been extinguished flickered back to life.

“Sam, hurry up, we’re going to be late!”

“I’m trying. You know how much I hate being outside. These stupid boots are too tight and–” Sam grunted, leaning over to tug at his socks, “–these are itchy as hell.”

“You don’t have to wear them, but your legs are gonna get bit up and scratched on the trail,” you shook your head, yanking your own worn-in boots onto your feet.

“Bit? Are you kidding me?”

“What? It’s summer, there are a ton of bugs out right now.”

Sam sucked in a breath and put his face in his hands, standing on the other side of the bed from you. He’d agreed to it at first, thought maybe it might be a quaint little jaunt through a park, but when he realized it was an actual hike up the bluff just outside Hawkins – in nature – he’d thrown a fit.

It was one of your favorite places, a special piece of home, and you were going to go with or without him.

“Just stay home, Sam. It’s fine,” you huffed, kicking your suitcase shut, tugging your ponytail through the back of your baseball cap.

“You know what? Maybe I will. This whole place is too much. Jason’ll get beers with me,” he growled under his breath, yanking his boots off to get to his socks, “Enjoy your hike.”

“Great, thanks, will do,” you almost left the room without saying goodbye, but something made you hesitate and you paused for a second at the door, eyes squeezed shut. Why was everything so damn hard? This was supposed to be easy.

The happiest day of your life.

Resigned, you turned around and retraced the few steps over to Sam. “I’ll see you when we’re back,” you muttered, bending down and brushing a hasty kiss to his cheek.

“See you,” he didn’t meet your gaze, instead scowling at the ground and it was the push you needed to leave, the weight on your shoulders lifting as you hurried down the stairs and out the door.

The sun was just coming up, painting the sky cotton candy pinks and blurred warm tangerines. You could feel the heat already and as you got out of your car at the bluff the feeling of the sun on your bare legs pulled a heavy sigh from your lungs. Breathing out the stress and pressure of the last few days and you closed your eyes for a minute, leaning against the warmth of your car.

It would be okay. Today was for you. This was for you.

Opening them again you heard another car rumbling up the dirt road behind you and when you turned around you grinned so big your cheeks started to hurt.

“OH MY GOD,” Robin squealed. She practically leapt out of the backseat of Steve’s BMW and ran over to you, gathering you up in her arms and squeezing tight. “What the hell! You look amazing! Shit. Is this like, pre-wedding glow or did you stop eating meat or something? I hear it’s like, totally bad for your skin.”

“Robin,” Steve shook his head as he shut his car door before walking around to get Robin’s too.

“What? All legitimate questions! Right, Eds?” she shot back.

“I mean, not the first thing I’d ask,” Eddie replied with a grin, but you could hear the softness of him behind it.

“Alright, well I wouldn’t expect you to know anyway. Weddings are like a foreign language to you plebs,” Robin said simply, clicking her fanny pack around her waist.

“Hey, that’s not fair, I know enough,” Steve chimed in, propping a hand on his hip and giving Robin a look.

“Children, not about us today!” Eddie chided, following after Robin and gathering you up into one of his bear hugs. “Hi, sweetheart,” he held you out at arm’s length and gave you a warm Eddie smile.

“Hi,” you grinned back, the happiest you’d been in days just listening to the comforting sound of your friends bickering, “Missed you.”

“Mmm, you too,” Eddie hummed, shooting a quick glance over at Steve. “Some of us more than others,” he said a bit quieter, bringing his eyes back to you and you felt your cheeks flush.

“Okay, hike?” you deflected, then accusingly looked back at Eddie, “You’re not still smoking are you?”

“Only on Wednesdays,” he flipped back casually, but you knew he was full of shit.

“Munson, you’re a horrible liar,” Steve drawled, rolling his eyes, starting the walk to the edge of the bluff. “Nance and Jonathan are already at the top,” he said over his shoulder, “Jonathan wanted to get a time lapse of the sunrise.”

“Oh, sick,” Eddie clapped his hands, “I gotta see it. C’mon, Buckley get with it.” He waved an arm forward, pulling Robin into a jog and you shook your head with a soft laugh as you caught up with Steve. Starting up the bluff two by two.

The sounds of everything coming to life swirled around the four of you as you walked. The buzz of the insects, birds chirping their morning songs and tractors rumbling to life in the fields alongside the bluff.

Home.

“God, the last time we were up here was so Dustin could talk to Suzie,” Steve half-laughed, Eddie and Robin walking just ahead of you. You grinned at the memory.

“Oh no,” you shook your head, “They might be worse than we are at singing.”

“Didn’t think it was possible to be honest,” he teased gently, smiling over at you, looking for a long moment before dropping his gaze back down to his feet.

You could feel his eyes on you and the warmth of it filled you up and spilled over at the edges, making you happier than you’d been in a long time and a tiny pinch of guilt squeezed in your chest.

“Thanks for getting up so early,” you exhaled, breaths getting heavier as the incline of the bluff steepened, Steve pulling in a breath next to you.

“Oh, I don’t think I’ve slept in since high school,” he waved you off, “Managing a store’s got me up ass early every day. Besides, wouldn’t miss it.” Arms swinging at your sides, his fingers brushed against yours as you walked and the embers in your chest glowed bright.

“Yeah,” you sighed, wishing that for once Sam had come along. That he’d put even a little bit of effort into your interests. That he’d care even a fraction of what Steve cared and the embers flickered again with your frustration.

“You two are slow as hell!” Eddie teased and when you looked up you saw he and Robin had been moving much faster than you and Steve. “I’m smoking a victory cigarette at the top!” he yelled and Robin smacked him, both of them dissolving into laughter.

“C’mon, that asshole doesn’t need another cigarette,” Steve’s brow furrowed in frustration and he picked up the pace, pulling you along with him as he lengthened his stride.

Jonathan and Nancy were waiting for the four of you at the top and, much to Eddie’s dismay, Robin beat him by a couple of feet, stealing his cigarettes and jamming them into her fanny pack as punishment.

Jonathan had asked Nancy to marry him two years ago now, Christmas eve under the tree at the farm and they’d eloped that spring there on top of the bluff. It had been a small, but sweet ceremony, with only family and close friends. Perfectly Nance and Jonathan and as you thought back on it your stomach twisted with a longing feeling.

As you sat scattered among the long grass in pairs – Eddie and Robin, Nancy and Jonathan, you and Steve – a breeze picked up and blew through the wildflowers around you, taking then with it and you watched as the buttercups danced in the wind.

You wanted wildflowers. Not peonies and eucalyptus.

“Hey, where’d you go?” Steve’s voice pulled you out of your thoughts and you looked over at him, sat close enough to you in the grass that you could see all the little moles and freckles that dotted down the line of his jaw, his neck, the exposed skin along the top of his shirt.

“Flowers,” fell out and you didn’t shy away from him, meeting his gaze.

“Flowers?” he asked, brow knitting together in confusion.

“Stupid flowers. And cake. And nature and socks and–”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down. What are you talking about?” Steve scooted closer to you, your legs pressing together as you sat facing each other and he put a hand on your knee.

Your throat tightened and you felt tears pricking at the corners of your eyes, but you willed them away. Not here. You didn’t mean it.

“Hey,” he said softer, hand lifting from your knee to press into yours and you blinked hastily, pulling in a breath to steady yourself.

“I don’t know,” you started, closing your eyes for a minute, trying to ground yourself. “I just–I thought this would be easier. We’re supposed to be in love and planning this should be fun, but it sucks and he–” catching yourself you looked back up at Steve and felt him squeeze your hand. “I’m sorry, it’s just stress. I shouldn’t–”

“You don’t have to apologize,” Steve said, thumb brushing over the bump of your knuckles, soft and warm and reassuring.

He was looking at you again like he had at the welcome party, like you were the only thing that existed in that moment and you felt yourself moving closer, your legs hovering over his with the lack of space.

“I wish Sam would look at me like that,” you whispered and Steve’s lips parted in surprise, anticipation grabbing hold of both of you as the wind picked up again.

“He’s an idiot if he doesn’t,” Steve whispered back, leaning closer still and you could feel his breath as it warmed over your cheek. The scent of his shampoo and spearmint gum and cedar and wildflowers flooding your brain and making everything feel hazy. His eyes all bright amber and flecks of gold in the sun. Closer and closer and closer and–

“Harrington! You left the food in the car!”

Leaning back from each other you felt the tension shatter with the bark of Eddie’s voice and you leapt to your feet.

“God, what a dingus,” Robin grumbled, “Now we gotta go back down.”

“Hey,” Steve scrambled to his feet ignoring them, grabbing your hand in his, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine. I just–I forgot I have to meet with the baker today about the cake this morning.”

“Oh,” Steve’s expression was edged with concern and he let your hand drop as the others started moving to the top of the trail.

“Rehearsal dinner is tonight right?” Robin asked offhandedly, grabbing a piece of licorice from her fanny pack.

“You have licorice in there and didn’t offer me any?” Eddie accused.

“Yeah, tonight at seven at Hop and Joyce’s farm,” you said, trying to sound casual, but the warm feeling of Steve was still holding you tightly.

“Open bar?” Eddie grinned.

“Oh my god, Munson. Shut up,” Robin chided, shoving him as they all wandered down the path in a line, you and Steve bringing up the rear.

“Course it’s open bar,” you tried to laugh, but it fell short, everything feeling like it was crumbling now.

The breeze picked up, swirling around your feet, carrying spearmint and Steve’s shampoo and boy with it and as you watched the bachelor buttons sway with the wind you felt a thought gnawing at the back of your mind.

What if.

There was still time.

Nothing’s permanent.

People change their minds all the time and…

Come over here. All you've got is this moment, twenty-first century's yesterday. You can care all you want, everybody does, yeah, that's okay.

“Chug, chug, chug!” “Don’t be a pussy, Jason!” “No way, he’s too old!”

It felt like you were back in high school throwing a rager over at Tina Rochester’s house not having drinks after your rehearsal dinner, but after most of the ‘adults’ had all gone home things got carried away.

Hop and Joyce’s farm was far enough outside of town that the noise wouldn’t bother anyone and thank god because it was loud. Maybe open bar hadn’t been the best idea, but Sam was having a great time, smiling and laughing for once and you didn’t fight it. You were having fun too.

“Ohhh! He did it!!” “Get that man a medal!”

Jason Carver, Sam’s best man, crushed his empty beer can under his foot to whoops and hollers. You weren’t sure who started it, but someone had told someone else they could shotgun a beer faster and it spiraled from there. Sam was in his element, partying alongside the other ex-basketball players, and for a minute you felt like maybe things would be okay.

Gathering you up in his arms, Sam spun you in a circle, pressing his lips messy and drunk against your cheek. “God, babe. Should be illegal to look that good,” he slurred into your ear, arms still holding you tight as he lowered you slowly back to the ground.

A grin tugged at the corners of your lips. “Gonna write me a ticket?” you teased and he reached a hand around to grab at your ass.

“Maybe I will,” he breathed and you felt a shiver run down your spine, but then a voice pulled him away.

“Sam? Oh my god!”

Carol and Tommy. Great.

“Carol?? I didn’t think y’all were getting here til tomorrow! Tommy, you look like shit,” Sam barked a laugh and lunged at his old friend, grabbing him around the waist and pushing him across the patio.

“Fuck off, you’re one to talk,” Tommy growled back, digging his hands into Sam’s ribs and both of them fell back into their old selves. Talking about a couple of friends that had gone pro, work, what married life was like for Tommy and Carol.

“Babe, go get me another beer, huh?” Sam said over his shoulder and you rolled your eyes, but giving Carol a quick hug you made your way over to the keg.

Priming the tap you started to pour beer into a cup, but it sputtered and choked before spilling foam and you frowned. “Piece of shit,” kicking the keg you shook the garbage can it was sitting in and tried again, but this time nothing came out.

“Need a hand?”

Eyes still on the keg you sighed, a smile pulling at the corners of your lips as you dumped the foam in your cup onto the ground. “Tapped already,” you grumbled, turning around to see Steve grinning at you, hands jammed in his pockets, tie loose and hanging around his neck and you swore he was the most handsome human being you’d ever laid eyes on.

“Hmm, I don’t think so,” he took the last few steps toward you and primed the tap again, giving the keg one firm shake, and grabbed the cup from you. Foam started coming out and you jammed your tongue into your cheek.

“Ha! Told you–”

But then the foam turned into cold, amber beer, and you clamped your mouth shut.

“You were saying?” Steve teased and you shoved him, spilling some of the beer that he’d just poured into your cup on the ground. “Hey! You’re a menace,” he chided softly, shouldering you back, but grabbing the spout again he filled the cup once more and handed it back to you.

“Thanks,” you muttered, glancing over at him as you took a sip.

“Sam seems to be having a good time,” he commented, finding a cup of his own and filling it.

“Yeah, right back to high school.” You watched as your fiance, Tommy, and Jason all snickered and laughed at each other, talking about ‘the good old’ days, and your smile fell.

You couldn’t remember the last time he laughed like that with you. When he was drinking he got more handsy, liked to keep you close to his side and brag about how you were about to get married, but nothing about how hard you worked or the fact that you were saving up to buy a place.

“I dunno,” Steve sighed, taking a drink of his beer, “I don’t miss it.”

“Me either,” you agreed, glancing up at him, and your heart stopped.

God he was pretty. The string of lights that wound around the property washed him in a warm glow. Hair falling out of place as the night spun on, the line of his jaw cast in half light, dark and strong, the long sweep of his lashes as he blinked and looked down at you, the way his lips pulled up into that smile.

“What?” Steve asked, tone amused and playful and your eyes grew wide.

“What?” you echoed stupidly.

Steve laughed and gave you a lopsided smile. “You tell me, you’re the one zoning out,” he teased and your cheeks flushed.

“Oh, n-nothing,” you stumbled over your words and quickly filled the silence with another gulp of beer.

“Okay, well when it comes back to you lemme know.” His eyes lingered on yours for just a moment longer and then a look came over him. Like he remembered something. “Oh, hey. C’mere a minute,” and then he was grabbing your hand and pulling you around the side of the barn.

As he pulled you into motion you felt just how buzzed you were and a giggle pushed itself through your lips. “What the hell are we doing?” you asked, Steve loosing a laugh of his own as he yanked you both to a stop a few yards away from the party out in the long grass of Hop’s field.

“There,” he said pointing up and you followed the line of his arm into the sky until your eyes landed on it.

“Oh,” you breathed, pulling your gaze back to Steve as he looked up into the inky black expanse of the Indiana night. He was just how you remembered him. Hair messed, all boyish and eyes full of wonder and curiosity, just like he’d been those years ago that night in his backyard while you floated in his pool.

“Yeah, that one. Right there,” Steve swam closer to you, grabbing your arm, fingers folding yours in to make a point and tugging it up over your head.

Your breath hitched in your throat as his legs brushed against yours under the water and it took everything you had in you to pull your eyes from him to look up.

“See it?”

“That one?” you asked, pointing on your own, and he nodded as your eyes trailed up the line of your arm to land on an especially bright star.

“Mmhm,” Steve murmured and all you wanted was to look at him again, so you did. “While you’re gone you can just look up at that at night and think of me,” he said matter-of-fact, giving you one of his lopsided grins.

“What if we’re not looking at the same time?”

“I’ll always be looking,” Steve’s voice was barely above a whisper and the way he looked at you made you feel like you might melt. Blinking water from your lashes you lifted a hand to his cheek and at your touch his hands slipped along the bare skin of your waist, sliding down to your hips as he slowly pulled you into him.

The pool filter was humming heavy between the all crickets and frogs and lightning bugs, but you knew the thudding of your heartbeat was louder than all of it.

Wrapping your legs around Steve’s torso, you laced your fingers at the back of his neck, wanting him closer and tighter. Hair messed and flat against his forehead, his lips were parted as he breathed you in, water dripping off the end of his nose and eyes glittering in the pool lights, burnt caramel and honey and if he hadn’t been holding onto you, you would’ve floated away.

His fingers pressed into the soft skin at your hips and you sucked in a small gasp.

“Sorry,” he whispered, and you shook your head in reply. It’s okay. And then he gently pressed his thumb to the corner of your lips, swallowing against his nerves, and asked, “Can I kiss you?”

Heart racing, fingers still tangled at the back of his neck you whispered, “Yes.”

“Remember when we found it?”

Steve’s question brought you hurtling back to the present and you shook your head, heart racing in your chest like it had that night in his pool. “Of course I remember,” you murmured, and you knew you were crossing a line, knew you shouldn’t have done it, knew Sam was just around the other side of the barn, but something in you snapped. Shifted. Decided it didn’t care and you took Steve’s hand in yours.

His eyes flicked down to where they were joined and then back up to you, “But–”

“We’re friends,” you reasoned softly, “Friends hold hands.”

“Are we?” he asked and you swore you felt your heart crack as your fingers scrambled to tangle up with his.

“Yeah. Yes. We are,” your words came spilling out, the beer spidering warm and hazy through your body as you tried to justify your action and Steve’s brows furrowed as he dropped his gaze.

“I should go,” he said and regret gripped you like a vice.

“Don’t, please don’t,” your tone was almost pleading, watching as Steve’s eyes fluttered shut for a moment, working through his own decision and you thought for a minute he would cave like he always did for you, but then his hand was untangling from yours and the ache in your chest was almost enough to pull tears from your eyes.

“You’re getting married tomorrow,” he said, voice thick and low, and when he opened his eyes finally to look at you, you saw a thousand I’m sorrys, all the regret and lingering kisses on hot summer nights and promises whispered in the dark and you shook your head.

“But it’s not–we can’t–please stay,” nothing you said made sense and Steve ran a hand through his hair, pulling his lip between his teeth.

“Get some sleep. I’ll see you at the church.”

And as you watched his figure walk away, silhouetted and dark against the indigo sky, your star blinking bright above you, you felt tears finally well up and spill down your cheeks.

Sucking in a breath you turned back to the the wide open expanse of field behind you and buried your face in your hands, trying to calm down, willing the tears to stop, telling yourself that you loved Sam. You were getting married. The ring on your finger a constant reminder of what was supposed to happen tomorrow and when you finally lifted your head from your hands your eyes fell on a bright patch there in the field at your feet.

Wildflowers.

Walking back to the party felt like a blur, Steve’s words playing over and over in your mind, and when you came back into the glow of the strung up lights your eyes searched frantically for Sam. If you could just hold his hand, pull him in close you’d know you loved him. Would know you wanted to marry him, but he wasn’t there and everything felt like it was unraveling.

“Hey, are you okay?” Robin’s hand was at your elbow and when you looked up at her, her brow furrowed with worry. “Whoa, what happened?”

“I just need to find Sam, have you seen him?”

“Yeah, yeah I think he was just over here, c’mon. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I just need Sam,” you choked out, Robin’s hand grabbing yours and pulling you along.

“Okay, we’ll find him, it’ll be okay.”

And as you rounded the corner into the quiet of the barn you heard hushed voices. Robin flicked on the overhead lighting to reveal Carol and Sam talking, huddled close to one another and your heart stopped in your chest.

“Wha–Sam? Carol?”

Carol’s eyes went wide and she took a couple steps back, giving you one of her smiles, all flimsy and saccharine sweet. “Oh my god, we thought you left!” she exclaimed, trying a laugh and you heard Robin mumble something under her breath next to you.

“Well, I didn’t. It’s my rehearsal dinner.”

“Babe, we were just trying to plan a surprise for you. For tomorrow, that’s all,” Sam said, taking the few steps toward you, taking your hand in his, but you felt sick to your stomach. You knew that look in his eye, his tone of voice overcompensating for something, lying.

“Yeah! Totally,” Carol said a little too enthusiastically and Robin had had enough.

“Oh my god, totally great!” she mocked, throwing one of Carol’s empty smiles back at her before taking your hand. “It’s super late, Carol. Time to go,” this time Robin’s voice was void of all joking and the look she gave the other girl was enough to push her to leave.

“Absolutely, sure thing. See you tomorrow! Can’t wait,” she purred, but her smile faltered as she met your gaze, walking quickly back out into the night.

“Babe, we really were planning a surprise, I–I just want tomorrow to be perfect,” Sam took your hand from Robin, shouldering her out of the way and she scoffed, still lingering in case you needed her.

“In here? In the dark?” your voice wobbled a bit as you realized what you were implying and Sam squeezed your hand, but it felt suffocating not warm or safe like Steve and you pulled it away. “I’m gonna go home, get some sleep.”

“Of course, baby. Whatever you need,” Sam crowded around you, rubbing your shoulders and pressing a kiss to the nape of your neck, but you didn’t want any of it and shrugged him off.

“Can you give me a ride, Robs?” you asked, pulling away from Sam, your feet not moving you fast enough.

“Yeah, yeah I can give you a ride,” Robin took your hand again, Sam finding himself alone in the wide expanse of the barn on the eve of your wedding.

The happiest day of your life.

“Listen, can I tell you something?” Robin said shifting into park as she turned down the radio and idled in your parents’ driveway.

“Sure,” your voice was small, timid, not you as your thoughts still lingered on what Steve had said. What Sam and Carol had looked like huddled close together in Hop’s barn. Asking yourself why. Asking yourself what you really wanted.

“I don’t think you should get married.”

Your head whipped up from your lap, brows knitted together. “What?”

“I don’t think you should get married,” Robin said again voice softer this time, knowing the weight it carried as she let it settle in the car between you.

“It’s literally happening tomorrow. What d’you mean don’t get married,” you were scrambling now, afraid of what would happen if you let her woods take root, the doubt that had been hovering deep down now pushing itself front and center.

“People do it all the time–”

“No, they don’t!” tears were welling up against your lashes, your face growing hot, willing yourself not to fall apart.

“Okay! Okay, I’m sorry. Of course I’m gonna support you no matter what you decide,” Robin quickly recovered, grabbing your hands in hers as her expression softened. “Just–” a small sigh escaped her and she squeezed your hand, “–I want you to be happy. That’s all. Are you happy?”

Are you happy?

Robin looked at you, eyes wide, hands still holding onto yours and you felt yourself wrestling with the three simple words she’d thrown at you. Swallowing thickly, you couldn’t meet her gaze and pulled your hands away, grabbing at the door handle.

“I’m happy, I am,” and even you knew how flimsy it sounded, but your friend didn’t push you on it.

“Okay, okay. See you in the morning,” Robin said softly and all you could do was nod in reply before shutting the door and hurrying up the walk and into your parents’ house.

You didn’t bother showering as you moved quickly up the stairs to your room, not wanting to face your parents, not like this. Quietly shutting your door you felt the sob in your chest clawing its way up your throat and you tried to swallow it down as you threw back your covers and hid in the deep pile of blankets. You thought for a split second to call Sam over at Jason’s, ask him if he really loved you, if he still wanted to go through with this, but you buried your face into your pillow and tried to push your thoughts away.

Doubt had started blooming in the pit of your stomach from the moment you’d said yes, but it had just felt like the next right thing. Felt like you were supposed to. Date your boyfriend for a couple of years, move in together, get married. Right? But the things you tried hard to ignore kept bubbling up.

Your hesitation when Sam first asked you out. Your trips home on breaks and seeing Steve. The feelings you wrestled with when you saw him. When he talked to you and listened, really listened and looked at you. How it felt like a giant weight being lifted from your shoulders without Sam there.

Your first fight with Sam over money. How he spent so much of it going out with his friends. How you knew they stayed out late and talked to other girls. The high he got from it too much to stop him from doing it. The smell of the other girls on his clothes.

The first time he cheated on you and begged you to take him back. How the first person you wanted to call was Steve, but you called Robin instead.

And now the planning. All the disagreements and arguing and fighting and you were exhausted and he couldn’t even keep away from other women, from Carol, still after all that time.

Are you happy?

Robin’s question looped in your head and you knew the real answer.

No. But then…

Tap. Tap, tap tap.

Peeking your head out from under your covers your ears strained, trying to decide what it was you’d heard. Then it happened again.

Tap, tap. Tap.

There was only one thing that could make that sound, an all too familiar one that pulled forth a flood of precious, happy memories.

Rocks on your window.

Steve.

Crawling out of your bed you hurried to your window and yarded it open, sticking your head out and looking down like you’d done hundreds of times before. “Steve?” you hissed into the dark, and as the wind blew the clouds away from the moon, it shone down on the lawn below you washing Steve in soft light.

“Can I come up?”

You bit your bottom lip between your teeth, but knew there was no debate. “Yeah, hurry up,” and you moved out of the way as he started climbing the gutter before you’d even said yes.

Stumbling in through the open window Steve straightened up and dusted off his old, faded Hawkins High Athletics shirt, a pair of grey sweatpants hanging on his hips, the same pair of dirty, beat up Blazers on his feet.

“Hi,” he said awkwardly, tongue jammed into his cheek as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“Hi?” it came out expectantly, a question, but you couldn’t hide the relief in your voice at the sight of him standing there in your room.

“Listen, I just wanted to say sorry. For earlier,” he said, walking to your bed and plopping down on the messed up covers.

“Oh, that’s okay, I shouldn’t have–”

“Just let me apologize,” he said shaking his head with a half laugh, expression mismatched as it twisted with something between regret and care.

So you listened and kept your mouth shut, instead deciding to settle down next to him on your bed, thighs pressed together on the small twin sized mattress. Silence lingered for a minute, but the air was heavy, loaded, like how it felt right before a thunderstorm. The sky holding its breath before opening up and pouring rain, cracking the sky in half with bright streaks of light.

You both stole a look at the same time and it pulled a smile from each of you, tiny breathy laughs falling from your lips, but when it quieted again the tension flooded back in.

“Do you love him?” Steve broke the quiet and you felt your chest tighten. When you hesitated he grabbed your hand in his. “Do you?”

Your pulse fluttered against your neck, your mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water and stumbling and choking on your words, but you knew the answer. You both did. You’d just admitted it to yourself before Steve had fallen through your window and the familiar feeling of panic started to creep in around you, flinging you back to right before you’d left home again. Before you met Sam.

“Steve! Wait!”

You were practically running after him as he stalked back to his car, the sky on fire with the sunset and streaked in cherry reds, sunflower yellows, and bright tangerine.

He fumbled with his keys and dropped them into the grass at his feet, “Shit.”

“Please, just wait,” you were out of breath as you finally reached him and you saw his frame crumple as he loosed a sigh.

“Jesus, what?” his tone was short, clipped as he stared through his car window, your reflection playing against the glass.

“It’s only for another year, it’s not like I’m gonna be gone for–”

“Yeah! Another year!” Steve spun around to face you, cheeks red and lips pulled down into a frown, a muddied mixture of sadness and anger swimming in his eyes. “Just admit it, you don’t wanna come back here, and that’s fine! But don’t make me wait. Please don’t make me wait anymore. It–” Steve choked on his words and dropped his eyes to his feet, biting on the inside of his cheek to blunt the feelings swelling his chest. “It hurts. To sit and wait here for you. Please,” his voice edged on pleading and you felt tears prick at the corners of your eyes.

“It’ll work! It’s just a little longer–”

Steve took a step into you, crowding over you, and you felt your heart stutter in your chest at the closeness of him. He lifted a hand to your cheek, his brows pulling together as he looked down at you, eyes searching yours. “Then be with me. If it’s not that long then be with me. Long distance for a little while until you’re done with school,” he said, voice barely above a whisper.

“Steve. I can’t–” your throat tightened around what you were about to say, scared of what that commitment looked like, scared to fuck it up between you, scared to lose your best friend, but your hesitation broke it anyway.

He dropped his hand away from your cheek, tongue flicking out to run along his lips as he held back his anger. His sadness. Frustration. Snatching his keys from the grass he unlocked the driver side door and flung it open rough.

“No! Wait! I just mean–”

“No!” he shouted into his car and then lowered his voice, tears streaming silently down his cheeks, “No. No more. Good luck with…everything.” And he piled into his car, slamming the door shut and ignoring your cries as you crowded against his window, asking him to stay. To talk about it. To figure things out, but he shifted it in drive and took off down your driveway and into the night.

You weren’t going to fuck it up. Not again.

“No,” and as your admission left your lips the heavy weight that had settled on your shoulders over the last two years started to melt away. “No. I don’t love him.”

Steve’s hold on you tightened, pressing your fingers into his palm and he lifted his free hand to your cheek, eyes searching yours, “Don’t marry him.”

Don’t marry him.

Your breath quickened and you pulled your bottom lip between your teeth, trying to reason out what you’d just decided and you felt anxious, but Steve was there. And your room was warm and safe. Just like it was when you were younger. When you both laughed and traded secrets and made promises to each other in the dark.

“But. The wedding. The flowers, the cake, the guests–”

“Fuck ‘em,” Steve said, still holding onto your hand, and his words swirled around in your head. “It’s only a wedding. This is your life,” brushing the rough pad of his thumb across your cheek you closed your eyes and leaned into his touch, “You’re not happy.”

And you weren’t. You’d had moments with Sam, moments in time where things felt right and like maybe it could be forever, but they were just that. Moments. It shouldn’t be this hard. You’d sacrificed, compromised, bent and twisted yourself to be what Sam wanted, what he needed, not what you wanted and when you finally looked up at Steve you felt tears welling up against your lashes.

“What will my mom say,” your voice wobbled as you tangled your fingers with Steve’s and he gave you a small, reassuring smile.

“She wants you to be happy too. She’ll be okay.”

You were dizzy, hazy with thoughts of not being engaged anymore, buzzing with the anticipation of what this decision meant. Of what it held. What the future could be and you looked back up at Steve, tears started to quietly spill down your cheeks and his hand was quick to gently wipe them away. You shook your head, holding your breath, and when you let it go everything came tumbling out.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry for making you wait. For hurting you. For everything–”

“Shh, it’s okay,” Steve softly chided, but you pressed on.

“No, no it’s my turn,” you said, voice thick through your tears, and then you turned to cup Steve’s face in your hands. A small smile pulled up at the corners of your mouth even through your crying and you pulled in a breath, “I love you, Stevie. I always have.”

The look on his face then was one of pure adoration, of relief, and he gave you a smile back, “I know. I love you too.”

I love you too.

Pulling him into you, you felt the soft warmth of his breath across your cheek, the smell of his shampoo and fresh laundry flooding your senses. Hesitating, waiting for him to tell you it was okay and he silently answered you by leaning in and closing the gap between your lips, pressing his softly into yours.

It was slow and languid, a thousand I love yous. Years of want and aching set free into the dark of your room as you breathed each other in like air. The feeling of Steve scattering you out into the stars to live with the one you’d deemed as yours, falling between all the glittering constellations and floating in each other.

I love you too.

Reluctantly Steve pulled away from you, eyes fluttering open to look into yours and he took hold of your waist. “Run away with me,” he whispered.

Your brows pulled together, “Run away?”

“Yeah. Right now. Throw your suitcase in my car and we’ll just drive. Get away from everything, just for a little while until you’re ready.”

Mind racing, working through the logistics of what he was suggesting, you almost protested, but something in you fought back. Told you to listen to your heart, not your head. What did you want? What would make you happy?

“Okay.”

“Really?” Steve’s face lit up at your response, like he hadn’t expected it, and you felt your lips pull up into a smile, tears drying on your cheeks as you let the feeling swallow you up in its warmth. The embers in your chest crackling and flickering with life, with a fire that burned only for him.

“Yeah, yeah I don’t care. I just want to be with you,” you felt yourself grow more and more confident, more decided and Steve pulled you in again to press another kiss to your lips. This time it was hotter, bolder, a confession of passion and you grinned into him.

“C’mon, if we go now we can get coffee at that shitty diner just off the highway outside of town,” he was grinning now too.

“They make the best pancakes,” you laughed softly and Steve’s smile melted as he looked at you.

Finally.

He helped you gather your things, carrying your suitcase out to his car, and you felt like you could fly. Lighter than you’d been in years and the thought of just driving down the road with him filled you with warmth. Like watching the sun set at the end of a hot summer day. Like dipping your feet in the pool after sitting in the heat. Sweet like the taste that followed after a tart drink of lemonade.

You left your engagement ring on your dresser, a small folded note under it for Sam telling him sorry. Telling him you hoped he would find what he wanted. That you knew he’d be okay. And as you closed the door to your parents’ house you felt like you were closing that chapter. Ready to start new. To free fall into this open-ended story with Steve and as you settled into his car your eyes caught a small patch of lawn on the side of your house. Bright and soft in the moonlight and full of color.

Wildflowers.

crappymixtape™ • steve harrington masterlist // stranger things masterlist

[iliveonteaandbooks]

Flower Crowns

Word Count: 693 words (Sorry it's a short one)

Pairing: Young! Coriolanus Snow x Reader

A/N: I loved writing this and I hope you loved it to! I feel like something in this style would make a good mini - series or series. What do you think? Please do not copy kr get too inspired with my work, reblogs are however, appreciated. Keep in mind I have not yet edited, so please excuse and mispelling and grammatical errors. Please like and comment! Thank you!

Coriolanus watched the quick and gentle movements of your hands, bending the stem of a cornflower behind another one, carefully twisting it and doing the same for a daisy.

You worked briskly through the next few flowers from the bouquet laying beside you, which both you and Coriolanus spent the previous hour gathering. The flowers consisting of daisies, cornflowers, and bluebells, along with a few leftover poppies, blanket flowers, and asters from your flower crown.

Coriolanus gently smiled to himself as he watched your cute, scrunched up in concentration face as you continued the flower crown in your hands, fully unaware of the icy - blue eyes watching you lovingly.

His eyes traced every one of your features, as if trying to memorize them.

Your mesmerizing eyes he could drown in.

Your adorable nose.

Your sweet lips...

The thoughts of kissing them filled his head and another smile, even bigger than before, appeared on his face.

His eyes lingered on your soft skin, glowing in the sunlight. Oh how he wished he could gently trace his hands across your soft cheek with his fingers, as his lips hovered over yours, noses brushing against each other, and eyelashes tickling each other.

Your hair glimmered against the sun's rays and desperately fought the urge to comb his hand through your strands of hair, soft against his fingertips.

His gaze trailed down back to your hands. He wanted to feel the warm softness of your silk - like hands against his pale, slender ones.

The gorgeous wildflowers you were holding and the ones beside you could not compare to the enchanted beauty he saw in you.

"Coryo? Coryo!" you snapped your fingers in front of him, trying to wake him from his trance.

He blinked, suddenly alert.

"Yes, love?" Your heart skipped a beat at the nickname. You hated it, yet loved it all at once.

"I've been trying to get your attention for nearly a hundred years, Coryo!" you sighed exasperatedly, a hint of humor in your voice.

You were one of the only people able to call him that. If it was anyone else, your friendship and perhaps your life would have been long gone.

He smirked at you.

"Sorry, love." he wasn't sorry at all.

"I finished your flower crown." you smiled sheepishly, suddenly shy.

You showed him the finished product.

Daisies, cornflowers, and bluebells elegantly intertwined to create a crown like never before.

"It's beautiful, love." breathed Coriolanus, his eyes looking up to meet your humbled gaze.

"Let me put it on you." you breathed.

"Pease do." he said, motioning to his flower-crownless head and scooted towards you.

He leaned in.

Your breath hitched, as your fingertips came into touch with his hair.

You gently set down the crown of flowers atop his head, brushed a couple of strands of hair out of his eyes, admiring your work.

"Thanks, love." he whispered.

"No problem, Coryo." He only smiled at that.

You slowly stood up, wanting to collect more flowers to take home to your grandmother and some for the dinner table, when your got stuck in a particularly nasty weed, tripping you and making you fall...on top of none other than Coriolanus. Luckily the fall was softer than expected.

For few moments you two just stayed there, his hand on the small of your back and your hands on his chest. You were so close you could feel his warm breath against your neck, and if you wanted to - if you could - you would be able to kiss him.

"Hi." Coriolanus finally whispered, breaking the peaceful silence.

"Hi." you whispered back.

Then a funny thought popped into your head making you smile like crazy.

"What?" asked Coriolanus, furrowing his brows.

You began giggling.

"I guess Snow doesn't always land on top." you smirked, partly from your genius - ness and partly from mockingly shocked expression, all the humor plastered on his face and his blue eyes twinkling.

You quickly jumped up and ran off, occasionally looking back, indicating Coriolanus to chase after you, and laughing. That laugh that was like music to Coriolanus' ears.

Shaking his head and grinning, he was soon running after your laughing figure.

[emma-is-swaggy-and-epic]

Felt like making an MLP next gen lol (something something, inner child or whatever)

[[Link to the base i used]]

SHIPS AND LORE UNDER THE CUT!!!

Characters from left to right

Daisy bell - fluttershy x tree hugger

....yeah, i know that you were probably expecting a different ship considering neither fluttershy OR tree hugger have curly hair. I gave daisy curly hair because tree hugger's design makes it look like she has wicks or some other black hairstyle and that leads me to believe she may be black. Anyway...daisy's special talent is grooming animals and i imagine she probably smokes weed in her spare time

Hailey - applejack x rainbow dash

In all honesty, i'm not really too invested in shipping in the MLP fandom though considering how it's implied RD and AJ got married in the series finale i decided to keep that with my next gen because i feel it makes sense. I chose the name "hailey" for this character for a multitude of reasons: 1. That's the name i chose for ALL my rainbow dash next gen kids ever since i was twelve, 2. It's a pun on "hail" as in the weather condition and 3. "Hailey" just SOUNDS like it could be a farm girl name. Basically hailey's thing is that she earned her cutie mark after getting bit by a vampire fruit bat as a child and therefore has a pair of bat wings. Personality-wise she's pretty much your typical "manic pixie dream girl" type (ramona flowers from scott pilgrim immediantly comes to mind, i've never read those books and i'm just going off of what i've heard)

Pastel dream - twilight sparkle x flash sentry

I admit this is a bit of a generic choice but tbh this was one of the first ships i EVER had so i feel it deserves a place in my next gen. Basically twilight and flash got married though their marriage didn't last very long and they got divorced a few years after pastel was born and twilight eventually got with big mac, pastel was very fucking angsty about having a new stepdad and only really calmed down after her little sister lavender was born. She's emo and also believes in aliens, her special talent is interpreting dreams (also, yes i know she doesn't really look THAT much like her parents. I'm just kinda tired of people ALWAYS making their flashlight fankids straight up just twilight but orange and i wanted to do something different)

Lavender web - twilight sparkle x big mac

Yeah i only really put this ship here because of the semi-infamous fanfic "the spiderses" and her personality is no different, this lass just LOVES her some spiders.

Rosemary - rarity x braeburn

This was actually the very first MLP ship i ever got into! At the time, i hadn't watched the episode braeburn was in and didn't know he was basically male applejack. 8-year-old me just saw him in the gameloft app and thought "wow that's one handsome horse! I must ship him with rarity because she's my favorite character!" So i put the ship into my next gen because of how much sentimental value i have for it. Anyways....i imagine rose to be somewhat of a "southern belle" type, her special talent is writing romance fiction and she's got the flirty nature to match! She's slightly inspired by blanche from the golden girls, i do admit.

Chocomint ice - pinkie pie x minty

To be honest....i only really added this ship in because of how often they're shipped in G3. I don't really have much to say about her other than she's based on the song "aoi-chan is going to eat chocomint no matter what" (bit of a mouthful of a song title but y'know...it's a japanese song so it's probably much shorter in the original language lol) also her bangs are modeled after the titular aoi-chan in the song's music video

I don't know if i'm going to do anything with this AU, but if i do: i'll probably include celestia x mirror!sombra and luna x discord

[platypusundercover]

[T] Daisy

Next >

She held the flower in front of him. It was a daisy, they were almost like weed here, sprouting at the feet of fence edges and in patch everywhere in the meadows. He hooked his hand under her arms and lifted her up so she could sit on his lap.

“Lemme see.” He said, playing along to inspect the flower under every angle. She giggled. “Mmh yeah I think that’s the biggest for sure. Just for me?”

“Yes! So, you can put in your hair.”

He removed his hat and leaned in, to let her put the daisy over his ear.

-Boothill missed the daisies from home. What a coincidence for him to find them again in a dingy repair shop-

Audience : Teen Up (we got a sad one folks)

Word Count : ~ 3.1k

Relationship : Boothill & his daughter (Clementine)

Minor Argenti/Boothill

[doctorkinktraveller]

(The Doctor and Jo sit on the floor, manacled to the wall.)

DOCTOR: Any luck?

JO: Funnily enough, they didn't include Atlantean chains in my escapology course. No, it's no good. Doctor, what are we going to do?

DOCTOR: Well, we'll just have to play it by ear, won't we.

JO: What happens if the Master wins?

DOCTOR: Well, the whole of creation is very delicately balanced in cosmic terms, Jo. If the Master opens the floodgates of Kronos' power, all order and all structure will be swept away, and nothing will be left but chaos.

JO: Makes it seem so pointless really, doesn't it.

DOCTOR: I felt like that once when I was young. It was the blackest day of my life.

JO: Why?

DOCTOR: Ah, well, that's another story. I'll tell you about it one day. The point is, that day was not only my blackest, it was also my best.

JO: Well, what do you mean?

DOCTOR: Well, when I was a little boy, we used to live in a house that was perched halfway up the top of a mountain. And behind our house, there sat under a tree an old man, a hermit, a monk. He'd lived under this tree for half his lifetime, so they said, and he'd learned the secret of life. So, when my black day came, I went and asked him to help me.

JO: And he told you the secret? Well, what was it?

DOCTOR: Well, I'm coming to that, Jo, in my own time. Ah, I'll never forget what it was like up there. All bleak and cold, it was. A few bare rocks with some weeds sprouting from them and some pathetic little patches of sludgy snow. It was just grey. Grey, grey, grey. Well, the tree the old man sat under, that was ancient and twisted and the old man himself was, he was as brittle and as dry as a leaf in the autumn.

JO: But what did he say?

DOCTOR: Nothing, not a word. He just sat there, silently, expressionless, and he listened whilst I poured out my troubles to him. I was too unhappy even for tears, I remember. And when I'd finished, he lifted a skeletal hand and he pointed. Do you know what he pointed at?

JO: No.

DOCTOR: A flower. One of those little weeds. Just like a daisy, it was. Well, I looked at it for a moment and suddenly I saw it through his eyes. It was simply glowing with life, like a perfectly cut jewel. And the colours? Well, the colours were deeper and richer than you could possibly imagine. Yes, that was the daisiest daisy I'd ever seen.

JO: And that was the secret of life? A daisy? Honestly, Doctor.

DOCTOR: Yes, I laughed too when I first heard it. So, later, I got up and I ran down that mountain and I found that the rocks weren't grey at all, but they were red, brown and purple and gold. And those pathetic little patches of sludgy snow, they were shining white. Shining white in the sunlight. You still frightened, Jo?

JO: No, not as much as I was.

DOCTOR: That's good. I'm sorry I brought you to Atlantis.

JO: I'm not.

DOCTOR: Thank you.

[herefortarlos]

Collegiate, daffodil & daisy, please.

Hii Lim!! Thank youuuu for these 🥰

Collegiate- (did you go to or are you going to university? what are you or did you study?) I did got to college for 4 years and have a BA! Wish I could do it over because I would have majored in Anthropology or Museum studies, but because I didn't know those were options, I went for History education. In year 3, I dropped the education part 🤣 because I realized I didn't like children enough to be around them that often and the education system is also just a mess for teachers. So I now have a degree in History and picked up two minors in Archaeology and Asian/Middle Eastern Studies!!

Daffodil- (Do you like to garden?) I am soooo happy you asked me this because yes, I do enjoy gardening and just yesterday after a couple of drinks and relaxing outdoors, I decided to prune my roses of their unhealthy stems while I was tipsy 🤣 and even with gloves, got a couple a thorn pricks on my hands. I have also weeded my flower beds while the right amount of tipsy and have realized it's a weird habit of mine! Hoping this year when can start a little vegetable garden!

Daisy- (Do you have any pets?) Still no pets, but yes I definitely want them!! Hoping this might be the year we finally get a cat 🤞

[romaine2424]

Daily Blog June 27, 2023

Arg! I'd hoped to spend sometime planting the pretty flowers I bought yesterday but to my dismay I discovered an invasive weed was mixed in with my Shasta Daisies, which are just about to bloom. The kind of weed that attaches to your clothes and skin. Gloves came out and two hours later, I made a huge dent. Flowers tomorrow.

I had mentioned there were would be additional categories I'd throw into the mix and today I have one I've been anxious to get to. I'm going to call it Magical Elves. They are the people who help make fandom run. I mentioned @phoenixacid in an earlier post, who has been hosting @hd-fan-fair for ten years. This category will cover folks like her and that do even more...yes, even more...

What I'm reading:

On the Discord Drarry Fans Writers and Artists there is a channel for recs. I stole this one from there but then discovered I'd already read it. However, it was long enough ago that I don't remember all of the details. I think I read it when it first came out and before I hopped back into fandom in spring of 2021. The Ordeal of Being Known (146k) by @lou-isfake. I'm only on chapter 3 right now but I just love this Draco and his Oscar the Grouch house-slippers and his house-elf Timsy. The writing is so fresh and clever, I find myself smiling most of the time. Here's the summary, which I think gives you a flavor of the writing style I'm talking about:

When Auror Potter is anonymously cursed with silence by being forced to hide his own voice inside his mind, there's unfortunately only one person in the country with the qualifications to fix it: Certified and Licensed Healer Legilimens, Draco Malfoy, specialist in Mind Curses and Afflictions. It's obviously a terrible idea, a disaster waiting to happen, but Draco's never been able to back down from a challenge... especially from Potter. Features fuzzy cartoon slippers, devious house elves, 90s music, and lots—LOTS—of memories. Ron is annoyingly hot, Hermione sees right through you, Harry is a powerful idiot, and Draco is a reclusive masochist that would buy an entire city if it would make a kid happy. (And Pansy is "5'2, I wanna dance with you, and I'm sophisticated fun.")

Go read The Ordeal of Being Known on AO3.

Hit the Keep Reading!!!!!

Magical Elves:

The first person I want to highlight in this category is actually someone I've met in person at HP Cons and we've stayed in touch over the years in real life. *hugs darlin* You've probably seen @sassy-cissa's name as an author or maybe an email asking you about a fic for a fest but I'm betting most of you have no idea how much she's done for fandom for more than a decade and half, especially for Drarry fandom.

Let me list the ways in how awesome she is:

Current modding responsibilities:

25 Days of Draco and Harry (started in 2009) What 2009 ? Oh my! And do you know she reads each and every story posted for the fest and comments, too! HD Mpreg Fest – (started in 2011 – I've been modding since 2018) HD Fan Fair/Career Fair – co-modding since 2019)

Previous modding responsibilities:

Co-mod for H/D Erised from 2014 to 2018 Moderated the H/D Prophet from about 2016 to 2021

See that last one H/D Prophet. Take a look at the link just for a moment. Every Drarry WIP that was updated that week was listed, fests' status, drabble prompts, etc...Every single week. The prophet soon closed down after a few more months due to lack of participation (fandom had moved away from LJ).

Communities owned and/or Maintain:

On LJ: Slythindor100 and HarryDraco Mpreg On Tumblr: H/D Mpreg and Slythindor100

In addition, why yes there is more, Sassy writes, too, and beautifully! Sassy-Cissa (on AO3). Over 109 stories, mostly Drarry, some Hermione/Severus and a few Harry/Ginny...but as she put it....(but they usually end up divorced or Ginny dies). *snicker*

And she's on FanLore! And she also betas for some of the best.

So I know this is long but I just want folks to be aware of those working in the background, making our experience here in fandom enjoyable and filled with lovely content. They truly are magical elves. Sassy doesn't post much on Tumblr or on Discord but she does pop-in now and then. Next time you see her name, you'll now know who she is.

Tumblr Tidbit:

Did you know that you can edit the text below the Keep Reading line on your post and it will make the changes to all reblogs of your post. Edit above and sorry the reblogs will show the original. This comes in handy if you're making a Masterlist of works or something else that has lots of links or needs to be updated frequently.

Happy Tuesday and Sorry this was so late. My ancient computer decided to crash multiple times. Rom

[peachysunrize]

- Aemond's 🧸

https://www.tumblr.com/peachysunrize/761612449064583168/literally-jumping-on-the-back-of-that-anon-and?source=share

thank you nonnie! #piggybackride, carrying you on my back as we speak x also you're 100% right, i remember watching the promo Ewan did and him saying how chilly the studio was, and it's known when men are freezing they 'shrivel up' but in another promo this time with Tom, he whipped out the nickname "big balls" for Ewan so he in–fact was avg. size even in the cold temp! also can we talk about Aemond's sac size for a minute (i'm not a fan of a/b/o but i'll be using some of it's terminology), because of how big they are imagine the loads of come he'd spurt out... it'd be like a knot <3 it'd be leaking out and he'd fill reader to the brim and referring back to a tho(ugh)t reply you (yes you Rue!) answered with, he'd most definitely be fingering it back inside with his infamous pout saying "why aren't you taking it?" "stop refusing my gift rūs (baby)" blah blah blah...

https://www.tumblr.com/peachysunrize/761623535551758336/gets-flowers-and-cookies-for-that-lovely?source=share

and 🪴 emoji anon! thank you for the cookies 🍪 and flowers 🌸, they're greaty appreciated x also 🧸 anon fact time! i <3 🌼 daisy flowers, they're my fav (which is kind–a weird since they're a weed :( ...) anyway, he totally has a praise k!nk like never in his life has he recieved any only degradation since he was bullied by his nephews who are younger than him! and his older brother whose meant to protect him :( and referring back to another one of my tho(ugh)ts about a lucemond shipper's headcanon about Aemond having a sensitive right ear and heightened hearing due to his lost eye, if you were to whisper into his blind side's ear about what a pretty t!p colour, how he's *so* close bcs of how much pre he has, how pinkish his c0€k is that reader would get a dress comissioned in the same hex colour (modern!au), how big his sac, that he should know what a delicious taste (a slightly bitter, salty taste but mainly milky) his c0m£ is that next time reader blows him she'll spit it into his mouth while shoving her tongue inside to have a make–out session 🤗 he'd be a waterfall in miliseconds...

also i <3 all the appreciation i recieve on my tho(ugh)ts but it's YOUR blog Rue and i feel like i'm taking that away from you, i simply only come up w/ these ideas bcs of how h0rn¥ i am, i seriously think there's sumn in this spring air #hayfever that's making my ovulation 10x worse to deal w/ (it's Aemond's existence, a fictional character.) also i'm abt to get you all in your feels again (teehee 🤭) in my next note bcs it won't fit here :( i also don't want this note to be *too* long

Babe, I love your thots!!! Don’t think you’re taking anything from me because you’re actually making me love this blog more and more!!!

It’s not even 9am and you’ve got me all giddy and giggly because Aemond having a sensitive ear is such a blessing I CANT STOP THINKING ABOUT HIM JUST COMING FROM DIRTY TALK

[reallyromealone]

YES PLEASE I WOULD LOVE TO SEE UR POEMS

-🕷️ anon

I couldn't pick one so here are like a bunch--

I'm very bad at deciding quq

Endless seas rapture my mind

Pulling and seeking the fireflies of hope

That lift me to the heavens

In an endless cacophony of bells and whistles.

-

Sweet velvet skies and honey golden glows,

My grave though cold and my eyes unmoving

May my heart remain warm and loving

As those before and after my wake.

-

Death so shallow yet bold,

It's tender kisses through the night

Remind me that my heart had grown cold,

Wavering with reminders of growing old

Like flowers of autumn,

My soul becomes withered,

Unable to hold.

~

May my weary heart lay,

Hopeful and kind as daisies tangle and snare

My honest corpse.

The weeds and insects harvest and thrive

Over my own demise.

~

Oh softly the wind blows

Over the calm ticks in my minds eyes.

Secret sirens ushering the weak willed

And the filthy to a forgotten Neverland.

~

Though my mind is man

My body is woman

I share experiences with those whom

I hold no connection with

Other than the red blood

Of mother earth

Though my body is woman

My mind is man

I will take these values

Given to me by the women

Oh strong and free

And thrust it upon all

Who cannot see

~

Though my mother's and father's long before me

Exist not in my mind but in my heart and blood,

I strive to become the person they fought to become.

Clear the roadblocks and the broken dams as I become the favorite version of myself.

Filled with love and trust.

As Pandora's box I will have nothing left but hope to become one that others look fondly to.

It's my one right.

~

Oh how beautiful the sun,

Hiding our sins but showing our shadows.

Though every ray warm and bright,

It reveals the ugly and the dangerous.

We cannot hide our foul nature nor our pride,

Under the unyeilding light.

~

[ailendolin]

Title: The Greatest Gift [AO3]

Characters: Ho-Tan/Vex, the Youngers

Summary: Vex and the Youngers have a surprise for Ho-Tan.

A/N 1: This is for my very dear friend @iris-in-the-rain who surprised me with such a lovely gift this week that a simple, "Thank you," didn't seem adequate. I hope this little story will make you as happy as little felt Gabriel and Ian made me! 💙

A/N 2: An explanation for the Youngers' names can be found here.

————

The Greatest Gift

“No peeking, Mum!”

“I’m not!” Ho-Tan laughed as Alvin and the other Youngers pulled her down the hallway. “What is going on?”

Behind her, Vex chuckled. “Patience, love. You’ll find out in a minute.”

Even with her eyes tightly closed, Ho-Tan could tell they were headed for the garden. The Elders’ Chamber was more familiar to her than any other place in all the realms and she didn’t need to be able to see to know where she was. But when the Youngers steered her towards a corner of the garden that was infamously known as The Patch, her steps faltered. The area was full of wild, thorny bushes and weeds that lashed out – literally – if one got too close to them. Nothing else grew there and the children had always been expressly forbidden to go near it. Ho-Tan had had more than enough nightmares over the years of one of them toddling into The Patch and ending up getting hurt – or worse. The last thing she needed was for those dreams to turn real.

“Are we going where I think we’re going?” she asked nervously.

She felt Vex step up behind her – a calm and reassuring presence. “It’s all right. Trust me.”

She did, with her whole heart, but that didn’t stop her knees from trembling when she stepped forward again. Luckily, after only a few more steps, Irk declared loudly, “We’re here! You can open your eyes now, Mum!”

Ho-Tan did not know what she expected to see when she followed his excited command – perhaps a new fence around The Patch since the last one had been assimilated by the weeds and bushes earlier this year in spring? It certainly wasn’t the sight of a young apple tree surrounded by a sea of flowers in all the colours of the rainbow.

Her mouth fell open.

“Surprise!” the Youngers shouted with matching grins on their faces.

“Do you like it?” Sepal asked eagerly.

“I picked the flowers!” Irk said, nearly bouncing with excitement.

“The apple tree was my idea,” Alvin told her with a shy smile.

“Uncle Vex got rid of the nasty bushes for us,” Barry said.

“And he helped us make the flowerbed,” Daisy added happily.

“We planted all your favourites!” Teddy piped up.

Ho-Tan blinked against the sudden stinging in her eyes.

“But ... why? Today’s not my Name Day,” she stammered out as her gaze roamed over the flowers. It was obvious the Youngers had put a lot of thought into planting them, arranging them so every single one of them could shine. They had turned this dangerous corner of their garden into a place of colour and light where one could sit in the sun and listen to the birds sing, and they’d done it just for her. The thought took her breath away.

A small pair of hands gently clasped hers and Ho-Tan tore her eyes away from the apple blossoms dancing in the breeze to look down at her son.

“Remember the last time you went shopping with Edith?” Alvin asked quietly. “You got each of us a little gift, and something for dad too. But you didn’t get anything for yourself. You never do, so we thought we’d make something for you instead.”

The Youngers nodded.

“Do you like it?” Irk asked. He gazed up at her with such big, hopeful eyes – they all did – that Ho-Tan felt her heart swell with more love and gratitude than she knew how to put into words.

“Oh, of course I do!” she said and fell to her knees to gather them all up in her arms. “How could I not? You planted a garden with all my favourite flowers from the twelve realms for me!”

“There’s one from Debbie’s world too,” Vex said softly.

Ho-Tan’s eyes roamed over the flowerbed and – yes, there they were, right at the base of the apple tree: forget-me-nots. She turned to Vex and beamed. “Like the ones from Debbie’s garden!”

“Exactly like the ones from her garden,” Vex said with a smile. “Debbie was kind enough to give us some of hers.”

Ho-Tan had no idea how he’d managed to pull all this off without her noticing anything, let alone how the children had managed to keep it a secret for so long. She had so many questions but in that moment, something else was more important. She reached for Vex and pulled him into the group hug.

“You are the best family in all the realms,” she whispered fiercely. “I love you all so much.”

For a heartbeat or two, Ho-Tan basked in the chorus of, “We love you, too,” before she pulled back and wiped her eyes on her sleeve.

“Now,” she said with a trembling smile, her voice a little rougher than it normally was. “How about we have a little picnic out here and you tell me how you managed to do all this?”

The Youngers grinned and nodded with excitement.

“I’ll go get the blanket!” Irk announced and was on his feet before anyone could stop him.

“And I’ll get the cake,” Sepal said, racing after him.

Ho-Tan shared an amused look with Vex. How Sepal even knew she’d made a cake this morning was beyond her. He seemed to have sixth sense when it came to sniffing out baked goods, just like his father.

“Can we have ice cream too?” little Teddy asked. Barry and Daisy gasped and looked her expectedly.

“Of course,” Ho-Tan laughed. “Anything you want.”

“Yes!” Barry exclaimed, grabbed Daisy’s hand – the one that wasn’t holding Teddy – and ran off towards the Chamber with the two of them in tow.

Ho-Tan smiled down at her eldest son. “You know, I think there’s still some of those cookies left you like so much.”

To her surprise, Alvin shook his head and pulled her to the left side of the apple tree. “Maybe later. I want to show you something first.”

He pointed at a tiny thing hanging from one of the branches and barely visible among the young green leaves and delicate blossoms. Ho-Tan’s eyes widened. “Is that–?”

Alvin grinned and nodded. “A butterfly, yes! Dad and I discovered it this morning.”

“I reckon it’ll hatch in a couple of days,” Vex added with a smile.

“Maybe it’ll be blue like your favourite hairclip!” Alvin said, his eyes shining with excitement.

Ho-Tan pulled him against her side and pressed a kiss against his hair. “Or yellow like yours.”

“Or white like Dad’s hair,” Alvin snickered.

“Oi!” Vex laughed in mock offence. “Go get your cookies and see what your brothers are up to, you cheeky cricket.”

Alvin grinned at the old familiar nickname and stuck out his tongue at him before he gave Ho-Tan another hug and skipped back towards the house.

“I can’t believe you did all of this for me,” Ho-Tan said in wonder as she took in the flowerbed and apple tree once more.

“Why wouldn’t we?” Vex asked softly. “We love you.”

Such a simple explanation, and yet so profound. Vex and the Youngers’ love for her was one of the few things she had never doubted in her life. How could she have when it was everywhere she looked? In the crinkles around Vex’s eyes, the drawings that hung on the walls in her room, the blue butterfly in her hair, the smiles on her children’s faces, and now the flowers and apple tree in their garden, too.

No matter what shape it took, their love was and always would be the greatest gift of all.

“I know,” Ho-Tan smiled and reached for the hand that had held her for so long. “And I love you.”

[calronhunt]

💢 ANGER, 💐 BOUQUET, ☄️ COMET

For Canary, Lain and Mariner!

💢 ANGER - what are some habits they have that will take some getting used to?

Mariner - Famously says pseudo intellictual garbage in most cases. Can barely hold a normal conversation, and he telegraphs his annoyance VERY clearly by flicking his ear constantly

Canary - not a "habit" but she snores. Very loudly.

Lain - you kinda have to dig to make him have a conversation. Trying to get water from a stone sorta deal. He also often defaults to just agreeing with the person ordering him around, which makes it hard to decern what his ACTUAL feelings are

💐 BOUQUET - create a bouqet for them! what do those flowers mean? are any of the flowers their particular favourite?

Mariner - Bluebells (for secret reasons), water lily meaning birth and resurrection, white rose meaning young love and innocence, and forget-me-nots for. You know.

Canary - Daisies for innocence and joy, sunflower for happiness, red rose for love, and poppies for sleep, peace, and death.

Lain - Dandelions because they're weeds, black rose for despair, and holly for endurance

☄️ COMET - what do people assume about them? are they right?

Mariner - that he's miserable. And in current story yes, but before canary and after meeting her, he was entirely content with his life. They also assume hes a freak which is also true

Canary - that she's positive and happy all the time. And to a degree, yes, she is like that, but there is a big part of her who doesn't know where she belongs in the world or who she really is. She struggles with that terribly and sometimes thinks she shouldn't be in the world at all.

Lain - that he's mean and grumpy which like. Yeah. Fair.

[hookerpeach]

Shadow & Light Part 3

Mountain GhoulXSister of Sin OC | Lots of words, Idk | Eventual smut

[Hi, Peachy here! I have some new followers, some of which I look up to (even though I am an old lady) so, like, if this is hot shit please tell me because it was the hardest chapter to write so far because of ~*t r a u m a *~ here is AO3 link if you'd rather read there: https://archiveofourown.org/works/44724052/chapters/112884583

okthankyoubye]

Several months had gone by with Mountain visiting Leah in the garden almost every afternoon. She wondered if anyone had seen what the ghoul was doing or caught on to the weeds that had regrown every day, but most of the abbey was too busy with summer solstice preparations to pay attention to the courtyard.

“Can you grow anything other than weeds?” Leah asked Mountain playfully as she walked into the gardens after lunch. 

Once he heard her voice he jumped down, black tunic hanging loosely from his body and baggy trousers covered his long legs. The light was back in his eyes as he sauntered to Leah, leaves caught in his antlers, causing her to laugh. His tail whipped around behind his back and he strolled over to her, arms folded across his chest. 

“Come with me.” Mountain nodded to her, holding out his hand. 

Leah jumped at the sudden command, but took his hand anyway, her fingers gliding over his gray skin, feeling the callouses from his years of playing drums. He shuddered, but his fingers wrapped around Leah’s and he watched her for a moment.

“Do you trust me?” He asked. 

Leah blinked. “I- yes.” She said hesitantly.  

His hand gripped Leah’s and they were enveloped in a cloud of smoke and dust. 

She screamed and jumped into Mountain’s chest, gripping into his tunic with all her might, but by the time she opened her eyes they were in what Leah assumed to be the woods that surrounded the abbey. She looked up into Mountain's face and glowered. He responded with a wide grin. 

“You could have warned me.” Leah said as she let go of him and moved a more appropriate distance from the ghoul. 

“If I did you would have said “no”.” 

Leah opened her mouth to protest, but he was right. 

“Besides.” He shrugged. “It’s faster this way.” 

Leah looked around her in awe, in the small Glen he had brought her to there were thousands of different kinds of flowers in all the colors she could think of. She recognized some of them, daisies, roses and marigolds, but there were so many she had never seen or heard of before. 

“How far away from the abbey are we?” Leah asked. “It’s so quiet here.” 

“Only a few miles.” Mountain shrugged again. 

“Did you grow all of these?” She asked, turning back to where Mountain was getting comfortable in a sunny patch of grass. 

“Most of them, but some of them were here before me. I found it while taking a walk, shortly after I was summoned.”

She walked over to where a flower unlike any she had ever seen before came out of the ground and crouched down over it, admiring the beautiful deep purple color of all the little buds that sprang from the stalk almost like fireworks. “What is this one?” She asked almost breathlessly. 

“Hyacinth.” 

Leah looked back to Mountain, who had laid down on the sunlit grass like he had the week before. His eyes were closed, but a small smile was still on his face. Despite him being a demon from hell, he looked almost… angelic laying there with the rays of sunlight on him. Leah leaned closer to him.

“What are you staring at, Parva Soror?” He was smirking now, his eyes still closed. 

A blush crept up Leah’s face and she looked away quickly. Her heart beat fast in her chest and she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to expel the ghouls face from her mind. She huffed and turned back, finding Mountain propped up on his elbows, watching her with such intensity that her stomach dropped. 

“Why - why did you bring me here?” She breathed. His face was so close to hers she feared he could smell the unease radiating off her. 

“I wanted to be with you.” Mountain admitted. “Without anyone interrupting.” 

Leah’s heart threatened to jump out of her chest. “So you can-.” She didn’t finish the sentence before she was on her back, under the ghoul. 

His face was a mixture of rage and hurt and something else Leah didn’t know the name of. She pressed her head into the earth beneath her, feeling the hot breath of Mountain over her. 

“If I wanted anything from you -.” He paused, thinking. “Is it so hard -.” He stumbled, trying to find the right words and cursed in his native tongue before his blazing eyes were on hers again. “Is it so hard,” He finally said more calmly. “To believe that someone wants nothing more than your company?” 

Leah sobbed in answer, tears spilling from her eyes

Mountain seemed to break at the sound, his anger crumbling and nothing but concern filled his eyes. “Oh soror.” He whispered, loosening his grip on Leah’s shoulders. “I am so sorry.” He rested his forehead on hers. “I am so sorry.” 

Leah continued to sob, tears soaking her hair. Mountain sat up on his knees, wrapping his strong arms around her and pulling her into his lap. 

“Soror please.” He begged. “Don’t cry.” 

Leah only cried harder, all of the grief, rage and guilt came out of her in tears that spilled down her face. It wasn’t what he did, but what he had said. No one before the abbey had ever wanted Leah for anything other than what was between her legs. Even the man she had planned to marry had bragged about the fact that he would be the first to touch her. But Moutain, who may have been a demon from hell, who may have lusted after the prized blood that flowed in her veins, He legitimately just wanted to be with her. He brought her to this beautiful place and she assumed he had ulterior motives because of the way others had treated her. 

She wanted to tell him, and wanted to assure him that she didn’t think the worst of him, but all that came out of her mouth were broken sobs. 

“I’m here, nothing will hurt you while I am here.” He whispered, rocking her softly. 

+++

By the time Leah was ready to face Mountain again, the summer solstice had come. 

The ghoul had held her through all the crying and whimpering she had done, as if it didn’t phase him, but Leah was embarrassed. Ashamed that the emotions she had kept hidden deep within her had spilled out and that she had allowed someone to see her in such a vulnerable state. She feigned sickness to hide in her room for a week, but she could only pretend to be sick for so long. 

She had told him everything through the incoherent sobs, not sure if he actually understood, but he held her to his chest, helping her work though the complicated feelings she had locked away for so long. 

“Do you trust me?” He had asked.

“I - yes.” She had lied, deep down, she still thought about their first encounter, about the feeling of that forked tongue on her finger, and about when he admitted that he could have drained her blood. She was disgusted with herself for lying and thinking the worst of her new friend, but found solace with the wine that was served at Solstice. 

Once she was on her third hefty goblet, Jas mentioned that she might want to slow down, but Leah ignored the warnings of Jas and the other siblings that expressed concern. 

‘Just one more, and then I can talk to him.’ Leah promised herself as she refilled the goblet for the fifth time that evening. 

Siblings and Ghouls alike danced by the bonfire, and even more gyrated on the lawn to the sound of music that blasted from the speakers and filled the abbey with beautiful songs. A woman’s voice sang through the crowd, breaking thought through the chatter and noise. 

“Lucifer,” The voice crooned. “My love.” 

Leah made her way through the throngs of siblings, ghouls and honored guests, spotting a familiar rack of antlers a few yards away. She weaved between the others until she stopped, mere feet between her, Mountain and several of his siblings. 

Mountain immediately stood from where he sat and walked directly to Leah. The eyes of his kin followed him to her, and they all craned their necks to see what had captured their brother’s attention. 

“Soror.” Mountain nodded to her. 

“I need to apologize to you.” She replied, a slight slur in her voice. Mountain’s back straightened, but she continued, softly. “Can you take me back to the-.” 

The ghoul that had interrupted them a few weeks ago, Swiss, swung a strong arm around Mountain’s shoulder. He grinned at Leah, smoke coming out of his nostrils and wiggled his thick eyebrows. 

“Ah.” Swiss’ orange eyes glowed, recognizing Leah. “Mountain’s beautiful distraction.” He passed the joint he carried to his brother, who took it without a word. 

“Come, decoris, the others want to meet you, too.” Swiss held out a clawed hand to Leah who looked between his hand and Mountain, who silently took a hit from the hand rolled cigarette and watched. 

Leah slowly took the hand that was offered to her, Swiss led her to where Mountain had been sitting, finding four other Ghouls waiting for her. Mountain followed close behind, though he was so quiet she wouldn’t have realized he was even there. 

They all had the same gray-ish skin tone like Mountain and Swiss but their eyes varied in color, except for the two feminine looking ghouls who shared the ram horns and same silver eyes. They all watched as the three of them approached, whatever conversation they had been in the middle of had stopped. 

“Mounty’s new playthi - OW!” Leah turned behind her to find swiss doubled over in pain. 

“Sister Leah.” Mountain corrected. 

She turned back to the group of Ghouls who looked either interested or unimpressed.

Mountain stepped forward next to Leah to gesture to each of the ghouls and ghulette’s. “Cirrus, Cumulus, Aether and Rain.” Each of them gave her a nod or a wave as their name was said. 

Cumulus was the first to speak; “Welcome, sister Leah.” She gestured to the spot next to her. “Please, come sit with us.”

Leah took a seat next to the ghoulette, Mountain sat next to Leah, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Swiss walked past Mountain, swiping the joint he had given him back and taking a seat next to Aether and Cirrus. There was an awkward pause for a moment, but the Ghoul with eyes so purple they were almost black, Aether, nodded to Leah.

“So, have you two…?”

“Aether.” Cumulus hissed, giving him a glare. The other siblings either rolled their eyes and sighed or covered their smiles with their clawed hands. 

Mountain’s arms tightened around Leah and she heard the almost silent growl that rumbled in his chest.

Leah felt the effects of all the wine she had downed that evening, her better judgment gone as she cocked her head to the side and slurred; “Not yet.” 

The group erupted into loud laughter, Swiss falling over, clutching his Sides. Aether’s face was dumbstruck for a moment before Rain elbowed him and said something Leah couldn’t understand. Mountain huffed a laugh and loosened his grip on her, lowering his arm to caress her back in soft circles. Leah smiled and leaned into the crook of his arm. 

The rest of the evening was spent much the same, the ghouls asking her innocent questions or filling her in on Mountain’s most embarrassing habits. 

One by one each of the siblings either left for trysts with nuns or other ghouls, leaving Mountain and Leah alone once again. 

Leah wasn’t sure how long she had sat next to him, feeling his fingers glide across her back but she knew she didn’t want him to stop. 

“What did you want me for earlier?” Mountain asked, resting his head on Leah’s. His other arm grazed her shoulder, but slowly slid down to her hand as she tried to remember. Their fingers wove together. 

“I wanted to apologize.” She said, turning to face him, their noses almost touching. “For the other day, in the woods.” 

He shook his head, letting his nose rub hers softly. “You have nothing to apologize for.” Mountain’s voice was a soft whisper. 

“I do, I made you think-.” Her voice wobbled. “And I don’t want you to think that, that I think you’re a monster, because you're not.” The words spilled from her lips. “You’re my friend.” 

“How much wine have you had, parvulus?” He chuckled, green eyes hazy.

“It’s not the wine, you are my friend.” 

“You let your friends hold you like this?” Mountain asked, Giving Leah’s shoulders a gentle squeeze. “I wish we had become friends sooner.” 

“I think you just feel good.” She whispered, her eyes meeting his. 

Mountain seemed to go stiff before he leaned his face to the side, his lips only a millimeter away from hers. “Leah.” He breathed. “Can I kiss you?” 

Sobriety washed over Leah and her eyes widened. Her mind seemed to stop working and her palms started to sweat. She had forgotten how to speak until the ghoul began to pull away, worry plain on his features before she finally answered him. 

“Please.” She nodded. 

Mountain let go of her hand, cupping Leah’s face and guiding her to him until their lips finally met. 

Leah had been kissed before, though she didn’t want it. The Preacher’s son at her previous church had cornered her, backed her into a wall and forced himself upon her. He had roughly pawed at her breasts and neck, forcing his knee between her thighs. 

Kissing Mountain was different. He was featherlight against her, as if he was still asking permission. Leah pulled him by the black button down he wore into her, wanting to feel more of him. He drew in a sharp breath before pressing his full, gray lips more firmly against hers. His lips opened slightly, allowing his forked tongue to graze over Leah’s lips. She sighed into him, allowing him into her mouth. Mountain’s hands pressed her lower back so she was flush against him. 

And before she knew it, it was over. He pulled away too fast, panting. 

“I’m sorry-.” She squeaked. “I’m not - I don’t have much experience with -.” 

A clawed finger pressed to her lips quieting her. “I don’t want to do this when you’re drunk.” Mountain explained. “Well, I do.” He admitted with a smile, raising an eyebrow. “But I would feel better about it if we were both sober.” 

Leah thought for a moment and nodded. 

“Come, Soror.” Mountain stood, holding out his arm for her to take. “Let me walk you back to your room.” 

[moonyasnow]

A BUNCH of small OC things

Exactly what it sounds like A bunch of small facts about my OCs

Including: some of their favorites, voice-claims, and some short Puella Magi Madoka Magica AU thoughts. So beware PMMM universe spoilers

Tomoe

Fairy Tale: The Tale of The Bamboo Cutter Movie: Wolf Children Album: Raindancer (Erutan) Song: Remember Summer Days Artist: ABBA Book: Journey to the West Tv-show: Kimetsu no Yaiba Game: Fire Emblem: Three Houses Flower: Sunflower Weather: A pleasant day in late Spring, around +20°, with a light breeze Color(s): Poppy Red, Navy Blue, Baby Pink

Her Color Scheme: Black, White, Red

What I imagine her voice to sound like: whoever the feminine-voiced singer in 'FUKUSHU BAND' is

Extra - Puella Magi Madoka Magica - Tomoe's Soul Gem:

Wish: To become a history teacher Power: Gains automatic knowledge of each Witch she encounters' past, time as a Magical Girl, as well as what lead to them becoming a Witch in the first place Weapon: Bow

Irina

Fairy Tale: Cinderella Movie: Lilo & Stitch Album: Traumatic Livelihood Song: Fairytale Artist: Mitski Book: Breakfast at Tiffany's Tv-show: Shiki Game: Diabolik Lovers: More Blood Flower: Clover Flower (both white and purple) Weather: After it's snowed a lot and the ground is covered in thick snow Color(s): Amethyst Purple, Green

Her Color Scheme: Amethyst Purple, Baby Pink, Orchid Puple, Magenta

What I imagine her voice to sound like: SynthV TETO

Extra - Puella Magi Madoka Magica - Irina's Soul Gem:

Wish: For someone, anyone, to love her Power: She can 'talk' to Witches, and make them less hostile, lulling them into a false sense of security Weapon: Dagger

Spike

Fairy Tale: Jack and the Beanstalk Movie: Pride & Prejudice Album: Death of a Bachelor Song: The Real Folk Blues Artist: Skillet Book: Oliver Twist TV-show: Beastars Game: Stardew Valley Flower: Daisy Weather: Grey and cloudy Color(s): Grey

His Color scheme: Black, Oxblood Red, Grey

What I imagine his voice to sound like: Patrick Seitz (in his performance of Franky from One Piece)

Extra - Puella Magi Madoka Magica - Spike's Soul Gem:

Wish: Revenge Power: Razor-sharp spikes Weapon: the same spikes

Junia

Fairy Tale: Rapunzel Movie: The Sound of Music Album: Legally Blonde The Musical (Original Broadway Cast Recording) Song: Do-Re-Mi Artist: Kikuo Book: She can't read :( TV-show: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Game: Project Diva Future Tone Flower: ALL OF THEM Weather: When the rain has just let up and you can see a rainbow, and the sky reflected in puddles on the ground Color(s): Bubblegum Pink, Moss Green, Canary Yellow

Her Color Scheme: Hot Pink, Pumpkin Orange, Seafoam Green, Teal

What I imagine her voice to sound like: Saori Hayami (in her performance as Yor Forger from SPY X FAMILY)

Extra - Puella Magi Madoka Magica - Junia's Soul Gem:

Wish: To be free to sing Power: Shockwave echo voice Weapon: Giant sewing needles & thread

Lisle

Fairy Tale: Sleeping Beauty Movie: Catch me if you can Album: Picaresque Song: My Way Artist: The Beatles Book: Narnia TV-show: Downton Abbey Game: Princess Maker 2 Flower: Easter Lily Weather: Sunny weather in general Color(s): White, Gold, Green

His Color Scheme: Wheat Gold, Green, White, Blue

What I imagine his voice to sound like: John Rubinstein (in his performance of Subaki from Fire Emblem: Fates)

Extra - Puella Magi Madoka Magica - Lisle's Soul Gem:

Wish: To shine as brightly as the sun Power: Blinding lights Weapon: A sword that resembles Excalibur

Veronica

Fairy Tale: The Snow Queen Movie: Jennifer's Body Album: Coyote Stories Song: I'm Still Here (Treasure Planet) Artist: The Crane Wives Book: Vagabond (manga) Tv-show: The Originals Game: Fear & Hunger Flower: Yellow Tulip Weather: Dry and hot Color(s): Gold, Dark Blue, Black

Her Color Scheme: Yellow, Black, Amber, Dark Blue

What I imagine their voice to sound like: Barret Wilbert Weed (yes that is where her name came from)

Extra - Puella Magi Madoka Magica - Veronica's Soul Gem:

Wish: To be able to protect the people she loves Power: Giant diamond-shaped barrier shields Weapon: Sword - specifically a Swiss Saber

Victor

Fairy Tale: The Three Little Pigs Movie: Freaks (1932) Album: The Black Parade Song: Danse Macabre Artist: The Oh Hellos Book: House of Leaves Tv-show: Gravity Falls Game: Pikmin Flower: Rafflesia Weather: Thunderstorms - the more violent the better Color(s): Blood Red, White

His Color Scheme: White, Blood Red, Papaya Orange, Midnight Blue

What I imagine his voice to sound like: Antony del Rio (in his performance of Silas from Fire Emblem: Fates)

Extra - Puella Magi Madoka Magica - Victor's Soul Gem:

Wish: To be able to cut his abusers open and take them apart piece by piece Power: Can separate a living being's 'layers' (skin, organs, nervous system, etc) without killing it Weapon: Surgical Instruments

Artemisia

Fairy Tale: Beauty & The Beast Movie: Howl's Moving Castle Album: Kalafina All Time Best Song: Tsubasa wo Kudasai Artist: Kalafina Book: Frankenstein TV-show: Violet Evergarden Game: Rule of Rose Flower: Ipomoea Alba (Moonflower) Weather: A clear, full-moon night Color(s): Pastel Turquoise

Her Color Scheme: Whisper White, Rose Quartz Pink, Sky Blue

What I imagine her voice to sound like: LUMi (example 1) (example 2)

Extra - Puella Magi Madoka Magica - Artemisia's Soul Gem:

Wish: A pair of white wings on her back Power: Flight Weapon: Spear

[refabled]

@callidusdryadalis : has he spent hours walking around collecting wildflowers into a bouquet for her? yes, he has.

the flowers are a surprise, and a wonderful one at that. fable's eyes widen at the burst of color held in sorros' hands, the bright red of wild, woodland roses and the angelic pallor of baby's breath. among them, though, what catches her eye are the daisies and dandelions buried beneath the louder flowers. her favorites have always been the weeds, the flowers that pop up where you least expect them. but then, there isn't a flower that fable doesn't like. and the effort alone, the time taken to deliver such a beautiful, wonderful gift means the world to her.

❝ for me? ❞ it's a silly question. she reaches out to pull him close, careful not to crush the bouquet between them. ❝ I love them! I love- ❞ she stumbles over her words here. ❝ I love them. thank you, sorros. ❞ gently, she touches a kiss against to lips, smiling all the while.

SURPRISE ASKS : always accepting.