#and everyone takes turns guarding him so their techniques are always fresh but that’s means he’s always surrounded by love from so many

[seravphs]

I can’t express how badly I want Gojo to have an upbringing that is extremely abnormal but loving in equal proportion to the abnormality

[feliix]

Perfect Score ↠ Han Jisung

↠ Jisung x Reader (feat. Felix)

↠ Genre: Fluff, Angst, Smut, Fake Dating!AU, Childhood Friends to Lovers

↠ Rating: M (18+)

↠ Word Count: 14.9k

↠ Summary: As you return home to work at your local coffee shop, you’re swarmed with couples coming in on lovey-dovey on dates. You’ve always hated the idea of love, but it’s Jisung’s mission to make you change your mind in just two weeks time.

↠ Warnings: idiots 2 lovers, mutual pining, unprotected sex, fingering, soft sex, language, light mentions of marking, mentions of bad past relationships

“That's disgusting.”

You grimace in the most subtle way as you watch the man across the shop press a gentle kiss on the cheek of the woman next to him. For some reason your shop is packed with couples this evening. Not that you’ve been counting, but they’re probably the 50th overly lovey-dovey pair that you’ve seen this just this shift alone. 

To say ‘love’ isn’t really your thing isn’t too far from the truth. Every time you’ve been burned by someone in the past has only made your hope about love deteriorate. Relationships suck. Already been there, done that, and you don’t plan on doing it again.

You’ve always stuck by the same theory; relationships either lead to heartbreak or marriage. And even still, marriage may still end in heartbreak, so what’s the point?

“Stop being so dramatic,” Jisung laughs, pulling you out of your thoughts as he rounds the corner. He’s just in time to catch your snide remark, surely it won’t be the last one you’ll make tonight though. He had just run to the back to get you a fresh package of cups after using up all the stock in the front.

Tonight is busy to say the least. The sun has already set, and it’s the afternoon rush when everyone comes in for their second daily dose of caffeine. And it’s definitely necessary – especially on a day as hot and exhausting as this one. It’s the third day that its been over 100º in a row and the humidity is doing a real number to your hair.

“It’s not dramatic,” you sigh, leaning on the counter behind you as Jisung maneuvers around you, placing the cups on the shelf underneath. In your mind it absolutely isnt. Its a mystery why all these people need to publicly display their affection in a coffee shop anyway...

It’s just the two of you on the schedule tonight. Your boss has always been kind of an asshole, just leaving 2 kids in their early twenties to run the shop by themselves while he went off to do god knows what. There's always been an aching suspicion that he just goes to the bar across the street, since his car is still parked behind the shop but he’s always nowhere to be found. That’s okay though, it's better than him looming over your shoulder and criticizing your technique the whole shift.

“Yeah, whatever you say,” Jisung shakes his head.

In stark contrast to yourself, Han Jisung is quite the hopeless romantic. So much so that he tends to search for love in all the wrong places. Maybe a better way to describe it is that Jisung has a series of flings. He’s not shy to test the waters of any girl he comes across – and there are many, many waters that he’s tested. Lucky you gets to hear all about each one, being his friend and all.

But to your good friend’s demise, his ‘relationships’ never end up working out for very long. Theres always some kind of fatal flaw that’s a means to an end. Whether it was Jisung’s fault or the girls,  it’s always confused you why he could never hold onto something longer than a couple months. Jisung is a great guy, it didn’t make sense.

So great that you have been best friends with him for as long as you could remember. It all started that time in pre-k, where you poured a shovel of sand on his head in the sandbox. Initially, it did make him cry, but he got over it eventually. Ever since, he’s been right by your side, sandy hair and all.

“How much longer,” your eyes roll back in your head, neglecting to look at the watch on your wrist in fear that your shift has a significant amount of time left. The night has been dragging on since you stepped foot in the door and heard the little jingle as it opened. You wouldn’t be surprised if you’d only made it through half your shift thus far.

“Just under an hour. Want to start the closing checklist so we can get outta here?” Jisung offers, reaching for the rag and sanitation bucket at the end of the counter.

Nodding your head, you follow his plan – beginning your mission to clean like a speed demon so you can leave no later than at 8 o’clock on the dot. 

Luckily, closing tonight goes as smoothly as it possibly can. You and Jisung are ready to get out of there at 8 on the dot, thanks to your determination to mop like a mad woman and stock the front as fast as humanly possible. 

The air outside feels crisper than usual. Maybe its because you’ve been locked up in a small room that smells like coffee beans for 10 hours, but you’ll never get enough of the night air. 

“So what are we doing tonight?”Jisung asks, his fingers adjusting the headband that sits just above his forehead.

“I was planning on going home and getting some rest…” you trail off, avoiding eye contact with him. Jisung always goes out after your weekend shifts and never lets up on convincing you to tag along. So you can’t look at him, his eyes are much too convincing make contact with, and you are beyond exhausted from working a double today.

“Gah you’re so boring,” he teases, stopping in his tracks in the center of the parking lot to ruffle the hair on top of your head, “it was an early night we should do something.”

With a deep sigh, you stop as well, smoothing down your hair as a pout forms on your lips. The suggestive smirk settling across Jisung’s face is telling; he knows he’s about to get his way before you have the chance to turn him down or fish for another excuse. So you tilt your head, subtly rolling your eyes as you wait for him to explain what his big plans for tonight are.

“I’ll be at your house by 9.”

Accepting defeat, you shoot him a thumbs up before turning to get into your car. Asking any more questions would take away any time you had to wash up – and smelling like coffee beans any longer is going to drive you up a wall since it hasn't already.

It doesn’t take much time for you to rush home and get ready, and before you know it Jisung is there to pick you up. Only a few minutes late, but that’s just par for the course and right on time in Jisung terms. 

The car ride to your destination feels like a blur with how exhausted you are. So when you end up at your favorite boba spot, you immediately perk up. Those tapioca pearls always manage to give you a second wind.

But when Jisung decides to take a seat at one of the round tables just outside the shop instead of getting back in the car you know somethings up. You were expecting to hop back in the passenger seat of his car, maybe listen to some music for a while and drive around to kill time. 

Initially he doesn’t say much. His legs just bounce hyperactively while he fidgits with the straw of his drink. It’s almost like he’s waiting for you to speak up; his eyes staring down at the cup in front of him instead of sipping from it, lip caught between his teeth.

The energy is off. Not only did you expect to hang out and do something adventurous like Jisung normally would, but now you’re watching his cheeks grow red while avoiding conversation.

Awkward silence becoming too much to bear, you take matters into your own hands. “So how are things going with that girl?”

“Oh yeah,” he sighs, his fingertips drumming along the surface of the table, “she didn’t really work out.”

Unsurprised by his response, you just nod along. Its always to expect since he’s the pickiest person you’ve ever met. His last relationship ended because he thought the girl breathed too loudly. The girl before that had an annoying laugh, and then the one before that didn’t like cheesecake. There always seems to be a laundry list of deal-breakers tied along to each one of Jisung’s relationships, and that is something you’ll always expect.

“You’re probably better off.”

You don’t think much of the words before they leave your lips. Relationships are a ton of work, and you’ve never understood the point of to putting all your effort into something like that. There is a way to just be happy on your own, you know.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” his eyebrows furrowing in response, hands gripping his thighs in anticipation

“You know what I think,” you tilt your heat matter-of-factly, “relationships are kind of just a waste of time.”

“What is with you and all this ‘anti-love’ stuff anyway, Y/N?”

Now thats a response that you are not prepared for. The question catches you off guard, a boba bubble almost catching in your throat leaving you a coughing mess. Jisung chuckles at your discomfort, waiting patiently for you to get it all out and just answer his question, as uncomfortable as it is. 

“I’ve wasted too much time with too many dead-beat guys to even think about love,” you sigh again, your coughing fit subsiding as you reach for your cup once again.

“Not every guy is a dead-beat.”

His words carry a harsh bite to them, almost as if he finds you’ve said offensive. It burns his ego a bit, assuming that you’re grouping him in with all the guys you’ve been with in the past. Which is strange, Jisung should know that he’s different. For one, you’ve never dated him before and two, if he was such a dead-beat you wouldn’t have kept him around for so long.

You aren’t able to talk to guys, or most people for that matter, in the same way that you talk to Jisung. He’s the one you rant about all the assholes to. He knows all the shit that you don’t tell anyone else, he’s like your own personal human diary. Secrets are always safe with him, it's not like he has anyone who would listen to the gossip even if he wanted to tell.

After a minute of silence his expression changes, Jisung’s eyes squinting at you in that ‘I have a crazy idea’ type of way. It’s a look that you haven’t seen very often, and you can’t say that you’ll ever get used to it. 

“Okay then I’ll make you a deal,” he proposes, a glimmering look in his eye that made you somewhat nervous. You never know what you are getting with Jisung, but most of the time his ‘deals’ are on the crazier side.

“What is it?” You still ask although you’re a bit nervous to hear his answer. If his plan is to set you up with one of his delinquent friends or something–

“Be my girlfriend.”

Your eyes widen as the words fall from his tongue, confusion taking over your expression as a small chuckle slips past his lips. Instinctively your stomach tightens, the air around you now feeling a bit heaver each second time ticks on. He can't be serious…

“Your what?”

“Two weeks is all I’m asking for. Be my girlfriend for just two weeks, and I’ll show you that love isn’t as shitty as you think it is.”

“You’ve gotta be kidding me” you shake your head, a disbelieving smile stretching wide across your face.

“C’mon Y/N,” he challenges, “it’s two weeks of your life, what else do you have to do? I think it could be fun.”

The quirk of his eyebrow and quick squint of his eyes grabs your attention. He’s serious about this, scarily serious, and you aren’t quite sure how to react to that.

“What’s in it for you?” Your chin falls into your palm as you stare at him, waiting for his response.

“Well for one,” he starts, a sigh leaving his lips, “if it works then I won’t have to listen to you complain about how much relationships suck anymore.”

Just when you don't think you can roll your eyes any further into the back of your head, your own actions surprise you. If looks could kill, the one you’re giving him right now would surely take him out. He doesn’t pay much mind to it though, he’s used to your sass and just shrugs it off.

“This is an awful idea,” you glare at him as if it will change his mind. You’re certain this experiment of his would not change your own. Love sucked, and that was that.

“Two weeks,” his voice carries a taunting tone, his eyebrows wiggling to entice you into his plan. He isn’t going to give up on this easily, you know Jisung. And Jisung always gets his way.

“Fine,” you huff, “two weeks and that’s it. And if my mind isn’t changed you owe me 3 more of these,” you say, picking up your boba from the table and shaking it at eye-level for emphasis.

His bottom lip catches between his teeth, satisfied with your response. He isn’t exactly sure how he’ll manage to pull this off, but he’s definitely up for the challenge.

“We start tomorrow at 8, I’ll pick you up after work.”

Crossing your arms over the table, you bury your head in your arms. This is going to be the most interesting two weeks of your entire life.

“Wait, you're like dating dating the Han Jisung?” Felix’s jaw drops, excitement prevalent on his face as you spill about your night with Jisung.

Felix is the only person in your life that understood your hatred for relationships, other than Jisung of course. Not that he shares the hatred himself, he’s just heard enough about how much you despise being in one to know just how you felt. He’s only heard about it every day for the past several summers.

Felix is your best friend, other than Jisung of course. He’s also the only person in this world that you could bear to work with on a Saturday morning. 

“That's the plan,” you sigh fiddling with the containers on the counter. It’s pretty slow for a Saturday morning, only a handful of customers have come in so far and it's already 11 am.

That’s the thing about working at a coffee shop – and it sucks when it's busy, and it sucks even more when it's slow. At least it isn't a terrible job, you at least have Jisung and Felix to keep you company and that's always worthwhile.

“And for the record,” you turn to look at Felix, a grin still evident on his face, “I don’t think this is gonna change my mind about the love stuff.”

“You know how Jisung is,” his eyebrow lifts, “so you never know. Maybe something could happen.” 

If anyone was surprised that you were dating someone, fake relationship or not, it would be Felix. On top of that, you’re dating Han Jisung. As in, the same Jisung that ended a 3-month relationship last year because the girl ‘smelled too much like peaches’ and it was ‘too good to be true.’ And now that you’re the one stuck with him for the next 14 days, it is only a matter of time until he finds the deal-breaking trait that turns him away from you.

“Okay no, that's exactly why this is only two weeks. If I know Jisung, he’ll be over it before the 2 weeks even ends.”

“Whatever you say,” the pitch of his voice is raised teasingly. You can tell he doesn’t believe this will be just a ‘two-week thing’ by the funny little look on his face. You hate that look, and you hate how Felix always seems to be right.

Subsequently Felix sees a lot of things that you aren’t able to see for yourself. You’ve grown up with Jisung, grown accustomed to his unique mannerisms and behaviors without even noticing. Felix, on the other hand, has a different point of view. 

He’s not in it like you are, so gets to see the way Jisung looks at you; the way he hangs on each and every word that leaves your mouth with a sparkle in his eye. He notices that Jisung longs to make you laugh. And he watches the toothy grin each that grows on your face each time a chuckle breaks through your lips. Felix notices every behavior that you see as nothing more than ‘friendly.’ But who is he to say? So, for now, the information remains tucked away and stored in his mind for a later date.

Your fingers drum on the clean marble countertop beside you, leaning against it as you wait for a customer to come in. All this time with nothing to do is really doing wonders for your imagination; thinking about what Jisung has planned for the two of you to do tonight. Nothing special, you hope, he really doesn’t need to go all out for this. 

The lack of customers and silence that's fallen among the shop is just making it easier for your mind to wander off. It was beginning to make you sick how much you were thinking about Jisung and nothing has even happened yet. It's not like you have any reason to be nervous, but keeping all these thoughts trapped in your thick skull is starting to give you a headache

“He’s picking me up after work.” You blurt it out without thinking much about it. No one is here, you might as well lay it all out there for Felix to know since there's nothing better to do.

“He’s picking you up? Like you’re going on a date?”

“Shut upppp,” your eyes roll at his teasing nature, growing slightly embarrassed by how giddy the thought of this ‘date’ is making him, and you for that matter. It’s just Jisung. And you are just hanging out like you do every other night. There's nothing different about tonight and you’ll be able to prove that to yourself and Felix by the next time you see him.

The rest of you shift flies by – it always does when you work with Felix. Before you know it, the closing checklist is coming to an end, only a few steps left before you can finally get out of here. The clock had just turned to 7:55 pm, but Jisung still isn’t here. Not that you’re expecting him to be on time or anything, this is still the same Jisung you have always known.

What you aren’t familiar with is the nervous butterflies fluttering around in your tummy as the clock approaches 8 pm.  What are you even nervous about? It isn’t a blind date, other than the fact that you have no idea what you’re doing. And it isn’t even a date. It’s Jisung for crying out loud.

Speaking of the devil, the chimes in the front of the shop ring as Jisung passes through the doorway. You don’t see who it is at first, your back turns to the door as you sweep behind the counter. The chimes ringing at this time of night do trigger your fight or flight instincts though, ready to turn to whoever is approaching and give them a dirty look for coming in this close to closing time.

But once you turn around and see Jisung standing in the doorway with a bouquet of sunflowers, your tension quickly subsides. You swear that you can feel your heart skip a beat, heat rising to your cheeks as you try your hardest to form a coherent sentence. It's okay that you aren’t able to, though, the surprised look on your face is enough for his smile to light up the room.

“I’m here to pick up the pretty girl with the espresso stain on her shirt,” he chuckles, his bottom lip catching between his teeth nervously.

Tonight he’s dressed a lot nicer than usual comfy attire; a nice shirt with a pair of dark jeans that hug his slim figure. His hair is a lot lighter too – a vast change from the midnight black strands that normally frame his face. He’s really going all out for this thing – and right now all that you’re wearing a pair of running shorts and a t-shirt with coffee stains down the front.

When you look to your right, Felix is just as stunned as you are. Frozen in his spot as his jaw practically sweeps the floor, he looks at you with wide eyes, his eyebrows raised as a smug expression crosses his face. For a second you contemplate asking him if he’s all set to finish the closing checklist on his own, but before you’re able to speak up he’s already shooing the two of you out the door.

With a goofy grin displayed across his face, Jisung hands you the bundle of flowers, tied together with a delicate white ribbon. You mumble a thank you, still stunned that he showed up here looking like that to take you out tonight. So he is the romantic type, note taken.

“You like nice,” you gulp nervously. It already feels like a date and you haven’t even left the parking lot yet. If this is how things are going to start you had an exciting 13 more days ahead of you...

“So do you,” he smirks, his eyes wandering down to the small brown stains littering your shirt. Eyes narrowing, you read the expression crossing his face – of course, he’s joking. “I brought you some fresh clothes to change into don’t worry.”

Relief rushes through your body as the words leave his lips, followed by a slight pull on your heart strings. Knowing he took the time to think about bringing you something else to wear so you didn’t have to sit in your coffee scented clothes all night made you feel warm in the strangest way. He’s thoughtful, and it's weirding you out – but in a good way.

“So, where are we even going?”

“You’ll see.”

A vague yet interesting, and very on-brand response from Jisung. He’s always been a fan of surprises – as long as he’s not on the receiving end.

The drive to your destination drags on forever. You aren’t quite sure how long you’ve been on your way; between your agile back seat changing of clothes, which you are surprisingly skilled at, and the anticipation coursing through your veins, you’ve lost track of time. All you know is that you’ve been driving along the backroads of your area for at least 15 minutes, and there is nothing around you to indicate that your destination is near.

“This is it.” The car pulls into a small dirt parking lot, dimly lit by some dingy street lights that aren’t doing a very good job at their primary function. It's pretty hard to see what’s around you, no matter how hard you squint and press your forehead to the window to get a better look.

“Where are we?” The question leaves your lips in a worried fashion. Trees surround the parking lot on all three-sides, while the road you've pulled in from occupies the fourth-side. You’re hesitant to get out of the car, but as Jisung rounds the front and opens the door for you, you’re on your way out. He motions for you to hold on as he pops the trunk – returning with a blanket and a reusable shopping bag filled with god knows what.

He still hasn’t given an answer to your question though, and you still aren’t quite sure where you are. If It was lighter out you assume it would be beautiful here, all the greenery dark and shadows hovering over you from the trees.

The bright light from his cell phone flashlight lights up the way, a path on your right

“Hell no,” your arms cross over your chest as you stand still in your place. He’s out of his mind if he thinks you’re going into the woods this late at night. You’ve seen enough horror films, stuff like this never ends well.

“C’mon, it’s not as bad as it looks,” Jisung laughs at your pouting manner, amusement filling his system as you glue your feet to the ground of the parking lot. His puppy dog eyes plead for you to follow him, a hand outreaching in your direction for the taking. You contemplate it for a moment, your eyes narrowing as you ponder the possible outcomes of the situation before you.

“Fine,” you huff as you take his hand in yours.

His hand feels different in yours this time. His long fingers lacing between your smaller ones in the perfect fit that you’ve neglected to notice before. You’ve held his hand before, platonically though. This time it’s platonic too though, right? It’s just a date. A platonic date between two friends. Two friends who are dating on a two week trial period. So yes, it is strictly platonic. Right?

The dirt path doesn’t drag on for too long, but the sounds of bugs ticking and twigs breaking beneath your feet is enough to startle you. Every scared and breathy gasp that  leaves your mouth is followed by a small fit of laughter from Jisung. At least one of you is amused.

But the dirt path soon turns rocky, a clearing becoming more and more noticeable as Jisung’s flashlight brightens the way ahead of you. The rows of trees come to an end as the ground flattens, a giant slab of rock lying beneath your feet. Out ahead of you is completely dark, and until you approach the darkness you don’t notice that you’re just a few yards away from the edge of a cliff. A river lies below the edge, the sound of water rushing fills your ears and calms your nerves. It is quiet out here, peaceful and without distraction.

Jisung stands back as you admire the scenery around you – your own phone flashlight now out and panning around to look at the view. It’s beautiful out here, nothing to worry about but the sounds of the water and whatever Jisung is doing behind you…

You couldn’t have zoned out for more than 2 minutes, but once you turn back around to face him a picnic blanket lies on the ground before you. Snacks scatter the extent of the fabric, a few candles placed in the center

“You really went all out for this, huh?” A nervous laugh leaves your lips before you swallow harshly. Never in your life has a guy ever gone all out like this for you. A late-night picnic at a secret location, fixed with all of your favorite snacks and some candles for ambiance.

“Had to,” he smiles, “it’s our first date.”

You join him on the blanket, grabbing for a bag of popcorn as you sit down. Maybe relationships wouldn’t suck so much if all men treated you like this…

But it’s just Jisung. Jisung who already knows all your favorite things to eat. He’s just trying to be convincing – to prove to you that men take you on dates, do nice things. But stuff like this never lasts. Two weeks from now you’ll be going back to the same old Jisung and Y/N friendship that you’ve always had.

The conversation goes on as normal tonight, he doesn’t make any moves (as expected, it’s Jisung) and you enjoy the view and calm atmosphere with your fake but not so fake boyfriend. You stay out on the cliff for a few more hours before he takes you home. Jisung put a lot of effort into making tonight special, and you appreciate him for that. But even after all his effort, you know that real relationships aren’t like this.

Every guy you’ve dated would try to woo you over in the beginning too. They call it the honeymoon stage for a reason. Things are always great in the beginning, lavish gifts and dates, loving gestures. That kind of thing never lasts. Soon the effort runs out, the guy gets bored of putting the work in, and they end up sleeping with your freshman year roommate. Well, at least that's how it is for you.

The bundle of sunflowers Jisung gave to you earlier on in the night sits on the end table next to your bed. Each time you look at them all you can picture is the goofy grin he sported as he stood at the entrance of the coffee shop. It replays in your mind like a movie. How he dressed up all spiffy just to take you out. How he took you to a spot only he knew about, somewhere so off-site and serene that he knew you’d remain uninterrupted. You can’t help but wonder if he’s using the same old tricks on you that he does to other girls though. If he only knew about that place because he’s taken someone there before.

Not that it matters though, you aren’t his real girlfriend. You’re just on a trial period. But for some reason the thought that he might have brought another girl to the same spot before doesn’t sit well with you.

“Sooooo,” Felix teases, letting his chin fall into his palm as he leans on the counter before him, “how was your date with Y/N?”

Jisung chuckles at his nosiness, he’s sure you’ve already told Felix all about it. There are no secrets left between you two. Even sometimes Jisung felt like the odd man out when you’re all together.

“It was good.”

Jisung keeps his answer short, leaving the rest up to his imagination. He isn’t one to kiss and tell – or to not kiss and tell. Keeping his private life all to himself is something he takes pride in, things are just better that way.

“Just good?” Felix challenges, knowing there is much more that he’s leaving out. His eyes narrow as he waits for his response. You haven’t told him anything about last night, not even where you went after he picked you up. Things are radio silent on your end, which left Felix dying to know what actually happened on your ‘date that wasn't a real date.’

Jisung glances back at him, contemplating whether or not he should spill the beans. It would be kind of nice to have someone else to confide in. Especially since it's always you on the receiving end of his secrets; however, this may be the one secret that you don’t know of.

He chews on his bottom lip pensively, if anyone knows what’s on your mind, it would be Felix. Not that Jisung would ever want to pry, there's just no indication of how you feel about last night, or about him. Before Jisung can even open his mouth to speak, a knowing smirk is spread wide across Felix’s face. It’s that kind of look that makes him nervous – he knows something.

“You like her don’t you,” he muses, rubbing his hands together smooths as the words catch in the air. It’s out there now – and it’s obvious. Well, maybe not obvious, but it's clear as day to Felix – and that is more than enough to make Jisung worry.

“I don’t,” Jisung denies the other boy’s claim, his willpower too strong to give in.

“Oh yeah? So why do you self sabotage every one of your relationships then?”

The words catch Jisung off guard; his jaw clenching harshly as an annoyed breath is forced out of his nostrils. He wants to deny the claim once again, but he can’t bring himself to keep brushing off these feelings that have had a grip on him ever since he was young.

Felix is right too. He does sabotage each relationship that comes his way. Jisung goes out of his way to find something wrong with each girl he dates. He can never admit it to himself, but in the back of his mind, he knows that it's the fact that none of those girls are you. None of the girls he’s ever met could ever match up to all that you are. In his mind, you held the perfect score, and no one else had ever come close.

“It’s written all over your face every time you look at her you know.”

There's no way he’s that obvious... Did his feelings show that much whenever he was around you?

“What do you mean?” Jisung clarifies, the small once of hope bearing weight in his chest that Felix will follow up with a ‘just kidding’ or change the subject. Only the silence that falls on the room is enough of a response for Jisung to get the clue. 

“Just please don’t tell her,” he avoids eye contact with the other boy, hand gripping harshly on the countertop as he stares down at the black and white checkered tile. “I just wanted to see if I could change her mind – about the love stuff, you know?”

The second you find out about Jisung’s feelings all bets would be off. There’s no way you’d let your little arrangement continue, not if either of you could end up hurt. And he knows you only agreed to this because there is nothing between you romantically, it was a deal between two friends. The second feelings get involved, everything gets all mushy and confusing, and Jisung can’t lose you.

Felix bears his weight on the counter behind him, leaning comfortably on the cool glass. “Believe me, I want her to be done with that ‘I hate love thing’ just as much as you do,” he sighs, looking around momentarily before he clears his throat. “Want me to be honest?”

“Please.”

“I think you might be the only one who can change her mind.”

Jisung’s heart skips a beat once the words leave Felix’s mouth. Blood rushes to his ears, pumping like a snare drum as he considers his thoughts. His stomach begins to twist as he considers it, almost confused about what Felix means, but not willing to accept it. You only agreed to fake-date him, you still hate love.

A comfortable silence fills the air, Felix watching him as his lips roll between his teeth, deep in thought. Change your mind. The words repeat in Jisungs head like a broken record. That’s what he’s trying to do, all for the right reasons of course. So that you don’t  have to be so miserable about it anymore. 

But behind those selfless reasons are several smaller, selfish ones. He gets to be with you as more than a friend now, and although it’s nothing more than some kind of test run, he can’t help but feel like this can be something more too. It’d be crazy to ignore the feeling he has deep in his chest, and maybe it's a sign not to.

“Like you think…” Jisung gulps, clearing his throat as the words stutter out of his mouth, “I could get her to fall for me?”

The lack of response that Felix gives is ominous, but the raise of his eyebrows and toothy grin forming on his face needs no words to tell. 

If anyone is to change your mind, it’ll be Jisung.

That night Jisung took you to the drive-in movies. To be quite honest, you couldn’t really recall what was playing, some Pixar film with bugs as the main character if you could remember it correctly. You were far too distracted laughing with Jisung, watching as young kids played around on a grassy patch near his car. The giggles that left his lips each time the little girl waved to him were music to your ears. You never noticed how much he loved kids, how good he was with them.

The image of his hands clasped together as he fawned over the little girl, picking dandelions in the grass and racing to place them by your feet was burned into your memory. The boxy grin that graced his face all night long. The way his eyes squinted from his cheeks, pushing up as he smiled so big. The whispers of the word ‘cute’ each time her pigtails bounced while she toddled away.

Missing the movie doesn't disappoint you. If anything, the memories you've saved from tonight are more than enough.

The next night you were unable to go out, the shop was so busy that you were not able to leave until an hour and a half after your shift was supposed to end. Some punk kid dropped a cup of iced coffee on the floor on his way out and decided it would be best to leave it there without cleaning anything up or letting you know. Maybe if it hadn’t been so busy then you would have noticed the spill before it dried up and there were coffee stains stuck to the tile floors.

Naturally, you spent a good 15 minutes trying to mop up all the stickiness on the floor. But to your luck, Jisung is working with you that night. Once all the customers left the shop he hooked his phone up to the speakers, grabbed your hands, and danced you around the shop. Well, it was supposed to be dancing but it probably looked more like Jisung swinging your arms as you attempted to not trip over your own feet.

It makes up for not getting to go out though, and you’d take a night like that over a fancy dinner any chance you got. 

It’s been 12 days since you became Jisung‘s girlfriend, and as the remaining days decreased, so did your hatred for love. Each night he planned something special. The real kicker was the texts that you get once he makes it home from dropping you off every night. A simple ‘I had a great time tonight’ was enough to make your heart swell and heat rise to your cheeks.

And as you notice your hatred for love and relationships leaving you, you notice another feeling enter your system. Or several feelings…

Things are getting just as sticky as the night when two frappuccinos splattered all over the shop floor, whipped cream and all. Spending time with Jisung like this is bringing some things to the surface you didn’t know were buried in the first place.

Every night that you spent with Jisung over the past 12 days allowed you to see him in a new light. You got to see him on a different level than just friends. You got to see what every girl that fawns over Jisung experiences.

Something about your friendship never let you jump past that barrier. You only see him as a dear friend of yours. Nothing more and nothing less. And now the issue is that...you aren’t sure how you’ll ever go back to see him as such.

You like Jisung as more than a friend, that's for sure. And you know because of that things will never be able to go back to the way they once were.

Maybe you're reading too much into it, but your gut is telling you that you aren't the only one feeling this way.

The feeling of butterflies that pound in your stomach each time you meet eyes with him has to be reciprocated. There is just no way you can be feeling this way and he isn’t.

This isn’t like the feelings you’ve caught for any guy before, this is something else. Every night when you go home you lay in bed, staring at your ceiling with a dumb grin on your face as you think about your time together, about him. About the way his black curly hair falls in front of his eyes each time he looks down and how his smile lights up every room he was in.

These things that you were so blind to before can’t escape your thoughts, and it makes you wonder how many times or things you’ve looked over that make you melt, just like you are right now.

But in just 2 days, this trial-boyfriend period will be over, and you’ll have to go back to being just friends. Each day, each hour, each minute that approaches feels heavier and heavier. Anxiety floods your system each time you think about things being over, or that this arrangement you have isn’t even real.

When you think about the growing feelings you have for him, you honestly can't imagine what your life will be like any other way. What it would be like going back to just hanging out here and there. And what it would be like

You can’t even fathom thinking about what it would be like hearing him talk about another girl again. It makes you sick thinking that there's going to be someone after you, because in just 5 days this will be all over, and you’ll go back to being the girl best friend, nothing more.

Maybe it’s just wishful thinking that Jisung has more feelings for you too. But the glimmer in his eyes as his bangs brush out of his eyes and they land on you tells a different story. When he looks at you it feels like you are the only two people on earth. He sees nothing else but you, and the way your eyes sparkle back at him.

Each day you spend with Jisung after that feels like a wrench tightening the screws of your heart. 14 days is just not enough.

“Earth to Y/N,” Felix says waving a hand in your face.

You must have zoned out, for god knows how long.

“Thinking about Jisung?”

“What?” you immediately straighten your posture and brush yourself off before responding, “N-no…I’m just thinking.”

“Right,” the sarcasm drips from his lips, not sparing you any time to save yourself as he turns away, beginning to wipe off the tables in the front.

For personal reasons, you’ve kept Felix out of the loop during this whole “fake-boyfriend Jisung” thing. It’s better if you keep your feelings to yourself until you figure them out. And although it feels really really strange not giving Felix the intel on what’s going on in your life, you know it’s for your own good.

Once you put what is in your head out into the world, you can’t take it back. And what if all these things that you’re feeling is just a part of the honeymoon-phase. If that even existed anyway… But if all these feelings for Jisung are due to him trying to woo you and change your mind, everything will just fade away as things return back to normal. And then you’ll be left loving him in silence while you watch him blow through relationships like a leaf blows through the wind.

Something in you tells you that this isn't the case, but the small shadow of doubt in the back of your mind keeps you from talking to your best friend about it anyway.

The thing is, you don't have to tell Felix for him to know. Every time Jisung picks you up from work to take you out you shine. Your smile spreads so wide he’s afraid your cheeks will tear. The nervous shake of your fingers as you grab for your belongings as you head out the door doesn’t go unnoticed in Felix’s eyes. He knows you too well to look over things like this, he just wanted to wait for you to say something first.

But now that you aren’t, Felix has decided to take matters into his own hands, asking you about it himself.

“Felix,” you start, waiting for his attention before you pull out a stool, sitting down and motioning for him to follow suit. Quickly he does, a questioning but knowing look evident on his face as the stool squeaks under him. “You know how this thing between Jisung and I is just an experiment or whatever?”

He nods in response, his hand quickly falling into his palm as he listens intently to your words.

“I think I messed up.” Your head is buried in your arms, laid over the tabletop in embarrassment.

“What do you mean?”

His question is more for clarification, he wants to hear you say it yourself. Felix knows that you’re gonna tell him that you’ve already caught feelings. He sees it coming from a mile away, you confirming it is just the icing on the cake.

“Don’t make me say it,” you whine, neglecting to pick your head up and look at him. You can feel the grin on his face. You know he's smirking at you right now, doing his best to hold back a laugh. Finally, you over the ‘I hate love and relationships suck’ thing.

“I have no clue what you’re talking about,” he sings, quite obviously teasing you while another deep sigh echoes from your chest. You manage to pick your head up, leaning onto your elbows with your chin caught between your palms as you face him.

“I like him.”

It comes out as a whisper, but Felix hears it loud and clear. If you didn’t know better, you’d assume that the smile on his face can't grow any larger, but it does. He jumps up from his chair in victory, doing a funny dance with his arms whooping in the air to celebrate. You’re confused as to why, but you’re too far in your own thoughts to pay it any mind; your head just sinks back into your arms as your forehead presses against the cold metal table beneath you.

“I knew it,” Felix smiles, his happy dance subsiding as he positions himself back down across from you. “I knew this fake dating thing was gonna work.

“Yeah well it really worked, because now I have feelings for a guy that’s never gonna reciprocate them for me.” Your tone is laced with sarcasm, a disappointing ring sounding off on each of your words. You’re too embarrassed to look at the boy sitting before you, worried that if you do all the emotions you’ve been holding onto for so long will spill over and stain your stone-cold image; one you’ve maintained for far too long.

But Felix is your best friend. The only one that you should be comfortable being vulnerable about your feelings for Jisung with; for some reason all you can’t bring yourself to be. Before you can get a grip on your emotions tears are streaming down your face and falling onto the cold metal surface under you in small puddles. 

A sympathetic sigh leaves Felix’s lips as he tries to gain your attention, “Hey.”

Inhaling deeply, you face him – mascara strewn across your face in black streaks and eyes nearly bloodshot. You’ve held this in for far too long. Only a double would tire you out and exhaust you enough to cry on the clock. Thank god it’s a rainy day, no customers ever come in on rainy days.

Or at least, no customers usually come in on rainy days. It's not until you hear the bells on the front door ring that you’re wiping your eyes, whipping around to greet whoever was entering.

And then you see him, standing there as he shakes out his umbrella, a bouquet of sunflowers in his hand.

And he sees you; mascara running down your face and tears staining your cheeks. He’s early. Your stomach turns at the sight of him, emotions not stable enough to handle carry a normal conversation like  

“Y/N,” his voice is quiet, worry dripping in his tone as your name leaves his lips. But you can’t face him right now, not like this.

Your feet move faster than you mind, standing up and rushing to the back to avoid him. Jisung doesn’t follow you, just stands there and watches you walk away, solemn and worried that he’s done something. 

It’s not until Felix is rising from his seat and pacing over to him that he’s brought back to reality.

“Jisung...” he starts, hands coming up slowly to console him, “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be here right now.”

“Wh-what’s wrong?” His lip worries between his teeth, eyes glossy as he stares at the door you just closed behind you. He’s looking at it intently, mind flooding with worry, wishing so badly that the door will just fly open, and you’ll tell him what was going on. In the back of his mind, he knows that you won’t, at least not for now. Talking about emotions has never been your strong suit, and chances of that changing at this moment are at an all-time low.

Felix is unsure how to answer him, caught in between not wanting to lie and keeping your feelings private. He can’t speak for you; but he’s scared that saying nothing could just make this whole situation worse.

His mouth gapes as he searches for a response to his question, lips opening and closing while he hums to himself.

The umbrella hanging from Jisung’s hand drops with a crash, starling Felix as he jumps at the sudden sound. But before he is even able to speak, the bell to the front door is ringing again, and Jisung is walking away into the pouring rain.

The next day you wake up feeling numb. You’ve received several texts from Jisung the night before, none of which you have the energy to reply to or even look at for that matter.

The guilt riddling your body has become too much for you to handle. You left work last night without even saying goodbye to Felix. He’s a good enough friend and coworker to know that what you’re going through is more important than working the counter at an coffee shop. 

After Jisung left, Felix came back and let you know; he almost had to break down the door to the backroom in order for you to let him in. He told you to go home, get some rest and that you’d talk tomorrow.

But after waking up the last thing you want to do is talk about Jisung, it hurts enough just thinking about him.

Every time you thought about how your arrangement was supposed to end in just a few days you felt sick. You have worked so hard to open up just to build your walls back up again. And now you’re back at square one.

When you agreed to be Jisung’s girlfriend you did not expect to fall for him like this. He’s Jisung for god’s sake. He’s your personal diary, he’s the one who knows all the shit that nobody else does. And he’s the only one that listens to all the dumb shit you have to say that no one else cares about.

Feelings ruin everything. Love sucks, and you knew this before you agreed. You agreed under the circumstances that Jisung could show you that relationships could be fun; not under the circumstances that he would make you fall in love with him,

And the more that you think about it, maybe you were always in love with him. Maybe you always had these feelings for him, but they were trapped in the tight bonds of friendship that your subconscious never let you out.

But none of that even mattered now. The deal had to be off, and you need to distance yourself from Jisung before you are hurt any worse. The longer this goes on the worse that you are going to feel when it's all over.

How are you supposed to go back to normal after this? Like is Jisung thinking that showing you how amazing relationships are, you won't fall for him or something? Or does his true plan consist of making you fall in love with him, just to string you along like every other girl he's dated?

You’re trapped in the never-ending spiraling thoughts, soiling your image of Jisung with each new theory that crosses your mind. None of them are good. All of them paint him as a player, as someone who just used you.

But the little thump in your heart when you notice the sunflowers placed on your bedside table wants your mind to change. Your heart wants you to believe that Jisung feels something too, that throughout this arrangement he has seen a different side to you too – that he’s fallen for you just like you have for him.

It's a knock at your door that guides you out of your thoughts. The repetitive tapping at your front door that drags you out of bed. And when you check your peephole and it's no one else, but your small blonde best friend standing on your doorstep that has relief rushing through your system.

The door cracks open, Felix standing there with an umbrella in his hand – even though it was nearly 100º with clear skies.

“Why are you still in your pajamas? It's noon.”

Suddenly, he pushes past you and invites himself into to your living room. Plopping down on your couch, Felix makes himself comfortable as he waits for you to join. You spin on your heels, an exhausted breath leaving your mouth as you pace over to him, plopping down on the next cushion over.

“Why the umbrella?” Your brow furrows as he hands it over. You take it though, still confused behind the meaning of the object that you're holding and where it came from.

“It’s Jisung’s.”

You nearly drop it as his name leaves his lips. The name causes your stomach to tighten, mouth-drying instantly as emotions well behind your eyes.

“Why?” Is all you can mutter out. Why was he giving it to you, why is he here, and why did he have it?

“You need to bring it back to him.” He says sternly, his eyes locked on you as he waits for you to look back at him. But you’re too focused on the umbrella placed gently in your hands, tracing your finger over every wire and the soft rubber handle.

“I can’t.” Your words come out in a whisper, breath light and airy as you sigh, sinking your body back into the couch cushions. Giving the umbrella back to Jisung will mean that you have to go see him. And if you see him, he’s going to want to talk to you about last night, then question you about why you haven’t been returning his texts. No. You will not be giving Jisung his umbrella back.

“Y/N,” your name leaves his mouth gently, a sigh following it before he reaches for you, rubbing your arm comfortingly before continuing, “I think you need to talk to him.”

“Felix you know I can’t do that.”

You’re serious in your words. Not that you don’t want to talk to Jisung. You most definitely want to – and if you could, you would. But you can’t. There are too many emotions involved. The wound is fresh and seeing him would be rubbing salt right into it.

“Y/N,” he sighs, this time more forceful, like he’s trying to get something across to you but it's going right over your head. “Talk to him. Please.”

“You know I’m going to end up hurt if I do.” Tears well in your eyes as the words croak from your throat. It's dry and scratchy, full of fear and anxiety.

“I think you’d be surprised,” he mumbles, his eyes instantly widening on realizing the words that just escaped. Eyes wide with confusion, you’re begging him to go on, but if he does then Jisung won’t be the only one in deep shit right now. It's not up to Felix to tell you what he knows this time. 

“What do you mean I’ll be surprised?”

“I have to go,” he stands instantly, motioning to the umbrella, “and you need to bring this back.”

With a slight ruffle to your hair, Felix is giving you a supporting smile and waving goodbye. And you’re left alone once again – just you and Jisung’s blue umbrella.

It takes a lot of courage to get ready today. You make sure to take your sweet time rummaging through your closet, flipping through articles of clothing for the better half of an hour. At the end, you opt to go with a pair of sweatpants and an old t-shirt. There isn't enough energy in your body to put on anything else, and you know you’ll just want to curl back up in bed once you get home. Sweatpants are safe, and safe is just what you need.

No makeup today either. If things are anything like you’re expecting, your makeup will just end up ruined anyway. It's your better judgment to shower though, you’ve neglected to take one after work last night; opting to just bury yourself under your covers as soon as you got back. But today is a new day. And with a fresh shower and your comfiest pair of sweatpants, you are about as ready as you’ll ever be to get your heart broken into a billion pieces. 

Umbrella in hand, you step out onto your front steps, relishing in your last few moments of ignorant bliss before making your way to Jisung’s. You immediately regret your wardrobe decision as the sun beats down on your frame, the humidity making you feel sticky and gross – your favorite pants are  no match for this heat.

But you’re on your way to your destination anyway, the drive feeling longer and more drawn out than normal. Jisung didn’t live that far away from you, but the ride there still felt like an eternity with each theoretical scenario passing your mind. 

Dragging your feet, you make your way to the front steps of his house. You’ve been here a million times, but today is different. From now on, every time you drive past this place all you’ll know is heartache.

You brush yourself off, taking a deep breath before bringing your hand up and pushing the doorbell. The sudden ringing sound startles you, even though you have every indication that it’s coming – you’re just too nervous and jumpy for your own good.

Footsteps approach the door, your stomach tightening more and more with the muffled pitter-patter of footsteps. You’re praying to God that it’s his mom, hoping that Jisung just so happens to be out – even though his car is in plain sight parked just a few meters away from you. Wishful thinking, you suppose.

When the door to his house opens, you struggle to maintain your composure. He’s dressed similarly to you; a pair of sweats and an old sports t-shirt that has definitely seen better days.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

His eyes are sunken in, dark circles dragging underneath his eyes and his lips pulled downwards. He looks like a sad puppy, his dark hair all scruffy and sticking up in each direction – probably from him running his hands through it so many times. 

“I came to give you this,” you extend the umbrella out before you. He nods before taking hold of it, his hand far at the opposite end making sure not to keep his distance. The more you look at him, the more sorry you feel for dodging his texts. He looks like he hasn’t slept a wink, and you’re afraid it’s all because of you.

“Oh...uh, thanks,” he struggles to make eye contact with you, looking down at the object in his hand. 

It’s awkward, uncomfortable, and you can’t seem to find the words to say to break this strange tension between the two of you. He’s acting weird, shifting his weight back and forth but not moving away to close the door. His mind is racing once again – contemplating whether or not to just invite you in or leave it at that.

But with every aching bone in his body, he musters up the courage to lift his head, looking you directly in the eyes. Their dark like his, definitely from the lack of sleep you had the night before. Your mouth is turned downward too; hands fiddling together to try and distract yourself.

“D-Do you wanna come in?” He stutters, stepping aside slowly as he gestures towards his house. He suddenly worries when you don’t respond right away, taking a second to contemplate if this is a good idea or not. Ripping off the band-aid is never easy, but it needs to be done.

“Sure,” is the word that you decide on – hoping that it doesn’t make you seem disinterested or too desperate to talk. Maybe he’s just being kind though. Maybe it’s an empty offer, something that you say when you’re trying to be nice, but subconsciously hope that they won’t take you up on it. Like when you offer to share your food with someone, but you’re really hungry. You do it to be nice, not because you actually want to split the delicious looking burger and fries on your plate.

He leads you inside and to his bedroom. It looks the same as always, but it feels different. It still smells like him though, the comforting woodsy scent of pine and mahogany that he always reaches for. But that comforting scent is anything but comfortable. You’re frozen in place, unsure if you should sit on his bed and make yourself at home, much like every other time in the past. For now you just stand in the doorframe, waiting for him to tell you to take a seat, just like any polite guest would. A guest. You have never felt like a guest in his home before, or around Jisung in general. But that imaginary wall between the two of you is standing tall and sturdy, and suddenly the two of you are reverted back to being strangers.

You watch as he toys with something on his desk, his fingers dancing from object to object and sifting through papers to look busy. The point of it – unknown to you but to him, he’s buying time. Trying to think of the first thing to say, what to ask, or if you even wanted to talk. Maybe you only agreed to come inside to be nice. Maybe you were too worried about hurting his feelings if you said no. But alas, here you are, standing awkwardly in his doorway as he shuffles around his room, his brain flooding with thoughts – but his mouth can not form them into audible words.

“I’m sorry for ignoring your texts.”

Your voice catches his attention, dropping whatever paper he’s looking at now and turning his gaze to you. You’re sunken into yourself, your chest thumping with anxiety as his eyes begin to wander your frame. Not in a ‘I’m checking you out’ manner though; more of a ‘you look so sad and I don’t know what to say to you right now’ kind of way. 

It’s true though, he doesn’t know what to say – which is why he’s staring at you, hoping the right words would just pop up and he didn’t have to use any brain-power at all. He doesn’t want to say ‘it's okay,’ because it's not. You never ignore his texts, and that alone tells him enough about what's going on. You are upset at him.

“What did I do wrong, Y/N?”

His words sound accusatory but his tone is soft, gentle and full of worry. Eyes swollen and looking like they are about to fill to the brim with tears, his sight is focused on you; now not able to look away.

“I-I don’t know…”

Your answer is honest. You don’t know if his intentions are dirty. Yeah, that’s what you thought initially, but looking at him with such hurt written all over his face tells a different story. 

Jisung is silent, unsure of what more he can do or say to make you talk to him. He can’t force you to open up, he never has and he never will – that’s always been his rule. Everything you’ve shared with him has been on your own terms and conditions. Jisung has always been here to be your listening ear, but he never prys.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

His voice is soft, eyes full of sympathy as he holds himself together. Those were the words he has been looking for. Now the ball is in your court and you’ll have to be the one leading the conversation. It’s just what he needed to figure this shit out.

“I-I don’t know.”

“Y/N,” he sighs as he drops himself down onto the mattress, “I shouldn’t have to say this for you to know it, but you know you can talk to me about anything, right?”

You do know that. You really, really do. But this time things are different. Is he expecting you to just come out and speak your truth like there won’t be consequences? No, he won’t push you to tell him anything you don’t want to. But the worry in his eyes and clammy hands are begging for you to just let it out so he can stop being in the dark.

You sigh out an ‘okay’ before sitting down beside him. 

Rip the band-aid off Y/N. Quick and painless.

His eyes narrow, almost to a squint, staring right through you in hopes of reading your thoughts. Your expression is nothing but blank as you try your best to gain some sort of composure. Do you just speak up and spill your guts? The words replay in your mind over and over until your thoughts are beat down and misshapen. 

You can picture his face when you say it; disgusted with a trace of disappointment and some confusion spread into the mix. Or maybe he’ll laugh at how pathetic you were, catching feelings for your fake boyfriend.

That’s it. There’s no way you can tell him. It would be much easier to just get up and leave. Tell him to pretend like none of this ever happened and that you needed some time to cool off. A few months maybe, or maybe you could just ghost him entirely. 

“Y/N?”

The sound of his voice breaks you out of your toxic thoughts, and his chocolate brown eyes bring you back down to earth. You can’t just leave him in the dust. He’s looking at you like you’re the only thing that exists. Things will be okay, right?

“Sorry, sorry,” you exhale deeply as you calm your thoughts; shifting the nasty scenarios out and accepting that whatever happens after this conversation is your fate. 

“Jisung, I-I guess I wasn’t expecting this boyfriend-girlfriend thing we’re doing to go like this.”

His brow quirks at your words, confusion riddling his expression as his eyes narrow. With a tilt of his head, he’s pushing you to continue, visibly riddled with your choice of words.

“Swear you’ll be honest when I ask you this?” You question him, your hand moving closer to his as you lean in slightly. He’s like a magnet, you can’t help yourself from moving closer; even though the proximity of the two of you is clouding your thoughts and you can feel your heart beginning to swell.

He nods in response to your question, his eyes full of concern as he waits for you to continue, “Why did you ask me to do this thing?”

He knows that a question like this was coming, only if he could have prepared for it. But he didn’t, so his throat is left dry and scratchy as his mouth opens, only to stutter a bit before closing it back up. No coherent thoughts or words are able to escape his lips, just nonsense mumbling that caught himself off guard.

With a deep breath, he closes his eyes, regaining his composure before he can face you again. He agreed to be honest, and if honesty is what you want, honesty is that you’ll get.

“I’m sorry.” That’s all that he can say. 

Oh no. This is exactly what you were expecting before you came here. He’s gonna tell you that he didn’t mean to mess with your emotions, that he felt you catching feelings and got carried away. That he’s sorry that he ruined your friendship and played you like a violin all at once.

“Me too.”

You don’t know why you’re apologizing, but you are. It feels wrong. Absolutely utterly, and undoubtedly wrong. Apologizing for your own feelings is not something that you are okay with. Especially when he made you fall for him like this. Okay so maybe thinking that is giving him too much power, but who the hell takes you out on dates for nearly 2 weeks straight just to laugh about it later. How can he expect you to not catch feelings for him? With his deep voice and fluffy hair that always hangs in front of his eyes, that little giggle he has when he finds something amusing. Everything about him was attractive. And you’ve fallen for it all. Hard.

“Wait, why are you sorry?”

A scoff escapes your mouth unintentionally, but it’s well deserved. “For being the idiot to fall for a guy that was playing her, I guess.”

You can’t look at him any longer, so your eyes fall to your lap, staring at your chipped nail polish and dirty fingernails instead of reading whatever dumb expression he has now. But if you just took a second to look up, you’d notice the widening of his eyes, how his fingers are beginning to shake and his mouth gape. 

“Wh-What?”

“Don’t make me say it again Jisung, I don’t feel like sounding stupid one more time.”

“No no I heard you, it's just,” his eyes slam shut, angry at himself that he let things get this far without keeping you in the loop. 

You’ve been telling him that you hate love for years now. After hearing it so many times, he’d just given up on the thought of you. Maybe if he said something before you went through all those shitty guys things could have been different. But he’s let this go on for far too long, and now you’re the one that was paying the price. 

“Y/N I have feelings for you.”

Your neck nearly breaks with how fast your head snaps up. He’s the one looking away now, his cheeks a bit rosy as he tries to hide himself. He isn’t doing a very good job though, his hair is only shadowing his eyes and you can clearly see the way he’s nervously chewing on his lip; a cute habit you have grown fond of these past couple of weeks.

If he didn’t look like he does right now, you’d assume he was messing around. But you know Jisung. You know his small little gestures and what they mean by now. You know when he’s being serious and when he’s telling a lie. He can look someone dead in the eye and lie to them, but when he tells the truth, he becomes shy and worried that he’s said the wrong thing. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” You ask softly, gently reaching for his hand. The subtle contact makes him flinch, reacting by pulling your hand away. But his eyes meet your sympathetic ones, sparkling just like they always do, and he knows what he wants.

Jisung’s hand reaches back for yours, lacing his fingers through yours before giving your hand a light squeeze. “You hate relationships,” he chuckles lightly, the mood of the room instantly shifting as the laughter leaves his lips. 

“I hated the ones that weren’t with you,” you correct him, but your voice comes across as just a whisper. He’s close enough to hear though, a blushing grin forming on his face as you shyly look away. His heart flutters when he hears it, a million butterflies erupting in his tummy all at once.

“I hated the ones that weren’t with you too,” he coos, his eyes wide and sparkling as he looks at you with such adoration. 

Time moves in slow motion as his hand meets your cheek, your eyes look deeply into his chocolate ones as he moves in closer. As your eyelids flutter shut his tongue runs across his bottom lip, wetting the surface before closing the distance between you. Finally.

And in that moment you’re at peace. Everything you thought you’ve ever hated, love, relationships, and maybe Jisung for a hot second, are the only things that you long for. The 14 days don’t have to be over, and your days no longer have to be counted. When you’re with Jisung you’re happy, you’re comfortable, and you're confident that he can give you what you have always deserved – but have never gotten. 

His lips move against yours in slow, languid motions, his large hands holding you close like he’s holding on for dear life. But you won’t leave even if you want to, not now, not after all this. 

Slowly, Jisung shifts his weight and you move in succession. He’s laying you down on his bed, gently climbing over you without breaking the kiss. Things are becoming more heated now, you can feel it as his hungry lips devour your own. Your chest heaves up to meet his, your back arching off the mattress as his hands begin to scour your body. The heat pooling in between your legs is growing, an aching sensation overwhelming your core as your own hands reach up to rake through his long, fluffy hair. And you can tell he wants you too, the thin fabric of his sweatpants doing little to conceal the growing erection pressing against your thigh. 

You can’t help but let out a steep moan as his hips begin to grind into yours. Needy groans fall past his lips and onto yours as you roll your hips upwards to meet his small ruts. 

In a leisurely motion, Jisung’s body is moving upwards, his knee finding a place between your legs as he brings himself up to a kneeling position. You chase his lips the entire way there, sitting up straight to be sure the contact doesn’t vanish, too consumed by your need for him to leave his lips.

And then his needy hands are running along the waistband of your sweats, fiddling with the tie before breaking your heated kiss. “Is this okay?” His words come out in a whisper, his eyes searching yours for any signs of doubt, but all he sees is lust.

“Yes,” you confirm, out of breath from making-out for so long without coming up for air. The lightheaded feeling taking over you goes unnoticed though, and quite frankly you’re too caught up in Jisung to care.

Quickly, he rids you of your pants, looking back up at you for confirmation about your underwear. With an affirmative nod he’s removing those too, leaving you completely bare from the waist down as he stands over you fully clothed.

But soon he’s ridding himself of his own clothing, his shirt being pulled at the nape of his neck as he discards it across the room. He’s leaning back down to you, hungry for the feeling of your lips. He misses it, even though it's been less than a minute since he’s last felt your smooth lips on his. 

You won’t open your eyes to see, but with the shuffling movements and shaky connection between your mouths you can tell Jisung is stripping himself of any remaining clothing he has on. He’s needy, unable to wait any longer to get down to business, he’s already waited long enough.

You’re the one who breaks the kiss this time, too curious to see what he’s sporting down below for your own good. But you are not disappointed once you see it – he’s long and girthy; the pigment a shade or two darker from his skin tone than the rest of his body.  Your thoughts are wandering, wondering what it's like to have him inside of you; dreaming about what he feels like. Arousal pools at your core, mouth salivating as your daydreams linger.

“Like what you see?” Jisung chuckles. You barely notice that you’ve been staring, eyes wide and focused on the hardened dick before you, which is probably a bit uncomfortable for him. 

“Sorry!” You cringe at yourself lightly, covering your eyes in embarrassment in fear that you just ruined the mood you’ve worked too hard to create.

“Don’t apologise,” he smiles as he grabs your wrists, moving them away from your round eyes. Scrunching your nose in displeasure, you catch your lip in between your teeth, mentally face palming at how weird you’re being.

He couldn’t blame you though, it was taking everything in him not to gawk at you. It was the first time you’ve seen eachother naked. Bathing suits did little for your imagination, not that you had even thought about Jisung this way before.

But he eases your nerves by coming down face level with you, reaching for your shirt and pulling it up over your head. You look at him with wide eyes, taking in each part of him as he caresses your body gently. He’s in awe of you like this. So relieved that you’re finally his, that he has you like this.

Nimble fingers dance down your body, landing at your core as he runs one up your slit, collecting your arousal on his fingertip. An impressed smirk grows slowly on his face, “I can’t believe you’re this wet already,” he hums. “All for me.” 

His eyes remain focused on your center, devouring it with his eyes as his hands hold steady on your thighs. You can’t help but grow slightly embarrassed, dripping with arousal so early on though he’s barely touched you. A lump forms in your throat causing you to swallow thickly – this doesn’t go unnoticed by Jisung.

A concerned expression crosses his face, brow furrowing as he moves his hands upward to settle on your waist. “Hey,” his voice is soft, gentle and full of worry, “everything okay?” 

“Just nervous,” you answer, a fake smile showing on your face to try and combat your own emotions.

It is no secret that Jisung is a bit more experienced than you are in bed. He knows that, you know that, and that is enough to turn you into a nervous wreck. Leave it to your own thoughts to ruin the moment.

“We don’t have to…”

“No!” Your voice comes out a little too eager, a bit loud, shocking Jisung. His eyes widen in response, body jolting from the impact of your tone. “No,” you say more gently this time, “I want to.”

You did want to – you just have to get over your own nerves first. Lucily, Jisung didn’t mind and was willing to guide you through it.

With a reassuring smile plastered across his face, he laces his fingers through yours. As you lock eyes, you nod him onward, giving him the go-ahead to continue. He moves languidly, his fingers moving back down to trace your slit once more. The sensation makes you tense, the nerves tingling through your body making it difficult for you to calm down. 

But with a reassuring squeeze of his hand to yours, you’re taking a deep breath. Closing your eyes as you lie your head backwards onto his pillowcase. The smell of him consumes you, relaxing you effectively as his fingers meet the entrance of your core.

Shivers run through your body as he dips one finger inside. Your arousal acts as a natural lube, letting his finger glide gracefully into you. You gasp at the sensation, eyes rolling back into your head as he begins caressing your walls. His finger moves swiftly in and out of your core, his other hand still locked with yours to guide you through.

With your body finally relaxing, Jisung is able to add another finger into the mix. The extra pressure makes you shudder for a moment, taking a little to adjust to the greater size inside of you. Thankfully the mild discomfort subsides, and he’s able to pump his fingers in and out once more. 

He’s making sure to watch each of your expressions, growing harder and harder just from watching your face contort in bliss. With each of his movements you bite down harder onto your lip, focusing on him and him only. 

“You’re doing so well,” he praises as his thumb rubs circles over your hand soothing you. You can feel your heart swell at his words, heat beginning to rise to your cheeks. 

In one swift motion, Jisung begins to separate his fingers, stretching your walls as his digits move in scissor-like motions inside you. “Fuck,” you mumble, hips jutting forward in reaction. 

A steep moan leaving your lips as he brings his fingers back together, just to extend them once more. Your body is quickly getting used to the pressure, begging for more as you roll your hips.

He can sense that you’re eager from your movements alone. With one final squeeze, his hand is leaving yours. The empty feeling in your palm is unpleasant. But once you open your eyes and notice he’s using it to palm himself, his fingers groping around his length and beginning to pump slowly, that empty feeling is replaced with something else. 

Your mouth salivates with desire, hungry for the feeling of him inside of you. He’s aroused you enough, and you’re too eager to feel him for your own good.

“Jisung,” you moan, “fuck me please.”

His cock jumps in reaction to your words, his chest heaving as his breath catches in his throat. Never in his life did he expect to hear those words come out of your mouth – but he wouldn't mind hearing it again.

“Hmm?” He hums, knowing damn well what you said but being greedy enough to pretend that he didn’t. You whine in response, your legs shaking on the bed in a mini temper-tantrum.

“Please,” you drag out, “please fuck me.”

Your words are music to his ears. He removes his fingers from your dripping cunt, grabbing the backs of your knees to pull you closer to him and hike your legs up over his hips.

“Anything for you.”

Complying to your wish, he lines the tip of his cock up with your entrance. The feeling of his smooth head against your core is enough to make you moan, your head thrown back to expose the soft skin of your neck.

Jisung takes this as an opportunity to leave his own mark behind, leaning down to attach his lips to your skin. You gasp as his teeth graze your skin, his plump lips sucking harshly before his tongue is swiping over the area to soothe it. 

But your eyes open once he’s beginning to pull away to look at you. His eyes are dark, full of lust mixed with adoration, a sigh of relief leaving his chest as he gazes down at you under him. There’s a lot going on in his head right now. Of all the emotions swirling around, the thing he’s most focused on is how lucky he is to have you.

And before you know it, he’s leaning down. Pressing a chaste kiss to your lips, making you smile. One more kiss is left on your forehead before he's pulling back, securing the position of your legs on his hips. 

And then he’s realigning himself with your core, pushing past your entrance and slowly descending into the depths of your pussy. He’s moving slowly, taking his time as he thrusts into you. The delicious stretch is unfamiliar, but it's not uncomfortable – like you were made just for him. A simultaneous groan leaves your lips as he bottoms out, the tip of his cock pressing deep into you on a spot that’s gone untouched. 

He hums a sigh of contempt before pulling back, only to rock his hips into you once again. Your velvety walls welcome him delightedly, soft whimpers leaving your lips once he bottoms out again.

“Y/N,” your name leaves his lips in a low grunt, the bones of his pelvis driving into your skin as he begins to pick up his pace. In reaction you clench down on him, orgasm beginning to loom overhead with each movement of his hips.

Desire fills your senses as you roll your hips over to meet his thrusts. His movements are slow and intentional, making sure to bottom out each time to watch you squirm over his dick. He loves how your jaw drops each time his tip presses against your g-spot, knowing just when he hits it each time.

Jisung’s teeth are barred, sweat gathering at his brow as his dark fluffy hair sticks to his face. He’s trying to hold himself back, the overwhelming urge to finish just in reach, but he doesn’t want to stop. So his hands roam your body to try and distract him, his palms caressing up the sides of your torso as your back bridges into him. The feeling of hot breath fans over your face with each sigh he lets out. 

But the tightening knot in your stomach is threatening to snap with every movement of his hips. It's getting harder and harder to hold on with the power of his thrusts growing stronger.

“Jisung,” you whine, “so close” your hands find his back, fingernails dragging down his spine in attempts to ground yourself. Jisung’s face contorts as your nails pierce his skin, leaving lines of red scratches down the length of his posterior.

The stretch from his length and his rhythmic motions sends your senses into overdrive. Squeezing your eyes shut and grasping onto the sheets underneath you, you can taste the brink of your orgasm. Jisung is focused; his grip on your thighs strong and his face contorted with bliss. But all you can think about is how stupid you could have been if you had decided to just cut him out. What matters is that you’re here with him now, and the thought of that is enough to push you over the edge. 

Your breath hitches in your throat, stomach twisting and turning as your pussy throbs repeatedly around his member. Emotions running high, three words almost slip past your lips, but with the small amount of strength you can muster up, you hold them back. Another time, some time that isn't so lust filled like this one.

Jisung’s thrusts are growing sloppy. His grip on your legs tightening as his lip is caught between his teeth. And with just a few quick thrusts, he’s coming undone inside of you. White, hot spurts of cum paint your walls, filling you up and making you feel so unbelievably full. 

You’ve always felt close to Jisung – he knew everything about you and vice versa; but this time was different. The way his hands settled on your legs, bringing them down gently after finishing. How his eyes are becoming so soft as he looks at you, a lazy grin pulling at his lips. You’ve never felt closer to Jisung as you do in the moment. As his body collapses next to yours, pulling you in and holding you close as you recover from your highs, you’re completely at peace.

“Sorry I got carried away, I guess I should have asked if you’re on birth control still,” he laughs, burying his face into the crook of your neck. 

“Don’t worry, I am,” you chuckle alongside him.

Your naked bodies tangle together, his leg weaving its way through yours to be as close to you as possible. He’s intoxicated by you, closing his eyes as he rests against your body in complete bliss. Now that he has you this close he never wants to let go; and neither do you.

“Can I tell you something?” His voice is soft, whisper like but still holding confidence; his tone never falters.

“Anything.”

“I love you, Y/N.”

Butterflies erupt in your tummy, your heart thudding in your chest as heat rises to your cheeks. He loves you. It's not that friendship kind of love anymore; it's the relationship kind. The same kind that makes your heart skip a beat and body riddle with every emotion in the book. The kind that keeps you up all night thinking about – but also helps you fall asleep, knowing he’ll be there in the morning.

And all of a sudden it seems so stupid that you were fighting those words back in the heat of the moment just a few minutes ago. He felt it too, you always knew that.

“I love you, Jisung.”

Being in love is a dumb concept. All guys suck, relationships are stupid and love is a social construct that you didn’t feel like conforming to. There was absolutely no one that you would waste your time on, until Jisung came around. What you had been looking for your entire life has always been right infront of your eyes – you were just too dumb to see it.

Maybe love is alright, after all.

‘Perfect Score’ is copyright 2020-2021 @chaangbin, all rights reserved. Please do not repost on any platform or translate without permission.

↠ A/N this fic has been rewritten/reconcepted from my previous BTS fic Crush Culture.

[genshin-impacted]

empress of the first water // Zhongli x Reader (3)

Word Count: ~3.5k

Palace/Harem Imperial Drama AU: You are a princess, soon-to-be-Empress, and Zhongli is the teacher invited by the royal court to show you the ropes before you ascend to the throne after a royal tragedy.

Notes: female!reader (she/her), Zhongli/Reader, Zhongli POV, mutual pining!!!!, slight Amber/Reader but if you squint your eyes it can be platonic, crams my favorite tropes into one fic so yes... subtle touches and wearing his coat

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Chapter 3 Synopsis: Names hold a lot of meaning, for they carry also with them the weight of the emotions behind them.

The names and nicknames from the soon-to-be-Empress are powerful indeed, Zhongli thinks. Not a month has passed and the palace has already begun to address him by Zhongli xiansheng to demonstrate both his status as first-born and his role as the Princess’ teacher. There is no need, to be honest, for the entire palace to refer to him as that title, but half for propriety’s sake and half because it is the Princess calling him by that name, it is what it is. The nobles may call him this in your presence in accordance to proper decorum, but it seems everyone else has followed in your example-- beloved as you are. 

Disregarding the nobles, you are generally well-liked within the palace walls for your kind aristocracy that is so unlike many of the entitled nobles that reside here. The guards are evidently fond of you and the maids that are allowed in your chambers are especially doting on you (Noelle comes to mind almost immediately). It is a shame though, that in the grand scheme of politics, it is not their favor that truly matters-- though he thinks you have not placed much weight into buying favors with nobles that have never viewed you as anything more than a glorified puppet.  

Zhongli takes pride in his title as your xiansheng, for what he could not be involved with academia, he is able to live a life how he would have imagined when he is teaching you. He thinks you have come to call upon him fondly as xiansheng as well, which makes the title all the more appealing. Very few people, he realizes, are able to gain a title or another name of some sort from you. He only knows this when he is escorted by Amber to the outdoor pagoda where you have invited him to tea. 

“Princess, I have brought Zhongli xiansheng,” Amber says, and Zhongli is amused to hear the eagerness in her voice as well as consoled by the idea that he is not the only one greatly fond of her royal highness. 

“Thank you, Amber,” you say warmly, and, behind her, Zhongli can see the way Amber’s ears redden, “quick as always.” 

“Of course, my lady,” Amber says, bowing respectfully. She continues as Zhongli quietly takes the seat that you have presented to him. “Is there anything that the Princess requires of me?” 

You hum. “Not at the moment, no. Except, would you like to join us for tea?” 

Zhongli watches in alarming clarity as Amber’s face turns as red as the decorations in her hair. “For tea?” Amber stammers, glancing over at Zhongli, “I-I couldn’t--”

“It’s only the xiansheng, Amber,” he hears you say with gentle humor, and he thinks you don’t understand the power of your words when his heart beats rapidly at the thought that the level of comfort you have with him matches your lady-in-waiting. Though, he feels sympathy towards Amber, because he can only imagine the mix of embarrassment and elation at being invited for tea, and the intimacy that is insinuated with an invitation in front of another person.

Still, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t find amusement in teasing the poor girl with you.

“If it matters,” he says smoothly, “I do not mind. Tea is enjoyable with a certain number of people; three is indeed a fortuitous number.” 

“True,” you reply immediately after, a smile in your voice. “Any more people and we would have been in trouble.”  

“I-I have, um,” Amber starts, red-faced. “I have something I have to finish. But thank you for the invitation, my Princess.” She bows, her red hairband's ribbon drooping down from her head. And Zhongli takes notice of this because he begins to understand the nickname you have bestowed upon your favorite lady-in-waiting.

“Thank you for humoring me, bunny.” Zhongli doesn’t know how you instilled that much fondness into your words, but you do, your voice as warm and gentle as the morning rays of sunlight. “Let’s drink tea together later when you’re finished with your work then,” you say. 

He watches as Amber looks at you with unbridled adoration and reverence before bowing deeply. If only your charisma would melt the greedy hearts of nobles, the world would know peace, he thinks as Amber walks away with her head held high, knowing she is favored by you.  

“I’ll apologize to Amber for teasing her so relentlessly today,” you say, uprighting the teacups from its tray. “But to be fair, I did not expect you to join in with me so seamlessly.” You laugh. “What a pair we make.” 

“Allow me,” Zhongli says, reaching out to retrieve the teapot, still warm to the touch, and pouring its contents out. “Ah, have these leaves been steeped by the maids?” 

“Yes.” You say, blowing the steam from your cup. “Are they not to your liking, xiansheng?” 

He takes a moment to be properly abashed at being seen like that by the Princess. “I apologize. I didn’t mean to sound unappreciative.” At the flippant wave of your hand, he continues, “It is just that I tend to steep the leaves myself according to the type of leaves to their proper temperature. I find it soothing-- almost meditative-- to perform the proper techniques, so I would not have minded brewing the tea myself.”

You take a sip of the tea and he follows after you, the liquid flowing down his throat easily and warming him from the inside. “Then perhaps I will see your technique the next time we have tea,” you say. “I’ll tell the maid to prepare it for you.”

“The next time?” He echoes before he can think of his words. 

The amused look you give him is enough to make his ears feel warm. “Teatime can be a daily occurrence, can it not?” You ask teasingly, “Surely you can fit me into your busy schedule.” 

(Always the playful one, he thinks fondly.) 

Zhongli hides his smile behind his cup. “I suppose if it is for the Princess,” he says, “then I shall find my best to accommodate my schedule to her wishes.” 

.

.

With lessons going well, Zhongli finds that the breaks in-between have grown to be one of his more favorite moments. His favorite moment so far was when he was able to delve into the history of Liyue Harbor and its trade and business. He thinks your eyes may have glazed over for a moment, but to be fair, he had expanded on the architecture, history, and influence of each type of building and boat. 

But even better than the short reprises are the days you are able to extend an invitation to him for afternoon tea. For the first few sessions, you indulge him as he explains the differences between each tea leaves and the temperature in which they must be steeped in order to bring out the aroma to its full extent. He resteeps the leaves multiple times, observing how you take to each flavor, and is heartened by the fact that you seem just as eager as he was to experiment in the richness of each cup.

To reward your diligence, Zhongli requests the maids to provide him the proper equipment for a tea ceremony, including a fresh batch of tea leaves. The next time you ask him to drink tea with you, he offers to teach you how to perform yourself. 

"Must everything we do be a lesson?" You tell him with a hint of fond exasperation, to which he chuckles. 

“I believe you will enjoy the relaxing motions that a tea ceremony provides,” Zhongli says. “Also, no knowledge will ever go to waste, Princess; this will serve you well when you must greet guests in the future.” 

“Alright then,” you concede with a small smile on your face. “What do I do?”

Zhongli stands behind you and directs your actions clearly: warm the pot, discard of the water, place the tea leaves within the teapot. "Now," he says, leaning down as you lift the newly filled teapot, "we will perform the first steeping of tea leaves. Like so…" He trails off, gently placing his hand lightly on your wrist to maneuver it into swirling the pot smoothly. 

He's surprised to watch as your hands stiltedly move the pot, untrained and clumsy, which are so unlike your movements before this. Is it difficult for you, he wonders, removing his hand to offer extra instruction only for your hand to slip from its grip from the pot.

"I-I apologize," you stammer, nimble enough to catch the pot from falling. You quickly turn the pot easily in the motion Zhongli has taught you and ask him, without looking up, "What's the next step?"

Your behavior is odd but not alarming-- and the feeling is brief. As requested, Zhongli explains that you are to pour the swirled water out and begin the infusion step, filling the pot with water until it is overfilling.

"Performing a tea ceremony has been known to have a soothing effect," Zhongli says as you wait to steep the tea for a brief moment. Just as you look at him, he continues with a small, teasing smile, "Though it seems like this activity has been quite the excitement for you, from what I have witnessed."

And there is that wide-eyed look of embarrassment again.

"No, it's nothing like that," you say, watching the still water gather. "This has been very relaxing; I can see myself doing this on my own just to compose myself." You glance back up with narrow eyes that hold no real heat to them. "Though, I'm not sure if I should be pleased or not that my xiansheng has gotten familiar with me to tease me like that."

To his better judgment, Zhongli feels his ears warm at the admission of such fact, pleased as he is with it. "Ah, yes, well, I must say it is only thanks to your highness' benevolence and welcoming nature that I have the audacity to address you in such a manner."

You laugh, and Zhongli thinks he is glad that it has become a more familiar sound.  "What a silver tongue!" You say, allowing him to take the pot and pour its contents into cups, "You have such a way with words, Zhongli xiansheng. I can only hope to charm others with that level of skill."

"A true charismatic ruler is a natural wordsmith-- a poet in their own right," Zhongli replies, watching you take in the scent of the tea before drinking it. "Perhaps that shall be our next lesson."

"As long as I do not have to memorize poetry--" You gape when Zhongli only looks away and sips at his tea. "No-- no, we're going to--"

"As part of the aristocratic court, you must be well-versed with prose and poetry." Zhongli says simply, amused, "I am quite fond of poetic verses, so it will be remiss to not teach you."

(You think about hearing Zhongli recite the longest love ballads to you in your small, private classroom and feel your cheeks grow warm.)

You hold your cup into your hands and absently turn it, watching the tea ripple. "My education," you tell him, sighing, "is in your hands."

.

.

.

The two of you enjoy the tea until the water is cold, drinking your third infused cup with as much savor as the last. With the waning moon, there will soon not be any light once the sun sets, and Zhongli can feel the cool autumn breeze dip down into colder temperatures. You have just stopped regaling the story of when you had fallen into the koi pond in your childhood when you shiver, and Zhongli thinks that no matter how much he enjoys your company in the palace garden, surrounded by glaze lilies and silk flowers, there can always be another time.

"Shall we head to the library?" He asks kindly, "Or perhaps the study?" He hears you lightly sniffle, and he smiles at the attempt to hide your affliction. "I'm sure we might both enjoy better conversation in warmer climates."

"Yes," you say, breathing hot air onto your hands, "that does sound like a good idea."

The two of you go to stand, and Zhongli shrugs off his outer coat to drape it over you, much to your surprise. And for a moment, he thinks he must have overstepped or violated a rule of etiquette (despite how unlikely that may be), but you mumble a thanks and tug the coat closer to you. 

"My pleasure," he replies, walking to stand next to you. "It would not do for you to catch a cold, Princess."

"Hm…" You hum, and Zhongli has taught you long enough to know that you are distracted. He sees you raise your hand to your face, his umber sleeves following it. "You smell like oak," you remark, and he feels his face warm despite the breeze, "like freshly bound books and letters, and--"

You take a glance in his direction when he has grown quiet and your eyes widen in alarm. "-err, and, um, incense, probably. Very familiar-- from the shrine maybe?" You stammer, inching away from the pagoda, "Sorry, I just-- your coat--"

What kind of expression is he making, Zhongli wonders, for you to look as panicked as you are, as flustered as he has ever seen you. He is almost startled by the fact that this has been one of the first times he has ever seen you uncomposed. With the amount of time he has spent with you, he has been able to see the way you interact with others, and he has concluded that you are a person who takes things in stride.

With your messenger Bennett, unlucky as a person can be, you offer only kind gestures and a breezy conversation to take his mind off his tumultuous route. With your maids, you never react badly to any mistake that would have cost them their heads had they been serving anywhere else. But a dropped silverware, broken porcelain, you are nonplussed and difficult to anger when there is no reason to be. Even with nobles, you show grace by speaking to them without a hint of disdain or resentment, so they never have any chance to vilify you. If Zhongli did not know better, he would never have expected you could ever harbor ill will towards another, but he knows now that you are calm-- and if anything, your anger is icy and self-righteous in the face of prejudice.

Zhongli tries not to feel pleased about being able to see another part of who you are and fails. Still, as endearing as your embarrassment is, you are a Princess and it would be remiss of him to allow you to flounder about. 

"Princess," he says, hoping to ease you from your thoughts. If anything, addressing you directly makes you retreat further, and Zhongli sees you take a step back-- a misstep-- toward the pond.

"Ah-!"

Zhongli reaches out to you almost instinctively before you even begin to fall.

If Zhongli had thought he had seen you at your most flustered, he can feel it clearly for himself. With his hand on your waist, holding you tenderly with your hands braced on his chest, you are hot to the touch, your face heating up to the point even he can feel it through his clothes. He feels your hands curl into the lapels of his shirt and the press of your body against his.

His first thought is not to apologize for the proximity or not ask for your well-being, but the fact that you were right. His clothes do smell like oak, of a forest and of pressed wood, and now, he thinks, you will smell like him.

(He does not have time at the moment to process how this makes him feel.)

It is a brief moment of infatuation-- you possess a soft scent, befitting of your gentle attitude and tenderness-- but he remembers how his heart had beat fast because he was afraid of your fall and pulls you away from him (even if your presence in his arms was a comfortable one). "Are you hurt, Princess?" He asks, scanning your arms and legs. Like clockwork, he says, "I apologize for my actions, but I had thought you were going to fall in."

You shake your head furiously, and your hands copy that motion. "No, no, I understand. I would have fallen without your help. I was just--" You stammer, covering your face with your hand. “I was just surprised, is all.” 

“Are you not feeling well?” He asks, the thought coming to mind as suddenly as you turn your head to him again. He thinks it makes sense though-- your unsteady hands, your lingering warmth...

“Huh?” You squawk, pressing your hands to your cheeks, “What makes you say that?”

I should check her temperature, Zhongli thinks with concern gnawing on his conscience. He remembers cool palms on his forehead when he was feverish and reaches out to provide the same to you.

“Ah, allow me to--”

"Princess, xiansheng," one of the guards addresses the two of you, bowing deeply, providing you a moment to recompose and him a moment to retract his hand. "The further villages have informed us that there will be a storm headed our way soon; please allow me to escort you back to your chambers."

"Thank you," you say calmly. "I would like to have a word with Zhongli xiansheng for a moment, if you would not mind."

"Of course, my lady."

Zhongli watches the guard walk away as you turn toward him with your regal composure still about you, and he wonders how many times he has almost forgotten who he's talking to at times. Just as when he gently scolds you for being distracted or when he's muffling his laughter when you say something particularly witty, or when you allow him to touch you-- casually like before and intimately like the two of you were just now, he thinks that he has let his guard down around you tremendously to forget exactly why he's here and who he is serving. "Princess," he begins, bowing his head deeply in respect. When he lifts his head, he thinks he sees a flicker of disappointment on your face, but it is gone a moment later. "I apologize if I have upset you in any way with the manner in which I have conducted myself.” 

The wind blows past them much more harshly than before, but it picks up your laughter, light as it has always been. “I'm not upset," you tell him. "If I minded your actions, I would simply not allow you to do them.”

He thinks back to his outstretched hand, reaching to place his hand tenderly upon your face in a show of affection not befitting of a tutor like himself and shifts uncomfortably. "Still," he says, "in retrospect, I see that it's been inappropriate how casually I act around you, which is ill-befitting of someone of your status. Perhaps I--"

"Do not let my status as royalty put a wedge in our friendship," you say sharply enough to make him clamp his mouth shut. "I enjoy your company, as I hope you find the same with mine, and I find that simplicity much too rare to throw away because of who-- or rather, what I am." You soften your eyes and continue, "I mean it, Zhongli. I want you to treat me as you normally do. I promise you I will let you know if I deem something unfavorable."

"You always have been quite straightforward," he settles, almost in resignation. When you grin, he thinks your countenance could be a weapon if you chose to wield it as such.

"Then we are in agreement with something at least," you reply. You shiver in the cold wind and Zhongli takes this chance to press his hand against your forehead when you freeze.

"You don't seem sick," Zhongli says, gently taking his hand away, "but please be sure to drink ginger tea prior to sleeping to warm your body."

"...You were checking my temperature?"

He nods. "Yes, I apologize for not clarifying. I will make sure to inform you of my intentions next time, but the thought slipped from my mind." He says, "I was concerned for your health the entire night, Princess. Do let me know if you do not feel well for any lessons in the future."

And there's that embarrassment again, Zhongli notes briefly before you clear your throat and turn away. "Yes, well, I'm fine, I assure you," you say. "I-- well, I'll let you know if I ever feel under the weather." You pause and he must stop in his tracks to wait for you before he steps onto the trails of your dress. "Thank you," you say softly, "for worrying about me."

Zhongli looks at you with the wind billowing past and the lanterns lit behind you and feels his heart tremble.

"Let us leave," you say again before he can reply. "The storm is coming."

"Yes," Zhongli says finally. You look at him again and he folds his hands behind his back to stabilize his shaking hands. "It is getting cold, isn't it?"

You shoot a grateful smile at him, tugging his jacket over yourself even more, and Zhongli follows after you, his eyes never leaving your visage.

[atlabeth]

talking to the moon

summary: dealing with the aftermath of the worst event of your life. 

pairing: sokka x fem!reader but solely platonic. stan big brother sokka 

a/n: this became so much longer than i initially meant for lmao. it was just supposed to be sokka and y/n talking but then i. wrote the whole death scene and a whole backstory and. im sorry. i made myself sad while writing this 

wc: 4.1k 

warnings: so much angst, death, mentions of suffocation, mentions of arranged marriages, one mention of blood, one single curse i think, lots of anger and lots of sadness but some fluff at the end 

based on the song “talking to the moon” by bruno mars 

living in the northern water tribe wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. 

as a waterbender, it should’ve been a perfect haven. a renowned master to teach her how to fight and become a master herself, a constant feeling of power being around ice and water all the time, and a comfortable life as the daughter of two important councilmembers that worked alongside chief arnook. 

but the only thing y/n had come to know of this place was a complete and utter loss of freedom. 

she wasn’t allowed to learn martial waterbending simply because she was a woman. master pakku wouldn’t even give her the time of day, and when she complained to her parents they cited century-long traditions and told her that was just how things were. 

y/n felt comfortable being around water and ice all the time, but it’s not like the power of the moon helped her when she hardly knew anything in the first place. it was slightly easier to try and teach herself new techniques that she learned from watching master pakku and his students, but it still almost always ended in failure. 

and of course, her noble heritage simply meant that she would be married off once she reached the appropriate age for the benefit of her family. yippee. 

but there was one benefit that came along with being the daughter of nobles that worked closely with the chief. 

princess yue. 

she was without a doubt the nicest girl that y/n had ever known, and they quickly became each other’s closest friends. y/n thought that maybe she wouldn’t like her because yue was two years her senior, but it didn’t matter in her eyes. yue showed y/n a side that she never showed anyone else; the carefree, energetic, loving side. the side that told y/n fantastical stories while they rode together the waterways. the side that encouraged y/n to waterbend whenever she could and to try as hard as possible to get the martial techniques down because ‘i know you can do it!’ the side that was absolutely fascinated by her waterbending, the side that shrieked in surprise then dissolved into giggles every time y/n soaked her at the end of the session. 

yue was the bright light in y/n’s boring days, and y/n was a needed reprieve from yue’s duties.

the young girls didn’t know that there was so much coming for them. 

~~

team avatar visiting y/n’s home was one of the most exciting things to happen to her. it was like a breath of fresh air in the monotony of her life, and it didn’t take too long for y/n to become friends with all of them at the celebratory dinner the night they arrived. 

y/n and katara instantly struck off. as waterbenders of the same age they already had a connection, but it was only strengthened the longer they stayed. y/n had never cheered so loud when she fought against pakku. 

it was impossible not to like aang. he was even younger than y/n with an infectious positive attitude and a smile always on his face. he even offered to help teach her waterbending along with katara after learning from pakku, which was a great plan until it wasn’t. 

her association with sokka came from her association with yue. he was infatuated with the princess almost immediately — it wasn’t a surprise, y/n was sure every boy in the tribe had a crush on her in some form — but he was also very kind to y/n. as time went on, they developed more of a sibling-like bond and y/n loved it. she was an only child raised to the highest expectations, but she was allowed to let loose around sokka. it also helped to see him make a fool in front of himself every time her and yue were together. 

things were looking up for y/n. she had three new friends that all liked her best friend, and she was actually learning a little bit more about fighting with waterbending from katara. everything was perfect. 

until the fire nation attacked. 

y/n had been with yue and sokka when they saw the black snow and immediately rushed back to the tribe to warn everyone. that was how a fourteen year old noble girl who barely knew how to defend herself like y/n got involved in a fight against the fire nation. 

after rescuing aang from zuko and, at aang’s request, bringing the unconscious prince with them, they started traveling back to the spirit oasis. y/n sat in the back of the saddle with sokka and yue, a new friend and her oldest friend, when yue suddenly grabbed her head with a small groan. y/n looked around and the world around them had turned red as blood. something was very wrong.

“are you okay? sokka asked, reaching for her instinctively as if to protect her from whatever was hurting her. 

“i.. i feel faint,” she muttered.

“i feel it too,” aang added. “the moon spirit is in trouble.” 

y/n’s eyes widened as she stared back at yue, horror dancing in her eyes as she shook her head. “no, no it can’t be. yue, you know what that means—” 

it wasn’t hard to catch onto the fearful tone in her voice and katara set an amicable hand on her shoulder. “what are you talking about, y/n?” 

thankfully, yue took over. “i owe the moon spirit my life.” 

“what do you mean?” sokka’s eyes went between y/n and yue, y/n’s worried gaze trained on yue as she explained how the moon spirit had given her life as a baby. when she was done, the water tribe siblings were staring at her in disbelief. 

“if the moon spirit is in danger then we need to save it.” y/n’s voice was hardened as they got closer to the spirit oasis, stretching her fingers out to get the blood flowing again in case she needed to bend. she didn’t know very much about combat besides what katara had taught her, but hopefully it would be enough to at least aid the rest of the team. 

appa slid to a stop in the spirit oasis and aang, sokka, katara, and y/n all hopped off of his back and got into battle stances. sokka took out his boomerang, aang wielded his staff, and y/n and katara got ready to bend. 

“don’t bother,” zhao spat. he held up the bag with tui and positioned his fist next to it, posing the very obvious threat. y/n’s eyes widened and her hands fell the slightest bit. he wouldn’t. 

it turned out that he very well would. 

y/n thought that they would be safe, that yue would be safe once he released the fish after iroh’s threat, but she should’ve known a man like that would never be satisfied. just as the normal hues of the oasis had returned, zhao let out a yell and blasted the koi with fire, plunging the world into various shades of grey. 

y/n let out a strangled cry as she realized what it meant, and she wanted to unleash all of her fury on zhao. she wanted to make him hurt, make him understand just what he had done. but it seemed that general iroh already had that plan as he started firebending viciously, swiftly defeating the soldiers after zhao had gotten away. 

y/n felt like she was in a haze, following through with her movements but not actually there. the four of them rushed towards the water and yue soon joined them, all looking down at tui in horror. the moon spirit was gone, dead, killed. 

her worst fear had come true, and she stared at yue’s blue eyes, the only thing that still had color, mouth opening and closing as she tried to think of things to say. 

“there’s no hope now,” yue mourned. “it’s over now.” 

“no it’s not.” 

y/n watched in amazement as aang merged with the ocean spirit and left to defend her home, but it melted away once again when she joined the siblings, iroh, and yue at the front of the water.

“it’s too late. it’s dead.” katara stared at the dead fish when iroh placed it back into the water. it truly did seem like it was over. y/n felt none of the usual power she felt at night. if she tried to bend, she knew nothing would happen.

iroh seemed to notice yue as she stepped closer and he raised his eyebrows. “you have been touched by the moon spirit. some of its life is in you.” 

“yes, you’re right.” yue set her jaw and y/n immediately knew what she was thinking. “it gave me life. maybe i can give it back.” 

“no!” y/n and sokka cried at the same time. y/n’s voice cracked and she had to do everything she could to prevent the tears from falling. “yue, no. you don’t have to do this.” 

“it’s my duty, y/n.” her kind blue eyes, an image that would haunt y/n for years to come, glistened with unshed tears as she walked over to the oasis. this time sokka grabbed her hand to try and stop her. 

“i won’t let you! your father told me to protect you!” sokka usually guarded his emotions but this time the fear in his voice was obvious, and it hurt. he didn’t want to lose her. he couldn’t lose her. 

“i have to do this.” 

y/n wanted to scream at yue to stop, try and knock some sense into her, hold the girl that she loved back from sacrificing herself. but she just stood there, frozen, as yue hovered her hands over the dead fish. tui began to glow, and yue collapsed. 

y/n rushed over to her as sokka caught her and she fell to her knees. the tears were falling, she didn’t care, her friend was gone, she was dying. y/n felt yue’s ice cold hand on her arm and she grasped it with both of her own. her and sokka were barely holding it together as they watched the girl they both loved die in their arms. 

“y/n..” her voice was already faint, she was using up all of her strength just to talk to them in her final moments. “thank you for everything. never forget what you are fighting for. i will always cherish our friendship.” 

a choked sob escaped y/n’s lips and she gripped yue’s hand as tightly as she could, like maybe if she didn’t let go then she would come back. she couldn’t even hear what she said to sokka, all she could hear was the pounding in her head. this couldn’t be happening. 

and then she was gone. the ice cold hand in y/n’s grip was gone, the girl they were cradling was gone, and in her place was just emptiness. iroh placed the koi fish back into the water and the entire oasis filled with light, and the energy around the lake turned into yue. she was ethereal. she was a spirit. she was gone. 

yue came closer and wrapped y/n in a hug, feeling more like a gentle breeze than a real person hugging her. she then kissed sokka, and a faint smile graced her lips. “goodbye, i love you both. i will always be with you.”

and with that, she was gone. 

y/n couldn’t hold it in anymore. she started sobbing, tears wracking her body and making it hard to breathe. she wrapped her arms as tightly as she could around sokka, burying her head in the space between his shoulder and his neck, and he returned the hug. they were just two kids who had watched a girl they loved sacrifice herself. what else could they do but hold each other and hope to all the spirits that they would be okay?

~~

y/n left with aang, katara, and sokka when they decided to set course for omashu. she couldn’t stay at the northern water tribe. all it served as was a constant reminder of that fateful night, the night that she had lost her best friend. she saw yue in everything, and she knew she would lose her mind if she stayed. so she asked if she could join them on their journey, and they agreed. y/n felt a constant pit of emptiness and hoped that helping the avatar would absolve some of the guilt. 

it didn’t. 

“this is your fault, y/n.” 

the blue eyes that haunted y/n so often appeared once again, staring back at her unflinchingly. there was a certain hardness behind them, a coldness that pervaded her skin, making its way to her heart. but she couldn’t look away. 

“you should’ve been able to save me.” yue’s voice, normally soft spoken and kind, reverberated throughout the endless void y/n was trapped in. 

she looked beautiful, otherworldly. the fabric of her dress floated around her at the edges and her white hair, the ever present reminder of her connection to the moon, flowed down her back. yue appeared the same as she had when she sacrificed herself, and it was the way she would look forever. y/n’s heart ached for her friend, knowing that she would never live out the rest of her life, never get to be the ruler she was meant to be. 

she tried to talk, but her voice wouldn’t work. her throat felt like it was closing up slowly, and her limbs might as well have been cast in concrete with how heavy they all felt. yue’s icy glare disappeared from view, but her voice was still all around her. 

“you did this to me. you’re the reason i’m dead. you should’ve been able to save me.” 

the words repeated thousands of times on top of each other, becoming louder and louder that it was all she could focus on. y/n was suffocating underneath it all, she couldn’t take it. she wanted to sob out how sorry she was, tell yue that her biggest regret was not being able to save her, reach out and bring her into her world again. spirits, she wanted her best friend back so badly. 

“YOU SHOULD’VE BEEN ABLE TO SAVE ME.” the words echoed through her skull so loudly that she felt like it was going to crack from sheer force. 

y/n eyes suddenly flew open and she lurched upwards, breathing heavily, a scream on the edge of her lips that she was barely able to bite back. she clamped her hands over her mouth until she could be sure it wouldn’t come loose, and it took even longer for her breathing to get back to normal.

it didn’t look like she had disturbed the sleep of the others, but she couldn’t stay here. she got out of her sleeping bag and rushed out of their camp, making sure she stayed light on her feet so that the others could continue to rest. momo perked up as she ran past him, and y/n shook her head and raised a finger to her lips. he seemed to get the hint and went back to sleep, and with a strained smile y/n continued out. 

it was at that moment that a certain water tribe boy groggily sat up, able to catch the end of a tunic dress disappearing into the woods after he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. he thought it was katara at first but a quick glance to his side proved that his sister was still asleep. it was y/n’s spot that was empty. he immediately knew why she was gone, and he got up to follow her; there was no way he was going to leave her alone right now. sokka didn’t exactly want to be alone either.  

‘you should’ve been able to save me.’ they were words that never left y/n’s mind; at this point it was a part of her conscience. the princess had never actually said the words, her last moments had been spent reassuring y/n and sokka before she faded away, but it didn’t matter. she was constantly wracked by guilt, and though sokka did a good job at hiding it, she knew he felt the same way. she wondered if he was plagued by the same nightmares she had. it was no surprise it happened tonight of all nights — today marked one month since yue died. 

no. since yue had been killed. 

she might’ve given her life for the moon spirit willingly, but y/n blamed zhao, that fire nation admiral, for her death. he was the one that killed the moon spirit, so he was the one that had killed her best friend. she had never felt as much rage as she had in the moment that he blasted tui with fire. 

she hoped he was dead. 

y/n got to the edge of the woods and stared at the night sky, the slight breeze and the ambiance around her doing little to ease her mind. she sighed and leaned back against a tree, staring at the sky in hopes it would give her some kind of answer. but all it did was make her feel even worse.

i know you’re somewhere out there somewhere far away

yue was there. the moon was there, but yue was the moon so she was there. it felt like a cruel joke, having her so close but so far away. always within her sight but never in her reach. she longed for the days when she was able to pull the princess away from her duties to engage in a snowball fight with her friends or when yue asked her to show off her waterbending with the childlike wonder she never got to show or when things were normal and her friend wasn’t the fucking moon. 

i want you back, i want you back 

y/n felt the familiar stings of tears behind her eyes and she slowly slid against the tree until she was sitting on the ground. she bit the inside of her cheek so hard she drew blood in an effort to stop the tears, but it didn’t matter, they fell anyways. 

the empty feeling she constantly carried with her got better over time, but tonight it was just coming back with full force. she was reminded of everything that she had lost and it hurt. spirits, it hurt so much. 

my neighbors think i’m crazy  but they don’t understand you’re all i have, you’re all i have 

she pressed the heel of her hand against her forehead and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out her feelings, when she heard some branches snap. she opened her eyes and looked up, the corner of her lips quirking up when she saw who it was. 

“hi.” her voice was faint, barely noticeable, but it was all she managed to muster.

“hi.” sokka’s eyes were sympathetic as walked over to her, silently questioning if she was okay with his presence. she nodded and scooted over to make room, and sokka slid down against the tree next to her. 

they sat in comfortable silence for a while, feeling solace in the other simply being there. y/n’s eyes stayed glued to the sky, y/e/c irises reflecting the light of the stars. now that her sobbing was done, she just felt tired. traveling with the avatar was physically demanding with all the fighting and running they did, but this was mental. 

she was tired of feeling worthless. tired of feeling guilty, of feeling angry, hurt, heartbroken, regretful, helpless, weak. 

tui and la, she was so damn tired. 

at night, when the stars light up my room i sit by myself talking to the moon trying to get to you 

y/n tore her eyes away from the sky and looked at sokka. he felt the slight movement and made eye contact as well. y/n couldn’t help but think how similar his eyes were to yue’s. 

“do you talk to her too?” the question came suddenly from y/n before she even knew it, and her voice was just as soft as before. “to the moon, i mean.”

sokka’s gaze turned wistful as he watched the moon and nodded. “all the time. even if i’m just talking to myself in my head, it feels like i’m talking to her as long as the moon is out. sometimes it helps. it makes me feel like she’s still here, or like she’s watching over me. other times..”

“it makes you feel worse,” y/n finished. he nodded again and she sighed heavily. “sometimes i hate it. just looking at the moon makes me want to scream or cry or yell until i can’t anymore, because i hate it for taking her away from me. and i know she had to do it, but the irrational part of me is angry at her for leaving. and then i feel guilty for caring about myself more than her when she’s the one that’s gone, and i just—” 

her voice caught in her throat and the tears started to fall once more. it felt like she couldn’t even think about yue without crying and it made her feel even more weak than before. 

in hopes you’re on the other side talking to me too 

it hurt sokka’s heart to see her like this. yue’s death had affected both of them, spirits, it had left a hole in his heart that he was still trying to mend, but as time went on he had gotten better. but y/n had known yue for years, they had such a close bond that when sokka wanted to know advice on how to get yue to like him he came to her. and now her closest friend was gone and she had left her home and her family behind to help them on their journey.. he couldn’t imagine how she felt. but he wasn’t going to let her go through this alone. 

sokka wrapped his arm around her and though she flinched at first, y/n immediately relaxed when she realized what he was doing. he was trying to comfort her by just being there, and she appreciated it immensely. y/n leaned her head against his shoulder and the two of them sat there in silence once again, watching the sky.

or am i a fool who sits alone talking to the moon 

“you don’t have to feel guilty,” sokka murmured. “she doesn’t blame you for what happened and she doesn’t blame you for how you feel. i know that she’s watching over us right now.”

“you think?” he nodded and the smallest smile graced her lips. “she doesn’t blame you either. every time you hung out together she would come running back to me telling me how much fun she had and how she already felt so close to you, and how much you brightened up her days. she truly loved you, sokka.” 

sokka laughed humorlessly and shook his head. “i loved her too. i didn’t think it was possible to fall for someone so quickly, but she proved me wrong.”

“she was good at that. proving people wrong.” 

do you ever hear me calling? 

more silence passed. 

y/n opened her mouth and closed it again, trying to find the words.

“yue?” she started off timid, but her words gained more confidence as she went on. “i.. i don’t know if you can hear us. but if you can, i just want to let you know that i- that we miss you. not a day goes by where i don’t think of you, and i hope that you are watching down on us. because we love you. and we always will.” 

“thank you for everything you’ve done.” sokka spoke up now. “i hope you’re at peace, yue, wherever you are.”

cause every night i’m talking to the moon  still trying to get to you

y/n swore that the moon glowed a little brighter in the night sky when they finished. 

she didn’t know how time passed so quickly, but her and sokka ended up falling asleep out there, his arm around her and her head on his shoulder.

and for the first time since the siege of the north, y/n slept without nightmares. 

[shotokimchi]

Throne (Fantasy Au!)

 Pairings: Katsuki Bakugou x Reader

A/N: Hello your girl Alex is here with a new fic! Basically you are the next leader of Marina kingdom but your fathers brother aka your uncle tries to kill you and make his son the next leader for the kingdom but luckily your other uncle which as known as your mothers brother saves you and gives you to the Bakugou family and guess what? They are the lead of the Dragon clan... Please follow me for more content i would be really happy ^^ and im also writing a serie for our crazy blonde Bakugou! Make sure to check it out Spices and Love here! Phew, writing this was fun please reblog, like and if you have ideas for me please message me i will gladly write for you <3

Note: Your name is Y/n in the fic but you have a nickname and its ‘Ena’

Meanings of the names that i used in this fic:

Seiji: Lawful; manages affairs of state.

Adelina: Noble, nobility.

Kaito: Sea, ocean.

Elijah: “My God Is Yahweh”

Ena: Gift from god.

“Hey, dont touch fathers weapons.” Masaru warned his son, Katsuki looked at his father with his crimson eyes then grabbed the base of his fathers sword, Masaru immediately took it from him and he started to scream. “What is he screaming for?!” Mitsuki came with a tray in her hands, Katsuki was only 3 but he was aggressive and hyperactive. She made him sat on her lap then gave a toy bow with a fake arrow. He stared at his toys with curious eyes and started to grin, he let out a cute pleased scream then started to swing the arrow in the air. Masaru sighed and took a cup of tea from the tray “He is only three but acts like a warrior.”  Mitsuki laughed and looked at his son “He is going to be the leader of our clan, of course he needs to act like a warrior.” Masaru was the current clan leader and despite his calm personality he was talented and successful. The leader of the clans house were always at the top of the mountain it was a tradition and that made them see the tents and the people of their clan clearly. They were living in a forest with full of rivers and waterfalls and Masaru’s clan was the strongest clan of the century, then there were kingdoms such as Marina, Metalia, Aros and Kagaku these kingdoms were the well known ones and Marina was the strongest of them all. Marina kingdom represented ‘water’ and they were pretty popular with their big ships and sea trades, their current king Seiji had a strong water quirk, he was married to a beautiful woman named Adelina and her quirk was strategy. Adelina was a part of a water clan called ‘Helen’ in the past and her clan was a big enemy of Marina kingdom. Then she fell in love with Seiji and when Seiji fell for her, they decided to end the rivalry and hate with getting married. Helen clan become a part of the Marina kingdom and they lived in harmony. Seiji’s kingdom was in good terms with Masaru’s clan, they were allies and friends. Even Marina looked like it didnt had any problems Seiji’s younger brother Kaito, wanted his son to become the leader after Seiji, he was only 5 but they were planning to make him the leader when Seiji got too old to rule, on the other hand Adelina wanted her 3 year old daughter Y/n to take the throne after his father.  Adelina’s brother Elijah, protected his niece from her greedy and heartless uncle Kaito. Seiji wanted his own daughter to rule the country but his brother were keep telling him that having Adelina’s daughter as a queen would be the same thing as wounding their pride since she was a Helen member at the past. Seiji was pretty mad about his brothers opinion, Adelina was his wife and that made her the queen of Marina. 

-

When the night came, Marina castle was filled with busy servants they were preparing a big dinner table, usually it was just the king, queen and their 3 year old princess, but today there were going to be Adelina’s parents, sir Elijah with his wife and ofc sir Kaito with his wife and 5 year old son. Adelina was so nervous, she didnt like Kaito one bit and she was sure that he was going to say stupid stuff to offend her. The purpose of this dinner was to talk about the future of Marina and she knew that the throne topic was going to pop up, her daughter was going to be in danger, she quickly walked towards the guest room that his brother was sleeping in. Elijah quickly got up and bowed, then Adelina started to talk “Brother, i have this weird feeling in me and im sure that Kaito is planning something dirty. If you notice something odd tonight, grab Y/n and take her to the Dragon clan.” Elijah frowned. “Dragon clan? The one ruled by Masaru?” she nodded, Elijah was confused, how could a dragon clan was going to help them? “I know what you are thinking Elijah but Masaru is our friend and ally besides, Dragon clan has the best fighting techniques and weapons. They are living in the deep forest so my daughter is going to be safe.” She put a hand on his brothers shoulder and they both nodded. When everyone gathered around the dinner table Y/n was sitting on her mothers lap, her grandmother quickly sat next to her mother and helped her feed the girl. Seiji came with his father- in- law and Elijah, they were having a pleasant conversation then the doors of the dining room opened and Kaito appeared with his family, everyone frowned except Seiji. “Good evening, brother.” Kaito bowed and Seiji smiled. When they all started to eat the tension was thick. Kaito ended the silence with a cough and turned to his big brother “Brother, are we going to talk about the next leader of our kingdom?” Adelina quickly took a deep breath and looked at Elijah he had a frown on his face. Seiji answered “Why are you so concerned about this topic, im still alive arent i ?” Kaito saw the serious face of his brother and quickly laughed to ease the tension. “Oh brother, you are a great leader and you know that i adore you but we need to organise everything for our kingdom.” At this rate, Elijah was furious he quickly opened his mouth “Then i think having Y/n as the future leader would be the best option. Since she is the only child of Queen Adelina and King Seiji.” Kaito snorted and answered “Being the only kid of the queen and king is not enough and since Y/n is female having a male leader would be more to our advantage.” Adelina gave a death glare towards his direction even Seiji started to lose his temper. “What do you mean by that Kaito?” Seiji raised his voice, everyone was scared of Seiji’s serious self so Kaito quickly started to explain himself. “Y/n is going to be a smart and strong princess and i have no doubt about that but we are educating our son Rei for the sake of our kingdom.” *so this was his aim huh* Seiji thought. “My first priority is my daughter.” This was Seiji’s last words and it shut him up. Adelina catched Kaito looking at her daughter with cold eyes, she quickly gave Elijah a signal and Elijah cleared his throat “If you excuse me sir, i would like to rest.” Seiji quickly nodded “Of course Elijah, good evening.” Elijah, disappeared and Adelina quickly kissed her daughters forehead, she didnt wanted to get separated from her one and only child but if it meant to keep her safe then she was going to do it. “Please take Y/n to her room she needs to sleep.” She gave a signal to the maid and the maid nodded “As you wish, queen Adelina.” The maid quickly took Y/n and left. When the maid turned the corner she saw Elijah and bowed “Sir Elijah, your horse is ready.” Elijah took his niece and thanked the maid. He quickly got on his horse and left without a word. He saw the gates of the palace and the guards stopped him. “Sir Elijah? Everything okay?” he took a deep breath and hid his niece under his long cloak. “Im going to get some fresh air, now open the door.” The guard nodded and they opened the big gates of the palace, he quickly dashed towards the forest and after 20 minutes he saw the campfires and tents, it was the dragon clan. He continued to follow the river and found the big waterfall, when he reached the top of the mountain, he saw a big house made by strong and brown woods. The guards in front of the house quickly spotted him and shouted “Who is it?” Elijah gave a sigh of relief and replied. “Im from the Marina kingdom, im queen Adelina’s younger brother sir Elijah and i want to see leader Masaru!” The guard quickly got in the big house, after 5 minutes he came back “This way sir Elijah.”

-

Masaru was confused, he didnt expect to have a guest this late especially from his friends kingdom. The guard slided the door open and Elijah appeared, Masaru quickly got up and they both bowed. “Sir Elijah, i hope everything is okay?” he asked, Mitsuki was sitting behind his husband, she noticed the worry in Elijah’s face. Elijah quickly took off his cloak and they saw a baby in his arms, Mitsuki’s eyes widened. “Is that, princess Y/n?” she asked and Elijah nodded. “Let me explain leader Masaru.” Elijah started and smiled at his niece, she was sleeping peacefully. “Kaito, Seiji’s brother… He is trying to kill Y/n, he wants his son to take the throne but Adelina and Seiji is against the idea. I heard his personal butler talking, he was going to posion Y/n tonight. I didnt told Adelina what i heard, i didnt wanted her to panic.” Mitsuki silently gasped and Masaru furrowed his brows. “What can we do to help?” he asked, Elijah took a deep breath “We know this is too much to ask but can you keep the princess? Seiji doesnt know about this only me, the queen and her personal maid. We cant teach her how to fight, we can only educate her about politics, she needs to learn to defend herself please make her a warrior leader Masaru, we cant trust anyone else. On her 18th birthday im gonna come and take her back.” He bowed. Masaru looked at Y/n’s face, she was an innocent soul, rejecting her would be cruel, he loved Seiji and respected him as a friend. He looked at his wife and silently asked for permission when Mitsuki nodded he smiled and turned to Elijah “We are going to take care of her sir Elijah and we are going to hide her real identity from everyone, even from our son.” Elijah thanked and bowed “If you excuse me i need to return to the palace quickly, we dont know what Kaito is planning.” Masaru nodded, Elijah quickly got on his horse and left. When he left Masaru returned and saw Mitsuki holding Y/n in her arms. “How could they do something like this?!” Mitsuki was so mad, Masaru quickly shook his head and aswered “Kingdom games… They are always dirty.” Mitsuki sighed and opened her mouth “What are we gonna tell Katsuki, what are we gonna tell our clan? Y/n looks different from us even her aura is different.” Masaru looked at the little girl’s face and rubbed his chin “While i was hunting in the forest, i heard little cries and found a little girl by the river, thats what we are going to tell everyone including our son. But Katsuki should know Y/n’s given name, only us can call her Y/n. We gonna tell the clan that we named her ‘Ena’.” Mitsuki raised an eyebrow “Ena? That name means… Gift from god?” Masaru nodded and looked at the little girl “Yeah, it does. We respect nature and even Elijah brought her here its still because of the nature and fate, she is a gift from god.” 

-

The cool air made Elijah’s face froze but he needed to go to the palace, her sister and the throne was in danger. Then he felt like he was being watched, he quickly stopped and shouted “Who’s there?” Then a group of men appeared, when he recognised what they were wearing he was speechles, they were Kaito’s men. “Where is the princess?” A man asked and Elijah scoffed “She’s already in a carriage which is going to a another kingdom.” The man started to ran towards him with his sword and Elijah quickly wounded him, he was a skilled man but they were crowded so he quickly counted them, there were eight people in front of him and he was alone. “You seriously came here with eight people?” Elijah laughed but the man smirked and quickly responded. “Actually nine people sir Elijah, we cant beat you with close combat but…” Then Elijah felt a sharp pain in his chest, when he quickly looked at his torso, he saw an arrow inside of him. “You cant notice an archer in the dark now am i wrong?” Elijah’s vision blurred and he fell from his horse...

-

When the morning came Katsuki quickly got up from his mattress and dashed towards his parents room, he quickly took a deep breath and screamed “AAAAAH!” This was his way of waking people up. His father groaned and opened his eyes, Katsuki was about to jump on them but when he saw a little girl laying beside his parents in a pastel pink mattress, he quickly stopped. The girl slowly opened her e/c eyes and they met with crimson ones. “Who… who?” She couldnt understand where she was, Masaru saw the confusion on her face and felt bad. Poor princess, clueless about everything… Mitsuki was wide awake and she quickly pulled Y/n towards her lap. “Katsuki, say hello to Y/n, she is going to stay with us from now on, you got yourself a new friend!” The little girl was confused, she was only three and her memories were not that strong compared to an adult but she knew that this wasnt her home. “Where… am… i?” Mitsuki quickly shoot his husband a panicked look and Masaru started to explain. “Y/n we found you in the forest… We are going to be your family from now on, im the leader of the Dragon clan and you are going to be my daughter. But our clan is going to call you ‘Ena’ the only ones who allowed to call you Y/n is us, understand?” The girl was even more confused… Something was missing, the warmth of a woman, the love of a certain woman, her mother. “Momma?” she quickly started to look around and Mitsuki felt disgusting, lying to a little pure soul was cruel, she quickly squeezed her “No sweety, momma is here look at me.” Katsuki was dumbfounded, what was going on? Then Y/n started to cry and Mitsuki tried to calm her down, Masaru took Katsuki’s hand and dragged him towards their big garden. He looked at his son and saw the frown on his face, he opened his mouth “Son, you are going to be a strong leader when you grow up. We need to help those in need, thats what leaders do. So i want you to be Y/n’s friend, can you do that for me, strong leader Katsuki?” Katsuki’s eyes shined with determination and he nodded. After twenty minutes Y/n came with Mitsuki, she was holding her hand. Mitsuki gently pushed Y/n towards Katsuki and waited for them to interact. Katsuki looked at his father and his father nodded while giving him an encouraging smile. Katsuki quickly took his fake sword that made from wood and handed to Y/n, she looked at him and hesitantly took it. Then Katsuki grabbed his bow and arrow. “Lets play!” he was trying to make her feel relaxed. Then her face lit up a little and she nodded, after thirty minutes they were playing, screaming and running around. Masaru and Mitsuki were watching them with small smiles on their faces then Mitsuki turned towards her husband and asked “ What if she doesnt forget about her parents? I know she is three and her memories are kinda temporary but any child can feel the absence of their mothers presence, I feel terrible Masaru.” He patted her back and looked her in the eyes “She is going to forget and this is for her sake, we are trying to help the Marina kingdom.” She sighed and nodded. “Besides, look at Katsuki he looks happy with a friend.” Masaru continued “Even he treats the other kids roughly i talked with him and he is being considerate.” He looked at his son, he was laughing while chasing Y/n. Mitsuki watched the kids and sighed “I hope we can protect her…”

-

-

-

One year later

“Woah Katsuki, your quirk is so cool!” You chimed and Katsuki smirked “Of course it is! I just got my quirk but wait and see im gonna be the strongest person in the clan!” you smiled and nodded “You are already the strongest!” Your words boosted his ego and he started to make bigger explosions in his hands. You didnt know what your quirk was, Katsuki got his and it was so cool! But you felt a little sad, you wanted a strong quirk just like his. Masaru immediately called a doctor and they made some test on you when they called Masaru, they told him that you had an Iq and strategy quirk. Having an Iq and strategy quirk is going to be so useful for you, it was going to help you calculate every move of your enemy in close combat or politics. When Masaru and Mitsuki first told you about your quirk you couldnt understand it clearly but one day when you were playing with Bakugou he started to chase you and sent you one of his explosions, you dodged it pretty easily, you started to see clearly and you felt like you were solving formulas in your brain. “Your quirk is not that useless Y/n!” Katsuki shouted with a smirk on his face, you smiled “Thank you, Katsuki!” when he was about to catch you Mitsuki called you both “Y/n, Katsuki! Your tutor is here, come on.” He huffed and replied “Fine! But we are not done Y/n, lets continue playing!” you nodded and gave him a toothy grin. After the lessons, you took a walk in the clan with mother Mitsuki and Katsuki, Katsuki was keep running here and there but you were shy, everyone was smiling at you and complimenting you, you squeezed your mothers hand and she patted your head “Katsuki! Hold Y/n’s hand!” she whisper shouted, she didnt wanted anyone to hear your given name, the rumors about the Marina kingdoms lost princess were everywhere so she didnt wanted people to become suspicious. Katsuki huffed and looked at you “Come on, Ena!” he quickly grabbed your hand and started to run. You were still uneasy with your nickname ‘Ena’ you couldnt understand why they called you with that name when you were outside of the Bakugou house but you knew that they were trying to protect you from something. “BAKUGOU! ENA!” Both of you heard an excited voice and when you turned around you saw Kirishima, he was holding a fake sword in his hand “Kirishima!” you smiled and your hold loosened on Katsuki’s hand, Kirishima quickly approached you both and started to tell you about his newly found quirk. “Woah! Thats amazing!” you clapped your hands and Katsuki snorted “Still! Im stronger than anyone!” Kirishima pouted and you laughed. Then Mitsuki called “Katsuki, Y- i mean Ena! Lets go, i want to have a picnic while watching the waterfall.” You pouted and Bakugou sighed, you wanted to play with your friends and both of them felt the same so Mitsuki invited Kirishima, the three of you started to ran towards the forest. You crossed the stone bridge while admiring the river and started to walk deep into the forest. Then you felt weird, it was… nostalgic. You rarely left the Bakugou house so the unusual feeling scared you, you stopped walking, Katsuki and Kirishima looked at you with confusion. “Hey! Ena come on!” Katsuki shouted but you were looking around. The feeling of a certain person, no… A man? Mitsuki managed to catch up with the three of you and saw the expression on your face “Ena? Whats wrong?” You started to run towards the waterfall and the three of them followed you, when you reached the waterfall, the feeling only grew stronger. “A man… A horse…” you started to mutter. “Ena, are you okay?” Kirishima called out to you while trying to catch his breath, you were too fast. “Ena…?” Mitsuki approached and patted your head. “Momma… Did father found me right here?” Her eyes widened *Oh no, dejavu…* she thought and cleared her throat. “No honey, he found you by the river.” You looked at her face *Momma, is lying…* you thought, your quirk was Iq  after all. Observing people and figuring them out was an easy task for you. *Is momma lying because… she wants to keep me safe?* “Ok momma… Then lets have our picnic!” You smiled and she gave a sigh of relief, your mood quickly changed and you didnt thought much about it, you were just four years old.

-

-

-

Eight years later

You and Katsuki were twelve now, he was always aggressive, competitive and rough while you were kind, calm and friendly. You and Kirishima were the only ones he considered real ‘friends’. Both of you were always taking lessons and having private training sessions. Bakugou was going to be the future leader of the clan. But you never understood what were you going to be… When your training session ended you decided to take a walk in the forest. “What… am i going to be? Who am i? Father Masaru always tells me that im a gift from the nature but am i a princess, a witch, a fairy? Everything im learning is too easy for me…” While you were muttering someone approached you from behind and just when you were about to turn around- “BOO!” Katsuki shouted and you looked at him, emotionless. “Wha- are you dead or something?!” You dropped the emotionless look and started to laugh “Dead? Ahahaha! Katsuki you are the only one who approaches me and tries to scare me all the time, im used to it!” Although you grow up together, Katsuki never saw you as his sister and it was the same for you, he was your first friend and you were his only female friend. He never told you but he really cared about you. You were always with him from the start, when he got his quirk you were the one who witnessed it first, when he got in trouble for stealing the apples in the kitchen you were his partner in crime, you were his training partner, his friend. When you were having trouble about sleeping because of your nightmares he always came and sat beside you till you fall asleep, when you felt lonely he tried to cheer you up in his own ‘Bakugou way’ you were the child of nature, a gift from god, his friend that god sent. “What are you doing here Y/n, you gonna get lost or something.” He huffed and you snorted “The child of nature getting lost in the forest? Come on Katsuki! Besides my power is Iq and strategy remember? Even if i get lost, i can easily survive!” he shuffled your hair “Whatever! Lets go before our old hag starts to look for us.” You rolled your eyes “She is your hag not mine, so… Bye!” You started to run into the forest and he shouted “Hey! Come back here!” He started to chase you, but you were fast so he used his explosions to get close to you, just when he was about to grab your arm you quickly jumped, grabbed a branch and climbed, he missed “Oi! Y/n, what are you doing?!” You were laughing like crazy, then he lost the sight of you “Y/n!” He called but there was no sound *There is only one place…* he thought, then started to run towards the waterfall. “Finally Katsuki, you are too slow!” He saw you, standing on the top of the waterfall gettin help from the big rock underneath you for balance. “What are you doing, dumbass?” He shouted but you didnt heard him because of the waterfall. Then you smirked and motioned him to come, he quickly used his explosions to fly and landed on the ground. “Y/n, you are gonna slip dumbass come here!” You shook your head “Nope!” Then you jumped. His eyes were wide, he knew that nothing was gonna happen but when he didnt saw your frame, he panicked “Y/n!” he waited but it was just the big roar of the waterfall and the big steam. He immediately jumped, his fall was rough and he swallowed a little bit of water. “Y/n?!” He was looking around then he felt little arms wrapping around his shoulders “Boo! Hehehe got you, Katsuki.” He jumped and turned to see your wet hair and shiny eyes. “Idiot! What were you thinking?!” he screamed and your eyes widened, he was an adventurous guy, why was he acting like an old man? “Katsuki? Were you… worried about me?” You asked and he avoided your gaze “Tch.” you smiled “Awww, you are the best!” you squeezed him and he pushed you “Hold onto me, im taking us out, im all wet because of you!” He tried to create explosions but it was hard when he was in the water, he managed to get the both of you out and dragged you towards the house.

-

-

-

Three years later

“Oi Y/n, wake up dumbass!” No matter how many times that you told him to knock, he didnt give a damn and barged into your room, like always. When he saw you, he regretted his action but it was too late. “K-katsuki?! GET OUT!” You were in your ladylike udergarments, your hair was messy just from waking up and your cheeks were now as red as Kirishima’s hair, thanks to him. His face turned red and he slammed the door shut. “I ALWAYS TELL YOU TO KNOCK!” You shouted “WHATEVER!” He shouted back and ran towards to the backyard just when he was about to open the door, his father appeared and smiled “Good morning, son.” But when he saw Katsuki’s face, he was confused. “Are you okay?” He avoided his father “Im gonna run!” and quickly left the house. When you heard him leave you slowly got out and found Mitsuki sitting on the front porch. “Mother Mitsuki, can we talk?” She turned around and saw your flushed face “Y/n, do you have a fever?” You quickly shook your head and sat next to her. “M-mother Mitsuki, Katsuki always barges into my room without knocking and… im a little uncomfortable.” she immediately understand what you were trying to say and sighed. “Both of you are growing up Y/n but men cant realise things unless you tell them, dont worry i will talk to him, stupid kid where are his manners.” She sighed and you smiled “ N-no mother Mitsuki, please dont be mad at him i just want him to understand that we are not kids anymore.” She patted your shoulder and giggled. “Yeah, you guys grew up together so he still thinks that he can have a bath with you.” Your face was burning up, when you were five, you always took a bath with Katsuki. “M-mother!” you covered your face and Mitsuki laughed.

-

 Katsuki was running like a mad wolf, he was sweaty and tired but he felt alive, he used his explosions to fly and see the mesmerizing forest. It was fall so the red, orange and yellow trees looked more beautiful than ever. He immediately spotted the lake that he took his baths in and flew towards that direction. When he landed, he quickly kicked his boots and dipped his toes into the water, then he started to look around, your flustered and half naked image was still in his mind. “Dumbass.” His ears turned red and he quickly washed his face with the fresh water. He closed his eyes and tried to calm down but your red cheeks were still there… “I should hunt.” Hunting was one of his favourite activities, he felt strong, chasing his prey and finally managing to catch, the feeling of victory always lifted his spirits. So he stood up and set up a small trap and started to wait... 

Katsuki managed to catch four rabbits and when he reached his house, he had a victorious smirk on his face when he was about to head inside, he saw you. You were training with one of the strongest archers in the clan. “Ok Y/n do it like i taught you.” You closed your left eye and took a deep breath, when you let it go you managed to hit the little red mark that your teacher drew. “Good job Y/n! If you continue to train like this, im going to teach you to how to shoot things while riding a horse then a dragon.” Your eyes lit up and you bowed “Thank you, sir!” he laughed and patted your head. “You are gonna be the best female archer in this clan, trust me!” his words encouraged you and you took a new arrow. “Ok! Now i want you to shoot the moving apple. If you can shoot moving things that means you are ready to ride an animal while using a bow.” You nodded and looked at the swinging apple, it was attached to a rope. Bakugou watched you silently, he didnt wanted to distract you, he always admired the you on the training grounds. Serious, determined, stubborn, most of the girls in the clan were busy with collecting stones and making necklaces, feeding the dragons, the sheeps or sewing clothes. “Focus, Y/n.” the instructors words interrupted his thoughts and he stared at your form, you pulled the string, slowly inhaled and exhaled, then… “Good job Y/n!” The instructor clapped and you grinned “I did it, sir!” There was an arrow with blue feathers in the middle of the apple. “Keep practising Y/n, if you manage to shoot the moving targets on our next lesson, you are going to train on a horse.” You bowed and thanked him, when he left you grabbed three new apples and tied them with a rope, Bakugou was still behind you and he was watching. *Lets see if it was just luck or not* he thought. In the blink of an eye you shoot the first one then you quickly aimed for the second one and shooted it. Now you were looking at the third apple, it was still swinging. *Left, right, left… right* You closed your left eye and… *Now!* when you looked at the third apple, its other half was on the ground. “I did it!” you started to jump like a baby deer and Bakugou chuckled. “Guess you are not that bad, dumbass.” You immediately froze “K-katsuki? How long have you been there?!” Your cheeks started to burn. “Quite a while actually.” He smirked, you crossed your arms and pouted “Y-you surprised me.” The flustered look only made his smirk grow wider. “Yeah whatever, you are not that bad.” Your eyes met and you started to feel calmer “Thank you, Katsu.”

-

-

-

One year later

Katsuki was taking a walk in the clan, when he woke up he looked at your room but then Mitsuki told him that you left for training. “Dumbass Y/n, she is leaving on her own now huh...” He sighed. You made some crazy ass progress in a year, you were stronger and pretty good in combat, you were the best female archer in the clan. The young men of the clan were amazed by your skills, you were the center of attention and aside from your battle skills you were so beautiful and elegant at the same time. You looked different compared to the people in the dragon clan. You had only three or four female friends because most of the girls in the clan were jelaous of your skills and you being so close to the next leader, handsome and strong Katsuki. When Katsuki reached the battle area he saw you and a girl holding a silver sword in her hands. “Take this Ena!” She charged towards you but you quickly dodged and kicked her in the knees. %80 percent of the audience was male and all of their eyes were glued to the battle. “Ena-chan doesnt have a weapon and yet, she is beating her opponent up!” One of the males spoke up and his friends nodded. “Her quirk is so useful in battle but i wanna see her shoot targets while riding a dragon!” the third male spoke up “She is so beautiful and yet so strong, i wonder if she’s single?” Katsuki was tired of the fanboys’ conversation, he scoffed. “Bakubro!” Then he heard Kirishima’s voice and saw him waving with a big smile on his face, he started to walk towards the red haired boy “You can see the battle clearly from here, Bakubro.” Bakugou nodded “I guess.” Kiri was so hyped, he was keep moving his fists and shouting encouraging words to you “You are doing a good job Ena, keep going!” Katsuki snorted and turned towards his friend “Are you five or something, dont distract her.” While everyone was clapping and cheering, your mind was a mess *Dodge, left, right… Now a kick to her stomach! Oh, im doing pretty good. Looking at her position, im guessing she is going to attack my knees or my feet, i need to be careful.* You started to ran towards her, she bent down and tried to grab your legs but you quickly jumped and now her back was facing yours, you quickly spinned and kicked her back, she lost her balance and fell on her stomach. You immediately sat on her back and holded her wrists. The crowd was cheering like crazy “YOU ARE AMAZING ENA!” or “ENA WON!” your opponent stopped moving and said “I give up.” You quickly stood up, extended your hand and smiled “You are pretty strong.” She smiled back and grabbed your hand “Not as strong as you Ena-san.” When you were about to leave she called back “Say, Ena-san. Wanna take a bath together in the lake?” You turned and smiled “Sure, i forgot to ask what’s your name?” she replied “Shiniqua.”

-

“Wow Ena, you were amazing out there!” Kirishima shouted and you laughed “Thank you, Kiri.” Bakugou was silent, observing your messy hair and scratched cheeks but your voice interrupted him “How did i do, Katsuki?” You asked with a big grin and a glint of hope in your eyes. He stayed silent for a second and snorted “You are not dead so… It was alright.” You laughed and pinched his cheeks “Awww, thank you!” His cheeks started to turn red, he was going to be the leader after all, he needed to look scary and strong but here you were squeezing his cheeks like he was a toddler. “Hwey, oi! Stowp, hmpf!” He quickly grabbed your wrists and yanked them off but you and Kiri were still laughing. “We are gonna go hunting with some friends, wanna come Ena-chan?” Kiri asked but you shook your head “No, sorry Kiri. I need to take a bath, im so sweaty and dirty also some of my friends are waiting for me, Bye bye!” You waved and Kiri waved back but Bakugou was too busy with covering his red face.

-

“You were so cool out there Ena-chan!” Hana chimed, you were relaxing in the lake with some of the girls in the clan. Hana was the only close friend you had, well except for Bakugou and Kirishima. “Thank you Hana but Shiniqua was pretty talented dont you think?” Hana nodded but Shiniqua quickly shook her head “I have a lot to learn from you Ena-san!” you chatted about all kinds of things and the topic now was a classic one ‘boys’ “Sayyyy… Ena-chan, you are pretty close with Bakugou are you guys you know…?” A girl named Shiko started to speak and the other girls turned to you, your face started to heat up and you quickly shook your head “N-no of course not! Me and Bakugou are really close friends, almost like siblings, we grew up together!” Your usually calm and collected expression was now a mess so the girls started to wiggle their eyebrows and continued to tease you “Ah, stop teasing me!” you yelled and attacked the girls while all of you were laughing Shiko stopped moving and turned pale “G-girls?” All of you stopped and looked at her “Shiko-san whats wrong? Shiniqua asked and Shiko pointed towards a bush “T-there is someone watching us, the bush moved!” All of you panicked and the girls started to shout “Calm down everyone!” you tried to calm them down but they were busy searching for their towels, all of you immediately grabbed your towels and wrapped it around your bodies, the girls were screaming and all of them ran away. You were suspicious that it was a spy so you immediately ran towards your house to get help, Bakugou was taking a walk in the forest with Kirishima and two guys named Arata and Ryuu. They were one of the strongest guys in the clan and they respected Bakugou so much, aside from Kirishima they were the only guys he could work together with. “So, Bakugou? Are you gonna attend the training camp?” Ryuu asked “Why should i? Im already training with strong warriors.” He looked at the sky and back to Ryuu “I dont know man, it would be fun to attend together” Arata spoke up and Kirishima nodded. “Yeah Bakubro! Just consider-“ Kiri’s eyes widened and he froze the guys turned towards him and eyed him with concern, his face was red as his hair “Kirishima you okay man?” Arata followed Kirishima’s gaze and now he was red as a tomato “Holy…” Bakugou rose a brow and exchanged a look with Ryuu when they both turned to look at what their friends were looking at Bakugou almost had a heart attack “What the-?!” Here you were running towards them with a towel wrapped around your body with flushed cheeks and wet hair, half naked… Ryuu choked on his spit and Arata covered his face, Kiri was worried but also too shy to say anything and Bakugou… well Bakugou exe just stopped working. “Katsuki! We need help!” When he saw the worry in your eyes he tried to focus but you grabbed his arm and pulled it towards your chest. He was too stunned to yank it off so he stared blankly at you. “Katsuki! Are you listening to me? I guess there is a spy in the forest!” Now all of them were alarmed and understood how serious the situation was. “A what?” He finally managed to answer “A spy, Katsuki! When we were relaxing in the lake one of the girls saw something behind a bush and all of them ran away, i didnt saw anyone but wanted to make sure so i came here to get some help!” A nasty scowl formed on his face and he straightened. “Lets go check it out then.” “We are coming too!” Kiri spoke up and the other two nodded. Katsuki shook his head “No, one person is enough… Oi! Stop looking at her!” He scolded them, Ryuu started to bow and apologise while Arata turned away and muttered apologies with flushed cheeks and poor Kiri, he was too pure he kneeled in front of you and waited for your forgiveness.

-

“Ok now, where is our spy?” He whispered and you pointed towards the bush, he grabbed his sword and started to walk towards it, then… *Rustle rustle* You jumped and crossed your arms over your chest, Katsuki turned around and grabbed your wrist “Get behind me Y/n!” Normally you would fight with him but since you were naked, you obeyed. Then just when he was about to make a move a deer appeared and ran away “Ack!” You hid yourself behind Katsuki but he stopped. “Hah? So our dangerous spy was a deer?” You replied “A what?” He sighed and turned towards you “Y/n, that was a damn deer.” You gave a sigh of relief but he snorted “Seriously, you guys ran away because of a delicious meal?” You blushed and pouted “When they said that there was someone i panicked okay, how should’ve i known?!” Now you were trying to cover yourself while Katsuki was laughing his ass off. “Yeah whatever, miss WARRIOR.” You sighed and accepted defeat then you shivered and Katsuki noticed. “Here.” He dropped his fur coat over your shoulders and his warmth enveloped you. “You are a weird one you know that?” You raised and eyebrow and gasped “Excuse me?” He smirked but didnt wanted to argue “Arent you tired dumbass? Lets go.” You hummed in agreement and both of you started to walk towards the house.

-

“Mother Mitsuki, do you need help?” Mitsuki was peeling a potato while the servents were running back and forth for dinner preparations. “Oh, dont worry Y/n! The servents are working and dinner is almost done, you had training sessions in the morning right? Why dont you rest a little?” You bowed and thanked her “Hmm, what should i do? I dont wanna sleep… Ah! I know what to do.” You ran towards your room and grabbed some stones that you collected before. Then you sat at the wooden floor of the front porch and started to make a necklace from the red stones. “These red stones remind me of Katsuki’s eyes, maybe i should give this to him.” When the necklace was done it looked elegant and beautiful. “Wow, im proud of this.” You hummed and smiled “What are you proud of?” The voice made you jump and when you turned to look, you saw Katsuki standing behind you “O-oh, nothing!” You quickly hid the necklace, he didnt question you further and sat next to you “How you feeling?” he asked and you smiled “Im okay, thanks to you! I didnt catch a cold.” He nodded “Good.” You sat there in comfortable silence then you gave a side glance and saw Katsuki admiring the sky. You sighed then looked at him again, he was beautiful, a sharp jawline, crimson eyes and ash blond hair, he was just perfect. “Why are you looking at me like that idiot?” You jumped and started shook your head in a defensive way “U-uh, i wasnt looking at you!” Then he snorted “Yeah? I dont believe you.” you pouted “Stop teasing me, Katsuki!” You playfully hit his arm and he chuckled. “Whatever, lets go and eat.” He got up and you followed suit, you quickly sat down next to Katsuki and waited for his parents, when Masaru and Mitsuki appeared both of you gave a little bow and they smiled. The dinner was lovely both of them were kind and loving, if only they were your real parents… Katsuki ate quickly then cleared his throat “Im going.” Mitsuki looked at his son and asked “Where are you going at this hour?” He answered “Patrolling with Kirishima.” Just when he was about to leave the room, you spoke up “Can i come too?” He looked at you, confused. “Its late Y/n.” He replied but you wanted to join him, this was the perfect opportunity to give him the necklace that you made. “Please Katsuki, im not gonna be a burden i promise!” He sighed then his eyes met your shiny and hopeful ones “Fine…” You smiled and jumped from your seat “Yay!” Mitsuki and Masaru watched you both leave. “Im glad that they get along.” Mitsuki started and looked at his husband “Y/n seems happy and she is pretty succesful dont you think?” Masaru nodded “Besides, she is a pretty good friend.” Masaru looked at his wife and sighed “I hope they’ll stay friends.” Mitsuki raised a brow “What so you mean, Masaru?” Masaru pinched the bridge of his nose and continued “They are not kids anymore, Mitsuki. Y/n is a young lady now and Katsuki is not a little boy, their relationship is different now. Mutual respect, trust and something im scared of…” Mitsuki quickly shook her head “No, you must be mistaken Masaru, they grew up together!” “But that doesnt change the fact that they are both matured. Katsuki is careful around her, i know im not the most talktive one in the family but im a good observer.” Mitsuki looked at the tea cup in her hands and sighed...

-

“Bakubro you came! Oh? Ena-chan you came too?” You waved and smiled “Yeah, i was bored and wanted to tag along. I hope i didnt ruined your ‘bro’ time.” He quickly shook his head with a serious expression “Of course not! I love Ena-chan, she is always welcome, right Bakubro?” Bakugou rolled his eyes “Hm.” Kirishima was one of the few people that posessed the ability to transform into a dragon so whenever Bakugou wanted to go on a patrol he always had Kiri with him. There were normal dragons in the clan but %3 of the clan posessed the dragon ability and all of them got trained for war. Kirishima was one of them and Bakugou always trusted him with his life even he didnt admitted it loudly. “What are you waiting for shitty hair, come on transform.” He quickly nodded and turned into a beautiful red dragon. Bakugou quickly hopped on his back and looked at you “Should i send an invitation? Hurry!” You huffed and grabbed his hand and now you were sitting on Kiri’s back, arms around Bakugou’s waist. Kirishima took of from the ground and your grip on Bakugou tightened. “Sorry, Bakugou...” you mumbled and hid your face in the fur around his shoulders. “Oi! Careful shitty hair, Ena is here too so control your speed.” Kirishima slowed down but your eyes were still squeezed shut “Come on dumbass open your eyes, this is not your first time riding a dragon.” You took deep breaths “Yeah but Kirishima is huge and he is faster than the other dragons!” Kirishima took that as a compliment and let out a pleased noise. After 15 minutes you were laughing like a five year old and enjoying the beautiful view then you remembered the necklace and straightened. “Katsuki, i made something for you.” He tensed up and started to listen, when he stayed silent you took that as a sign to continue “Its nothing much but i just want you to have it, you were my first friend after all.” Then he felt your small hands around his neck “Oi, what are you...?” when he felt the cold stones around his neck he turned his had trying to get a glimpse of you. “I collected these stones from the river, they were beautiful and the color reminded me of your eyes.” His heart was beating faster, he hated this feeling... “This is a thank you gift Katsuki. Thank you for being my friend when no one was there, i dont know where i came from, i dont know if i have parents or not, sometimes it wounds me but then i think of you and your family. Im so lucky to have you all in my life, i still dont know who i am but im gonna get strong and stay by your side when you become a leader.” His breath hitched in his throat, thats why he trusted you, you didnt had any connections with him from the start but you still become his friend, you created the connection with him and tried to get stronger to stay by his side. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth “It doesnt matter where you came from or who your parents are, it doesnt change the fact that you are strong thats how i see you. You are a part of this clan and nothing is going to change that, so you better get stronger and stay with me when i rule this clan.” Your eyes widened and cheeks darkened. You couldnt see his expression but he had a soft smile on his face, you tightened your hold around his waist and nodded. 

-

“Oi dumbass, are you sleeping?” Your arms loosened their grip around him so he immediately grabbed both of your arms and you tried to reply but your eyelids were pretty heavy. “No...” Your breathing started to slow down and he sighed “Kirishima, we are landing.” Kirishima obeyed and tried to land softly as possible. When he managed to do it Bakugou turned towards you and your head collided with his chest. “What am i gonna do with you dumbass...” He started to take deep breaths and realised that he was inhaling your scent, he quickly shook his head and tried to wake you up “Oi, dummy wake up!” Your eyes fluttered open “Hah?! Oh, im sorry Katsuki.” He scowled and you got off of Kirishima, he transformed into his human form and looked at Bakugou mischievously. Bakugou glared at him and you yawned “Im sleepy, lets go...” You gave Kirishima a friendly hug and tugged at Bakugou’s cloak. “Lead us Lord Bakugou!” you laughed lazily and Kirishima grinned at you both. Bakugou grabbed your wrist and started to drag you, Kirishima smiled and whispered to himself “So he finally realised...” 

-

Two years later

“Weak, harder!” Your lungs were burning up, sweat was dripping from your forehead and he was still energetic. Katsuki and you were training for two hours, he was pretty good at close combat so he wanted to show off by ‘teaching’ you some new moves. “Of course its weak! Im throwing hands with you for hours!” You yelled back and he snorted “You cant get stronger if you whine like a little brat.” He loved messing with you, he already knew that you were the strongest woman in the clan and you were just eighteen, he just wanted to show you his new technique but he was too shy to ask so training was a good excuse. “Katsuki please, im hungry!” He sighed and scratched his head “You stubborn woman... Fine!” After fifteen minutes you guys were walking side by side with meat buns in your hands. The shopkeepers were greeting you both with sincere smiles and bows. “Where are we going now Katsuki?” He looked around and turned to you “My dagger needs to be sharpened, we need to see Arata.” You smiled and nodded “Oh, its been a while since i saw Arata-san!” When you made it to the iron shop Arata greeted you with a confident smile “Ena-chan and Bakugou, what a good surprise!” Arata and Bakugou started to chat and you were watching the people of the clan work, then your eyes met with 3 pair of angry eyes. There were three girls eyeing you with an annoyed expression, first you didnt understand the reason but then it clicked *Ohhh right... They are jelaous bc im with Bakugou.* The ladies were crazy about Bakugou but he didnt looked at any of them, he was just too busy with training and other stuff, when you tried to brought it up he immediately changed the topic with an intense glare. “Oi, Ena we are leaving.” His voice interrupted your thoughts and you nodded.

-

Masaru was pacing back and forth in the garden, your 18th birthday was getting closer, he didnt wanted to hand you over to Elijah but he knew that you had responsibilities. “Five days... We have five days.” He murmured, normally he would be happy to celebrate your birthday but this was different, Mitsuki was the same, she didnt wanted you to leave and fight. You were like his own daughter and a part of the Bakugou family. Their minds drifted off to their son, he didnt had a clue. They didnt told anything to him, he was just like you, clueless... This remorse were going to be the end of them.

-

“Katsuki, w-wait!” You guys were running for ten minutes. When you left Arata’s iron shop, the girls of the clan started to gather around you both, Bakugou grabbed your wrist and started to run like a mad dog. You were tired of the chasing so you yanked him towards you and started to ran towards the girls “What are you doing shitty woman?!” You smirked and the girls looked at you with confusion, you ran into them like a bowling ball and knocked them off like bowling pins. Bakugou started to laugh and you shouted “Bakugou use your explosions!” He grabbed your waist and used his explosions to fly. When you lost the sight of the mad girls, both of you laughed “Why did you attacked them, dumbass?” You smirked and answered “They were sending me icy glares, i just needed revenge!” He snorted and both of you landed somewhere in the forest, when you took a look at your surroundings, you noticed the beatiful roses. “Katsuki, look!” You started to run towards the roses and he smiled to himself, you looked like a little girl. “I always saw the rose crowns but never had a chance to make them!” Bakugou looked at you with confusion “Rose what?” You smiled and started to explain with a goofy smile “Rose crowns! You know, the girls in the clan makes flower crowns from roses, sometimes they are red, white, pink or even orange!” He touched his red necklace that you made, your birthday was close so he wanted to make something for you, he bent down and started to pick up some white roses, you looked at him with confusion then he sat down and looked at you with an annoyed expression “Oi, are you gonna sit or what?” You sat down and started to watch him make a beautiful crown. He was the next leader he was a warrior and yet, his hands were skilled and careful on the roses. When he finished, he looked at the crown and hummed “Look.” You looked at his eyes and thats when you felt the warmth on your cheeks. He placed the crown on your head, you looked like a nature goddess. His cheeks turned pink and he averted his eyes “Happy early birthday...” He murmured and you looked at him with shiny eyes, smiling to yourself you decided to tease him “Whaaaa, i couldnt hear you Katsu?” The nickname made his heart stop, he grunted and looked at you with a frown “I know you heard it !” You laughed and replied “Ok ok, no need to be shy!” He growled and your laughter got louder. Then you looked at him with a sincere smile “Thank you, Katsuki.” You started to get closer and he gulped, why was he nervous? You gave him a tight hug and whispered “Thank you for being in my life Katsu.” His heart jumped and he inhaled your scent, this scent belonged to you... It was calming, soft, elegant. He wanted to return the hug but was too shy for it, so he slowly pulled back and you saw the tiny smile on his lips.

-

The evening came quickly and now you were having dinner with the Bakugou family, Mitsuki and Masaru were too quiet and Katsuki gave you a puzzled look. Just when you were about to open your mouth Masaru’s servent appeared and bowed “Leader Masaru, there is a woman wishing to see you.” Everyone in the table gave him a confused look and he got up, when you looked at mother Mitsuki, her expression was unreadable. After some time Masaru appeared with the woman and when her eyes landed on you she gasped. “Y/n!” Your eyes widened, only your father, mother and Katsuki knew your real name. Masaru saw the shocked expressions on yours and Katsuki’s face so he sat down and motioned her to sit. The woman’s eyes were glued to you and you felt nervous. Mitsuki’s hands were shaking but she tried to mask her anxiety. Something was very wrong, you were not dumb it was the opposite, your quirk was IQ and strategy and yet you were utterly confused. Masaru looked at Mitsuki and nodded “Y/n and Katsuki, we are gonna have a long talk.” Both of you looked at eachother, you gulped and met with the blonde’s ruby eyes, he sensed your anxiety and gave you a reassuring nod. “Y/n, this is Mrs. Kairi. Your uncle Elijah’s wife, in other words your aunt.” Your eyes widened and your face turned pale. Your aunt? Who? You had an uncle... You didnt had anyone, how was that possible? Katsuki was as shocked as you were, he looked at you for answers but when he saw your pale face, he closed his mouth and turned his eyes towards the woman. She gave you a sincere smile then Masaru continued “Y/n, i know its a lot to take in but fifteen years ago your uncle Elijah, your mothers brother gave you to us and left, it was all for your safety. Your other uncle Kaito tried to organise an assassination for you. He wanted his son to rule the Marina kingdom but your mother Adelina wanted you to lead and she wanted us to raise you.” Your mind was a mess, all the emotions came crashing down on you, you had a mother... You had a family, there were evil people like Kaito but it didnt matter, you had a family! Mitsuki got up from her seat and sat next to your other side, she squeezed you tight and you closed your eyes, silent tears started to fall and she patted your head, you were so happy that you had a real mother and you were happy about the fact that she tried to keep you safe by giving you to the Bakugou family but Mitsuki was the mother figure you always had and you were so grateful. Katsuki’s brain was the same, he was curious, excited and nervous. He was really happy about the fact that you had a family but he didnt know how you were feeling at the moment. Then Masaru turned towards your aunt and asked “Mrs. Kairi, its an honour to have you but i expected Sir Elijah on Y/n’s 18th birthday. Isnt it dangerous for you to come all the way here?” She gulped and the happiness in the room vanished. You looked at her, expectantly. She gulped and tears started to fall down from her face “When my husband Elijah gave Y/n to you. Kaito’s men attacked him and he...” She couldnt finish her sentence and started to cry, your eyes widened. Your uncle died while trying to save you, the guilt came crashing down on you and you got up from your seat everyone one looked at you with shocked expressions and you made your way towards your aunt, your forehead met with the floor and you bowed “I’m sorry!” Your voice was shaking but you didnt care. “I owe my life to uncle Elijah! I will take revenge!” Your voice cracked and you were a crying mess, your aunt patted your head and grabbed your hands, you saw the sad expression on her face, she cupped your cheeks and took a deep breath “Y/n... Your uncle was not the only one who got killed that night...” Your eyes widened and your body froze, Mitsuki gasped and Masaru were looking at your aunt with a pale face on the other hand Katsuki’s body was shaking. “Mrs. Kairi dont tell me that his father Seiji-” Kairi cut him off “No, the king is alive.” Relief washed over you but you remembered your mother and squeezed her hand “W-w-what about my mother, is she okay...?” Everyone were looking at her with hopeful eyes, when she bowed and sealed her mouth your body started to shake violently, tears were falling like rain droplets and your teeth were clashing. “Please tell me that my mother is okay!” You started to scream and your aunt started to tear up, you started to pull your hair, and shake your head. You couldnt accept the fact that your mother was gone, it couldnt be true, after all these years you found out that you had a family and now the precious people were already gone. “Kaito’s servant, poisoned her...” Her voice was shaking, she was having a hard time and you couldnt blame your aunt, it was traumatic. Then you felt your legs move by their own, you dashed towards the door and all you could hear was the muffled voices of Katsuki your step-parents and your aunt. You quickly grabbed a dragon and took off, you didnt had a clue about where you were going, you just wanted to run away from this nightmare “M-mom...” You closed your eyes and felt the warmth of a certain woman “Mom, is that you...?” The nostalgic feeling was too strong, it made your mind blurry. You decided to stop, you patted the dragon and it started to land. Now you were on top of a mountain, the dragon clan was still visible but it was far away. You layed on the grass and looked at the stars, the stars became blurry because of your tears, you wanted to wake up from this nightmare. Your mind drifted off to your father, you wondered how he was holding up, you knew that the demon, Kaito was still alive. Your blood started to boil, you were going to rip his head off and save the kingdom, you owed this to your lovely mother and uncle.

-

Katski watched Y/n’s breakdown with a sad expression and a broken heart. His strong, intelligent, optimistic and kind friend was having the worst day of her life. When you left he didnt think twice and followed you, first he thought of riding a dragon but you were already out of sight so he used his explosions to take off from the ground. Now he was looking around for the signs of you, he saw a campfire coming from the top of a mountain, it was far away but visible. So he decided to go there and when he saw you laying on the ground, he gave a sigh of relief. He sat next to you but you didnt reacted so he opened his mouth “Y/n.” The only answer he got was silence so he continued “I know its hard, i never lost someone important to me so the pain im feeling is nothing compared to yours but we are in this together, you are my... friend. We’ll fight together and save the throne from that bastard’s hands.” You sat up an your e/c eyes met his ruby ones, you never thought that Bakugou could be soft and follow you here. Your tears started to fall and you grabbed his neck, the sudden movement surprised him but when he felt your arms around his neck, his heart started to beat faster. “Katsu...” Your grip on him tightened and your tears fell to his shoulder. He inhaled your scent and held your waist. You were hugging him with full force “I dont wanna lose you too...” Your voice cracked and his grip tightened “I know you are strong and all but we dont know Kaito’s strenght.” He furrowed his brows and replied “So you expect me to let you leave, alone?” You tried to chuckle but your eyes felt heavy. “Katsu, I... I’m so lucky to have you in my life.” When he felt your body started to get heavier he didnt do anything to make you move, he wanted to feel your warmth. “Y/n, as long as we’re together, we’ll fight together.” You smiled and drifted to sleep, when he was sure that you were asleep he sighed and looked at the stars “As long as we’re together... I’ll be by your side.”

-

When the morning came Katsuki and Y/n took the map of the Marina Kingdom from Masaru’s archieve, her aunt stayed the night so they discussed about some important matters and Kairi promised to help them, with Kairi’s help it was going to be easy, they wanted to make a simple but useful plan so Y/n needed some strong men. She asked Bakugou for Kirishima, Arata and Ryuu’s help, Bakugou went to discuss the matter with them. Now Y/n was riding her dragon towards the Marina Kingdom it wasnt that far, she just wanted to steal a glance. When she saw the big palace and the beautiful water sources, her jaw dropped. The palace had an ocean and forest view, it was beautiful. Her heart ached, if only she grew up here... She shook her head and started to think about a strategy.

-

The boys were sitting at Arata’s iron shop, Bakugou told everything about Y/n, after he finished his friends were shocked “Ena-chan is what?!” Kirishima shouted, Bakugou gave him a death glare and growled “You want people to hear us shitty hair?!” Arata and Ryuu were shocked as Kirishima was but they decided to stay silent. “So you are telling me that Ena-chan’s real name is Y/n and she is the next heir of the Marina Kingdom, why didnt you tell me sooner?!” Eijiro was hurt, he thought that Bakugou and Y/n was his best friends. Bakugou scoffed and continued “I told you! They only told me her real name, i didnt know that she was a princess or something like that, Y/n and i just found out yesterday!” Arata scratched his head and interrupted “I’m sure she’s having a hard time...” Ryuu nodded and sighed “Poor, Y/n.” Eijiro felt sad, he wanted to see Y/n and make sure that she was okay, losing your mother was something terrifying. Bakugou sighed and looked at his friends “Its not easy but Y/n is not fragile, i know it.” They looked at Bakugou and saw the glint in his eyes, they smiled to each other and Eiji decided to lighten up the mood. “Lets save the throne! Then we will arrange the wedding!” Bakugou looked at him with confused eyes “What wedding?” He grinned and replied “Yours and Y/n’s!” Bakugou blushed but tried to mask it with shouting “WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!” Arata and Ryuu joined Kiri and continued to tease Bakugou.

-

When the evening came you called a meeting with the boys in the Bakugou household and all of them immediately came. “Y/n-chan!” You turned around, Kirishima was running towards you with open arms, your eyes softened and you ran into him arms. “Oi dont block the corridor!” Bakugou scolded you both but Kiri smiled and dragged you towards the meeting room. All of you discussed the important matters such as guards, servents and Kaito, Kairi came and gave you the map of the palace. “There’s going to be your birthday’s celebration in four days Y/n.” You looked at her with confusion and she continued “Your father Seiji, celebrates your birthday every year. He organises a big festival and prays for you to come home. Adelina didnt told him about you staying here.” Your eyes started to water “Father... How is he?” Kairi shook her head “After your disappearance he was crashed and your mother’s death made him sick. He is too exhausted to rule and now Kaito is responsible.” You clenched your teeth, that bastard took everything from you. Your friends sensed your dark aura and Kirishima patted your back, you gave him a tiny smile. “So in this organisation Seiji calls dancers, chefs, performers and musicians all of you can wear costumes and get in easily.” You nodded and turned to Ryuu “Ryuu can you find someone to make us costumes?” He nodded and you turned to Arata “Arata, can you make me a light but sharp dagger?” When Bakugou saw the cold look in your eyes he interrupted “You dont need a dagger, everyone has strong quirks and combat skills.” You shook your head and gave your final answer “I’m going to need it.” 

-

The days passed quickly you were going to take your throne, tonight. Ryuu was busy with choosing the most strong dragons and gathering supplies and Arata was making weapons while Bakugou, you and Kiri worked on the strategy. The three of you were looking at the map of the palace. “The throne room is on the 4th floor. I need to go there, there is a big balcony and im sure that Kaito is going to watch the festival from that balcony my aunt says he never leaves the throne room.” Bakugou nodded and Kiri asked “What are we gonna do?” You started to explain “I want you to deal with the guards while Bakugou deals with Kaito’s right arm, Sir Yota.” Bakugou cracked his knuckles “Im gonna kill that little fly.” You sighed and continued “Be careful Bakugou, from what my aunt told me he has a similar quirk to yours.” He snorted “That doesnt change the fact that im going to tear him up to pieces!” You smiled to yourself, you thanked god for giving you such good friends they were in this with you and that gave you strength. You inhaled and gave them a sadistic smirk “Lets do this.”

-

“Okay we’re gonna left the dragons here.” You ordered “What are we gonna do now?” Kiri asked and Bakugou replied “Y/n’s aunt rented a carriage for us, we can easily get in without attracting too much attention, we’re gonna walk, its waiting for us on a stone bridge.” After walking for twenty minutes the three of you saw a regular carriage and the driver waited patiently before driving “Mrs.Kairi’s guests?” He asked and you replied “Yes.” When the carriage started to move you whispered “If we manage to capture Kaito and Yota, Bakugou will send a big explosion to alarm Arata and Ryuu and they will arrive with some swordsman to capture the soldiers that are working for Kaito.” Kiri nodded and gave you a big smile “We got this Y/n-chan!” You smiled back and looked at Bakugou, he was watching you. When your eyes met both of you averted your eyes. Things were different between you two, it wasnt bad or anything, there was just a weird aura between you two and both of you were trying to understand it. When you looked back he was watching the dirt road. You took your time to analyze his features, you understood why the girls was crazy for him. He was strong, captivating and handsome. You felt jelaous but it quickly disappeared bc you knew that you were the only girl who saw his soft and caring side, you guys grew up together and you saw all his stupid expressions and childish acts. A stupid kind of pride welled up inside of you. “Why are you looking at me ?” Bakugou’s voice interrupted your silly thoughts and you quickly shook your head “N-nothing!” Kiri caught a glimpse of the blush on your cheeks and he smiled to himself. Then the carriage abruptly stopped and you asked “Is something wrong?” The driver answered “No Miss, we are here.” Your stomach started to churn, you were so nervous. “Ok, thank you.” The three of you started to walk in the crowded streets, there were food stands, all kinds of shops and laughter. The people of the Marina Kingdom looked different from the Dragon clan’s you felt similar to the people of Marina, you didnt feel out of place. Bakugou saw the smile on your face and gave a sigh of relief. “Ok now we need to find the gates of the palace, where do we need to go Kiri?” You whispered and Kiri looked at the map “Just straight ahead.” You nodded and started to walk in a normal pace. The thought of your father made your heart beat in a crazy speed.” When you saw the big gates the three of you saw two muscular guards and they stopped you “Who are you?” You take a deep breath and replied “We are here for Mrs. Kairi.” He nodded and opened the gate “Wait here let me check.” You were so nervous that you tugged at Bakugou’s costume, he looked at you and sensed your anxiety, he let you grab onto him. “Ok, you can come in.” The guard came quickly and bowed. The three of you made your way towards the main hall and some servants welcomed you. The inside of the palace was empty, the streets were filled with happiness but the inside was cold and sad. You looked around and saw a young maid, you whispered “She looks easy.” Bakugou nodded and you made your way towards the maid. “Excuse me, can i use the bathroom?” The maid bowed immediately “Sure!” She guided you towards the right corridor and a big white door welcomed you. “This is the guest bathroom.” You smiled and bowed “Thank you.” She gave a nervous smile and left. When you saw her form disappear, you quickly followed the corridor and saw big white stairs. You managed to reach the 2nd floor but then you heard a butler and a maid speak “How is Lord Seiji?” The maid asked and the butler sighed “He is exhausted, he is talking about princess Y/n again.” Your heart dropped *Lord Seiji?* They didnt called him king anymore... You waited for them to disappear and looked at the big door, your heart was pounding. You hands trembled and you pushed the door open, the room was dark and the only noise you hear was erratic breathing. There was a tired man, laying on the bed with closed eyes. He was skinny but you managed to see his features, he was your father, you knew it. He took a deep breath and spoke up “...Adelina?” Adelina, was your mother’s name. You stopped breathing and sat next to him. You played with his h/c locks and he gave a content sigh, you kissed his forehead and watched him lose consciousness, when you got up and closed the door his eyelids opened slightly “...Y/n?”

-

“I guess Y/n managed to find the stairs, we should split up too.” Eijiro nodded and made his way towards the soldiers “What up guys? Why dont you guys enjoy the festival?” The guards gave him a confused look and Bakugou slapped his forehead. Bakugou followed the same path as you and saw the massive stairs, he ran up the stairs and made it to the 4th floor. When he saw you with the dagger in your hand, his heart pace quickened. “Y/n!” He whispered and grabbed your wrist. You jumped and kicked his manhood “Fuck!” He crouched down and you gasped “Katsuki, you scared me!” He hissed and tried to stand up. “Im so sorry!” He sighed “What are you planning to do?” You saw the worry in his eyes “Um, im gonna take my throne back?” He clicked his tounge “You know what i meant, are you gonna kill him?” You looked at the dagger in your hand and sighed “Im just gonna use it if i need it.” He looked at you in the eyes and holded your hand that has the dagger in it “I believe in you.” Your eyes widened “That Yota bastard’s room is at the end of the hall, i’ll see you in a bit.” You nodded and turned to the door.

-

Kaito was watching the streets with a smile on his face, he was content with his work. While his brother was suffering in his bed, his son was ready to take the throne, just when he was about to turn around to call his butler, he felt something sharp in the back of his neck. “Dont you dare move or make a sound.” The voice was unfamiliar and cold. “”Hands up.” He raised his hands and tried to mask his anxiety “Who are you?” You laughed sadistically and answered “Your lovely niece.” He froze and turned pale, when he made a move to take a look at you “I said, dont move.” He felt the dagger press harder on his skin, he hissed “I knew that you were alive but i didnt thought that you would come back.” He dryly answered but actually he was scared to death. “I came here to take MY THRONE.” He laughed and tried to hit you but you quickly dodged it “Guards!” He shouted but no one came, his eyes widened and you smirked “Did you really thought that i would came here, just to get caught?” The guards were nowhere to be found so that meant that Kiri got them all. He was trying to figure out your quirk but since it was about intelligence he was clueless, you calculated his moves and dodged. Then he grabbed a sword and charged at you, you took his head and smashed it on the ground, he groaned in pain and you kicked the sword “Yota!” He screamed but no one came. You took that as a sign of Bakugou’s victory and laughed. Kirishima managed to knock off the guards and Yota was nowhere to be found “Tell me, where is my lovely cousin?” When he opened his mouth you cut him off “Oh i already know! He is out of the Kingdom for special training right? Well, too bad.” He groaned “H-how do you know that?” You snorted “Aunt Kairi helped me a lot about gathering information.” Kaito growled “That little-” You squeezed his neck and he wheezed “Dont you dare talk about my aunt like that.” Then both of you heard a loud explosion, that was the sign that Bakugou supposed to give to Arata and Ryuu. You smiled and hit Kaito’s head with the back of the dagger, he passed out and you tied him with the metal strings that Arata made. When you opened the door, you saw Bakugou waiting. When you saw him in one piece the tears you were holding started to fall, just when he was about to open his mouth you pulled him in a bone crushing hug “Katsu!” He didnt say anything and returned the hug, after waiting for you to calm down he spoke up “We made it, i told you that we were in this together.” You pulled back and your eyes meet, you cupped his cheek and his eyes widened, when you started to get closer his cheeks turned red and he didnt know what to do, he closed his eyes shut and waited for the kiss to happen but when he felt your forehead on his, he opened his eyes. Your e/c orbs were looking at his ruby ones. “Im so lucky to have you...” Your tears were still falling, he smiled and closed his eyes “Same.”

-

After the chaos, Arata and Ryuu came with a bunch of swordsman and captured all the guards, maids and butlers that were secretly working for Kaito, you quickly hugged all of your friends and thanked them for their help. Then you went to the throne room and looked at the crown that were standing in the glass bell. “Mom uncle, im home.” After shedding your last tears you ran towards your fathers room, it was so emotional, he fainted and thought that it was all a dream, then the servants gave him his medicine and told him to rest. The people of the kingdom and the servants in the palace were confused so Bakugou gave them a speech of the princess’ arrival and victory. Everyone cheered and thanked the dragon clan for their help. The leader soldier of the Marina Kingdom’s army bowed and showed his grattitude to Bakugou and Kirishima. Then Masaru and Mitsuki arrived, they were proud and happy but they knew that you were going to stay in the kingdom so when the evening came they had a hard time saying goodbye. When you hugged Arata and Ryuu it was time for Bakugou and Kirishima, Kirishima looked at you with big teary eyes and pulled you in a tight hug “Oh, Y/n...” You patted his back and wiped his tears “Dont be sad Eiji, i will come to visit.” He pouted and his tears continued to fall “But its not the same thing, i know that they need you here but... You are my best friend.” You giggled and pinched his cheeks “What about Bakugou?”You asked and he pouted “You know what i meant!” After ten minutes of hugging with Kiri, Katsuki was standing in front of you, you never saw him this quiet. He was looking at the ground like it was the most interesting thing in the world, instead of talking you took his hands and he immediately look up. “At my happiest and saddest times, at my weakest and strongest state you saw all of me... You are the only one who knows the true me.” His eyes trembled but he decided to stay silent and listen. “My first friend, rival, partner in crime, role model... You are my everything, Katsuki.” His heart was pounding in his ears, his cheeks were red like his beautiful eyes and his hands were trembling, he didnt wanted to say goodbye, he wanted to see you when he woke up and he wanted to see you before going to sleep, he wanted to see you training, see you laugh, see you joke around because these past fifteen years were the most precious years of his life. “Katsuki, when you become a leader, you’ll get married and rule the clan. I know i promised you, i promised to stay by your side but... I need to help my kingdom.” You bit your lip and shook your head “I-im so sorry for breaking my promise...” The tears started to fall again “Im such a crybaby today, huh?” You tried to laugh but it didnt sound like one. “At least you’ll have the woman that you love, she’ll be by your side but i cant because i need to stay here...” He clenched his teeth and grabbed your cheeks, your face was now sandwiched between his large hands “Stop saying illogical things!” He shouted and you looked at him with wide eyes “Im not gonna marry with a random woman, i already decided arent i?! I wanna rule with you, i want you by my side!” Your cheeks were hot, you didnt wanted to misunderstood the situation but he started to sound like he... loved you? “K-katsuki but how...? What are you trying to say?” He groaned, here goes nothing... “I never said it loudly but it doesnt mean that its not true! I... I love you, there i said it!” Your mouth was agape and he was red like a tomato, your mouth started to tremble “Y-y-you love me?!” If he was embarrassed he was more embarrassed than before “Are you deaf?!” You quickly shook your head and grapped his hands “No! I just...” You were frustrated, you were struggling to form an answer and his expression started to change, he started to think that he was going to get rejected, to gave him an answer, you cupped his cheeks and slammed your lips on his, it was awkward but meaningful and cute. You quickly pulled away and started to shout “Im so sorry, i love you too i didnt know what to-” Your words got cut off by his lips and it take you a while to realise that he was kissing you back. “Don be so loud woman.” He mumbled and held you by the waist, you saw a sincere smile on his lips and both of you looked at eachother with loving eyes...

-

Four Years Later

“Is my carriage ready?” You asked while trying to get ready “Yes, your highness.” Your maid replied with a smile on her face, you grinned back “Where is my father?” the maid looked at you and answered “He is having tea in the garden, your highness.” You hummed and quickly got out of your room. Everything was perfect, all of the servents greeted you with sincere smiles and when you made it to the garden, you saw your father smelling the roses that you ordered. “Did you like the white roses that i ordered, your majesty?” Your father quickly turned around and gave you a strong hug, he was getting stronger and stronger. He smiled and nodded “They are beautiful, honey.” You smiled “Im gonna visit the Dragon Kingdom, do you want me to deliver a message for father Masaru?” He laughed and nodded “Tell him that i missed beating him at chess.” You laughed and gave him a peck on the cheek. “See you later, father!” Bakugou was the new leader and the old dragon clan was now a big kingdom. He was a strong and fair leader but in the inside he was your softie, you wanted to see him so badly and gave him a lot of kisses.

-

“No! I told you to bring the white roses!” The servants bowed and rushed to change the pink roses with white ones. When Katsuki invited you to discuss some matters, he got nervous and wanted everything to be perfect so now he was ordering the servants around. “Are the desserts ready?” The servants bowed and answered “Yes my lord, we prepared all the desserts that Lady Y/n likes!” He nodded “Good.” He nodded and tried to slow down his racing heart. Now you were a grown woman, you were strong, alluring, intelligent, beautiful, elegant, charming, captivating, you were perfec- “My lord, do you want me to prepare the lavender tea?” He growled and shouted “ARE YOU DEAF? IM TELLING YOU TO PREPARE WHATEVER Y/N LIKES THE MOST!” The servant bowed while muttering apologies and dashed towards the kitchen. Katsuki pinched the bridge of his nose and waited for your arrival.

-

When your carriage arrived the servants bowed but you gave them all a friendly smile “Katsuuu!” You shouted and ran towards the garden, he was watching the small lake, when he heard your beautiful voice, his heart skipped a beat but his expression was the same, he was good at hiding his excitement. You jumped on him and wrapped your arms around his torso “You tryna kill me, shitty woman?” You gasped dramatically and he snorted “You are hurting my feelings Katsu!” He rolled his eyes but the small tinge of pink was still visible on his cheeks. After joking around both of you sat down and discussed about economic stuff, he watched you carefully, your serious expression or the confused one, everything about you was beautiful, he wanted to see you everyday, by his side. Thats why he was going to ask you the ‘big’ question today. After the boring discussions he took a deep breath and started “I want my kingdom to become the strongest one in this century.” You decided to tease him “Too bad because mine is stronger than yours.” You waited for a comeback but it never came “You’re right... Thats why i want our kingdoms to become one.” Your eyes widened and when you see the smirk on his face your face heated up “B-but the only way is...” He cut you off and completed the sentence “Marriage between the royal families.” You choked on your spit and he snapped his fingers, a servant came with some papers in his hands and handed them to Katsuki, slammed the documents on the table, they were about your marriage... With him. When your eyes met with his, he had a victorious smirk on his face “What do you say, annoying woman?” Your lips trembled and you attacked him with a bone crushing hug “Katsuki!!!” When he heard your sobs, he snorted but hugged you with full force. When you calmed down he looked at you in the eyes “Now we can rule the world together, side by side...” Then you sealed the promise with a heated kiss...

-The End-

A/N: Im sure Kirishima would be like “SGDJASGDHJS” at their wedding

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

Humans are Space orcs, “Revelation.”

Hey guys, I had a bunch of trouble writing last night for some reason, but I managed to get something out, so I hope you like it :) 

“So what do you think, am I more of a Han Solo type or a Captain Kirk type because you know if I am being honest it really depends. I think I would like to think of myself as a Han Solo type, you know dashing and sarcastic, the hero you want to have come in to save the day, but Captain Kirk I can also see. You see I make dumb decisions sometimes and get everyone into trouble. Oh oh oh!! wait ! How about Captain Malcom Renylds. I feel like he is just enough of an idiot and just enough of a badass to work, what do you think detective?”

The Detective groaned loudly and took a long slow breath, “Admiral, listen to m-”

“You know I was also thinking about other parallels. You know how about that old animated movie Titan EA. I think I kind of look like Cale, and Sunny acts just a bit like Stith, you know, the angry chick with big legs. I liked captain Korso of course, just for simple aesthetic reasons, than he had to go and be a bad guy, but damn that redemption arc was surprising and well timed, at least I think, others may disagree.”

“ADMIRAL VIR I-”

“You know I have seen every space related science fiction movie and TV show that ever existed, and I am totally cool to keep talking. I mean I have to pass the time somehow until my lawyer gets here. You see my mother always said I liked to talk. I talked early, in fact, my brothers don’t like the fact that I talk so much, they say I talk TOO much, can you believe that.”

With an angry yawl like a Cat who just got their tail stepped on, the detective rose to his feet, hands to his head, “That is IT, that is IT. We will continue this interrogation LATER.” He turned on his heels and stormed out of the room muttering to himself the entire way, “I need a break.”

Adam Vir watched him go with an expression of pure innocence on his face as the door closed, only to morph into an expression of devilish amusement not dissimilar to that of the grinch in his original animated form. He leaned back in his chair resting his hands behind his head. The Detective had seen fit to undue his cuffs as it might make him more cooperative. The irony being that he would totally love to cooperate if someone was willing to cooperate with him, and actually believe his story.

He cleared his throat wishing he had accepted the drink of water offered to him earlier. He had been talking for about five hours now, straight. Apparently a filibuster isn’t just something you can use in politics. It is apparently a very effective way of driving young and inexperienced detectives insane.

He smugly leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes.

Interrogation techniques were designed to work on the guilty, or, if done wrong, on the slow, but he was neither of those things. Granted he was kind of an idiot, but he was more of an idiot in the way of his idols like captain Kirk and Malclom reynolds and less of an idiot like every disney villain’s cronies. He was smart just…. Selectively.

He cracked an eye as the door opened opposite.

At first he expected to see the detective ready to go another round already, but instead a group of Drev guards walked in. He smiled his best winning smile at them and rose from his seat, “Back to the cells boys.”

The Drev didn’t say anything.

He tried a different tactic, “Zhad chal dana tsa najastich.” May the sun watch over you: A traditional, and respectful, Drev greeting 

The two creatures pulled up in their tracks.

“Tsa Dzhal cheeych” You speak Drev

“Yid.” Yes 

His little greeting had the desired effect, and soon he had the two Drev warriors conversing like two Rundi at a political debate. They laughed together as they walked down the halls of the precinct.

Still in Drev, the three of them continued to converse, Adam talking animatedly, “So then I told him that I can’t hit kids right,  and he was all like. Then you can fight me.”

“What happened.”

“Got my ass beat. You don’t just challenge a sentinel to open combat as a rookie, and you know, at only six feet tall.”

The Drev chirped with laughter, coming around the corner to nearly run face first into the Detective who was open mouthed and staring, holding a fresh mug of coffee before him. The Drev’s laughter died down seconds to late, and the man narrowed his eyes, glowering at them.

“What are you doing?”

Adam turned to look at the other drev, “Tin Najastich.” watch this.

HE turned to look back at the Detective, “Ne’e j’ya eeneenat nehtehich.” He can’t understand us.  He didn’t do much, but he could tell by the face the detective made, he had done it right. 

It was a little trick he had learned from Sunny, a Drev dialect that tended to cause breaks in the middle of words as if adding a apostrophe, while simultaneously pronouncing all the ts and ks as clicks, the ts as a forward mouth clicks and the ks glottal clicks at the back of the throat. Either way, it was like putting on a thick southern accent to confuse an alien translator, and it seemed, it simultaneously worked for Drev.

The Drev began to laugh and babble at each other in the dialect as the detective sat there in frustrated anger, “What are they saying!” He demanded.

Adam frowned allowing his face to go straight as he deadpanned, “I wouldn’t know. I am xenopobic and would never dane to learn an alien language, you know, like Drev, or Vrul, or.” he leaned towards the Dredv, “I am currently working on learning tesraki.”

The Drev continued to laugh as they pulled him back towards his cell.:

Adam grinned and waved at the Tesraki guard as he walked past, “You know I have it on good authority that stock prices are about to go way up for holywood inc. They are working on becoming intergalactic. I would suggest getting on that bandwagon”

The Tesraki looked surprised, but grinned and waved at him as he was moved into the other room.

Behind him, the Detective was practically blowing steam out of his ears as the door slammed shut.

***

The human glanced over at Krill for the fifteenth time eyes wide in an expression of barely concealed terror.

Krill would have rolled his eyes if his eyes could roll.

Catching the look, Sunny frowned and leaned in, “You did threaten to eat him.”

Krill scoffed, “I don’t even have TEETH sunny, how was I supposed to eat him!” He turned to glance over at the man who was still giving him a bit of a side eye. He frowned, “Well, I suppose blending him up and turning him into a meat smoothie could work.”

It became pretty evident in the next few seconds that they hadn’t been speaking quietly enough, at least when it came to the comment about a meat smoothie.

Krill waved him off with a hand, “Oh just ignore us, now when is this meeting supposed to take place.”

“Ten minutes, maybe.”

Sunny tilted her head back, looking overhead at the darkened sky and approaching rain. 

It was just beginning to drizzle when the man nodded and pointed forward into the darkness, “There.”

Sunny squinted hard, just barely able to make out a shadowy shape slipping through the darkness.

Sunny nudged him forward, “Well, go on. If you do this for us, I won’t let captain cannibal hurt you.”

WIth that urging, it didn’t take long for the man to vanish off into the dark, boots slapping on the wet concrete.

Krill turned to look at her in annoyance, “Its only considered cannibalism if you eat your own species.”

“Whatever,” She muttered, moving into a low crouch and slipping into the shadows off to the side. She managed to parallel the movement of their man for a few streets by ducking behind dumpsters and concealing herself within dark alcoves. At one time in her life she might have considered such actions to be heretical against her beliefs, but her opinions on such things had changed as of recently, and she continued to inch forward through the darkness.

Besides, this was about saving Adam.

Didn’t matter what she had to do, she was going to do it.

The human was close now stopping a few feet away from the shadow. The way the rain fell, it almost concealed the two figures as they spoke. Any bystander just passing by might not have noticed them, but Sunny was not just any bystander.

As the two figures disengaged, she had eyes only for one.

The human, likely scared out of his skin went sprinting off into the darkness likely thinking about krill and his meat blender, but his escape didn’t matter to Sunny. She could find him later if she had to, they had his name after all. What they didn’t have was knowledge about this strange hooded figure in black. The one who had paid the humans to incriminate adam, and themselves by proxy. 

Sunny didn’t know much about stealth as a general rule, but She, still, somehow managed to make it up the street without being seen, tailing the small dark figure. That was her first clue, whoever it was was either a very short human, or not human at all. Now that didn’t really narrow things down as there were several species who could fit into that category, burg iotins even some rundi, or a finnari to name a few. Not that she would ever assume a finnari of doing something like this.

She watched as the figure slipping into one of the large buildings, door shutting quietly behind it. She might have worried about losing the tail if she hadn’t already considered that, and lowjacked the package.

She crouched in the darkness her hands resting on the ground before her, eyes narrowed,

A soft rustling behind her, and she turned nearly jumping out of her skin as a figure scuttled from the darkness, its movements disjointed and aggressive.

“SHHH!” Krill hissed

She snorted fuming, “What the fuck, krill you scared the shit out of me.”

“What, why.”

“Oh I dont know, maybe it has been your recent pension for violence, or the fact that you keep talking about eating people, or your uncanny ability to sneak up behind me.”

“You know, I find all of this to be very insulting. You can stab people in the face, and adam can threaten to punch people in the trachea, but the moment I do something that is even slightly off color, it bothers everyone, and then people get all uppity.”

Sunny sighed, pulling her hood up over her head to block out the deluge, “Generally Adam and I don’t threaten to eat people, Krill. That is the difference.”

“Well no one ever told me there were rules.” He said, gripping onto sunny’s cloak as they inched forward into the darkness, following the signal towards the dark building. They didn’t take the same entrance as the cloaked figure, instead going for a more discreet entrance, finding themselves in a maintenance tunnel lined with pipes and power boxes.

The only illumination they got was afforded to them by the glowing dimness of red lights above and the occasional emergency strip. Somewhere, a distant roar alerted them to the presence of some sort of generator. 

They moved up the hall in near silence as the rumbling continued, and Sunny was forced to stop a few times, listening to the distant echoes of footsteps up the hallway though none of them ever came close enough to cause a real problem.

KRill followed at her back.

Soon enough, they had made it out of the maintenance corridors, following a set of slim metal steps upward and into a nice, tiled hallway. The make was very modern for Tesraki, emulating human style which was rather popular in the galaxy these days, and signified wealth despite the fact that humans were hardly the wealthiest of species.

Fake plants, or maybe real ones --sunny didn’t know-- lined the hallways as little fountains of water trickled through artificial streams on the floor.

The aesthetic was rather pleasing, giving an almost outdoor field inside a city that hadn’t seen green in over a thousand years.

They were almost to the end of the hall when sunny went very still freezing in her tracks fast enough to cause krill to plow into her open back.

“What are you doing.” krill hissed glancing over her shoulder, pausing when a pointed finger motioned him to the target.

“No. That can’t be right.

“I am afraid it is.” ***

Adam woke that night not knowing why.

It was almost as if he had hard a strange noise somewhere in the darkness, but when he sat up, the only thing he could see was the glowing blue/purple wall of the containment field.

He tried rolling over and going back to sleep, but something just felt wrong.

Eventually he forced himself to sit up and look around. In the galaxy, human intuition was nothing more than mere myth, but, despite what others said, he believed in it, and wasn’t about to ignore it’s prodding as it moved him up towards the edge of the containment field to peer into the darkness.

His eyes were almost immediately drawn to one of the other cells -- the one where his attackers had been staying--. Squinting past the glowing surface and into the darkness, he thought he could sense movement.

It was at that moment, that the containment field went down, and he was left blinking into the darkness backing away into his little field of light. When nothing happened, he inched forward and out into the darkness.

Had the containment field malfunctioned?

He took another step into the darkness before turning on the infrared on his mechanical eye and flipping up his eyepatch.

He immediately froze in palace gasping in shock.

“NO!”

[dreamescapeswriting]

Underground ~ JJK [M] [Request]

➳➳➳Word count: 2.9K

➳➳➳Pairing: King!Jungkook x Concubine!Reader

➳➳➳Genre: Floffy, angst (tiny bit) and SMUT

➳➳➳A/n: Hope this is okay for you my love

➳➳➳Concubine meaning:  a woman who lives with a man but has lower status than his wife or wives (also known as a mistress)

People didn't like the fact that you were what you were to the King, you could tell by the looks on their face as you walked around the streets of the Kingdom of Zenith, but it was normal for many King's to have Concubines, while other King's had multiple Concubine's but King Jungkook had just the one and that was you. That was his choice though he didn't want many women he just wanted you and his soon-to-be wife.

"Do you see the way she walks? As if she’s better than us," Someone asked as you walked past their stall, you were used to the whispers by now but it didn't make it any easier, hearing the rumours about you.

"What is she even doing here?" Another voice rang out a little louder than the first, you kept your head down as you walked over towards your old home to visit your mum. Not that she ever spoke to you, she was ashamed of what you had become but it didn't stop you going to visit her every weekend. 

"Hi Umma," You greeted as you walked into the Hanok that you used to live in, she looked up from her breakfast took once glance at you before going back to her meal. This was the normal exchange you would have with her, 

"She'll come around," Your sister whispered but it wasn't true, she wouldn't. 

"I brought fresh strawberries from the farm." You placed the basket down and your sister watched you with a close eye as you reached out for them and began eating one of the strawberries with a small smile on your face, sighing to yourself as you watched your mum eating her breakfast, once you felt your sister's close stare you stared back at her and she smirked to herself. 

"Come with me," You followed her out of the Hanok with a strawberry hanging out of your mouth, out into the garden where she walked you over to the swing on your tree, somewhere you would go a lot to talk to one another a lot as children.

"How long?" You frowned at her and she sighed sitting in front of the swing and staring up at you, there was no denying it she watched as you swallowed the strawberry you had been munching on. You didn't even know, did you? 

"The smile of content, sighing because you're happy and that natural flush." She squealed happily and you had no idea what she was doing, 

"We have to take you to Halmeoni," She was excited about something so you nodded along with it, you hadn't seen her this happy in months and it felt nice to watch her smile. 

"Take me then," 

You beyond thrilled and couldn't wait to get back to the castle to tell Jungkook the good news, it was hard to determine at first but once your Grandmother did all the tricks she knew it became clearer and clearer with every second, you were pregnant and carrying a set of twins.

"You're sure?" You asked as your grandmother held a pin on a string above your stomach, she closed her eyes and began chanting away to herself when the Pin began to move on its own, a clear sign of pregnancy. Then she went out to fetch eggs from one chicken, bringing back two eggs which meant twins. It was an old technique she'd used when your mother was pregnant with you and your sisters and it was foolproof. 

The guards watched as you walked in the direction of the throne room ready to tell Jungkook the news when you heard yelling coming from inside the great hall. Your interest was piqued so you walked closer to the door and listened in to the conversation if you were anybody else this action would but punishable by death.

"I want to proceed with the wedding," You heard Jungkook say to his father across the room, Jungkook had been lined up to marry a Princess from another Kingdom to expand the Kingdom of Zenith and bring more protection for it and you knew this of course, but you'd never thought Jungkook would go through with the wedding. He was always telling you about how much he didn't want to marry someone that wasn't you, that it felt morally wrong to marry anyone else but you. You held your hand over your stomach trying not to think about it too much, stressing was bad for pregnancies you knew that much. 

"How soon shall we have it?" You heard his father question, the next question made your heart sink as Jungkook answered him with full excitement and you could tell he had a smile across his face. 

"Next weekend." You slowly backed away from the door not wanting to hear anymore and took off in a sprint towards your chambers. 

You had special chambers since you were the King's concubine, it meant your own giant bed, being served by maids in the castle and other staff at your beck and call. 

"Miss?!" You slammed the door before your personal made could question why you were crying, it felt harsh to treat her this way but you couldn't risk anyone seeing you cry over the King. It just simply wasn't done. 

"Miss, King Jungkook wanted us to tell you he wishes to see you right away. He knows the weekends are for your family-"

"Tell him I'm still out," You spat out rushing into the bathroom and staring at yourself in the mirror, you looked down at the expensive gown you were wearing, then at the jewellery which was custom made for you and you tore them from around your neck and ears. Throwing them into the golden bathtub before screaming about not being able to take off the dress. The same maid from before rushed into the room with her ladies in training, 

"Leave us." She clapped her hands and the two minions left the room, standing in front of the giant chamber doors to stop anyone else from entering. You were sobbing into your hands while the maid quietly undid your corset, not daring to speak a word to you as she knew it was against the rules, 

"Thank you, Cruella," You sniffled and she handed you a handkerchief turning you around to face her,

"The king isn't worth those tears." She whispered wiping your face and looking at you, she'd always been the nicest one in the castle to you and you always assumed it was because it was her job but no one else made this kind of effort. 

"He's marrying her," She sighed and stripped you from the gown throwing it into the bathtub as you had done with the rest of the items he'd gotten you, 

"You knew it would be coming through." She ushered you into your room and retrieved you another ball gown which you shook your head at. 

"Can you fetch me some rags instead, and a bag." 

Cruella had watched you the entire time you packed up old clothes into a bag, leaving no note or clue as to where you were going but leaving out of the palace in the middle of the night with her. Dressed as one of the other many chambermaids, 

"What do I do when he asks for you tomorrow?" She asked once you reached the ends of the palace gardens, your heart was breaking at the thought of leaving him behind but it broke more when you thought of him marrying another. 

"Tell him I'm sick, it'll keep him away a couple of days until I have enough time to get out of the kingdom." You told her as you looked around nervously,

"You're pregnant are you?" She questioned taking in your appearance under the moonlight, you stayed silent and she made a promise to keep your secret. 

To her avail, she had managed to keep it for as long as she could but a week had passed and Jungkook had had enough of not seeing you. He barged into your room expecting to find you sitting in bed with a book but when he found nothing he was concerned, Cruella spilt her guts once he threatened her job and he instantly began setting up a manhunt to find you and his unborn children. The kingdom was searched multiple times a day and your home was ransacked in order to find you, but you were nowhere to be found. Rumours spread like wildfire about you fleeing to another Kingdom because the baby belonged to another King while other rumours started you were still in the castle but underground not wanting to be found by the king. None of them was true, of course, except for the underground part. You were underground but not under the castle, you were under your mothers old Hanok being looked after by her whenever the searches were completed. The king's guards were idiots and never thought to check an old well with a fake bottom which led to you. 

"Umma, I have to leave soon." The night you left the castle you'd gone home to say goodbye to everyone but your mother insisted on keeping you in the hidden room below the surface until searches were called, she promised it would be easy. 

"No, you're not leaving. You're with child, it's too dangerous to leave now." There was always going to be an excuse for her as to why you couldn't leave and you knew that, after the years of her not talking to you it felt nice that she was willing to put her life on the line to protect you and the babies growing inside of you. There were footsteps above the ground and she frowned, the searches had already been completed that day, 

"Wait here. Stay silent." She walked off down a hallway and to where the ladder led to getting in and out of the well you were underneath, the lid was lifted from the top and there stood three guards and Jungkook looking down at her.

"We're coming down." You sat up straight as you heard his voice through the echo's and you knew what your mother had done, 

"Umma!" You yelled getting her attention, she nodded at you and motioned for Jungkook to follow her into the room where you had been laying down. 

"Umma what are you-" Jungkook was standing in front of you dressed in his robes and smiling, the same way he looked when he picked you out before. 

"OUT!" Your mother screamed at the guards that had tried to come into the room, Jungkook flinched a little as she raised her hand to point at the seat. 

"You! Sit!" He sat down instantly and stared at you as you sat down on an opposite seat from him, 

"She's with child, what do you plan to do?" You stared at your mother as she told him the news which he already knew but you didn't know that, 

"I plan to marry her," Your eyes snapped back to him and they began to have a conversation about marriage as though you weren't in the room your head dancing from one to the other as they continued to have the discussion as though it didn't involve you in any way. 

"Excuse me- Yeah, Hi. What?" Jungkook's eyes were staring into yours as he smiled, how could he smile at you like that when less than a week ago he was planning on marrying someone else. 

"I'll marry you." You blinked at him as though he was crazy, which he was. No one married a commoner, or their concubine it just wasn't done.

"You can't-"

"I'm King, I can marry whoever I please." You looked at the floor as he raised his voice a little, 

"That was the plan before you left, running out before you knew the information." He tutted at you, your head lifted from the floor as you made eye contact with him, he had a cocky smirk across his face as he watched you try and piece together what he was saying. 

"Marry me? But you're supposed to-"

"I'm not supposed to do anything, I'm the King." You nodded at him and he got down onto one knee in front of you, 

"This isn't the way I had this planned but will you Y/n Y/l/n marry me?" Your eyes teared up as you watched him pull out a ring from one of his robe pockets and you nodded falling down onto the floor and hugging him. Your mother crying in the process and smiling at you, as much as she'd disliked you for what you had become in the Kingdom she knew real love when she saw it, and she wasn't going to let her daughter and grandchild grow up without a father figure. 

                                                  One Year Later

The kids were sound asleep for the first time in many months, they normally cried for hours on end only sleeping an hour but tonight was easy. Their first birthday had come around and they were sleeping as though they had grown out of the habit of not sleeping,

"Jungkook, shh." You said as he stepped closer to you you were sitting on the small balcony of your room looking out over the kingdom and the babies were asleep in solid gold cribs across the room in your chambers.

"Shh yourself, I've missed you." He growled rushing over to you and pulled you into a loving kiss since the babies had been born you hadn't been together intimately and it was starting to get to you both,

"You're so gorgeous." He mumbled putting his head into the crook of your neck and sucking along the skin, you held back the moan as you looked over your shoulder guards were in the courtyard below. 

"J-Jungkook guards." You warned only making him suck along the skin harder, 

"Let them watch, I want them to know how good I make you feel. Fuck it's been so long." He groaned kissing you once again, your hands reached into his black locks and you kissed him. 

"Be quiet now baby." He dropped down onto his knees and lifted the base of your dress up and over his head, you felt him pulling your panties to the side and your breath hitched as you felt his breath against your throbbing core. It had been so long since he last touched you you'd almost forgotten what it was like. His tongue ran along the length of your sex and you let out a strangled moan into your own hand, 

"What if we wake- ah shit." You moaned out throwing your head back in ecstasy as he continued to suck harder on your clit, flicking faster and inserting two fingers inside of you. 

"So tight," He hummed against you only making you clench around him as you already felt yourself beginning to get close.

"R-Right there- but what about-" He cut you off by pumping his fingers faster and curling them in just the right motion that made your legs shake, he could tell you were getting closer but he didn't want you to cum around his fingers. 

"This way." He pulled you towards the bed and laid you down, neither of you had time to strip out of your clothes in case the babies woke up so he lifted the dress up to your midsection and took his member out from his pants.

"You ready baby?" You nodded eagerly and you gasped as you felt him enter you, the stretch after not having him for so long was painful but you could deal with it. 

"Fuck." You moaned into your hand trying to be as quiet as possible, Jungkook groaned out as he tried to thrust in and out at a slow pace but the tightness was only making him want to ram into you, have you screaming out his name as the old times. 

"We'll have time for that another day-" You mumbled knowing exactly what he was thinking just by the look on his face, he focussed on trying to get you close with slow thrusts trying to push down the feeling of his own release approaching him rather quickly.

"Jungkook." He bent down to bring you into a lustful kiss, trying to keep you silent and his thrusts began to pick up pace as he felt you clenching around him, hitting your g-spot every time he had you moaning out into his mouth,

"G-Gonna cum." You whined out in a whisper trying to be as quiet as possible but you could feel the band tightening in your stomach and the sound of him moaning in your ear was only bringing you closer.

"Cum for me then," He growled in your ear picking up the pace and smirking down at you, 

"S-Shit," He grumbled as he felt you cumming around his cock, biting down on your lip so hard that blood was trickling around it, you continued to buck your hips as he thrust into you never wanting the orgasm to end.

"O-oh fuck," He moaned out as he split into you, pulling out and falling down onto the bed beside you and panting, you turned to look at him with a smirk and he shook his head at you. 

"I promise that next time-" You nodded already knowing what he was going to say, you just rolled over to lay your head on his chest and try and get a couple of hours sleep before the twins would wake up.

tagline: 

@yoongisdumplingcheeks​ @snowy-meowl​ @lynnthevirgo​ @jooniesdarlingdimples​ @kpopfanfictionhoes​ @lyoongx​ @fan-ati--c​ @mitzwinchester​ @callingmyangel​ @rjsmochii​ @btsiguess-kpop​

[hectabdr]

Dragon Raja IV - Chapters 5 & 6 (Abridged)

Good evening (or morning, maybe?). Here are today's summarized chapters from the fourth novel.

Previous chapters (3 & 4)

For more source-material related stuff, check the new Index.

Chapter 5

Nono woke up in the backseat of a car. Initially she thought she was kidnapped, but by who?

Maybe the school infiltrated the Iris academy and took her prisoner, they must think she's a conspirator. She tried to remember her training, the first step was to stay calm, then, she had to analyze her surroundings. The bumps in the road and the speed indicated that she was probably in a highway. The weather belonged to a subtropical region and the strong tobacco smell was similar to...

-Your friend is a lazy-ass isn't she?

-Why would you say that?

-I gave her a sedative that should last at most 24 hours, but she's been sleeping for 30 hours!

...Finger!

She had managed to untie one of her hands already and now she wasn't afraid to reveal that she was awake. She used the rope to choke Finger and started beating both of them up out of anger. A police officer noticed their little exchange and ordered Finger to stop. Nono decided to play along, after all, this wasn't the right moment to put both of them in jail, despite how nice that sounded at the moment, deep down she wanted to believe Luminous.

The three were just entering to the city of Beijing and Nono agreed to help them begrudgingly. Finger's first idea was to search for Johann Chu's traces in the high school where he and Luminous studied years ago. Nono refused to get out of the car unless they bought her some clothes, since she was still wearing a night gown. Finger bought her a school uniform because there were no department stores nearby.

The place was heavily remodeled, now it had two statues in the entrance, one of which looked remarkably similar to Luminous. The school was holding an event that day and Luminous accidentally bumped into Chen Wenwen, his old crush. He thought he had erased her completely from his mind, but there she was again, and to his surprise, she was incredibly shy in his presence, blushing and stuttering, she even called him "Senior brother".

It wasn't only Wenwen, the rest of his literature club were acting the same way. Zhao Menghua and Wenwen were still dating in this new world, but he seemed extremely uncomfortable, it looked like he saw himself as second fiddle, he even stepped back to let the "old lovers" talk like some gentleman. Su-Xiaoyao, the school princess who used to compete with Wenwen for Menghua's attention before, now seemed to ignore the latter completely, she even called him "brother Mingfei". They were all there for a school anniversary event.

He found himself on the honorary lists as the highest ranking graduate and even as a basketball star, wearing the very same 'number 11' jersey that previously belonged to Johann. Luminous realized something, he had taken Johann's place in a world where he didn't exist. The statue in the school's entrance was actually built in his honor, it had his face indeed.

The principal asked him to give a speech to a crowd of admiring parents. It was raining, but people with umbrellas respectfully waited for him to finish reading the cards that the principal wrote for him. As the speech came to a close, he was surprised to see his uncle, happily applauding under the rain.

It had been two years since the last time he saw him, back then, he had an argument with his aunt and he never came back to Beijing after that. His uncle invited the principal and Luminous's classmates to attend a small celebration at the restaurant where he worked.

The party was a compliment fest for him, and as everyone got more and more drunk, Wenwen and Su Xiaoyao rested on both of his arms while Nono rolled her eyes. A little overwhelmed, he decided to leave momentarily and get some fresh air in the roof.

His drunk uncle reached him and tried to have a heart to heart conversation with him, with the occasional interruption to throw up in a corner. Most of the talk was centered around his future and the possibility of starting a career in China, the type of woman he'd marry and the life he hoped to have.

He turned back to say a few words but his uncle, along with the rest of the world, including the raindrops were standing still. In the middle of a paused environment, Ming·Z·Lu was siting in the shadows. In an illusion, he tossed Luminous a basketball, he realized he knew how to play the game, he was wearing Johann's Jersey and they had a brief match in the middle of the frozen rain.

Years ago, Nono made Luminous understand that, in life, choosing a door will always mean that another one is getting closed. When he chose to get on Johann's car instead of staying with Wenwen in the Aspasia restaurant, he chose Cassell over his previous life. Similarly, when Nono chose the Gattuso Family, she closed the door to Cassell. Ming·Z offered his brother to re-open this door.

For the last quarter of his life, Luminous could stay in his hometown and live the life of a local celebrity. He could date one of his former high school classmates, get a good job anywhere and drink with his uncle every week. However, Cassell would stay out of the picture forever.

Luminous asked if that meant leaving Johann behind. Ming·Z confirmed his theory, expressing that this world could only exist with his absence.

-He is my friend, if we die, we die together.

Angry, he caressed Mingze's hair right before pushing him from the top of the building, but the little devil paused his fall, floating in the air.

-I'm not a devil, brother. I'm a monster. We're all monsters and one day we'll be killed by the righteous Ultraman!

He resumed the flow of time and fell down.

Chapter 6

Finger and Luminous carried his uncle back to his house. Luminous really wanted to avoid meeting his aunt, but she opened the door before he could leave. It was awkward for a moment, so he hugged her without saying a word. She let them stay in his old room, Luminous wasn't expecting to find the place intact. His aunt kept all of his things right where he left them for the last two years.

Finger used some encryption and redirection techniques to contact his girlfriend in Cuba, asking Luminous to give him some privacy. He left his bedroom through the window, and he started walking on the streets of his hometown, the rain had only gotten worst. Suddenly, a red Ferrari stopped by.

-Get in the car, pretty boy!

It was just like three years ago, when Nono picked him up from the theater in the same car. While Luminous and Finger where drinking with his former classmates, Nono was looking for clues of what happened to Johann Chu and borrowed a car from Shao, an old contact of her family. Luminous suddenly remembered something.

Years ago, Johann's adoptive father organized him a birthday party. Since Johann didn't have any friends at school, he left an invitation in every club. Those were like golden tickets for the girls and Chen Wenwen decided to assist herself. Since every club had to bring a gift, she asked Luminous to collect some of the club's top literary works and deliver them to Johann's house during the party.

When Luminous arrived, he noticed everyone was socializing while the birthday boy grilled chicken in the corner. He looked lifeless, almost like a cooking robot. He passed the gift to Wenwen who thanked him and closed the door, leaving him outside. He walked back home and that was it. Thanks to that, Luminous knew where Johann and his mother, Su Xiaoyan used to live.

When they arrived, he recognized the house maid. Johann mentioned her a few times. He asked for his classmate, but the woman mentioned that there were no children in the house. He then asked for Su Xiaoyan, and the maid told him that she was in the hospital. After obtaining the name of the clinic from an envelope in the mailbox, Nono asked him to get in the car and they left the house.

The Sacred Heart Renai Hospital was surprisingly isolated. Since Nono was wearing a school uniform and it was the middle of the night, they made up a story: Luminous was her older brother and their car got broken on the road. They were proud of their little story but the guard was asleep when they arrived. Luminous almost woke him up to explain his made-up problem before Nono stopped him and they sneaked in.

She gave him a guard uniform that didn't fit very well and he searched for Su Xiaoyan. She was peacefully sleeping in her room and Luminous sat next to her. When she suddenly woke up and wondered why he was there, Luminous simply explained that he was covering up for a nurse, since the clinic was short on personnel and she surprisingly went along with it.

Without mentioning her son's name, he told her the story of Johann Chu, his missing friend, going through every detail, hoping that some of it would resonate with her.

The story successfully brought Xiaoyan to tears, but Luminous's sudden excitement was short lived, as said tears were not born from painful memories, but from deep felt sympathy. She said she was pregnant, hoping her future child would be as good as the guard's missing friend. Terribly disappointed, he thanked her, said goodbye and left the room.

Outside, Nono was waiting for him holding an umbrella. His eyes said everything, trying not to cry and to stay optimistic, he asked himself if anyone would look for him in case he disappeared as well.

-Finger loves you very much, he would look for you from every corner of the world.

If that Johann Chu is real, he would find you, you seem to care for each other very much.

Maybe Caesar would look for you too, he would take good care for his godson, no doubt about that.

...And if none of those useless guys managed to find you, even if you're deep in the gutter, I will bring you back.

Nono dropped the umbrella and gave her former sidekick a strong hug.

[mommymooze]

Hunting Trip

Warning: omg bunnies don’t make it. And bandits, but who cares about them? Blood.  Fighting.

 The kitchens of Garreg Mach are always working. You like to think of yourself as the backbone of the monastery. The Knights of Seiros and the Academy are two armies, and everyone knows an army marches on its stomach. If it is not cooking, you’re preparing and preserving foods. Pickling and brining, smoking and drying, counting and measuring. Head Chef Martha has reviewed the stock. They need at least 40 more rabbits put in brine soon. She picks you to ask the professors for some volunteers to form a hunting party.

Petra is sent from the Black Eagles. Felix from the Blue Lions and Leonie and Ignatz from the Golden Deer. Everyone brings bows as requested. You have a sack with multiple snares, several hunting daggers, and a sword. Felix doesn’t go anywhere without a few swords, Petra has brought one as well. Everyone agrees to meet at sunrise in front of the gates of the monastery. Heading to the East the party enters the woods and begins to set the snares. The group moves silently through the woods, closer to the edge of the forest.

Felix stops and signals, Petra nods, the group moves slowly to the edge of the woods. Ahead is a clearing. Arrows are nocked, suddenly the fluttering of wings and call of pheasants is loud as a flock takes to the air. Arrows quickly chase the birds, causing some to fall back to the ground. Leonie carries the bag with eight fresh pheasants as everyone recovers their arrows.

They sit in a circle taking a brief rest break. You pull out small sacks full of biscuits, sausage and sweet rolls.

“We are having excellent weather for the hunting.” Petra smiles taking a bite of a roll.

“Hey, if you don’t have use for the skins, can I have them?” Asks Leonie. “those would be great for winter jackets, especially the rabbit fur.”

You smile at the frugal friend. “Yes. We’re too busy to preserve them properly. We usually compost them.”

“What’s our count?” Felix asks, taking a couple more pieces of meat.

“Eight rabbits, seven pheasants and five fat red squirrels.” You answer. “Thank you for giving up your time.” You shyly smile, knowing the students are very busy with their own schoolwork and chores.

Back on the hunt, the group moves to the north of the monastery. Petra and Felix seem to be competing as to who can bag the most rabbits. They are tied at eight each.  Walking to the edge of the woods you look out over a field of wild grasses, out of the corner of your eye you see smoke drifting into the sky. You run back to your fellow hunters.

“I saw smoke. Someone must be out here.” You announce.

“We are to be using the great caution.” Petra agrees.

Felix immediately heads in the direction of the smoke, followed by Petra. You hang back a bit with Leonie and Ashe. You only see the backs of your friends, they talk between themselves, then Felix returns.

“Bandits. Looks like they plan to attack the village across from the monastery. The three of you should circle wide out that direction.” Felix points. “Firing arrows down from the high ground. Once Petra and I see the arrows, we will go in and attack. There are only 7 or 8 of them, certainly enough for us to take down.”

You nod with your companions and quietly move through the woods in the direction you are sent. There is a bit of a ridge there, the bandits must be on the other side.  Everyone takes a deep breath.

Leonie whispers. “One…two…three!”

Suddenly arrows are raining down on the bandits as they are scrambling for their weapons. There were more like nine or ten of them. Petra gives out a war cry as she and Felix start fighting with the brigands. The archers aim carefully now as friends are in the middle of the melee.  Ashe cheers as he takes another bandit out.

You hear a movement to your right, one of the bandits is sneaking up the far side of the hill trying to end the rain of arrows showering down on his comrades. You drop your bow and pull out your sword, swinging when he is close. The bandit counters your swing, then parries, causing you to jump back out of his range. You bring your sword back, taking a hard swing at him, he catches it against his blade. Seeing an opportunity, you put your weight against your blade, sliding forward along his and into his neck causing a deep gash in his throat, you then kick him in the chest. Dropping his weapon he falls, tumbling down the hill. You grab his sword and throw it toward Leonie and Ignatz. Running down the hill towards the sword fighting you find the battle is at an end. Felix is finishing his last opponent. The other archers follow you down the hill, bringing your bow with them.

“Everyone okay?” You ask as you notice a cut in the navy-haired swordsman’s shirt, blood staining the slice. “Felix, sit.”

“You’re a cook, not a cleric.” He angrily grunts.

“I work in a small room with sharp knives, cleavers, boiling liquids and other dangers. We all heal. Luckily I’m one of the best.” You say as you pull his shirt out of the way. Grabbing your water skin you soak a clean handkerchief and clean out the wound. Not too deep, still needs healing. Laying your hands on each side of the wound you call upon faith magic needed to close the gash, leaving a faint pink line in the swordsman’s side.

“Thanks.” Felix mumbles, looking away.

The hunting party begins to head back, the unplanned battle taking a lot of energy out of everyone. They still manage to bag more rabbits as they finally make it to the snares.

“Thanks. You can go.” You wave.

The students start heading back to the monastery, the walls peek over the other side of the clearing. Felix turns around, helping you gather the snares.

You give him a curious look, then return to remove another rabbit from a trap.

“You shouldn’t be out here by yourself. Our fight earlier proves that.” Felix grumbles as he puts several snares back in the bag.

“Thanks.” You say softly, not looking at him. The count is 41 rabbits, so the mission is completed successfully. Everything is packed up. You reach for the bag of snares, however Felix has already hauled it over his shoulder before you can grab it. You nod in thanks.

Quietly the two of you walk back inside the gates and head to the kitchens. You reach out your hand to take the bag from the swordsman.

“Spar with me.” He asks.

This catches you off guard. Not knowing what to say, your mouth answers for you. “Okay.”

You leave the food with the kitchen staff. You request that they save all pelts for Leonie. Then you head to the training grounds where Felix is already busy with his sword forms. You stand to the side and watch him. He finishes his form then waves you over and points to a spot next to him, handing you a wooden sword. He takes his ready stance and looks at you. You assume the same stance. He takes his sword from its sheath pulling it to a ready position and steps back. You copy his steps. He continues this through all twelve positions of the form. He brings you back to the starting position. At each step, as you follow his movements, he explains that it is taking action against an enemy, he describes how they are attacking, the direction that they are coming and where their weapon is aimed. The third time through he mirrors your moves, correcting your stance, foot placement, the swing of the blade. The fourth time he is alongside you, both of you completing the form together. He then has you complete the form alone.

“Good. Practice that every day. Maybe next week I will show you another.” Felix says in a neutral tone.

You nod in response.

“You don’t talk much.” Felix says, watching the wooden sword he is twirling in his hands.

You shrug. “Not much to say.”

Felix shakes his head and takes a few steps away. Suddenly he turns around, practice sword at the ready. “Spar!”

You take your stance and he immediately is on the attack. You are able to block many of his swings, however your offensive jabs and attacks are simply awful.

“What’s your problem?” the swordsman spits angrily. “You could fight the bandit, but you’re hardly trying here.”

“Don’t want to hurt you.” You cough, embarrassed.

“I can’t judge your technique, see how good or bad you are, can’t help you improve unless you give 100%. Fight me like you mean it.” Felix brings his sword down in a hard swing to emphasize his point.

You take a couple of deep breaths to clear your mind. Finally you nod.

Felix comes at you like a lion after its prey. You start off defensive, then begin to counter. Eventually you focus on the battle, the fight. Countering, blocking attacking when there is an opportunity. He gets quite a few good hits on you. Your strikes were mostly blocked, but a few are going to leave him some bruises later, you think. You finally get a foot hooked behind his knee throwing Felix off balance as he hits the ground.

“Oh. Sorry.” You say as you reach out your hand to help him up.

Felix grabs your arm, rolling and jerking you down to the ground, lying on top of your sword arm as he puts his blade under your chin. “Yield.”

“I Yield.” You groan. You put your hand over your face. He hadn’t yielded and here you were giving him your hand. Basic amateur move.

Felix gets off the ground dusting himself off. “Not bad for your first time. Your stance is awful, your thrusts are all wrong. You need to angle your swings better but you are a hell of a lot stronger than you look. Not only that, you kept me working out for over two hours without complaining. Not bad.”

You nod just as the bells ring.

“Guess we missed lunch.” Felix mumbles.

“Come, I know a guy…” you say, heading for the kitchens. Before long you’re sitting in the dining hall eating grilled spicy salami and cheese sandwiches.

Felix finishes every bite of his sandwich. “Are you working tomorrow?”

You nod.

“When are you done? I mean, do you want to spar again?” He says, picking at something on the table.

“Two. Yes.” You smile at him.

“Great, it’s a date.” Felix says as he quickly heads off to the dorms.  

“Hey Felix. Who’s the lovely lady you had lunch with?” Sylvain says as he taps his best friend on his shoulder.

“Shut it, Sylvain.” The swordsman says, looking away from him as he continues forward.

“Well, I’ll just have to find out myself then.” Sylvain calls back, a smirk on his face.

Felix keeps walking away until he is slightly hidden by a post in front of the rooms as he looks back to the kitchen. He watches Sylvain stride straight into the door you’ve just entered in the back of the kitchen. Suddenly, the redhead is falling face first out of the door, his arms wrenched behind his back and he hits the ground hard as you slam the kitchen door shut behind him. Serves him right, Felix grins.

[emmies-archives]

Dismissed

Kirishima Eijiro X Reader (Did I mention I love to write for Kirishima…ugh)

Warnings: None

Summary: Kirishima is acting a little different to you and you’re convinced it is because he’s going to reject you. He proves you wrong.

Word Count: 3.1k

It was late, the entire class was with Aizawa doing some one on one quirk technique training. Everyone would be split up randomly, the goal being able to coordinate your quirk with others that you normally wouldn’t pair up with. You had missed out on training with your class today. Right as everyone was about to start splitting up, you were pulled from UA to go on a mission with the agency you had your work-study with. You were grateful the situation de-escalated rather quickly, two citizens were arguing over whose quirk was more powerful.

When you arrived back at the dorms you wondered if you should join the rest of your classmates but decided against it. You had tried to busy yourself with everything you could think of to keep yourself from being so utterly, and miserably bored. You were used to being constantly wrapped up with your classmates, so having a bit of alone time turned boring very fast. So far, you’d cleaned the entire kitchen, whipped up a batch of cookies, tried to pick something to watch but couldn’t settle on just one, you even finished most of your homework; you were so incredibly bored you thought you might explode. With an audible sigh, you stalked off to the common room deciding to lie down for a bit. You ripped your phone from its wall-charger and jammed your headphones in. Turning up the music as loud as it would go, you threw yourself down on the floor.

Despite the music blaring in both your ears, you couldn’t silence your mind. These past few weeks everything had been so weird. Normally you would have pounced on the opportunity to have some extra training time with Kirishima and Bakugo, but lately, things have been different between the three of you. You couldn’t quite put your finger on what it was that had changed but something definitely had. Something had shifted in the way the boys were treating you; like you were something fragile that needed protecting. ‘Why were they acting like this?’ You thought, seemingly to yourself until you realized you’d practically shouted it out loud.

Groaning you turned your thoughts to Kirishima. He was the first to start acting odd around you. At first, you had thought that it was simply because you were injured; the three of you had been out late sparring off of school grounds. All of you knew that it wasn’t permitted to be using your quirks outside of the school, but you needed a break from UA. You loved training with the two, they were incredibly strong. They always gave their all whether it was training or a real fight.

                            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Everything was going well, the three of you took turns explaining different ways you could come up with ultimate moves, or expanding your quirks.

It was only a few hours into your training when a drunk stumbled across you guys. He immediately started to pick a fight with the boys, trying to convince you to ditch them and go with him. It seemed like every time you told him no, he took it as a challenge to push you even further. Both boys knew that you could handle yourself you were probably as strong as them, it didn’t stop Kirishima from worrying though. He tried to step between you and the old drunk that continually advanced on you.

That pissed the guy off. And he started shaking and laughing out of nowhere, nonsense rambling came from his lips. He said something about him not being able to have you then no one else should. It happened before you could even use your quirk, the air felt like it was ripped from your lungs and you fell to your knees coughing. You couldn’t breathe at all, it must’ve been that guy's quirk. How lucky for you that you needed oxygen in order to use your own quirk to fight back. You saw the boys rush the drunk and then your vision went black.

You had woken up the next morning in the infirmary with recovery girl next to you. You were going to be fine, but recovery girl advised you to take it a little easy, the guys quirk put a toll on your body. She said any intense training, or emotions would cause residual effects of his quirk to activate. It was an emotion-based quirk and caused the internal bodily functions to ceased at intense emotions. When you reunited with Kirishima and Bakugo, you saw that Kirishima was visibly relieved. Bakugo just scoffed and mumbled something that it was good you didn’t die. Aizawa scolded the three of you within an inch of your lives and gave you three a week’s detention for training off-campus after curfew, especially when the league of villains could be anywhere.

It was later that night when things started to become odd between you three. You had walked right int in the middle of a heated conversation. Kirishima and Bakugo were talking in hushed voices, standing outside their rooms. Kirishima had jumped at seeing you and quickly turned away, avoiding your gaze. So instead you had turned to Bakugo, raising an eyebrow.

“What do you want, runt?” He’d quickly snarked at you.

“Am I not allowed to walk around on my own now?” You retorted. Bakugo then muttered something under his breath, and with a glance back in Kirishima’s direction shuffled out of the hallway and into his room. “So,” you began, “was I interrupting something important?”

“Uh, not at all,” he said to the floor, still refusing to look you in the eyes.

“Is everything alright Kirishima? Did something happen while I was out?” you’d asked worriedly. His expression turned pained for a fraction of a second.

“No, no, everything is fine,” he sputtered with a cough and quickly dodged your gaze, escaping into his room.

                                     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~            

With a jolt you were ripped back to the present, to see a gruff man standing over you with an awkward expression on his face. It only took you a second to realize that it was Bakugo though and you quickly sat up. Pulling your headphones out, you glanced at the clock on the wall.

“Oh shit,” you scrambled, “When did everyone come back? It’s so late, I didn’t mean to fall asleep.” You were cut off by Bakugo rolling his eyes at you.

“Just get up, you look pathetic.”

“Oh, um okay. How was the training session?” You replied a little disgruntled. Bakugo flashed you a smirk and you couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

“It was great, now I can kick your ass even harder.” You nodded, Bakugo seemed a little more happy than usual the training must’ve treated him good. Deciding you needed to figure out what was going on between him and Kirishima you started to press him.

“So, what has exactly been going with two?” You began your interrogation, “You and Kirishima I mean. Is something going on between the two of you? Is there…” you trailed off now, motioning with your hands for him to jump in.

Clearing his throat, Bakugo looked at you like you were stupid. “What, there’s nothing wrong with me and shitty hair, the hell. Everything is normal dumbass.” he almost growled as he said it. His expression quickly turned dark as concern clouded his eyes slightly. You braced yourself for what you were sure was to come.

 “No L/n, Kirishima and I are fine. But there IS something wrong with you. You’re too weak; you let your guard down and you could have gotten someone else hurt. I don’t know why your eve here anymore, so why don’t you just leave.” You could almost hear the words coming from Bakugos lips, could almost see the disappointment in his eyes.

Your breath caught in your throat and you could feel the sting of tears threatening to spill over. You felt the air rush out of you as Bakugo’s arms grabbed you too tight, just inches above the floor. The ceiling seemed off-kilter as you stared up at it. Everything started moving slower as you felt your heart pick up speed. That guy's quirk, it must be still affecting you like recovery girl told you. You weren’t sure what was going to happen, you felt your vision blur and your body felt as if it was starting to rock.

“What the hell is wrong with you! Are you an idiot?!”  Bakugo shouted at you, shaking you slightly. “Kirishima!” you heard Bakugo shout as you began to drift, “In here now!”

“No, not him. Don’t get him,” You tried to breathe out. Taking a rejection from Bakugo would hurt, but being rejected by Kirishima would tear you apart and you didn’t know if you’d be able to recover. You admired Bakugo immensely, but you only saw him as a rival of some sort, maybe even a friend. With Kirishima, things were different. The thought of spiky-haired redhead could fill your chest with warmth, and light that made your heart swell and ache with happiness. And with just the thought of Kirishima, you could feel your heart shatter into a million splintering pieces. Sharp, stabbing pains flew across your chest making it harder to breathe. You tried to hold yourself together with your arms and felt the hot tears finally streaming down your face, dripping on the sleeves of Bakugo’s shirt.

Just then, you heard the unmistakable sound of Kirishima’s loud, pounding footsteps moving towards you. He must’ve been close if he got here that fast. You could hear him suddenly shouting, directly above you. His shouts were indistinct, but they didn’t sound good by any means. Gasping at his obvious anger towards your pathetic state, you tried to turn your head away from the two boys standing over you. “I’m sorry Kirishima,” you tried to get out. You weren’t sure if he had heard you.

The last thing you remember seeing was Kirishima’s face inches above yours, gritting his teeth, his expression a mixture of raw anger, hurt, and concern? No, it was more than that, but before you could think about it anymore as you drifted off into the darkness

You bolted upright with an intake of breath, noticing a fresh tear slithering down your face and falling into your lap. There were footsteps right outside your door, pacing along the length of the hall outside your room. Accompanying the footsteps were a pair of voices. Instantly you recognized the gruff one as Bakugo’s, and the one that belonged to the pacing steps as Kirishima’s. The latter’s voice sounded more than a little offset and even a little frantic.

“Dammit, calm down,” you heard Bakugo’s voice say, “Recovery Girl said it was the last of the effects of the drunk dipshit, that’s nothing to get worked up over!”

Kirishima snorted in reply. “Yeah, well falling to the ground, unprovoked, and gasping out tears is.” He almost growled. “I don’t know what she thought you were going to say to her that was bad enough for her to react the quirk,”

“If you weren’t such a dumbass in the first place, this wouldn’t have happened!” Bakugo barked at the boy.

The pacing stopped and you could almost feel the tension around them. “What,” Kirishima started, “What do you mean?”

“I mean it wasn’t until after, she started asking questions about you acting like an idiot!” Bakugo explained. “She didn’t look surprised though,” he said, “I think she thought it had something to do with her. And well, she wasn’t exactly wrong you know.”

“Shit of course she did,” Kirishima said, his voice audibly shaking, “I mean did you hear the way she said my name? It was like I’d physically hurt her.”

Upon hearing this you felt your chest tighten as a new batch of tears started to form. You gasped, and it came out louder than you were expecting. Both of the boys stopped outside. You could hear a few light steps toward your door; another moment’s pause. ‘Please don’t open that door.’ You thought. One more moment and then there was a tentative knock on your door.

“L/n?” Kirishima asked softly. When you didn’t reply, your door cracked open, letting light flood in. Immediately you snapped your head down so you were looking at the bed that you were situated on. Then Kirishima’s head poked through the crack and peered into the room. Apparently, it took his eyes a minute to adjust, because once he noticed you were up, he flung the door open and hurried over to your bed, not even bothering to turn the light on. Once he got there, he seemed to forget what he was doing and stood awkwardly at the foot of your bed. He turned and walked to the light switch, then flipped it on. Now that the light was on, he could see that you were crying again. ‘Stop it. Stop crying. You’ve already made a fool of yourself’ you told yourself this over and over as Kirishima rushed towards you.

“L/n? L/n are you hurt?” Kirishima asked frantically. You took a deep breath to steady yourself, but it just served to let your tears flow more freely. Frustrated you tossed your head back knocking it against the headboard.

“Ouch,” you mumbled rubbing the back of your head. Kirishima made a move like he was trying to comfort you but didn’t know what to do with his hands, so instead, he let them flop back down at his sides. Finally, you looked up to Kirishima’s face and your heart jumped. His face looked so pained, so frustrated and devastated it hurt to look at. “Kirishima,” you whispered as you reached out to touch him, to soothe him in any way you could. Just then he looked up at you, anger flashing across his face.

“L/n don’t.” You immediately dropped your hand gasping slightly. He looked at you, taking a deep breath “I mean, you don’t have to say anything.”

Confused, you tried understanding his seemingly unpredictable mood swings for a moment.

“Look Kirishima,” you said, “I know I messed up. And I know I should have been more careful. But no one else got hurt. Besides, I’m fine now and-” The look of pure anger on Kiirshima’s face stopped you cold. You sputtered and could feel your face turning red. “Kirishima I- I don’t know what I did to make you so mad at me, but, but I, uh, I’m sorr-” This time Kirishima interrupted you with words rather than a look.

“Stop. Just stop. You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said hotly, as he closed his eyes, “I’m not angry with you, I’m angry with myself.”

“What? Why? I was the one who messed up. I was the one who made a fool of myself,” you explained, still confused.

“But that’s just it! Don’t you see?” Kirishima suddenly shouted, “It wasn’t your fault! It was mine! You were handling yourself just fine with that old man and I just had to step in.” He was shaking his head angrily and clenching his jaw. “That quirk could have killed you L/n. Don’t you see how it’s still affecting you?”

“Kirishima, what are you talking about? It wasn’t that big of a deal, I just passed out. It wasn’t anything I can’t bounce back from.” Nothing he said was making any sense to you. You didn’t understand what the big deal was about the quirk.

He balled his hands into fists at his side and stared you right in the face. “The things he said.” Kirishima trailed off, “We don’t know what could have happened to you, L/n.” His voice and face softened a little as he said your name. Sighing, Kirishima sat down on the bed next to you. “It’s just that I can’t lose you L/n. I can’t do that. I wouldn’t,” he took a deep breath, “I wouldn’t be able to handle that.”

Suddenly your heart was trying to leap out of your chest as Kirishima took your face in one of his hands and turned it towards him. You cleared your throat, looking for a way to explain your sudden outburst last night. “Kirishima, why do you think I reacted so, er, harshly, to you when I thought there was something wrong? I mean, given I didn’t actually know what was going on, but I thought that you didn’t want me here anymore. And well, I just didn’t want to have to face being rejected by you.” You turned your eyes down, not wanting to see how he reacted. Kirishima’s body stiffened beside you.

“So,” Kirishima cleared his throat, “Let me get this straight. You thought that we, that I didn’t want you anymore?” You curtly nodded in response. After a moment you grew uncomfortable with the stiff silence. And tried to shift away from the large boy who was still holding your face in his hand. Seemingly out of nowhere Kirishima burst into uncontrollable laughter and was gasping for breath within seconds.

“What?” you asked slightly annoyed.

“I’m sorry,” Kirishima huffed out, “But the idea is just so absurd.” And he burst into another fit of laughter.

“Well I don’t think it’s funny,” you muttered under your breath.

Regaining his breath, Kirishima tilted your chin up so that you were forced to look into his eyes. “L/n I don’t think I can never stop wanting you.” He said it so simply, as his want for you was a fact every bit as much as it was a fact that the Earth revolved around the Sun. Your breath caught in your throat as he pulled you in for a kiss. After a moment he pulled away and started to slip himself under the blankets.

“Kiri?!” You exclaimed, “You can’t stay in here, you know that!”

“Oh c’mon, L/n. You know you want me too. I’m just trying to comfort a scared girl who was attacked by a villain’s quirk. Isn’t that what heroes do?” He pulled you close to him, wrapping his arms around you. “It wouldn’t be very manly of me if I left.”

“I guess you’re right.” You mumbled as your face was in the crook of his neck. “What about your morning run with Bakugo?”

“Ah, he’ll get the hint once I don’t show up.” You giggled when he squeezed you.

“He’s going to kill you, Kiri.”

“Yeah. Probably.”

[silverskatana]

up in the clouds

word count: 2326

author’s note: i know it’s very short but i was just in a sad mood & felt like writing a very short sad thing && i know it’s kinda rushed but. just a self-indulgent sad fic, enjoy :p

(one.)

“I’m sorry.” His uncovered eye bores into yours, and his voice falters a little, tinged with regretful uncertainty. “I just - I just don’t feel the same.”

You brush a hand through your hair, trying to maintain that same poker face you swear you’ve long mastered. It gets too difficult, though, so you settle for a laugh instead, hoping he doesn’t pick out the way the corners of your lips refuse to turn upwards. “That’s okay.” You shrug, a masterful masquerade of nonchalance, and hope he buys it. “I wasn’t really expecting much more, anyway.”

His gaze softens, and he shifts, the dried leaves crunching under his sandalled feet. “I’m sorry.”

You laugh. Again. “That’s okay.”

And you’re not lying, or so you tell yourself - you were more than certain that the silver-haired Jounin did not harbour feelings (not romantic ones, anyway) towards anyone, and you weren’t optimistic enough to dream of any miracles occurring.

“Then, if you don’t mind me asking,” he says, eyebrow raised, and you focus your attention back to him, “Why did you still tell me?”

A wry smile plays on your face, and the laugh that leaves your lips is more genuine this time. “I figured that since we’re going to war, if I end up dying, I’d rather tell you before I die.”

You’re unable to read the expression written across his features, aside from mild confusion, but then again, Hatake Kakashi has always been an extraordinarily difficult person to read. 

Your friend of several years sighs. “I won’t let you die.”

“It’s a war, Kakashi.” You shrug. “You won’t be able to protect everyone, you know.”

You begin to shuffle through the path overlain with fallen leaves, training your eyes to the ground, and you’re about to take your leave when Kakashi calls out to you again.

“I won’t let you die.”

You smile.

“You can’t be there to save everyone all the time, Kakashi.”

(two.)

“Please leave.” Your voice, while quiet, cuts through the silence, falling like an uncomfortably heavily blanket between the two of you.

Kakashi’s eyes - his Sharingan uncovered - narrow slightly. Behind you, you hear the distant sound of muffled shouts and muted explosions, and you tense. “We don’t have much time,” you force out tersely, “Please go back to your duties and I’ll go back to mine. This is war, Kakashi.”

“I know it’s war.” He leans against the trunk of the tree he’s currently perched up on, arms crossed, and you feel a spark of annoyance at his clear refusal to comply. “That’s why I’m here.”

“I’m a medic and you’re one of the front-line warriors.” You avoid his gaze, fitting a scowl onto your features instead. “You need to go and help them.”

“Things weren’t like this before.”

Your head jerks up and you stare at him, caught off guard, and he stares right back at you, his impassive black eye contrasted against his spinning red. You can hear your heart in your throat, and you swallow thickly, your words coming out uneven. “What are you talking about?”

“We weren’t like this before.”

Your words are bitter, scorching. “There is no we.” You see the way he flinches, but you bite your tongue, too stubborn to apologize for your words.

“Look, if this about that day-”

“Let’s just forget it, okay?” you snap, your voice unintentionally sounding rougher and angrier than you intended. You can’t let him see the way it still affects you; you can’t let him see the way you’re trying so hard to pretend everything’s all okay. You can’t let him see the way you’re failing, the way you’re dying on the inside, the way you have so much to say that you can no longer bring yourself to voice.

You can’t let him know the way he broke your heart, the way he tore it apart in the kindest of ways. And you can’t let him know that it’s not okay, that you fear it’ll never be the same again.

“I don’t want to lose you like how I lost Obito. And Rin.”

Standing there, the thick leaves casting overhung shadows across his haunted expression, Kakashi looks the most lost you have ever seen him.

Tears sting at the back of your eyes.

“Go,” you say, but your voice cracks, and as your watery gaze meets his, you know he knows.

“I’m not leaving you here alone,” he says quietly.

You’ve been friends with Kakashi for long enough to hear the plea in his voice.

Can’t we just surrender?

Your throat burns.

No.

You take a step back, away from him, and he watches as you move, a look of defeat crossing his facial features as the words leave your mouth.

“Please go,” you whisper.

He gazes at you, Sharingan spinning, a long look; and then he complies.

In the next moment, he’s gone.

(three.)

You skid to a halt, your breathing laboured, your gaze flicking from left to right. You’re surrounded.

“What an interesting catch.” You stiffen at the disembodied voice that echoes through the thin air, instinctively reaching for a kunai.

“What do you want with me?” You manage to keep your voice steady as you eye the ones around you warily - the one standing in front is a reincarnation, with trademark dark eyes contrasted against his long white hair, and the others surrounding you are clones of who you remember as White Zetsu.

“I think you know why we’re here.” One of the White Zetsu’s - you can’t tell who - chuckle, “You’re a rather valuable medic, and the enemy having good medics is never a good thing.”

The clones don’t look like they will do anything aside from preventing your escape; you observe the opponent before you, a frown settling upon your lips. You don’t even know who he is, but considering that he was reincarnated, it must mean that he’s strong. As strong as you, or stronger. 

I guess maybe this is the part where I have to say goodbye.

And then you charge, and so does he.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. You figure out his special ability soon enough, considering how he immediately parries your flurry of kunai with bones that protrude out of his palms. His ability to manipulate his bones, combined with his regeneration abilities due to the reincarnation technique, births an almost impenetrable defence, and you click your tongue in irritation as your strategies fail one after another to inflict any significant damage on him.

“Now,” he speaks, his voice monotonous and detached as he neatly deflects another barrage of weapons flying in his direction, “Is it my time to dance?”

You swallow harshly, ignoring the acrid tang of fear that rises in your oesophagus.

“So it seems.”

You weave through hand-seals at the same time as him, and you release a storm of fire as he finishes his final hand-seal.

All around you, the world lights up in orange and white.

And, you realise as your opponent emerges amidst the orange, a crazed tint in his eyes, a grotesque mixture of melted skin and protruding bone, you’re up against a monster.

A sword made out of bone pierces you in the chest, narrowly missing your heart, and it takes all you have to force chakra through your veins at an accelerated rate for self-regeneration as you spit out blood.

A small, rueful smile crosses your lips.

You really aren’t going to make it, after all.

The white-haired man draws the sword back, its ivory tip stained a deep crimson red, and you can see the amused mockery in his eyes as he lunges forward at an angle, clearly expecting you to dodge.

You don’t.

You see the shock reflected in his expression as you allow the sword made of bone to pierce through your lower abdomen, the metallic tang of blood thick and asphyxiating in your mouth, and you part your lips to allow the wet red liquid to spill down your skin and along your chin.

You raise your arms, ignoring the way your hands tremble, ignoring the excruciating pain that shoots through you with every move. “An eye for an eye… A tooth for a tooth,” you breathe out with a crooked smile, beginning to weave through a set of hand-seals with practised ease, albeit a lot slower than usual.

White Zetsu is the one to realise what exactly you’re planning to do.

Kimimaro, she’s going to seal you away.

So that’s his name.

Kimimaro.

He hears White Zetsu, and you wince as he pulls the sword out of your already damaged body, your chakra coils overworking as you attempt to patch yourself back together as fast as you can. From the corner of your eye you see a flash of white as he aims directly for your heart, and you dimly think, I won’t be able to move away fast enough.

Blood.

Fresh red, wet, thick.

It settles against your skin and runs trails like tears down your cheek, and your eyes stare vacantly ahead of you, where Kimimaro is frozen in his spot, his hollow expression a reflection of yours.

You begin to cry.

“Why are you here?” you croak out, the loss of blood making it hard to think straight, or speak. “You’re not… supposed to…”

“Seal him now,” Kakashi utters, “And we can talk later.”

With shaking hands, you force yourself to weave through the hand-seals, your vision blurry and your heart sunken to the bottom of your chest. Kimimaro glares at you, his gaze full of hatred and resentment, but he’s unable to move from where he’s been stabbed through the chest by Kakashi’s Chidori.

And with an uneven breath, you land on the final hand-seal.

Just like that, it all comes to an end.

Kimimaro is gone.

And with him, the bone that is pierced through Kakashi’s abdomen.

You collapse next to the silver-haired ninja, forcefully drawing your already-exhausted chakra reserves, and the tears continue to spill from your cheeks as your bloodied hands glow green against Kakashi’s skin.

“You don’t have to waste your chakra on me,” he says gently, and you shake your head mutely, forcing yourself to continue trying, drawing chakra from reserves that don’t even exist, the green around your palms flickering like a dying flame.

“Why did you come,” you choke out, “I told you not to come.”

He turns his head to look at you, and in that moment you see everything you’ve ever seen in him; your best friend since you were old enough to know the concept of friendship. Your protector, the one who watched over you whenever the world was on fire. The shoulder you cried on, the one who was there for you each and every time it all came crashing down. The only person you’ve ever loved, and the person you love the most in the world.

And now, you’re losing him.

He’s dying, and you can’t do enough to heal him.

You don’t even have the strength in your body to cry anymore.

“I told you I wouldn’t let you die,” he responds, and even in his weak breaths, you hear the ghost of his smile.

“You should have,” you whisper, and the green of your hands is dangerously light now. “It should have been me.”

“I’m just glad,” he tells you, and you stare at him with your heartbeat ringing in your ears, “I finally managed to save a life.”

The green colour grows a little more intense again. Your entire body is quivering now, bloodied and torn, and your chakra coils more than overextended. “You can’t leave me here alone.”

“One day…” He reaches out and traces faint patterns across your hand, and you bite your lip as you register that this may be the last time you ever feel his touch.

You commit it to memory.

“... We’ll meet again in the sky, so until then-” He tilts your head so that you’re staring into his eyes, and from the spinning of his Sharingan, you have the faint inkling that he’s memorizing the final image of you.

So you put on your best smile for him.

He smiles too.

“- I’ll watch over you from up in the clouds, okay?”

The tears begin to fall again. The smile stays the same.

“Okay,” you say.

His gaze softens. “Until then.”

“Until then,” you echo.

The green lining your palms flickers, and then fades.

“I’m sorry,” Kakashi whispers to you, his eyes curving into a smile, silhouetted by the fading glow of the setting sun, and all around you, it’s silent except for the faint touches of leaves onto the ground.

It’s so beautiful, in the most heartbreaking of ways.

Kakashi’s blood is warm against your skin when he collapses into your arms, and you let yourself cry into his shoulder as you hold him close to you, wrapping your arms tight around him, feeling his heartbeat slow in his chest and his breathing go shallow.

And then you feel his heartbeat again, a gentle thud.

And then you can’t feel it anymore.

And then you feel him drawing a breath again, slow and gentle.

And then he doesn’t draw another.

The world is so beautiful, you think, your eyes cast upon the gentle illumination of swaying leaves and crystalline skies bathed in sunset light.

The world is so beautiful on the day that Kakashi dies.

But, you think to yourself, left alone with only the sound of your own heartbeat, the feeling of yourself drawing breath after breath, your world has suddenly become so dull-coloured, a broken canvas painted across in monochrome shades.

You think of Kakashi, of the smile in his voice, of the look on his face. 

I hope you’re happier there, you think, allowing yourself to collapse, your body hitting the bloodstained ground, your eyes fluttering shut. With Obito, Rin, Minato-sensei.

I hope it doesn’t hurt anymore.

Let’s meet again someday, up in the clouds.

[onthepageoftears]

Kill Your Darlings Ch. 7 (Jaskier x Assassin!Reader) || Witcher

A/N: Sometimes it’s hard for me to wait to post for this series, I’m just so excited to see what everyone thinks 😅Also I’m lowkey especially proud of this chapter for some reason, so let me know what you think of it! That being said, enjoy (and stay safe out there)!

Your comments and feedback are always encouraged and mean a lot to me!

Summary: Who knew only a couple hours of isolation could make you go this crazy.

Warnings: language, mentions of death/killing, depictions of violence/slight descriptions of gore/graphic violence, mentions of alcohol/drinking, and finally...fluff? in this fic? who knew

Words: 2,630

Please Don’t Plagiarize My Work!

Getting Julian out of the Kingfisher Inn was like ripping a knife from your own thigh: painful and a lot more trouble than it’s worth. After around a good hour of packing his many, many clothes, he was finally ready to change locations; in the end, it didn’t matter, because you all agreed that waiting until night fell would be safest to travel.

Eventually, the three of you managed to sneak out of the inn and to another one. The Nowhere Inn, located to the east of Novigrad, was where you found yourselves camping out. You waited with Julian while Geralt booked a room, your eyes and ears trying to focus on the world around you to make sure no one was lurking in the shadows. The bard blabbered on anyway, distracting you more than you would be comfortable admitting.

“The Nowhere Inn is absolutely perfect. When someone asks where I am, you don’t even have to lie. Just say Nowhere.”

You didn’t bother holding back your eye roll.

And now, all three of you had made it to the room. It wasn’t nearly as nice as the Kingfisher Inn, and Julian made a point of saying so multiple times. It was still a nicer place than you usually stayed in, so you couldn’t complain. Instead, you silently claimed a chair in the far corner of the room, hoping to be left alone for the remainder of however long it was that you would have to stay there.

But of course, that wouldn’t happen.

You were sharpening one of your knives when the bard’s antsiness peaked. He patted a rhythm on his lap and sat up in his own chair, across the room from you.

“When do you think Geralt will be back?”

You lifted the knife to eye level to inspect the sharpness. Without looking at the bard, you answered, “Why do you think I would have a clue?”

“Alright, no need to have an attitude.” His tone might have made you feel guilty if he hadn’t been practically pestering you this whole time. 

It had only been a couple of hours of hiding in the inn with Geralt and Julian, and they were already getting on your nerves. Geralt, not so much. He kept to himself mostly, unless Julian resorted to talking to him (which he usually did). But when Geralt left to go do something or another, the bard was forced to turn to you for his…entertainment.

You felt him watching you as you switched knives, still watching you as you continued to sharpen it. It made you uncomfortable, to say the least. You sighed and put your knives back in their sheaths, making a point of looking at Julian with raised brows. “Do you need something?”

Instead of taking the hint, he leaned forward. “Do you do anything other than that?”

The ghost of a frown crossed your features. “Than what?”

“You know,” Julian waved his hand in the air. “Assassin things.”

You gave his question a good amount of thought before answering, “No.”

“You don’t have any hobbies? Any secret talents? Well, other than killing people.”

You blinked, yet again leaving a long space of time for him to bask in his anticipation.  Then, you uttered a firm, “No.”

After he didn’t answer, you leaned back in your chair and lay your head over the edge. Perhaps if you closed your eyes he would get the hint to stop talking to you. It was a foolish thought, because almost seconds after you closed your eyes, you heard him get up from his seat, drag his chair agonizingly slowly across the room, and plant himself right in front of you.

You only slightly opened your eyes so you could peek at him — but when you saw he was holding his lute, you snapped your eyes open.

“Calm down, I’m not serenading you.” It was the first time you heard him laugh, genuinely, and you would be lying if it didn’t make your breath halt. Still, your eyes widened with what was close to fear at the thought of him performing just for you. If he did that, you might have to jump out the window.

Noticing your inner anguish, he tilted his head with a slight smirk. “Unless—“

“Please don’t.”

The mischievous sparkle in his eye dimmed as he laughed off your panicked expression. “I think you could use a new hobby. Though sharpening blades is…quite the skill, maybe you would benefit in trying something a little more…artistic.”

“Some blacksmiths would be at your throat for that.”

“Well, some blacksmiths aren’t in this room, now are they?” He raised his brows and waited for you to respond; when you didn’t, he held out his lute towards you.

You looked at the lute, then back to him. “You’re joking.”

“Come on.” He waved it in your direction. “It’s not going to bite.”

“I’m not playing your lute.”

“Not yet you aren’t.” He jutted it towards you once more, noting the way you shook your head with a scoff. “Just try it. And then I’ll leave you alone.”

That got you interested. You squinted at him, trying to tell if he was serious. His eyes only mirrored yours, and for a couple seconds you battled through your gaze.

You would never admit that he won.

“Fine.” You took the lute from his hands and held it in your own, mimicking how you’d seen other bards holding it. It felt foreign in your arms — though you had only seen Julian play it a couple times, it felt strange to hold someone else’s possession. It would be like Geralt using one of your knives — it just didn’t feel right.

“Well, don’t hold it so tightly. It’s not going to run away.”

“I don’t want to drop it,” You muttered, but loosened your grip anyway.

“Okay. Your hands need to be a little higher. Like—“ His hands reached out to move your own, but you couldn’t help the way your body immediately stiffened. You kept your eyes focused on his hand, which hovered just over yours. He pulled back, instead directing you with his words. “Just…bring your hand so it’s a little further up the neck. Right. Now place that hand like this.“ He demonstrated with his hand in position; you mirrored it to the best of your ability.

“Now what?”

“Now, you strum.” So you did. And the sound was…not unpleasant. It definitely wasn’t as practiced as any bard you had ever heard, but something was satisfying about manipulating the instrument to do what you wanted. It was like when you learned the proper techniques for your knives — once you knew the right way to hold it, you could make it do practically anything.

“How did it feel?”

You considered him for a moment. “Not bad.”

“Didn’t sound too bad either.” He held his hands out and you placed the lute gently back in its owner’s hands. Julian placed it back in his lap with a smile.

You didn’t like the way your face heated up at the look he gave you; still, you were too stubborn to look away. His eyes sparkled just as brightly as they did the first time he spoke to you — when he didn’t know you were trying to kill him. You felt your shoulders loosen, lips twitching their way from a thin line to a minute smirk, your eyes searching the bard’s face for something, anything that would keep you…feeling.

Don’t let your guard down, or your emotions will come flowing out. Showing weakness is something you never want, Y/N. When that happens, you might as well give up.

You were out of your chair before the memory could fully resurface. Whatever feeling that was in the air had dissolved as soon as you stood up. “I should go scope out downstairs. Maybe find Geralt.”

“Shouldn’t I not be left alone?”

You walked past the bard’s chair and made sure your knives were in their place as you hovered by the door. “I’m not your babysitter.”

“I prefer the word ‘bodyguard’.” He muttered as he began strumming his lute gently.

Instead of answering, you lifted your hood over your head and left the room, letting out a quick breath when you closed the door behind you. You felt the sudden need for fresh air, though you knew not to stay out long. Besides, it would be a good idea to make sure there were no strange lurkers around the inn. At least, none more strange than usual.

You made sure to do a quick sweep of the main tavern before exiting through the back door of the inn; Geralt wasn’t down there, which would have made you angry if you weren’t so desperate to be left alone. You made a mental note to make a comment about it when he did return — whenever that would be.

The fresh air hit your face as soon as you stepped outside — the night air was colder than when you arrived at the tavern, but maybe it was just because of the heat that had risen to your face. You leaned against the building with your arms crossed over your chest, head tilted towards the sky. The stars weren’t nearly as bright here as they were when you were out of the city — it was one of the many reasons you tended to jump from smaller villages despite the decline in work there. It reminded you of the home you once knew, where you could play in the dirt just beside your parents’ small cottage while your mother cooked what she could for dinner. Or where your father would sometimes lay with you in the grass to point at the stars — at least, when he wasn’t drinking.

You shook the thought away and ripped your gaze from the sky — reminiscing on faded memories would only lead to trouble, especially when you were supposed to be scouting out the area.

The streets had the usual amount of people for Novigrad; though it wasn’t as bustling as Hierarch square or the Kingfisher inn, drunks stumbled to and from the bar nonetheless.

It was then that you noticed a particular individual — this one wasn’t walking on drunken feet. No, this one was walking with a confidence you only knew from few people, not even counting yourself in those. They wore a similar cloak to your own, their hood pulled far over their face making it harder for you to see. The darkness didn’t help either.

But in the flickering of a nearby torch, you got a look of their face.

Joneta.

“Fuck,” you barely let the word hit the air before you were slipping in the back door to the inn. The fresh air quickly dissipated as you were engulfed in the warmth of the inn, your face heating once again, but this time from…well, that didn’t matter. Not now.

When you made it to the room, you couldn’t help but burst through the door. Your breaths were controlled but your heart was beating out of your chest. And in the room, Julian was still strumming his lute with his feet up on a nearby table.

He barely turned to look at you. “Did you find—“

“We have to go.”

Seemingly ignoring the urgency in your voice, he turned to you with a scrunched nose. “What, now?”

You huffed, trudged over to him, kicked his feet from the table, and gave him the deadliest stare you could muster. “Now.”

“Alright, alright.”

He was getting up from his chair when you picked up on the sound of footsteps coming towards the room. It was a matter of seconds before the door was ripped open, and simultaneously, you had pulled out your knife and thrown it right at the person who walked in the room.

“Shit.” You breathed once you saw it was Geralt. The knife was lodged into the door just next to his head. He only blinked.

“Holy shit.” Julian repeated with more emphasis. “I guess sharpening those knives was worth it.”

You ignored him. “I thought you were—“

“An assassin. There’s one downstairs.”

“I know.”

“And where have you been?” Jaskier placed his hands on his hips, looking pointedly at Geralt.

You cut him off. “Doesn’t matter. We have to go. Now.”

This time, you didn’t let Julian take his sweet time. You practically shoved him out of the room, with Geralt directing you two out of the Inn. You couldn’t help looking behind you every second, afraid someone might have seen you. Joneta was a good assassin, but you never thought she would be able to find your new location so quickly. Maybe she hadn’t even known that you were there — she might have been stopping at the tavern for a drink or a game of gwent. But even if she didn’t mean to find Julian, you couldn’t risk it.

You were out of Novigrad by the time the sun came up. This time, Julian didn’t argue. He followed quietly between Geralt, who led on his horse, and you. Of course, he wasn’t completely quiet— he strummed his lute and hummed a tune that you hadn’t heard before. It was both calming and upsetting; the unnecessary noise made you nervous, because if someone was following you they wouldn’t need to worry about keeping up.

You were looking over you shoulder, searching the past roads for signs of people, when the bard finally spoke. “Well, that was a close one.”

“Too close.” You looked over your shoulder once more, pulling your hood further over your eyes.

Julian turned around to face you, walking backwards with a smirk planted on his lips. “You don’t have to be so skittish, you know. We’re out of the city, just like you wanted.”

His sarcasm wasn’t lost on you; you glared at him from under your hood. “You’re right. You should be the one who is worrying, being the one with coin on his head.”

“Just another part of a thrilling adventure.”

If this was his idea of an adventure, you wanted no part of it. Always being on the run was one thing when you were the one doing the killing. But now you had to worry about someone else’s life, to protect them even if they were an imbecile. Because right now, this imbecile was innocent. 

But you didn’t have to help them. You could leave right now. You could leave and let the other assassins kill the bard and take the money, even if he didn’t commit the crimes he was accused of. 

And yet…here you were. Walking silently behind two men you didn’t know just a couple days ago, who you would have considered strangers, or possibly future targets. Your morals were fucked up, sure — but you still couldn’t leave this behind. You were invested, determined, to keep this bard safe. At least until you knew for sure that he wasn’t the target you needed. Because if you didn’t do that, you would be just as much of a monster as the ones you killed.

Finally tearing your gaze away from the road behind you, you peered at the men in the darkness. Geralt continued forward on his horse, his head sweeping back and forth as he tried to look for a good place to stop. Julian had his lute on his back now, instead kicking up dirt as he walked. The silence was comfortable for once, but to be honest, that scared you. You didn’t know what these two were to you. That was something you didn’t want to be stuck thinking about. And being stuck in your thoughts almost made you ask Jaskier to play his lute again.

Almost.

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Let me know your thoughts! :)

[ficsnroses]

Perhaps - Keanu Reeves x Reader

Hi everyone! This fic is a bit different than what I’ve done in the past. Let me know if you like longer fics like this, or if you prefer the shorter and more fluffier ones. I love your feedback! I really hope you guys like this, it felt a bit out of my comfort zone.

Word count : 3884

Warnings : Smut? Kind of? a little? I didn't mean to write smut but I think I accidentally may have...

Requested : No

Summary : After becoming good friends on set, Keanu and Y/N end up in bed together, leaving Y/N scared for which way their relationship may turn when Keanu wakes.

Perhaps your ambitiousness was the quality that got the best of you. Being assertive and head strong were normally auctioned off as rather desirable qualities. Maybe things would be different if you’d slowed down, looked at things from a more sedate, deliberate standpoint. Perhaps, your mother was right on that overcast afternoon back home, the gray undertones of the silver kissed sky promised a good rain. She reluctantly handed you your last bag, the fine lines and wrinkles more prominent in recent times around her shuttered eyes. She had her doubts over your instantaneous move to LA, it killed her to even dream you may have your ambitions broken.

Perhaps, if you slowed down, thought things through, cautiously evaluated the consequences, you would have saved yourself the sorrow. Perhaps you wouldn’t be sitting on the edge of the bed, your head in your hands, your chest and lower half covered with nothing but a faint white bed sheet, quietly weeping melancholy tears. The bitter, crisp air engulfing the room pricked at your nude shoulders. It felt almost glacial, or perhaps that was the feeling flooding your uncertain body. You glanced wearily over your shoulder, and saw Keanu still sleeping, his bare chest rising and falling in harmony with his breathing. His raven locks rest upon his face, a few strands cascading over his eyelids, slightly rising and falling each time he breathed out his nose. He looked at peace, for now at least. But perhaps, he would awake soon. And perhaps, peace would be replaced with hesitance. Perhaps. That darn perhaps. Anxiety inducing, dreadful, appalling perhaps. 

Your move to LA had been tough at first and really pushed you to your limits, but you weren’t complaining. Constant determination and effort had landed you a career opportunity of working on the set of John Wick Chapter 2. Yourself and a few other people around your age had earned jobs as assistant directors. It sounded like a big role, a job demanding leadership, however, you thought otherwise most of the time. It almost felt as an internship. The experience would open numerous doors for you however, and it was a hands on way of discovering movie making technique and process. The job consisted of arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. Your strong work ethic and natural niche for determination had lead many of the other AD’s to not be so fond of you. You didn’t mind though, Hollywood was competitive and you were here to make a mark.

When you weren’t working on set, you’d often be left alone. You were rather shy and hadn’t made any friends on set yet. You enjoyed your own company, rather fond of indulging in your thoughts, taking a mental break from the demanding reality of the world. At lunch breaks, the cast and crew working on principal photography would gather in the designated rest area, where people would branch off into groups, socializing and enjoying their lunches together. You however, sat alone at whatever table wasn’t occupied. Sometimes you would eat quietly all alone, or sometimes you would set your mind adrift in a book while eating. It all depended on the day and your mood.

Keanu had been noticing you since the first day. He would watch the way you poured your heart and soul into your work. He admired that, he didn’t see it from any of the other ADs. He would see you sitting alone at lunch every day, often walking by you to sit with the people he knew and was familiar with. He would watch the way you would get so invested in your novel, the way you would tuck your long strands of hair that framed your face behind your ears, your brows furrowing. He was quite intrigued by you, almost fascinated. He was drawn to you in an unexplainable way, as if his soul had somehow read yours and wanted a taste of the serenity your aura gave off. After a week of production, he had finally mustered up the courage to brush past your table, finally approaching you one on one for the first time.

       “Remembrance of Things Past, I’m quite fond of that novel myself.” His voice caught you off guard. You’d known exactly who’s voice it was before even looking up, it just surprised you it was filling your ears so close, directed at no one but you.

You glanced up and saw him smiling down, his tray full of food in his large hands, still in his costume from filming. He had a few cuts and gashes on his forehead and cheek from makeup. Had this not been a movie set, it would have been quite concerning.

       “Yeah, it’s a good read. I’m trying to get through them all actually, although its proving to be quite the task.” You chuckled, your soft voice had a very calming effect on him. It was almost as a sweet break from the chaotic environment surrounding.

       “It took me a while, but I got through them. Worth it, trust me.” He smiled back. “Is this seat taken?” he gestured with his free hand to the seat in front of you.

       “No no, it’s not!” you replied quickly, almost not believing the words he had just asked.

       “May I?” he asked politely. “Of course, my pleasure.” You said with just as much politeness, almost being formal. You weren’t sure how to act, Keanu Reeves, the star of the movie had asked to join you for lunch.

      “Y/N, right? I’m Keanu. Nice to meet you.” he held his hand out for you to shake. “I must say, I admire the work you do here on set, we’re really in good hands.” He spoke as you shook hands, smiling at each other, relaxing eventually in each others presence. You noticed the other AD’s and many other crew members turn their heads your way, just as surprised, almost jealous that Keanu had sat with you alone. You chatted and got to know each other a little better that day before returning to set. You were just as surprized when the next day, Keanu ended up asking to sit with you once again. Your company was so refreshing to him, like a breath of fresh air after being inside walls too long.

Keanu and yourself ended up becoming quite good friends from that day forward. You would sit together every single day at lunch breaks, and often chat or hang out on down time between takes. You managed to make each other laugh a whole awful lot. When the set was packed up for the day, Keanu would help you with your stuff, walking you back to your car to make sure you were safe. He would ask you if you needed a ride every time, even though he knew you had transportation home. It was a sweet gesture, it showed you his caring and compassionate side. He was very gentle with you, a complete contrast to the character he was playing on set. He would let you go with a quick hug, and a “get home safe, Y/N.” before waving goodbye and walking back to his car. You would be lying if you said you didn’t feel a slight flutter in your chest every time he hugged you goodnight, sending you off. But it was best you keep those thoughts at bay, Keanu was just such a gentle, kind, loving personality. It was practically impossible to not feel warmth after just a glance his way.

On Keanu’s walks back to his motorcycle after dropping you off to your car, he would shove his hands in his pockets, reminiscing back on the day’s work. He often found you at the center of his thoughts, the moments you’d share together being a prominent, radiating light out of the sea of everything else. He felt for the first time in a while that he had someone to confide in, someone to relieve the stress of life with. He felt something there. He felt something for sure.

On a Friday afternoon, you and Keanu sat at your regular table as always, chatting away, laughing over Keanu’s slip up during one of his action sequences earlier that day.  The rest of the crew didn’t find it so amusing, but you and Keanu were left gasping for air, giggling away tremendously thereafter. It was almost like you had a mental connection that just made you sync when you were together. To you, it was nice to have a friend. A real, true friend. Your first and only friend in LA actually. He had made the journey so much more bearable, and you couldn’t be more thankful. You knew internally you were longing for something more with him, but you constantly pushed the thoughts away, knowing the bond was too special to you to have anything determine otherwise.

Keanu shoved his spoon into your cup of yogurt, taking a bite into his mouth. You two often shared food. It almost made you feel…closer.

      “Keanu you know that’s my favourite! Leave me some.” You chuckled, playfully shoving his hand away. Keanu had suggested he take you on a bike ride after pack up that night, the lovely California weather, complied with the smell of fresh orange fields and the lavender sunsets were a magical sight he wanted you to experience. You had agreed, it was the weekend and a bike ride sounded like a good way to replenish.

That evening after pack up, Keanu held his arm out for you to take as usual, only this time, he’d be leading you to his bike, taking you with him. He’d dreamt of the scenario often, wishing he could whirl you away to experience the pure bliss of the wind in your hair, and the unexplainable calmness, complete ecstasy a bike ride brought him. He knew how stressful working on set had been for you, and he wanted to help relieve you of some tension.

Sitting behind Keanu with your arms wrapped securely around his waist felt like true security. You eventually found yourself resting your head on his back, your cheek brushed up against his muscles, your eyes closed, just relishing in the moment. He was radiating warm heat, it felt nice to be so close to him, so in touch. It almost left you wanting more.

Keanu felt very protective of you in that moment, as if a fragile doll rest upon him that he had to defend at all costs. He hadn’t felt that way in a long time. Eventually, he stopped the bike at his favourite spot, a cliff overlooking the beauteous California waters. He often came there to be alone, to take time to himself, to feel grounded. It was special to him to share it with someone else, almost as if he were taking a very vulnerable part of himself and handing it into your hands. He helped you off the bike, holding his hand out for you to take as he walked you to the edge where you could see the divine scenery.

      “Isn’t it breathtaking?” He smiled at you, before glancing down at your hand in his. It was a nice fit, he thought to himself.

      “It’s gorgeous. Thank you for showing me, Keanu.” You replied as you looked off into the distance, smiling to yourself. The sunset had cast a vibrant, golden hue on your face that left it sparkling in all the right places. Keanu couldn’t help but grin as he watched you. You both stood there for a few moments, sulking in a comfortable silence, just over looking the California horizon. A few moments later, you realized your hand was still tucked away tightly in Keanu’s grip. You looked down, and then up at his face. His eyes met yours, glowing. Keanu slightly inched you closer, and without thought, you moved into his touch, resting your head on his arm. You felt real at ease in that moment, a free wave of tranquility flowing through your veins engulfing your body in a tight embrace. Keanu moved his arm around you, pulling you closer, watching the distance. This is what it felt like to have certainty.

You glanced up at Keanu, so intoxicated by the view and his zen like presence. He looked down at you, and your eyes instantly locked. You both smiled, getting lost in each other. His eyes reminded you of two drops of coffee, with clouds of steamed milk surrounding. They gazed into yours, as if he was reading a map to a town he had already roamed in its entirety, as if in that moment, your collective energies gravitated together and ignited a whole universe, and you were the only ones in it. The only ones with a key. You both inched closer, and closer, his head moving down, your moving up to meet him hallway,

And then it happened. Your lips grazed against each other’s, and locked. You shifted, and put a hand on his shoulder, your other hand on his bicep. He wrapped one of his arms around your waist, managing to pull you in even closer, while his other hand caressed the back of your head, getting lost in your locks.

The kiss was sweet, passionate, and eventually became demanding. You moved both your arms around his neck, lightly ruffling his hair while indulging in his candied lips. Keanu eventually broke the kiss, pulling back only to rest his forehead against yours, as he looked you in the eyes once again, except now they were filled with need, with lust, with desire.

      “Would you wanna go back to my place? Maybe?” he breathed.

      “Yeah, I would like that.” You grinned, eyes glancing at his lips.

And with that, he took your hand and lead you back to his bike, helping you on, and zooming away, frantically racing home with your body close to his once again. He felt butterflies in his stomach anticipating what was to come next.

As you reached Keanu’s home, you held his arm as he lead you in. Instantly, as the door locked and he turned the lights on, your eyes met once again. You were stood about a foot apart, your arms at your sides. You both smiled, it felt almost as this was something you had both wanted for a while, something you never knew you were craving. After a moment or so, you inched forward, unable to resist any longer. He followed, attaching your bodies once again with a kiss. He bit at your bottom lip, asking for entrance, which you cheerfully allowed. And with that, he suddenly picked you up, carrying you up to his bedroom where you both would spend the night, showing your admiration for each other in the closest, most vulnerable, most intimate way you could.

Keanu laid you down on his bed lightly, making sure you were comfortable. The dimly lit room was illuminating your skin perfectly, he thought you looked like an angel sent down from the heavens. He climbed on top of you gently, making sure to position his weight on either side of you so he wouldn’t crush you. You wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him down, missing his lips on yours. His hands connected to your waist, softly caressing your love handles, running his hands over them smoothly.

Your lips collided again, and Keanu toyed with the hem of your blouse.

      “May I?” his raspy voice spoke in a whisper, tugging on the bottom of your blouse, asking permission to remove it. It was an action that set your heart a flip. He was such a gentleman, no matter the situation. You had made it quite clear you wanted him as much as he wanted you, yet he still made sure you were definitely on the right page. He respected your boundaries, and that may have just made you want him even more.

      “Yeah” you smiled, gently grabbing his hand and helping him move the blouse over your breasts and off your body. He wasted no time in taking his own shirt off, and then moving his hands underneath your resting figure to undo the clasp of your bra. He delicately took it off your shoulders, exposing your bare chest to him. He admired you for a second, before connecting his lips to your neck, kissing each and every inch of the skin. He his wet kisses trailed down your shoulder, over the top of your breasts, dipping between your cleavage and disappearing down your stomach. He made sure he showed you just how grateful he was for you in that moment, how in awe he was with your mind, your body and your soul in that moment. You tangled your hands in his hair, pulling him back up.

Within the next few moments, his pants were off as were yours, leaving you both skin to skin with each other, no barrier in between. Keanu reached over to his nightstand pulling out protection, and slipped it on himself in a swift motion.

      “Is this okay, Y/N?” he asked, lined up and ready to show you just how much he wanted you, his voice low, showing concern. He didn’t want to do anything you weren’t comfortable with; he wouldn’t dare want to hurt you in the slightest way.

You nodded frantically, ready to feel him in the most intimate, cherished way possible.

And with that, he slipped himself in, lips connecting to your neck leaving love bites. He moved passionately, his hand lacing in yours, your hands on his shoulders, gripping them tight. A few moans escaped your lust filled lips, feeling all of him.

The night was amorous, filled with heartfelt admiration and praise for each other. You both gave each other a part of yourselves that night. A part that perhaps, you would never get back.

It was now morning, and there you were, on the edge of the bed, anxiety ridden, with the evidence of last night sprawled over the floor in forms of your clothing. You had woken up with Keanu’s arm secured around you, snoozing away.

It was a confusing feeling, but you couldn’t quite shake the feeling that you may have made a mistake. Keanu was, after all, your co worker. It was a professional setting you worked in together. But he was also your closest friend here, in this town of a billion lights, but an unexplained solitude. Perhaps last night was just a moment of passion for him, a spur of the moment where he needed you, but perhaps, that was all it was. You couldn’t possibly be dreaming of a future with him, could you? He was a star, he had it all. People like him probably do this all the time when they’re lonely and need someone. Your pessimistic train of thought had got the best of you.

Keanu’s eyes opened, and he felt a dip on the edge of the bed. He instantly smiled to find you still on his bed, wrapped in nothing but his bed sheets, showing an indication of the love you shared the night prior. He reached forward and touched your arm.

      “Hey you…” He smiled. You didn’t reply, nor turn around.

Keanu moved towards you, approaching you from behind, and attached his hands to your waist. He began to leave soft kisses along your nude, exposed shoulder, running his hands up and down your sides, the same love evident in his gestures. That was when he heard you sniff.

      “Woah Y/N, are you okay sweetheart?” he whispered, slightly taken back, immediately moving himself away. “I’m so sorry Y/N, I shouldn’t have, I just thought…. I don’t know.” He spoke moving away, running a hand through his hair, thinking he had made you uncomfortable.

Your tears got heavier at that point. You felt like a fool. You weren’t even sure why you were crying, perhaps you were just scared that this was all only temporary. You felt you had tasted paradise last night, and to have that ripped away from you would have been sheer torment.

      “I’m sorry Y/N. Y/N? Is something wrong? Did I do something? I apologize if I did something wrong, I just thought we…you know…” he trailed off, still extremely concerned, his eyes filled with worry that he had been the cause for your tears. He gave you space, hoping not to further upset you.

      “Y/N can I…. can I touch you?” He asked cautiously.

You nodded in return, you wanted to feel him close. Perhaps it would be the remedy to calm you down.

He scooted over closer, and wrapped his arms around you, kissing the top of your head repeatedly, whispering soothing dialogues in your ears.

      “You’ll be okay honey; you’ll be just fine. I’m right here. Talk to me, Y/N.” he whispered. You held onto him tighter, scared to open your mouth. You weren’t even sure what to say. What even was there to be said?

      “Keanu...” you started finally, with your shaky voice.

He looked you in the eyes, full of compassion, encouraging you to go on as he took your hand in his, rubbing it with his thumb.

      “Last night…we uh…it was special. It was really special. I just…” your eyes glanced around the room, unsure of the words to say next. You didn’t want to say more, perhaps this was your defence mechanism. To say it first, before he did. To reject. Before he did.

      “What about it, Y/N?” Keanu quietly questioned, suddenly feeling insecure. Had he not shown you properly what you meant to him? Had he not expressed his love to the best of its ability?

      “Last night was really special to me too, Y/N.” He glanced down at your intertwined hands.

      “Really?” you questioned, looking up at him.

      “Yeah… I felt something, I’ve always felt something here. I feel like there’s something that pulls me to you. I’m really not too good at the whole confessions thing but I uh…I can’t help but feel like this…feels right. Gosh I don’t even know if I’m making sense I just...” he trailed off, before you interrupted.

      “I uh, I agree. I feel something too; I see something in you that I admire. Your eyes connected finally, both feeling the confidence to stop staring away from each other.

      “If you’ll have me, I’m willing to try. You’re special, Y/N. I don’t want to lose that.” Keanu confessed.

You rest your head against his bare chest, pulling the sheet covering your figure higher up. He wrapped his arms around you again, resting his head on top of yours for the second time that morning. You traced the veins on his arms, admiring his figure and everything about him. His cologne from the night before still lingered on his porcelain skin. It felt nice to be close to him again.

      “I’m sorry, where are my manners.” He chuckled. “I’ll let you get dressed Y/N. Perhaps I can make us breakfast, if you’ll spend the morning with me, love?” he smiled down into your hair, breathing in your shampoo.

      “Perhaps.” You smiled up at him, grasping onto his bicep tighter. “Perhaps, I’d like that a lot.”

[professional-benaddict]

How about Mtf candy whore! peter laying on a table and mafiaboss!tony threatening one of his men that he can either take 5 shots to each leg or eat his little peter out nice and good and he’ll consider letting him live

bRUHHHH IM SCREAMING

tHis has been in my inbox forever bc feel like I couldn't do this brilliant idea any justice  sksksk now I am more or less happy with it but it got quite long sorry sorry ssksks

Mafiaboss!Tony, 18+ ftm Peter, daddy kink, oral sex, guns, threats and use of violence, blood

——————

The meeting room was deathly silent. It was like the air was being sucked out, causing the otherwise cool room to run hot and everyone present flushed with the heat. However, no one dared to move an inch to loosen their shirt collar. Tony, calm and collected, was sat at the head of the table, like always, studying the five men in front of him. All of them were under his command, either by oath, pay check or a promise that their little daughter of 6 years old would return home from school to her mother safely. Today, only one of them was taking the worst of the heat where he stood a step closer to the boss than the four others. The man in question was Mr Fawler, a bulky but fit man like the rest. However, unlike the rest, Mr Fawler had failed to do his job, twice. 

Usually, Tony would leave this task to his right hand, Stephen, but he was on the other side of the country representing Tony’s interests. So, the boss had to deal with Mr Fawler himself, which he found incredibly tedious considering he had no family that could be used against him. So originally, Tony had planned on eliminating the man right away, but a little devil on his shoulder had whispered a brilliant suggestion into his ear at the beginning of the meeting, which he had just presented to Mr Fawler. 

”You want me to do what?” Mr Fawler stuttered out, growing deathly pale where he stood, despite the clammy atmosphere.

”I said, take five shots to each leg or eat my boy out till he comes. Are you death now too? How did you even pass the screening test? You are fucking useless. So, how’s it gonna be? Don’t make me repeat myself or I am really gonna fucking lose it.” 

“Daddy, please, don’t be mad.” Peter whined where he was sat on the edge of the table, long skinny legs dangling back and forth. In his mouth he had a lollipop, which he sucked on teasingly, popping his mouth and smacking his glossy lips noisily. The boy was not dressed in much, just a black silk robe with an incredibly detailed green snake embroidered at the back. The silky material stopped mid thigh and was tied around his waist lazily, leaving a lot of creamy skin exposed. The robe was a souvenir that Tony had brought from China, thinking the boy would look stunning it in. Born in the year of the snake, Peter adored the gift and wore it most often out of all his silk robes that Tony had got him. Tony’s men were not allowed to gawk at his boy, no matter what he was dressed in or what he was doing, but that was a tough task when Peter looked as delicious as he did where he sat in his robe, sucking on candy with a little grin on his face. 

“Forgive me, honey bear, didn’t mean to startle you.” Tony spoke softly, placing a rough hand on the boy’s much softer thigh before turning his attention back to Mr Fawler. The man gulped loudly before answering. 

“I’ll take the second option.” 

“Excellent!” Tony cheered, clapping his hands together and Mr Fawler flinched. It looked like he was ready to pass out. “Pete, my sweet, if you don’t mind.” The boss said sweetly to his boy who nodded eagerly in response. 

With graceful fingers, Peter untied his silk robe, letting it slip down from his bony shoulders and pool around him on the table. Spreading his skinny and creamy thighs, Peter presented his boy-cunt to everyone present in the room. He was already glistening with wetness, his labia pink and smooth, just the way Tony wanted him. Taking the lollipop out of his mouth, Peter brought the candy to his cunt, swirling it around his clit with a soft moan. Everyone watched transfixed as the boy toyed with himself and with a louder moan, Peter pushed the lollipop into his cunt. 

“Baby-“ Tony was about to protest, but the boy pulled the candy out of himself and shoved it into Tony’s open mouth, silencing him in the process. Everyone was stunned, as literally no one could get away with putting the boss in such a spot. Or nearly everyone, as Peter wore a smirk on his face, knowing he was the only one who could. 

“Yes, Daddy?” The boy asked coyly. The boss chuckled darkly, grasping the little plastic stick in his mouth with his thumb and pointy finger. He swirled the round candy in his mouth, sucking off the taste of his boy’s cunt before removing the candy from his mouth. 

“Nothing, baby.” The boss said huskily, before glaring at Mr Fawler, who had failed at his job for the third time. If it weren’t for Peter, Tony would have shot him by now. “Get on it with it, for God’s sake! My boy has to get himself off here because you are so useless.” 

Snapping into action at the boss’ tone, Mr Fawler got down on his knees in front of Peter. He placed his hands on each of the boy’s thighs before beginning to place kisses around his inner thighs, however Peter was not delighted by that as his hands were cold and the boy gave his Daddy a frown. 

“You’re the boss, baby.” Tony assured and retrieved his gun from the strap under his suit jacket, cocking it before lowering it to rest on his thigh. “If he eats you out and makes you cum as well as I can, then I’ll let him live, okay? But if he isn’t good to you, sweetness, then just say the word and Daddy will take care of it, okay?” 

Peter smiled sweetly at that, leaning back on the palms of his hands to give Mr Fawler full access to his cunt. On the contrary, Mr Fawler visibly tensed at what Tony said, even though he technically wasn’t talking to him. Still, it was about him and hesitantly he moved to lick long strides up the boy’s cunt to warm him up. 

“No one makes me feel as good as you, Daddy.” Peter corrected with a giggle and batted his lashes like the little devil he was, barely paying any attention to the man between his legs. He wasn’t very good anyway, Peter could tell that already, but he liked the game they were playing. 

“I know, baby.” 

If Mr Fawler was eating out like it was his last day, which it really was, then he didn’t care for his life as much as his pleas suggested. The man was clumsy with his tongue and seemed to know nothing about how to pleasure someone with a cunt, licking here and there randomly and completely missing out on the real deal, which was Peter’s clit. Now and then, Mr Fawler would brush against Peter’s sensitive bud, getting a satisfied moan out of the boy, but he had no rhythm in his technique and the boy huffed in disappointment whenever the man trailed back to his clumsy ways. Tony caught onto this quickly, knowing what noises his boy was capable of making when he truly felt good. Peter’s silence while Mr Fawler was in between his thighs just made him even more convinced of the guard’s incompetence. 

Suddenly, Peter yelped and bent forwards, shoving Mr Fawler away from himself in the process. Tony was up in a flash, cocked gun pointed at the soon to be retired guard who was now on the floor, hands in the air and a pleading look on his face. 

“Please, boss! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” The man babbled, his voice shaky and thick like he was going to cry very soon. Tony scoffed at him, gun still pointed at him with a steady hand and the other wrapping around his boy’s waist protectively. 

“He used his teeth.” Peter pouted, clinging onto Tony like a koala. “I don’t like him, Daddy.” He finally said, growing tired of this game and just wanted his Daddy’s skilled lips and tongue on his wet cunt already. 

“I did not! It was an accident, I swear! Give me another chance, please, boss? I swear, I’ll do whatever-“ Mr Fawler cut his rambling of nonsense short when he saw the ice cold look in the boss´ eyes. It was one of pure rage, one that dared the other to talk or do anything. It was a look that few lived long enough to tell others about. 

“You heard my boy, he’s the boss.” Tony said simply, using his free hand to turn Peter’s head and cover his eyes. With his other hand, he moved his pointy finger to the trigger and pulled it. The concrete room echoed with the sharp sound of the firing gun and was followed by the soft thud of Mr Fawler’s body hitting the floor. Tony nor any of the four remaining guards flinched, but Peter did and clung onto his Daddy, keeping his eyes tightly shut even with his Daddy’s large hand covering his eyes. 

Peter had seen someone get shot, once, and he had gotten really upset, whining to Tony that he never ever wanted to see something like that again. The infamously cruel and ruthless boss had apologised hastily, barking at his men to get the corpse out of their sight. Now, Tony gave the same order. 

“Get him out of here.” Tony said with a bored tone, gesturing at the corpse on the floor with his gun lazily. He didn’t let go of Peter until the four guards had dragged the corpse out of the room, closing the room behind them and leaving the boss alone with his boy. 

“Ew.” Peter giggled at the wide trail of blood on the floor, one that started by the pool of crimson by the table, circled around the table and lead to the doorway where it stopped. “He really wasn’t good.” 

“You could have stopped him anytime, baby. I was right here.” Tony assured, his hand now stroking the boy’s cheek lovingly. 

“I know, but I wanted to play, it was fun. He got so scared! I thought he was gonna shit his pants.” 

“I think he did, baby. But now, let’s not worry about that anymore, yeah?” Tony suggested, putting his gun on the table to get a fresh lollipop from his breast pocket and offered it to the boy. He had dropped the one Peter gave him when he had jumped up from his seat to threaten Mr Fawler when he was foolish enough to use his teeth. Peter was delighted and unwrapped the candy quickly, putting it in his mouth and grinning. 

Swirling the candy in his mouth, Peter leaned back on the table again, spreading his thighs to show his boy-cunt just like before. Now however, he knew he was gonna have a good time when Tony licked his lips and lowered his mouth to his cunt with a wolfish grin. 

“My, my, what teeth you have.” Peter giggled with the lollipop in his mouth before squealing as his Daddy began eating him out just like he deserved to be.

[toastscraps]

The Way Home

Written for the discord weekly prompt “Sky”, based on @linkeduniverse. Characters owned by Nintendo and given breath by @jojo56830 ; I just pretend they’re mine.

Bonuses: 

- 3k + words - Yes - > 7.4

- NPC mayhem - Yes

- Short of Prayers - Yes, as far as I can tell

- Head in the clouds - Oh, you betcha

Warnings: mentioned character death, blood, wounds, angst, death from a child’s perspective

Other Warnings: backstory, very little editing, may be OOC, a child’s perspective, which may be inaccurate, not much research, author’s lazy writing and personal headcannons

Summary: Hyrule gets in trouble and Sky tries to get home 

               One instant they were in Wild’s Hyrule, marching through an endless field and laughing as Wind regaled them with tales from his pirate days. The next, they were in another world altogether, a forest by the looks of it. Immediately the talking suffocated into an eerie quiet.

               Legend chuckled nervously, breaking the silence. “You’d think, after all the times this has happened, that we’d be used to this by now.”

               “Whose Hyrule is this?” Time asked. No one seemed to know. It didn’t look familiar to Sky, but then again, he’d hardly explored his world.

               “It-it could be mine,” Sky offered hesitantly. Everyone turned to look at him, and he felt his face heat. “I mean, Zelda and I haven’t explored the whole Surface yet. This could be one of those places.”

               “In that case, it could be mine, too.” Wind’s hands went to the charm at his chest. “Tetra and I are still setting up our new Hyrule. But this doesn’t seem like it belongs on the new continent.”

               “Well, be on your guards. We don’t know exactly where we are; ignorance can be dangerous.”

               They tensed, preparing to be jumped by monsters. They continued to walk ‘till they came to a clearing. All was calm. Birds flew from tree to tree, singing happily to one another. A small stream with fresh, clean water burbled nearby. If there was anything malicious present, nature didn’t sense it.

               Time was the first to lower his sword. “The forest is quiet. And the animals seem happy.... I don’t think there’s anything here.”

               Shock was the first thing Sky felt. It seemed like they were constantly travelling, constantly fighting. There was always danger. But Time wasn’t mistaken. For now, at least, there were no keese or octoroks or even chuchus around. How was it so quiet?

               Warriors was the next to drop his guard. “I vote we stay here for the night. All opposed?”

               Legend sputtered at his friend and threw his hands in the air. “You can’t just vote on that! It’s not even noon yet!”

               To be honest, Sky could use a break. He began to calm as well and looked around. Hyrule had already put his weapon away and was peering at a bug on the ground. Wind was examining his surroundings with wide eyes, and Sky wondered how many forests he had been in; obviously not too many if the novelty of it hadn’t worn off yet. Of course, Sky wasn’t one to talk. He still felt a little claustrophobic surrounded by this much vegetation.

               Four relaxed, too, replacing the bow he’d taken out. He eyed Time in an attempt to gauge his reaction. “I wouldn’t mind taking a day to get my thoughts together.”

               “We need more supplies for food and potions,” Wild admitted. “It would be nice to just take the time to stock up.”

               “I – could use a break, too,” Legend muttered. Everyone turned to look at him and his face soured. “What? I’m not always adventuring. Or fighting. If we don’t have any pressing battles at the moment, why not?”

               Sky hated to pressure Time into anything, but, “If this is my land, it would be nice to try to map it out a bit, n’… get used to it.”

               Time was frowning. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to take a day off to rest and catch up.” Everyone cheered, but he wasn’t done, “But if you’re going somewhere, don’t go alone. At least pair off.”

               “I’ll go with Wild,” Twilight offered. “Someone has to keep him in line.”

               “I’m not that bad,” Wild muttered, but he gestured to Twilight and they went out into the forest to gather food and supplies.

               Wind had laid his things out and was already fidgeting. “I can teach you some fighting techniques, if you’re bored.” Warriors slung his arm over Wind’s shoulders. “I know moves you’ve probably never dreamt of.”

               Wind ducked under Warrors’s arm and danced away. “Hah! You wish! I have a few tricks that will make you look like a fumbling newbie!”

               “Oh ho ho! It’s on!” As they walked to the far side of the small park, Sky turned to Hyrule.

               “I guess it’s just you and me, huh?”

               “Huh?” Hyrule seemed to snap out of his thoughts as Sky addressed him. A butterfly flew off of his finger and into the sky. The younger hero looked over to where Time, Legend, and Four were setting up camp and talking lightly. “Oh. Yeah.”

               “Here,” Sky offered. “I’ll show you how to make a map… that is, if you want me to.”

               Hyrule glanced at the pack Sky was slinging from his shoulders, and then over to where Twilight and Wild had disappeared a half a minute before. He most likely wished he was doing something a little more fun than cartography. Oh well. Sky was feeling a little petty, and this was (maybe) his world. If the teen didn’t want to come, he could always find someone else. “…Sure.”

               “Alright.” Sky took out a compass and looked down at its reading.  He took out the magic chronometer Zelda had given him for his birthday and began to do the calculations. “It’s noon right now, so…” He frowned. They were quite a ways away from the approximate position of Skyloft; about ten degrees off in longitude, in fact. That was nearly a month’s journey.

               “C’mon, Sky! What are you doing? Let’s get going!”

               “Alright,” he muttered, and marked their position on the map. They began to head south.

               The air in the shade of the trees was nice and cool, a gentle breeze occasionally rustling through the tops. Birds called to one another, and furry rodents jumped from one branch to another, chittering as they seemed to fly. It was actually quite peaceful. Sky felt himself begin to relax and just enjoy the day. Hyrule was humming some tune or another beside him, looking around at the old trees and moss-covered boulders.

               “There’s probably some source of water around here,” Hyrule said suddenly from beside him, startling Sky. “See all the moss?” Sure enough, it had gradually begun to get greener and greener as they’d travelled. The trees suddenly thinned, and they came upon a large pile of boulders, as if some giant, ancient hand had gathered them up like marbles and piled them in the middle of the clearing. These had less moss, as they were heated by the sun, but lichens freckled their surface and sickly saplings sprouted from them here and there in an attempt to grow.

               “I want to get a bearing from there,” Sky said, nearly under his breath. Hyrule loomed over him in interest as he knelt to grab his instruments. They were hand carved and worn from years of use, marks carefully, accurately placed to optimize precision.

               “Hey, what are those?”

               “These are the tools of the trade,” Sky replied. “These are what you use to get home.”

                 “I’m sorry, Link, but they’re not coming home.” The words made no sense to Sky. How could they?

               “When are they coming home, then?” he asked again. He didn’t understand.

               “They are – Link, they’re gone.”

               “Where did they go?” His four year old mind couldn’t comprehend what was happening. He’d been awakened early that morning by Pipit’s mom, but Pipit hadn’t come along to play. His was still asleep in the little house next door. A big man with bushy eyebrows had arrived with Mallara, a breeze of wind blowing through the house at their entrance. It had startled Sky awake. He’d thought it was his parents returning, but these weren’t his parents.

               “They…. They went below the clouds, Link.”

               “But… they’re coming back, right?”

               Mallara and the man exchanged glances. Why were they looking at each other like that?

               “Link, they can’t come back. They… they’re lost to us, now.” The man’s thick eyebrows drew together in concern.

               “No, Momma said they’d be back. The sun’s not up yet…”

               Pipit’s mom slowly knelt down and grabbed Sky by the shoulders. Her blue eyes shone wetly. His own were beginning to sting, for some reason. “Oh, Baby, they… they can’t. They’re gone, honey. They’re below the clouds. No one comes back from there.”

               Sky was beginning to panic. What was going on? Why couldn’t they come home? “No!” he wailed and jerked himself out of her hands. “I want my mommy and daddy! Where are they!?” The sky was beginning to lighten, villagers were opening their doors and birds were soaring through the heavens. Someone a couple of plots down laughed. “They’re coming home!”

               “No Link, they’re not.”

               In his panic, Sky bolted. The man let out an exclamation of surprise as he ran through their little yard and out into the common roadway. His parents were coming back!

               He made it all the way to the edge of the island. “Mommy! Daddy!” he called out desperately, but no one answered. A cold wind blew at him from below and he shut his eyes and put up an arm in front of his face. Hot, wet tears were beginning to flow down his cheeks to drip off his chin. “Daddy! Mommy! Please…” He fell to his knees and covered his eyes. There was a loud sound as air was displaced, and he stumbled back, startled, as his parents’ two Loftwings landed in front of him. Ember, his mother’s golden-brown bird, gently nudged him with her beak, pushing him back further from the edge.

               “Where is she,” he whispered, hugging her nose. The large bird stayed quiet and still. His father’s mount, a grey-blue male called “Dusk,” came up carefully behind and hooked his neck around his shoulders. Sky began to sob, the birds calmly absorbing his tears and shudders. He was only partially aware as footsteps approached him from behind and stopped.

               After a time, Dusk released his hold and Ember gently prodded him to his feet and pushed him to the adults. Once Mallara’s arms were securely about his shoulders, the bird backed up to join Dusk at the edge. They took off into the skies, their forms disappearing into the distance. Sky was numb as he was led toward Pipit’s house, the big man having disappeared at some point.

               Pipit was up when they got there. “Mamma? Where’d you go? Oh, hi Link! What’s wrong?”

               Sky shook his head. His parents were lost. They weren’t coming home.

               “Pipit, Link’s going to be staying with us for a couple of days,” she said gently. “Why don’t you go get a place ready by your bed for him?”

               “Okay! Link, you wanna come help me set up?”

               Sky could only nod, words now stuck in his throat. Pipit grabbed his hand and led him to his little corner. It was neat and tidy, clothes carefully folded under the bed, straight and clean. The window at the front of the house was open, a fresh breeze blowing through.

               “Sorry my bed isn’t made,” Pipit prattled on excitedly, “But look! I just got a new bed set!” He ducked beneath his bed and pulled out a matching blanket, comforter, and pillow. “You can use it if you want!” They were embroidered with Loftwings and clouds. But Link didn’t want the new blankets, even if they did look soft and comfortable. He wanted his own.

               “This is gonna be fun!” Pipit exclaimed as he laid them out on the floor. “We can stay up and tell each other stories, and we can go outside and watch the knights fly!”

               Sky didn’t want to stay at Pipit’s. He wanted to go home and snuggle under the covers and wait for his mother and father to wake him up.

               “And then, we can use this map my cousin made to find lost treasure!” Pipit shoved a crude drawing done in crayon toward Sky’s face. “See? X marks the spot!” He pointed to a red mark near the large waterfall.

               Sky straightened, his tears disappearing.

               Pipit pumped his fist. “I knew you’d like treasure hunting!” Sky didn’t care about any treasures, though. His parents were lost. But what if it was because they didn’t have a map? Maybe they could come back if they knew where he was. Ember and Dusk had probably gone searching for them, that was why they flew away! They would need a map to get back!

               Sky ignored Pipit’s surprised yell as he ran toward the kitchen area. Pipit’s mom had all sorts of clutter just lying around the house, and one of those things was a stack of paper. Sky grabbed a sheet off the top and a piece of charcoal from the box beside it. He frantically set the paper down and began to draw on it. First he drew a picture of his house, with the path leading down to the road. He drew Pipit’s house next door, and then the neighbor’s house on the other side. He drew a line for the edge of Skyloft, and then snatched a red crayon that was resting among the stack of charcoal, which he used to mark his house with an X. He was aware of Pipit behind him, standing awkwardly as he drew.

               “Link, what are you – ” Sky didn’t give him a chance to finish, jumping up and running with his drawing toward the open window where the breeze blew out. It sucked the page from his fingers and the map went flying into the air, the wind carrying it out to the open sea of clouds. Pipit stood awkwardly behind him. Sky watched as it became a tiny speck and disappeared. “What did you do that for?”

               Sky didn’t answer, looking out into the blue expanse. His mom and dad would come home. They just needed a map.

                  After that first map, Sky drew hundreds of them. Nearly every day he would take a piece of paper, a bit of charcoal, and he would sketch out directions to his house. About a week after his parents were lost, the knights came in to his house and cleared their things out. He watched silently as furniture and clothes were taken out and put into storage for him to inherit when he got older. He got his blankets and pillow back, but only because he was moving to the Academy. Pipit’s mom couldn’t keep him; she hardly made enough money as it was.

               Gaepora, the man with the big eyebrows, showed him his room in the bottom level of the Academy. It was large and fairly spacious, with its own furniture and closet. The bed was much too large, and his little blankets didn’t even touch the edges. The first night there, he panicked. It was too big; everything was too big. It wasn’t right. There should be two more bodies in the room with him. He wanted his mother and father. He bundled his pillow and blanket under his arm and practically ran out of the building. It was night, and the air was fresh and cool.

               Sky gasped as he stumbled out onto the lawn, trying to catch his breath, and looked up at the stars. They shone out, a necklace of diamonds and pearls befitting the goddesses. The moon had risen; its face half full but bright. Sky laid out his blanket and placed his pillow at the top. He shivered as the temperature dropped and dew began to form on the grass around him, but he refused to go back in and instead watched as the lights of nature’s ceiling danced toward the west.

               He woke up the next morning in the academy room. Someone had tucked him into his bed and covered him with extra blankets. But he was alone. No one was there to greet him or to run their fingers through his hair and tell him it was alright. He felt tears fill his eyes and ducked his face into his pillow as he sobbed. He’d dreamt that his father had been the one to carry him.

               Paper was harder to get at the Academy than it had been at Pipit’s house. It’s not that there was less of it, just that it was hidden away. Sky had learned quickly that paper with writing on it was not to be used to make maps with. The students got really angry when those got sucked out the window.

               But he found Gaepora’s office. There were shelves and shelves of books (all with words on the papers, so he couldn’t use those) as well as a set of drawers on the far end. The whole room was nearly as large as Pipit’s house. The top drawer had some paper, as well as bits of charcoal. There was no red crayon, but there was a bottle of beet juice that he must use to grade, and a feather pen. Sky was too afraid to touch it, but he still had an end of crayon from Pipit’s house, so he used that.

               He discovered the map in one of the classrooms. He took to sneaking paper in there after hours and copying the map as best as he could onto the paper. The only problem was that he wasn’t sure where the Academy was on the Map. He pointed at places on the map until one of the students was kind enough to tell him where everything was after class one day, reading the big words he couldn’t. He carefully placed an X where he was currently staying and walked to the edge of the island, where he let the air take his message to his parents. Gaepora had begun to teach him the basics, and he picked up on counting quickly. He spent hours examining buildings and measuring footsteps to different landmarks and to the edge of the island. Many times, after releasing a map into the sky, he would sit on the grass and stare out over the sea of clouds, waiting for the birds to return, or for a sign that it had reached his mom and dad. He never spoke. When he learned to write his name he began to sign his sheets “LiNK” before letting the wind rip them from his hands.

               Everything went into those little maps of his.

               But then one autumn day one of the knights caught him throwing the paper off the island. He was led back to the Academy, where he was given a strict talking-to. He didn’t understand “resources” or “precious” or “recycle” or “limited”. He didn’t understand “renew” or “mulch” or “mass” or “forever”. He understood “gone” and “wasted” and “useless.” But he wasn’t wasting anything. He was using it to find his parents. Sky never spoke, even after being reprimanded. There was nothing he could say.

               Sky was in the middle of drawing a map the next afternoon when a Remlit jumped up and climbed the tree above him. The branch shook, an overripe fruit dropped to the ground, breaking open with a wet squelch. Charcoal froze on paper, and he didn’t know why, but he began to hyperventilate then and there. Tears fell from his eyes as he hid his face behind his knees. Gone. Gone, gone, gone, gone. Fell beneath the clouds. Fell so far –

               Sky stopped sending messages out to his parents after that and withdrew into himself even farther. He never smiled anymore; who was there to smile for? He continued to sneak out at night and stare across the cotton sea at the stars and to watch the sun cut its path through the heavens. He never answered anyone’s questions, and tended to ignore people when they talked to him. He still took paper and charcoal out of the drawers, but had stopped trying to draw the shape of the island and the network of buildings and roads. Instead he’d begun to map the sky.

               The child woke up one morning after having fallen asleep trying to trace the stars to wide blue eyes and a nose inches from his. He startled, lurching up and back as he scrambled away. The little blond girl that had awakened him giggled into her hand, undaunted by the fact that he’d nearly busted her face. Her pink dress swayed in the breeze.

               “Hi, Link!” she greeted. “My name’s Zelda. My father’s told me so much about you! He said you might be sleeping outside.” Sky had seen her before and knew that Gaepora had a daughter, but had never really paid much attention. She usually ran around with a red haired boy that was a year or so older than they were. “C’mon! We have breakfast waiting for us back at the Academy. You don’t want to miss it! Today it’s sweet squash and nut pear!” She pulled on his hand ‘till he rose to his feet and took his lantern. She handed him the papers that had been resting underneath and dragged him along with her to the dining hall. Sky didn’t know what to think of Zelda. She was different than the adults and the students, who tended to tiptoe around him. Other kids avoided him and he didn’t understand why. Her presence didn’t remove the sharp shard in his chest, but it did ease it a bit. She sat next to him as they ate, prattling on about this or that, and asking him questions he didn’t know how to answer. Her father sat on the other side of her, talking to one of the other instructors about lesson plans for the day. The breakfast was hot and steaming, and normally Sky couldn’t taste anything, but like the sun Zelda had cleared away the morning fog and he was realizing how good it tasted.

               “Oh! Father, you should see what Link is making!” She suddenly exclaimed, surprising him. She grabbed his left hand and pulled it upward where her father could see his map of the stars. Her father looked at it briefly and chuckled.

               “Why, that’s a mighty fine bracelet you’ve drawn, Link,” he said.

               Sky frowned. It wasn’t a bracelet.

               Zelda sighed in exasperation with as much attitude as her six-year old self could muster. “It’s not a bracelet, dad! They’re stars, see?” Gaepora looked closer and his eyes widened.

               “Link, did you make this?” he asked. Sky nodded and shrank, unsure if he was going to get in trouble or not. “This is wonderful,” he said, his hands spreading the papers out to make a more complete map. Last night Sky had gotten quite a bit more of the heavens in, though he’d fallen asleep before he reached the bright one that he’d really wanted to get. “I suppose you aren’t making maps of the island anymore?” Sky shook his head.

               “You used to make maps of the island?” Zelda asked, looking at him curiously. Sky nodded. He wondered why they suddenly cared. “Why did you stop?”

               Sky opened his mouth, but nothing came out, so he closed it again. He’d stopped because he’d been told he could no longer send messages out, and because he’d finally realized his parent’s weren’t lost below the clouds. They were beyond where his maps could reach.

               They were with the stars.

                  Gaepora had seen his interest in map-making and star charting and began to supplement his regular curriculum with geography and geometry. He taught him about angles and calculating the distance between far away objects. He cracked open dusty old books that had theories on how to navigate based on the celestial bodies and learned alongside Sky. Between the two of them they mapped the entire island over the course of a year, fine-tuning their techniques until it was indistinguishable from the ones that were made by flying high above the island and drawing its shape.

               In the summer Pipit taught him to climb trees and look for dead branches. He learned to carve spoons and bowls and other useful things from the wood, carefully storing away the wood curls for compost later. The men sometimes took out rotting posts that had been in the ground for too long, and after cutting the soft crumbles away the children turned them into walking sticks and treasure boxes. Pipit was selling them to help his mom.

               Sky used his knowledge to make a tool he’d seen in one of the old books. It was supposed to make measuring angles at a distance easier. He had to take it to Gaepora for help to make accurate marks. He attached the mirrors and scope, and for a few days played around with it to see how it worked. Zelda had begun to come along with him on his ventures as he surveyed the land, once again drawing little sketches of sections of their island.

               Sky grew older and stronger, and eventually Zelda was able to coax him out of his shell a little bit at a time. She asked why he kept making maps when he’d already made one of the island.

               “I want to make sure I can find my way home,” he whispered. “I don’t want anyone to get lost.”

               Zelda was startled, both by hearing his voice, and by the words. “How could anyone get lost? No one flies that far from Skyloft.”

               And Sky didn’t have an answer.

                 “It’s called a sextant,” Sky answered. “It takes angles between different celestial bodies to tell you where you are in the world. You can make a sort of grid for your measurements, and map everything out. You use the chronometer and the sun for most of it.”

               “Huh,” Hyrule bent over and looked at it, but his posture screamed bored.

               “You don’t have to pretend to be interested.” Sky chuckled as he raised the instrument to the sky. Now that he was high enough on the boulders, he could see the horizon.

               Sky measured and calculated and marked the place on the map. He took his angle from the north to an interesting mountain peak in the distance and to several other landmarks he could see, using a protractor to get the angles. He left the lines, knowing that it was a poor idea to try to find the distances without going to those places first.

               They continued to wander around, Sky marking their path and adding interesting points to the map. Hyrule admired flowers and brought out his own sketchbook to draw a few of them. It was peaceful.

               The edge of a swamp brought them to a halt. “I probably should mark this,” Sky mused, looking in both directions. There was a large boulder, but it wasn’t nearly tall enough to see above the trees. He found an old wide willow and began to scale its branches. When he was at the top, he was able to make out the horizon and get what he wanted. Once he’d done the math and drawn an arc to represent the edge, he hopped down and turned to Hyrule. “Alright, we should probably head back. I want to make sure my measurements were right and get supper while it’s hot.” Sky looked up from where he’d packed the tools away to find he was talking to air.

               “Perfect,” he muttered. He took a deep breath. “Hyrule! Hyrule! C’mon, let’s go!” The younger hero didn’t answer, and Sky grew slightly annoyed. Then he noticed boot prints in the soft mud of a land bridge. Sky sighed. The teen had been doing so well, too.

               Sky followed the trail to a wide open area where no trees grew. There seemed to be some sort of solid path made out of logs and sticks to a wide raft or landing pad type thing in the middle of the pond- like area. And there was Hyrule, bent over and staring at something on the ground.

               “Sky! Come look what I found,” he said, grinning. He was petting something grey and fuzzy and approximately the size of a pig in his arms. “They’re so soft and tame! I didn’t realize we had any flightless birds like this!” The animal in his arms was gangly and ugly, but there was also something very familiar about it. Sky couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

               Suddenly his eyes widened in realization. “Hyrule,” he said lowly, “put the fledgling down.”

               Hyrule frowned. “What do you mean, fledgling? This bird is way too big– ”

               “Hyrule! Put it down, NOW!” There was a cry in the sky as a familiar shape swooped toward them. Hyrule visibly paled and quickly put the smaller bird down, backing away cautiously, his feet stumbling off the raft and onto the bridge. The brown-grey Loftwing landed fiercely between its chick and the boy, lowering its head and opening its mouth with a hiss. Its wings spread out threateningly, its tail rising into the air. Sky felt ice run through his veins. He had only seen a Loftwing position itself like that once, and that was when Pipit’s bird nearly took off his ex-stepdad’s arm after the man had been hitting him in a drunken rage. He had been in the infirmary for almost two months and had never gone near Pipit or his mom ever again. “Easy,” he cautioned, putting his arm on Hyrule’s shoulder before the younger could draw his sword. “We’re not gonna hurt you or your babies,” he was sure to keep his voice low and calm even as the teen eased his shield in front of his body. They were nearly to land. The great bird continued to stalk after them, hissing threateningly.

               The moment they got to semi-solid ground the two turned and ran, slowed down by the mud sucking at their boots. A loud cry pierced the air and the sound of flapping followed them. Sky made sure to place himself between Hyrule and the animal, raising his shield to block the attacks of talons and claws. He grunted as he pushed, hoping to knock the avian off course a little. It delayed it just enough that the two made it under a half-fallen tree, which the dam promptly ran into, tangling itself in the vines and causing the trunk to crash into the ground behind them. It screamed at them as they continued to try to make their way out of the swamp.

               “Phew, that was close,” Hyrule panted.

               Sky stiffened. “Wait,” he whispered. “Where’s the mate?”

               The older hero barely had time to tackle the teen to the ground as a shadow appeared above them. As it was, flaming hot agony tore through his back and he screamed, his shield bouncing against the ground as they landed. To his credit, Hyrule acted quickly and rolled out from under Sky, raising his shield to block a second attack. There was a metallic thud as the bird bounced off, but Sky was only aware of the pain shooting across the small of his back and up his to his shoulder blades. He stumbled to his feet and attempted to raise his shield. A heavy weight slammed into him as the bird collided with Sky, knocking his head against a rock. He bit back a scream as the furrows in his back made contact with the ground. Gritting his teeth he tried to push it off with only the tempered steel between them, but his arms were trembling and a giant beak was headed for his face. There was a banging and clanging as Hyrule yelled and tried to scare it away. The yellow drake turned its head from its victim and gave an angry hiss at its challenger. Its weight left Sky as it charged Hyrule.

               Groaning, Sky rolled over and propped himself on his trembling left arm, throwing up what was left of his breakfast as his head pounded. The world was spinning, and Hyrule was trying to scare off the protective male. Sky must have lost track of time, because between one moment and the next Hyrule was jerking him up off the ground, rushing him toward what looked to be a very weathered outcropping of limestone. He was quickly ushered into a little hole in the ground with the younger hero following closely behind. The bird screamed and hit the side of the cave, clawing uselessly at the entrance. Little pebbles and waterfalls of dirt piled at the bottom, but it had all been loose stuff that had collected atop the stone. Eventually it gave one last hiss and left them there, presumably to fly back to its mate.

               Sky’s back was on fire. He didn’t want to move, but Hyrule had other ideas. He was yanked into a sitting position, where his soaked shirt was lifted and cold hands touched the raw skin.

               “Oh crudthisisbad.” The words came rushed and whispered, and Sky groaned, letting his chin rest against the younger’s shoulder. He felt so tired. “This is my fault.” Sky heard the sound of a flask opening. He was pushed slightly backwards and a bottle was pressed to his lips. “Here, drink this.” Sky obliged, the burning across his back lessening a bit. There wasn’t much in the bottle, but it helped. He sighed.

               “I’m sorry,” Hyrule said again moving behind him, but Sky could hear the relief in his voice. His head was pounding and the world was lopsided, but he managed an answer.

               “Na’ y’r fault. You din’t kno.” Sky heard rustling, and then a gurgling, and then something wet was being pressed to his back, dabbing at wounds and wiping away grime. Sky hissed when it made contact with torn flesh.

               “I should have, though,” Hyrule said. “They were wild animals. I should have left them alone.”

               Sky hummed. “T’ be ‘onest, ‘ve ne’er seen a fledgling ‘fore. Din’t rek’nize it ‘till…” he yawned. All he wanted to do was sleep, but the washrag was reawakening the fire down his back.

               “Don’t go to sleep yet. You have a concussion.” How did he know?

               “I know because you’re slurring and your pupils are uneven.” Hmm. Good point.

               He was pushed lightly, and then cloth was being wrapped around his middle by gentle hands.

               “Now, tell me about your ‘spectant’ thingy.”

               “’S call’d a sextant.”

               “…My name is way better.”

               “’S ‘cause t’s one-six ‘f ccccircle.”

               “Okay, so, what do the little marks do?”

               Sky fought to stay awake and talk about his tools. At some point the wrapping stopped and his shirt was lowered again.

               “’N th’ chronometer‘s special. Zelda m’de it f’r me out ‘f Timeshift stones. C’n tell Univers’l Time and Loc’l Time any pl’ce an’ era.”

               “Fascinating.” Sky looked up and tried to tell him more, but Hyrule shushed him. “I think it’s gone.”

               Sky snorted and smiled. “’Could’a tol’ja th’t.”

               Hyrule rolled his eyes. “So sassy. Let’s get you back to camp.” Sky felt a firm grip on his arm as he was lifted to his feet. He blinked as the cave spun around him, and struggled to stay upright. Hyrule went up to the entrance first, looking carefully in all possible directions. He pushed their packs and weapons through first, and then when nothing happened led Sky closer. Sky was leaned against something cool and hard, his legs trembling as he watched his friend go through next. The older hero waited a couple of tense moments before Hyrule’s face reappeared, his hands reaching down. “Alright, I’m gonna try to pull you out, but you’ve gotta help me, OK?” Sky nodded and gripped Hyrule’s forearms, and between the two of them they managed to tug him out of the hole.

               Sky was left on the ground, huffing and panting as Hyrule shouldered both of their weapons and bags. Suddenly someone’s arms hooked under his own and helped him up. “You alright?” Hyrule asked. Sky nodded and tried not to puke as the forest became a blur before settling again. “Alright. Easy now.” His arm was pulled around the shorter hero’s shoulders and he was led toward the edge of the swamp. They circled around slightly in an attempt to avoid entering the large birds’ territory.

               “So, you seemed pretty familiar with them.” Sky was glad for the distraction Hyrule was giving. “What were those things?”

               “Lof’wings.” He’d never realized they nested on the Surface.

               “LOFTWINGS?” Hyrule cried incredulously. “Those birds you said everyone flew on in the sky?”

               “Mmmhmm.”

               “Those weren’t predators of some sort?”

               “Nnn.… I dun thing so, ‘nywa’. ‘N Skylof’ ‘ey jus’ ate pun’kins.”

               “These were wild animals!”

               Sky just shrugged. Maybe they acted differently when they were nesting. Who was he to say? They always seemed to spawn out of the clouds when he was younger.

               “When did you get your Loftwing?”

               “We dun get ‘em; ‘e’re two halv’s to a ‘ole.”

                  Sky wasn’t whole, and he didn’t know if he ever could be again. He felt like wood chips left for composting; weak and shredded and only held together by fragile static cling. Zelda and Gaepora helped keep him from blowing away completely, being the string purse that would shelter him until he could put himself together enough to enjoy the sun. But they weren’t glue, and he was cracked in so many places he wondered how he didn’t just crumble completely.

               Through Zelda’s prodding and Gaepora’s gentle understanding, he’d slowly emerged from his self-imposed hermitage. He was no longer able to go out at night as it had become increasingly dangerous, but he’d become less dependent on solitary contemplation. He’d begun to talk in audible, if brief, sentences, and was proud that Gaepora trusted him to run errands, including looking after his Remlit Mia (but only during the day, Link; she’s not safe at night). He puffed his chest out when Zelda’s father said he was the best errand-runner he’d ever met and soon became well known in his village as the seldom-spoken delivery boy. He was only ten but was making enough in tips people gave him to buy his own paper and charcoal.

               He was getting something for Owlan (he couldn’t remember what; not that it was important) when he overheard two men talking behind the Bazaar. Normally he would have just ignored them and continued on his way, but he overheard his name.

               “Yeah, poor boy. ‘S got no one left.”

               “Parents fell below the clouds, didn’t they?”

               “Yeah, heard it was an accident. Dark cloud of keese flew into them and blinded the birds. Halk and Tanaja were knocked off their Loftwings, or so they say.”

               “What, and the other Rescue Knights couldn’t get to them?”

               “….”

               “The whole thing reeks, if you ask me.”

               “I heard they were lower than usual, or something. It would have been too dangerous for the others to dive after them.”

               “Cowards. They didn’t even try?”

               “They had their own families to look after.”

               “Poor kid. Didn’t even have any bodies to bury. Something like that…how could you get closure?”

               Sky felt the world around him freeze, his errand for Owlan forgotten. His parents could have been saved? There was a chance they could have been brought back to him? His mom could have woken him with gentle strokes to his hair? His father could have carried him on his shoulders to the Bazaar that day like he’d promised? He tried to remember their faces, and in a panic realized that he couldn’t anymore. What color were their eyes? Was his mother short, or tall? Did his father have a low, gravelly voice, or a calm, steady one? Cold shock turned to deep, unsettling sorrow. Something hotter, deeper down burned, and he barely held it in as he sprinted away, pounding up the stairs to an enclosed courtyard.

               The ember deep inside burst into flame as he came to the top, and he screamed to the sky, curses landing against dead rock and sobs hiccoughing into cracked tile. Why had they been taken from him? Was he not worthy of even their memories? It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t… Why? Couldn’t they have been saved? Didn’t he need them more than the heavens did?

               He screamed, anger and fury leaking out as hot tears as he allowed himself to mourn. His ears twitched as he heard footsteps behind him, and he bit the base of his palm to keep himself from crying out any more. His body shook with sobs, but behind his eyelids were flashes of faces he did have, a counterpoint to the ones he’d lost. As if summoned, he heard a hesitant voice behind him. “Link? A-are you okay?” Zelda’s words were soft, but he couldn’t answer. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to block her out. He didn’t want her to see him like this.

               “Link, stop! You’re hurting yourself!” Gaepora was there, too. Immediately Sky was aware of the taste of copper in his mouth, and he heaved as he removed his hand from his mouth, a string of red saliva following.

               Suddenly an angry scream pierced the air, an echo of Sky’s furious cry from earlier. He looked up, startled out of his downward spiral by a shadow in the sun. It was diving toward him, wings stiff and tail straight. It called again and slammed into the base of the stone, flapping and flailing as it righted itself to land in front of Sky. It wasn’t the most graceful thing ever; in fact, its crimson feathers were ruffled, fuzzy and spotted in patches that indicated it was just barely a juvenile. Its neck was long and gangly, its legs awkward and unsure as it stumbled forward. Its head was a little too big, its tail just a smidge too short. And immediately something in Sky settled, like a Remlit in the sun, like a bee in a flower; like a boy with his bird.

               Do I know you?

               A large beak pressed against his chest, healing the ache there, and he brought up his hands to caress the bridge. Red smeared on it, and in a distressed huff, Sky rubbed it off with the sleeve of his other hand. The bird made a small cry, and Sky decided that, yes, he did know this bird. He knew it like he knew the feeling of charcoal between his fingers, Zelda’s soft smile, and Gaepora’s warm voice. For the first time in years, he felt whole.

               The Loftwing nudged him until he got onto its back, something surprisingly like – no, it was – joy bubbling up inside of him. He gave a whoop and a laugh as suddenly they were launched off the ground. Rider and mount became one, climbing and dancing through the air in celebration. Sky had been found.

                  “We’re lost,” Hyrule concluded.

               “We’re not lost,” Sky said, his slur having disappeared five minutes prior. He was walking (limping) on his own, though he was still having trouble seeing straight, and everything was bright.

               “Yes we are.” The younger hero shook out the map Sky had been working on. “I can’t see any familiar location.”

               Sky squinted past the glare to the paper in his friend’s hands. “You’re holding it upside-down.”

               “Oh.” Hyrule righted the map, the x in the middle now above the rest of the drawings. “I still don’t know where we are.”

               “There’s a mountain around here. It’s the only one for miles. I drew it on the map.”

               “No you didn’t.”

               “It’s a line of sight, not a specific location.”

               “I don’t… Oh. Never mind. How do I work this thing?”

               Sky huffed in amusement. “You are a traveler, right?”

               “Yeah, but I don’t use a map. I follow my natural instincts.”

               “Natural instincts? Does that include petting wild animals?”

               “…Shut up.”

               Sky sighed. “The top of the paper is north. The compass arrow always points north.  We just came from the swamp, and we’re on the other side of the path from the mountain.”

               “So, head toward the mountain?”

               “For a little bit, anyway, until we find a familiar landmark.”

               They found their mark five minutes later when Hyrule spotted a good sized pond they’d taken a measurement at. With a little prodding from Sky, Hyrule was able to use the compass and map to make their way back to the others.

               It was getting dark, but Sky’s head was already feeling better. He could see their campfire ahead, flickering happily. Laughter and relaxed chatter reached them, and Hyrule turned to him with a grin. “You’re a genius, Sky! We’re home!” Hyrule said it casually, but Sky felt something inside him warm.

               Home, huh? A small crowd cheered as Wind pointed a practice sword triumphantly at Warriors’ chin. Legend was jeering good-naturedly while Time and Twilight watched on. Four was having an amiable, one-sided conversation with Wild. As they joined the others and potions were brought out, Sky couldn’t help but smile. Home wasn’t a place; it was the people you were with. He could be weeks, months, years from Skyloft, but he was never lost. He had found his way home.

[ironwoman359]

Our Own Villain Ch. 6

Prologue, Ch.1, Ch.2, Ch.3, Ch. 4, Ch. 5, Ch. 6, Ch.7, Ch.8

(please look in the notes for a link to read on AO3. Tumblr’s current glitch makes adding external links to a post hide it from the search function)

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 Word Count: 2,626

Summary: Maddie must make a choice...and may end up with more trouble than she bargained for. 

Pairings: Logicality, could be read as romantic or platonic.

Warnings: Food mention, please let me know if I need to add anything else!

Massive thank you to @theinvisiblespoon for helping me edit this and @a-valorous-choice for letting me yeet ideas into your dms! Love you both loads! <3

Patton wished, not for the first time that day, that he was dreaming. His mind was racing, and he found it suddenly very difficult to swallow as he stared at the poster in Maddie’s outstretched hand. He supposed most people would be upset to find their own face plastered onto a wanted poster, but oddly enough, that’s not really what bothered him. It was the handwriting, loping and elegant, yet bold and dramatic and so perfectly Roman’s that sent Patton’s heart plummeting into his stomach. He swallowed thickly, making a point to avoid looking at Logan. The last thing he wanted to see right now was the “I told you so” that would likely be flashing in his friend’s eyes.

He couldn’t stare at the poster forever though, so instead he turned his attention back to Maddie, and the expression on her face made his heart ache. Her eyes were narrow as she searched their faces, any semblance of trust they’d built with her gone. She was just a little girl, a child, she shouldn’t have to lurk in the streets just to survive and wonder if an act of random kindness would cost her everything. She wouldn’t even look so scared right now if it weren’t for them, and Patton felt a wave of guilt wash over him. He sighed, and resisted the urge to close his eyes and curl up into a ball. The last thing he needed was for this to start affecting Thomas on top of everything else.

“Enemies of The Crown...” Logan read aloud, his voice cutting through Patton’s thoughts. “So you are saying that both Patton and I are on these posters you’ve been asked to distribute?”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m saying,” Maddie replied, shoving the poster into Logan’s hands and quickly taking a step back.

“Kiddo, wait, just...just hang on for a—” Patton stammered out, but Maddie cut him off.

“The two of you come into town out of nowhere, have no idea about curfew or the guards or the Red Sun or anything, you say the guy I saw get taken to the castle by the soldiers is your friend, and now you’re...you’re Enemies of The Crown, or something?”

“I...no, we…” Patton struggled to speak, to somehow explain what was happening, but how could he, really? He barely understood what was happening in Roman’s realm anymore. He desperately wanted to believe that somehow Roman wasn’t responsible for all of this, but the handwriting on the poster was pretty clear. Roman had made that poster. Roman was offering 1,000 gold for Patton’s capture. Roman had just declared Patton his enemy. The thought made him feel like throwing up.

“Maddie, do you consider the crown to currently be in a good state?” Logan asked suddenly, catching everyone’s attention. The girl shrugged, still eyeing the two suspiciously.

“I dunno.”

“Well, you spoke of how the kingdom worsens whenever this Red Sun rises. Increased monster activity, more oppression from the government, an increase in traveling dangers, etc. So at its current state, would you say that The Crown is, in fact, a good thing?”

“I mean...I guess not, when you put it that way.”

“So we were declared enemies of something that you’d call bad, something that scares you,” Logan said patiently. “Doesn’t it stand to reason, then, that we would be the opposite?”

Patton glanced over at Logan, a small smile twitching at the edge of his lips. No matter what the situation, Logan always managed to impress him with his ability to assess things with a cool and level head. Patton had barely been able to stop thinking about Roman and what could have caused all of this in the first place, but Logan had been able to focus and give an answer that was simple, but still made sense.

“Yeah…” Maddie’s voice was hesitant, but there was less fear in her eyes now, uncertainty taking its place. “But...I don’t understand? You didn’t even know anything about this place. How could you be its enemy?”  

“It...is a long story,” Logan admitted. “But…” he glanced over at Patton, and Patton nodded at him encouragingly. “Suffice to say that we...Patton and I, that is...we know Prince Roman. So does our friend Virgil, the one who the guards took? The four of us...we are…” he paused, as if searching for the right word to use.

“We’re a family, Kiddo,” Patton supplied quietly. Logan nodded, and Patton’s spirits lifted ever so slightly.

“We are not from here,” Logan continued. “In fact, Roman himself...well, he created this place. We visit it sometimes, but not enough to know the intricacies of your politics or customs. Certainly, we have never before witnessed this Red Sun you are currently experiencing. And to my knowledge, Roman has never mentioned it, either.”

Logan looked to Patton, as if for confirmation, and Patton nodded. Out of the three of them, he visited Roman’s realm the most often by far, and he’d never once seen it as anything other than a cheerful, sunny paradise. Then again, Roman had never seen Patton’s room as anything other than the Nostalgia Nirvana that Patton was so careful to present whenever he invited the creative side over...was it that far of a stretch to say that Roman perhaps did the same?

“So...the prince created the whole kingdom? How, with magic?” Maddie asked, tilting her head to the side.

Logan opened his mouth, but Patton answered before he could get too in-depth about the inner workings of Thomas’s mind and Roman’s control over the imagination.

“Something like that, yeah, Kiddo.”

Maddie regarded them for a moment longer, then seemed to come to a decision.

“Well, if you’re not from here...maybe you should go. It doesn’t seem like he wants you guys around right now.”

“No,” Patton and Logan said in unison.

“We will not leave this place until we retrieve our friend,” Logan added.

“We can’t just leave him behind,” Patton said, glancing over at Logan. There was understanding in his eyes, and Patton felt some of the tension from earlier melt away.

“Get your friend…” Maddie repeated slowly. “From the castle dungeons. The most heavily guarded place in the kingdom, during the Red Sun, when everything is guarded way more than normal.”

Patton grimaced. When she put it that way, their chances of rescuing Virgil didn’t sound very good.

“We have no other choice,” Logan insisted. “Surely there must be some strategy that will grant us the upper hand.”

“Two of you against the entire royal guard during the Red Sun?” Maddie laughed. “There is no strategy where you would get the upper hand.”

“Falsehood. We just witnessed you face on an entire street gang single-handedly,” Logan pointed out. “Clearly it is not numbers that matter, it is technique.”

“I...all I did was throw a few rocks and run away.” Maddie fiddled with the pouch on her dress, running her fingers over the smooth pebbles she kept inside. “I’m honestly lucky they haven’t caught me yet.”

“Perhaps, though I would attribute it to a high level of experience and skill,”  Logan said matter-of-factly.

Maddie looked down at her feet, a shy but satisfied smile spreading across her face.

“I am serious,” Logan continued. “You were quite impressive in your methods. And between the three of us, I’m sure we can figure out a way. That is…” he hesitated, and looked over at Patton. After a moment, Patton nodded to him, and Logan turned back to Maddie. “That is, if you’re willing to assist us.”

“It’s your choice, Kiddo,” Patton added quickly. “It’s okay if you say no. But...well, like we said, Lo and I don’t really know a whole lot about this place.”

Maddie was silent for what seemed like forever, seconds stretching out as Patton waited with bated breath for her to answer. He glanced over at Logan, who was fiddling with his glasses. To an outsider, it was a seemingly innocent gesture, but Patton knew it meant Logan was also unsure. What would they do if Maddie said no? What if she decided to turn them in instead? What if–

“All…alright.”

Patton blinked. Had he heard her right?

“I’ll help you,” she added, and Patton released a breath. He looked over at Logan, who was clearly very pleased by her answer.

“Let’s do this, then,” Logan said, and Maddie gave a small nod.

Then, the three of them sat down in a circle and began to plan.

Maddie skirted the edge of the market square, nibbling on a warm roll she’d purchased with the few coins the castle steward’s errand boy had thrown her way. It hadn’t been much, certainly not a fair amount for an entire night’s work, but it was still the first time she’d had fresh food in days.

“Outta the way, you damned urchin!”

Maddie ducked away to one side, narrowly avoiding a collision with the large, gruff man shoving his way through the crowd. It was early in the morning, and people were packed into the main market square, buying their breakfast and beginning their work for the day. Maddie was no stranger to the crowds; she was fairly used to being in the square when it was this busy. In fact, it was usually the best time to find dropped coins, scraps of food, or if she was lucky, a kind matronly woman who would offer to buy her a biscuit, or an overworked apprentice who would happily shell out a few copper coins in order to have someone else run their errand while they caught a few more minutes of sleep.

But this was no ordinary morning in the square; this was a morning during the Red Sun. People all over the kingdom had opened their eyes at dawn, hoping to see a hint of golden light peeking through the clouds, only to be greeted by another day bathed in crimson and shadow. Shoulders were hunched, conversations were deprived of their usual cheerful small talk, and eyes were focused on the ground as people hurried about their day, doing their best to avoid looking up.

Maddie worked her way through the crowd, slipping past vendors and shoppers alike, keeping her eyes peeled. Usually, she would be scanning the ground, looking for anything worth scavenging, but today, her head was up, looking through the sea of legs for the flash of a familiar face in the crowd. Seth would be here soon for the morning rush. He was always one of the first to arrive, but Maddie beat him nearly every morning. It was the advantage of having a spot so close to the market, something she’d fought tooth and nail to keep. Something that, apparently, she was now willing to give up.

Just as the thought crossed her mind, she spotted him as he flashed through the crowd, his dirty face and unkempt mop of blond hair catching her eye. She wove her way towards him, ducking between legs and around stalls, reaching for a pebble from her pouch as she did so. Pressing her back up against a fruit stand, she waited until he paused to check for something on the ground before flicking the stone in his direction. It rolled to a stop in front of his feet, and his eyes snapped up, scanning his surroundings. His gaze fell on Maddie, and she tilted her head towards an alleyway before sliding into its shadows herself.

“Maddie?” he hissed as he edged in, looking around carefully. “What do you want?”

“Your pet castle servant. Where does he meet you?”

“I...what?”

“Where does he meet you?” Maddie repeated urgently. “Is it in town, or one of the servants’ entrances?”

Seth narrowed his eyes.

“What’s it to you?” he asked, and Maddie sighed, running a hand over her face.

“Seth, just listen, I don’t have time for this. Do you or do you not know where the servants’ entrance to the castle is?”

“I- yes I know where it is, Maddie, why the hell are you asking?” “I need to know where it is. Can you show me?” Maddie pressed.

“Wait…” Seth leaned back and folded his arms, a knowing look on his face. “I know what this is about.”

“You...you do?”

“Yeah. You’re trying to make a cut into my errand earnings, aren’t you?”

Maddie groaned.

“No, Seth, I-”

“It’s not enough that you have the best spot next to the market, you want to try and sneak one of the more reliable jobs right from under my-”

“Seth, if you show me where the servants’ entrance is I will GIVE you my spot by the market, okay?”

Silence hung in the air between them, Seth staring open-mouthed at Maddie as he processed what she had just said.

“You...you’ll give me the spot?”

“Yes. All you have to do is show me where the servants’ entrance is.”

Seth thought about it. The work from the castle servant already provided him with more money than most, that combined with Maddie’s spot in the alleyway, close to the market and hidden from the gangs...it’d be the closest thing to security he’d get while living on the streets. Hell, if he played his cards right, he might be able to eventually get off the streets.  It was a good deal.

Seth frowned, eyeing Maddie with a renewed suspicion. It was almost too good a deal.

“What’s the catch? And don’t you dare say there isn’t one, there’s no way you’d offer a deal like this if there wasn’t a damn good reason.”

Maddie rolled her eyes.

“The only catch is on my end. If what I have planned works, it will have been worth it for me to give it to you. If it doesn’t, that’s my problem, not yours. You have nothing to lose here”

Seth mulled it over for a moment longer, then nodded.

“Okay then, you have yourself...a…” His sentence stuttered to a stop and his eyes went wide as he stared at something over Maddie’s shoulder.

“Wha-” Maddie started to speak, but was cut off as a huge pair of arms wrapped around her from behind, pinning her arms to her sides and lifting her off her feet. “What the- hey! Put me down, you big- mmph!”

The arms shifted and a large, sweaty hand clamped over her mouth, effectively silencing her.

“Run along now, if you know what’s good for you,” a familiar voice purred behind her. Maddie saw Seth bolt for the market square as her assailant carried her deeper into the alley, away from the prying eyes of the early morning shoppers “Now then…”

The leader of the Arachnids came around to face her with a grin, absently twirling his knife between his fingers. Maddie squirmed, but the grip of the thug holding her only tightened, constricting her breathing as he kept his hand pressed firmly against her mouth.

“You owe us, little fly, and it’s time to pay up.”

Maddie silently cursed herself for not thinking of saving some coins to pay the Arachnids with. A foolish mistake, which didn’t happen often to her, but then again, it only needed to happen once, right?

The hand over her mouth moved until it wrapped around her neck, the thumb and forefinger pressing just a bit too tightly her windpipe. Maddie’s heart pounded against her ribcage, and she fought the sudden impulse to swallow. The message was clear: You can talk, but scream or call for help and you’ll regret it.

“I don’t have money,” she said as clearly as she could manage.

“Oh, that’s alright.” A grin spread across the bandit leader’s face, and he held up one of the wanted posters with Logan’s face on it. “You have something better, don’t you?”

A/N: Hoo boy, what a wild ride that chapter was to write! I’ve been insanely busy in my personal life, and have had major writers block on this story, so I’m so happy to finally have the next installment out .Thank you all so much for your patience on this fic, I hope you enjoyed the other fics I posted in the meantime between updates! Hopefully next time it won’t be 5 months between updates, haha. 

Because of Tumblr’s current glitch where adding external links to a post hides it from the search function, I will be posting the link to my AO3 and ko-fi page in a reblog of this, along with my taglists (so y’all who are tagged will see the links and jazz right away). Thank you all so much for your likes, reblogs, comments and kudos, they really mean the world to me!  -Taylor <3 

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